notscb
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Everything posted by notscb
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I'm surprised that you're not considering leaving Royal. I'm often a solo cruiser and found a post-covid 4 night cruise on Freedom for $326 for an oceanview room at the front of the ship. Fast forward to the exact same cruise a year later and its nearly $750. Royal isn't trying to cater to the solo cruise market, and there's a certain weekend cruiser who built his channel on Royal as a solo cruiser who also has had to change his model because RCL has been getting so expensive for solo cruisers. I've been cruising on Carnival since my first Royal cruise- and even though I still try to go for Royal and price it out, they just aren't doing enough to earn my business over their competitors (price wise).
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I'll not repeat what others have said, but instead focus on what to do once you arrive. LGA is nice in that there's a free bus service that'll connect you to the subway system (which is always best IMHO) to get you anywhere you might want to go. I'd suggest riding the subway in to midtown and staying somewhere close by whatever sights you might want to see and then the day-of taking an uber to the terminal. JFK has the airtran, but the ride is longer and costs money. The downside as well is that it transfers at Jamaica Station which is a longer ride inbound as well. Alternatively, you could always book a nearby hotel with airport shuttle. From there, day of, uber/lyft/taxi to the cruise terminal.
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We sailed on the Dream in December of 23 and had a great time! There was always plenty going on yet plenty of space to find quiet nooks around the ship to relax. We did the steakhouse and really enjoyed it and our cove balcony was a really neat experience. Not sure why it's getting bad reviews- the Dream was easily my best Carnival experience so far.
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Cruise starts tomorrow, FTTF not sold out
notscb replied to tidecat's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
I'll echo what others have said- The real value of FTTF comes when you have tender ports. Without a tender port, the value is greatly diminished. That, and the Elation is a smaller ship. It's possible that folks don't feel the need to purchase given the smaller crowds (compared to other sailings on larger ships). -
There are plenty of Coves forward of the Galley that you might consider choosing if you're concerned about noise. We had a Cove on the Dream just barely under the Galley and heard zero noise throughout our trip, so it really depends on where your cabin is as to what you'll experience. The more I think about it though, the more I remember the sound of the ship moving and waves outside over anything else (which was a huge plus IMHO).
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I Lost Ten Pounds on a Transatlantic
notscb replied to Ride-The-Waves's topic in Royal Caribbean International
Sounds like you boarded a Royal ship expecting a HAL experience. You were bound to be let down. -
Thank you again for taking us along, and for the many details throughout. I plan trips a lot like you- every detail known and planned for with some flexibility built in so we have a good time. I will echo that your experience with debarkation at Long Beach is the norm, not the exception, which is really a shame for such a neat port to sail out of. Uber drivers don't want to go there, traffic regularly backs up and the parking garage setup isn't really ideal for picking up and dropping off at the same time if the ship gets delayed for whatever reason. I had the same experience with Uber and Lyft and ended up jumping on a bus through Carnival to the airport.
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Willdra's Paramount Carnival Panorama October 15-21 Cruise
notscb replied to willdra's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
I"M SO EXCITED to be following along. Thank you for posting your journey 😄 -
Eliminating Butlers - Spoke to Celebrity. Here is conversation.
notscb replied to LMHSRN's topic in Celebrity Cruises
When it's all part of the same group, it's more likely to be similar than different. -
I was just thinking that I saw a tiktok of the guy getting escorted off. I'll have to try to find it and link it.
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Has Wildra been on any cruises lately?
notscb replied to Megan_Strick's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
I'll join the chant WILLDRA WILLDRA WILLDRA WILLDRA @willdra! I can't believe this thread got posted. I was just thinking the same thing! -
Grandeur of the Seas Be Wary 12/17-12/27
notscb replied to BigPapi21's topic in Royal Caribbean International
I haven't read through the thread yet- but based on the length of your letter I'm not surprised you didn't get a response. Try re-sending a brief letter with bullet points and a potential resolution you'd have in mind. If you already had a meeting with them to discuss your concerns, they might just file the letter away anyway. Best of luck. -
PANORAMA...give me those cruise reviews to Mexican Riviera
notscb replied to mitsugirly's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
It can, however, be very cold on sea days 🙂 -
How Often do the shows / entertainment change?
notscb replied to cjdcmf32's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
Can you expand on this? From what I've read around these boards, people seem to enjoy the shows on the excel ships- especially given that they involve aerial stunts. My impression was that people didn't like the venue (Grand Central). RCL is definitely doing better with their productions- they still have live accompaniment. -
PANORAMA...give me those cruise reviews to Mexican Riviera
notscb replied to mitsugirly's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
The itinerary you posted is the preferred route as you get a full day in Cabo versus the other way around where you'd only get half of a day in Cabo. Overall, the Panorama gets pretty favorable reviews around these boards and others have posted their reviews for you to see. @deladane has a review on the main page that you might want to check out as well! We just went to PV for a week (after our Panorama cruise got cancelled) and loved every minute of it. We will definitely be back and there's plenty to see and do. -
New Vessel ordered for the Carnival Group with Fincantieri.
notscb replied to Despegue's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
Disagree. It's just a different product. I appreciate you sharing your speculations, but 75% of Royal's brand is marketing, 25% is onboard experience as evidenced by all of those "loyal to royal" folks who would never check out the Celebration, Jubilee or Mardi Gras which are all getting rave reviews. Marketing might be Royal's strong suit, but discounting Carnival's product when their new ships are getting the reviews that they are is missing something. -
Sounds like you were the victim of a scam here, sadly. I doubt Carnival is going to change their mind until you pay whatever they feel is due. You could try a brief email to their customer service explaining the issue and asking for help, but every company handles folks who are involved in chargebacks this way (as others have commented). I'd suggest following this guide and see where it gets you.
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New Vessel ordered for the Carnival Group with Fincantieri.
notscb replied to Despegue's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
[Translated Article 1] [Translated Article 2] In case anyone was looking for it. -
Excuse me, but what? $200/p.p. is absolutely wild. I get it's an Oasis class ship so it's bigger- the tour takes longer, etc. But that's just wild pricing.
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The Key....What's the most you will pay for it?
notscb replied to Bfamilycruisers's topic in Royal Caribbean International
I enjoyed the Key (solo cruiser at the time I used it) but wouldn't pay more than $5/day than the wifi price would be. When I got it, it was under $5/more/day than the premium wifi was and I found it to be well worth it. -
My experience of NCL/Ocean events for our civil ceremony
notscb replied to Jimlavery's topic in Honeymoon & Wedding Cruises
Weird that a thread from so long ago got bumped up, but if OP is still around and is still looking for help, Elliott Advocacy has a great resource to help consumers self-advocate. (if others see this post, hopefully it can help someone!). Honestly, you need to pair that letter down into action steps the cruise line can do to make it right. It likely wasn't read by anyone at the cruise line at that length and level of detail.