Let's start thinking about 2021 solo sailing

[debenson0723]

4 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

I'm sure you'll love the TA, especially since you'll have some friends around to set up some games in the afternoons when you're not on shore excursions.  Just had a look at the itinerary and it looks great. NCL has booked the same itinerary for both 2021/22. 

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise. 

Cheers

Yes, there has been some talk that if 2021 doesn't work out, we would do 2022 but I already know I want to do Leonardo in 2022...but who's to say they all won't switch to Leonardo.  About 5 of us had planned to do Antarctica this month (January 2021) so they are using funds from that cruise, and a few other cancelled cruises, for the TA.  I am typically a last minute booker so I only use my Cruise Next certificates for deposit.  But if they open up Leonardo bookings in the next few months, I will have to use real money for my deposit as I am out of certs.

[All-ready2cruise]

Just now, debenson0723 said:

if they open up Leonardo bookings in the next few months, I will have to use real money for my deposit as I am out of certs.

Well, we'll see what happens. Keeping my fingers crossed re: Leonardo ship.

And, I'm in the same boat as far as CNCs go, already used all mine as well.  

[coastcat]

@debenson0723 and @All-ready2cruise, did you know about the CruiseFirst certificates?

 

NCL CruiseFirst

 

CruiseFirst certificates cost $250 each and are worth $500 toward any 6+ day cruise. Read the fine print, of course, but it looks like a great deal even though they're not as flexible as CNCs.

 

Per the Leonardo speculation thread, it looks like the first ship's TA will be in October 2022. Possibly from Barcelona? I honestly don't care where it starts and stops - just get it on the schedule! (but Barcelona would be lovely)

Edited January 2, 2021 by coastcat

[All-ready2cruise]

7 hours ago, coastcat said:

@debenson0723 and @All-ready2cruise, did you know about the CruiseFirst certificates?

 

NCL CruiseFirst

 

CruiseFirst certificates cost $250 each and are worth $500 toward any 6+ day cruise. Read the fine print, of course, but it looks like a great deal even though they're not as flexible as CNCs.

 

Per the Leonardo speculation thread, it looks like the first ship's TA will be in October 2022. Possibly from Barcelona? I honestly don't care where it starts and stops - just get it on the schedule! (but Barcelona would be lovely)

Morning @coastcat and thanks for reminding me about those certs. I'd actually forgotten about them.  It might be a good solution for future cruises.  Found this link on CC: 

Also dug up the T&Cs on NCL: 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/terms/cruisefirst

 

We agree regarding the Leonardo class ship. I couldn't care less where the departure is either but agree would be quite happy if it were Barcelona.  

 

 

[debenson0723]

9 hours ago, coastcat said:

@debenson0723 and @All-ready2cruise, did you know about the CruiseFirst certificates?

 

NCL CruiseFirst

 

CruiseFirst certificates cost $250 each and are worth $500 toward any 6+ day cruise. Read the fine print, of course, but it looks like a great deal even though they're not as flexible as CNCs.

 

Per the Leonardo speculation thread, it looks like the first ship's TA will be in October 2022. Possibly from Barcelona? I honestly don't care where it starts and stops - just get it on the schedule! (but Barcelona would be lovely)

Good Morning @coastcat.  Happy New Year.  Yes, I do know about the CruiseFirst certificates but at this point, I am not interested in giving money to any cruise line (I don't mean to be as harsh as that sounds).  I typically do the 'buy one for $250, get $500 credit' when I am on a cruise in anticipation of my next one...I find I can do a little 'negotiating' with the CN manager that way. I am hoping I can do this again in November on the Escape, even if I have to cancel and rebook the Leonardo.  With these TAs I doubt that I will be doing 2-3 shorter cruises a year as I have done in the past.

As for the Leonardo, I too would be thrilled if it sailed out of Barcelona for the TA, like it appears it will.  I have never been there and my Escape TA this year goes to 4 ports in Spain but not Barcelona.  I really wish it would do it's first sailing out of Venice, then Greece, a med cruise and then the TA but even if that were a reality, the time and money would be too much for me, LOL.

 

[coastcat]

NCL already has some of my money in FCCs. While I could use one as a deposit for the TA, I intend to use it all up this year (yay, 2021 is now "this year!"), split between my booked October and December Bliss sailings. Both are held with CNCs and I've got enough FCC to cover both balances (including daily service charges) with enough left over for a thermal suite pass on the Christmas cruise for which I shall need a soothing adult-only retreat... assuming it's open by December, that is.

 

I've got two other CNCs holding 2022 cruises, but plan to cancel both of them in the next week or so. The May 2022 Encore Pacific Coastal cruise has already been replaced with a Carnival Magic one to the eastern Caribbean and the December 2022 Sun cruise between Tokyo & Hong Kong will be replaced with the Leonardo TA (and a future land-based vacation to Japan).

 

My TA thinks NCL will make its Leonardo announcements in late January at the earliest. No worries, there's plenty of time to book and re-learn all the Spanish I've forgotten since high school. ¿Dónde está el puerto de cruceros?

Edited January 2, 2021 by coastcat

[farmersfight]

13 hours ago, coastcat said:

NCL already has some of my money in FCCs. While I could use one as a deposit for the TA, I intend to use it all up this year (yay, 2021 is now "this year!"), split between my booked October and December Bliss sailings. Both are held with CNCs and I've got enough FCC to cover both balances (including daily service charges) with enough left over for a thermal suite pass on the Christmas cruise for which I shall need a soothing adult-only retreat... assuming it's open by December, that is.

 

I've got two other CNCs holding 2022 cruises, but plan to cancel both of them in the next week or so. The May 2022 Encore Pacific Coastal cruise has already been replaced with a Carnival Magic one to the eastern Caribbean and the December 2022 Sun cruise between Tokyo & Hong Kong will be replaced with the Leonardo TA (and a future land-based vacation to Japan).

 

My TA thinks NCL will make its Leonardo announcements in late January at the earliest. No worries, there's plenty of time to book and re-learn all the Spanish I've forgotten since high school. ¿Dónde está el puerto de cruceros?

 

Sounds like a great plan @coastcat!  I'm holding on to my prediction that cruising will resume by no later than the 2nd half of this year (2021).

 

I noticed that you & others have their sights set on booking NCL's first Leonardo-class TA (from Barcelona presumably?). I have 8 cruises booked now and 7 more "on my radar" but will keep my eye out for the NCL's Leonardo-class TA announcement. I may have to call an "audible" on one of the other cruises I have on my radar to book in the future...

[debenson0723]

21 hours ago, coastcat said:

will be replaced with the Leonardo TA (and a future land-based vacation to Japan).

 

My TA thinks NCL will make its Leonardo announcements in late January at the earliest. No worries, there's plenty of time to book and re-learn all the Spanish I've forgotten since high school. ¿Dónde está el puerto de cruceros?

Looks like we are thinking alike...my son went to Japan in 2019 (started to say 'last year') and wanted he and I to go back in 2020. But of course, that didn't happen.  I would love to do a land based Japan trip after seeing his photos (and with him as my guide).  He saw a lot of the country in 9 days and a bullet train pass.

 

Yes, I have heard late January, early February for Leonardo announcements.  Hopefully not too long to wait....

[pduncan]

On 12/25/2020 at 12:41 PM, coastcat said:

 

Costa Maya isn't exclusive to Carnival, although IIRC they maintain their own dock for their brands while other lines use a different dock. I was supposed to visit Costa Maya a couple weeks ago via NCL Breakaway!

 

Um... so you prompted me to look at the Carnival website, and I started thinking about the Cove Balconies since it would be so interesting to be that close to the water, and...

 

Yeah. I just booked another solo cruise. May 1 2022, 6 days on Carnival Magic in a deck 2 cove balcony, sailing out of Port Canaveral to Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Half Moon Cay.

On 12/25/2020 at 5:40 AM, farmersfight said:

@coastcat;

 

 

O.k., BIG course change (pardon the ship handling pun), I've nixed the Celebrity Edge because I just found out that Carnival has another new ship coming out, Carnival Celebration (sister to Mardi Gras).

 

So, I've got a "hold" (reserved without having to put a deposit on) on a 7-day Western Caribbean (Cozumel Plus, Costa Maya and Mahogany Bay) round-trip out of Miami, FL; Jan 22-29, 2023.

 

I've got until Monday (12/28), 3:30 pm to make up my mind and put the deposit down.

 

Btw, you may be asking, "what is Cozumel Plus"? Apparently, Carnival ships (on designated cruises) are spending more time in port in Cozumel. This is allowing for longer shore excursions, even shore excursions over on the Mexican mainland, across from the island of Cozumel. Even though I've been to Cozumel multiple times, this intrigues me because I can take an excursion to the Mexican mainland and see an entirely new area of Mexico. Also, Costa Maya is Carnival's privately developed "port" in Mexico and Mahogany Bay is another Carnival owned and developed property in Roatan, Honduras. I've never been to either place.

 

I'm 95% sure that I'm going to "pull the trigger" and put down the deposit on this Carnival Celebration cruise. I've noticed a trend; even as I solo, I'm able to again cruise with Carnival (who is not very "solo-friendly") on their new Mardi Gras class ships. This is because these ships have "Jr. balcony staterooms", which have the same balcony size as a regular balcony stateroom, they are just a little smaller (sq ft) in the stateroom itself. Because these are smaller, Carnival is not pricing them as high as regular balconies, so they are "within reach" of a solo cruiser, even with the 100% solo supplement.

 

Well, I may not have to buy new clothes after all for the fancier Celebrity Edge. I think I'm more of a mainstream cruise line (Carnival, RCL & NCL) type anyway.

 

Marty (aka farmersfight)

  I’ve never really looked at Carnival cruises as a (little bit) older solo traveler since they seem to be pretty popular with families and younger hard-partying types. What has been your experience with them?

[coastcat]

11 minutes ago, pduncan said:

 

Now I can't remember who is was, but someone here has done multiple solo cruises with Carnival. I'm still skeptical that it's a compatible atmosphere with my preferences, but what the heck, I'm giving them a try.

 

So, this weekend I started wondering whether my June Quantum OTS cruise would happen. What if RCI decides to focus its restart efforts on Europe and the Caribbean? Alaska is a relatively minor market for them. Long story short, I just booked a Labor Day week Alaska cruise on Coral Princess. It's the one-way from Whittier to Vancouver. Based on the tip from Scott Singer's vlogs, I booked an inside cabin that's just a few steps from the exit to one of the little-used aft deck areas.

[farmersfight]

9 hours ago, pduncan said:

I’ve never really looked at Carnival cruises as a (little bit) older solo traveler since they seem to be pretty popular with families and younger hard-partying types. What has been your experience with them?

 

I consider myself an older, hard-partying type (can't let the youngsters have all the fun), lol. Just kidding, I have slowed down a bit but still like to have a good time.

 

I agree, Carnival markets itself as fun, affordable & informal for families, couples & yes, on the shorter cruises (especially during March - spring break) the younger hard-partying types (i.e. college students).

 

When I was married (now divorced) and my 2 sons were younger, Carnival was my favorite cruise line. Now that my sons are older and off to college and I am single & retired, I will be sailing solo so I'm naturally "gravitating" to the more "solo-friendly" cruise lines, NCL & especially RCI (with their studio balcony cabins on their Quantum-class ships).

 

With that said however, I stumbled on to Carnival again with their new Excel-class ships coming out, the Mardi Gras & the Carnival Celebration. These ships will be the largest & newest in the Carnival fleet. These ships have "Junior Balcony" cabins, which have the same size balcony but the rooms are just a tad smaller (sq ft). I found that Carnival is charging a smaller price for these Junior Balcony cabins, which imo, put them within a reasonable price for us solo cruisers, even with the solo supplement.

 

So, I am booked in a Junior Balcony cabin on both the Mardi Gras & the Carnival Celebration. I gotta ride "Bolt", the only roller coaster at sea, lol. Bottom line, I was pleasantly surprised to "stumble" on to this category of cabin with Carnival. The smaller Junior Balcony cabins seem to be a perfect fit for a solo cruiser (I will find out). As a bonus, these Junior Balcony cabins are on Carnival's newest & largest ships, as I mentioned before.

 

8 hours ago, coastcat said:

Now I can't remember who is was, but someone here has done multiple solo cruises with Carnival. I'm still skeptical that it's a compatible atmosphere with my preferences, but what the heck, I'm giving them a try.

 

 

@coastcat, I think you may be pleasantly surprised with Carnival. Every time I've sailed with Carnival, I've had a great time. Not sure whether the experience will be the same as a solo, but I'll find out (as described in my post above). Carnival gets a bad rap for being the "booze-cruise" line. Sure, on their short cruises (especially in March) you may get the spring break crowd but overall, Carnival is (as I said above) marketing to families & couples. Plus, Carnival's ships have evolved and are very nicely designed (they have gotten away from the Joe Farcus designed "glitz" and "eccentricity" of the old Fantasy-class ships). Take a look at the new Excel-class ship, Mardi Gras;

 

 

I'm excited about experiencing Carnival's new Mardi Gras & Carnival Celebration.

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by farmersfight

[debenson0723]

22 hours ago, coastcat said:

Now I can't remember who is was, but someone here has done multiple solo cruises with Carnival. I'm still skeptical that it's a compatible atmosphere with my preferences, but what the heck, I'm giving them a try.

 

I have sailed Carnival once and it was as a solo.  5 day New England/Canada out of NYC. I snagged an inside for $300 and I was going to be in NYC anyway. For that price I would probably do it again but it was definitely a solo cruise.  I did join the Roll Call and there were about 5 other solos (though I am sure there were others as in my experience very few people are on Cruise Critic) but no one I clicked with.  But Carnival did nothing for solos...no meetings, no lounge, nothing to promote solo cruisers.  The hardest for me was dining in the MDR...I don't like set dining times so ate alone (was not asked if I wanted to join a table).  The entertainment was nothing like it is on NCL and I found the food passable (but the pizza and wok dishes were really good). It was not a big deal but the first time I have not met anyone on a ship.  With NCLs attention to solos (even on ships without studios or a lounge) it makes a huge difference in getting the opportunity to meet people or not, depending on your preference. It was for sure a relaxing cruise (the weather was cold and rainy our only sea day and I don't think I left my cabin that entire day). It wasn't a bad experience (I was on a cruise!) but it is really not the same. YMMV