buddylover

The change was posted earlier this week. Can't believe the criticism regarding a $3 increase. Geez

 

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Really?? That is a 8.5% increase....did you get that as a pay raise this year??? I think that is a pretty big increase...Geez! :rolleyes:

We just took an upsell from an OV to a JS on the Inspiration....got a great deal and kept our OBC. Nothing changes on an 'upsell' but the cabin #!!

Breeze #1. Definitely NOT Vista, it was the worst.

DITTO!! Agree on both...LOL! Breeze was our favorite....and Vista was our all time LEAST favorite of any ship in any cruise lines!!

There is no difference between closed connecting doors and a wall. The doors are probably a better sound barrier than the wall.

I really hate to disagree with you Elaine, but maybe you have never had an 'adjoining' room?? We have, by default, booking late with little choice.....gosh were we sorry!! The doors for some reason are as thin as tissue paper and we could hear EVERY sound and noise (even some we really didn't want to hear at all). The worst part was that they were on a completely different time schedule than us and either kept us up or woke us up each and every night. In rooms that are NOT adjoining, there is a barrier between the walls (the cabins are like premoled metal boxes inserted into the ship deck with space between them). With adjoining cabins the thin doors are the only barrier, and it is NOT much of a barrier at all. Never again....we will just not sail, deal or no deal, if all that is left is adjoining rooms. It was truly an awful week!

One comment......the Vista is NOT a BIGGER ship than other Dream Class ships......It is the same footprint (give or take a foot or two?). Don't understand pax who say they love the Magic or the Dream but are afraid to go on the BIGGER Vista??? It is the same layout, not really to be considered bigger, only more cabins squeezed in closing off the open atriums w/glass elevators on the other ships which don't exist on the closed in Vista. But don't be afraid due to the Vista's size......it is the same kind of ship as the other Dream class ships, only newer and definitely more crowded (due to more cabins and added pax capacity which has closed in "open spaces" as they exist on the other ships). It all depends on what you are looking for. We love seeing the ocean through windows when sailing, which on other ships was visible from the Atrium/Promenade deck....but NO windows on the Vista, all closed in! Sorry, if this is construed as 'negative', but the Vista is what the Vista is and CC folks should hear the truth! It was our least favorite ship (from any cruise lines) that we have been on to date - ship wise. However, if you are lucky enough and book when Matt Mitchum is CD, he will definitely salvage any negativity about the ship itself!

Even though the ships are similar in layout, the Breeze is newer and MUCH nicer decorating with some newer amenities too! However, it is up to you to decide if you are cruising for 1. the ship or 2. the itinerary. If for itinerary, the Magic is better....if for ship, the Breeze is far better! It's up to you and what you want!!

We, too, have seen many ships. Some on sea days you can see them on the horizon (and closer) on the open seas, but mostly at night (all lit up) when going in circles after leaving one Caribbean island and sailing to another that is close by. We have seen as many as 3 other ships at night from our balcony. It is a neat sight!!

I run HOT too......but always pack a light jacket and light sweaters.....and find I typically use them at some point on each and every cruise. It can get cool in the main areas of ship (theatres, atrium, on deck at night etc) and especially if your family members run on the cooler side. I have always been happy that I brought something long sleeved and light to wear around the ship.

Didn't know Inspiration was going into drydock.......shucks, we will be on her in about a month, right before drydock......wonder what kind of condition she will be in??? It is our first cruise on the smaller/older CCL Fantasy class ships!! Anyone been on Inspiration lately, curious about what to expect??

Hi Firefly.....happy to see you around, haven't seen much of you in recent times (where you been?). The Vista is about the same size as the other Conquest class ships that you have been on.....only they closed it in (Atrium) to fit more cabins, shrunk the theatre (used as a multi purpose room with moveable chairs.....yuck), no windows in or around the atrium/promenade. Sorry, Firefly, but this was the worst CCL ship we have been on....so so crowded (and rather cheap and ugly too). Our saving grace when on the Vista was the CD, Matt Mitchum, who was by far the VERY BEST CD on any ship on any cruise line....and he was so very interactive that even pax (like us) who typically don't even know who the CD is, were "pulled" into his 'action'.....he salvaged our Vista cruise which was otherwise not good!! Your friend, being lesser experienced with cruising will probably find it just fine (but will be curious about your opinion when you return - as you have much to compare the Vista to in all catagories ??). ;p

Been on 2 Princess cruises, one in Alaska and one Caribbean....both were fabulous. The Regal Princess was the BEST ship we have ever been on......it was gorgeous, the food was just incredible and the entertainment was leagues above any CCL cruise we have been on. To each his own, but I think you will have a great time and there is much to do if you are so inclined on Princess as well.

I receive several offers every couple of months or so. I don't see good offers in the email but in the "My Offers" section of the VIFP page. That's why I suggested people check there instead of getting upset because the email offers are not very good.

Just an example, my upcoming Panama Canal cruise in 17 days is over half price of normal. Who else of you can say you are sailing a 10 day Panama Canal for $958 Total Cost (2 people, Inside cabin Fantasy class ship). I would say that is a pretty good deal.

May I ask what your offers in your "VIFP Page" are??? I too am Platinum and the same "room upgrade" (which is BS) is ALL I have ever received in my "Special Offers" section of the VIFP page???? I find what you say very hard to believe , both about your 'offers' that the rest of us don't receive and your "too good to be true" cost of your Panama Canal cruise.

Yes, it was announced that the Breeze is replacing the Magic....that's a great switch for folks who sail out of Port Canaveral.

I have always brought a small 6" electric clip fan on every cruise I have been on......never been a problem nor confiscated. As a matter of fact, on the Epic, they had cleaned the carpet before we embarked and it was soaking wet.....NCL brought us up a big box electric fan that belonged to NCL, and we kept it the entire cruise in our room.....no problem! There is nothing written preventing fans nor fans powered by electric cords (vs. USB). We board the Bliss in 4 weeks and I am bringing my little fan and not expecting it to be an issue at all!!

All their ships seem to have narrow halls and enclosed spaces, smoky casino open to public venues, etc. From your description of Epic, is Escape really any different? This sounds like my exact comments about Escape.

I am so disappointed to hear your comments as we have not been on the Escape and the ship looked gorgeous in the harbor....LOL! I just had to comment on the Epic tho, as it was not a good experience compared to the many other cruises we have been on. I guess we will skip the Escape. However, we are going on the Bliss in 4 weeks (sister ship??), and I hope that is better??....we are going with an 'open mind'!! ;p

My recent survey asked me specifically if anyone had solicited a good review, and if I had answered yes it wanted to know their position.

 

That is excellent....my last cruise on the Harmony OTS was beyond incredibly bad in the MDR. VERY poor service in the MDR (we walked out on our final dinner in there after waiting for 1 1/2 hours for anything including bread??) It was unbelievable, but true, the Maitre'D sought us out on the Lido each and every night that we did not show up in the MDR after that. He just bribed and begged us so that we would rate the MDR as ALL 10's!! If I hadn't lived through this embarrassing (and quite frankly, harassing) treatment, I would not have believed it. So it is funny that the survey now asks if you were 'solicited' for 10's....that's GREAT!!!

For what it's worth, sorry Epic Lovers......the Epic was the WORST ship we have ever been on. Why do you think NCL cancelled their orders for the 'sister' ships after launching the Epic and the feedback??? Beyond being crammed with pax in narrow halls, and awful bathrooms and no windows in public venues other than lido, a smoky casino open to public venues below decks, poor food....and I could go on. I vote for ANY ship other than Epic!!:rolleyes:

Would anyone take an ocean view upgrade from a porthole for $72?

It depends on a few criteria...such as where the OV was located......to me it would be worth $72 to move from a noisy porthole located at the very front of the ship to a more central OV, PLUS get a cabin that is larger?? I would do depending where the OV is located vs PT??

I have no idea whether they track passengers. They’d be foolish not to.

 

If you’ve taken any cruise(s) with them, they already know your....

 

-Name

-Age

-Address

-Phone number

-email address

-Credit Card used

-amount you have spent, both for the cruise and on board

-they know what you spent your onboard expenditures on

 

 

As far as greeting you by name, if you hang out at a certain bar, your bartender is probably going to try to remember your name and your drinks, as that should lead to a tip.

 

When your steward greets you by name, they have a record of all the names for your cabin on a written sheet attached to their roll cart. It behoves them to remember your name as that could lead to a tip, also.

EXACTLY, I am in complete agreement with you!! For sure the stewards know your name as that is the level of "customer service" we all expect (and of course, they have a list of our names before we board) which certainly leads to passenger satisfaction and TIPS....same with bartenders, the wait staff etc. As far as other information being 'tracked' by the cruise lines, I am sure they do.....in the minimum for "marketing" purposes (how do you think they know who to offer "casino freebies" and "cruise rates" to?) Conversely, if a passenger created problems or damage to the ship, then those 'banned' would be kept track of as well. In this day and age of computers, it would be silly to think that they DON'T "track" information about passengers.

We book when bookings open, typically 1 1/2 years out or more....we find the lowest pricing in most cases and the pick of our cabin! On our upcoming Bliss cruise we booked in the first week that bookings opened and then only watched the price increase to where it is now at more than 2 1/2 times MORE $$ !! Same for our October 2019 Jade Med cruise....we booked the second week it opened and watched the price of our mini suite go up in that time frame, so put down a deposit. It is now going for almost $2000 more than we booked it for! For us, it seems to 'pay off' to book early, both in $$ saved and cabin choice.

OMG, my son eats a breakfast burrito every day when we sail on CCL ships with a Blue Iguana...he still says they are the 'best'!!

Don't be afraid of mega ships.....but do your research as some are definitely better for 'crowd control' than others. The biggest ships on the seas are RCI's Oasis class and they were the LEAST congested ships we have ever sailed on, due to the many different "neighborhoods" for passengers to spread out on (Boardwalk, Central Park, Promenade etc). On the other hand, we found the Epic to be the MOST congested (and smoky) due to the layout (casino open to main deck etc) and narrowest cabin corridors, very few windows, locations of entertainment venues etc. So to each their own and what you are looking for. But we love the bigger ships as they have more choices and things to do.

Hello!

 

 

With my cruise 18 days away...the excitement is killing me! I'll be making my final payment to my TA this afternoon, and was fortunate enough to get the "hook up" with the UBP, UDP, $250 onboard spend, and WiFi!

 

 

As I did not have any specialty dining on my Escape cruise in 2015; I'm not sure how reserving a spot works. I'd like to dine at Moderno, Cagney's and La Cucina. Can I make these reservation as early as today? Or will I need to wait until embarkation day?

 

Yes, you can make reservations online - IF there is ANY availability this close to sailing. They only open a percentage of what is available online in advance.

BUT, being only 18 days from sailing.....how can you only be making your Final Payment today????

Our best was the Epic December 2013 for 7 day Eastern Caribbean in a mini suite for $803 per person. Our second best is our upcoming Bliss 5 day Pacific Coastal in a mini suite for $719 per person (which is now up to $1569 per person)!! ;p

Thanks hal2008.......your post is BETTER than Rick Steves!!!!! THANK YOU for this detailed and excellent 'tour'......much appreciated!! CC posters are the 'BEST'!! :D