Cruise Junky

31 minutes ago, Queen of DaNile said:

Only that Oceania sails out of Miami and not Ft. Lauderdale like HAL. Big difference IMHO.

Isn’t it like a $35 Uber ride?

Amount of time doesn’t bother me but the ports are boring and the time of year sucks.  I’d happily spend 40+ days bobbing around the Med, but not on that ship 

Wondering if with all of the booking issues, changing ports, lack of response, you’d recommend Azamara to anyone who hasn’t tried them yet? 

Ugh…just read they changed the ports. Now it’s Nice on Race Sunday and not Monaco.  That’s not good.  Either they cheapened out or didn’t reserve their spot.  

12 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Yes.  Visa required for travel for US and since you are from Canada, I think, you too?  Not for certain yet, but looks quite likely.  No more spontaneous trips to Europe.

It’s not a visa. It’s an on line electronic travel authorization. It should get approved in about an hour. How spontaneous do you plan on being?  The US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand all currently have virtually the same thing. 

On 7/24/2023 at 2:36 PM, drakes2 said:

Just looked it up on sale for $13.85 CAD. I'll let you know when I try it. 

In BC it’s also sold in a box.  It’s not bad. 

It’s really bad on an IPad. Definitely try the desktop. 

2 hours ago, tgg said:

I agree with you that Azamara is making it very difficult to access available cabins. I find it easy to get this information by looking at the websites of a couple of US online travel agencies.  Can you do this from Canada? Someone mentioned that they use a VPN to do this. ( This is beyond me technically,) 

 

If you post the sail date and category, I'd be happy to check for you. (We've had  rain, rain, rain so I have lots of free time.)

I’m Canadian and booked today through a US based online agency. Shouldn’t need a VPN.  I could see all cabins on their site.  

Europe 2025 seems to all be available on the Princess site. 

12 hours ago, sandiego1 said:

These are standard HAL perks, not TA specifics. You can see the inside cabin perks on the HAL website too.

Should have said a TA site. Easier to find sometimes than directly on HAL

16 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

The pole to pole is the best WC I have seen so far.  I would love this itinerary.  It appears expensive for what it is - doesnt seem like any inclusions except the norm.  Does anyone know if HAL WC has inclusions such as gratuities, drinks, wifi, laundry etc... like some of the others do for a very similar price.

 

Some perks from a TA

Suite Offer! Book select categories and receive the following amenities.

-$1,500 per cabin onboard credit
-$1,000 Air Credit per cabin (Flights subject to availability)
-Roundtrip Airport Transfers
-Luggage Delivery Service to/from FLL (4 pieces for Vista Suites, 5 pieces for Neptune and Pinnacle Suites)
-Welcome Aboard bottle of Sparkling Wine
-Pre-paid Gratuities
-Complimentary Shore Excursion
-In-suite Liquor Setup
-Complimentary Laundry, Dry Cleaning & Pressing

Oceanview Offer! Book oceanview categories C-F or CA and receive the following amenities:

-$1,000 per cabin onboard credit
-Surf Wi-Fi package
-$1,000 Air Credit per cabin (Flights subject to availability)
-Roundtrip Airport Transfers
-Luggage Delivery Service (up to 3 pieces to/from FLL)
-Welcome Aboard bottle of Sparkling Wine
-Pre-paid Gratuities

20 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I do believe the OP was comparing ships and cruise lines rather than ports.  Missing 2 ports in Hawaii is a little over 5% of the itinerary.  No matter what, the OP will be spending many days on a ship.  Posters have been kind to share what is available on a Princess ship (since this is a Princess Board).  OP hopefully posted the same question on the HAL Board.  They will gather enough pros and cons to make an informative decision.  

First..The Princess cruise is 32 days. The HAL cruise is 35. Princess had 2 days in Hawaii, HAL 5.    The itineraries are not comparable, never mind a relatively new ship compared to the Grand.  

11 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

No one mentioned that Princess has Hawaiian Cultural Ambassadors on board.  This was a program developed by Cruise Director Dave Cole and ELUA (Tiki Dave and Leialoha).  Since then, Princess has hired a couple more ambassadors for each voyage.

 

They offer Hula and ukulele lessons.  They give the port talks (not buy these shore excursion sales from tour desk).  They have many Hawaiiana lectures (by naturalist).  It is a complete experience when doing a Hawaii voyage.

It has two stops in Hawaii   It’s a garbage itinerary. Princess is more about the sea days than the ports.  I’d rather see Hawaii than take a hula lesson.  

Are you comparing Grand’s 32 day to Koningsdam 35 day?  If so, I find Koningsdam’s itinerary light years better than Princess. 

12 minutes ago, HilsTas said:

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/oceania-cruises-tests-no-ncfs-plans-new-promotions-eyes-next-ship-class

 

Thank you 🙏 

Found this in a Seatrade article with the Execs 

“Turning to the 2026 world cruise, it's likely world-cruise stalwart Insignia will be replaced with 'at least an O-class ship, a Marina or Riviera.' Maybe even Vista.”

1 hour ago, Beagle5 said:

Vista is appearing on the Port of Darwin cruise ship schedule for April 2026.

Possibly lines up with the ATW2026 theory?

Interestingly Riviera is also on the schedule to make three stops in Darwin as well in February and April 2026.

More visits by the bigger ships potentially planned for Australia it would seem.

 

Riviera is on the Sydney port schedule a few times in 2026 too so looks like she’s doing AU/NZ. 

Man, I was hoping for Marina or Riviera, Vista would be amazing.  We would look at that very seriously. 

Delete  

Just now, AC Stew said:

Uh ... gotta disagree. A beach is no longer beautiful when it must be shared with 2000 (or more) of my new best friends! 

Don’t forget to add in the 2 gargantuan of the seas that hit pretty much daily. 

Well I’m wishing for big, not a private island to replace a port.  I want a World Cruise on Celebrity!  

Snooze you loose.  These things are usually capacity controlled and would end when met 

We’ve done it twice.  Both ways.  The two days in and out of Vancouver were coolish and windy.   

18 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

How do I find the cost to upgrade the drink package?

On our drink package page, it shows $86.99 for the premium and $70.99 for the classic. Would the upgrade cost $16?

Apparently not although you would think so.  I have both of those prices showing under my booking but it’s showing the upgrade price at $20 

Martini bar is our evening hangout so I think I’m going to have to upgrade. That and the wine should make it worthwhile.  I’m waiting for a sale