chisoxfan

We never 'missed' a cruise but a year or two out find cruises that may be more attractive and want to be able to make a change without penalty. Still feel that this is not unreasonable. If you have never changed a cruise.... good for you. I just don't want to be straightjacketed because I will have to pay a penalty on something 12-24 months out. For my wife and I we are seeing cruising in general as less attractive. We used to go to Disney World very year with our kids, stay on the grounds, and were well satisfied. It does not even come up on our radar at all now . Just expressing our opinion and do not expect the Industry to cater to us. We will find something fun where we think we are receiving value and move on. Currently have two cruises booked so we are hardly excluding cruising just being much more selective.

Thanks for your comments. Yes I am OK using a TA and initially contacted a huge online provider who we have booked with before. Not only were their quoted fares for our cruise about the same as MSC (no spiffs), the agents were pretty brain dead on the product. This brings to mind our early search for MSC Travel agent...... we had trouble finding one and any agent 'kick backs' were very minimal. This has possibly changed but not with the big C box store we have used for many cruise bookings.

Did some research on changeable terms and it specifies a 50 dollar fee per cabin (not bad) BUT requires rebooking within 90 days. Considering YC availability I would think it would be very difficult to find a cabin (nonetheless three) within 90 days. If this timing was expanded it certainly would be a consideration to me.

Personally I would be fine if the cruise line asked for 20-25% deposit if it would be refundable. I am guessing (at their high financing rates) they would be better off with this arrangement. For many I know that would be a non starter as we all have our own priorities and sensibilities.

I know the trend is going in this direction (like costs) but still not playing in this sandbox. IMO cruising already is a very restrictive vacation when it comes to payments, penalties, etc, and (for me) a non refundable deposit makes me gravitate to other options. My guess is that we have a 50% rate of paid booking vs. actual cruises taken- not because we book frivolously but because 12-24 mos out many things can change. JMHO

I thought I had figured out a good family 'anniversary' trip on MSC. We have only been on MSC and YC once (Seaside) and enjoyed it greatly. Thought a mid year cruise (2024) could work well for us and I spent a good part of the morning on the line with MSC. I wound up speaking to several reps- not trying to be unfair but several of the initial agents I spoke to did not seem particularly informed- I will leave it at that. I was finally connected to a helpful and engaged agent and we spent some time locating 3 cabins. As I went to put down a deposit I was told it was non refundable (or maybe I asked, not sure) and there was no way around this. I am certain most of the enlightened MSC cruisers here know of this policy but it took me aback. Obviously many can abide by this but with three cabins (7 people) traveling I was not going to book with a non refundable deposit (I never had previously in two decades of cruising). We initially were going to book an all inclusive a big reason being the flexibility these have with cancellations (usually full cancellation without penalty from 3-14 days prior to stay). We will probably go back to this plan A which is a shame because the cruise did seem to be a good option. We were also considering switching from a Sky Suite on X in Jan to YC club but again no deal with this restriction. I know travel is changing and I am old school but to me a refundable deposit was always an option for cruise booking unless you were getting some sweetheart deal or booking a World Cruise. Was also a bit concerned as when I tried a 'trial' booking that the policy did appear more clearly- I had to check terms and read through the full boilerplate to find this. Perhaps it comes up when payment is asked for. Anyway, thanks for your kind indulgence in letting me vent and happy cruising.

Agree with your comments. For us a Caribbean cruise is very similar to an AI in a similar setting (Cancun, Dominican R., Jamaica). Outside of the per night cost we also value the following in an AI: -cancellation immediately before trip with full refund (I know this changes but typically 1-14 days). For some this may preclude the need for insurance. It removes a lot of pre trip anxiety. -included and functional internet and phone options -stocked mini fridge in room, extensive room service options, restaurants, etc. with few if any extra $$ add ons -grats are included and taxes more reasonable usually -intangibles... large size of rooms and balconies, multiple beach and pool options-yes chair hogging still occurs but with many more seating opportunities. Love the ocean but on a typical Carib cruise may only be able to spend a few hours on a beach (always with the timer going). -we value flying out the same morning and (hopefully) enjoying dinner that night in the resort, the fly day before drill, stay at a hotel to cruise the next day hassle and expense is gone. The arrival day and departure are handled without drama and little wasted time or sitting around a cruise terminal Cruising was our decade(s) long choice for winter getaways but AI now serves this need nicely- we would not have looked into this without the advancing cruise costs. JMHO

We are loading up on time shares, cruise stocks, and crypto currencies in our retirement.

Kudos to you for your knowledge. I remember when the primary booking concern was the S class drill of finding the largest hump balconies.... life was easier then when this seemed to be the major obstacle of booking our next cruise....frankly cruising has left me numb... still exciting to get on board but pricing, cut-backs, complications have (sadly) made me less enthusiastic about cruising. JMHO

I would not presume to make recommendations with the limited props we have been at. We have done Hyatt Ziva and Zilara in Cancun several times as well as those in DR and Jamaica and found them wonderful and keeping with the quality (at least) one would expect in YC with the other benefits mentioned above that we have found. One additional bonus is that you can have adults only (Zilara) or with children (Ziva)as you see fit. No pressure on winter flight from Midwest, car to the resort and usually enjoying dinner and drinks that evening. We still like being on a ship but for us (besides the expense) the whole experience seems less relaxing and simple than it used to be. Will still use cruises to visit itineraries that we want to see conveniently.

I think (hope) you will love YC. We were also big X fans. We enjoyed Aqua Class but were dismayed by the lack of true balconies on the new X ships (not willing to pay the suite prices of today). We always (ten years+) did at least one (1) week cruise in Jan/Feb Carib as a 'getaway'. When prices went up (2022 till now) we started eschewing these cruises and did AI 's. We really fell in love with: -flying directly to our resort -not worrying about weather delays, night before hotels, wasting a day for check in, etc. - if something comes up we aren't in a quandary for the 3 mos. before. Cancellations within 3-7 days are possible -we like spending time in the ocean- in 10 years of cruises we were probably in the ocean for a total of 40 hours - it's nice to have a 300-600 ft. room and giant bathroom -room service with full menus, stocked mini bars, functional wi-fi -giant pools where we now we can get a chair anytime.... and SWIM UP bars We never looked at AI's until the last few years. Anyway, just our opinion.

We were on Seaside in 2019 and YC was approx 3700 (7 night Jan. Carib cruise). We booked another cruise for 2021 on Meraviglia (also 7 night Carib in June) and I remember thinking how the price was 'higher' CAB − Cabin Fares (per PASSENGER) 2,016.94 PCH − Gov't Fees & Taxes 144.73 INCL − EXPYCA−YACHT CLUB: Exclusivity & Luxury − 01/17/21 0.00 Have been looking at YC Carib cruises and have consistently found 5200-5600 usually closer to 5600. Ironically have a few X cruises booked and their boards are screaming with suite cruisers balking at the 9-11 k Retreat suites (for 7 days!) and many (including myself) have commented on the value of YC. So not happy about the prices rise in YC (and its strong popularity) but in the world of cruising remains a value if one can apply that term to any cruise price today. The cruise prices have caused us to rethink or annual winter Caribbean cruise getaways to go to All Inclusive resorts- prices have risen but do not seem as bad as cruises and many advantages for us- ability to cancel in a reasonable time, no dreaded night before hotel stays, huge rooms, generally better and more varied food etc. JMHO

That is a no brainer IMHO. You will enjoy the stocked refrig, entertainment in YC Lounge, access to spa and I am jealous that you will get to try their private island. We booked a 'discounted' SS on Ascent at a 'fire sale' price of 5800 and I honestly am still considering an MSC YC option. Actually, Pre Covid, MSC YC was around 3800-4200 for a week so even the new YC price shocked me when I started looking to travel again last year. Looking at other mid line cruise suites YC remains a real bargain.

Not sure why you would buy stock in a company where you don't approve of the management and is 18 billion in debt, operating in a challenging environment (rising labor, fuel, food prices, debt financing). Don't forget it isn't profit until you sell. Regarding the OBC this is great and always cited by posters but it is certainly possible to take advantage of it by buying the stock momentarily as all that is required is proof that you 'owned' it when you apply prior to sailing. JMHO

If you tell a local car service that you are boarding a Princess ship it will be easy to find as Southampton is very small with limited embarkations. Everyone (bars, drivers) at the port seem to know the comings and goings of all cruise ships. At the 'worst' you would clearly see your ship when you are in the uncrowded and small port area. Great cruising.

We also did the match and the rewards as stated were underwhelming- never got out chocolate ship (did not really want to eat it or lug off the ship) but did get one or two specialty dinners which were not very good. The value seems to be in their 5-15% discount which is frankly a bit confusing but still could be a positive.

See many posts here from 'suite people' that better value is to be found on premium lines. On the surface I would certainly agree as we have looked into this but my wife and I enjoy the concept of a larger (90,000-150,000 tons) ship with more venues. While we enjoy great food we really don't look to cruising for this.....we just want well prepared options although unfortunately quality on mainstream lines seems to be slipping. We have gravitated personally (except for the Ascent cruise) to AI's in Caribbean for winter getaways and using cruising as an efficient and pleasant way to see far away locales.

We loved YC (Seaside) with its many benefits and elegant dedicated area but found the rest of the ship uninspired (pools, bars, specialty dining). So if and when we book again we would be resigned to spending the entire time there (not necessarily a bad thing) but restrictive to eat and drink in the same area all week. Was interested in this post as we booked a Retreat Suite on Ascent in 2024. Got a 'special price' which some claimed was a pricing error brought up in this forum. So a Sky was 5800 for a week with some generous credit. I already think this is 'too much' but see current listings close to 10k. Anyway, a comparable YC at same time is in this same price range 5200-5800 without as much OBC. Really did like access to spa, private island, and wet bar YC offers but will probably stick with X just to try the product (frankly I don't think-know it could be nice enough for us to spend 10k for a week cruise). Not getting strong vibes for value of the Retreat product but we will see. I am getting a sense, with all of the talk of upgrade bidding and status that suites are becoming like First class on the airlines.... initially a full revenue product but turned into a 'bonus' to frequent flyers using points and status. JMHO

Just made this trip. Would highly recommend National Express to Southampton. We stayed at Moxy there which is walkable from bus stop. Not a huge Moxy fan but it is relatively new, associated with Marriott, cheap, clean and well located. There are some great 'historic' bars near hotel and a mall next door that has some decent restaurants so would stay there again. It is quick Uber trip to port. We reserved a private car from LHR to London. Recommending London hotels is another subject all together. Good luck.

Quiet.... we don't want to talk publicly about Hyatt Points especially when a direct transfer from Chase is available. We enjoy Mexico but would endorse the newer Hyatt prop in the Dominican Republic also. Happy travels.

Completely agree. Cruising was initially 'one stop' shopping for us. It served as a hassle free high value 'get away' . Now we will use it as a most convenient and still cost effective means to travel to destinations ie. the ship for us is no longer 'the destination'. On retirement we gladly anticipated taking three or more cruises a year.... maybe down to one 'destination' cruise now.

Since we are new to AI I would never claim to be an expert on same (or one who should provide recos). That said we have found the Hyatt AI's to be upscale in a way I would consider X to be (mainstream plus??). They have acquired Secrets and Dreams so their catalog is now giant. We have stayed at Mexico, Jamaica, and Dominican props which is what we will rebook and are basing our stated opinions on. We are vacationing at a new Secrets Impressions in Playa this Winter and are using accumulated Hyatt Points for this. Another (possibly) huge factor is that Adult only props are readily available in the world of AI. I know I sound like an AI pusher but we were once 'promoters' of Disney World for years and likewise strongly recommended cruising for years to anyone who would listen. We enjoyed all of these vacations but lost some (or in the case of Disney, all) of our fervor partially because of changes in taste but perhaps more (in our minds) because the value vs. enjoyment seemed to gravitate away from us. After staying at all the DW props we cannot make sense of 700 a night hotel rooms and 100 plus a day ticket prices.

If you mean a land based AlI Inclusive that has a 15sq. ft. bathroom and 180ft. room, requires full payment 90 days before travel with onerous penalties for cancellation and charges for everything from specialty dining to (perhaps now) room service, I don't think you will find one. We have adapted our decade long Caribbean Winter cruise habit to go to AI's and haven't looked back partially because of rising cruise prices but also because of a greater overall value and comfort proposition. The bathrooms of the AI's we have stayed at are as large as typical balcony cabins. The bar is fully stocked daily at no charge and only a tip required for extensive room service menu . Restaurants are at least as varied as ship dining and from our (admittedly truly subjective opinion) better to much better than what we have had in any mainstream MDR. There rarely is a premium charge for a specialty restaurant (we have not used one yet where we would pay the specialty tariff to dine 2 to3 X weekly on a cruise). Wi Fi is fast and free. We can leave the Midwest on a direct flight typically and be enjoying the resort that evening- no dragging bags to stay the night before at a hotel near port or having the wintertime 'what if our flight is cancelled' blues (we have experienced a few of these). We do miss being on the ocean and admittedly better entertainment variety but for us being able to readily find a pool chair after breakfast or lounge on the beach all day is ample compensation. We were actually talking this morning about arranging an anniversary trip for our 45th and and a cruise never made it past minute five (our adult children despite our past cruise habits) have no interest in cruising. We started looking at the 'unseen cruise costs' night before hotel rooms, dinner and breakfast on cruise day, specialty dining for 7 (at 25-50each adds up) not to mention any shore excursions and our consideration ended early. Most negative when a group is involved are potential cancellation penalties. We still will cruise and for us it remains an ideal way to visit many ports in Europe and Asia. We will probably give a shot at a 7 night Retreat Suite next Winter but even at 60% of current prices we are vacillating. For us cruising has lost the cachet of an easy, relaxing, and high value Winter getaway. Sorry for the long winded diatribe but I think the Cruise Industry with their massive ship build (and debt) better be careful with how they treat mainstream cruisers.

Just book on Princess.... a bit tongue in cheek but the Princess Medallion app allows any and all drinks to be delivered to your room without charge if you have drink package. This really was a wonderful benefit we enjoyed in an aft balcony on Enchanted Princess. Have to give them kudos for this. We have Sky Suite booked on Ascent in 24 and I did not anticipate drink service but post did pique my interest. We did not intend or expect to bother our 'butler' to fetch drinks.

Wow, tough crowd. After four Princess cruises we also had what we felt were serious issues with a Panama cruise and had a 'run in' with Princess management. We moved them to the very bottom of our 'list' but just completed a pleasant 15 night on Enchanted Princess. Price, itinerary, were best for us and we are glad we approached with an open mind to give them another shot. Things are changing so quickly in this Industry (pricing, perks, new ships) I think it wise to be flexible. JMHO