MorganClark

39 minutes ago, hallux said:

 

Air-to-sea is different from the promo.  The Buy One, get one 50% off airfare is a free-at-sea perk.  If you've booked your air through NCL's air program (effectively using NCL as your TA for the whole trip) I don't believe that qualifies.  Additionally - if those tickets are issued already you probably can't back out.

Thanks again. I guess I need to find out from NCL if I can still get that 50% off air for solos, if I already have an NCL cruise booked. It is definitely worth a couple of phone calls to NCL if it ends up saving me significant $$ on airfare.

9 minutes ago, hallux said:

@MorganClark you might be subject to a re-fare of the cruise to utilize the current promo.  Also be aware that some "gateways" such as mine (ALB) can incur a fee (that's where the REDUCED part came in on my previous cruise).  If you're before final payment you might be able to add the air, but this is where your TA or PCC comes into play and earns their money, they could tell you what your best option is.

 

The only timelines I see when skimming the terms are that the cruise must be booked at least 90 days before sailing and any deviations (fly in the day before or out the day after the cruise) must be added no later than 75 days before sailing.

Thanks. I think I've only made final payment on my next 2 upcoming cruises (but they are not NCL cruises). All other cruises are booked with deposits. I don't use a TA (book directly off the NCL website). I'm sure I could get answers if I call NCL's air-to-sea folks (which I will probably do).

Getting 50% off my airfare could save me a significant chunk of change. My gateway will undoubtedly be Chicago O'Hare, possibly Grand Rapids, MI (I live in Muskegon, Michigan). If it is Chicago O'Hare, I would have to factor in that I would have to pay for (at full cost) the short flight from Muskegon to Chigago O'Hare and vice-versa.

1 hour ago, hallux said:

 

Directly from this page - https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/promotions

Solo traveling guests will receive 50% off Norwegian Cruise Line's promotional airfare pricing each way

Forgive me if the answer to this is contained in the T&C's you just posted but off hand, do you know whether I can still use NCL's promo airfare is I already have an NCL cruise booked? (I usually book my cruises way in advance and then book my own airfare about 3 months out from departure).

Thanks in advance.

Update: I just read through the T&C's (in the NCL promo airfare section) and it looks like I just have to have NCL make the flight reservations at least 90 days before my cruise (which I do anyway, as I mentioned above).

6 minutes ago, hallux said:

I should have included - NCL's Studio interior rooms number around 85 on the ships that have them, at least they do on the Bliss and Encore, I'm not sure about the BA, GA, Epic and Escape.  The number of them compared to how many Studio cabins (interior and balcony, total of around 20-24 if the ship has both) are on the RCI ships with them makes them MUCH easier to snag on NCL.

I don't disagree. But, as I mentioned, by booking early I have not had any problem booking RCIs studio balcony cabins.

I'm not knocking NCL. They've just taken a different approach with their solo customers. I'm keeping an open mind and have multiple NCL studio cabins booked. I will be giving NCL's solo experience a try.

As you can probably tell, I'm very pro-balcony (even as a solo cruiser). I'm also booked on Celebrity Edge & Apex in Single Infinite Veranda staterooms.

1 hour ago, hallux said:

Have you read the promo terms?  Solo cruisers get 50% off NCL's promotional airfare pricing as a compensation.

The challenge is BOOKING one.  In normal circumstances you have to book as soon almost as the cruise opens for booking in order to score one of those Studio balcony rooms.  You also have to talk to someone that knows about them.  When I booked my Anthem cruise the TA I used wasn't aware of the Studio interior rooms until I asked if there was a better rate somehow, then she found the code for them.

Thanks. I didn't know about NCL offering 50% off the airfare for solos. Kudos to them.

I do book early, so I have had no trouble booking those studio balcony cabins. I was even able to book one of those 4 studio cabins on Pride of America. Saved $736 from an inside stateroom (with the 100% supplement).

3 hours ago, coastcat said:

Well, NCL might still be the gold standard for the overall welcoming of solos. Based on the RC/Celebrity dailies I’ve seen, there’s not much in the way of scheduled solo gatherings even on ships with single-occupancy cabins. 
 

But yeah, that’s why I always do the math and check the prices… fares are dropping for the Bliss return to service. People might be waiting to see how the Carnival & Princess sailings out of LA work out? At any rate, I just gave NCL $83 to move from a Studio to a deck 10 balcony. I can still attend the solo gatherings in the Lounge and will just have to get my free espresso fix then. 

Congrats! Yeah, I'd pay $83 to move from a 99 sq ft interior "cracker box" to an 180 sq ft stateroom with a private balcony. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I will trying all the mainstream cruise lines (NCL, RCI, CCL, MSC & X) from the solo perspective. I want to compare & contrast.

My first impression is that yes, NCL does cater to solo cruisers (not sure if I would call it "the gold standard") but also important is cost and accommodations for solo cruisers. Here I think RCI & Celebrity are leading the way. RCI with their Quantum-class and Quantum-Ultra class ships with studio balcony cabins. RCI also continually runs their 60% off the 2nd guest promo, which essentially lowers the solo supplement to 40% and allows booking of any of their ships in any stateroom. NCL runs that 2nd guest flies free was does me no good. Celebrity has those Single Infinite Veranda staterooms on their Edge-class ships (Edge, Apex & Beyond). So far, CCL seems to be the least "solo friendly". However, CCL is pricing the "Jr. balcony" staterooms on their Excel-class ships (Mardi Gras & Carnival Celebration) lower than the regular balcony staterooms (they are just a "tad" smaller), so these Jr. balcony staterooms are much more reasonably priced and imo, within reach of the solo budget.

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'm on the 8/28 sailing in 12 days, so I'll try to report back when I can.

That show ought to be kinky. 😉

1 hour ago, Cruise Related said:

Definitely food for thought! So many lines to choose from. However, sounds like NCL kinda caters to the solo folks with their staff organizing things and what not. Hmmm, hard to make a choice! Ok, so I’m 39 about to be 40, I want a fun atmosphere but I also want relaxed and don’t wanna hear loud music all the time when I’m trying to have a conversation at a bar or something. Carnival always has loud freaking music playing in most bars and it makes it very hard to communicate. Are other lines like this? 

I'll let you know. I'm just starting out solo cruising. My first solo cruise was July 17-24th on Adventure of the Seas out of Nassau, Bahamas. It was a great cruise! I am trying pretty much all the mainstream cruise lines (from the solo cruiser standpoint). I'm booked on RCL, CCL, NCL, X & MSC. I think only two mainstream lines I'm not booked on is Princess & HAL.

NCL does cater to solo cruisers but the only thing I'm leery of are those tiny 99 sq ft interior studio cabins. But, I will be trying them out anyway.

3 hours ago, BeachDiva101 said:

@MorganClark  that’s so great that you got one of the 4 solos on POA!!!!  I’ve been trying for a couple of years now, every time all sold out.   Good for you!  Have a great time.  I love Hawaii.   I saw those infinite balconies on celebrity edge and those are cool!! The Edge is a beautiful ship.  Safe travels.

Thanks! I think I was able to book one of those 4 studios on POA because the cruise is so far out (May 6-13, 2023). On the date, I really didn't have a choice because I will have arrived Honolulu on the Ovation of the Seas (TP from Sydney, Australia) 4 days earlier, on May 2, 2023. I was waiting on RCI to open the books up for Ovation of the Seas' final leg on to Vancouver, BC but then I had the idea of cruising on the POA and then flying home from Honolulu after the POA cruise.

Yeah, imo, Celebrity is a very solo friendly cruise line and is increasing their marketing to us solos because they've put 16 Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms on Edge, then added 8 more to Apex which has 24 SIVs and are adding 8 more on top of that to Beyond which will have 32 SIVs! See what I mean about Celebrity increasing their marketing to solos?

7 hours ago, BeachDiva101 said:

Solo cruiser since 2014 and every time I look to cruise with NCL, the solo cabins cost more than booking a regular inside.  Want to try one of the single balconies on RCL.  Never sailed celebrity yet.   I love sailing solo.  I can do want I want when I want.  Cruising is fun whether you have someone with you or not.  Happy sailing!!

Yeah, try one of those studio balcony cabins on a RCI Quantum-class or Quantum-Ultra class ship (i.e. the new Odyssey of the Seas). Or, if you want to go a bit upscale, try one of those Single Infinite Veranda staterooms on Celebrity's Edge-class ships (Edge, Apex or Beyond).

The great thing about RCI is that they continually run that "60% off the 2nd guest" promo, which essentially lowers your solo supplement to 40% (very do-able for me). With this promo, you can book any RCI ship and any stateroom.

Yeah, based on what the previous poster said about supply & demand, I'm sure NCL's studio cabins can at times, be higher than a regular inside (with the 100% solo supplement). But I would guess that this is the exception not the rule. For example, I just booked POA and snagged one of her 4 studio cabins (booked her far enough in advance). I saved $730 by booking a studio instead of a regular inside cabin (with the 100% solo supplement).

1 hour ago, christinand said:

I would like to try NCL, but the cost of a studio seems prohibitive, in many cases it seems to cost more than a regular cabin. In the one cruise i’ve been on i found it enough to eat at a table of 6 every night, that was enough socializing for me. I enjoyed the time myself otherwise. I’m not really sure i see the advantage of only eating with other solos.

I guess that can happen, where the cruise fare for an inside is less than a studio but I don't think it happens very often. Remember, in an inside stateroom, you're paying a 100% solo supplement (usually), so us solos get to pay double (yay!).

But you're right, you do have to compare fares for the different staterooms, in case NCL has priced a regular inside lower than the studio for a particular cruise.

I am just starting out solo cruising. I did my first solo cruise July17-24th on Adventure of the Seas RT out of Nassau, Bahamas. Had a great time! I made friends with a nice couple who "adopted" me for dinner every night. Never had dinner alone (not that there is anything wrong with that; see above).

As far as cruise lines, I have done a lot of "homework" wrt solo cruising on the different lines. I'll withhold my final judgement until I have actually cruised solo on them but from the cost and "solo-friendliness" aspect, I would rate RCI & Celebrity #1 with NCL not far behind. RCI is #1 in my book for solos because, they continually run that 60% off the 2nd guest promo, which essentially lowers my solo supplement down to 40% and allows me to book any RCI ship and any stateroom. In addition, as a previous poster pointed out, RCI also has those studio balcony staterooms on their Quantum-class ships (12 on each). Another option with RCI. Similarly, Celebrity has those Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms on their Edge-class ships. Edge has 16 SIVs, Apex has 24 and the new Beyond will have 32 SIVs. This tells me Celebrity (owned by RCG) is increasing their marketing to solo cruisers.

Anyway, I'm retired so cruising is my RAOC (Retirement Activity of Choice). I have cruises booked on RCI, Celebrity, CCL & NCL into 2023. I am sampling (from the solo cruiser perspective) all the mainstream cruise lines (although Celebrity is a bit more "upscale").

5 hours ago, wifenocruise said:

Hi everybody.

This is my 1st post on this site. 

I am sailing on the new P+O Iona at the end of the month, and have just booked 2 back to back cruises on Diamond Princess for February 2023. A 7 night round trip from Singapore, followed by a 12 night cruise from Singapore to Tokyo. Balcony cabin to myself, as a 70th birthday present. 

Maybe other singles will be onboard.

Ian

There's a cruise line us Americans don't think about much; P&O. We did Diamond Princess a few years back on a one-way from Vancouver, BC to Whittier, Alaska.

2 minutes ago, cruiseelady said:

Yes exactly pretty incredible prices now.  I actually want to book for January which will cost $551 for a 7 days cruise for a balcony but not sure if I should do it now or onboard.  Someone mentioned you get onboard credit if you book onboard. 

Since you are going sooner please let know if they have a meet and greet on a daily.  Someone mentioned that they didn't see it on their August 2nd cruise. 

Yeah, I think you're right. You get OBC if you book your next cruise onboard. I'm on the roll call for the Aug 27th cruise but  I don't remember seeing anything about a meet & greet.  @GA Dave, have you seen whether our cruise will have a M&G? I may attempt to do a LIVE review of these cruises. Stay tuned.

37 minutes ago, cruiseelady said:

I am booked on MSC Meraviglia out of Miami for a 7 days cruise for September 25 2021.  I had never been on MSC but $500 for 7 days and a balcony stateroom.  I had to do it. 

Me 2! I'm on the Aug 27th sailing and doing a B2B. $638 for a 7-day cruise In a balcony (solo)  I couldn' t say 'no"  Normally, 7-day cruises have been running me around. $2K.

46 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Both my Equinox sailing, which I just came back from, and my Summit sailing in November had no solo supplement. So I felt like it was a good deal. Plus, for this Summit sailing in November, round trip flights to Miami were only $175 total.

Wow, even before I knew about the no solo supplement on Celebrity, I thought Celebrity was a very solo friendly cruise line (with those aforementioned Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms on their Edge-class ships. Btw, Edge has 16 SIVs, Apex added 8 more for a total of 24 SUVs and Beyond will have even 8 more for a total of 32 SIVs!). Now, I think they are a very, very solo friendly cruise line! If Celebrity keeps this "no solo supplement" promo on, I'll be able to try Celebrity's non Edge-class ships (like you're doing).

3 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Solo cruise  in 63 days  on the Koningsdam 

If you don't mind, I'm stealing this pic (if I can figure out how, lol) 

4 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Yesterday I scheduled my next solo sailing for November 13 on the Celebrity Summit. It's only a 5-day as the 5 day mark is when missing my husband started to slightly outweigh my enjoyment of the cruise on my Equinox sailing. We also changed our January 2 sailing on the Edge to a 9-Day sailing on the Equinox on January 21. The itinerary is much better and I am hoping to catch some of my favorite staff members again before their contracts are up the 1st of February.

Hi Jaime. Just curious, is it still a good deal (worth the experience) cruising solo with Celebrity on a non-Edge class ship (i.e. Summit)? Does Celebrity have studio cabins on Summit? I know the Edge class ships have those Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms, of which, I am booked in one on Celebrity Edge for an Oct 2-9th W. Caribbean cruise. Curious and looking forward to trying one of those SIVs 

14 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Retirement sounds nice.

Yes. I've decided that cruising is my RAOC (Retirement Activity Of Choice).

4 hours ago, umaine89 said:

 

 

That’s the end. We are at the airport. We had a great cruise for our fourth time on Adventure. Clearly this was the best one of the four. I think wearing masks will be disappointing going forward, but I’d do it again, even with the mask rules as they exist starting today. 
 

At the airport, VeriFLY line had two people ahead of us. The regular check in line had at 30 people in it. If you fly American, do VeriFLY and you’ll save yourself a bunch of time.  You do have to figure out where the VeriFLY line is. We asked an American rep and she put us in the right spot. 

Thank you for doing this LIVE thread. I really enjoyed following along (and playing the "guess the towel animal" game, lol). I guess it is now up to @natefish95to "carry the baton" and also do a LIVE thread (no pressure Nate, lol). Yeah, I also had a great cruise on Adventure OTS on July 17th. Great crew and ship.  So much so, that I just booked MSC Meraviglia on a B2B out of Miami on Aug 27th!

5 hours ago, kevnick0814 said:

Good Morning,

CC Jet Ski excursion: Have you done the same on Labadee? I have 3x. loved it, and am wondering if CC is set up the same. Experienced riders up front, allowed to go fast, a couple of stops to regroup, etc. 

Let me know your overall thoughts. Thanks! 👍

Haven't been to Labadee (yet). The CC jet ski excursion has a guide up front and one trailing in the back. They did go by skill level with the more skilled jet skiers in the front positions. I felt good because after they guides saw me operating for awhile, they moved me up forward a position (a "promotion"). Or, the guy in front of me was that bad, lol. The excursion was a blast! We did "S" turns and jumped wakes and of course, jumped the waves (some parts of our run were more choppy than others). At one point, we stopped for a swim call. I'd definitely do it again.

18 minutes ago, umaine89 said:

Final guess the animal. We are unanimous on our guesses. 
 

Pachyderm.

2 hours ago, umaine89 said:

Last day. It must be Friday. 

 

We have a Water Park cabana reserved. 


 

 

 

Henry gave us great service in the cabana. Checking if we needed drinks, brought us funnel cake and fruit that we didn’t ask for but was perfect. That’s called anticipating the customers’ needs. 

There’s two slide towers.
The small tower  has three slides.
One slide you ride a mat.

One slide has single or two-person tubes. 
The last slides has a tube that takes up to 4 people. 

 

The tall tower has 6 slides of varying thrill levels that you ride one at a time without a tube or mat. Surprisingly, although it is a incredibly long climb to the top of the tower, that is not the scariest ride. If you are not a thrill ride enthusiast, the two shortest slides really aren’t bad. 
 

 

There is also a pool where you can get a workout. Holding onto a rope and climbing across Lilly pads. Or climb a rock wall in the water. 
 

 

The wave pool was a lot of fun. 
 

 

If you’re not a water slide person, really no need to go in Water Park. The cabana had great service but really we didn’t need it with the island so empty. We got it on a deal that wasn’t that much more then the Water Park entrance fees for 3 people. 
 

We never waited in line. Everything we did today was waiting for us once we climbed the stairs. It was truly a Perfect Day in Coco Cay. 

At Coco Cay. I had a day pass to the Coco Beach Club on days. I also did a jet ski excursion on day 1. On day 2. I had a day pass to Thrill Water Park but I didn't even use it because my body ( especially in a certain unmentionable part) was very sore from the jet ski ride (think pounding on the waves). So instead, I sat at the swim up bar in the Oasis Lagoon and pounded Pina Coladas all day. Decided to give my liver a(nother) work out.

3 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

What's so wrong with Nassau being a home port?  Investing in a cruise port, which before restrictions saw like 4-5 ships a day?  Are you all forgetting, Nassau started cruising when the USA did not.  It was an option to get a ship moving.  It was never a "profit" thing.  Ships need about 30-40% occupancy to break even.  It was a psychological thing to show North Americans that a cruise can happen.  It was better to break even, and showcase RCCL than to sit idle.  

 

Also, why would they cancel remaining cruises?  It is only maybe 5 more weeks?  Mid Sept is the last one.  It was set up for the summer season.  

 

I'm going on August 28.  Not happy about the mask thing, but you only need to wear it while walking from spot to spot.  Almost everything on the ship is mask free anyway.  It's not like you need to see a show with a mask on, or gamble, or eat.  So it's annoying, but I already went on land vacations, with the same annoyance, and survived.

I agree. Remember all those "hurdles" the CDC was throwing up when cruise lines were trying to restart in the U.S ? I think RCI got tired of the CDC's B.S. and took action and put Adventure of the Seas in Nassau (CDC has no jurisdiction). Funny, after RCI did that, all of a sudden the CDC began "relaxing" their requirements for cruising to restart out of U.S. ports. Then, Celebrity Edge restarted out of PE. Yeah, I think RCI's home porting of Adventure of the Seas is only termporary (this summer) and they will repositiin her to a U.S. port this fall/winter. I thought I heard Galveston, Texas? Also, I think RCI is going to home port Oasis of the Seas in Galveston.

14 hours ago, umaine89 said:

 

Today is Thursday. I don’t want to dwell on the negatives but tomorrow is the last day before they throw us off the boat. 

 

We are in port at Freeport. Freeport is an industrial port that is not scenic. 

 

I have been here before and didn’t leave anything behind that I want to retrieve, so we are staying on board today. 

 

The crew ran a life boat drill this morning that passengers didn’t have to participate in. They did blow the alarm horn (7 short and 1 long) multiple times and that thing is loud. They even launched a couple life boats for practice. 

 

Staying on board means late lunch at Johnny Rockets (please note finally some food porn below). Good news, they still dance and the drink package gets you free milkshakes. We also learned you can go and pay no cover charge and get a milkshake to go. All of you future cruisers, take note. 

 

In my walking today, I found on deck 13 forward where they have stashed all the missing deck chairs. 
 

 

The other reason for not getting off is that the ship leaves at 3:30p. Tough to get value out of a day pass at a resort. Goodbye Freeport, I hardly knew ya. 

 

Yeah, I agree about Freeport. I learned that RCI uses Freeport to refuel & reprovision Adventure OTS. And, yeah, the ship is not in port very long. @HBCcruiser& I bought a day pass at an all-inclusive beach resort (Port Lucaya. I think) but it sure was a short day and the time flew by. Still worth it, imo. All you could eat Caribbean lobster for lunch!