buddylover

On 9/25/2019 at 8:57 AM, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

Since you mentioned the passenger space ratio.

 

The Conquest has a PSR of 31 while the RCI mega ships (Oasis Class) has a PSR of 36.

It isn't the passenger space ratio, but more about the design of the ship and the flow of the passengers.  Lots of comments about "let RCI have those Mega ships" etc, but I venture to say most of those pax have probably not been on those Mega ships.  They may hold 6000+ passengers, but are far, far less crowded, for the most part, than any CCL ship. There are many more large and wide open venues for all those passengers to go - separate from each other on different decks etc. You have to learn how to 'time' what you do and where you go on all ships to avoid the masses in the lido etc, but the Vista class on CCL was the most jam packed ship we have ever sailed, and it's ratio was less than RCI's mega ships.....but the design was awful, the venues and placement of them was awful, the atrium was minute was WAY too small for its use and passenger count.  There are many variables other than "passenger to space ratio" numbers to consider (and design of the ship is paramount).

13 minutes ago, Nola26 said:

In general lots of plastic bags, bottle waste, etc. is in the ocean and harming the sea life, especially animals and fish. So eliminating straws, bottles and non recyclable bags is helpful and in a way necessary. Good for NCL and others that take some measures to reduce. 

Correct, and I agree that this is a good move on behalf of NCL......my above comment was to BaWBarmy, who made it sound like all those millions of plastic bottles ALL ended up in the ocean.  I am with you in saving our planet!!!

15 hours ago, Harratine said:

First night,, specialty dining.  No crowds,, great service.

 

Last night,, sulk about returning to real world.

Love this......we too "sulk" on the last night.....so sad!!!😪

8 minutes ago, BaWBarmy said:

 

I've deliberately chosen cruises away from the seas of plastic.

 

Seriously if you don't think they exist then maybe you should look at some of the photos that do exist.

 

Six million bottles from one cruise line, so how many from all the other users and producers of plastic bottles? Were are they going because they don't just disappear.

Right, they don't disappear, but they also do NOT all go into the ocean......ever see the tons of garbage being taken off the ships for recycling at port????

1 hour ago, vicky3vicky said:

 

I hear variations on that comment. I am not exactly sure what it means. I am hoping that it does not mean either people of lower income or "people of color." I know that there are more 'people of color" and also, more people are now able to afford to go on a cruise who wouldn't have been able to in the past, since, adjusted for inflation, cruises cost less than they used to. I am hoping that the 'newest cruisers" that you are referring to do not fit into either of those groups. That wouldbe very sad.

I totally disagree with your sentiment that "Cruises cost less than they used to" (inflation or not)......cruises have doubled since we started cruising....they cost MORE today than ever.  Sure CCL may cost less than Princess or Celebrity, but they still cost MORE today than they used to for sure.  We cruised for years in a balcony cabin for 2 or 7 days way under $100/day.....many around $60-$75/day...which is under $700 per person in a balcony cabin for a week.....find me that pricing today???  We are paying $1100 + per person today on CCL (and that is cheap today) now.....almost double per person!!!  We are platinum and we do have a cruise booked for 2021, but have been cruising other lines who have different itineraries and fleets for almost the same price as CCL!  The Platinum perks don't mean a thing to us (with the exception of laundry if we cruise longer than a week).

3 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

It’s time to get rid of those rust buckets.

Ditto.....sailed on only one and it will be our last as well!!!

2 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

What time of day?

Yes, are they closing  the WJ down between meals??

No question about it......Conquest.  We sailed Inspiration (same class as Sensation) and NEVER AGAIN!  Never have we ever wanted to get OFF of a ship as much as we did on Inspiration....no comparison to us at all!!

We agree with the other responses....we always book very far out, mostly when bookings open which is 18+ months out.  We have found prices are at their lowest these days (used to get lots of reductions after final payment - but not really any longer especially on popular time frames and ships) when the bookings open and generally just keep increasing as the ship starts to fill, rarely dropping.  Secondly, for optimal choices on cabins, the earlier the better when the ship is empty and you have a full choice to pick from.  The only bit of advice for CCL is, if you book Early Saver (typically the lowest price), you will have a penalty of $50 for cancelling or changing the cruise.....so if you are not sure and don't want to pay a penalty, book with another fare type for slightly more money now.....6 of one half dozen of another.....do the math before booking and paying deposit!  Just our $.02.

It is ultimately your choice based on cost....however, Alaska was the one cruise where a balcony was optimal and added to the cruise experience in Alaska exponentially.  We cruised Alaska on Princess, so not sure if NCL does it the same way....but we entered Fjords and Bays very early in the morning and there was a Naturalist on board whereby you could just go out to the balcony without needing to get dressed to hear and see the glory of it all and hear the Naturalist piped in on the speakers on the balcony.  It was beyond amazing....the ship would enter the Fjord/Bay and it didn't matter what side of the ship you were on because the ship did a 360 degree pivot (turning in a still circle) right where it was for ALL sides of the ship to be able to view.  It was one cruise where I would never consider anything less than a private/standard balcony.....it was half or better of the experience and just incredible.  To each their own...but this is our 'take' in response to your question.  It is well worth the extra $$ many times over!

On 9/5/2019 at 8:38 AM, TNcruising02 said:

I will not sail on the Vista again. The theater design is the worst I have seen on any of the ships I have sailed, including Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, and Royal.  I don't know what the heck they were thinking when they designed it.  I read bad reviews about the theater before I sailed on the Vista, but thought maybe it wouldn't be that bad.  It was.  Between that and the massively long lines for everything, I realized that I will stick with Carnival's smaller ships and that bigger isn't always better.  The design and décor were very muted and boring, but I could have overlooked that.  The theater, no way to overlook it.

Mat Mitchum was the CD, which made it one of the most enjoyable cruises.  Not enough to sail on the Vista again.

Ditto......exactly our sentiments.  Hands down, the Vista (and the balance of this class) is the worst design on the high seas.  Additionally, they packed lots more cabin on a ship roughly the same size a the  Conquest class, made the Atrium small with no window...it is the most congested, ugly ship around (We like Farkus better than this interior, and that doesn't say much).  Totally agree with your Matt Mitchum comment.....he singularly salvaged our worst cruise to date.....Matt is incredible, but we would NEVER sail the Vista again....even if Matt was the CD!!

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I think you did a pretty good job of summing it up.  

Thanks Jimbo!!  Just our opinion, but we are "foodies" and it has been an easy comparison.  We have just lowered our level of expectation......LOL!!

15 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

Jimbo there is free freestyle dining in the MDR as well. We did think the pay venues, averaging $15 were pretty darn good. 

Have been on several NCL cruises and find their food in general on all the ships we have been on to be the most mediocre of all the main lines we have cruised (CCL, RCI, Princess etc).  It really feels like 'nickel and diming' to the max on NCL more than the other lines.  However, their itineraries are sometimes very good, which is why we are sailing NCL again in about 6 weeks....for 14 days....will let you know how we feel upon our return (and most of their pay venues are quite a bit more than $15 - Like $25 to $39).

Without a doubt.....Matt Mitchem!  Not into CD's, but he was beyond incredible!!!!!  Have to experience him to 'get it'!!

On 9/5/2019 at 12:31 PM, bury me at sea said:

I would stop cutting crew and services and instead cut shareholder returns.

 

 

Ditto....totally agree!

Very interesting......let us know if it is good!!

2 minutes ago, Drock20J said:

They will more than likely take a look at the ship population. I have been on some cruises where they do: English, Spanish and French. Note: These were all in the Caribbean.

 

So I am sure they will accommodate who is on board.

Exactly....my son cruised out of China (Shanghai) and the messages were repeated in about 5 languages, starting with Chinese each time!  It is based on ship demographics.

14 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

I agree that simple bookings are easy to do on your own and don't require much, if any, assistance. With that said, there are times when things come up when your "nothing more, nothing less" statement isn't necessarily true. Ours straightened out a pretty big mess we ended up in when another family backed out on us. In addition to having to fix our issues with all of the cabins, the regular customer service rep. who booked it had fouled up the financials between my family and the other. It's something we couldn't have cleared up on our own, and since an 800 rep. caused part of the problem, I wasn't going to entrust another one to fix it. The right PVP can help alleviate headaches at times.

That worked out well for you....but in all of our cruising, thankfully, I have never had anything come up that we could not 'fix' on our own thru the reg cust service reps or their supervisors.  We have not had a single PVP on any cruise lines that was 'worth' their use....as a matter of fact, the PVP's messed up our bookings many times, necessitating many calls to fix from PVP's that don't return calls and don't care after they have booked you...... and we have not had any such issues since we have booked on our own.  To each their own - what works for one may not work for another, but as I relayed to the OP......you can do anything a PVP can do for you on your own and I stand by that.

14 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

OMG... a first in months...  the folks here are actually answering the op's question without digressing.

 

LOL....you just 'digressed' though!! 

OP, I would most definitely not push around my bags on board on embarkation day....way too crowded.  For sure I would hand them over to the porters.  If anything,  and you are asking because you want specific things immediately instead of waiting for the luggage to be delivered later (like bathing suits right away etc), then I recommend giving the bigger bags to the porters and packing 'immediate' needs in a carry on and take the smaller carry on bag with you on board.  Just a suggestion......

I, too would book online, if the cabin of your choice is showing up.  If not, call CCL, and they can let you know if the cabin you want is available and book it for you.  You most certainly do not need a PVP to book....they give nothing more, nothing less than you can get on your own.  We book our own all the time on all the cruise lines (unless we find a GREAT offer with GREAT perks offered through a TA - but then you lose control of your booking directly with the cruiselines).  

46 minutes ago, Gershep said:

You can book up until a couple of days before.

Good to know....thanks.....I stand corrected!

We have sailed the Valor multiple times and the Vista once.....never been on the Dream, but have been on Breeze etc.  Would agree completely with you, that the Vista was our least liked ship.  We love the Conquest Class (the Valor) the best.  The Dream class with the extended Lanai on Deck 5 really changes the experience of overlooking the ocean from a balcony cabin for us.  The Vista to us was just the Valor on steroids where they crammed so many extra cabins thus flooded the ship with passengers.  The Atrium, theatre, hall to comedy theatre etc were abominations.....packed and flooded with humanity.  The theatre is another story all together, with moving chairs, visual pillar obstructions - just plain awful.  Lack of windows in Atruim, just a bad experience for us which we will not repeat on the Vista - but we always did enjoy the Valor and its patiotic decor.

48 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

I did that on my last trip.  Bermuda from NYC on the Escape, bought it on Wednesday or Thursday before the departure, nice balcony cabin on deck 13, $899 as a solo traveler, no perks.  (plus port fees)

I do believe now with Homeland Security restrictions and requiring ship manifests, you can no longer just walk on less than 10 days to 2 weeks before departure when Homeland Security needs to know the travellers??  Used to be that you could show up at the port the "day of" and get available rooms for very inexpensive to fill the ship (my in laws used to do that all the time) - but not any longer.  Even Thursday before departure (assuming it was a weekend departure) seems unlikely in today's world??

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

 

Does RCCL have access to weather forecasts that are not available to Carnival?  I am not trying to knock Carnival, but it would be nice if they were proactive like RCCL so guests would know where their cruise is going and more importantly know that they are not cruising near the predicted path of the storm. 

 

I wouldn't fear that CCL will take its pax near a predicted storm path.  There is so much flack when an itinerary is changed that they are probably holding out  in announcing a change until it is 'for sure'.  Storms and their paths do change with time.....hopeful thinking??

We thought main floor towards the middle/front was best for unobstructed, clear view of all aerial and floor acts.  If you are seated at the back of the main floor, the overhead balcony obstructs the higher aerial acts.