steve50

Currently on the Magica and no issues with the food. Even with an extremely opinionated vegetarian in tow. We are in the club restaurant. I think the menu is the same as the MDR but great service and any time dining. The ship buzzed last night. We have a sea day tomorrow and plan to book another for November. Loved the Mediterranea in May.

 

Alicat

 

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I just booked a cruise on the Luminosa for Oct of 2019 what is ur impression of the ship any issues? do i have to learn to speak italian before i go on the cruise. How was the food, entertainment, shore excursions etc any feed back would be appreciated. Thank You and anyone else who has sailed on the Lumionosa

I think you are losing it Steve, second bad review on the same thread. Pay for view restaurants? I think you mean specialty restaurants, which are always full due to specialty dining being a frequent free perk.

By ur reply i assume u r not a member of RCI, that would be my first choice next i would check the internet for some agency's near u and do internet search on them if they r reputable it will come across in the response,s of previous clients. Or go directly to the cruise line they can help with anything u need done the reason for a TA is they get a commission so they want ur business and a good reputation at the time. Remember to go to vacations to go and see what is available if u find cheaper cruise RCI will match the price i am not sure if a TA will.

We just got back from a gem cruise and we hated it. First NCL cruise and it will be the last, the only reason we chose this cruise was my wife had never been to NYC and we spent a week after we got back from the cruise. If u go out of a cold weather port expect it to be crowded in the buffet and common areas because it is too cold to be on deck. The food was lousy way below what we expected so was the service, i think they do it on purpose to drive u to the pay per view restraunts. The minisuite was great and so was the cabin steward it made the trip tolerable. They wont give ua choice of paying cash for tips at the end of the cruise they take it out of ur card and u dont have a say, that is why the service is lousy they dont care because they have already been paid and they know it. From now on it will HAL or RCL

Just booked Gem for June. No seeing much posed about her. Making me nervous. This will be my 1st time on NCL. Usually do RC. Anybody been her recently? Would love hear the good & bad. thanks

 

 

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We just got back from an 10 day carribian cruise on the Gem and hated it, not so much ship but the food was lousy and the so was the service, they make u pay for tips upfront and u dont have a choice to pay cash it is already taken out. They also play this game called button button who's got the button except they do it with the food. If u r a late riser the buffet closes at 10.00am same with lunch and dinner and then u have to find where the put the left overs either on the aft deck or midships. I believe the reason for this is they want to pay extra for the pay per view restraunts. Also the entertainment was below our standards the best entertainer was Sean a one man band. We loved the cabin and steward was great but the rest of the crew didnt care because they knew they were going to get tipped. We will never do another NCL cruise

Glad I found this thread. We are avid cruisers who have 20+ cruises with Carnival under our belts but we are looking to try HAL.

 

We are now retired and we prefer a more sedate atmosphere. Our party days are in the rear view mirror for sure.

 

All of our cruises with Carnival have been booked direct with a PVP, I know please don't flame me.

 

My question is this, without breaking CC rules, how does one go about finding a reputable TA?

 

We live in Florida and we are within 6 hour drive to Miami and less to all other ports.

 

I am specifically looking at HAL for Panama Canal, and Inside Passage in Alaska, which I have done with Carnival but ready for a repeat on a different line.

 

We prefer a veranda a/k/a balcony cabin as we tend to spend a good bit of time out there mornings, afternoons and evenings.

 

I also enjoy the spa pkg to use the heated loungers during the week.

 

Would you suggest that we start off with trying a 7-day cruise first? I see HAL visits Half Moon Cay, our favorite beach, out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Thanks in advance.

Susan

HAL is the best way to go the ships are smaller less crowed, plus a lot more sedate than carnival. I also want to do a panama cruise, if u do it and i have talked to a lot of people that have, do a full transit meaning u go all the way thru and up one coast or the other. I have been told that the best one is leave out of florida and go to the west coast. U could also look for a repositioning cruise that will be in the first or last part of the cruise season where ships relocate to warmer climates. Look at vacations to go and find ur cruise then book with TA we used RCI but u can do some research and find a local if ur a not a member of RCI. I agree with the veranda only way to go.

I am looking at booking a cruise for my mother and I for March 2019. It will be a 7 day in the Caribbean and I believe the ship will be nearly brand new! It is the

ms Nieuw Statendam. We are wanting a Verandah room. Any recs on which deck? And where?

We have both only cruised once before, and my experience was less than stellar. It was on Carnival. I'm hoping that with the lack of the amusement type attractions on HAL, that there will not be as many kids as say on a Carnival cruise?

Also, where is the best place to actually book the cruise? Can I get a better price than I'm looking at on the HAL website? Should I go through a TA?

 

 

And yes, I'm reading the HAL for dummies post as well. ;p

If u are prone to motion sickness get a midships cabin, but remember to start taking meclazine 4 days before u sail it works for my wife every time, i am lucky enough to not have that problem but a lot of people do. I see a bunch of people wearing a patch behind their ear. We went thru RCI and they were great, helped with air and bookings along with hotels. U should be OK with not having connection problems but that is not a given, so it helps to go in a day early going home won't matter because ur house won't sail away if u don't make a connection. As far as the cabin the higher u are the closer u r to the buffet and pool decks

Since u r that far out i would go with a TA let them figure out the details. Just tell them what u want the only thing i would cautious of is flying in on weekend, flights get limited if u have a delay, that happened to us we were lucky to get to the ship before it left. We booked thru RCI they did a great job for us got us and upgraded cabin from a balcony to a mimisuite

U will love Holland america it caters to the older crowd, Carnival is too much of a party group, the veranda is a great option. If u are prone to motion problems try to get a midships cabin and start taking Meclizine about 3 days before u start cruising works for my wife every time. Stay away from Norwegian they have lousy food and service. I doesn't matter if u book or u use a TA the cruise lines pay the TA's commission but it docent effect the price u pay but they might get some added perks

I am looking at booking a cruise for my mother and I for March 2019. It will be a 7 day in the Caribbean and I believe the ship will be nearly brand new! It is the

 

ms Nieuw Statendam. We are wanting a Verandah room. Any recs on which deck? And where?

We have both only cruised once before, and my experience was less than stellar. It was on Carnival. I'm hoping that with the lack of the amusement type attractions on HAL, that there will not be as many kids as say on a Carnival cruise?

Also, where is the best place to actually book the cruise? Can I get a better price than I'm looking at on the HAL website? Should I go through a TA?

 

 

And yes, I'm reading the HAL for dummies post as well. ;p

U will love Holland america it caters to the older crowd, Carnival is too much of a party group, the veranda is a great option. If u are prone to motion problems try to get a midships cabin and start taking Meclizine about 3 days before u start cruising works for my wife every time. Stay away from Norwegian they have lousy food and service