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Posts posted by matt1
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11 minutes ago, talkorpi said:
Seems like she has arrived in Aliaga today.Ā
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Farewell old friend...
Āhttps://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-ship-reaches-scrapyard-after-31-years-in-service/86798
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12 hours ago, KmomChicago said:
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Fun history, literally. I am jealous you sailed 6 of the Fantasy class ships, and all when they were relatively new.Ā Is RCI your overall favorite now?Ā
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It will be interesting to see how the Costa by Carnival concept works out.Ā
RCI and Princess are my go-to cruise lines, but much prefer anything sailing from NYC (Cape Liberty or Manhattan). Would love to try NCL, and have been looking at them for December year as well. I truly enjoy the experiences different cruise lines offer.Ā- 1
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I cut my cruising teeth on the Fantasy-class, beginning with the ECSTASY in 1993. That was followed by IMAGINATION and SENSATION (1995), FANTASY and INSPIRATION (1996), ECSTASY again (1997), and finally PARADISE (1998). That last one was probably the singular, most unique Carnival cruise, since PARADISE was brand new and billed as the worldās first completely No Smoking cruise ship, with the No Smoking symbols painted on her hull and flying the No Smoking sign flag from her bow mast.Ā
ĀAfter PARADISE my cruising wings sort of sprouted and I went back-and-forth for dozens of cruises between Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland-America, two or three times back to CCL in the early 2000ās, Cunard, Celebrity, and then finally back to Royal Caribbean. Itās been a wild ride.Ā
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Hopefully, Iām looking forward to maybe trying the new CARNIVAL VENEZIA next December out of NYC.Ā
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On 10/1/2022 at 4:22 PM, DKNYC said:
Hi Matt
I hope you've booked already as the no single. Supplement deal expires on October 4.
I agree it's a steal. š I booked this years cruise Barcelona to Miami. 10\16\22.Ā
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Denise
I canāt even tell you how disappointing I am for not booking this. I went back and forth, hemmed and hawed, made spreadsheets, tore my rotator cuff, went through weeks of PT, had multiple Ortho visits, made more spreadsheets, broke down pricing, and watched a ton more videos. In the end I just couldnāt pull that trigger. Iām probably going to regret this decision, and I know itās probably the deal of the century, butā¦ ā¹ļø -
4 hours ago, Shocker said:
Have cruises 7 days or longer it is not worth flying to Miami for 5 days......
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Valiant Lady in the off-season does alternating 8/6 night cruises from Miami before heading back to the Med. Ā- 1
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11 hours ago, gkbiiii said:
I've done 8 transatlantics, but think I would be board on Virgin, with no cruise director or daily activities.Ā
ĀInteresting comment. I actually had to look up what Cruise Directors do, and how it impacted my past cruises. And Iām not sure it did.
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Iāve never been one to even care what the Cruise Directorās name is, easily could have done without any pre- and post-show commentary, and rarely ever went to shows in the first place. Other than attending the occasional game of trivia, I pretty much kept myself busy just wondering around the ship, watching the ocean and the world go by, and just doing absolutely nothing important. I think in the case of Virgin Voyages, no Cruise Director is just fine by me.Ā
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THANK YOU again to everyone for the tips and advice. Very much appreciated! Lots to do and think about. š This is all very exciting!Ā
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For the international air to Barcelona and pre-cruise hotel, would I indeed be better off booking this as a package with Virgin Voyages? Ā
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Iāve never done a transatlantic cruise, and have never cruised with Virgin Voyages. Most all of the cruises that I have done were Eastern/Western Caribbean and Bahamas, Canada/NE, Alaska, and the short cruises out of LA, and with most all the mass market cruise lines over the past 33 years. I did spend quite a bit of time at sea in the 12 years I was in the US Navy and racked up 10 years of sea time. So Iāve got that going for me. LOL š
ĀThat being said, the Oct. 29, 2023 14-night Barcelona to Miami cruise is a steal and just too good of a deal to pass up for a single-occupancy sailor as myself.Ā
ĀI have done a few longer cruises, but not one that had soooo many sea days, which Iām sure that Iāll love.Ā Being sort of an introvert, Iām sure that I can find plenty to do by reading a book, catching up on some movies on the in-cabin entertainment system, people-watching, and gazing out at the horizon from my balcony while relaxing in a hammock. The ports of call - Ibiza, Malaga, and Funchal - are almost secondary in my mind, since Iād primarily be doing this for the ship.Ā
ĀSo, IāmĀ wondering if there are any cons to doing a two-week stretch on Valiant Lady? For those that have sailed with Virgin Voyages, do you think that 14-nights is too much of a good thing?Ā
ĀTHANK YOU in advance for your insights! š
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4 hours ago, matymil said:
This is learned behavior and is a product of terrible parenting.
NAILED IT. š- 10
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8 hours ago, bmc alabama said:
We loved VVā¦.
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THANKS for the review. Iām pretty sure that Iām gonna love Virgin Voyages as well, I just need to ālet my hair down a little bitā and quit being an old fuddy-duddy.Ā
I think I was using my default cruise line as Royal Caribbean only because they were a drive-to-port. There really wasnāt anything out of Baltimore that I cared for, so Anthem of the Seas was my first choice when narrowing down options. NCL really wasnāt ever a consideration until now, and then somehow I found Virgin Voyages with the āno single occupancy surchargeā. I think they had me at āAHOY, sailorā. š
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11 hours ago, ownedbypets said:
I'm back from my cruise on Scarlett Lady. The previous few posts and reviews could have been written by me as they were very close to my experience. I went in with an open mind and had a fantastic time and booked another cruise while onboard.
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As we were leaving breakfast yesterday we were asked if we had a good time. I was honest and said we had cruised a lot on RC and loved it and will continue to do so but Virgin exceed all expectations.
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I wasn't sold on Virgin when I first saw the commercials and reviews but I'm so happy that I took the chance and tried something new. And the demographics of the sailors is very wide and diverse. I turned 60 on the cruise and my daughters are 28. We all had a great time.
WONDERFUL review and insights on the Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages comparison.ĀĀ
VERY much appreciated!Ā
Āš
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28 minutes ago, WheresWalter said:
Glad the episode was helpful!Ā
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Yeah that Single Sailor pricing is very sweet compared to Royal, especially when you factor in the inclusions. As for the design, if all ships were the same that would be boring. šĀ
I think what I need to do now is sit down over the next week and drum up a few itinerary and port of embarkation specific questions for the Virgin Voyages Forum. Maybe I was getting a little too comfortable with the RCI routine and need to break out of my comfort zone and go crazy. LOL This is both scary and exhilarating at the same time! š³šĀ
Life is an adventure. Take risks. š
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@WheresWalterĀ Quite the informative video!!! Very much appreciated. šš»šš»šš»
ĀI do wish RCI had better availability and more options for their single-occupancy guests without paying a 200% surcharge, and thatās the driving force thatās pushing me towards Virgin Voyages, especially with their more competitive all-inclusive pricing approach. Iāve even price compared several RCI and Princess options, and I keep going back to Virgin Voyages where I can get a balcony on Valiant Lady for the price of an interior cabin on other lines.Ā
ĀAs for ship design, I loved that whole Royal Esplanade and The Via walkway running into Two70 on Anthem of the Seas - it was simply gorgeous, open, and inviting. Donāt get me wrong, and itās not that the single-deck public spaces and more āintimateā approach is bad or would feel claustrophobic, itās just different. Overall, Valiant Lady looks really amazing.Ā
ĀItās been mentioned to maybe try a shorter cruise instead of hoping onto a 14-night transatlantic, so Iāve been looking at Dec. 2023 cruises out of south Florida.Ā
ĀSooooo many cruises, so little time.
Āš
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2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:
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Their old one seems to be frozen in time at the start of the shutdown:Ā https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event.pdf
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Don't see a single supplement column on that one, though.Ā The only place I've seen the solo supplement mentioned was as a percentage on one of the large TA/consolidator sites.
Much appreciated. I also happened to have found an old Celebrity Cruises Tuesday Specials and they did use to show the Single Occupancy surcharge. That mustāve been the one I was thinking about.Ā -
Forgive me if this has been asked before, but didnāt āway back in the dayā theyād list what the single-occupancy surcharge was on their āTuesday Specialsā bulletin? Or am I thinking of another cruise line?Ā
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2 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:
Totally agree. As for the food. I can cruise for a lot less in a much nicer larger cabin on other ships and just purchase a dining package. So having allyour dining covered is no big deal.
ĀIt may be no big deal for you, but in my case every little bit helps in the overall pricing of the trip.Ā
ĀAnd maybe itās the lack of a 200% single occupancy surcharge, and the āall inclusiveā nature (specialty restaurants included) of the cruise rate, but I have yet to find anyĀ transatlantic cruise next fall (comparing balcony cabin to balcony cabin) that even comes close in pricing, with Valiant LadyĀ easily being $1000-$1500 cheaper - and thatās before adding in tips, basic drink package, specialty meals, and Wi-Fi on the other ships. I particularly like the free scooped ice cream. š
ĀThatās why itās so difficult to pass this up.Ā
ĀAnd itās a shame Iām not traveling this November, looks like theyāre giving everyone a $300 bar tab. Nice.Ā
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13 hours ago, WheresWalter said:
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Hey there. So my wife and I have sailed Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, Princess, HAL, Disney and most recently Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady. Going into the VV cruise, I was prepared to be a 'one and done.'..
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I was totally wrongā¦
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Superb post!!! This would be enough to change anyoneās mind. Very well done. šš»šĀ- 3
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Thanks again for all of the great input. Since Anthem of the Seas was the last ship I sailed, I canāt help but keep comparing the entertainment and dining options against that of Valiant Lady.Ā
ĀOne of my biggest hesitations on booking this cruise is the dining - Iām definitely a dress-down casual diner using the buffet for practically every meal, with the occasional Italian or other specialty restaurant to break up my routine. Going in and surveying the options, grabbing what I want, and my eat-and-run kind of mentality (I thank all those years in the military for that) all weight significantly on the ships I choose. Sitting down and ordering from a menu for multi-course meals sort of kills it for me. And The Galley on Valiant Lady appears to leave a lot to be desired.
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Having watched quite a few videos on the dining options, ships with a full buffet (like what was on Anthem of the Seas) win every time over the sit down venues on Virgin.Ā
ĀAnd as the last post indicated, I donāt consider myself a prude either. But the risquĆ© entertainment is way out of my comfort range, as are late nights (Iām usually in bed well before 11pm even on a cruise) and LOUD anything - and being on the ship for 14-nts I donāt want to resort to in-cabin movies as my sole method of leisure. On Anthem I lovedĀ the Music Hall and two70, and truly enjoyed just simple daily events like Trivia or stage shows (sort of like The Beatle's music celebration or We Will Rock You).Ā
ĀWith all of that said, I think that Iām talking myself out of this. ā¹ļø
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1 hour ago, Bxc53 said:
They seem to focus pretty hard on the nightlife centric 'sailor'. As in bar hop all evening, sleep it off and sweat it out on the exercise programs, have a nice dinner, then repeat.Ā
I can definitely see that happening on the Caribbean or Med week-long or shorter cruises. But I wonder if that still holds true for the longer 14-night one-way trans-ocean cruises, that would seemingly draw maybe a slightly more sedate or older crowd? š¤
And Then There Were Two (Fantasy Class Ships Left). Share your POSITIVE memories of the departed FANTASY CLASS VESSELS
in Carnival Cruise Lines
Posted · Edited by matt1
This is among the more cherished souvenirs from my cruising days on Carnivalā¦
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