Mikamarii

Bonaire is our number one spot we want to get too but can never find a ship that goes there during our time off so that would be my choice of the ones listed. We had an 11 night southern Caribbean on Explorer booked for next fall (2024) but opted to go for 11 nights on Utopia instead. My concern with the 11 nighter was that we read several reviews that suggested only doing Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia with organized tours because of crime in the area. There weren't a whole lot of excursions on the website for booking. When it's just us adults I'd be fine with it and would explore but with kids in tow we opted to change it. We figured if we were gonna spend at least 1 or 2 of those ports on the ship then might as book something with more fun for the kids.

I'm sorry @mugtech. I jumped the gun. You have lost your award. Smokey is now the winner of the internet Today. It's good to have competition. I hope you can top this.

You sir (or ma'am) have won the internet for today. Kudos

To further your point...I don't think they have put a hard cap on how many towels a room gets. They'll still get a refresh everyday, if one needs more than that you just have to ask....mild inconvenience at best.... I know I know...slippery slope and all......increasing prices.....degrading service.....what's next?? will I have to ask for a mattress!?

So people will reuse toothbrushes, razors, and make up brushes? They'll reuse cutlery after it's been in your mouth? They'll sit on couches, loungers, and theater seats that are rarely, if ever cleaned? But reusing your own towel after you shower? That's where you draw the line. That's the definition of disgusting? To quote 80's band Gowan "Man, you're a strange animal" I know, I know my comparison isn't "apples to apples"

We used to be Disney Vacation club owners. Their cleaning policy was on day 4 trash and towels only and day 7 full clean. We actually loved it. It was nice not having someone come in every day and felt We could settle in more. That experience changed our preference so we actually like this new change on cruises. One of the things that always bothered us is returning to our room only to find they are still cleaning and have to kill 20 minutes or so before going back in or having to leave the room so they could clean. I know we don't have to leave but kinda get that social anxiety about hindering someone from doing their job. On our last TP we couldn't get the timing right with our attendant. Some days we'd be up early and out of the room, others we'd sleep in or hang out on the balcony. When we'd leave he'd be busy cleaning other rooms and not gotten to ours yet so we felt obligated to stay away. On 2 days over the 20 nights we completely missed a cleaning and felt we let him down haha. Everyone has their likes and wants but this change moves the needle a little more to where we prefer. It will always be a mixed bag of reactions.

People tend to write a review after their first experience with something until something goes wrong. If someone is taking a cruise every year for 10 years it is likely they aren't writing a review after each cruise so you may have a time where people are writing bad reviews but the experienced ones still enjoying it aren't counteracting that with their current good reviews. Its all averages. I don't write a lot of reviews but I have never written a positive review of the same place twice. Any company or site that offers reviews should be providing every single review to be viewed. We shouldn't be expecting them to tell us which ones are important or relevant. Present all of them and a robust filter system and let the user decide which ones are important to them.

No you do not need both....just the ETA with a Cdn passport I haven't done a deep dive in to all the requirements or political ramifications but I believe the difference between the ETA and an actual tourist visa is reciprocal agreements between governments. Only certain country passports are allowed ETA's, all others need to go full tourist (or other) visa route. Likely, in part, because of information sharing between govts. There may be situations where a full Tourist Visa may apply to a Cdn (Maybe you want to visit longer than 3 months at a time) but for general vacation purposes an ETA will suffice. I'll stress this is not fact, this is my belief based on limited research I did when I applied because I was also confused on what I would need but, unless requirements have changed in the last 9 months, I am 110% certain you do not need both a Visa and ETA.. At no point in our time in any of these countries were we required to show it as it is linked to your passport. However, you still need to have a copy with you just in case someone in authority asks.

We did a Transpacific last October that had stops in FP and NZ, ending in Sydney. You need an ETA for both Australia and New Zealand regardless of how many stops. We didn't need anything for FP. The process was very simple and took maybe 10min each to fill out the forms for all for of us. We got approved within about 15 mins for each. For NZ info go here https://nzeta.immigration.govt.nz/ Cost is 17$ NZ plus 35$NZ tourist levy pp For Australia info go here https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/electronic-travel-authority-601 Cost I think is 20$ AUS Download the app for each country and do both applications from there. It is quick and easy (plus I think it is cheaper). Plus you will have your results on your phone within the app that you can access without internet. I screenshotted ours, plus printed them out, plus had the app.....just for added security. Don't wait until a week or so before. Do it a month or two before (as long as your trip is within the eligible timeframe). If there is a snag then you want time to sort it out or you aren't getting in the country. The only snag we hit is that right after I was approved for our Aus ETAs I immediately applied for our NZ ones. My credit card triggered a fraud alert for being processed in two different countries in less than an hour. I had to call my CC to authorize the charge. That was the longest/most difficult part. Any questions let me know.

Maybe it's a Canadian thing! Here is Horseshoe lake in Jasper, Ab which is a popular site. The first and last jumps in this video are approximately 80ft. While I've never done it nor would I advocate for heights like this it is neither defacto 'safe' nor defacto 'suicide' by jumping from these heights. I suppose the key is whether or not you land feet first.

From what I've been able to gather it's just the Unesco heritage fjords that will ban ships that aren't carbon neutral. This would hopefully only affect stops in Flåm, Geringer, and Olden. Hopefully Arctic Circle cruises will continue and just stay on some of the outer ports like Bergan, Stavanger, Ålsund, Molde, Tromsø, and Honningsvåg.

Is there a period where cruises/prices can be reviewed prior to booking or is it just release and free for all?

Was this the plane wreck 😄😄?

We were on the 19 night TP from Hawaii to Sydney last October on Ovation so same class of ship but slightly different ports. We originally had connecting port holes but prior to departure they closed off our entire deck for covid rooms so we got bumped up to connecting balconies. We absolutely loved it. Its easy to say because we didn't pay for it but having the balcony for all those sea days was awesome. We didn't spend tonnes of time out there but would go and sit from time to time for an hour or so as it was quiet and peaceful and wonderful when pulling in and out of ports. I cant remember what the price difference would have been for us but I'm guessing it was a fair amount as we didn't book it originally. The balcony definitely enhanced the trip though. We also loved the stretches of 6 sea days but we are sea day people. There was lots to do all day and as other poster stated, it's amazing how you just settle in to a routine. We didn't book any excursions through the ship as there weren't many at the time. Moorea is a tendor port and it was a good 15 mimute tender ride to the dock. The water is crystal clear and views amazing. In Moorea there are loads of vendors right off the tender dock. We overnighted there so the first day we caught a cab to the beach and second day we did an island tour with Albert Transport. It was awesome and I'd definitely recommend it if thats what you are in to. They take you to the peak of the mountain in the center for some amazing views. Tahiti we booked scuba diving direct from a local company. Docking in Tahiti you are right in the center of downtown so lots of vendors and the tourist office is a short walk from the pier with loads of things to book. We didn't do the other ports you are going so don't know about those.

Out of curiosity I checked wonder for 7 nights compared to our 4 and 3 night cruises on Utopia for same time frame. We booked an Ultra spacious OV for the 4 of us. Our utopia cruises are 800$ cheaper than a 7 night on wonder for same category and same time frame. Our Utopia cruises are also refundable deposit. I didn't go that far with the Wonder booking so add maybe another $400-500. So looking at a difference of about $1200 (Cdn) So what you are seeing applies to us as well. Edited to add that our 11 nights averages to $231(cdn) /person/night

Norway has always been my #1 bucket list. Never been but I frequently look at the requirements to retire there haha. We're hoping for 2025 as that will be the last year before the restrictions come in and won't be able to visit a couple of those stops. Pictures reminds me a bit of Alaska but something more magical about Norway. After seeing these pictures I'm going to by gunning for an aft balcony! Your whole trip looks amazing.

We had an 11 night Southern Caribbean booked for next year that we just switched over to b2b2b on Utopia. After our cruises this Dec we were only 11 nights from Diamond hence the 11 nighter as it seemed the simplest and if we were going to book a 7 nighter anyway may as well tack on another four while we are there. We like the ability to explore new ports with cruising but sometimes just want a relaxing, do very little, beach vacation. The 3 cruises on Utopia are definitely going to be less ‘efficient’ than 1 X 11 nighter but we booked the same room all 3 legs, we really enjoy Coco Cay and it really is the easiest beach day especially with kids…..no cabs or transports and food everywhere! They’ll probably enjoy Utopia much more than Explorer (not that Explorer would be bad) but definitely more for them to do and more kids on the ship. Plus flying to Orlando is so much easier for us than Miami or Ft Lauderdale for flight options so it works out pretty good and managed to keep it roughly the same price. We did a Transpacific in 2022 and hoping to do arctic circle in 2025 so we are sandwiching a really easy-to-plan relaxing beach vacation in between. I’m glad we have so many options and a new one was just added that we probably wouldn’t have considered before but there is a certain draw to a brand new ship.

Not quite the angle I was going for haha

If you build it, they will come….plain

We were booked for 11 nights on Explorer for Southern Caribbean fall 2024 out of Miami. We are doing Southern Caribbean this winter so decided to move our booking over to Utopia and try something new so doing b3b 4/3/4 nights. Nassau doesn't really interest us so it will be a great opportunity to really explore the ship. We like Coco Cay for easy beach days with the kids so should be a wonderful time. Plus Orlando offers us so many more flight options than Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

We took our kids on their first cruise when they were about 3 and 18 months. Our second cruise they were about 5 and 3 They’ve been on a couple more since then. The first cruise was a little more difficult because our daughter wasn’t yet sleeping in her own bed so she slept with us. We were worried about her falling out of bed with the rocking of the ship. The second cruise we had a wonderful time. Our kids have travelled a lot and we’ve been lucky as we’ve never really had an issue. A lot of it will depend on how well your toddler does being a way from home, sleeping in a different bed, having routine disrupted, etc

I don't doubt that at all. It's prob is north of 90% American passengers. Just replying to the comment (and similar I've seen from time to time on these boards) That when in America follow their rules. Just pointing out The cruise ship isn't in America the majority of the time. I'll follow the rules the business sets out. I sure as heck won't leave a 40% tip to open a bottle of beer because American servers don't get paid well on land; because that's what they do in the USA and the ship is full of American passengers. Crap. I sucked myself in to a tipping thread haha.

Not only that but most cruises departing the US spend little time in American waters, have few American staff members, are usually captained by a non-american, and are not registered in America. So the idea of adhering to the American way of life on a cruise doesn't (sorry for the pun) hold water.

Its hard to get excited about any league with only 9 teams and 6 make the playoffs🤣

I booked one recently....maybe 2 months or so ago through my TA. Got a 1 week courtesy hold, no deposit, that she was able to extend an additional week 2 more times.