A little nervous under non refundable offer I booked

[helene109]

I booked yesterday a non refundable offer. It was the $500 OBC and my kids did the Cheers offer. It is for next August Panorama. I guess I am nervous because we have never done California before. We have usually done Florida or New Orleans. Thinking positive and I won’t need to change it. Last year my PvP let me change the date without a problem. Maybe I got lucky. Thanks for listening!

[jamie717]

We love the Panorama and getting to the cruise port from either LAX or LGB is really easy, we have used Uber from both.  Hotels in Long Beach are more expensive than Los Angeles and you probably want to book early.  Relax, don't be nervous, don't overthink it, and just enjoy the anticipation of being on the cruise!  I hope you all have lots of fun!!

[helene109]

19 minutes ago, jamie717 said:

We love the Panorama and getting to the cruise port from either LAX or LGB is really easy, we have used Uber from both.  Hotels in Long Beach are more expensive than Los Angeles and you probably want to book early.  Relax, don't be nervous, don't overthink it, and just enjoy the anticipation of being on the cruise!  I hope you all have lots of fun!!

Thanks that helps a lot! We would probably do Southwest to Long Beach. Then I need a Hotel then transfer to pier. Where do I begin to research? 

[Elaine5715]

34 minutes ago, helene109 said:

Thanks that helps a lot! We would probably do Southwest to Long Beach. Then I need a Hotel then transfer to pier. Where do I begin to research? 

Check the West Coast Departure Board

[helene109]

3 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Check the West Coast Departure Board

Thanks didn’t even think of it!

[sfaaa]

One problem with booking NRD so far ahead is that you never know what the flight will cost. 

[helene109]

8 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

One problem with booking NRD so far ahead is that you never know what the flight will cost. 

I have to think positive! Southwest is our go to airline.

[crystalspin]

7 minutes ago, helene109 said:

I have to think positive! Southwest is our go to airline.

Don't book immediately: follow it for a while until you see the trend. I personally wouldn't be looking to book (for next August) until after the holidays... But that could be pre-COVID thinking... 

[helene109]

2 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Don't book immediately: follow it for a while until you see the trend. I personally wouldn't be looking to book (for next August) until after the holidays... But that could be pre-COVID thinking... 

I booked it yesterday! It has gone by $20.00 today! I had been following it for awhile.

[Homosassa]

Buy insurance.

[RD64]

4 hours ago, helene109 said:

I booked it yesterday! It has gone by $20.00 today! I had been following it for awhile.

$20 would have been the deal breaker?

[urbanhawk]

4 hours ago, helene109 said:

I booked it yesterday! It has gone by $20.00 today! I had been following it for awhile.

I've been checking for flights for next year on SW, and only able to book to next April?...I've cruised out of Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, Seattle, New Orleans, as well as Long Beach-all have been very easy-you'll do fine! Happy cruising!

[helene109]

47 minutes ago, RD64 said:

$20 would have been the deal breaker?

I really wanted a port side cove connecting balconies and I got the last 2. Don’t know what you meant by $20 being deal breaker.

[helene109]

51 minutes ago, urbanhawk said:

I've been checking for flights for next year on SW, and only able to book to next April?...I've cruised out of Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, Seattle, New Orleans, as well as Long Beach-all have been very easy-you'll do fine! Happy cruising!

I appreciate your helpful comment! Thanks again!

[Tradestock]

Southwest fares are only posted until April, 2023, as of today.  My husband and I had to book a flight one way, and it was more cost effective to book a few days later and stay in a hotel than pay for the exact day we wanted. Also be prepared to be an early riser to get a seat at an economical price on the day Southwest releases the new calendar of flights.  I stayed up overnight thinking the new schedule would be released at 5 am.  It was not. I booked at 7 am CST, after a 1 hour nap that turned into 2 hours.🙃  By the afternoon, the flight prices were up $50.00 per person.  I might be able to re-fare in the future, but if not, I received the best deal possible.  JetBlue, Alaska Air and some others might have their schedules out this far in advance, but am not sure.  Long and short of this long winded post, stay flexible and enjoy planning your upcoming cruise.😄

[csm5986142]

Don't be nervous - you are going to love it!  Panorama is such a great ship, we just got off about 10 days ago.  Even though hurricane Kay messed up our trip a bit, we still really enjoyed it.  In fact, I just booked the Panorama again for next 4th of July.

It's a big ship and even though we were above capacity at 4,200 it really didn't feel crowded.  My favorite tip - go to JiJI's for lunch on embarkation day.  I was shocked to find it nearly empty when the buffet was crazy busy (and tables were hard to find). 

The food was fantastic, service was great, and there were only about 10 of us total in the whole place.  One thing that is kind of confusing, in the HUB app, they will call it the Asian Wok (or something like that) but it's actually in the same restaurant location (JiJi's Asian Kitchen) that you pay extra for at dinner (but it's included for lunch).  Sadly, after a few days others caught on and the line was pretty long, but it was such a nice reprieve on embarkation day.

Edited September 22, 2022 by csm5986142

[helene109]

8 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

Don't be nervous - you are going to love it!  Panorama is such a great ship, we just got off about 10 days ago.  Even though hurricane Kay messed up our trip a bit, we still really enjoyed it.  In fact, I just booked the Panorama again for next 4th of July.

It's a big ship and even though we were above capacity at 4,200 it really didn't feel crowded.  My favorite tip - go to JiJI's for lunch on embarkation day.  I was shocked to find it nearly empty when the buffet was crazy busy (and tables were hard to find). 

The food was fantastic, service was great, and there were only about 10 of us total in the whole place.  One thing that is kind of confusing, in the HUB app, they will call it the Asian Wok (or something like that) but it's actually in the same restaurant location (JiJi's Asian Kitchen) that you pay extra for at dinner (but it's included for lunch).  Sadly, after a few days others caught on and the line was pretty long, but it was such a nice reprieve on embarkation day.

Thanks so helpful! Did you do a review?

[deelightfull]

18 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Don't book immediately: follow it for a while until you see the trend. I personally wouldn't be looking to book (for next August) until after the holidays... But that could be pre-COVID thinking... 

I don't know if you are talking about booking airline tickets or cruise ship tickets, but for Southwest airline tickets, add soon as you know, you book.  They release a limited number of cheaper fares and they NEVER get cheaper, which is why @Tradestock was up early the day they knew flights for their days were open. Watching and waiting just doesn't work with Southwest. 

[ontheweb]

20 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Buy insurance.

Yes, we once had alerted our TA to an itinerary we were interested in. He found a great deal, but it came with a catch, not only was the deposit non-refundable, but it was the entire fare. The first thing we did after booking it, was buy insurance.

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, deelightfull said:

Watching and waiting just doesn't work with Southwest. 

I did not know this! Have flown SW once or twice, but did not know this detail. Thanks for alerting me!