happy cruzer

Anyone have details about the included beverages besides the ones in "The Galley"? At a bar, an you get juice/mixer? A Virgin Mary? Club soda? Sparkling water? What would the charge be? Just getting my expectations set properly. Thank you.

A bit off topic - How many cruises do you have booked? Even though they are going to the same ports in many cases. With the recent inflation, we decided to hold some cruises. We have 5 on hold, never had more than 2 before. And when we reprice them notice that holding them was a good idea prices are going UP. Try to get refundable deposits or deposits that will turn into future cruise credits if changes are needed. Also we currently have medical insurance that covers out of county.

Also remember if the airline makes a change to your flights, then you get to negotiate with them for a flight that makes you happy. Hope it all works for you!

Yes, it does not seem to be really matching but better than nothing. We are just Diamond and normally on RCI get basically unlimited access to the coffee machine in the Diamond lounge plus the 4 drink vouchers each (probably a $40/per person/day value). Compared to the Virgin of $10 per cabin Grounds club and bar tab ($100/cabin) which its nice but not a "match". Hope the entire experience "matches".

Thanks for the report of your walkabout in Miami. Looks very enjoyable. Have a great cruise!

A little different Aw Dang. My account seems ok but when I go to add a the 2nd sailor I get the Aw Dang after entering all the info. So I have now entered the info for the 2nd sailor a few times and still get the Aw Dang. It's not very cute now. Will give them a call.

Do you add the gratuities to the package price? Any advantage to calling a booking the package vs. buying it on the cruise? Any problems with nonavailabllity of wines that are listed? We had that happen once on another line and they would not substitute the missing wine with one of the same varietal. Really like that Cruise the Vineyards is an option. Thanks.

Hello, Need some advice. We will need to fly on Thanksgiving or the Friday after (cruise does not leave until Sunday) and then return Sat. Dec 4. Dallas to Miami, roundtrip. We do like Southwest; I know many do not. 🙂 Any advice on when to book? Right when the fares are offered? Any day better to fly - Thursday, Friday, or even Saturday? There are probably other things to consider but that all I can think of now. Thank you in advance.

Galveston seems to be very popular this year. I booked out of New Orleans at a bit more than half the price of a cruise out of Galveston which more than paid for air, etc.

Yes, make sure all the details are covered. Such as your doctor will provide the documentation. One person cancelled because of a broken leg and then their doctor would not provide documentation stating they could not travel. They thought just because they did not want to travel with a cast on that would be good enough. Also if your cruise is on Sunday, you could fly on Sat. vs. Friday as you plan. The insurance might require that you fly on Sat?? Do you have "Cancel for any reason" insurance? Might need to use it if you just decide you don't want to deal with the details. And as fshagan says a claim with take alot of time and alot of documentation.

Hopefully it all works out; no one posts when when things go well. We have used cruise air many times and yes it does help mitigate risk to fly one day early. BUT, even that is not guaranteed - there have been events that would require three or more days early to cover. So there never is a guarantee, just better probablities. Do you have travel insurance to cover the possible air delay/ trip cancellation? Do the things that you can and then relax and start enjoying looking forward to the trip and the trip itself.

To answer part of your question about normal protocol. If you deal with an issue on the ship, you might get Onboard Credit to use on the cruise. After the fact, you typically get future credit. Rarely do you get refunds, the lines hate to give back money. 200pp for discomfort three days out of 4 day cruise, I would take the FCC in writing and then use it or not. Sorry this happened and hope you got some information that was helpful by asking your question. Also think about travel insurance for more serious issues.

When I look in the app before the cruise, it just shows the countdown. All else listed in the app goes to the carnival website. So not much there before the cruise for me.

Dodging sheep. I have been off and on looking for reports on how crowded the Apex (and sister ships) are. I was on shortly after things opened up after covid with only about 700 onboard; yet the walking track and the martini bar were both crowded for many hours of the day. Loved our cruise; might be our favorite ever. But - still am very concerned it may be too crowded; some of the areas are a bit small for the number of passenger - Al Baccio and the club next to Martini Bar come to mind.

No experience ordering extra sides in the restaurants that list them? Thanks.

How about onion rings as a starter? Then soup or salad and an entree. How many sides are allowed? I could see wanting to order one of the potatoes, onion rings, spinach and broccoli. Probably skip dessert.

Tampa is a nice port. We did a RCI cruise last Nov. from Tampa. We enjoyed the city but we did have fog delay of 7 hours for cruise boarding - just like can happen in Galveston. Have great time!

Now, I am really confused. Have read reports that you have to use the app for reservations for breakfast (everyone) and for dinner if you have MTD. Some report being turned away if you want to just queue and wait, i.e. not use the app at all. We have traditional dining. Do we need to use the app at breakfast? at dinner? Maybe it varies by ship?

Well so people are being shamed for not embracing a "quirky" app? I downloaded it today to find out it is only useful onboard and only for one cruise. Other cruise lines apps have a lot more info. Totally respect people's desire not to be looking at an app vs. their surroundings. Indeed, some people like paper items such as cash. 🙂

Any one know what the charge is for sides? Probably would want a vegetable and rice. Thanks.

Yes, surely they know how empty the ship is and offer pricing to get it booked up an few weeks before sailing. But do they try to fill "no show" cabins?

Yep, if it is only for the dining room then they may not sell many packages. Some people don't even go to the dining room once. We like the package too and will remember to ask if you can use it a bars and specialty dining just in case it has changed.

It's true that booking air through NCL does take the initial routing control away from you. So yes we only use them when the savings are significant. Once things start changing, then you still have to deal with. From flight changes early on through changes on the day of travel. Can't relay on anyone else to take care of it. Getting refunds and insurance claims are frustrating. Booking the air yourself is no guarantee that the outcome will be perfect. Risk/reward is subjective. Each person has different. Many have gotten to where they refuse to fly because it is too risky and uncomfortable.

The time we ate at Moderno. It had the huge salad bar. The buffet style pans of different grilled meats. Nice atmosphere and nice food with no charge. Not much staff there, maybe 5/6 but they worked hard and made some good tips. I thought it was a very nice touch.

We had lunch in Moderno and in one other specialty many years ago on sea days. Listed in the daily for all passengers. Or am I confused? dreaming? We loved it. It was one thing that made NCL better than the rest. Anyone else?