Cruising89143

We had issues on the Solstice in April. The lady in the stateroom next to is loved the “F” word. She screamed at the top of her lungs day and night. I think she liked the go go juice a bit too much. They were rude and crude. 

Had wings today at a local restaurant. Six wings was $18.99. The RCI prices are a bargain.

1 hour ago, tomtcruise said:

What other media?

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/norwegian-cancels-winter-program-in-europe-on-epic/

Our first cruise was on Norwegian Caribbean Lines (before they changed to Norwegian Cruise Line) on the MS “Starward” in May of 86 out of Miami to the western Caribbean for seven nights. The price for two in a standard outside stateroom was around $3000.00. No balconies on the ship at that time. I don’t recall the brochure price but the room was tiny. I remember almost being able to touch both walls with my arms spread when standing in the center of the room. The standard bathrooms today look like palaces compared to the ones back then. 
 

There is very little that I miss from cruising during that time. 

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

We don’t make  bookings we don’t intent to take either.  We do frequently book suites and we book 18 months or more out.  A lot can change is that time which could make the trip not possible   We recently booked a cruise in a SS with a NRD the price difference to book a refundable deposit was an additional $4,100 more (25%) 

Not a premium I’m willing to pay. 

 

Agree. When we book a cruise we book with the full intention of going but “life”happens. Things can change which can require a person(s) to change their plans. Not a chance that I’m willing to take. Someone also posted above asking if you lose your full deposit if you cancel. With their new policy RCI is taking your full deposit for canceling a suite booking even if you want to just change sail dates. You can bet X will follow with the same policy. 

27 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Pricing in pic for Navigator Sept 27, '23. GS $6641.10 for 2 people - not a deal IMHO. 

Agree. We booked/cruised three RCI cruises last October and all were in a GS. Two of the ships did not include Wi-Fi which we had to purchase. On the Symphony we had use of CK and Wi-Fi was included. I realize that all ships do not have CK but RCI needs to up the perks to at least include Wi-Fi in full suites on the older ships. I find their prices to be higher than Celebrity at times who gives full suites Wi-Fi, butler service, OBC, gratuities and Luminae. 

17 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

That’s unfortunate, and quite a big $$ difference. We did an onboard booking in Feb, then booked a Sky Suite on Beyond on its Nov 2024 TA. Paid $100pp deposit. With new rules that deposit would be about $1,200 (for 2). 
 

We have every intention of doing the cruise but life sometimes happens. With the new rules we would not have booked it. At least we are grandfathered in.

 

mac_tlc

The big difference with X versus RCI is that Sky Suites receive entrance and full use of the Retreat and Zenith’s no longer have access. Sky Suites are considered a full suite whereas the JS currently does not. I can see why X moved to this position for all suites. 

On 5/21/2023 at 4:54 AM, ISABELLA said:

We are back from our first Haven cruise. Lots of pros and cons. 

 Will post our opinion shortly. 

 

Looking forward to your comparison between the two. We cruised on Bliss in the Haven shortly before the pandemic. Will be interested in your take on NCL and the Haven.

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

IMHO, the only thing Miami currently has going for it is the number of different cruise lines, demographic levels, and itineraries that it supports relative to PC. Adding Princess to PC may help a bit, but their PC itineraries are unimaginative at best and the reality is that Princess (since it was acquired by Carnival) is just another RCL/Carnival/MSC clone from an experience perspective. The only line out of PC that is showing any imagination right now is RCL with longer cruises sailing to Bermuda, the ABC islands and other ports that typically don't show up on PC itineraries. If PC really wants to keep its "title", it needs to attract more lines that elevate the cruise experience - not just replicate it, and show some imagination in where they sail. Celebrity would be a good start, and something like Silversea or Regent would be even better.

Miami has a lot going on with new terminals. They will be taking that title back. Not crazy about either port but Miami is building. I read that PC is looking to add another terminal over the next two to three years as well. 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2022/03/msc-breaks-ground-on-new-miami-cruise-terminal/

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/28b-royal-caribbean-portmiami-deal-gets-green-light

Mailed mine in three weeks ago. It arrived in two days. Expedited. Check was cashed the day after they received it. Hoping to have it back within the next few months. You can check the status online….https://passportstatus.state.gov

8 hours ago, Ashland said:

Any idea what they'll be doing? She looked great the last time we were on her.

General routine maintenance. Nothing special. It will only be in dry dock for about two weeks. I was told that this was the only shipyard available since the ship is on the west coast. A good amount of travel time to and from Singapore. 

It will be in dry dock. Heard that from several crew members last month. The ship will be traveling to the Sembawang shipyard in Singapore which is why it’s has the month of March zeroed out for cruises. 

We had MSC YC booked five or six times but all during Covid and all sailings were canceled due to the pandemic. We were anxious to try them but after having to deal with their customer service reps in FLL trying to obtain refunds we changed our mind. Incompetent and downright rude. I have read that one should stick to the YC. We found the same situation on the Norwegian Bliss just before Covid hit. We loved the Haven but outside of the Haven, the ship was a zoo. 

7 hours ago, Ethanol95 said:

do you have a source?

My source was a UK travel site that attended the tour where Bayley was present and spoke. It was posted on an RCI group on Facebook. I’m not linking it here as it might be in violation of CC. 

43 minutes ago, Coralc said:

I think it will probably go away. 3 cruises, and we still haven't been in there. I'm not really a fan of Promenades anyway. 

It’s been packed on our last four or five cruises. Personally I will take the R bar or the Viking Crown. I’m not a fan of sweet cocktails. It has a nice atmosphere. 

Read an article this morning that stated Michael Bayley alluded to a possible seventh Oasis class ship after Utopia on the media tour of the Icon yesterday. 

We were back on a few weeks ago. Food is gone in the Bamboo room. Drinks only.

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

well I have a heard a lot DO want this class ship.  She can do trips to Hawaii then

They can want all day long. The O class does not tender. That leaves out Catalina Island and I have doubts that it could fit into Ensenada or many of the Mexican Riviera ports if any at all. Cabo is a tender port. Also, there is no current terminal out here that could handle this size ship. Won’t happen for many years if ever. Also, there’s nothing keeping RCI from doing cruises to Hawaii now with the NV. 

41 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

And the folks on west coast continue to wish one of the big girls would come to them. So again they are disappointed and rightly so.

Not all of us want an O class out here. I like the NV just fine. Was back on an O class in October (SYM) and it reminded of me of why I stopped cruising on them. 

There is no charge for the movies on the pool side screen. She is confused and must be referring to the TV in her stateroom.

We were there last year twice on a side by side cruise. The first was the Freedom only which had around 4300 give or take. The next week we were back on the Symphony along with the Independence OTS. The total was around 9500-10,000 with both ships. It wasn’t bad but we could definitely tell a difference from the prior week. It was doable but get off when the ship docks and find your choice of chair/umbrella. 

We did this tour some time ago on the EQ. There are a LOT of steps in some of the towns like Positano. Also a lot of walking (Pompeii) and if it’s hot as it was on our visit then it will be even more strenuous. 

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Gotcha. The world of comps is completely new to me but I totally agree with you about flying. After our fiasco with American back in March and nearly missing the boat as a result, I’m done with flying for a while as well. We leave out of Ft. Lauderdale in November and though we would normally fly in from ATL, we are breaking up the 12 hour drive over 2 days instead. 

Unfortunately we caught Covid on our Symphony OTS cruise last October and we had the flight from hell from Miami to Palm Springs. Since then I will only drive to Los Angeles. 🙂 We have turned down numerous offers from X on cruise from Alaska. I remember your adventures of flying from ATL to LAS. Many of us were following your every move. 

8 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Good to know. That disclaimer is/was not visible nor has the question been asked at this point, anyway. I will keep an eye out for this. If so, I would not qualify as my last Celebrity cruise was early March. 

🙂 You would not know until you tried to accept the offer. We have other offers from MSC and Virgin but we’re not willing to fly for a cruise at this time. RCI sends us offers weekly. Much better than what X sends us weekly. 

You cannot accept an offer on URcomped if you have sailed or booked a cruise within twelve months on a specific cruise line and in this case it would be Celebrity. There will be a process where you will have to answer those questions in order to accept the offer. It will reject you if you answer that you have cruised in on X within the last year.