malawijay

12 hours ago, luvtosing said:

Thanks so much for this info. Did the canceled port/rough seas make the trip difficult or did they avoid the discomfort to passengers by canceling?  

The ports they cancelled (later they canceled one in Iceland) were both tender ports so there was a safety issue with the rough seas, but apparently the seas were pretty rough and it made quite a few passengers uncomfortable. That was just for maybe two days though, it wasn't the whole cruise.

My mom just got back from a NYC => Reykjavik voyage on the Neptune. L'Anse aux Meadows was canceled for rough seas, but they made both stops in Greenland. Unfortunately about 12 passengers got Covid about halfway through the voyage. They had to isolate in their staterooms for the rest of the trip.

Starting a roll call here to see if anyone in the community is on this sailing.

I'm coming from Oakland, CA and sailing with my mom. First time on Princess, and first time on a western Caribbean cruise, although I've been to a couple of the ports.

My first crusie, on Premier Cruise Lines Big Red Boat back in like 1995 we not only had to line up at our lifeboat station, we had to put on lifevests! The e-muster is so great, but a lot of people don't do it. The ship is paging loads of families before sailing out. 

4 hours ago, julig22 said:

Had a "real muster" on the Spirit in September.  Stations were outside, might have something to do with it.

Where did you embark from?

Oh no!  Cruise vlogger Emma (Emma Cruises) shared this from the Norwegian Sun yesterday. I'll be on the Bliss on Sunday so I'll know soon enough if this is fleet-wide. 

I did the 7 night itinerary on the Bliss last NYE and loved the ship, so when I saw the great deal on this sailing I decided to jump on it. Looking forward to seeing Six and Jersey Boys again!

Just booked this last-minute. Iceland and the British Isles. 

This is my 3rd NCL cruise. I've met cool people during the Friends of Dorothy meet ups in the past.

I was on a Dec 26 cruise on NCL and had a great time. They had added the mask requirement back because of Omicron, but really it wasn't a big deal. There were a few couples at the meet ups, but I couldn't go often.

On an NCL cruise I took the meet-up was around 5pm which was ideal. Happy hour time is a natural time to gather, and we'd often go to dinner afterwards. It was in a lounge that had private party rooms. The LGBT meet-up was at the same time as the solo cruiser meet up in another party room.

I was just on a Royal Caribbean test sailing where the meet-up was at 10pm, and no one showed up. Granted, there were only about 350 passengers, but there were definitely other Friends of Dorothy on board. Two couples I chatted with said the timing conflicted with the evening headliner, and that's why they didn't go.

Hey I'll be there! This time cruising with my mom. This is my 2nd NCL cruise, and last time I met some great people at the LGBT meet-up on board.

On 7/25/2021 at 6:02 AM, vintagegarage said:

Rent a motor scooter across the street from the pier, and ride it from there, south along the west coast on Quintana Roo C-1, to the south end of the island on the beach road, have a beer at the bar on the south tip of the island, and then work up the east side of the island, still on Quintana Roo C-1, and finally across the middle of the island on Transversal de Cozumel (still Quinatana Roo C-1) back to the pier.  A very enjoyable ride, and it is impossible to get lost as the loop is essentially one road.  You will see many things that most people don't see when they visit Cozumel.

How long does it take to motor around the island?

On 8/23/2021 at 1:17 PM, JimInBuffalo said:

We are currently on the Simulation Cruise for the Oasis out of Bayonne and destined for Coco Cay. 
Hurricane Henri had little affect on us.Smooth boarding and departure.

The captain surprised us by taking a close-up drive by the Statue of Liberty for a photo op. Everyone appreciated that. 
The staff has been wonderful and are really glad to be back. 
great weather today and smooth water. 
Everything has been great. 
From what we gathered there are 700-1000 on board. No crowds, empty deck chairs. Limited numbers allowed in the pools. 
Saw CATS last night. Adult comedy tonight 

Awesome! I'm on the Liberty of the Seas simulation cruise out of Galveston on Sept 18. I was definitely hoping for this one though! Partly because I wanted my friend in NYC to join me. Have fun!

Any Friends of Dorothy going to be on this sailing??

Any Friends of Dorothy sailing on the Liberty simulation sail??

I should also add that my parents did an Antarctica voyage 10 years ago and still rave about it. The expedition ships are a different experience than the Norway coastal voyages. 

I did a Hurtigruen over Christmas and NYE this past year. You can search for my review on Cruise Critic. I would definitely second what Jay and Al said. If there were other LGBT passengers they kept it low key. Hurtigruten is a ferry line with a robust tourism business, so let that frame your expectations. I did enjoy the experience, very much. However, we did the full 12 day north to south voyage, and that was a little much for me. If I ever did it again, I would probably just to the northbound voyage, but break it up with 2-3 day stopovers in Trondheim and Tromsø, and a post sat in Kirkenes. 

3 minutes ago, blcruising said:

No chance for a free upgrade. I typically make a poor offer from inside to balcony. I've been successful 50% of the time. I've had more success on megaships. I spend very little time in the cabin, so location and whether or not my bid is accepted is not a big deal. It is nice if it happens, if not, no biggie. I can always find a relatively quiet outdoor area to relax. 

 

I really find no rhyme or reason to the upgrade. I think it has a lot to do with muster station/lifeboat capacity as well as competing bids, both of which are out of my control. To give you a profile, I am platinum plus, typically book very last minute sailaway rates sometimes solo, sometimes double occupancy.

Thanks! I'm ok if I sail in the inside category I booked. But I wouldn't mind if I had at least a porthole if they did it for free. But I did what you say: did a cheap bid on a balcony because why not. I'm not to worried.

Say hi! 👋

Anyone have experience and insight into bidding on a cabin upgrade from a guaranty cabin category? Is it worth it?

What are the chances I'll get a freebie upgrade from a guaranty level?

I'm on the Norwegian Jewel on a 7 day Alaska cruise.

Thanks for your input everyone! After reviewing the choices with my mom, I let her choose and, well, we're doing the roundtrip after all!

(I think it came down to her not wanted to spend the night in the Snow Hotel.)

Hi all. Our Finnmarken review has finally appeared here.

 

Happy to answer any questions you may have as my time permits now that I am back on the real world of work and other commitments! :)

Thanks so much for this review!

I'm planning a trip with my mom in December so this was helpful. I still can't decide if we should do the northbound, the southbound, (either one with two nights in Kirkenes to see the Snow Hotel) or the full12 days! (Of course cost may be a factor in the end.)

My mom has done Hurtigruten in Antarctica a few years ago, and several other small-ship cruises. But I've only done one cruise back in 1997 - the Big Red Boat (Premiere Cruise Line out of Port Canaveral) - and frankly it soured me on cruises. I'm in my mid-40s now, so obviously my interests are different.

One concern I have is getting cabin fever on the 12 day cruise in December. Did you experience this at all?

If you had to choose either the northbound or the southbound, which would you choose?

My mom and I are planning a Norwegian coast sailing on Hurtigruten in December in search of the Northern Lights, and I'd like some feedback on the northbound or southbound voyage.

We already know about the Hurtigruten experience and that it isn't a standard "cruise." I'm mainly looking for feedback based on ports of call.

As I understand it, the same ports are called on both directions, but daytime calls in one direction are nighttime calls in the other, so excursions are different.

Thanks for any feedback from your Hurtigruten experiences!

Hi All - I'm wondering if it's possible to book direclty via the .no website from the US? I notice prices are about half as much than booking through the .us site.

Thanks for any feedback!