CRZR58

They're an environmental group, not an anti-cruising group.

A vaccine, a negative test and 6 months of covid free cruises before I'd book.

Words matter. Ignoring the science and not taking the proper precautions isn't called stumbling.

Public opinion, at this time, seems to be that cruises are floating petri dishes of disease.

It doesn't help that some cruise lines are ignoring the science and sending boats out anyway, just to end up with Covid-19 on board.

I would expect the answer is yes, they would require proof of vaccination to board. Folks who don't want to vaccinate wouldn't be able to cruise.

3 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Everything you like about it is available on cruises also. Plus in different countries and locations. Far wider variety cruising. As for the food. You can enjoy many of the specialty dining for up scale food and still pay less in the long run. You mention beaches and pools included in the price. Same on a cruise is it not? I have never paid to go in a pool or on a beach when cursing. Bigger pools than on the ship. Yes. But so are the port swimming pools. Excursions are a lot cheaper if you purchase off of the ship. Just make sure you go early so you will not miss the ship. That is what we do. Horse and buggy rides are nice. Cruising to us is the best time away from home. I live in Florida a 20 min ride to the beach, if I wish. So much to do and see on a cruise and different ports unlike staying in one place for a week. My opinion only. To each their own.

Sure, everything is available, but it's at an extra cost, including going to any beach that's not within walking distance or pools on shore.

Different islands are nice, but honestly, the same excursions are on every island and AI excursion prices are the same or better than purchasing 'off ship'.

On 7/5/2020 at 1:24 PM, Joebucks said:

 

AIs are great options. However, their entertainment is the pool, drinks, and occasional music. All in all, they are fairly quiet, especially Sandals. I love the pool and beach, but not all day, every day. The nightlife at a cruise ship is what makes the biggest difference. Comedy shows, stage shows, bars with live music, night clubs. You can draw parallels where you want, but AIs don't do it the same way.

Most AI's have a nightly show, although I'll certainly say that cruises do them better. Still, it's only 45 minutes a night so not a big loss for us.

I'll give you comedy shows and live music as a cruise plus, but the night clubs in AI's are as good as the one's on the ship and if you want something else, you can always go to the best night clubs in town for an extra cost.

Thanks to both of you for your answers. I've always wondered why cruisers say they'd be bored on shore at an AI when the two products are more the same than they are different.

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

Some of our favorite port days were day passes at Sandals. I think we've only done the Grand Bahamian and Grand St Lucian. Got turned away in Montego. Fantastic food and drink. The private island in the Bahamian is a great time too.

 

With that said, I have no interest in staying at these for an extended period of time. Even for a half day, I get bored. That's quite the pretty penny to be bored. I understand the food and drink is good, it's not the whole trip for me though.

I'm curious how you get bored at an AI while you don't get bored on a cruise? What do you do on a cruise that you can't do at an AI?

2 hours ago, 20165 said:

Curious on the cheaper than cruising for Canadians comment.  When i price them out in the US, including air, its waaay higher than a cruise.  Now i dont require air for the cruise so im guessing thats that difference?  thx

I've only bought packages that were less than the rate on Sandals website for room only and the packages include flights plus transfers to/from the airport. I think it's Canadian thing where airlines buy so many rooms that the airfare is basically free.

When I cruise, I have to add Air, 1 night hotel (Can't get there same day from Calgary), transfers to/from airport, gratuities, booze package and WIFI to the cruise price to match the Sandals package pricing.

10 minutes ago, mafig said:

For you Sandals experts:  Any of them in the Caribbean associated with or close to a casino?  That's something we would enjoy going to in the evening.

 

 

From the FAQ: Sandals Grande Antigua, Sandals Royal Bahamian, Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Sandals Halcyon Beach and Sandals Regency La Toc have casinos nearby.

Covid aside, we love Sandals, but we don't love all AI's.

Pros:

Way cheaper for Canadian's in a package than cruising.

No kids.

Rooms that are bigger than ship cabins, but some we've stayed in needed updating.

Restaurants are better than any MDR on any cruise weve been on except maybe Windstar.

We like the beach and pools, way bigger than on ships and included in the price.

Booze is included. Bar scene is generally livelier.

Italian coffee, ice cream, fresh baked cookies all included.

Stay at one, go to many increases the number of restaurants and beaches you can try.

We find excursions to be cheaper, longer, less crowded and no worries about getting back late if anything happens.

'Yard Sales' are weekly instead of nightly.

Cons:

Not on the sea. (Biggest reason we cruise, but we always take a Catamaran day trip anyway)

Nightly shows aren't as good.

Only one island.

Don't ignore the negative reviews and don't take them with a grain of salt. Read them and ask yourself if what the person is complaining about would annoy you or not. Fore warned is fore armed and it really helps to set the right expectations.

Multiple languages in announcements? Gonna happen. Not gonna mean anything to me, but will annoy some.

Dinner takes a long time? Same as above.

Bad customer service at the complaint desk? Sure, but that's the same on every ship I've been on. Celebrity, which costs a bunch more was the worst for me. Just hope you don't ever need to use it.

Not the same as 'insert other cruise line here'. That's kinda the point.

Pizza and pasta based food? It's an Italian line folks.

Different type of entertainment? Don't go to the shows you don't like. Find something else to do.

Bottom line for me is that negative reviewers have something to say. Assume they are telling the truth as they see it. If the number of negative things being said outweigh the positive for you then book on another line.

NCL could process refunds quickly if they wanted to but it's in their own interests to keep your money for as long as possible. Your mistake shouldn't mean waiting weeks for a refund, but it likely will because you can't do anything about it other than continue to phone and take up their agents time. Even then, it likely won't matter. Your money will come back to you when the company decides it will and not before.

Holy Shiiiip! Hope everyone's OK.

Are you using any of:

• VPN
• Ad Blocker
• Cookie deleter
• Privacy addon

If so, turn them off and try again. You might find that it works. If it does, you can turn each on one at a time to figure out which one(s) are causing the problem.

Whatever it costs to get on board should be included in the price including Gratuities, Port Taxes and Fees. I really don't care how the cruise line breaks those things out. They all come out of my pocket.

Male

1 pair of running shoes with good support for the plane, the gym and walking around on shore.

1 pair of dress shoes for obvious reasons.

1 pair of flip flops for pool and beach.

3 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

 try 'adblock plus' to block most online ads. works great in chrome and IE.

https://adblockplus.org/

Use UBlock Origin instead. Smaller, faster works just as well.

That should save them some cash. I'm sure they'll pass the savings on to the customer.

Last cruise we went on, we just took carry on baggage on the plane. Instead of buying special and expensive travel sized, we stopped at a pharmacy close to the dock to pick up essentials. Left the leftovers behind.

In my experience, you need to set you expectations properly. If you're expecting high end dining in the MDR you're going to be disappointed. If you're expecting Olive Garden at Sea, you'll be happy.

The MDR is a very large venue. They are making a ton of food for the masses and serving it very quickly to turn the tables. X has reduced or kept the cost per person for food very low. The result is very average food.

We've been on Celebrity a few times. I'd call them mass market, not premium. Nice boats. Few kids. Gotta go with specialty restaurants to get good food. Nightly yard sales on the way to/from the entertainment. Useless customer service.

If your gun isn't on your person, it's of no use for protection. You're never going to 'get to it' if it's locked up somewhere, especially in the trunk.

My advise should you choose to take it:

1. Bring snacks, but don't over-pack them. You don't want to have to throw them out so they don't stink in the car while you're cruisin' for a week.

2. A 12 hour drive shouldn't be too much, especially on the way to the cruise. Stop for an hour for lunch.

3. Leave the gun at home.

4. Don't use the car as an excuse to over-pack.

It's sad that anyone cares what other folks are wearing. It's sad that anyone lets what else wears effect them in any way.

Don't like it? Ignore it and go on with your night. If it really bothers you, then change cruise lines because Celebrity isn't going to change.

4 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

 

Sorry but I have seen many on these forums who like to justify their own style, or lack there of, by ridiculing those who dress for dinner on formal nights.  Everyone is entitled to dress neatly but when I see gym wear, baseball hats, flip flops and T-shirts in the dining room at dinner I draw the line.  It is a show of disrespect...especially to the people who work there...a matter of good manners.

I think you're just making stuff up now. I've never seen gym wear in the MDR on dress up night. I've seen hats, although no actual baseball caps. Flip flops are usually on the women who wear them 'cuz they're so cute' and once they sit down, no one can even tell what they have on their feet. Collared shirts aren't T-Shirts.

Folks who are dress casually aren't disrespecting you. They aren't even thinking about you or others who want to dress up. The folks at the door don't care or else they'd stop them from coming in. It's just a certain group of 'What not to wear' folks who complain that others who don't follow their own 'good manners' are somehow disrespecting them.

Jackets and ties aren't required any more and I for one am happy about it. On dress up night, I wear dress pants and dress shoes. I wore a Hawaiian collared shirt on our Hawaiian cruise and a Guayabera on a Mexican cruise, but usually it's a collared long sleeved shirt. That's as dressed up as I get these days. I don't own any suits or ties anymore, likely because I wore them daily when I worked. I'm not renting a tux either because it's not required. If it was, I'd stay away from the MDR on dress up night.

I don't give a second thought to how anyone other than my wife is dressed. If folks want to dress above the minimum requirements... great. If they want to dress below the minimum requirements... great. Neither are any of my business. Their vacation is their own business.