Tree_skier

I prefer balcony's with the rare suite thrown in. However, when I retire I might be inclined to switch to insides in order cruise more often. I'm considering booking a short Navigator one for Sept but DW doesn't really want to go because we will have just been on Ovation from Alaska. I'm looking at single pricing and there are some decent prices for singles.

3 to 4 depending on how much you get it for. Soda is $3.

Dear Lord some people are uptight!

No my seats were at the front of the top level, if that makes any sense describing the location. I'll certainly try I again. Maybe I had an off night.

We are newbie NCL cruisers and we are booked on Pride of America in Dec. Our booking includes 150 minutes of wifi. I doubt that that will be sufficient for me so I intend to upgrade. What is the difference between the standard wifi and premium wifi.

We care deeply about our friends 🙂

In my ideal world I look like Chris Hemsworth

I just thought it was weird and I got bored. I guess I'm in the hate it category.

Following 🙂 I love live reviews. 🙂

Since we're talking about halftime... 🙂 The greatest halftime show ever!

I'd be fine with cruise lines increasing the price to include it in the overall cost of the cruise. Since they do not, I'm not concerned about $100 a week that currently gets added to the bill. If service was so horrendous that I could not justify the $100 I guess I could have them removed but I can't imagine a degree of service so poor that went unresolved that would justify that action.

I just booked a cruise on NCL. Navigating their version of the cruise planner is way worse than Royals. I let my TA do all the booking stuff so I didn't experience that part but I have booked online with Royal in the past and it is a piece of cake. I'm sure the OP will be very happy to go back to Carnival.

Yesterday's conspiracy theory is today's headline. 🙂

Blasphemy! How can you not like tight athletic bodies and in skin tight body suits!

This was the part I read and was wondering how it worked. It seems the POA has different rules than the other NCL ships. Their doesn’t appear to be a premium plus plan on that ship.

We are veteran Royal Caribbean cruisers who are trying our first NCL cruise. We are booked on POA and I am trying to understand the Hawaii beverage package that was included with our booking. I am used to just being able to order anything and everything I want and only worrying about the cost of drinks that exceed the maximum $13. I rarely exceeded that $13. NCL's package goes to $15 so all is good. However, It appears that NCL HBP only does not include Latte's, which I love in the morning, and my wife drinks repeatedly all day, unless ordered in the main dining room. My question is can you just walk into the MDR and order a latte and walk out with it without having a meal? What about at the buffet, is there any option for lattes or cappuccino there? What is the MDR hours that would allow this? What about in specialty restaurants? Does the package include specialty coffee there? I'm sure I'll have more questions later on but this is good first start. Thanks for the help. 🙂

I imagine there might be a little less restraint than had I been paying cash for everything but I’ll find out for sure on my next one in August to Alaska. This will be our first cruise as diamond. I’m going to use the vouchers for the expensive drinks and pay cash for for Latte’s and bottles of Strongbow I drink. Also, I have preordered a 24 pack of water for the room. I’ll total up the cost and compare it to the $66 a day I would have spent on the package. That will determine my future decisions.

It distinguishes between fresh from concentrate and fresh from an actual orange.

Once you have tried their fresh squeezed OJ. It is hard to go back to that yellow liquid they call OJ in the windjammer. 🙂

Oh there is no doubt that the refreshment package is cheaper. I was just explaining how I get and calculate value for the DBP. On my last cruise aboard Odyssey in February I had the DBP and I got it for $60 a day. My week long total, if calculated as paying cash, would have been over double that (8x60=480). My point is that you don't have to stagger around drunk all day to get great value out the DBP. I sleep in, and don't stay up till 2am and still get very good value out of the package.

One of my strategies is asking for a bottle of water when you order a drink. Over the course of the first few of days I like to load my cabin refrigerator with waters so that I have plenty for the entire week. On port days I load up my rucksack with with waters for both myself and DW and we stay well hydrated during any tour/excursion we are on. At $3 a bottle it really helps take a chunk out of the overall cost of the DBP. Another strategy, if you like OJ, is to make sure you always order the fresh squeezed OJ from one of the servers in the Windjammer at breakfast. If you are an OJ snob like me you will really appreciate the difference between what they serve to the masses vs. the good fresh squeezed stuff. The OJ is $5 a glass one of those each morning also help to get good value. My final strategy for getting value out of the package is... DON'T DRINK WINDJAMMER COFFEE! Pick up a Latte or a Cappuccino in the morning before heading in to breakfast. The two weakest parts of Royal's beverage game are their regular coffee and the previously mentioned OJ. Stay away from them. Welcome to cruise critic.

It's a strategy... just not a very good one.

We did this exact itinerary in February 2022. I absolutely loved it. Odyssey is a great ship and there is plenty to do onboard so the sea days were no problem for us. Great entertainment, lots of great specialty dining options and a fantastic crew made it a trip to remember. Nassau is Nassau, we just walked around and shopped a little and then were back on board for a late lunch at Playmakers. However, Aruba and Curacao were great stops that we enjoyed very much. I did a sort of semi-live review back in February if you want to take a look. Also, if you have any specific questions I'd be glad to answer anything. EDIT: I just noticed that yours goes to Labadee instead of Nassau. That will be a great trip, enjoy!

Thank you. I’ve been absent from this one for quite a while now too.

As always great live review