Viajera7

Thanks. I am traveling now embarking the NCL Star today and 3 days after I return, the RCI Jewel OTS transatlantic. I will have 20 days before the Navigator. Just me know.

Are you talking about this year? I am on the Star in 4 days and it goes from Chile to Argentina. I also was on the Star last year for a cruise from Argentina to Rio and there were no problems.

I collect them too. I am going on the Navigator in May. I don’t do eBay but if you find a way to communicate, I’ll do it for you.

I haven’t been on the Grandeur but I’ve been on the Vision, the Rhapsody, the Brilliance and Enchantment of the Seas. All of them are old and small but the first 3 mentioned here were ok for their age. Now, the Enchantment of the Seas ( December 2023) doesn’t reflect the name of the ship. I traveled with my best friend and she was the one who tried to call Guest Services 4 times. No one ever answered the phone so she had to go to GS 4 times 4 different days to report that our toilet was clogged. Somebody always came to fix it and then the situation happened again. The 5th time was the last night after midnight. I was not going to use the bathroom like that so I got dressed and went to the closest bathroom in a public area which sometimes had some toilets clogged too. I told my friend, I don’t want to book any of these small and old ships again. To do it, it has to be a very special itinerary but definitely not the Enchantment. We are booked on the Brilliance in July because it’s her birthday but my other RCI ships I think are a little newer and bigger. Time will tell.

Good suggestions. I am on my third PCC in one year. The first one, which I had for about 2 years was the best. He noticed 2 price drops for my NCL Jade cruise in 2022. When I called him during Black Friday for my NCL Star cruise which is in less than a week, he had left and we got the 2nd PCC who had the same phone number. We booked the cruise with her. Then in February, we called to asked a question and no one answered the phone. I checked my NCL emails and found the information for my new PCC. We called, she answered the question and I told her to add my cousin to her list since on those emails with the promotions is where the PCC information is listed in case that my cousin wants to travel with someone else.

That’s a great gift. I like the card with the stickers. As a collector, I like those things. The highest officers that I have had at a dinner with the officers were the Staff Captain and the General Manager at the Viva’s Christmas cruise.

I have been in a studio cabin on the Epic and on the Viva and of course insides in different ships which is what we are comparing here. The design of the racks for clothing on the Viva was excellent and lots of space for storage. The bathroom is a separate area and the only thing missing is the refrigerator. I take a tumbler that keeps my water cool and if I run out of water the studio on the Viva has cold water too. So for my next solo cruise it will depend on the price of it.

Any updates?

Thanks for posting this. I had the same reaction when I read the post that you quoted. I can only speak about the Viva since I haven’t been on the Prima yet. I was also impressed with the technology on the Viva and I also watched the transformation of the theater according to each show and I went to and liked all of them. Your post was very informative. I didn’t know that Luis Fonsi had a concert there during the inaugural cruise. If I had known that, maybe I would have booked the inaugural cruise instead of the Christmas cruise but I love my Christmas cruises 😊.

Do you have a question about the excursion?

The same here and I agree with you. I have status on various cruise lines but the only one that I can see reaching the highest status is Carnival since I am Platinum and reaching Diamond. Last month I became Diamond on NCL and it will take me the same amount of points to reach Ambassador, I also just reached Diamond on RCI last month so sailing different cruise lines, I don’t see how can I reach Pinnacle. I am very excited to use the lounge at least in the morning for the good coffee machine that I hope it is like the one in the solo cabins lounge on NCL. I know that I won’t probably be able to use the lounge in most ships in the afternoon if it’s crowded with people with higher status. That’s ok but I’ll check how it is on my next cruise next month.

I was there in June 2023 and everything on the ship worked well and the itinerary was great (Greek Isles). You a have port intensive itinerary so you’re not going to spend a lot time in the cabin. As long as everything works well on the ship, you’re good and you’re doing the right thing asking here. After my experience on the Enchantment OTS last month, I won’t be taking any old ship until I ask about its condition before I book.

Me too. I’m excited.

Highlighters, pens, lanyards and balls were given on Rhapsody OTS in June. Nothing on Liberty OTS this month. How long are they going to use the excuse of the supply issues. How come other ships have at least some small prizes but Liberty doesn’t.

I’ll be on the Celebration for the October 29th cruise. Let’s see what happens.

My next NCL cruise is the new ship, Viva for the Christmas cruise and it has some of those islands: Barbados, St. Lucia, Tortola, Antigua, St. Maarten and St.Thomas out of San Juan. Before the Viva, the Epic was the NCL ship out of San Juan for the winter season. The last couple of years I did b2bs on the Epic and it had 2 different itineraries. If you did a b2b you would have different islands except for St. Lucia that was in both cruises. I remember that Curacao was there too. The Epic was old but big so it had many things to do.

I was on the Rhapsody of the Seas in June and booked the Liberty OTS cruise that just finished on October 14. The manager on the Rhapsody told me that RCI was not doing this anymore. I went to Next Cruise on the Liberty OTS on the first day October 5th. They had signs offering the free bottle for booking on the first day. I was going to book a cruise that had Israel but as a solo traveler paying double it was not the right price for me at the moment and I decided to wait. You know what happened the following day😔.

Yes. I think that’s the answer. I was able to buy my airfare for the Viva because I still had time for my December cruise.

You can only choose one airline on the poll. I have been booked on American and United domestically and most of the times on United and it’s Star Alliance Partners until May for European cruises. I’m booked now on Air Canada and Delta for my North Europe September trip. It’s still to early to receive my air confirmation for my Christmas San Juan cruise but I hope is American, United or Jet Blue in that order of preference.

I did it with the NCL Epic the last couple of Christmas. I’m booked on the Viva for this Christmas. This one is pricey because it is the Christmas cruise and because it is a new ship but I think it come down in the future when the novelty wears off. I wish Carnival had that itinerary at least during the winter season like NCL.

That’s what the loyalty ambassador told me on my last RCI cruise in June. Platinum and lower tier do not get the pin now but if they still have them, they will give you one while they last. Now I am Emerald so I am going to pick up my new pin on my next RCI cruise in October. I collect other cruise lines and Hard Rock Cafe pins too😉.

Thanks for the hack. What I’ll do is to show the 2 options to my room mate and then we’ll decide which one will work best for us.

Thanks for the information! The Metropole’s website mentions Hyde Park but is it just the park and not the Hyde Park Corner Station. We're located in central London, less than a mile from Hyde Park and Paddington Station, with 15-minute access to Heathrow Airport LHR via the Heathrow Express. I read on the Hampton Waterloo hotel website that they are close to some of the places that I want to visit but as a Hilton Honors member I would get more perks on the Metropole lounge. Knowing that the Waterloo station has lifts and elevators, tips the balance towards the Waterloo hotel. What I need to know now is how to make a transfer from the Piccadilly line from Heathrow to the Jubilee line.

Yes but I am going to use the train to go to places. I just need one of them to sleep. I just want to know if the stations have an elevator or escalator. The Hampton Inn Waterloo has the Waterloo Station and the Hilton Metropole has the Hyde Park and Paddington stations. Thanks.

Anyone here has done it on the Vista? I’m doing it next month on the Vista. I liked the menu from the pictures of the Venezia and Magic except the mushrooms.