living at the beach

In reply to evanbob regarding solo cruising on CCL vs NCL' just have to say that although I have experienced nine cruises on Carnival but seven of those with my DH and only 2 solo, I have to exclaim that the entertainment on NCL is far superior to CCl on ot just the Breakaway, Getaway, Epic class, but even on the dowdy Dawn! The reason for this statement is that NCL employs many more live entertainers versus CCl with their canned sailaway, their computer controlled pianos, and their minimalist main theater presentations vs. live entertainers in multiple venues plus great main theater options including 90 i ute Broadway shows on their largest ships.

However, I am not exclusively an NCL fan; in fact I am now preparing for a December Carnival Glory 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise right now. I am doing so because even without the benefit of the NCL studio with its little bit lower rates than booking an interior and paying double as solo, and with less entertainment options, I will get a great rate with a good itinerary, a larger cabin, food as good or better than NCL - what's not to like on either cruiseline?

But don't let any one tell you that Carnival's entertainment is on par with other lines. This is the area that they have skimped on most in the last few years, and for those who love live combos performing all round the ship, live steel drum bands on sail-away, theater productions with live bands of ten or more musicians, and production crews of ten or more singers and dancers; you will not find this anymore on Carnival. If that's not a big deal to you, CCL's low fares and large abins will be fantastic. But if you are looking for real entertainment and willing to compromise on a smaller cabin, then Carnival is a clear winner! As evident in my post so far, I go with the best price for the best itinerary after 35 cruises on many lines

Sharon

Oh my! I will be sailing on the Glory as a solo in December for the first time with Carnival for the past two years. I am now approaching my fortieth cruise;many with Carnival but also with Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean.

Although I never rated Carnival's entertainment highly, it was still a good thing to do after dinner. For the majority of my cruises I sailed with my DH, but for the last three years he has been less willing to go through the airport and flight hassles that go with traveling, but stuck here in the brutal winters of the North Shore of Massachusetts, I have overcome my fears of going alone and gotten out of the nasty Northeastern weather; sometimes with Carnival because they were offering zero or low singles supplements, but also increasingly going with Norwegian due to their solo studios and solo activities. They have evidently gone the opposite direction from Carnival, offering at least one ninety minute Broadway show plus live entertainment both at sail away and countless other venues.

still, I had fairly recent memories of a Crnival Splendor cruise from New York that was the first solo cruise I took when my man refused to go. I was disappointed that at sail away it was a dim spectre of previous cruises that we had had as a couple and the mechanical piano playing endlessly kinda grossed me out, but still with a good itinerary, decent price, okay evening entertainment, and good food opportunities, it was still a great cruise!

Now I am hearing that only not only have they downgraded the entertainment in the evenings considerably, but they are thinking of eliminating all live evening entertainment altogether! Wow, cruises have always offered a good alternative to all inclusive so and other tropical getaways. But when you figure in the loss of free internet, having to leave a wonderful evening in a tropical paradise to raise back to as hip by 4:30, extremely high booze prices, not just in bars but even if you want to enjoy a drink in your room, smaller room sizes,much smaller pool sizes, a and paying high internet prices for what is free in most hotels and all inclusives, I am looking at the cumulative price of adding on wifi, beverages, paid restaurants offering things that used to be free a few years ago, and now almost nothing offered complimentary for entertainment in the evening and wondering what is Carnival ever thinking?

Dear Cruisemom 42,

I just finished exploring this whole thread and want to thank you sincerely for all the help and advice you have given to those of us planning to visit Naples by cruise ship and see Herculaneum that day. If you would be so kind, I would love to have your notes on Herculaneum. I will not be traveling until early next April, but I am already enjoying exploring the possibilities. I too love to take notes in advance. I will be traveling solo, but hopefully I will find another person on my cruise who would like to go together. If not, are there any precautions that I should be aware of for traveling on the train and exploring Herculaneum on my own? I am a senior citizen, but pretty fit and have visited Pompeii twice fairly recently with no problems, but I was with DH then.

Thanks. sodlercn@yahoo.com

One quick observation regarding Norwegian. Let me start by saying that I love Princess, but in the last two years since my DH has tired of cruises, I have booked on Norwegian twice to experience their solo cabin experience. I loved the Breakaway- wonderful entertainment , fantastic solo experience, but I noted some big losses as compared to Princess. First, since Princess has more pools per passenger and overall more open spaces for all booked guests, I missed the lack of comfortable and in crowded venues to view the ocean, swim, or just relax. As previously noted, Norwegian has dedicated more of their space to both exclusive upscale areas like the Haven, and family friendly things that are only used by a minority of cruisers such as ropes courses, multiple slides, and extensive kiddie water parks, leaving the main areas that most mature passengers like to frequent to be over-crowded and hectic in feeling.

A final note regarding dining that I have found in two Breakaway cruises plus one Dawn to Bermuda cruise this summer on Norwegian, is that more of their entrees in the main dining room were so salty to my taste as to be inedible, is to request lower sodium choices in advance. As my mother always said, you can add salt if your choice is tasteless, but you can't take it away!

Again, overall I do like Norwegian, but primarily due to their solo cabins. Indeed, I am booked for a 14 day Breakaway cruise next January and a 10 day Eic Western Med cruise in April. However, if you like a less crowded, more adult oriented cruise with good food, service and pools offered without having to pay extra once aboard, I would choose Princess. But as others have said before, all cruises are wonderful, and the differences between lines are not that significant considering the overall cruising experience.

Just wanted to chime in and say that this is an issue that has greatly puzzled me lately, and not just about cruise food. I understand what pervious posters have said about cruise water, etc. yet on my last few cruises ( and restaurant visits too), I have found that the majority of entrees taste overwhelmingly salty, to the point of ruining the taste of the food. This puzzles me for several reasons. First, as my mother first sais and as true as true can be, better to have a food item under salted, as you can always add salt, but you can't take it away.

Second, as a sizable percentage of cruisers have issues with blood pressure, why have food that is so salty on most of the entrees offered? And finally, with so many people concerned with food purity, why add so much salt to foo that isn't rotting, as a main reason for adding salt is to preserve food and to disguise the taste of food that is past its prime? We can't do anything about the fact that the desalination process on board, or the traveling experience itself may lead to excess sodium, but I want to add my voice to the protest of entrees that come terribly over-salted, both on ships and restaurants here in the states.

:)Q:)

Depending on where you live in Maine, you might want to consider the express luxury bus service from Portsmouth, NH operated by C&J Trailways. You have to purchase tickets in advance and you get reserved seats, free movies, beverages, and snacks .fron Portsmouth to Penn station in 5 hours. I have done this twice now and it is a stress free and relatively inexpensive alternative. The terminal in Portsmoth is right off the highway and offers free and secure parking.

While I am shy and would never dream of going topless myself, I have to agree with other posters. We would be much better if we were more concerned with the tremendous amount of killing on media and its effects on young people than the possibility that they might see someone bathing or sunning topless or even in the nude.

I am especially confused about allusions that this has something to do with morality or Christian values. As far as I remember, the Ten Commandments include " Thou shall not kill."" And no where're does it say "Thou shall not go without clothes."

I guess that as long as the corporate managers keep hoping that new cruisers will be bedazzled by the wonder of first seeing a cruise ship and all that it encompasses, they don't have to worry about those who have cruised before and are now noticing the ever growing reductions in service and product. But the new cruisers coming aboard are used to free wifi, larger rooms, infinity pools, and lower prices if you compare not just base fares but add on all the extra charges on the ships for specialty restaurants, to obtain half way decent meals going to specialty venues , the extra costs to have a drink in your room before diner, the measly balcony compared to all inclusive properties! Hallelujah!c All of a sudden although, granted it did take awhile, it seems to me that cruising is getting to be less and less desirable!

And this from a previous cruise lover with 34 cruises completed so far. I am very sad.

Sharon

No, I am very sorry that you were so disappointed by what happened. Because I am a very risk- avoidant personality, I just couldn't bear to have that happen to me, so my advice would be to avoid that pain in the future by booking earlier in the season even if it costs a bit more. But I admit that I am a scaredy-cat and don't like to take too many risks with my cherished vacation times. However, I also recognize that no amount of prior planning can take account of all possible contingencies. Right now I an sweating a little about my payed for December cruise to the Caribbean, hoping that the Ebola situations will be better handled by the time that I will be cruising so that I will actually be able to enjoy my cruise.

I live in the Boston area and have taken five cruises to Bermuda over the years. I did some research before I booked even the first time and learned that even though officially hurricane season lasts all summer and fall, the vast majority of hurricanes occur in September and October and are extremely rare to non-existent in June and early July. That's why it made sense to me when I checked the prices for Bermuda cruises that they were offering bargain prices in September and October. Because I really wanted to go to Bermuda and not be diverted to Canada or elsewhere, I bit the bullet and paid the extra to book in early summer.

I also know that Bermuda is Avery expensive island to book for a hotel stay and go out to restaurants that charge very high prices due to the expense of shipping food items to that very beautiful but isolated island. To me, you get what you pay for. If you really want to experience the beauty of Bermuda and not pay the outrageous prices to fly, book a note, and pay for food there, take a seven day cruise with three days in Bermuda. But pay a few more dollars to go before hurricane season whips into high gear.

Just sayin.

Well, here I am after 32 cruises, 7 of them with RCI, and in the past 5 years liking RCI the best of all cruise lines experienced , finally going to quit! No, it wasn't the elimination of mailed cruise documents or the elimination of better service in the Windjammer although that had an initial impact. No, it wasn't the hiking up of prices for alcoholic beverages from an average well below prices in most areas of America to almost on par with the highest cost cities.elimination of real libraries and the lowering of quality in the main dining rooms in favor of getting passengers tp pay more for alternative dining venues. No, it wasn't even when they carved up the magnificent Viking lounge,

nor was it because the amount of free space for all passengers to enjoy as more and more areas were cordoned off for exclusive pay extra areas and amenities. And, as others have said, I bring my own shampoo and conditioner, so why should I care?

perhaps it's because when I stand back and look at the totality, it all starts to seem very cheesy.

What was the final straw that broke the camel's back? I do not know. But in the last two years cruises have gone from the top of my wish list to a very distant second. Service, quality, and amenities have all been steadily eroding away until now my overall vision of cruising has truly been diminished.

I have started going on escorted tours, and a number of them provide hub tours where you stay in one location and yet get to see multiple fantastic locations. The price compares better than cruises after you add on all the things that you have to pay extras on after a decade of mickle and diming, not just by RCI, but the whole cruise industry in general.

But on the most recent escorted tours that I have gone on, I was treated better, had more luxurious accommodations, and better overall experiences.

I absolutely used to love cruising in the past but now not so much.

Sorry to see all the changes.

I sailed out of NYC on March 6th last year on the Miracle and had such a wonderful trip that I have booked on the Splendor for March 17th. Each of these ships have solarium pools which work well while at sea and keeps the inside areas less crowded than other ships sailing from the area with open pool areas.. The view sailing out of NYC past the Freedom tower and the Statue of Liberty is wonderful. Go for it!!:(:)

Thanks scubagirl for your speedy response.

I will be in Nassau next week also and am hoping to hear if the Sheraton will be open under new management and if day passes will still be offered.

Thanks

Sharon

Hi Maureen, just read your fantastci review straight through, laughing all the way. I'm looking forward to meeting you on the Grandeur in a few days: going solo too. We have a lot in common- Boston, first cruise with mother not sure if I would like it and after that totally addicted. See you at the M &M and maybe at the sailaway party. Looks lke we'll have warm but a little wet weather on Friday.

Thanks for your wicked awesome review!

Sharon