Sigyn
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Posts posted by Sigyn
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8 hours ago, LHT28 said:
then take Celebrity
Awesome, thank you!
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2 minutes ago, drakes2 said:
That's exactly what it is. Extra OBC in addition to inflated prices. Celebrity has the gall to market it as 'Bigger and Better'?
Right, they say it's a discount, plus OBC, but the discount is the same that they were already offering.
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A cruise I pre-priced yesterday, before the sale, and today, with the sale, is the exact same price, but with an additional $600 of on-board credit since there are three of us sailing.
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11 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:
I doubt it, because at that point they didn't seem to want any interaction with pier staff. They were still in the disbelief/anger stage - not the 'how do we make this work' stage.
That's sad. People like that approach everything in life with that same attitude.
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I wouldn't call it a class system, but it is creating a divide between those who are willing to use mobile devices and other technology on board a ship and those who are not. Technology is designed to make things easier for passengers, so it's going to become increasingly more difficult to cruise without using it.
Change is difficult for some to accept, and this is one of those times that people will have to make the decision about what they are willing to do.
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2 hours ago, LHT28 said:
If your reason is to see Bonaire take HAL
Why is that? I see that there are three more hours on HAL, but we're going there to dive, and we'll be done diving in plenty of time with the Celebrity schedule in port from 8 am to 8 pm.
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13 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:
All in a day's work!
Another story was a party of 4 who when arriving at the check-in counter didn't have their negative Covid tests results. Apparently they took the test at Walgreens, but Walgreen's had not yet sent them the results. (There were significant problems with Walgreen's getting tests results out in a timely manner during the 2022 cruise season). These passengers were told that they couldn't be checked-in until we had a copy of their negative test result. They were also told that Walgreen's had been problematic, but that there was testing available on site, but they would have to pay out-of-pocket - about $100 each. These folks dug-in their heels and declared that they had taken the test at Walgreen's, and it wasn't their fault that the test results hadn't come thru yet, and that they were not going to spend $100 each to retake the test. Doors for this cruise line closed at 3 PM, and about 2:45 pm they decided that maybe they should take advantage of the on site testing. Unfortunately, at that point it was too late to get them to the testing area, get the results and have them back in time to board the ship. They were told that the window for doing all this was closed and that even though they had been in the terminal for hours awaiting their Walgreen's results, that they waited too long and they were being denied boarding. Well the phones came out recording staff and security, unpleasant things were said to security, a sit-down protest in the middle of check-in ensued, and it finally ended with the arrival of 2 Port of Seattle Police officers. Once they saw they the officers they left.
I had never seen anything like that, especially the sitting down on the floor with the phones out recording. It was crazy! And to add insult to injury, they probably didn't get a refund since they couldn't produce a negative Covid test result. I still shake my head at that one.
I wonder if they flew to meet the ship at the first port?
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3 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:
I would say it varies depending on the port and the cruise line. For example, during the 2022 at Pier 91 in Seattle terminal doors closed at 3 PM for Royal and Celebrity. Carnival had a 'hard close' at 3:20 PM. All were for a 4 PM sailing. Each season it's a little different. Do keep in mind that once the gangway is pulled, no one gets on the ship.
So, we had instances of passengers arriving late to the pier, the ship was still at the dock, but these poor passengers were denied entry to the terminal because they arrived after the 'hard close'. It's not a comfortable situation for shoreside staff, nor for the late arriving passengers. There was one incident where a couple of late arriving passengers rushed the locked terminal doors when the doors were cracked open to talk to them. The passengers rushed in past staff and made a beeline for the elevator. Security literally forced the elevator doors open, preventing the elevator from going up. Security had to remove and hold on to (at this point) the transgressing passengers' luggage to prevent them from getting to the already closed check-in area. While it makes for an interesting story, it wasn't fun to witness.
Yikes, that's awful.
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Which of these two itineraries would you choose, and why? This is for three people - my husband and myself and our teenager, who would be 16 at the time of this cruise for December 2023. The key port for us is Bonaire. It's my husband's favorite place to dive and he wants to show it to our teenager, who is recently certified. There's one other cruise during this timeframe (Holiday 2023) that goes to Bonaire and it's on Royal Caribbean but it places us at Bonaire on Christmas Day, so we've ruled that one out since we're doing a cruise this holiday season, too, and we've already learned it's harder to book things on Christmas Day (with good reason!)
The Holland America cruise is about $1,000 less for three people than the Celebrity. It's one day less, and Holland America is typically less than Celebrity. I'm interested in people's opinions on these ports, and what people think of Celebrity vs. Holland America. I've never cruised either, although we are booked on Celebrity for the first time next summer.
Celebrity
11 night - Panama Canal & Caribbean Holiday
Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 - Departs Fort Lauderdale
Ship: Celebrity Beyond
Day 1: Fort Lauderdale - departs 4 pm
Day 2: Day at Sea
Day 3: Christmas Eve - George Town, Grand Cayman - 8 am - 6 pm
Day 4: Christmas Day - Day at Sea
Day 5: Panama Canal - Cruising and then Colon, Panama - 5 pm - 9 pm
Day 6: Day at Sea
Day 7: Oranjestad, Aruba - 8 am - 11 pm
Day 8: Kralendijk, Bonaire - 8 am - 8 pm
Day 9: Willemstad, Curacao - 7 am - 5 pm
Day 10: Day at Sea
Day 11: Day at Sea
Day 12: Jan. 2 - Fort Lauderdale - 7 am
Holland America
10 night - Southern Caribbean Seafarer Holiday
Dec. 17- 27 - Departs Fort Lauderdale
Ship: Nieuw Statendam
Day 1: Fort Lauderdale - departs 3 pm
Day 2: Half Moon Cay - 9 am - 4 pm
Day 3: Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos - 11:30 am - 7:30 pm
Day 4: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic - 8 am - 5 pm
Day 5 - Day at Sea
Day 6 - Kralendijk, Bonaire - 8 am - 11 pm
Day 7 - Willemstad, Curacao - 7 am - 11 pm
Day 8 - Christmas Eve - Oranjestad, Aruba - 7 am - 4 pm
Day 9 - Dec. 25 - Day at Sea
Day 10 - Dec. 26 - Day at Sea
Day 11 - Fort Lauderdale - arrive 7 am
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Curious what the first thing you do when you board your ship for a cruise?
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Curious how late you can show up for a cruise and still be allowed to board.
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18 hours ago, Magicbar said:
For your Grand Cayman scuba, who did you book with? I will be doing the Prima from Jan 29 to Feb 6 and am planning on diving there but am having difficulty in doing so.
We booked with Off the Wall Divers in Grand Cayman. I've gotten several recommendations for them, including from our local dive shop.
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On 10/11/2022 at 11:52 AM, gatorchinsky said:
Looking at the photos of the observation lounge I thought the same thing. People are going to camp out on the daybeds and take naps. I really don’t see how anyone would want to lay down in a public space and nap.
Sometimes it happens unintentionally. My husband and I were on a cruise, and settled in on a daybed with a partial cover after a long day at port, and next thing we knew, we were asleep! The rocking of the ship, plus exhaustion...it happens.
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9 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:
If you haven't already done so, make reservations for the specialty dining restaurants now. Once you're on board, go and make reservations for the special shows - based on what folks are saying the spots fill up quickly.
Where are you sailing to? What sorts of things interest you guys when you're on vacation? That will help us point you in the right direction for things to look for or try out so it's a fun trip.
I have made our specialty dining reservations: Onda, Le Bistro and Cagney's. Can't wait to try them! We're sailing to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Grand Stirrup Caye. We have booked our excursions - dune buggies in Cozumel through a ship excursion, scuba diving in Grand Cayman through a private excursion, and an ocean villa at GSC (staying on the ship in Jamaica), so I'm most interested in what to do on the ship, those little nuances with NCL that I wouldn't think about in advance.
8 hours ago, pickle11 said:Why did you choose NCL? And then the Prima. New ship and not much info. All depends on your interest. Shows, tours, dining, comedians, line dancing, lions , tigers and bears OH MY. Do you like to make reservations or are you a shoot from the hip person? I myself tend to change my mind and do not like to be tied down with appointments. And if you wait for the end of the cruise for that special dinner, well you may be to full to enjoy it. My suggestion is do what you did for enjoyment on CCL. All cruises are the same but with a little difference. njsmom, you have asked many questions on the NCL form. Hope you are getting the answers you need to cruise NCL
I chose NCL because of friends who have sailed it and highly recommended it. We were never happy with Carnival. We sailed it because of a couple that we were close friends with who sailed it with us and who loved it. They have since divorced so we're no longer sailing Carnival with them. We didn't like the atmosphere on Carnival, except the last time, when it was a cruise to the Mediterranean on the Vista, when it was brand new. You really cannot have a bad time going to Italy, Spain and France on a brand new ship, and if you do, there's something inherently wrong with you. 🙂
I do like to make reservations on vacation because I'm more comfortable having things booked that might fill up. Normally in life I'm a shoot from the hip kinda person. But vacation, I get a thrill out of researching in depth and choosing carefully among the many delicious options in advance.6 hours ago, mjkacmom said:Make sure your son goes to the teen club the first night, my kids were not fond of the tween club, but once they were teens we didn’t see then between breakfast and dinner.
I read that the teen club has been eliminated from the Prima, that they just kind of meet in a meeting area, so I don't know if this will appeal to him.
6 hours ago, PATRLR said:Presumably you got the "Free at Sea" package which includes 2 Specialty Dining meals per person (maybe just the first two people in the cabin). STRONGLY encourage you to make reservations as soon as you can.
NCL opens up about 30% of the reservations at the 120 day mark. You've likely missed most of those reservations, but, take a look anyways. The rest will open up onboard. You'll want to make those reservations very first thing when you get onboard, especially if you want prime time reservations at the most popular restaurants.
Yes, we have that, and we upgraded to the Premium drink package, which gave us another specialty meal. I did do dinner reservations already. We booked this cruise 89 days out, but I was still able to get the reservations I wanted. I suspect a lot of people cancelled right then, perhaps, rather than pay the fare at 90 days, perhaps? Not sure. I know that's one of the cancellation deadlines. Whatever the reason, I got lucky and scored 6 pm and 6:30 pm reservations at all the restaurants we wanted.
6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:As soon as you board, go to Syd Normans on Deck 7 midship (by the aft elevators). Book shows
1) Donna Summer Musical
2) Noiseboys
3) Price is Right
4) Comedy Shows (early shows are family friendly, late shows are 18+)
While you may not think of the Price is Right as “entertainment”, you need to reserve. They choose contestants randomly from the audience. On our cruise one person won a large flat screen TV, another $660 in cash and a third, tumi luggage. And the “losers” all got t-shirts. It is a fun 1 hour show.
On embarkation day, go to Deck 15 forward and register you son for the teen club. The teen club is the starboard side entrance to the Splash Academy. And have you son go on the first night to make friends. You won’t see him again until you disembark.
Information on the ship and samples of the daily activities are on my live post link below. If you have any Prima specific questions, ask on the link below.
This is super helpful, thank you! How does the teen club work now that it's not a specific location anymore for the teenagers? He's turning 15 in a week.
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It looks like our 12/23 holiday sailing on the Prima is close to capacity. There are no cabins left in any category for 3 passengers, and if you are sailing with 2 passengers, you can only get a guaranteed balcony or a sailaway balcony, no specific ones left to choose. In Haven, the only thing left for 2 people is the Haven Penthouse with balcony, all other categories sold out. There are ocean views left in several categories with rooms available to choose, but for insides, it's only inside guarantees left.
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I've cruised three times before, but on Carnival. What do I need to know about Norwegian? My husband, teenage son and I will be on the Prima for a holiday cruise on Dec. 23. Thanks!
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On 11/5/2022 at 9:34 AM, Sailing12Away said:
Depends on the type of cabin you typically like to book.
If you book onboard, you get a free 'within category' cabin upgrade. Meaning you book a BA balcony at the price of a BF. So you save about $100 or so. But it makes things difficult when you want to upgrade that cabin later on as they go by the price of the BF to calculate your price difference increase to jump categories.
I think you also get 10% off the price (pre tax/fees/FAS gratuities, etc).
There's no harm in waiting until you're on board and talking to them, unless the sailing you're interested in is selling quick and you want a specific cabin. You can always book now, and then talk to them while you're on board still. They can reprice the cruise for you and see if the price has dropped and there's incentives to rebooking.I stopped trying to talk to the cruise next folks when they were trying to tell me my upcoming Panama canal trip would be cheaper if I bought 4 cruise next certificates and rebooked it with them. Except the price they were telling me was $400 higher than what I had paid. So $400 higher, plus the cost of those 4 CN certificates.... yeah, I'm a scientist and not a mathematician but I know that's not actually in my best interest.
This is helpful, thank you. I wonder if the 10% off applies on top of the 10% military discount.
4 hours ago, julig22 said:You get a same category upgrade if you are booking inside, ov or balcony.
Sometimes they also offer an additional discount but it's not standard.
In July they had a 10% discount. I also got 10% in September but it was apparently something different (the CN manager told me there was no such deal in September....but I have the price reduction to prove it!). Nothing current, at least according to that same CN manager.
Note, I have successfully upgraded existing bookings while onboard. Again, per the CN manager, that can only happen if there is a price adjustment. However, this same person also told me you can only have 1 price change....say what????
So I book what I want (giving my pcc the booking credit), then get any cabin upgrades or perks the next time I'm onboard.
thank you!
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Should I wait and book my next NCL cruise when I'm on board in December? What kind of deals do you get if you book while you're on a cruise?
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9 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:
I know the feeling. 🙂
Cheers
It's what I get for posting late in the evening after running my teenager around town. I always think I have news when it's really not. 😏
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I would absolutely get two cabins. We have three kids - ages 14, 19 and 21, and when we took all three to Italy five years ago, when they were 9, 14 and 16, we booked two rooms in every hotel. More expensive, but there was no way we were squeezing five people in one room, even hotel rooms that were much bigger than ship cabins. The only exception was in Rome, when we had a two-bedroom suite with a separate living room. I had booked us for one cruise, but had to cancel, and in that instance, I did what others are suggesting, booking an inside cabin and a balcony cabin. I put one adult in each cabin for booking purposes, and I was going to put all three kids in the inside and the adults in the balcony when it came time for sleeping arrangements. Another corridor is fine with your kids 14 and 16. Obviously you wouldn't do that with younger kids, but if they're responsible kiddos they can handle being down a different hallway on the ship.
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9 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:
Day late and a thread short?
Cheers
usually
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29 minutes ago, MarKay525 said:
Congrats on your choice. Thanks for letting us know. Enjoy!
thanks! I always like to come back with info. It's weird to me when people help someone out and the original poster doesn't reappear!
9 minutes ago, D C said:1109? That's the room we had on our last Summit sailing! Great location and no complaints!
While the premium you're paying is more than we would, I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time!
what a coincidence!!! and yes, we will have a great time! I would have rather not paid extra at all, but the standard veranda was just so blah in such a non-appealing spot. and everything else was partial view. now that I made the leap to Aqua Class it seems like a cool option and I'm looking forward to it.
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Celebrity emailed travel agents and said that effective Nov. 2, passengers will no longer need to be tested for Covid before departure on a cruise.
https://cruiseradio.net/celebrity-cruises-drops-testing-all-guests/
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1 hour ago, ldubs said:
Thanks. Sometimes a thing is so simple I want to slap myself in the head for not thinking of it. My new pair of Hoka Bondi 8's have what they call a "gusseted tongue". The older style didn't have that. I thought that feature might make it harder, but upon checking I am able to loosen them up quite a bit. I have a coast-to-coast flight tomorrow. I'll give it a try.
I had to google "Hoka Bondi 8"
Holland America Black Friday 2022 deals announced
in Holland America Line
Posted · Edited by njsmom
Here is what HAL is offering on Black Friday:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/holland-america-lines-black-friday-offer-includes-crew-appreciation-and-up-to-40-off-cruise-fares-301674779.html
Holland America Line is getting into the holiday spirit early this year with a "Black Friday Offer" that start Nov. 17 and runs through Nov. 27, 2022. Guests who book select cruises starting from 2022 holiday sailings will receive prepaid stateroom crew appreciation (gratuities) and have access to up to 40% off cruise-only fares.The offer is combinable with Holland America Line's Have It All premium cruise package that includes four popular perks: shore excursions, a beverage package, specialty dining and Wi-Fi.
The crew appreciation is applicable for the first and second guest in a stateroom. Travelers can take advantage of the offer starting with the holiday 2022 sailings through open 2024 cruises, excluding Grand Voyages and itineraries less than five days.
Reduced cruise fares up to 40% off are available on a variety of worldwide itineraries spanning Alaska, the Caribbean, northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Canada/New England, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, South America, Hawaii and Tahiti, Mexico, the Pacific Coast and Panama Canal. Alaska Cruisetours, which combine an Alaska cruise with an overland tour to Denali and the Yukon, also are included in the offer.
Guests who book with the Have It All premium fare get even more amenities included in their booking.