bthom70

a group of 6-8 of us are booking the Mar 21, 2020 Seaside and our TA is offering All inclusive drinks, after digging it looks like it = Easy package and we are waffling if we should upgrade to the Premium or pay the per drink prices for those drinks not included.

 

We're on the Sunrise for the Jun 24th 8night Bermuda&Grand Turks cruise. Our last "contact" with a Carnival ship was Sept 2009 when the Legend hit our ship RCCL Enchantment in Cozumel.

 

Our very first cruise was on the Triumph Aug 2002 5night NYC to Canada, ever since then we got the cruise bug and haven't stopped. Sunrise June 24th will make our 22nd cruise over various cruise Lines RCL, X, MSC and Carnival.

 

 

 

 

Just under 3 weeks until we sail away. We have made it through our Lake George, NY weekend, a winery weekend in the The Finger Lakes of NY, and now 2 week sleep away camp for our son is under way. Looking forward to getting away and relaxing!

Thanks guys.. I hope the LGBT meetings aren't at the Molecular bar again this time. We were last on the Equinox in 2012

Our 2nd time on the Equinox, excited for a longer cruise and more sea days.

 

Brian & Kevin w/ 11yo son Danbury CT

We're trying to book the Aug 25th 10day ABC island sailing. Interested in what others post. We did a similar southern Caribbean cruise a few years ago and only walked around and 1 beach day, this time we want to do more with our son. Ostrich feeding and caving.

We're planning another cruise for Aug 2018 before school goes back for our 11yo son. Little backstory our son is adopted and he's been with our family for 3+ yrs. We've taken him on the X Summit to Bermuda and 2 MSC cruises. He liked MSC better than the X Summit.

How is the kids club on Solstice class? This our 20th cruise and 2nd time on Equinox. As adults we like to experience different things and travel. He's been wonderful in our travels, but the Wow factor and the prices of the more family/child friendly cruises from RCL are out of the world and and out price point. When his is older we'd like to try the larger RCL ships but for now the vacation is more important than the "cool" gizmos and tech.

our home # was on the list but our 2 cell phones were not. IF we get settlement we will use it on another cruise :-)

Not holding my breath..

our home # was on the list but our 2 cell phones were not. IF we get settlement we will use it on another cruise :-)

Not holding my breath..

I had to submit my DD214 for our 1st MSC cruise on the Divina last year and got 10% off they also extended it to the 2 cabin my extended family had, this year while booking on the Divina again I mentioned my military status and they had my account marked "military" and I didn't have to provide any paperwork again I got 10% off.

 

Go through with it and take the discount, I'm not afraid to ask any organization if they offer and military/veteran discounts or offers. I ordered a mattress online and Saatva refunds $50 back to your credit card, they don't offer discounts upfront only after the sale.

Wow Trish, you've been a busy beaver posting all of this. We've been so busy with other family obligations since we got back I'm trying to catch up on reading here. We enjoyed our cruise and pleasure meeting you two.

 

It's now Monday, Which way to the buffet?

:)

hmmm, my husband is still waiting for a reply for his status change, he submitted 1 week ago. We are coming over as Elite with Celebrity. Somehow when I booked this back in Dec 2015 the MSC booking person only recorded my info as Black and not his..

I'm excited to see real competition to RCL and X at reasonable prices. RCL and X continue to up the prices and with poor itineraries.

I can't justify the prices for the Anthem and Oasis class cabins too HIGH.

we are booked on the Divina June 18th sailing, this our 1st MSC cruise and after 17 other cruises on RCL, X and Carnival we have learned to roll with the punches. We are really excited to try something else, food, passengers and brand.

We are booked on Divina for Jun 18th 2016, this our son's 2nd cruise. He will be 9yo. He had a blast on the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda Aug 2015. I'm hoping Divina exceeds all of our expectations.

We jumped ship too, MSC Davina for June 2016. BOGO balcony, 10% military veteran discount, 5% discount Black level due to Diamond recognition. Kids cruise free. and the drink packages are much less.

 

RCCL and X have soured us with pricing and ship choices in certain ports. but more on pricing and nickle/dime fees all over. We can't wait to try a new line.

Yes, BOGO & 10% veterans, I just sent my DD214 today. So far my Reservationist with MSC has been a pleasure. If this works out I can see this being our next go to cruise line, with the new Seaside coming in 2017 it looks like a blast.

This is interesting, I'd like to know more about the premium drinks too.

We just booked MSC Davina for June 2016, after being soured with current Royal and Celebrity pricing, itineraries and ship locations. Another few bonuses, they recognized our Diamond/Elite status, 10% veteran discount and kids sail free. Savings all around.

We just booked on MSC Davina after I was ticked off at current highway robbery prices with Royal and Celebrity. We and another family are excited to try a more European experience. And yes they acknowledged our Diamond/Elite status without question. Plus the kids free is a HUGE bonus.

Good luck.

I was able to get a better priced sailing on MSC for Jun 2016. I'm working it out now with another family we are traveling with. 2nd, MSC will recognize your Diamond/Elite Status.
I'll have more to weigh in on after June 2016, but for now I'm soured to Royal and Celebrity due to pricing and itineraries

Anthem out of Bayonne jacks the price up there.

 

I have read about ncl nickel and diming their customers more. Cruisewithgambee has a lot of articles.

 

I was looking at Anthem, but at 2,400pp for balcony even for a 9night is outrageous. Even then for 90% of the weeks I looked at they didn't have any balconies for 3people.

Thanks for all the comments, we live in the NYC area and have driven to Bayonne NJ and Baltimore MD to save. The ships are older and itineraries less desirable. Being diamond we've been to many places even a trans-Atlantic to Barcelona.

The times are changing and we're not so sure what line is loyal to us any longer, we prefer celebrity but they have zero Caribbean cruises in the summer, in fact the only North America is Alaska and Bermuda everything else is over seas.

 

 

Last night I started looking at Msc and NCL

 

The other irk are all of the NYC and Bayonne cruises are super expensive, even if you factor in no flights they are all more expensive, they play the "lets bleed the captive audience dry". On the other hand cruises from Florida are cheaper and they often don't fly.

 

 

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12+ yr cruising family here with 17 cruises trying to plan another cruise for Summer 2016. As a new family of 3, we are in the process of adopting a now almost 9yo son who's been with us for 15months. We were able to take a Bermuda cruise in 2015 without a passport, but for 2016 he will be adopted and with a passport we can choose from more itineraries.

 

I've been pursuing the choices for RCL for 2016 and they seem much more costly than ever before, even with the BOGO and discounts they are more expensive.

 

We used to drop a few hundred for flights and $800-1,000pp and have our trip more affordable. Now with 3 of us and increased prices on cruises and flights I can't find much of anything less than $4,000-5,000 total.

 

End Rant.

This will be our first cruise with a child, we have a 8yo foster son that may be adopted by us before our cruise in Aug to Bermuda on the Summit.

 

After 17 cruises we know what we want but have zero exposure to any of the kids programs except the kids we have seen on our various cruises are having a blast with scavenger hunts and other activities.

 

We were looking at the VIP program too, looks like a worth while program.

Fingers crossed we can keep him entertained so we can enjoy ourselves too :):):)