trivia addict

Because?

Good points from both of you. Decisions, decisions! Perhaps others will weigh in on this

Thank you Princeton…. You always have great information. We originally thought of doing it ourselves but the thought of narrow roads and hairpin turns was dissuading me. We have driven many roads on two continents like that and I just thought I’d give my husband a rest! But you have given me thought to reconsider my plan.

I am looking for a private tour for a Road To Hāna excursion. Most tours that I am seeing mention pickup from hotels, but I don’t see any that pickup from the cruise ship. Do any of the excursion companies pick up from the ship? For those who have done a private excursion, how did you meet your tour?

Vibe also has blankets available on warm weather itinerary’s too! Last February on a cruise during a cold weather snap in Mexico, we were very happy to see blankets piled up next to the towels in Vibe!

We had one exactly like that last summer on one of our HAL excursions in Alaska. wonder if she was the same person?🙄

Our children grew up on Long Island, and while my husband and I would often go into NYC for theater, dinners, etc, we would get a sitter for them when they were that young. The City is not a place where children who are 1 and 3 would enjoy. Especially during cold winter days. The crowds, and the noise will overwhelm them. (And if you plan on pushing a stroller in Times Square it would be a nightmare. The crowds are so thick that it is even difficult to walk) Restaurants in Times Square can have long waits. If it was summer, I would advise a stroll through Central Park. If they were a bit older I would recommend a visit to the Museum of Natural History. If it was Christmas time I would suggest a walk down 5th Ave with a visit to Macys and Santa. One idea you might think about is a tour of the Intrepid which is docked close to the cruise ships. The 3 year old might enjoy that. At the very least I would say to keep your itinerary pretty loose and just plan to take advantage of a few hours of seeing whatever is closest to your hotel. But really, I must agree with the poster who said a nice hotel with room service, and tv is what they would appreciate most and will be easiest on you.

My daughter and I have been doing mother daughter cruises to Bermuda for the past 5 years. Always in June and in fact this year will be on the Joy the week following your cruise. We originally started with a Celebrity ship but switched to the Joy and absolutely love her. I have two suggestions. On the first day we always go to Clearwater Beach which is on the far side of the Island. It takes awhile to get there which is why we do it on the day when we will be in port for the overnight. It is a beautiful, quiet, uncrowded beach next to a sanctuary where you can find sea turtles. There are chairs and umbrellas to rent and a snack bar with food and drink. There are various ways to get there. You will need to research them all. We usually take the ferry to St. George and then a taxi to the beach. On the second day, we book a Catamaran excursion at the Dockyard. It is a morning sailing tour that takes you to a grotto where one can jump into the water for swimming, and snorkeling. Your boys will love it. There are often quite a few kids on the boat ( don’t be alarmed…they are all well behaved!) and all seem to really enjoy it. You can book a tour directly at the dock when you arrive or if you want to be sure to get a spot you can book online ahead of time. As said above, never enough days in Bermuda!

A few years ago we did the Antiqua On Our Own Tour, but used it only for the NCL bus. That way we were assured of making it back to the ship on time. Once we got to the town we had hired a private guide to use while there. As stated, it is a World Heritage site, and filled with history. He was very interesting and it was good to know what we were looking at. We were a small group and felt we were getting a more personalized and complete overview of the city than the ship tour. Of all of the ports that we took on our Panama cruise, this one was my favorite. I would recommend that you see it. Be warned, the bus ride is long and a bit uncomfortable. But because of the distance and very primitive surroundings, I would never take private transportation in this area.

We did this cruise from Basel to Amsterdam last summer. As mentioned the highlight of the cruise was the day that we cruised by the castles on the Rhine. Deck chairs are set up on the outside top deck so that both banks of the river can be seen. Waiters will come around with drinks and appetizers and a commentary of what you are seeing will be broadcast as you travel up the river. It is a full day experience. Most of the included excursions were rather tame for us since we have been to Europe several times. City tours were rather repetitive. I would suggest you look into the purchased excursions, they are probably better. On the last day, we took the excursion of the dairy farm and then we proceeded to the Windmill tour which is a world heritage site. It was fantastic. Highly recommend this tour.

Viking river cruises will allow you to bring any beverage you want onboard. Water is always available as is tea and coffee. We have never drank diet soda and rarely drink any type of soda, so I don’t know what is available in European stores that you would e able to carry onboard, although you would have no trouble bringing on anything. We do the premium liquor package, so wine and spirits are always available, but I thought that beer and wine are always included for dinner. BTW, and spirits and wine when purchased with the upgraded package are an incredible value if you drink either. The bartenders are the best, and the drink package costs much less than on our domestic lines. My husband, a scotch and bourbon snob, is in heaven when he is onboard. And, I, a wine drinker, cannot believe the quality difference in the local wines served and what I buy at home in the USA.

Took me a minute, but I get it😂 Think one has to be of a certain age!

We did this Denali Park tour through HAL last summer. All 6 of us are70+ and no one was uncomfortable. The two rest stops were adequate and everyone was too interested in the scenery and wildlife to worry about being on a school bus. Our guide was terrific. He gave out lots of information and tried hard to spot any wildlife and would stop often whenever he spotted something interesting. The bus is equipped with a camera and tv screens that can show close ups of any animals that may be in the far distance. We had a wonderful time. Not luxury transportation, but hey, remember where you are, and aren’t you there to see and experience the wilderness that you can’t see at home?! Don’t forget to bring a good pair of binoculars. This is not Disney World, the animals are in their real habitat and not always up close.

Love, love the Vibe on the Joy. Done it twice, with my daughter psuboater, who kindly treats me! Elevator will take you to it but it is a long wait. Better to go to the floor below and walk up one flight of stairs.

Oh my gosh! There are so many threads on all of these boards on this topic! Posters either love them or hate them. People say they are either allowed or not allowed. They are either tacky and environmentally wrong or helpful to finding your cabin and pleasant to view. I happen to love them and have used them for the past 20:years on many different lines, including HAL, and had no problems doing so!

I have cruised since 2005, and have over 50 cruises accomplished. Have cruised Royal, Celebrity , Norwegian, Disney and Viking. Have cruised with my children when they were young, then as they were adults, then with grandchildren, and also many times with friends, some of whom I met on cruises. Every single line and every single ship on those lines have given me a different experience. All had things I liked and didn’t like, but I loved I them all. Choose an itinerary, a price point and a date that works, and start your own memories. Don’t worry about what others think. We all are looking for something different,

We have used Sixt 3 times. Once in Austria, where although we waited in a very long line, we had no problems. Then in Seattle, which I honestly cannot remember the problem. But my husband fought with the company over it and received a credit. We then used the credit in San Francisco, where they insisted that we had not filled up the gas tank and charged us for a full tank. Luckily the credit card receipt with which we provided them with the time and amount of gas bought, resolved the problem. We will not use them again.

Actually there are some of us who do actually enjoy multigenerational vacations.We did when my own parents were alive, and now with my own adult children and grandchildren.

Thank you Astoria Preppy for your thoughtful reply. I will only add one thing. I do know that excursions are either included or discounted with Latitudes but in addition to my story above I also like to go off on my own for other reasons. For instance, in many excursions if you compare the cost of a cruise excursion, you can often find one that is similar from a private company that costs less. And, if you find others on your roll call that are willing to join you, it’s even less. A more important reason is that a private excursion will take you to exactly the places that you want to see and no time is wasted waiting for everyone else. Our trip on Royal to St Petersburg was an example of this. By hiring a private guide and driver we saw so much more in 2 days than did our traveling companions who only took the ship excursions. So glad I did because sadly, we will never return. One downside to private jaunts, one always worries about making it back to the ship on time! Wishing you happy sailings however you go!

AstoriaPreepy, you are entitled to your opinion, but I couldn’t disagree more with some of your assumptions. In my NCL experience, I have seen nothing but exemplary service and friendliness from any of my room stewards, bartenders, waiters etc. Shorts and tshirts are found in the MDR on most lines these days, including Celeb. As for my family, myself, my husband, my adult children and my granddaughter all “ dress up” for dinner. What others wear, is not our concern. As far as any other line making right on a bad excursion, that is a generalization that is false. Years ago, ago my college aged daughter and I did a kayak excursion through Royal Caribbean. As part of it, we ended up on a beach in the middle of nowhere. One of the guides would not leave her alone. It was total sexual harassment in the days before the Me Too movement. She was in tears, and shaken, and I was furious and actually scared because there was really no place to escape. When we got back to the ship, I immediately went to the excursion desk. I was told that there was nothing they could do because all excursions are outside vendors. Once home I contacted everyone I could at Royal and received nothing but letters denying responsibility. Since then, all of my excursions on any ship are private ones that I vet before sailing.

We started cruising many years ago with our children on RC ships. Definitely agree the RC Oasis Class and larger are the best for children, but the OP was only asking about a choice between Celebrity and NCL. Perhaps these suggestions might cause some further research.

I have traveled on both lines many times. Both are fine. I’m not a picky person and can easily overlook the minor annoyances from both. I’m happy just to be on a ship However due to what I see as a decline in the Celebrity brand and the lower cost of a Norwegian cruise I feel that I am getting more value from Norwegian My last 4 cruises in the past 2 years have been on NCL and I never noticed the noise that others speak of And I would definitely say that Norwegian is better for children

Same place, same location, no?

Last June on the Joy, Vibe passes were sold out months before boarding, but we were able to snag a few as soon as we boarded. We were told that a few are kept in reserve for boarding day. We did NOT go to guest services. The passes were being given out at a table set up in the Teepenyaki restaurant.

Hard to say. Weather is fickle. All you can do is monitor it before your cruise. We cruised on the Joy last February from LA to Mexico and it was windy, rainy and COLD the entire 5 days. Even saw snowflakes in LA. If you remember that was when LA had their torrential rains and flooding. We would try to use our Vibe passes but after a few minutes would have to leave. No one was ever up there. That being said, we love Vibe and on our Bermuda cruise in June we were very happy with our Vibe experience.