buffetking

Lately I've been taking charter theme cruises.  Just got off one last March.  So that's probably why I haven't seen the latest pricing schemes for regular cruises.

If that's the way cruising is trending.... then I'm not going.  Not because of the money...  Because they raise the cost, but cheapen the experience.  I've been on 37 cruises all over the world, on all the major cruise lines and some minor ones.  I've experienced first hand the steady decline of a once wonderful experience.  I'll go to a high-class resort instead.  Only thing missing will be the rocking of the sea.  

Thanks for your input voljeep.

Letting Princess choose your cabin will stick you in an unpopular location, and the cruise fare is non refundable.  Princess will save the best cabins for those who pay the added cost.  If they didn't.. that would defeat the purpose.

So, you pick the option for Princess to choose the cabin.  After it's paid for, you see the location and don't like it.  When you complain... can't get a refund.

 It's not a discount.  If it was a discount, then Princess would price the cabin to the higher cost.  Then mention you can save $300 a person by letting Princess choose the cabin.  That's how it used to be with "guaranteed category" booking.  You got a discount by letting the cruise line pick your cabin.  I know because I've done this many times with different cruise lines.

Price for the balcony cabin was quoted when I picked that category. The next page then stated an increased price if I wanted to choose the cabin myself.  Also making me aware the original price was non refundable.  And best cabins/locations are available by paying the increased amount.  Additionally disclosing increased cabin cost was refundable.

Today, wanted to book a cruisetour to Alaska, July, 2024.  Used Princess website.  Chose balcony category.  After choosing fare type, (another controversial topic), a window popped up with this choice:  Let Princess choose my cabin for the price quoted on the previous page, with non refundable fare.  Or I could pay $300 more per person to choose my cabin with refundable fare.  So Princess is now taking a page out of airlines' playbook with regard to consumer choice.  We have to pay extra to choose a seat on a plane... now extra to choose a cruise ship cabin.  Princess even alluded: Best cabins/locations reserved for those who pay extra.  Experienced cruisers:  What do you think?

And, what once included perk, will soon cost extra?

Thanks for listening (OK... reading) 

Almost forgot. I'm taking Celebrity Silhouette this June 9th for Scandinavia and Russia.

Hopefully their service is still top notch. I'll post my experience when I return.

"Some call me heavy"

"Others say I'm corpulent"

"Me thinks I'm merely chunky"

With a fork in me wee hand,

and a chocolate Bon Bon in the other..

I be...

Da fat man

Just got off the Carnival Sunshine, 4-14 to 4-22 from Port Canaveral, FL. Ports: Aruba, Bonaire, and Turks & Caicos.

Did this cruise for my 60th birthday. We normally cruise with Celebrity and Princess.

I liked being on vacation and cruising... but did not like being on the Sunshine. It was modified a few years ago.

It seems Carnival has spent considerable time ensuring every inch of the ship somehow produces revenue.

There is even a bar in the library. Expect to pay high prices for anything extra. Second hand smoke from the casino entry/exit

could be smelled 2 floors above.. yuck. Our cabin was not clean when we arrived. Heavy dust coated most surfaces and it was clear the floor had not been vacuumed. I spent an hour with a wet towel cleaning all the shelves, railing around the bed, closets,

drawers, light fixtures, TV, phone, and bathroom. The once white towel was black when I finished. I noticed there was a message on the phone. It was for the previous guests, from the medical department wondering if they were still feeling sick. Hello! So, I spent more time sanitizing everything with wipes I brought. Our room steward was nice... but did not clean the room well at all.

Basically just brought new towels. Carpet remained dirty, balcony was really dirty, Bathroom sink quickly wiped... leaving a trail

of white soap everywhere. I have never had an unclean cabin/bathroom/balcony on Celebrity.

Most of the activities on Sunshine were geared toward getting you to spend money. No more chocolates on your pillow at night,

no more tablecloths in MDR except on formal nights... little cuts... but most folks I met mentioned them. Also lackluster service.

Even in the F. 555 steakhouse. Order Surf & Turf... take lobster out of shell yourself. At $35 a person extra.... they should have better service. Waitress displayed and explained various cuts of beef to us at the start. She mentioned they were all aged more than 28 days.. so I asked: any of the steaks dry aged? She had no idea what I was talking about and kinda got pissy with me for the rest of our meal.

This was my 31st cruise. I've been all over the world on Holland America, Celebrity, Celebrity Xpedition, RCCL, Norwegian, Vantage, Cruise North, Princess, and... Carnival. Notice I put Carnival last.

Cheers,

Da fat one.....

Did Caribbean Princess stop at Bar Harbor on 10/25

Howdy,

This is the last day of the cruise from Quebec to New York.

A quick cruise review:

Ship in fine shape, lots of carpet replaced during the cruise.

Our deck 10 balcony cabin was very nice.

Didn't get to use the balcony much due to cold weather.

There has been alot of waiting in line for shows, anytime dining, getting off the ship.

Ship is not designed well for so many passengers on board.

International cafe is nice...but nowhere to sit and eat.

The trees are just starting to change color. 2 weeks from now will be the best colors.

Casino is pretty tight on the slots.....avoid them. Table games give you a better chance.

Food has been good. Had lobster last night with a really yummy chocolate dessert.

All ports have been excellent. We had good weather the whole cruise. Missed Bar Harbor yesterday because Captain said winds would be too strong for tendering.......we all disagree.

No refund of port charges either.

We had 8:00 pm traditional dining. Waiter and busboy were efficient, nothing special.

Service levels have declined from my last Princess cruise.

All in all...a good cruise. This was my 29th cruise. Having been on all the major cruise lines....I have to say Celebrity is very good.

Cheers and happy traveling

Howdy,

Nice to see so much good information. Thanks to all.

I just booked Carmellimo to go from Port Liberty to my hotel on Wall Street after the cruise.

Somewhat pricey...but I just wanna get in the car and arrive at the hotel. No walkin.....no trains....no busses...no hassle. The tolls jack up the price.

Happy travels,

Dan

I plan on flying to Montreal and taking the train to Quebec in early October. Does anyone have any tips about luggage? Max. Size, how many cases? Is taking the train a hassle? Has anyone done it? Do the train workers strike often and/or does the train shut down in snow or bad weather? If I decided to do it, how do I book it?

Thank you in advance for any information that you can provide.

We went in December 2006. Very good cruise. We enjoyed the city tours and had a great time aboard the Xpedition. Never had a problem with the food, but we are not picky about it.

Didn't notice the sound level of the dining room, but again, we didn't expect it to be like luxury cruises we have been on. The wildlife was fantastic during December...lots of baby seals, birds, etc. We just booked this cruise again for December 2016.

Unlikely cruise prices will go down much. Real killer is AIRFARE! I went on a Med cruise in June on the Reflection. Round trip LAX to Rome with one stop was $3300 using ChoiceAir.

I booked a Baltic cruise on Eclipse for next July.....but recently canceled it due to $3400 airfare. Instead I booked a New England/Canada cruise for next October. Air fare wayyyyy cheaper, I save about $2000.

I'm booked on a Baltic cruise next summer on the Eclipse. If U.S. or European sanctions

force cancellation of the St. Pete port, and I cancel the cruise, I can kiss the $3,000+ airfare goodbye. It's pretty smart for the cruise lines to push this type of risk off onto passengers.

But, when the cruise line cancels a cruise.....ALL money spent with the cruise line should be returned to affected passengers.

In the past, you could have airfare added on from your home city when you booked the cruise. Then, until final payment, all you had at risk was the deposit.

Celebrity....do the right thing....many are watching.

Hello again.

I'm on vacation again so my review and pictures will be a little delayed.

I'm at a B&B on San Juan Island.

Cheers,

I booked a Baltic cruise on the Eclipse next July. I've been looking at June, 2015 prices, LAX to LHR (still too early for July prices), nearly $3000 for 2.

I paid over that for LAX to FCO, July of this year for a Med cruise on Reflection. That was from Choiceair. If I cannot figure a way to lower the air cost, I'm just not gonna go.

I plan on taking more car driving trips and less cruises if this trend of sky high airfares continues.

Looking at price breakdown....lot of the cost is taxes.

Hello again,

Our Rome hotel was:

Hotel Fori Imperiali Cavalieri. Excellent, quiet location. Our room rate included breakfast each morning and the room minibar. Minibar was restocked each day with water, soft drinks and a snack. The staff were friendly and helpful. They also had a computer (free internet) in the lobby with a printer. I was going to book the room on Hotels.com. But then decided to check the hotel's website. The hotel website had the same price as Hotels.com....but included the minibar. So shop around and you might get a good deal like we got.

We used http://www.viator.com for our transfers from the airport to hotel, and later hotel to

the cruise port. All of our tours and transfers arraigned by Viator went smooth and without any problems. We used them to tour the Vatican, Colosseum, and a walking tour. Make sure you pay extra for the "skip the line" tickets. We avoided huge crowds and waltzed right in.

Down the street from our hotel was a plaza area with a large water fountain. In the late afternoon, locals would hang out around the fountain sipping beer and wine. Small restaurants surrounding the area allowed you dine on the patio and enjoy the scene. We went there at the end of everyday. First we had Gelato, then pizza...then watched the sun go down.

Like we've all heard..."when in Rome........"

We used http://www.viator.com for our transfers. Very good. On time and you can prepay in

dollars online. We also used them for many shore excursions too.

Having been on both class type ships.....I like the S class. Newer ships, intelligent

layout. Even with many more passengers on a S class ship, I never waited in line for anything. The S class CC cabins could use more storage drawers though.

Now get out there and live it up!

Yes. Ours was bigger than our neighbors. Reflection.

(20) on my June 3rd, 2014 Reflection Med cruise. But my wife had a coupon too...so really 40.

Princess for Alaska. Celebrity for everywhere else.

Had them every night on our June 3rd Med cruise on Reflection. My wife eats hers, I take mine home. Then every Friday at home put one on her pillow. Happy wife....happy life!

Buongiorno!

Finally unpacked, downloaded a gazillion pictures, and returned to work-work-work mode.

Excellent vacation on a very clean, modern, friendly ship. We arrived 3 days early to spend time in the eternal city of Rome.

First, a little about us so you can put this review in context. We are in our early 50's, no kids, 1 spoiled cat. We have cruised since 1990 on most mass market cruise lines, but most of our vacations have been spent with old RCCL and Celebrity. We enjoy 2 or more cruises each year. We like good food, interesting people, and exploring the world.

After a smooth flight on United, we eventually arrived to our hotel. Located near the Roman Forum and Colosseum, it was perfect. The room was small....very small. But it was good, I felt like I was in Europe. There was a grand balcony where we spent late afternoons discussing the days highlights. Apartments around us ablaze with flowers and rooftop gardens. While soaking it all in, we spied sly cats sneaking around the roofs. It was good, and we really enjoyed it.

More to come.

We had our cabin steward bring us shrimp cocktails everyday at 3:00 (he put them in the fridge...yummy). Also traded the welcome aboard champagne for a bottle of red wine.

I appreciate your thoughtful comments. Normally I take news reporting with a "grain of salt." But I am bothered by this senseless loss of life.

Cheers !

I'm booked on the Eclipse for a Baltic cruise next year. In light of recent

events; passenger plane shot down, I'm thinking of canceling. I'm not concerned about passenger safety. I'm just unsure if I want to help support irresponsible countries. Am I silly? What do you think?