firegal2539

I was on the Dawn about 9 months ago and sorry to say it was the worst cruise I have ever been on and I have been on 20 cruises. The cabin was nasty, actually had bed bugs, a toilet that didn't work correctly for the first 2 days, and they wouldn't change my room. I disagree, NCL nickels and dimes you on a cruise. On the first day I was asked at least 20 times if I wanted a beverage package, that I had already pre purchased.

The CD staff was nonexistent at most functions. I will agree the paid shows were fantastic but there are none on the Dawn. The specialty steakhouse is amazing. I would definitely make reservations for specialty dining. The staff didn't seem to be passenger oriented, not helpful at all.

The second sea day is considered a dress up/dress down night. If you want to dress up that is the night to do it.

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I was on Empress cancellation and RCCL was extremely helpful with refunds, new bookings, extra OBC, etc. On the other hand when NCL cancelled my cruise nothing but problems, many calls, emails, lots of effort to get rebooked, OBC, etc.

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I forgot I always get preexisting condition too. I have used my insurance but not for a medical hospitalization while out of the country. I had to have emergency surgery and had 10 cruises booked, 5 had to be cancelled and three were already full pay. My TA took right over and I ended up losing $100 on one cruise, every penny besides that was refunded. Now I was badly hurt on my airfare, no refund and lost over $200 on one and $150 on another, but I was flying Alaska Air on one flight and they changed because of medical needs and didn't charge me a thing. Now I try to go Alaska Air as often as I can.

I don't think it is expensive at all for the peace of mind of knowing that almost everything will be paid, I will have hospital and doctor of choice and evacuation. I am happy to pay for that. I know if I only use it just once, I will be well worth the money.

I made friends with a couple I was dining with and his wife fell and broke her hip the second day of a 10 day cruise. They took her off the ship, brought her to the nearest hospital and flew her back to the USA. He told me that it was pretty much covered by their travel insurance policy. They always got preexisting because she has MS.

I always buy TravelGuard insurance through my TA. I don't buy from the cruise line unless it is Princess, they have s great policy that you can add too. I buy extra, hospital of choice, more evacuation coverage, more coverage and still for most 7 day cruises are around $120to $125.

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Royal is a much better cruise but this all about what the person cruising wants and expects from the experience. Carnival is cheaper, a large party atmosphere, busy bars and night clubs. I cruise to enjoy my time without a lot of young kids or a large drinking crowd. My choices are Celebrity, Princess, RCCL, NCL, and Carnival. I have sailed them all. Cruising is very subjective, you can read reviews and take them with a grain of salt, again what the cruiser wanted and expected. It is what you want out of your cruise.

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You are wrong there, HAL, Celebrity, RCCL and Princess discount. I sm not sure about Carnival.

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I carry a bag on the flight and on ship that holds everything and has a special place for a file folder and passports but nothing is accessible to the outside.

Here a pic of it. Right below the handles is the file folder pocket.

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I have seen it on several lines.

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Make sure you check your online booking. Many times they will offer 20% off on beverage packages.

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It differs in every docking. There are so many variables, is the ship on time, if they are late ship will let off all their excursions first.

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Even though you have your cell a list of all important numbers including credit card numbers, a copy of the main sheet of the travel insurance policy, a copy of my airlines tickets, a copy of every thing I paid for on the cruise, a copy of the deck plans of the ship, a list of all medication and medical history in case a medical emergency arises, extra luggage tags, if you have hotel reservations a copy of that.

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No one mentioned Disney which is a premium line, highly reflected in their pricing. Celebrity is an RCCL line that is a step above Princess and RCCL and two steps above NCL and three steps above Carnival. Luxury is subjective by the person sailing. Some lines, Crystal is one, include all wine and liquor, soda, coffee, etc., shore excursions, etc.

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To me it doesn't matter because in most ports there are other ships and you get to look at another ship instead of the port.

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As a previous poster said Always purchase insurance, it does cover many things. I had to cancel 4 cruises for surgery, 2 were full pay and 1 was 75% and the other was 50%. I didn't lose anything because of insurance. I would still go on the cruise. Carnival is one of the least forgiving lines when it comes to cancelling a cruise.

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I would and have reported someone smoking.

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NCL wouldn't do any thing more than the current promo they are offering, no cruise line would. If you book with a TA they can usually offer you OBC.

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I have been a solo cruiser for about 10 years. The markup for solo travelers is 150 to 200-%. There are solo cabins on Princess, NCL and Royal but they are so small, 100 sq. feet.

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Grey,

Please read Post 689 that states per Princess rules there is no smoking in the casino.

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I was recently on the Grand Princess and smokers congregated in the casino and smoked. Didn't play the machines at all just stood or sat around. I opened my mouth to mention they were breaking Princess" rules and was told to mind my own business. Why don't smokers read the smoking policy so they won't take a cruise if smoking is that important to them.

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I look at a cruise as a way to take a vacation by making payments. There is no other vacation you can do this with. I try to book all of my cruises at least a year or more in advance. I then take the total amount due, that will include insurance, taxes/fees, gratuities, and transfers and divide that total by the amount of months until final payment is due. I then pay that amount every month. I am paying for my cruise with no interest and have at least a year to pay for it.

I pay for dining, beverage package and shore excursions because I found out the hard way, if you don't book early some things aren't available closer to the cruising date. I wanted Specialty Dining for 3 nights on a cruise and the only time available for dining was 8:30 p.m. Some passengers would love that time but not me, I want to eat at 6:00 p.m. and according to the restaurant manager that is the number one choice of dining times.

When you book a cruise you will receive an email asking you to buy the beverage package. It is usually a 20% savings over buying it on board or just a month or two out from the cruise. Same with internet (get extra minutes) and shore excursions, I am doing a Panama Canal and I have researched which ones I want to take and have watched the price increase on two of them by over $10 each. I should have booked them.

It is just a chance passengers have to take, whether to book early or wait until before sailing. I need to know that everything is paid for before I step on the plane to take me to the port.

Someone on this post mentioned using ebay bucks to buy gift cards on ebay and pay from PayPal. I have a PayPal account and looked up ebay bucks and all I have to do is sign up to start earning. Ebay says look for the bucks symbol when buying and you will earn ebay bucks. I can't find anything that has the bucks symbol. Can whoever posted about this tell me what you buy and what the symbol looks like so I will know if I am earning them.

Thanks, Candie

I prepay for everything and leave a $100 balance until final pay just in case of price drops. I sometimes will spend the money I have put away on something else. It irritates my TA that I do this but it makes me feel good to know 3 months before the cruise all is paid. I buy gift cards to put towards my OBC. Have never left a cruise with unspent OBC.

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I prepay for everything and leave a $100 balance until final pay just in case of price drops. I sometimes will spend the money I have put away on something else. It irritates my TA that I do this but it makes me feel good to know 3 months before the cruise all is paid. I buy gift cards to put towards my OBC. Have never left a cruise with unspent OBC.

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You can get a cab for $5 to take you to Atlantis and buy your own ticket to use the water park. I go to Atlantis for the casino.

I do not book any travel without my TA. She is my friend but also my TA. She knows me like she is family, my likes/dislikes, etc. Although she doesn't work Saturday or Sunday and I too, have missed two deals because of this, her service, knowledge about the cruise industry, flight industry, travel insurance far outweighs me getting $50 off of one cruise and $75 off of another. She has actually dropped her commission so I could get the price break I found on a cruise. I have one cruise booked through the cruise line and it is the worst service ever. I am on hold for at least 15 to 30 minutes before I can get a rep to speak to me and they know nothing about the industry, just what they find on their computers. I want personal service and you don't get that from Expedia or the cruise lines.