latebuyer

Hi laudergayle. Sorry for the confusion. I had a separate thread on bliss vs epic. I liked that the bliss is a new ship and that as i am from vancouver i am closer to la. I decided not to do cruise first as some people seem to think it can be added later.

Thanks laudergayle, i thought i was able to switch sailings without cancelling the cruise. I decided on the mexican riviera bliss, but if the caribbean epic cruise in nov 25 (i assume released this november) has san juan then i'd consider switching to that.

So if you just book online, can you still get price drops? I had to due to amex promo.

Just to add holland america is the worse and from what i can see offers 0 single supplement specials. It seems like its worth it to create an account on princess so you can receive resident fares promos. At least it seems like you get extra obc. Perhaps a princess cruiser can speak to that?

I wouldn’t discount Norwegian. I just booked a studio with a 50% single supplement. Is that great, no, but it beats 100%. My understanding is its based on demand and if you book early like me you may have a better chance. Returning t princess i have found random solo deals with a low supplement. Thats why the filter is nice.

Lyn, you should look at the post cruise line single supplement/solo bargains here thread where people post the deals they have found. Norwegian has studio cabins that can be cheaper. You also have to do digging on your own. There is not a lot unfortunately. Also with princess you can filter by one person which makes it easier to look.

I heard on the solo thread that they’ve been in a solo lounge where kids were running around. I guess some ships leave the door open as its at the discretion of the ship.

Thanks everyone i just booked a room. I am on deck ll where the studio lounge is between deck 10 and 12. I narrowly missed being adjacent to a space. It was a small space but i decided not to risk it. Lots of rooms available as i'm booking for 2025.

Its a canadian promo so americans may not have the same thing.

I phoned and he was grumpy and said he wouldn't get paid but he did it. Are they on commission? I had to book online as there was an amex promo. They phone me all the time.

I made a hold but i didn't realize i can't seem to change rooms or do any other changes to the hold. So now i'm wondering if i can just go ahead with the hold and phone after to change rooms. Also as i have that booked, it doesn't seem to let me book a different date.

Thanks both. That's good to know about the voids. I've always been suspicious of those.

Mainly i'd just like it to be quiet at night from 10:30 onwards. I'm sensitive to noise when i sleep.

I am booking quite early so i have the opportunity to get a good studio location. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks for the replies. The issue is the cruise isn’t until march 25 so i’d have less time to use the cruisefirst if change booking. As a solo i have to be agnostic about cruiselines and go for the deals if something comes up better. Still getting the cruisefirst closer to sail date seems worth a try. They did say on the phone i had to do it at time of booking but they may not know what they are talking about. Right now there is a 250 off amex promo in canada so looking at booking now. That would be great to get the additional amount off!

All i can say is book early. I’m looking at a studio next year thats 450.00 more then 2025. I think they jack up the price when they get booked.

Thank you for the response. I don’t know if i want to risk it as this would be my first cruise and not sure if i would want to cruise with ncl again.

Does anyone know if you can apply a cruisefirst certificate after you’ve already booked it ie buy and apply it later to the booking. Basically i’m not sure if i want to pay for something nonrefundable now but i may later when i’m more certain about the cruise.

I'm wondering if thats the same thing with cruise first certificates. 3 years seems like a long time, but things happen.

Thanks for the review! I am planning to do a mexican cruise on the bliss so interested to read your review. I was surprised you didn’t list long wait times for dinner as another negative but glad to hear food was good.

Thanks everyone. Looks like there isn’t one specific time that is busier. I think i’ll go the first week of march.

Also i'm not sure if flights are more expensive at that time. I'm not a kid hater but i don't necessarily want it overrun with kids.

I'm interested in going to mexico in march but i thought there was spring break in the US then? I'm canadian so i don't know. I don't imagine mexico is a hotbed of kids but who knows. It would be the one leaving LA.

I’d like to know cost to cost out whether drink package is worth it if i mainly have mocktails. They were cheap on rcl! I’m also wondering if you can get the pop package instead of open bar package?

Thank you! Does anyone know how much mocktails cost a la carte?