xcell

If you are doing MSC -- try to hit their private island, Ocean Cay. As per your other questions -- it's a new ship for you -- treat it as an adventure (plus it was free). Go in open minded and you will find a way to have fun.

Too many people hit the buffet -- max load capacity achieved. Only joking, 50% back for a missed port seems really fair -- I'd like that. I hope it didn't ruin your cruise OP and I wonder how they are going to get this fixed without cancelling any future cruises...now that would be a bummer.

thanks -- i never get that far into the booking.

They use to have it online the refundable and non-refundable rates, but it looks like now, it is only non- refundable. MSC, if you book YC has a non-refundable deposit -- in case OP or anyone wants to try that line. The non refundable only applies to the YC bookings.

You can always try facebook msg, and their app...

Non refundable (NR) and redunable rates (R) vary all the time. For my August 2023 cruise, the refundable cost is $300 more pp. I have had some cruises where the rates are very similar, so it's a nobrainer to book refundable. RCCL use to show the different rates on their website but for this August 2023 booking they didn't and I had to call it in -- had I not known about thie R and NR rates, I might have just booked online and got stuck with the NR rate. The online booking does tell us that this is a NR but it's not very evident and you do have to read closely, which I don't. Back to the OP -- if I had not given a cruise company a chance, I would have not tried different ships and companies. My first cruise on NCL was terrible -- I only booked it because the cost was half of what RCCL wanted for a Christmas cruise. Then they offered specialty dining for all in the cabin every single night (sooooo long ago -- now it has been reduced down to the first two and only 2 nights), so I convinced my wife to try again and then we were hooked and didn't do RCCL for a long time. Any ways, RCCL has a good product but like anything, it's new to you, so there will be hiccups along the way -- maybe you should get a TA who can guide you better.

Let's chalk this up for miscommunication. Later in the posting, OP explained more about the issue -- post #32 -- more information at the beginning can help clarify the question being asked. I think the backlash of OP's comment " I think this will be the last Royal cruise I book. " will set some off because we have heard it 1000 times when something doesn't go our way. Any ways, I hope OP has a good cruise with Royal because it is still better than staying at home (at least for me) 🙂

I don't remember them looking at passports when we went back to the cruiseship, only our cruise card, so how will they know how many days you have been away from Canada.

Good to know -- thanks for the warning. Insurance always wants to find a loop hole. One time, I was going to cancel a flight, and TD said if I cancelled (due to illness), westjet would charge me a rebooking fee and put the rest of the cost of the flight in credit. In that case, TD insurance would not reimburse....I would have to wait for an entire year for the credit to expire and then claim for it.

yes, yes and yes... It's hard to find a good rate and I am not even talking about Covid year rates but 2019 type of rates...

I think you meant ship 😉

I haven't cruised NCL in a few years, maybe I was reminiscing about the good old days...

I guess too much bad weather as they took out Port Canaveral for July to October. RCCL didn't ...I wonder why?

This might not be about where to stay and what to do but if you go, bring an adaptor for the wall plugs, so you can charge your phones and stuff. Bring also a charger that can do multiple electronics at the same time. With a few days, everything is walkable -- we stayed at the Hotel Jazz (recommended by a lot of cc in the forums and has a great breakfast to start your day) and it was a great location.

As long as you are not booked in the YC, you should be able to call and get your price adjusted, as with the other cruise lines. The reason I mention the YC (and this might just be based on the Canadian website) is that their deposits are non-refundable. I think it can be transferred to another time but only once. Side note: I read on the forum, someone downgraded their YC reservation to a regular cabin and then cancelled and was able to get their deposit back. Back your question -- book the price you are comfortable with and then change if you can.

Looking for my next cruise and noticed that only two ships cruise to the Caribbean - did NCL reduce the number of ships over these past few years? Looks like Port Canaveral is not active during these months too. Specifically, looking at the summer months.

Background -- I like to cruise -- it's my vacation of choice. Food, it is a sustenance, so not too picky. My main problem is that my kids are allergic to all nuts, so difficult sometimes to find places to eat. Cheap, I'd rather walk around the city then pay for a private excursion or ship board excursion, if I can. First international flight in over 15 years, so wasn't looking forward to the jet lag. Flying in to Barcelona and First full day Flew out of Toronto on Dec 20th, and made it to Barcelona on Dec 21st. Stayed at the Jazz Hotel (which many on cruise critic have recommended) and it is a nice modern, centrally located place to stay a few nights before the cruise. Taxi from the airport to the hotel was around €25-30. Side Note: bring a universal power adapter or if you forget, ask the front desk as they had a few available to borrow. Breakfast was great and plentiful, so I would pay for that -- they do check your room and name, so it's not like you can just walk in and take it. I booked a room that could only take 3 but I asked them if they would be okay for my kids to sleep on the sofa bed. We were going to do the HOHO bus but Barcelona is a walkable city, so we decided to walk to spend more time in the areas we wanted to see. We walked down Pg de Gracia to see some of the high end stores and to some of Gauidi buildings -- Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, and Sagrada Famillia. We went to the Catedral de Barcelona which some have said if you go from 8:30-12;30 admission is free but they forgot to mention that it only applies to citizens of Barcelona. The ticket to enter was €9 pp and that gave you access to the roof top. I think a sunset picture would be nice from there. The Christmas market was just outside the cathedral and then we walked around the Gothic Quater. Here, my wife found a nice Christmas themed store called the "Kathe Wohlfahrt -- Christmas Village Barcelona". Hotel Jazz was close to the Placa de Catalunya, so we started there for another walked down Las Ramblas. At the end of Las Ramblas was the Mercat de la Boqueria which was crowded (pick pocketers haven) but not as large as I was imagining. I wanted to go Santa Caterina market (less crowded than Boqueria) and see the Magic Fountain Show but my kids ended up getting a nut allergy eating at a Ramen place right around the corner from the hotel, so the night ended early. They were fine but it was a sleepless night with inhalers and antihistamines and the reminder why I like cruising (not 100% guarantee that they won't get an allergice reaction but less risky imho). Embarkation/Cruise Day Right after breakfast (did I mention the Jazz hotel has a great breakfast), we took a taxi to the port -- approximate cost €28. There was a white tent for the YC check in but only one person doing the check in so it was slow. Luckily it was only 4 families checking in around Noon, so it didn't take long to get checked in. Side note: MSC said that Barcelona and Marseille are the busiest embarkation ports. Getting on was easy but I am assuming it is because at every port people are checking in and out, so it's not a mad rush. The ship is beautiful but to be honest, I stayed mainly in the YC area and didn't venture out too much. so I can't tell you much about the shows, shops, etc... We did the rope course on the first day -- wasn't busy. I like the rope courses better on NCL Breakaway/Getaway but the kids in my group had fun. First Cruise Port -- Marseille -- Christmas Eve So the trend to our port adventures will be walking off the ship, walk around town and then back before 2pm for lunch at the YC. You can take a ship excursion or the free shuttle bus into town. For the free bus, follow the green line until the end and then a very cramped bus into the city. I saw a guy with an electric scooter, and wasn't sure how he was going to get on, so I don't recommend the bus if you have mobility issues. On the way to the city, the bus was cramped like sardines and hot (I was sweating), so it felt like forever (probably about 15mins) -- maybe a taxi next time? Once we were dropped off, we walked along the Quai de la Joliette (nothing to see, waterfront mostly, so I'd walk more into the city to see nicer views) to the Cathedrale La Major (this was free to enter). We then walked to the old port to take the Petit Train de Marseille to Notre Dame. The train was €9 pp and gave you 20 mins at Notre Dame but to be honest, when we went back down, the train was full, so we had to wait for the next, so in theory, you could had more time. Alternative option would be to take a taxi, which would give you more time to see the church and the view. After that we walked along the waterfront (Christmas market) and along La Canebiere street to do some shopping and back on to the ship. We walked back to the free bus terminal (30 mins from the old port) and this time, the bus was less busy, so we found seats and didn't feel as cramped. Christmas day in Genoa Took my group on a long walking tour. We went to Piazza de Ferrari and then I wanted to see Spianata Castelletto. I made the error of putting that into google maps, so it took us the walking way (which was a nice hike for some of us in the party) but there was an elevator (free) that would take you up and down -- search for Portello Castelletto if you don't want to be fired as your tour group leader. Since it was Christmas day, nothing was open, so it was a nice walk around the city, some views and then back to the ship for lunch and relaxation. Next up -- Civitavecchia If you wanted to see Rome, this was the stop to do so -- unfortunately, I did not want to do Rome, so we just walked the town. I would recommend doing the ship exursion to Rome because our ship was delayed leaving because I think the excursion was delayed. We walked the waterfront but other than that nothing much (for us) to see in the city. Palmero Another self walking tour. We walked towards the Palazzo Pretorio and saw the Massimo Theate, then off to the Quattro Canti, passing by the Fontana Pretoria. Headed towards the Porta Felice and then walked by the water front back to the ship. Malta was our last stop My group gave me one more chance being their tour guide, so this time I found an elevator to get them up to the upper Barrakka garden, that gives a great view of the city. Walk along the port to the Barrakka Lift (there are signs, you won't miss it). It's €1 pp for a ride up and down the lift. Malta is a very walkable city, so you don't need to do a tour unless you want to see something further away. When you leave the upper garden, someone will be handing out a map of the city and you can walk the map within a hour or two. We went down Merchant Street, to head towards Republic Street (parallel) to do some shopping and site seeing. Went through the city gates and Triton Fountain and back to the ship via the upper Barrakka garden lift. Sea day My feet were sore so just sat, ate, drank and relaxed for my last day. Disembarkation Since each port cruise passengers were embarking and disembarking, this was not hectic as my regular experience with Caribbean cruises, where the entire ship is being turned over. Our flight from BCN was 12:50 and we docked at 8:30am. I was a little concerned about any delay but our group was escorted off by our butler, who walked us to the taxi area around 9:15am and we got to airport before 10am. He mentioned it gets busier as the day goes on, so I was glad to get off early. It was a flat rate of €39 to the airport and a 20-30 min ride to the airport. We had some left over lounge passes so we went to the Sala VIP Pau Casals lounge - I enjoyed this lounge immensely as they food was freshly prepared and the best thing, it was very allergy conscious. Lables on foods of what the possible allergens could be and they also separated the areas, so limited cross contamination. My kids could finally eat, relatively safely. Overall it was a nice cruise. I'm not really into site seeing but after 19+ carribean cruises, I needed to try a Mediterranean at least once. I'm not really into the long flights, so would I do this again? Any ways, I know this really wasn't a review. I would post more pictures but I don't think my friends want to be on the internet...I think I should take more scenery shots next time. If you have any questions about the ports, feel free to ask.

If it is the same Sunday (Christmas Day), I don't expect much to be open...what to do...

I'm on the same trip in a few weeks..sorry to hear that the ports were cancelled...I was so looking forward to hear what you did for the ports. Thanks for the review...

sales are never sales -- just look weekly, daily, hourly, etc... and book whne you feel comfortable withthe price.

is there a certificate you have to present? I don't remember having to show them something other than my card saying diamond member

Grand has a walking closet -- it is longer and wider. We saw our friends the last time we were on seashore and booked it for our family of 4. The deluxe suite on the seashore is smaller than a deluxe suite on the seaside but the grand is bigger than that.

lol

they are flexible with middle names, first and last have to be 100% accurate

Some TAs (big box stores) do not subscribe to the bidding process, so if that's something you want to try, then I don't book with them. Depending on the price of your cruise they will give a percent back in gift cards. Accidentally, that big box TA sent me their break down and it looks like they make anywhere from 10-15% back from the cruise line for bookings. Most of us are seasoned veterans, so we know what we want and book accordingly. To be honest, if you do the research (on cruise critic), you too can book a cruise to your liking. Also, watch the prices and then adjust accordingly -- your TA will not watch the prices for you (they have too many clients). So if the price drops, you can call NCL to adjust, but if you book through a TA, you would call the TA, they call NCL and then adjust.