rodndonna

We've been on a quest trying different cruise lines in the last couple of years. So far between HAL, Princess, NCL and Celebrity - HAL has come out on top (by a good margin) for fish based meals (we don't eat meat).

22 hours ago, the penguins said:

A great perk when shares were $20 each and dividend was 4 times a year.

Now with shares close to $140 each and no dividend it's a very expensive way to get a few extra $ of OBC.

Exactly.....

During Covid we purchased CCL and NCL (both also have shareholder discounts). We left RCL out as it was more than we were willing to "invest" for OBC perk.

CCL is nice - as it covers quite a few cruise lines.

8 minutes ago, mnocket said:

A Caribbean cruise in the Yacht Club is one of the few (only?) sailings where I would book an inside cabin.  With the lovely YC pool area just steps away, I never feel the desire to spend time on a balcony.

That is a good point. As we often sail insides, we normally do "try" to locate ourselves closest to an outdoor space we think we would frequent. 

It seems with the YC insides, all cabins are very close to nice public areas and outdoor spaces which works well since we had no choice in cabin (only 1 left) 😀

35 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

I so wish that airports and airplanes were “dry” zones.  We’ve had too many incidents with drunk fellow passengers impacting our flight experience.  
 

The worst was a four hour delay on a February flight from YYZ to Las Vegas, where the deicing had to be done twice due to the return to the gate to offload a drunk woman (and her equally drunk travel party) who kept throwing up on herself and then taking off that vomit-covered piece of clothing.  She was down to a bra and leggings by the time they unloaded her.  And she was exit row.  Even with more clothes and less vomit there was no way she was capable of sitting there.  Fun times.

She was still "going' to Vegas at that point ??  yikes! Can't imagine what her return flight would have been like .....🤮

14 minutes ago, mushroom said:

Sounds like  you've done your homework and made a very good choice!  You realize you can never go back once you've experienced YC.  

We broke our rule of testing cruises at the lowest grade - standard interior (with drink, wifi etc).  Was just too hard to pass up testing the YC experience for the price point. 😎

2 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Our first YC sailing was an interior on the Meraviglia.  Loved, loved, loved it.

We just did the Deluxe Balcony and although the cabin was larger with more storage and a great bathroom/shower, if we do YC again, it will be with the interior.  Once your in the YC, nobody cares what you paid....service was wonderful!

Enjoy........

Thanks Tabby, I read your thread about your experiences with YC (interior and balcony) and that was part of our decision to give it a try with the (last remaining) inside cabin. 

Title pretty much says it all ...

We have spent the last couple of years cruise line sampling managing HAL, Celebrity, Princess and NCL. Time to try MSC!

So - we just booked our first MSC cruise on the Seaside for late next March. Nabbed the last interior YC cabin available 😏

We generally sail insides but have been known to splurge on Aft balconies. Hummed and hawed over Premium Aurea aft wraparound cabin (non-YC) or interior YC cabin with comparable cost. Really wanted to try YC (although I expect we would be content without) so going tat route.

Also hummed and hawed over Seaside or Seascape. Seaside had and extra port day (Nassau - no big draw - but I believe we are in the minority who have never actually been to Nassau!). Also thought Seaside "might" be a slightly better YC experience as there seem to be less YC cabins on that ship.

Anyway, we've pulled the trigger so can look forward to finding out what MSC (and YC) are all about 😀

is there a Rant 5 coming/ ... it hasn't sounded all that bad (except for Embarkation).

We are looking at booking our first MSC cruise and am kinda surprised with the thread response being so resoundingly in support of TA booking over MSC, and in particular in case something goes wrong. I guess intuitively with other line bookings we always book direct as I feel like I have more control over the booking (no in-between) .

I guess my biggest concern is that maybe MSC is known to have more issues with bookings than other cruise lines. Is that the case? What kind of problems arise? I see one poster referring to being downgraded from YC, but wondering how common that is and what other kind of issues arise from the MSC side.

We're looking at a run-of-the mill Seascape 7 day Caribbean next March in a Premium Aqua cabin or YC inside cabin if that matters ....

Just one final comment from me .... (famous last words)...

I totally understand people's frustrations and that thinking of "I have been a regular XYZ cruiser for 35 years... and they are not focusing on "me" ... their loyal customer"

I kinda would argue they are focusing on "you" , but more in the form of the "new you" ... As an example If you are a now loyal 75 year old cruiser you likely started with HAL  when you were 40-50 years old .... they were focusing on you then, and that's still who they are still focusing on I expect. 

There is still something for everyone, but the focus I believe is the 40-55ish demo ... and that demo has a much wider palate and more dietary restrictions/desires that previous generations.

Maybe I am wrong, and I am not a cruise business expert, but if I were a HAL like brand of cruise, that is who I would focus on.

11 hours ago, TRLD said:

I suspect the operational changes which are pretty much in line with changes over a similar period in time precovid are more due to changes in society and customer base or desired new customers.

 

Society overall is less formal and getting even less so. Popularity of dishes like steak is lower, casual dining becoming more popular, etc.

 

The cruise lines are spending similar amounts, just not on the same thing.

I totally agree. The majority of time people complain about food decline from the "good old days" they complain about "steak" and/or "lobster" .....without noting the PLETHORA of new options and dietary restrictions that are now accomodated.

For us, the things we eat today is NOTHING like what we ate 40, 30, 20 years ago ... . The restaurants (ones that have have survived changing trends in what people eat) have varied over the years, my grocery stores have varied over the years, Most of my diet today (probably 5 out of 7 suppers a week) are items I NEVER ate 30 years ago. 

I'll only add that, although I am no coffee exper, I think that the decaf coffees at Dutch Cafe and such are as good as the regular coffees.

I am "sensitive" to caffeine and typically have a regular coffee in the morning (can only drink half of it), and then only decaf after that (afternoon and after dinner occasionally). I can't tell the difference in quality (but again - no expert)

1 hour ago, Monica887 said:

Interesting. I'd rather NCL work on incorporating a good variety of *interesting and flavorful* plant based dishes in the main dining venues rather than having to go to one specific spot. I can always find something or piece together sides, but they tend to be bland and boring.

If they are making the effort to develop the menus for the venue on Aqua, I would expect some of the better/popular ones would start making their way into the MDR menus for veggie/vegan options on all ships expanding what they have currently. 

On 4/8/2024 at 10:55 AM, LocoLoco1 said:

Family & friends currently on one of the newest vessels report the Post-Covid guest experience aboard ship is noticeably diminished as regards Piano players, Poolside activity attendants, lecturers, smaller dining entrees, $Pay-to-Dine$ upsells, etc etc. Is parent CCL still that $Broke$ or is the competition pummeling it with Fare cuts?? Somethings afoot, but WHY??

Since Covid we have sailed HAL, Celebrity, Princess and NCL and have been lurking on those boards. They all have an equivalent version of this thread resurrect regularly. I suspect the boards on the lines I don't peruse much have them also. 

24 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

For my personal experience, the price was the same on 2/2 when I originally looked at this cruise. The only difference now is I paid $2 instead of $3500 to hold it.

 

Using a site like Cruiseplum (it's not a booking site - so can be named here on Cruisecritic) the cruise price history is easy to check. Like you I see no difference in prices for 2 cruises I have booked and another one that I have been looking at.

19 hours ago, jimdee3636 said:

I don't like the $2.00 deposit idea at all. What's to stop people with nothing else to do from making numerous "what the hell" bookings, e.g., booking nine or ten cruises for the same time period or destination and waiting until the final payment date to cancel all but one of them?

Do you know people that would actually do that though? How common do you think that would be?

I wouldn't ..I've never booked a cruise I didn't have a good expectation of taking.

As a person who always books HIA  and therefore always has refundable deposits, the promo is of limited interest to me, but I think it is good opportunity for others to book "Best Fare" price without having to risk typical deposit.

1 hour ago, KACTravels said:

In line with the Company's commitment to delivering the ultimate vacation experience, Norwegian Aqua will boast three brand-new onboard offerings including Sukhothai, NCL's first-ever Thai specialty restaurant; Swirl Wine Bar, a new, upscale wine bar; and Planterie, the Brand's first dedicated eatery offering a full plant-based menu; in addition to returning guest favorites.

@YVRteacher I thought this would make your day!

That is very good news - love Thai food and are "mostly" plant based diet (some fish) - so 2 big wins for us 😀

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

Yes and yes. This is what I did.

For the CO to be refundable - it would have to be booked as a refundable (HIA based) fare though.....  is that correct?

We always book HIA anyway ...just wondering

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

Really?  May I ask when?  All shopping malls in Ontario are open on Sundays, except for Easter Sunday and if Christmas or New Year’s Day fall on a Sunday.  I suppose that NB could be different, but it’s surprising. 

Correct, NB is the same.

Was living in NB before coming to Ontario in 2017. Sunday shopping was alive and well in NB and as far as I know still is.

On 4/16/2024 at 5:29 PM, Captain-John said:

 

Crikey, I did not think a mass-market cruise ship would be favoured by a centimillionaire. Makes me feel even better about my choice to sail Discovery next year.

 

Thanks everyone for relaying your experience on the ship, great insight. Interesting O'Malley's is being installed. Also keen to try the UBD.

At the end of the cruise, Cole (the CD) said they had been working for 3 months prior to bring Woz onto the cruise. Just another example of how much effort went into making this cruise above and beyond the norm. 

I do now get to forever casually work in the phrase  "....I was on a cruise with Steve Wozniak....."

Thanks for the review ! 

We were on your TSE cruise and nice to relive experiences and read about the experiences we missed (like 360)

 It was our first Princess cruise - so the bar is set perhaps a little high now for Princess 🤔

apologies for a tangent question - relating to Plus fares for Casino players (discounted fares)

Does anyone know if the additional cost to Plus (say $60/pp/pday) is discounted by Casino rate at the same level of discount against the fare?

For example - if one received Casino discount of 15% against cruise fare - would they effectively get that 15% discount against the added Plus charges - so essentially $51 instead of $60pp/pday? 

I ask because that is how it works with HAL and Casino discount fares. With HAL and their "Have it All" or HIA fare pricing, there is an advantage in booking with the HIA fare as that add on cost is reduced. HIA can generally be added later, but no Casino discount would be applied if not included as part of the fare.

We have only sailed Princess once (last week) and not really expecting a Casino discount offer - but  - I am curious 🤔

We currently have 2 bookings with HAL that are both HIA ...

One for Sept 2024 booked more recently (a couple of months ago) ...

it does itemize "refundable" in the Special Services

One for Dec 2024 booked much earlier in time (more than a year ago)

it does not itemize being "refundable" in Special Services (but still clearly is refundable from the Cancellation Fees table)

So - from our experience - yes - HIA bookings have been refundable for quite some time, BUT, "itemizing" it in Special Services is new(ish)

3 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

We would have never noticed it until our room steward pointed that out to us and replaced them with new ones. 

Just checked ours - correct spelling.

I don't think I would have noticed but would have raised questions about the validity with Moday!

36 minutes ago, lgar88 said:

We are currently on the Sun Princess and new to cruising. It’s hard to know if our issues are due to the new ship, due to Princess or just what cruisers are used to.

Any opinions out there on the quality of attention in the dining rooms? All they care about is scanning our medallion before greeting us. We have eaten at 3 specialty restaurants and both casual restaurants. Even with all the wait staff, it’s very difficult to get anyone’s attention. Even our main server at Crown couldn’t get me another glass of wine without going through the sommelier, who then had to make sure and tap our medallion. Alfredo’s was better about that. Probably because they weren’t too busy. At The 8th floor American diner,  both times we ate, we had to get up and go find drinks or someone to order drinks. I was looking for the coffee and just a refill on water. 
Don’t get me wrong, these servers are working so hard. They really need to figure this out. 

My thoughts based on very limited experience (just off our first Princess cruise on the Discovery) - the Medallion is a great technology feature, but still not fully where they want to get it to.

With regards to dining - ideally as you walk up - they can see your name and ID pop up and greet you name. If you scan, they can confirm who you are and then greet you by name without making a mistake.

On our first day of our cruise, we walked up to a bar, ordered, and he knew who we were no problem. On day 2 we had charges for the steakhouse specialty dining (we don't eat meat) and there seem to be quite a number of people at guest services with charges that were in dispute. Very noticeably for the remainder of the cruise, we were asked for a room number to confirm for drinks or scanned our medallion.

Eventually the medallion technology could evolve to work better in busy areas, just not there yet.

Still a great improvement though we thought. 

When you get a chance take a look at the screen they are looking at (like the dining podium) with all of our pics and names popping on and off and moving around the display. I think they need to work a bit more on that algorithm.

On 4/6/2024 at 5:38 AM, commodoredave said:

I have smokers to thank for me giving up gambling on Princess cruise ships. Now, if Princess would only allow smoking again in dining rooms, maybe I could lose some weight!

We just came off our first Princess cruise (Discovery) and it was the first cruise ship Casino I really had an issue with the smoke smell. I say "smoke smell" because even when we would go when there was almost no one in the Casino and could not even find see smoking (or see any ashtrays) ... it still had a heavy cigarette smell. I really didn't get it ... for a new ship I would have expected really good smoke eaters.