NMTraveller

24 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Dang, looks like there aren't any somewhat affordable sailing like NCL that go to Rangiroa

HAL does.  Part of a much more extensive itinerary ...  Not a bad price.

56-DAY TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC (hollandamerica.com)

They stop at Bora Bora also.

57 minutes ago, zitsky said:

It’s Grgich.  They made the Opulence.  But I’ve read some reports that it’s getting hard to find.

What?  They could not afford to put any vowels in?

Do they have a Gingrich Hills or Caymus on board?

Perhaps they are doing you a favor by losing the Duck😁

I would prefer to cruise out of Tampa myself ...

On 7/6/2022 at 9:57 AM, MamaFej said:

We do, too. The ones for the dogs even have cute little doggie icons on them. I was just offerering information for the person who asked where else to buy them. 

Thanks for chiming in, I think the engraving information may be helpful to others. 

LOL.  I just purchased one for our dog...

47 minutes ago, zitsky said:

With the new port I wonder if the boarding line has gotten better?

 

In Civitavecchia it was well organized.  In Valparaiso it was not quite chaos but it was not well organized.

 

I hope in Benoa there is a Retreat line or do I have to start waving my Gold Amex to move to the front of the line?  No they don’t give that to anyone who breathes.  Where did you hear that?

How will you transport to the port? Rickshaw or moped?  🤣😂😁😃

I think that it varies from cruise to cruise.

Our cruise was sold out, but some people always cancel at the last minute.

We won the bid from an inside to balcony.  Our bid was about in the middle.  It was in the first part of the green.

My guess is that the lowest inside cabins are the easiest for the cruise lines to resell at the last minute.  

Our bid was about half of the additional it would have cost if we would have purchased it from the beginning.

Bid what you are comfortable with spending on the upgrade ...

YMMV

Apple Air Tags are the best.

On my last trip, the airlines left one of my bags in Amsterdam and it did not make it to Bucharest.  Once I landed I noticed that the bag was still in Amsterdam.  After going to baggage check and verifying this,  I was the first in line to report the missing bag.  There were about 10 others behind me.  I figure that it saved me about 45 minutes of standing in a long line while on vacation.

2 hours ago, C4HCG said:

We would love celebrity to sail to Guadeloupe, UK posters here will probably guess why.

Why?

1 hour ago, Cruise Junky said:

I’m still trying to figure how NCL got an exemption for Bora Bora. 

I am not sure.  Perhaps they had a previous agreement with Bora Bora that is still in effect?  They did have a smaller cruise ship that went there,  but the ship was sold during covid.  I did have a booking on that ship before it was sold.  I also had a booking on Windstar.  The NCL ship does have a rather nice itinerary.

35 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

"Stuff" happens and we all need to incorporate contingencies in their vacation planning.

Like travel insurance and flying in a day early 🤣🤣🤣

Sorry I just could not resist 😁

I think the OP was referring to my snarky post.  😉

On our last cruise there were no weather issues and yet people still managed to miss the embark on the first port.

What is the corkage fee per bottle?

If the worst that happens is you get charged a fee,  what is the issue?  I would much rather drink local wine (in most areas) than shipboard California wines...

26 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The maximum passenger size is 1200 

Hmmm.  NCL has a ship going there.  Norwegian Sun with about 2000 cruisers.  I may have to do it on Windstar...

For myself Bora Bora is a must.

4 hours ago, Chrisclaire said:

Yes, as Wineaux007 said you do need a Visa

I know many had an absolute nightmare with this, but we after quite some time managed.

There was a whole forum on this back around the time of our cruise Oct 2023

Some very helpful info if you want to search back.

It was a very frustrating website & not user friendly 😑 

It may however have improved 🤪

Enjoy!

My recollection is that we had difficulties uploading the passports...

After I put the passport on a scanner (flat)  and scanned it, it finally went through.

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

Are visas required for Bali if you fly in from the USA through Singapore?

 

Can anyone comment about starting a cruise there in Benoa? Our Bali to Singapore cruise on 1/2/25 starts at that port.  We are in the Retreat so will that help with getting on the ship?  Do we wait inside or outside? How good is the porter service? It looks like a very small terminal.  

You are on the Millie correct?  Not that many cruisers to get on the ship.  

Our cruise ended at this port.  It was a bit slow in unloading off of the ramp.

22 minutes ago, Liao said:

Try Intercontinental it’s a very nice hotel and short drive to the pier 

That is the one we stayed at several years ago.  A very nice hotel.

If E class that is a whole new discussion ...

1 hour ago, tfred said:

then I wonder what they are really looking for then...

When I go to my local steakhouse it is a very good cut of meat cooked to perfection.  That is what I expect,  but I do not get it on a large cruise ship.  The chefs are serving too many people and the kitchens are too large.

3 hours ago, Liao said:

To me it sounds like they were short staffed.  As for the quality of the meats, while the OP does not say, I’d of definitely brought it to my servers attention anytime my meal was served unsatisfactory.

Same here.  On our last cruise Blu was understaffed ...

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

Food is reasonable, but there is a lot of 'nickle and diming' as you refer to. Even if you have say a beverage package, or a wifi, they'll still be trying to upsell you to the premium versions.

 

 

Even if you have the premium drink package you may be paying an upcharge for a good glass of wine ...

Celebrity is closest to Princess.

10 minutes ago, Liao said:

Not quite sure a 10 second elevator ride will quench that thirst.

But the Sky lounge or the rest of the ship will.  All views vs. very few views and only if you are in a suite ...

M and S class have plenty of views for everyone ...

Del

Try a river cruise.  For food and service it will beat anything that Celebrity and Royal have to offer except for entertainment and night life.

Or choose a more upscale line ...

We found the same on Millenium with fish.  The branzino in the specialty restaurants were very thin and overcooked as a result ....

1 hour ago, hcat said:

interesting..the glass elevators  with views out  make me " anxious"  ..like riding in a cable car

For some it is a view of the ocean which E class has little of...