ms.sunburn

On 12/18/2023 at 9:36 PM, bigal3967 said:

How is the Wi-Fi on the ship. We cruised on Grandeur last year and could not even use it in our room. Took forever to upload when we could find a place to use it. 

That depends on how many people are trying to access it at the same time. We were on Allure last week and I chose to purchase the Wi-Fi for the final day of our sailing due to an unexpected missed port. I guess a lot of the others on the ship were doing the same because sometimes I couldn't get it to work at all, even with Starlink.

On 10/28/2023 at 12:49 PM, poleman88 said:

Just used Airport Canaveral and it was seemless. Highly recommended 

I've just booked them for our December cruise. I liked that they had a lot of pickup times available and they had pictures of the what the shuttles look like.

16 hours ago, Ashland said:

Our favorite !!!

I have a question about Cruise Control. I've looked at their private shuttles but they only offer specific pickup times (i.e. 8:30 am, 10:30 am, etc). Does anyone know if those times are flexible? For private bookings can we pick a different time?

12 hours ago, Corby114 said:

The car rental return is basically drop off and go. I suggest you get an early start so it doesn't take you too long to be away from your family. I personally try to return the rental vehicle before 10:00AM when the line isn't too long.

Awesome! That's what I was thinking. Thank you so much for your help.

1 hour ago, Corby114 said:

The Cape Canaveral rental car locations are very busy on cruise turnaround days. What I normally do is drive over to Port Canaveral first, drop off family and luggage and then drive back and return rental vehicle. If the shuttle bus line is very long I call the local cab company or Uber for transportation back to Port Canaveral. When I arrive back at Port Canaveral I then check in at the terminal with my family.

Thanks Corby114. This is great advice. Is the actual car rental return more or less a drop and go or is there a line to do that as well?

I've booked a rental from Budget which I'm planning on dropping off at the Port Canaveral location before I board our ship.  There are 4 ships in port that day so I'm sure it will be slammed. Has anyone dropped off a vehicle at this location and if so, what was the experience? I'm wondering what the wait time to drop off a vehicle might be so I can plan accordingly. Is it drop and go or is there a long wait to drop off?

I thought the cruise line check in part was efficient. It was the lines for security and customs that were horrendous. International passengers (not from the US or Canada) were directed to different lines that looked much smaller. If you’re holding an international passport that does seem to be an advantage. I’ve spoken to a lot of people on the ship about how long it took to board and it seems the earlier they got to the port the less time the wait was. No one asked about the assigned boarding time if that’s a concern.

4 hours ago, HenkNetherlands said:

I've cruised twice with NCL now, once on the Bliss, once on the Dawn. Both were an absolute pleasure thanks to the crew, and super friendly and engaging fellow passengers. I haven't seen any problems with drunk passengers, my guess is because people aren't trying to hit the drink limit like on Carnival and RCL, because there isn't one on NCL. + both cruises were a week or much longer so you'd have to pace yourself if you want to make it to the end of the journey, unlike the 2-5 night party cruises.

I've had the same experience HenkNetherlands. Of all of the cruises I've taken, the 3 on NCL have been my favourite. I haven't seen any out of control drunken behaviour. I love the vibe on those ships. Lots of energy and good fun.

On 10/7/2019 at 3:30 PM, MitchNY said:

We have a cruise planned and we are hearing horror stories and tender times. Can you share how long of wait your had on tender times

We didn't have any trouble at all with the tenders at either Mykonos or Santorini. They were fast and efficient. I don't recall waiting at all for the tender either way. There were 5 ships in Santorini the day we got there. The dock was a mess but the tenders were fine. Mykonos seemed to be able to distribute the arriving volume of passengers much better than Santorini.

We stayed one night pre-cruise here: http://www.internazionaledomus.com/ right next to the Spanish steps and a metro stop. Post-cruise we stayed here: https://www.interno7luxuryrooms.com/ which was great for shopping. I'd highly recommend both. Neither were overly expensive.

On our visit last week there were 5 ships in port. We were the last ship in and the last ship to leave. The line for the cable car was insane so we opted for the speedboat. They got us where we needed to go but not without headaches. The boat drops you off at the base of a steep hill and you have quite a hike up to the bus that brings you into Oia. The return trip to Fira  runs every couple of hours. The bus meeting point was a disorganized mess. Oia was completely overwhelmed with tourists. We could barely move on the narrow streets. The line for the cable car back down was so long we opted to walk down the donkey path. That was the most peaceful part of the day!

It may be worth it if you take it directly from Piraeus. We opted to take the subway into town. It was a 35 min walk from where the ship docked to the metro station in the heat and heavy traffic. We took the HOHO bus from downtown Athens but spent most of the tour stuck in traffic in the narrow roads leading to the Acropolis. The only thing I enjoyed in Athens was shopping and lunch in Plaka.

We were just in Mykonos last week. There were quite a few ships in port. Some of the passengers were tendered into the old port and some into the new port. There are boats that shuttle you from each port directly into town for a couple of euros if you don't want to walk it. You shouldn't worry about it.

Rhodes is so easy. Walk off the ship directly into town. The shopping is plentiful and much cheaper than some of the other Greek islands (Santorini, Mykonos).

I think you made the right choice with the Epic. I've sailed both ships and both are nice but I'd give the Epic the edge.  I've been to almost all of the caribbean ports of call and Ocho Rios would be dead last on my list of those I'd like to visit again. Grand Cayman was nice.

I've sailed the Jade, Breakaway and Epic. Though I liked them all probably my least favourite was the Breakaway. Balconies were small, smoking section was more offensive than the others, there was a constant leak in our cabin that they couldn't fix. The Jade and the Epic were both fantastic, though I'd give the edge to the Jade. Just the perfect size and great outdoor dining off the back of the ship. The itinerary (Italy & Greek Islands) is the best I've done.

Just off the Norwegian Jade. They did not take down the door decorations. There were lots.

If you want to bring a bottle or two of your own wine, pack it in your suitcase. We did that and it made it to our room just fine. We found also that if you buy more than one bottle at a port and bring it onboard that they will tell you to check the alcohol at a separate desk. When you go to the desk you can produce a single bottle of wine to be checked and take the other back to the stateroom. Believe me, we bought enough wine onboard to make up for the few bottles we brought, but it was nice to get a break on a few bottles! I didn't book the drink package (big mistake).

 

Dan.

I have the ultimate respect for Captain Busto. We were aboard during Irma and he did a fantastic job explaining what was happening twice a day. Good luck to everyone cruising. Like us, you're likely to experience most of your problems after your cruise, not during. Poor Puerto Rico. I feel for everyone there.

We have stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan, Marriott Stellaris & Doubletree San Juan.

I did not like the Sheraton. I paid extra for a room with a view and they put me in a room facing the parking garage. When i complained they didnt even apologize & put me in a lesser room that faced a different direction.

Had very good stays at both the Marriott & Doubletree. Marriott would be my first choice as it has a good location in Condado.

Doubletree is a good choice if youre looking for a one-night stay pre-cruise. It has a grocery store across the street that is fully stocked with beer, wine & every kind of spirit you need. Pool area is small but nice, free wifi and a starbucks next door. Staff excellent. Its not too far from the airport, the pan american pier or the wonderful plaza las americas mall.

Due to cancelled flights we have been stuck in San Juan since our ship docked on Saturday. Earliest flight we could get out is Wednesday. Puerto Ricans have been incredibly resilient during this time and have been very gracious. Our hotel, the Doubletree, has had full power for our entire stay. We've enjoyed the restaurants, beaches, malls & casinos. I consider myself very lucky to have been 'stranded' here and wish only the best to everyone on this island and the rest of the areas affected by hurricane Irma.

We've sailed Carnival x5, Princess x2, Norwegian x2 and Royal Caribbean x1. We used to enjoy Carnival until we had a bad experience that wasn't handled well on our last cruise. Princess is a little too staid for us. Royal Caribbean is getting too expensive for what they offer. Norwegian is our current favourite because it offers the freestyle dining which we love combined with a bit of liveliness at a good price with good itineraries. I'd love to try Celebrity one day. It sounds like a lot of people's favourite on this board.

I've never purchased insurance for any of the trips I've taken.

A few weeks ago, the day after disembarking from the Breakaway, my mother-in-law got sick and passed away unexpectedly. We had no warning this would happen.

Had this happened one week earlier we would have had to get off the Breakaway in Bermuda and fly home at our own expense.

Had this happened two weeks earlier our whole cruise, including the 4 days we booked in NYC, would have been cancelled.

So I've changed my mind about insurance. Next time around I'll suck it up and pay the extra.

We will be on the BA in October. I have a cabin in the aft and plan on smoking out on my balcony when the ship is in motion. My smoke will go behind the ship, just like the smoke coming out of the ships smokestack. I always put cigarette out in a glass of water, so no chance of fire. Deal with it people !!!

You would think so, but that's not exactly true. My daughter, who is a hairstylist, cut my hair in an aft balcony once. We got some hair on a towel and decided to just shake it off the back of the ship thinking it would just blow away. Instead, it blew back towards the ship and stuck to everyone's glass balcony dividers. So your smoke is likely to do the same. Your neighbours are going to love you about as much as ours loved us.

Princess - attracts people who think they're getting a luxury cruise at mass cruise prices.

RCI - attracts people who pay more for the same thing other cruise lines offer.

Carnival - the same as the other two with no attitude.