graphicguy

I have looked a Virgin a few times. Nothing that caught my eye as far as cruises I'd want. May book them, but haven't been compelled to yet.

Could be because NCL's Latitudes status carries some real perks with value, not just being able to board early. I know when I matched my NCL (Platinum at the time) status to MSC's top tier, I didn't get much.

Yeah...I have been looking at those Bliss-Alaska sailings given NCL sent me a 10% off coupon. So far, none of those fares have excited me. Looking at Viva and Aqua fares, too. Will be on the Prima in Feb, so will keep eyes peeled as 2023 turns into 2024.

Dang it.....I'm sitting here eating cottage cheese and a bunless burger for lunch. Then, I see these pictures. Thanks a lot!!!!

NCL won't book that airline! As an aside, if you want a say in flight times, flight dates, etc, book your own air. If not, you'll get what NCL gives you.

Amen!

NO worries. They won't. So, you haven't booked a cruise yet? Book it and THEN see what NCL's flights are. The good news is, it can't be any worse of an airline than the one you're stressing about.

Probably not even that. Another hard pass.

Never heard of them. Maybe EU based? I think NCL only deals with the bigg(er) airlines. I've never heard of them booking through the airlines you referenced.

Just took an 11-nite Mediterannean cruise in October on the Epic as a solo. Booked a Haven Balcony Suite for $4,400 all in. For $113 I upgraded to a 2 BR Haven Suite. I am a chronic cruise fare shopper on just about all cruise lines. I did a double take on the upgrade cost. It was legit. I thought first about if I really needed 2BRs...NO! But, don't know when I'll ever be able to book another. I didn't wait. I jumped on it. It was the last 2BR Haven Suite available. Even though the category was sold out, I looked at upgrades. Minimum bid was $700. I know the cruise lines use a 3rd party to administer this process. Apparently there's not much in the way of communication between the cruise lines and the 3rd party administrators. Moral of the story, if you believe the only way t get a good fare is via bidding, might want to rethink that and check all fares prior to bidding. All the cruise lines want to give the impression that you're able to get a "deal" by bidding. I'd say you're not likely to find a deal by adding. I think some have found deals, but it's not clear to me whether a deal via bidding is necessarily better than just booking the same fare outright.

I won't do the "bidding" either. However, I was shocked regarding how many people I know get into the bidding process (and in turn, paid much more than they had to if they had just bought an upgrade).

Amen, my friend. Hope the injections (albeit they are certainly uncomfortable) continue to make things better. Good luck with the improvement continuing!

@RocketMan275...sorry to hear about your WAMD diagnosis. Are they able to help with injections? Hope you have a good Doc. I had one that wasn't so good. Have had 4 retina detachments (and 4 reattachment surgeries) as a result. Lost most vision in that eye. Have spent an awful lot of time with my ophthalmology MD team as a result. But, I hope they're able to at least treat you to mitigate the damage. Wishing you well!

Good analogy. Oasis class (and above) ships are like a Vegas "strip" hotel. And, it seems Royal is moving in that direction even more.

I sailed the Allure. Worth sailing. You should try it. The Oasis class ships are a different experience than NCL's big ships. As has been mentioned, Royal tries to push everything inward in a mall type atmosphere. NCL champions the water and outside decks (Waterfront activities). Some like Royal's approach. Some like NCL's approach. I've embraced NCL's approach. Like you state, even Royal's way of doing dining is centered around you having to make a reservation or be subject to long waits. They just aren't set up for folks showing up whenever they want, like NCL does. No right or wrong answers. Just preferences. If I find a particularly good fare with Royal, I'll book them, again. But, my cabin has to be water facing. Otherwise, I may as well have my vacation on a land based resort.

That was fun. Still trying to pull off a B2B.

The most accurate description of the cash games I’ve read. And, once you separate the drunks and idiots from the players, you’ll eventually find the good players! Don’t play the tournaments because of the rebuy allowances. Have put players out multiple times only to have them rebuy and come back in!

There was some profit taking from a fund this a.m. But.... NCL stock is up over 6% today. RCCL is up about 2% Carnival is up a little less than 5% Not sure where you're information is coming from, OP!.

Yeah....it's all relative to price. I can find some mighty good deals on balcony cabins. But, if I find a particularly good fare on an OV, I'm on it. I did stay in a Solo Cabin on the Breakaway. It was just too claustrophobic for me. I know some who love those cabins, though. I've sailed Royal quite a bit, too. Those inward facing balcony cabins just make no sense to me. You're paying for a balcony but are subject to having others seen in and only overlooking their inside passenger areas. I do think they are a little cheaper, but I can't wrap my head around why I'd book it. I'm on a cruise. I need to wake to the ocean/sea. If not, I may as well just stay at EPCOT or Universal.

D.C.? I understand your sentiments. The Ocean or the Sea? As all the sonnets, books, songs etc that have romanticized them all, I can't find it boring or mundane. Moreover, having a balcony that faces the mall like areas on the Royal ships isn't something I'd want.....EVER! If you find it to be boring or mundane to view the water, why even cruise?

Don’t understand why someone would take a “cruise” who believes seeing the water from their cabin to be “mundane”!

Early shows with the Syd’s band explains the fictional history of the fictional Syd Norman. The RUMOURS show is great, but so are the rest of the group’s shows!

Sailing on the Ocean/Sea is a MAJOR reason I love cruising. There's nothing like waking up and opening my balcony door to breath in the salt water and seeing the blue waters go by. The view is NEVER mundane and I never take it for granted as being insignificant. I appreciate it every single time I cruise.

I always follow the "less is more" philosophy when cruising. A gift "basket" would be too large. A gift "bag" that they can repurpose as a dirty laundry bag might work. Little things that are easily packable that fit inside the gift bag. New cruisers might like a handful of GIN-GINs and a small tube of Dramamine tablets in case of motion sickness. -small bandage/bandaid packet with 8 bandaid strips -a small travel bottle of antiseptic, small travel toothpaste tube, small toothbrush in a case, small travel deodorants -international/universal plug that also has USB "A" and "C" ports -a pack of lightning and/ore USB A and C cables Use the soaps available on board, so no need for those. Urge them to take only an overhead roll aboard and back pack on board. They'll thank you when they are both embarking and disembarking.

Depending on the excursion, if you have FAS and are Latitudes for 15% off plus $50 off/excursion, the ship's excursions aren't necessarily a bad deal. But, you can find some really inexpensive excursions in the Caribbean from those folks hanging out by the pier. Mediterranean, Bermuda, etc? Not so much. Saw a thread here not long ago that someone got lost looking for their excursion bus on a Mediterranean Cruise in Italy. I think the ship's personnel went looking for them, which wouldn't happen if it wasn't booked through the ship. I have seen the MIA, FLL, MCO ports so many times, nothing there interests me. So, if I can get an early direct flight to those ports, I won't stay overnight. But, other ports I am not familiar with? Yeah...I'll be happy to spend the night for a Benjamin or two. Doing that exact thing in Galveston in a couple of months sailing the Prima. Looking forward to that..new port and new ship.