KW_Cruisers

Angie,

Great review - thanks.

We had a blast and saw so many great things, but one of the best things was the fun we had with all the cruise critic members.

Until we sail again,

John

. . . .

The cruises we've been on that erred on the side of safety had just as much trouble from pax. Staying on schedule helps the bottom line, with not being easy to change airline schedules for people to arrive when seas are calm. Not being able to change work schedules for people working is a problem too when things don't go as scheduled.

There's really no easy answer, but am sure the home office is not thrilled about cancelling cruise dates or changing itineraries at the last minute. Are the days when the captain made all the calls gone? It seems that execs make all the calls now, but sure they get feedback from the captain and try to preserve equipment, crew and paying customers whenever possible.

Getting great minds together to control weather has been considered, but it's cost prohibitive so far.

When we were on one cruise where all the ports were missed because of rough seas from Alaska or when the ship stayed in port for 3 days because of fog in Galveston, the cruise line refunded everything too. :cool: The one from Alaska first offered $50 to offset inconvenience, but didn't know there were 200 lawyers aboard who sprung into action to get management to provide full refunds before we disembarked in Canada.

At least our Med cruise this year has made the call early to skip Turkey, but came up with a couple of other great ports. Most cruise lines don't want to risk having ships between Turkey and Greece because delays from having to help refugees out at sea in small vessels can throw off schedules as well as being inconvenient but required by maritime law to help those in distress at sea.

The adventures continue ...

This incident should never have happened!

 

Was the bridge pressured by Headquarters to press on regardless?

 

.

Make sure to book your flight through your cruise line if possible if the itinerary begins or ends in Turkey, as some flights would be non refundable, even if your itinerary changed to not include ports in Turkey.

Enjoy your cruise and all the friends from cruise critic.

My husband and I are interested in taking a cruise in the Mediterranean in Sept 2016 (or October 2016). When would be the best time to buy tickets? It seems pretty early now to book tickets but since it's the first time we're doing this, I'm not sure. Are the cruises for Sept 2016 that are offered now the only ones that will be available next year? In other words, will they create more cruises at a later date or is their schedule already set? I ask because I can't find my ideal cruise! I'm interested in going to Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Mykonos, Santorini and Istanbul. I can't find any cruise offering all of these ports- most are just a few but not all of these cities. Viking does offer one but is too expensive for us. I am looking into Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, as others are too expensive and I've heard mixed reviews of Costa and MSC.

 

We would like a cruise that is more port-heavy as we'd like to see a variety of cities. We enjoy good food, so a cruise line with excellent restaurants would be nice. We are in our early 40's, no children and not interested in a "party" cruise. In addition, we're looking for a cruise that is 7-10 nights ideally.

 

After much research, I've been focusing on a 11 night Celebrity cruise with ports in Rome, Naples, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kotor, Zadar, Koper, Venice.

 

My questions now are: Should I wait for other cruise itineraries to be released or is what's out there now what will be available next Sept? When should I purchase tickets? And, any suggestions re travel insurance companies?

 

Thank you for all of your help! I have lots of questions as it's our first time planning a cruise!

Thanks for the photos and all the great comments.

We look forward to enjoying Norwegian Spirit for 26 nights next year, from Florida to Venice.

We'll be on the Spirit from April 23 to May 19, 2016 - so if you find out anything interesting about weather or other things about the ship, ports, etc., please let us know. :cool:

My husband & I are going on the reverse itinerary at the same time in 2016. We've never been to Europe. What was the weather like for your trip in 2015? I've read the summer months can be brutally hot but wondering if it will be cool (jackets/sweaters for evening) or if it will be too warm for that. Thank you.

Glad to hear you got home in good shape and made the most of your interrupted cruise.

Hope we have some good Cruise Critic folks like you on our cruise next year.

See us on FB April 23 to May 19, 2016

I am home. Sunday was a long day with packing, visiting the two forts and then flying home. Today will be a day of rest. I was hoping that whoever is in 1207 for this weeks cruise was following my posts since I left them a present in the cabin. I hope they got it.

I just checked Carnival's web site and it shows the next cruise for Liberty I 9/20. Is this correct?

Maybe the next one was sold out already

7 nights departing September 13, 2015 on

Carnival's Carnival Liberty

You get updates on dirty laundry? How quaint!

The stock has maintained it's trend upward, now up over 3% for the day. Much of this is based on dividends increasing by 25%.

The powers to be should get things rolling soon, probably not much will come out of it and frivolity should be evident aboard with added OBC to enjoy a few extra cocktails over the next few days.

Even though cruise lines write their contracts to favor themselves, we've always been taken care of when ships could not sail, were cancelled after boarding, missed all the ports, etc. It's a pretty competitive business and the fickled pax can change loyalty to a given line in a heartbeat.

Through all of this, we've never been on a bad cruise, just some better than others.

Good luck to all - Current and upcoming Carnival Cruise Critic Cruisers

Some laundry is being offloaded and being washed on the Carnival Glory.

Nothing is mentioned of the Houston and New Orleans ports. I wonder if they are being abandoned or if the Star and Jade are being replaced. Anyone have info on this?

Less than three years after Port of Houston commissioners authorized millions of dollars in incentives to lure a pair of cruise lines to its long-empty Bayport Cruise Terminal, the two operators have decided to move on and leave the loading docks deserted again.

We paid Norwegian and Princess $6.7 Million for a 2 year contract, which will expire at the end of the 2015 cruise season.

Our commissioners threw good money after bad, as they built a cruise terminal at the container port with no cruise ship companies giving so much as a mild nod that they would be interested in using another cruise terminal.

Bye ships - Anybody wanna buy an empty terminal?:confused:

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/As-cruise-lines-drop-Bayport-terminal-faces-6432123.php

Carolyn,

Thank you for the information.

I'll try to be patient, as it's about 8 or 9 months before we head out.

The person wanting to coordinate the TA M&G is not doing a roll call listing like I am doing for the Grand Med on May 7, 2016 & has stated he doesn't want to coordinate any other events, just the M&G, so I might ask about that one before we get too close to sail date in April too - Guess I'll find out if I put in the request. I'll get the numbers together first though, so we have an idea of how many to expect.

Thank you very much,

John

Thanks for your reviews and follow-up answers, Carolyn.

We survived our trip to Costa Rica last week - Funny thing happened, not much rain where we were during their rainy season. No rain back in Houston while we were gone, so grass it getting brown.

For next year, we finally made the leap and booked not only the 12 night cruise on Norwegian Spirit, but also the TransAtlantic on the Spirit, so we'll be on her for 26 nights. It leaves from Port Canaveral, FL and has a couple of stops over 14 nights, but mostly sea days. We did get the UDP included and only had to pay tips in advance, so plan to eat in the specialty restaurants every night.

Thanks for the tip on getting away early in Mykonos, but from reading, I see where sometimes the ship docks there instead of tendering, so we'll see - should get some preference, as I plan to host the M&G, now keeping in touch with others and updating roll call. I did send a request to NCL, but have not heard anything - How did they contact you before the cruise?

Should be noted here that most of the "security" is just for folks to feel they are more secure by seeing "Port Security", "Airport Security", "Ship Security". I'm sure these top notch security people feel they are a big help, but in reality more than 90% of weapons, explosives, etc. get through the screening process with no problem. Think about all the possibilities if a terrorist organization wants to attack a specific area - Really, how hard would it be for a bad person to obtain a sea card to get back in to a port? Terrorist would probably even pay the $12 or 10 euros or 25 euros, as they are backed by Big Bucks many times.

Just be happy that with so many ports, ships, planes, airports, etc. they cannot be everywhere, so we have strength in numbers - terrorist make a hit, get their point across and move on. By us not showing the fear, apprehension, hatred, consternation and trepidation they want, we end up doing the things we want to do, even in a World of crazy events. Screening is good - It might even keep some bad guys out of areas we want to be safer.

Sure, the false security has a purpose - It makes many travelers feel better.

Travel Safe - Travel Smart - But Keep on Seeing the Wonders of the World

Not sure about the rest of you posting here, but I for one DON'T have a problem paying $$ versus having taxi drivers (or anyone else) that is not screened in some way to be allowed into an area that needs to be a secure area.

 

Think about it…..most ports do not let taxis into the secure area of a port. They must wait outside that area - unfortunately Livorno is a HUGE industrial port making that area quite a distance from the pier. Many other ports just aren't that big…… Istanbul is probably the easiest place to walk to a taxi, Athens is a bit further etc etc…….

 

As for rules changing…… security is security. Period. I don't know of any place where they have changed the rules so that they are no longer trying to be sure that their port area is secure. Especially in this day and all the craziness in the world. Most have stepped up security and the rules that go with it.

 

and lastly - tsk tsk Hank. I would not have taken you for a "rule breaker" :confused:

That would be wonderful if cruise lines had better cancellation policies - Going out to sea in the face of a hurricane should be something cruise lines allow for full refund too.

Wonder when cruise lines might get more responsible when making decisions at sea - or excursions - or during health crisis.

Maybe someday cruise lines and airlines won't make sick people participate or lose their cash.

When cruise lines or airlines decide to change or cancel a flight, they make it seem like not big deal - We want to make a change & big penalties

Come on guys - give folks a break to not head off in dangerous weather.

I think that is a great suggestion

I was just reading about these small planes flying over Alaska after having seen them when we were there in May. It seems this is the worse crash since 2013. There have been hundreds of crashes with these small planes. Much is related to pilot error, reading one place where it said there are "Old Pilots and there are Bold Pilots, but there are not Old, Bold Pilots". Of course there are many factors and transportation is limited in Alaska, with even their senator being killed a couple of years ago in a plane crash.

RIP Westerdam 8 & pilot.

Now, we hope HAL does the right thing, even though people sign off on liability and try to insulate themselves from the excursions they sponsor. No, it's not enough to say these people should have had travel insurance to cover such tragedies.

"www.cdc.gov/...Jan 20, 2015 - An average of five fatal occupational aircraft crashes and eight fatalities occurred per year during 2000-2010 in Alaska. Most of these crashes were due to weather, pilots ' loss of aircraft control and pilots' failure to maintain clearance from terrain, water or objects.

Terrible news. Lets hope for the best for the passengers.

 

I wonder if this was the Misty Fjords excursion? Scary thought - we were on the Westerdam and took a seaplane excursion in Sept, 2013 on a rare beautiful day in Ketchikan. Only had 6 passengers on our seaplane, so it might be a different one.

A great start for your review with photos & details.

Strange that we were both hacking and felt our sinusitis was just allergies or a cold at first. It seems that many on our Norwegian Jewel cruise, ending in May also found themselves with colds, allergies or sinusitis.

Anyway, when you feel better, hope we can find your very interesting review. Carolyn's was great too & we enjoyed reading all about your adventures, as we have now booked Spirit for May 2016.

John & Connie in Houston burb of (KW_Cruisers) Kingwood.

shifferds@gmail.com

We didn't have problems on Pride of American in 2014, but did find out how to navigate around management, who seemed to be the problem, not really the crew. I still remember asking the old lady manager to step aside, as our waiter was doing his job, when she was insisting that we were not to be able to sit at the same table, have the same waiter to bring our hors d'oeuvres and drinks on a daily basis - It's just not the way it's supposed to be (her job was to make us have a terrible dinner, while our waiter continued his excellent work each evening in the dining room). On the first day, when having lunch in the main dining room on POA, he told us they would have lobster that evening, but not announce it, so we saw him for dinner & it was the only evening for lobster.

It really is just a moving hotel, without a casino, not much in the way of entertainment after hula dancers become tiresome, but we always had a nice clean balcony cabin and a good breakfast and dinner, with our car waiting for us at each port. A great way to see Hawaii, especially compared to flying to each island, then finding the hotel every couple of days. The cruise cost less & was less hassle than flying on 4 flights & having 3 different rooms in addition to our Oahu flight & room.

Guess Americans are just not as patronizing or condescending as those from 3rd World countries. After all, those from the US have become accustomed to the lie, cheat and steal government policies, but don't accept them as well as other nationalities and occasionally stand up for what is right. Some countries just tolerate our ways for the financial benefits we bring them, as sad as that truth is to believe. I always wonder what these healthier, poorer, well-disciplined crew members think when they are serving the wealthier, larger, less fit pax from US, Canada, Australia & Europe.

Our review of our 29 day cruise just posted on CC site:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=505877

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks so much, Carolyn, for posting all the great photos and explanations of the various activities and food. The transportation, the tours - All Great!!

So, now I have my suitcase out, ready to go, but realize ours is 10 more months. Oh well, more time to plan, right?

Anyway, whenever you get a chance to let me know about some of the tour operators and details, we'll appreciate it. I did reserve our Naples tour guide, as she seems to be among one of the best in Europe - We are working with her on details, like if we're doing lunch in Positano or just going there for photo op, not a sit-down 25 euro pp lunch, then seeing Sorrento too on the way to either Pompeii of Herculaneum. Some in our cc group are wanting to hike up Mt. Vesuvius or go other places, but we should be able to pull together a group of 6 for Amalfi coast and visiting the ruins. Ada has all excellent reviews, with some really over the top, so 1 scheduled & 8 or 9 to go. After reading about your ventures from Toulon, we might just decide to go on a tour their too. We might go to see Flamenco dancing dinner show in Barcelona, as it looks fun. Our plan for Mykonos is about like yours, as we did DIY walking tour before there, but maybe we'll get lost on different streets this time. One of the really good tips you gave us was to get tickets for the water taxi and go to the other islands one day there.

Sure, we have a couples hours each evening to enjoy the various specialty spots for a couple of weeks. Maybe I'll take up drinking, so I can chill during the down time in the up time restaurants.

The upgrade uncharged specialties might be prepared correctly, but if not we'll just reorder and hope the 2nd time is a charm, not having to wait for it to be done right.

Hey, it's Europe with an Asian crew and a Viking (I mean Norwegian) staff. What could go wrong?

Hi fellow cruisers,

Must be I'm missing something, even though my prediction some years ago was that cruise lines would start charging for restaurants. Remember how we are already charged for meals as part of our fare? Remember how we pay an additional "service charge", which was originally shown as gratuities, which is now increased to $12.95 a day for each person over the age of 3, for our servers, etc., as well as the cruise line using some for the benefit of the crew.

Specialty Restaurants were then about $20 pp added. Then a package could be purchased to go to all the restaurants for a little bit less than if each was purchased as needed, but folks still paid the whole thing if not dining in a special restaurant each night. Then, gratuities were added to dining package, as those in special restaurants don't share in the service charge amounts already charged for some reason. Now, charges for dining have increased, so it seems like a good deal to pay in advance for dining, in case some want to try to get a special reservation instead of going to the regular dining rooms.

Even when they give me a "FREE" UDP for my 12 day cruise, I get to pay an additional $68 in advance to cover gratuities in addition to the service charges I will pay on a daily basis, just in case we've decided to be big tippers and leave 18%, but forget - for our convenience!

So, isn't the 3 day at over $60, not much different than paying $20 on days folks decide to dine upscale? Isn't the small increase for added days of over $20 per day added, not really just a small charge? So, sure it's a good deal, but not for everyone, not all the time! Just the spillage (people who for some reason cannot use the service & tip they pay for in advance) is enough to support a 3rd World country. But where do the amounts not used really end up? Could it be the same place the funds are routed for people who cancel too late and then their cabin is sold to someone else, where the airline refunds are routed when people are told they cannot get their money back as they cancelled too late and should have bought 'cancel for any reason' insurance?

Even if they gave me the UBP, I don't think I could drink enough for the cruise line to dazzle me into thinking paying more for everything is really a wonderful idea for all of us, just because we can and should, to pad their bottom line.

Specialty Dining Packages are available via pre-sell or onboard purchase on days 1 and 2 of the voyage only. On 3-day sailings, the package is only for sale on day 1. Specialty Dining Packages are not available on 1- and 2-day sailings. An 18% gratuity and specialty service charge will be added to the package price. No kids pricing available. Specialty Dining Packages are non transferable. No refunds are available if fewer restaurants are visited. Carlo's Bake Shop items, Ice Cream Bar, Gelato, Chef's Table, Special Occasion/Holiday menus (New Year's, Christmas, etc.), à la carte priced restaurants, entertainment based restaurants, Bayamo, Ocean Blue restaurants, and beverages are not included as part of Specialty Dining Packages. You may choose to dine in the following venues as part of your Specialty Dining Package for the corresponding upcharges: The Supper Club ($15), Ocean Blue ($15), Bayamo ($10), Cirque Dreams and Illusionarium ($10 regular seats/$15 premium seats/$35 VIP seating on Breakaway), Sushi Bar ($7), Pincho Tapas Bar ($7), and Raw Bar ($7). Specialty Dining Packages include one main course per person at Cagney's and Le Bistro restaurants. Additional main courses will be charged at $10.00

That's what I wondered too - like what is the difference in the balcony cabins?:

BC Balcony

BB Balcony

BD Balcony

But what are the differences between them?? Some look the same, but evidently there are some differences?

You've touched upon a concern for many first time cruisers, as well as those having read all the really terrible reviews about NCL food. We have the UDP on our upcoming cruise in May, but didn't have it for our 29 day cruise on Jewel, which we just completed last month. NCL included it for us for just the gratuity, so we took it. See AARP specials for discounts and bonuses

We were given a coupon for the Italian restaurant on Jewel at one of the cruise sponsored cocktail parties - The Osso Bucco was wonderful (melt in your mouth tender, so guess they cooked it right to bring all the flavor through, Mmmhh Yum)

Most nights we ate in the main dining room (many fine meals) or the pub, which had great prime rib - pork ribs - (varied special nightly) or the asian restaurant that is now comp on all NCL ships. Now, here's the trick, which Connie used a couple of times - if undecided, she ordered both appetizers or entrees - they'll bring what you want - More if you want or a different order. According to the Hotel Director and Restaurant Director, they aim to please - And I must say they did! Every Day All Day and All Night. When we got home Connie missed not being able to go for pub food late at night (they were 24/7)

Thank you for such a great review! I'm so excited for our cruise next May! I'm going to ask DH to print this so I can go through and copy from you.

 

I have a bank question -did you get the list of compatible banks from BoA?

 

Did you feel like you got a lot from the UBP? I'm considering changing my booking to either get the UDP or the UBP. The current promo requires us to pay the gratuities on it plus we'd have to give up our obc we initially got. We aren't big drinkers and DH does coke not Pepsi so not sure it would be worth it for those few drinks we would have. Did you have any problems getting reservations for the specialty restaurants? We weren't going to do the dining package since I figured a lot of nights we'd be tired from all the touring but now I'm concerned about the free dining spots. This will be our first ncl cruise so not sure what to expect food wise.

 

Again, thank you so much for such a great review!

Thanks for all the wonderful photos and reviews, Carolyn. Almost like not having to go this next year, but I want to go anyway ;)

My plan before was to stay at Best Western Olympia in Venice - Did you see it or have any better idea of a place to stay for an extra night in Venice? The cost seemed a bit high on rooms in Venice, but at least the euro is getting in line with USD. How about Hotel Danieli in Venice?

Staying in Barcelona we usually stay at Hotel Montecarlo, which is right on La Rambla and close to transportation, etc. If the team wins and a party breaks out, it's right in front of this hotel too.

Glad to hear you liked the Flamenco dancers, even though not in the right part of Spain - but, Hey, maybe they don't know. :confused: That's the stuff people on cruises miss - the nightlife. Fado in Portugal, lighted fountains of Rome, Florence & Barcelona. Of course, on the other hand, nice to not have to pack and travel every day to a new place, while sleeping as the ship moves and enjoying relaxing evenings aboard.

Oh, almost forgot - Are the crew mainly Filipinos, like on other NCL ships?

Hi All,

You may remember me from the planning stages, when I had things all set then we had friends drop out and Connie decided against it too while still able to make a change without penalty. Our 29 day replacement cruise was great fun from Houston through Panama Canal and all the way to Alaska.

I've really enjoyed reading the great reviews & photos, Carolyn, as I hope to schedule this cruise for 2016 in May. Thank you.

A couple of questions: Were most of the pax English speaking Americans or Brits or Canadians or Aussies? Did they announce things in more than one language aboard?

Of course I had some great private tours lined up and will try to get them again but wondering if you would do anything different?

Thanks for feedback - shifferds at gmail com

John from Kingwood aka KW_Cruisers

Did you both shower at the same time to have that much fun?

Carolyn,

Thank you for a wonderful job already. Your photos are great.. do you do this professionally?

 

We are doing this same cruise on July 6th and are also flying in to Paris for a few days prior. We found a nice apartment on Air BNB at a fraction of hotel costs. This could be a mirror of our trip :p

 

 

I love your attitude. A lot of the reviews I have read would have complained bitterly about something like this :rolleyes:

 

Cheers