SandG

Thanks all. I find it very interesting that an inside cabin, in some cases, can be not much difference in price from a 3rd/4th supplement. I've seen other times when the 3rd/4th is really cheap, but maybe it doesn't happen so often. I really like the idea of booking a balcony and inside and then having our daughter sleep in the sofabed or berth in our room if we could get away with that. The Voyager combo sounds interesting too.

And yes ... I know they are young adults and when they are away in grad school, they are going to do what they are going to do. And I totally accept that. But I purposely used the word "awkward" for this situation. They would feel just as awkward going to their own cabin when we are all vacationing together. They sleep in separate bedrooms when they are visiting our house and have never asked or expected to do otherwise. It was my daughter's idea that we all share a cabin.

I know that you are against separate cabins however depending on the sailing many times you will find it is cheaper to get the inside cabin vs the 3/4 rates for a balcony. Also you avoid 4 adults sharing 1 bathroom.

I was afraid that might be the case, some of the larger cabins are definitely more expensive then a balcony and inside. Regarding the bathroom, when it was the three of us sailing, one or two of us would often use the showers at the fitness center on mornings when we have to get an early start.

all lines have ships that have 4 man berthing options. you just need to plug in the dates and the ship you want to see if there are any open cabins currently.

I tried that, but sometimes the options are beds that are too small for young adults or a double-sized sofabed, or the upper berths that force you to separate the queen into twins or the room is otherwise uncomfortable. So I was looking to see if CC members have comfortably stayed in rooms similar to what I might be looking for.

Are you asking for a cruise not listed on your signature? I see that you are cruising in two weeks on the Solstice, but that cruise is almost sold out.

The Solstice cruise is just me and my husband as my daughter will be starting her finals by then. I'm looking for a future cruise that I would like to book while on board the Solstice.

My 23 year old daughter has cruised with us as a third passenger for many, many years, and now she wants to bring along her boyfriend. But they are both grad students (poor) and they'd like to pay just the third/fourth person supplement and stay with us when we take our next cruise. They and some friends did a Carnival cruise last month and had four in the room with twins, berth and sofabed, so they were hoping they could have the same sleeping arrangements (with a queen for us) if they join us.

We like sailing Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess, and we also like balconies. I would like to find out if any of the ships might offer a cabin layout that would include a queen and room for two other non-married adults (sofabed/berth or two berths). I know the alternative is getting a balcony and a nearby inside, but that means that either my husband and I split up or let them sleep together in the inside (awkward for us) and also that is more money than they can easily come up with.

I'm sure I'm not the first to have this dilemma and would like to hear what others have done.

Sue

My 23 year old daughter has cruised with us as a third passenger for many, many years, and now she wants to bring along her boyfriend. But they are both grad students (poor) and they'd like to pay just the third/fourth person supplement and stay with us when we take our next cruise. They and some friends did a Carnival cruise last month and had four in the room with twins, berth and sofabed, so they were hoping they could have the same sleeping arrangements (with a queen for us) if they join us.

We like sailing Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess, and we also like balconies. I would like to find out if any of the ships might offer a cabin layout that would include a queen and room for two other non-married adults (sofabed/berth or two berths). I know the alternative is getting a balcony and a nearby inside, but that means that either my husband and I split up or let them sleep together in the inside (awkward for us) and also that is more money than they can easily come up with.

I'm sure I'm not the first to have this dilemma and would like to hear what others have done.

Sue

My 23 year old daughter has cruised with us as a third passenger for many, many years, and now she wants to bring along her boyfriend. But they are both grad students (poor) and they'd like to pay just the third/fourth person supplement and stay with us when we take our next cruise. They and some friends did a Carnival cruise last month and had four in the room with twins, berth and sofabed, so they were hoping they could have the same sleeping arrangements (with a queen for us) if they join us.

We like sailing Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess, and we also like balconies. I would like to find out if any of the ships might offer a cabin layout that would include a queen and room for two other non-married adults (sofabed/berth or two berths). I know the alternative is getting a balcony and a nearby inside, but that means that either my husband and I split up or let them sleep together in the inside (awkward for us) and also that is more money than they can easily come up with.

I'm sure I'm not the first to have this dilemma and would like to hear what others have done.

Sue

My list for saving money to cruise often:

Balcony cabins on a newer ship like the Solstice class are very nice. You don't need to stay in a suite unless you have the money to burn - we certainly don't, but we've done a lot of cruises.

We enjoy the MDR food and have eaten at a specialty restaurant only once during all the cruises we've taken.

Bring a couple of bottles of wine on board to drink in your room, use moderation when drinking otherwise, and you won't need a beverage package either. We've never found it to be a worthwhile choice for us, especially with port-intensive cruises.

Don't spend money on excursions if you can easily hire a taxi or book an outside reputable tour company (assuming you're in a "safe" port). We often use the local bus system to get around.

Look for deals. Our last cruise was $750/each for a balcony.

Following the rules above, we've found that cruises are actually cheaper than land-based vacations.

Sue

... The agent definitely said that the 1,2,3 package and benefits did not apply to TA cruises.

... and to confirm what you're saying, I see it's also in the very small fine print of the brochure that was posted here.

I'm sure this is because there are too many sea days on a TA/TP cruise, which could mean a whole lot more drinking on board. And I suppose the ship could run out of booze with no ports to replenish!!

Actually in the short period of time since I last posted, I found a wine list from 1 year ago. There is a link to it from this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1933560

The $35 bottle of wines found in the classic package in early 2012 were up to $36 in early 2013. So how much have the wine prices gone up much since then? The package price sure has gone up since that thread. The classic package was quoted as $99 one year ago. (Ok, that's $33/bottle, so you'd save $3/bottle) but our package starts at $125.35 for 3 bottles!

This is why I'm interested in a more recent wine packages - I have this fear that they have really gone up in price since last year.

I have also been looking for a current wine list. I was able to find a list from 2 years ago, and the wines I thought I might like on the "classic" list were about $35 at the time. And as you say, the classic package is $41-42, depending on the number of bottles. So I also wonder how much the MDR wines by the bottle have gone up in price since then to see how good a deal the package it.

Has anyone done an analysis of this lately?

Sue

Cruisers experiences have been feast or famine with Premier Parking. I doubt their shuttle could handle a group of 13 at one time. There are also serious concerns about the insurance coverage for this "fringe" operation.

Agreed. Perhaps dropping off the passengers and luggage first could mitigate that some, although adding to the "pain" factor.

Wouldn't it be nice if Bayonne added some mass transit options when they upgrade the terminal (supposedly sometime this year)? Traffic to/from the pier is pretty nasty at prime time for just the Explorer OTS and we are sailing on the Quantum next year and can't imagine what the back ups will be like then if they don't do something about the traffic flow.

Sue

You could look into renting two minivans one way from a local rental car company, and see what the drop off charge is for Newark. That's how we get to/from the New York airports when we go away for more than a week. Sometimes the drop off charge to/from airports is minimal. Drop off your passengers at the pier and then the drivers drop off the rental cars (mini-vans) and share a taxi to pier? (or if staying at a hotel the night before, use the hotel shuttle). I don't know how much this would cost, but I think it might worth checking into.

Another idea would be to use some of the cheaper parking lots near Newark airport to park all the cars. Not as convenient but with so many cars, you'd save some money doing that. We've used a couple of them when flying out of Newark, using coupons on the internet, and have paid $9-10/day. The drivers would have to share a taxi to the lot to pick up the cars.

Sue

Lots of things, drink packages, specialty dining packages, dress code, smoking now eliminated in all indoor locations, five years ago there were still a couple of places you could smoke indoors.

How has the dress code changed?

As you can see from my signature, we did a few Celebrity cruises in the past and loved them, and the last one was in the summer of 2009 on the Solstice, which was relatively new at the time. Since then, we've cruised with Royal Caribbean and Princess, due to convenience, constraints on sailing dates or destinations.

We are cruising on the Solstice again in a few months, nearly 5 years after we cruised on her last. I thought I'd throw out the question of what will I find new since last time? (I know one answer is the anytime dining and we will take advantage of that. Another is the drink package, and we figured we won't drink enough to make that worthwhile.) What else has changed in 5 years (either with the ship or the cruise line)?

Sue

Do many people go to Stingray City this time of year and how cold is the water? I will be there in about 10 days.

 

Thanks

I'm hoping it will be warm because we will be there 1 week from today! The marine maps at weather underground seem to indicate the water there is about 85 right now, but it changes daily. My swimming pool is usually about 82 in the middle of summer but it still feels chilly when you first get in. But then you get used to it.

Sue

(Sorry about the double post - I got mixed up when hitting my "back" button.)

(Sorry about the double post - I got mixed up when hitting my "back" button.)

I'm looking for a place close to the port to buy some wine before our cruise out of Tampa. I'd seen recommendations for Wine Design, but I've also discovered that it closed at the end of July.

After some extensive googling, it seems that one possibility close to the port is the Pour House - the website indicates that it sells some bottles of wine although the selection is somewhat limited. Has anyone tried this?

Open to any other ideas. We'll be flying into the airport early that morning, and will probably take a taxi to the port. I know one possibility is to ask the taxi driver to stop at a store on the way but unless we're really quick, the wait time on the taxi could add up pretty fast.

Sue

I'm looking for a place close to the port to buy some wine before our cruise out of Tampa. I'd seen recommendations for Wine Design, but I've also discovered that it closed at the end of July.

After some extensive googling, it seems that one possibility close to the port is the Pour House - the website indicates that it sells some bottles of wine although the selection is somewhat limited. Has anyone tried this?

Open to any other ideas. We'll be flying into the airport early that morning, and will probably take a taxi to the port. I know one possibility is to ask the taxi driver to stop at a store on the way but unless we're really quick, the wait time on the taxi could add up pretty fast.

Sue

I found it a better deal for me to just purchase 1 hour for $3 each day. I would just buy a 1-hour voucher at the gift shop next to the gazebo before returning to the ship each day.

<...>

(BTW, I was able to get a wifi signal at the Bonefish Restaurant and Pub but not the Frog and Onion. :p)

 

Sue

Funny, we were not able to get it at Bonefish. We used the Frog and Onion free wifi while there.

Oooo ... If I'd known I could have gotten free wifi at the Frog and Onion, I would have saved myself $3. :)

Sue

I found it a better deal for me to just purchase 1 hour for $3 each day. I would just buy a 1-hour voucher at the gift shop next to the gazebo before returning to the ship each day. I found I never had the need to use the internet for more than an hour at a time anyway - too many other things to see and do. It was still a much better deal than using the ship wifi.

I was not able to get a signal from our ship, and there was very little shade right next to the ship. There were more places to seek shade in the main dockyard area. (BTW, I was able to get a wifi signal at the Bonefish Restaurant and Pub but not the Frog and Onion. :p)

Sue

For My Time Dining on day one, anyone have thoughts on best time to book dinner reservation? I believe there's a celebration on the Promenade at 5:45. I am not sure how long that will be and don't want to miss it. I'm thinking later than 7 is better?

The parade will last no more that 15 minutes. Use that time frame in your planning. There is usually one welcome aboard show on the first night for both dinner seatings and it occurs after second seating so plan on that happening around 9:30 or 10 PM.

On our July 20 cruise, we sailed at 4:00, the parade was at 5:45 and the welcome aboard show was 7:45-8:25. (We ended up missing the show because we had made our reservations for 7:30.) There was only the one show on sail-away night. (It wasn't a big deal - we caught it on TV the next day anyway.) There were two shows on the other nights.

Also make sure you don't miss sailing under the bridge! It was something like a half hour after we left port.

Sue

Does anyone know about arriving by Amtrak. Is there a transfer from Newark to the cruise ship terminal?

Several groups in my "roll call" in 2011 did this option. They got off at the Newark Airport station and either stayed at airport hotels or got picked up by taxis at the airport. One family took Amtrak to or from California (I can't remember which direction) and another family came up from Florida and used the sleeper cars. They all seemed very pleased with this option as opposed to flying in or taking a long drive.

Thank you. Dies anyone know what side faces dock for wifi? What number was your cabin?

I think it is pure luck which way the ship faces. I was there on the most recent Bermuda sailing, and we were docked on the starboard side (I was on the port side) but I've seen plenty of photos where she is docked on the port side.

I was unable to get the King's Wharf wifi from my balcony since I was on the opposite side of the ship. Sorry, I didn't bother checking anywhere else on the ship, nor right in front of it. I ended up using the wifi not too far from where I bought the voucher. It worked very well and quite a bargain as compared to the ship prices.

Sue