Travelling2Some

Nope. And you know what is really crazy? Having the FAS beverage package I would be charged extra for San Pelligrino sparkling water while Prosecco (Italian champagne), my other go- to drink would be free. Hello, NCL, Pelligrino is WAY less expensive than Prosecco. The bean counters seem to have missed that one.

Yes, it's the Breakaway. My understanding had been that the Bar Harbor authorities intended to honor the bookings that were in place for the coming year. This made the cruise more attractive (at least for us) since it would be the "end of an era". Don't know who canceled the stop (NCL or Bar Harbor) but it was an important stop (for Acadia National Park) so the cruise is much less attractive to us now. A driving trip looks more interesting since we can include multiple nights at Cape Cod/Nantucket on the way up and skip several ports of less interest on the itinerary.

Exactly and with plenty of attractive stops on the way. We have been to all these places before being somewhat local, so the cruise is not really needed. I would rather drive and have several days in places of interest.

Yet another itinerary change. Substituting Boston for Bar Harbor, which is not bad and at least well before final payment. Have to say I was expecting this but Bar Harbor was an important port stop because this year is probably the last time ships will be allowed to dock there. We were on the fence about this cruise since it is an easy driving trip from NY and driving allows us more days in ports. This tips the balance so we will cancel and make it a road trip, which allows us to include Cape Cod and Nantucket.

Interesting. I never thought of that. Probably being on a longer non-Caribbean itinerary would make a big difference though.

Slumming it, huh? Yeah, we're really living on the edge over here, lol. We had a troll from the Viking boards a few pages back but you guys seem nice!

Yes, we know those people too. But isn't it amazing that they don't seem to notice that we, their friends, return unscathed cruise after cruise after cruise? How can we be SOOO lucky that we go on all these cruises for years and none of this terrible stuff ever happens to us??? People believe what they want to believe. People also seem to find a way to do things they really want to do. Just as well they are not increasing consumer demand. More for us 🙂

These are well-traveled adults. They are not helpless children and cruise lines are not babysitters. Most of the general public knows zero about cruising and the media is capitalizing on that to sensationalize the story.

Gee, kind of like the way they will confiscate liquor so they can sell it to you for only $59 a day per person;) Try that at a hotel on land!

Of course, but it is not possible to discuss future procedures. We can only report experiences in the recent past. 911 was horrific for those of us in Manhattan that morning.

This. We were given a separate piece of paper to keep in our passports during our time in Israel. We were told not to loose it as we would need to present it on departure. This was to avoid having our passports stamped.

Yup, my kids taught me that kind of thing. I would be writing it down but they are so used to doing everything on their phones and say to just take a picture of it. Very handy . . . now if I can just figure out where the phone stored that dang photo . . .

Well, you've got those pants taken care of by Lands End. Maybe consider a pair of steel toed shoes in case the "fancy dancers" incident repeats. Things I have refused to do since I turned 50: Homework, jogging, cheap wine, weird health food, uncomfortable clothing.

I have the same attitude. You have to use your judgement, understand how far away from the port you are going, how reliable the tour operator is and how easy or difficult it would be for you to get to the next port should you need to. I'm not going 2 or 3 hours away from the ship with a newbie tour guide in a developing nation when the port stop is followed by several sea days. You just have to have some common sense.

Ha ha, now you'd have to pay for a suite to get the bathtub, lol. Imagine your room steward's surprise.

Hey, if the drink package prices keep going up some enterprising types might start bringing stills. Not me, of course . . .

Yes, the woman was a quilter and going on a cruise with a lot of sea days. They do make mini sewing machines that are very portable. I wonder if it was confiscated or not.

I am not making this up (in spite of the date): There was a thread on CC about a year ago on people renting recliners. It is apparently a "thing" as some folks have some disability that makes it difficult for them to sleep laying flat. It was discussed for several pages. I am still trying to think of a reason someone would bring lawn sprinklers. Maybe they are on the snowbird cruise from Canada to Florida and they have a beach house in Florida? Maybe some strange items are gifts for people they are visiting? Who knows.

Our family is part Asian and I will never forget the face one of my daughters made the first time she tasted Minute Rice. She also announced that whatever that stuff is they serve at school is NOT rice after a few days of Kindergarten. My dad was born in Ireland and he could look over a holiday table laden with 35 different dishes and immediately complain that there were no potatoes. Essentials vary from one person to another for sure.

I think you've hit on part of the explanation for odd or cooking items here. People may be bringing things they intend to use in hotels on a land extension of their trip. Also, many first time cruisers just have no idea of what is not allowed and/or what they will have no use for on a ship. My neighbor just told us he is going on his first cruise and, believe me, he did not read anything, never mind the fine print. He's a very nice guy but tends to be a bit out to lunch in general. I don't think there is any shortage of that, lol.

Exactly this. We go on two different kinds of cruises. We could care less about Caribbean ports but will sometimes book a mid-winter break from the New York weather. BUT a cruise in Europe or Asia is a whole different thing. These trips are much more expensive and involve extensive planning so, yes, we do care a great deal about the ports in those cases. We have adopted the same way of dealing with NCL. We only book our less important cruises with them now because they have been too unreliable on our last three cruises with them.

That's great! Same thing happened to us a few years ago. We were upgraded at the last minute from an inside to an Aqua suite. It was an itinerary that included ports in Israel. I think because they had lots of church groups who likely didn't want to be separated. So I'm guessing they moved some of the "independents" around to accommodate them.

Thanks, everyone. I will give it a go.

We have not sailed Celebrity for a few years and do not remember the specifics. We were in Aqua last time and this time are just in a regular cabin. We have the flexible dining but would like to make some dinner reservations (at all different times, not a single time every night). Is this possible? Will it help to avoid waits or is it unnecessary? We are on the Constellation in Europe in May. Thank you.

Very true. BUT sometimes you are deciding between several options and the choice of entertainment will factor into which ship/line you will book. And if you decided on a particular ship and perhaps even paid more for it as opposed to other choices you considered, you might just be a teeny bit peeved.