jean87510

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

I read your comment exactly like you intended. 

I don't like either as they both affect me.  Perfume more so as people usually smoke outside and I don't really notice it as much as it seems as if more people vape nowadays.

I have to laugh sometimes reading these posts commenting about this loyalty perk or that.  I'm going on a 13 day Sydney to Tahiti cruise on NCL in 8 days and this unfortunately is only our 2nd cruise with NCL so we are in an inside with no loyalty perks. We do have the drink package, but oh how I would love the priority tender and the laundry!

7 minutes ago, DennysDad said:

Annoying and Hazardous are two very different things.

Yes.  Read what I posted.  Both are annoying.  One definitely more hazardous then the other.

2 hours ago, gerif said:

Apparently Celebrity doesn’t do this anymore. I’m taking a Celebrity cruise for the first time in a number of years with a friend as my husband has passed away. I am elite with them by virtue of my diamond status here. They are quite clear that she cannot join me for any events. Actually, their perks are pretty pathetic compared to Royal’s. We have a drink package and WiFi with our group and I seriously don’t see any elite perks that I would use. 

The laundry!

3 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Just brought her to the backstage tour.  No other perks were used!  Maybe a soda as part of my fivefree drinks😁

And I'm sure no one checked or cared.  It's a small tour.  

15 hours ago, DennysDad said:

Not a chance. Where is the surgeon general's warning on a bottle of perfume. 

They are both annoying.  One definitely more hazardous then the other.  

Does the ship go at 88 MPH?

4 hours ago, twangster said:

 

I think the allocation of daily service fees changes depending where you eat.  When you don't visit the MDR they don't get a cut.  Somewhere around 40% of the time I get phone calls asking why I am not eating in the MDR.  It's long been this way.  

 

When I worked remotely from ships I was in my cabin more so perhaps I was in my cabin when the phone rang more often.  They don't tend to leave a message so if you are not in your cabin when they call, you would have no idea they called.  

We have had messages left.  Not daily.  Just 1x a cruise.

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Thanks for the information. That makes a lot of sense about being in the cabin when they call. I literally am only in my cabin to sleep, change or shower. So it’s possible I have gotten calls before but was never in the cabin to answer the calls. 

Messages were left for us.

6 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Who calls you? I have been on 75 cruises and on dozens of them have never stepped foot in the MDR. Frequently it’s because we bought the UDP and other times it is due to a combination of eating in a few speciality restaurants and the WJ. I have never been called asking why aren’t we in the MDR. We have never stayed in anything above a JS and I am only a D+. Maybe you are called because you stay in suites or you are a Pinnacle?

Using our example we have been called on our cruises by at least day 4.  We are D+.  We got calls when in an inside, balcony, JS, GS.  

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

Surely that would be their choice? I can’t imagine that is the only way to secure a reservation or arrange a time to eat.

unfortunately the one night, none of us had our phones handy as we wanted a phone free dinner.  My husband had to run back to the cabin for his.  So yes, on that ship, we needed it.

1 hour ago, mets07 said:

We still prefer the flexibility of MTD and hope they continue to offer it on Royal. We don't make reservations. 

 

However, the process could be vastly improved. At minimum, the ability to do what is done on Carnival, as others mentioned, would be great....  you see the current wait time in the app and simply click to check in. It alerts you when your table is ready and indicates the table number. 

This works very well and we enjoyed it on the Magic with our kids.  But remember you have the diehards on here that lock their phones if they have them in their safes or they leave their phones at home purposely.  They refuse to use bar codes to check in.  Can you imagine them checking in to eat?  The comments would be worse than shorts in the dining room or chair hogs.

12 hours ago, Ashland said:

I have no idea why they call but they do. I have never made a reservation. Perhaps it's because we only stay in the OS that their concerned enough to call. We always assure them it's just our preference. Long time cruisers and we're done with the MDR/MTD. I wish there was an option to opt out.

We get called as well.  We are WJ dinner eaters or less and less now Specialty dining.  We are tired and sometimes just don't feel like sitting making small talk or being friends with our waiter.  Plus the specialty dining just drags at times and can be longer than land restaurants.  I did not like when WJ was closed for dinner during covid and we had to either pay for specialty or stand with masks on in line waiting to be seated in MDR.  Which was slow.

My favorite are the FB groups which always has people who sell this stuff.  Or the people who have check lists recommending items such as lanyards, over the door shoe rack, ducks, towels once, pens, travel coffee mugs...etc...  We don't like to pack a lot as we like buying treasures from the islands so we hate useless novelty gimmicks.  Plus one of our suitcases carries our snorkeling gear, snorkel bags, portable tent and chairs and husband's free diving fins.  So since we cruise primarily for the islands and our water adventures, we don't usually go overboard with the knickknacks and formal evening wear.

The only thing I have used repeatedly since they came out is the metal hooks.  And I use them correctly on the ceiling to dry clothes thanks to a CC poster who posted the best way to use these when washing clothes in the sink or shower and it works better than any clothesline in the cabin.  We have 20 of them and use them all.  I think we got them in 2021.  

50 minutes ago, RWK1952 said:

 

I am definitely leaning with staying on the Breakaway.  Just too many factors in their favor, IMO.  The BLU on Celebrity is likely a bit of an acquired taste.  Obviously, there are not many options for the various dinner courses.  But we never found us not liking at least one of the four options for each course, I believe.  It was also extremely easy to just walk in without a reservation and get a table.  I don't believe that we ever waited more than about 15 minutes, and most of the time we were seated immediately.  Since it was also a much smaller venue, and we ate there at least four, maybe five times during the 7 day cruise.   We came to know some of the other cruisers.

 

We also greatly enjoyed the Celebrity buffet every morning so it's not like we have to dine elegantly in order to be satisfied.  I am quite certain we will find many good food options on NCL.  

 

One other specialty option we tried and enjoyed on Celebrity was Le Petit Chef. That was a unique experience.  We also found out that it was much less expensive on ship than it is if you were to go to one of their land restaurants, of which there are many all around the world. 

This is true re NCL food.  There definitely is more of a variety for free then the Brilliance 3 specialty dining restaurants, MDR, and buffet.  We have been on 33 cruises with MSC, Royal, Celebrity, NCL and Carnival.  Our favorite is NCL for food followed by MSC, Celebrity, Carnival and last, by a distance, is Royal.  My husband really enjoyed the variety on NCL.  He hates gimmicky places (le petit chef, Wonderland) and we both hated Blu.  I couldn't eat half the menu due to food intolerance and allergy.  A lot of food had nuts, shellfish, seafood or mushrooms which was annoying.  I would just get the same thing every night either a steak salad or something from the MDR menu.  Speaking to wait staff was not always helpful as I got tired of explaining by night 3 so I ate at the buffet if menu was unappealing.  MSC YC I had no issues ever at their restaurant.  

I also LOVE the thermal spa on NCL.  THIS is where NCL excels over Royal.  I so wish my cruise on the 28th on the Spirit had the thallosotherapy pool!  Both Celebrity and Royal should take pointers from NCL and Carnival Cloud 9 for this option.

4 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

We have to get our own towels as well, but they NEVER have swiped any of my sea pass cards when staying in a suite

And we had to for ours.  

15 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Book a suite, no towel check out or check in, no problem

Not the case all the time.  We have had to get ours on 2 GS sails.  In the JS sails, our attendant did replace.  

I'm D+ on Royal and about to go on my 2nd cruise with NCL.  Have done the JS on Royal.  Have inside on NCL.  Frankly, I would pick NCL in your case based on your prior cruise AQ experience with Celebrity.  It reads as if you are a Blu fan (I am not).  You will most likely not like the specialty dining or dining in general on Royal.  Norwegian has more of a selection.  Norwegian also has the great promos with the air, internet, shore excursion, drink package offers (not sure if for your sailing though,).  Royal has not offered anything extra for quite some time.  

What always helps me is watching videos of bloggers.

We tend to lean towards the better itinerary. 

38 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

Possible for an added charge ... ATN does not include use of their lounge without paying for it unless your in business and the business class was purchased through ATN.

 

My example was the case where you hold American Airlines most premium credit card, an annual $450 membership fee which also secures your membership is the Admirals club ... you purchased your business class seats on ATN using American miles, thus through American which is a code share airline with ATN. You can not use the ATN lounge at FAAA international. You would think your in business class flying on ATN ... you would be able to use their lounge without purchasing a pass  ... but you can't. 

 

Your question/statement fell through the cracks ... I guess I should of stated that the exception is purchasing a pass for an added charge ... I don't read off of notes when I do a video  ... simply talking so occasionally something might not get addressed such as the point you brought up. 

 

This was such a slap in the face (the example I mention) that the person will no longer fly ATN ... as I mentioned the person at the lounge desk could of made a mistake. Maybe I should stop with the videos ... I might miss something ....

No, they are good.  I just thought I may have missed something!

On 3/10/2024 at 10:43 AM, flcruisegal99 said:

Traveling with carnival in April and looking to rent a car for the day. Has any one had any experience with Fiesta? What’s it like driving in Cozumel? Is it safe? We plan on going to the beaches, the ruins, and the grocery store. We are two girls in our mid-twenties. We have read some articles and it seems ok but looking for real experience 

 

We don’t want a taxi but if necessary we would stay at the port if not safe. 

Yes, we have used them.  They are at the international pier.  We had no issues and had a great day.  It is safe driving in Cozumel.  Just be careful of the bars as they can pour strong drinks.  I know from experience sometimes one has to be the DD out of necessity!  The gas station to refill at the end is across the street from Fiesta.  I will warn you they have in the past tried to charge more with exchange rate (happened to us).  Pay in cash.  

On 3/12/2024 at 8:34 PM, back to the islands said:

Thank you all! Have any of you ever snorkeled at Mahahual? I have considered either snorkeling from Hayhu Beach Club or going out with Dr. Dive by boat. The video I've seen looked ok, but not anything special. Do you get to see eagle rays from any of these ports? I have gotten to see them twice only and once they were so deep you couldn't see the spots.The other time I could've touched it, but it was before I bought myself a decent underwater camera. Sometimes I sure wish I was certified to dive, but I'm not. Otherwise, I think I'll just plan to stay on the ship and my husband would love that! Thanks so much! 

Yes.  I have been at both.  We have used Pepe Dive for a 1 hour trip out to a decent reef at Mahahual.  Also have been out to reef in Hayhu.  It is a bit of a swim and I don't really recommend for novice snorkelers or unsteady swimmers.  Once you get out there its pretty good.  Not Bonaire but not cruiselines private islands.

We hiked Ketchikan on our own and plan to do so again.  I saw the size of the group while we were hiking and if you like to hike, you may not like a long casual stroll with multiple stops.  Then again, you might.  

In Skagway, we rented e bikes and loved it.  We did hike after we were done with bikes for a couple of miles and enjoyed that as well.

On 3/6/2024 at 11:36 AM, caroleleblanc said:

Hi there. We are doing an Alaska cruise in September and stopping in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. Has anyone booked excursions on their own that they would recommend? We like to bike and hike and we would also like to do a train ride, at least 1 way. We typically try to avoid the cruise line excursions because of the high cost and large number of people. TYIA.

Juneau we are actually renting e bikes upcoming.  We did go to Mendenhall on our own (lots of videos on YouTube on this) and had fun

Skagway - We rented e bikes and had a terrific day (May 2022).  Upcoming we are renting a e car from same place.

Ketchikan - easiest place to get around.  Took bus out to totems then hiked from the school down to the port.  Then walked around.  Easy, inexpensive day.  Do NOT pay for any hiking tour especially if you hike normally as they are very slow and have people who do not hike normally if you get my meaning.

5 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

Because it's part of the conversation, we both quoted the same post and you seemed to be in agreement with the person we both quoted.

 

But if I misunderstood, I'll edit my post and remove the quoted post, if time allows.

👍

17 minutes ago, link99 said:

In the letter I received it referenced booking new excursions for coco cay. Guess what there are none listed. Sure Anathem has them all booked up anyway. They still reference Haiti.

They probably haven't added them yet.  We have had similar situations with ports changed last minute, added last minute...etc...