MaryZ

We are on Royal next week in two comped ocean view balconies. We each get so many cruise offers we could probably cruise every week of the year, between all the lines. We have cruises booked all the way thru 2024. This cruise our oldest son is coming with us. We'll be taking our middle son and his family on NCL sometime in this coming summer and we just took our daughter and her family on the Oasis this past summer. We do like to gamble, so it works out for us. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose but when you add in the cost of cruises and all the host comps on the ships, we are usually close to even. We don't sail in anything less than a balcony. I never tell anyone they should gamble to get this type of comp tho. Either you're a gambler or you're not. I do tell them if you can hold 5k in your hand, light it on fire and it won't affect your life than give gambling a whirl. (if you have crummy luck to get to prime will cost you $12,500) But if even gambling a few hundred dollars means you're over your budget, then it isn't something you should do. It's better to save up for your vacation and just enjoy your cruise.

I believe NCL has children's clubs you can bring your kids to. But what you are asking for, no NCL would not provide a baby monitor type system for your cell phone. Different cultures.

I'm pretty sure the NY cruises are full for the rest of the summer

We love the Oasis class ships with kids. We don't bother taking our grandkids on NCL. Royal offers so much more for kids. We are leaving in a few days on the Oasis with family. I would pick Icon over the Joy. Just the fact that it's a brand new ship completely and absolutely geared to kids of all ages is why I'd choose it.

You should do this tomorrow. There are lifeboat occupancy restrictions that believe it or not will not allow an infant to be added to that room. You definitely need to take care of this sooner than later.

I'd be happy for free play money 🙂 But I don't think that happens with our casino cruises.

I just paid approx $533 with gratuity for the Anthem. I'm pretty sure it was on sale for $225 pp. I don't think that's too much for the Icon. They have more restaurants than the anthem does

lol we never even got a letter. I had to call them and tell them they cancelled our cruise and then get them to give me the 25% plus the obc onto a different reservation. It took 4 hours on the phone for them to talk to supervisors, their supervisors. Their first answer was, oh you needed to cancel that cruise...lol Totally ridiculous. We only had 2 people in our cabin. Just know that if you cancel the cruise you put this on or they cancel it, you lose it all.

I just bought the udp because after looking at the menus for main dining, there is not enough "clean food" choices for us. I just want a salad and salmon for dinner at least 5 nights.

We don't join them anymore. And many years ago (like 20) I did run some. It is a lot of work. But it's also fun. Most people are going to have a great time! Cheer them on and have fun! I hope you guys win and if I'm in the casino when you all are doing your slot pull, I'll cheer you on too.

Just walking thru it, it was noisy. We had originally booked one of the window cabins and then changed to an oceanview balcony. We were super happy our cabin was not in there. You could see the outlines of the people thru the curtains at night. They put a giant movie screen in on the Wonder. The Oasis seemed less noisy in Central Park.

I'm not sure if you should worry. We just got an email today to be sure to book our specialty dining for the Jubilee TA they canceled a few weeks ago. I've never gotten a cancellation notice and it's still in my list of active cruises. We've had so many carnival cruises canceled that I even wonder if our 15 day cruise on Venezia in September will actually go

Wow, I really had no idea all this went on. I feel for you guys trying to figure out cabin issues. We booked the Venezia on New Years Eve as a casino comped balcony for the 15 night Journey cruise because they had sent out reminder emails to use our offers before they expired. I had no issue picking a balcony. I chose a middle deck 7 balcony. As I was searching for cabins I saw the cabana ones and that was when I realized this was like the Vista. We didn't really like the Vista but I like this ship has a closed lido. Years ago the Splendor sailed from NYC and it was nice in the winter. And free is always for me 😁

Sometimes you need to lose money to keep the money you've made. But not all bankruptcy ends with nothing for the shareholder.

Yes, it's a limited offer. So make it habit of checking every few days for new offers on your app. Once a certain amount of people put it in their offers, it's not there for anyone else to get. Chase cards get offers too.

ohhh good. Now I don't feel bad about calling back and upgrading my cabin.

It's not an actual balcony. It's a window that lowers. Just google it.

We sail both lines. I'd stick with Royal and get your diamond status and then try NCL. The Joy is a beautiful ship, much nicer than the Oasis. But....I'm not really sure what it's like to be in a regular cabin. We only sail NCL now in Haven. So our experience is totally different. We last sailed Oasis this past July and will be going again next June. But we take one of our kids and their families and that's why we choose an Oasis class ship because we are bringing grandkids. NCL just is not a great line for little kids. Wifi on NCL you'll have to pay to upgrade. You get minutes, not wifi like on Royal. And it's very slow. The drink package is ok. Unless you upgrade you can't get water or coffee. Plus you pay approx $20 a day pp for gratuities. The excursion credit is fairly worthless. I think you should definitely try NCL. But if you are only doing one or two vacations a year, I'd stick with Royal to get to diamond.

You answered your own question. It was super cheap for a 3 day vacation.

You have to book thru the amex portal for the onboard credit. Not sure how much it is as I don't book that way. As far as insurance goes, amex plat has no cancellation insurance. The delay insurance is only if that happens. Medical is secondary. So basically that means, you pay first. We keep our cards to use in the centurion lounges when we travel. But you need to buy trip insurance using this card unless you are ok about covering the loss. You should just sign into your amex account and you can read exactly what you have for medical evac etc Best advice...buy travel insurance that fits your needs. Or get a Chase card

booking doesn't work. You have to sail before your status expires. Which is the only reason we are on a 3 day cruise.

We booked a 3 day cruise so we didn't lose our diamond status. So we are flying from NY for a 3 day cruise.

The entire stock market is gambling. That's why it's so fun. Only play with money you can afford to lose. Now I'm building portfolios for my grandkids.

they have no need to file bankruptcy because they have the availability of the junk bond market. As we go further into a recession, that market could dry up for them and then reorganization will be on the table. I've had quite a few stocks over the years that declared bankruptcy. Some, I lost everything. Others, I made out quite well.

The concierge told us 1100. It was 900 for the start of your cruise, from the beginning of our 9/3 cruise. Then they got a few hundred more.