mnocket

That's actually what I have done. For the first time I have booked on a luxury line (Regent). Even though it cost significantly more I now think it offers a better value than the degraded mainstream cruise lines.

Something tells me it's likely to get even worse before it starts to get better in the distant future😕

My vote is for MSC Yacht Club. MSC really does the whole "ship within a ship" thing well. It gives you an upscale experience with excellent service when you want it - and the option to explore the rest of the ship when you want more of a Carnival/party experience. Win - win.

I expect this will eventually be adopted by almost every cruise line.

cruiseplum.com

Wow. Lighten up people. OP's post title is no more misleading than the title of the article she linked to. Shouldn't one read the entire post - including links - before condemning the OP for spreading misinformation? Could the post title have been more complete? Yes, but this outpouring of condemnation is a bit overdone wouldn't you say?

There is no "best" cruise line for the South Pacific (or anywhere else). There is only the cruise line that is best for you - and without knowing more about what your priorities, budget, etc. are, no-one can give you much guidance.

LOL I initially read that as "A well-positioned fanny pat". Probably not a good alternative to tipping.😁

Unless they actually enjoy bitching, whining & complaining🤣

MSC is currently offering 80% off their single supplement. However, the only way I recommend MSC is to book the Yacht Club... I HIGHLY recommend the Yacht Club. You can economize by booking an interior Yacht Club room - in the Caribbean you really won't be spending much time in your cabin.

Probably should be, but passengers can lie about their mobility (even to themselves) whereas their age is certain. I've been on several tours where some of the participants were a real hinderance to the rest of the group. That said, I can sympathize with someone who is a fit 80+ being banned from an activity based solely on their age. Wish I knew a good solution.

I wouldn't say no coverage. My sapphire reserve card offers coverage for emergency medical evacuation of $100K. It's far from total medical coverage and I often supplement it with additional medical coverage, but it does cover one very expensive medical travel risk.

Those would be luxury lines - not to be expected on mass market lines like Celebrity.

Great tip! Google Maps also allows you to download city maps onto your phone. It's become part of my pre-cruise ritual.

Instead of monitoring the lounges all day long, it seems to me that all they really need to do is monitor in the morning when the chair hogs arrive early to "reserve" their lounges. It's the people who place a towel on the lounge at 8am and then disappear until after lunch that need to be stopped. Stop the "early bird reservation" practice and you've solved the majority of the problem. jmho

If the chair remains unoccupied for 40 minutes, the contents are removed and held for the guest’s safekeeping.” This policy is not new to Carnival, but it has not always been enforced. I hope this is extended to all CCL brands. https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-cruise-line-cracks-down-chair-hogs/

Ritz-Carlton's new luxury 'yacht' will begin sailing this week https://news.yahoo.com/ritz-carltons-luxury-yacht-begin-121600917.html

Here's a hidden gem about 4 blocks from the hotel. Alloy Bistro Gourmet https://alloybistro.com/

I love the Sanctuary on the Coral. It was great every day, but outstanding for the Panama Canal transit.

Actually of RCL, CCL & NCLH, only CCL is trading below it's Covid low (the others are headed that way😕. Your point is still valid..... confidence in the cruise industry is about as bad as it was during Covid when no ships were sailing. Their stocks are highly speculative now as some may very well go to zero - however, those that survive will eventually yield 2X, 3X, 4X sized returns from these prices.

Was that by any chance the Excellence? I ask because that's the one that caught my eye and we'll be giving it a try next Jan.

Same here. We did our first all inclusive resort vacation last year. Like you we choose Cancun. We had no idea what to expect. Turns out we too absolutely loved it! Totally relaxing. The cost of a high-end resort is comparable to what we are used to spending on cruises. We are returning to Cancun in January '23 for 8 days in the same resort and then spending another 8 days in a different resort that also caught our eye. If it wasn't for Covid we probably never would have tried all inclusive resorts. Our first post-Covid cruise is booked for Dec '23, but we will cancel if Covid restrictions are still an issue.

The Captain of the HAL Zuiderdam just informed the passengers that they will now be allowed to call on Bora Bora. Has something changed? ps I sure wish we could edit post titles 😕

Totally agree. Every cruise line web site I've used has been poorly designed and often plagued by bugs. The only reason I can see for this is that they simply don't put much value on their web sites. Perhaps the majority of their bookings come through travel agents? If not, maybe they want to drive customers in that direction. Maybe both.

After seeing how crowded the life boats are and imagining spending several days without the ability to move around - with people getting sea sick - with no bathroom facilities - with people behaving like people tend to do in uncomfortable situations..... I have to wonder, when the alarm sounds would I head to the life boats or the bar.🤔