SetAnOpenCourse

I enjoy walking full laps outside on the promenade.  Am I able to do this in the evening?  Or do the stairs that go up at the bow/helipad get chained off?  If so, what time?

Also, are chairs still (during the pandemic) available in various spots on the promenade?

I enjoy walking full laps outside on the promenade.  Am I able to do this in the evening?  Or do the stairs that go up at the bow get chained off?

Also, are chairs still (during the pandemic) available in various spots on the promenade?

51 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Odd you would pick a date that is in the middle of college and k-12 spring break. 

Perhaps your schedule and responsibilities aren't very restrictive.  The second half of March will probably be my only chance this year for a vacation.

Hmm, I'm not sure you are all considering that this cruise spans two separate weeks, albeit it disembarks early Monday.

Any educated guesses on the demographic on Brilliance of the Seas, March 24 (Thursday to Monday)?  We'd prefer a more peaceful atmosphere with fewer young families, or college partiers.

Ok, putting aside the college spring-breakers, would one expect the March 13 six-night Caribbean Princess cruise to have a lot of kids?

Hmm, although it seems logical that the college crowd opts for short cruises, but I'm skeptical that they'd do so if it embarks on a Thursday and returns on Monday.

Thanks, all.

I'm choosing between the March 13, 2022, six-night sailing on Caribbean Princess (Sunday to Saturday).  I see it referred to as a Spring Break cruise.  I like a somewhat peaceful atmosphere on ship - seeing/hearing a few young families here and there wouldn't be too bad, but I'm sure that I wouldn't enjoy the college "spring break" atmosphere.

My other option is a four-night on Royal, Western Caribbean itinerary, which  I figure will be less spring-breakish since it embarks on a Thursday and returns on Monday.

No replies, so my next question is, is there a way to search for specific cabin reviews?  I'm unfamiliar with the new (to me) website design changes here, and didn't see a way to easily extract reviews for specific cabins or cabin categories.

14 hours ago, pcur said:

...

By the way, you don't have to cancel if you have a booked cruise and decide you prefer another.  As long as you are before final payment date, you can "move" the booked cruise to a new one, and the money follows.  Also, if it's a non-refundable deposit, they can waive the change fee with code "NRP1.  It basically cancels the change fee.

So, when final payment date passes, I can't just move the reservation to a different sailing... but upgrading cabins on the same sailing continues to be an option (just pay the difference)?  ...presumably till the day before embarkation?

Thank you.

If anyone has sailed in one of the four cabins that are far forward on deck 8 (#8004,8006,8504 or 8506), what did you like/dislike about it?

54 minutes ago, wallyj said:

@SetAnOpenCourse, if I am reading you post correctly, you are thinking of possibly wanting to move from interior to a balcony on the same sailing if the fare for balconies drop enough? This would not require you to ‘rebook’. You would just ask to ‘upgrade’ your current interior and pay the difference. 

Yes, that's what I was thinking.  Thanks, WallyJ.

I'm looking at a cruise departing in late March 2022, and Cruise With Confidence (cancellation-for-any-reason, in this time frame) is appealing.  However, If I cancel because I decide to upgrade to a balcony, will the FCC be available right after canceling?  Because, with the sail date so close, I wouldn't have much time, and I'm not sure my personal schedule will allow a cruise anytime in the next year - so it's basically this cruise or nothing.

So, I'd like to book the inside, and if fare for balconies come down enough, rebook.  If people have experienced a lag of a few weeks before being able to apply the FCC, though, I'd probably want to book the balcony.  (I've sailed inside cabins before, on Holland, so this cabin category is generally ok for me.)

9 hours ago, ski ww said:

Get back to traditional cruise ships with real promenade decks.

Nah, that space with healthy outdoor air is unprofitable.  Mask up, hope your vaccine works on the next strain, and just try to forget promenades ever existed.

I’d like to see Holland America be the alternative with classic ships and promenade decks, an opposite experience to the theme-park/floating-hotel model.  A lot of us 55&unders relish a natural escape where the sensation of going to and being at sea is ever-present and knowing that you’ve left the insanity of things back on land behind.

3 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Good news with that itinerary is a large portion is scenic cruising so no contact with the outside world.  Bad news you have to go to South America to board.

Yes.  It is on Princess with fewer ports of call, I think, than Westerdam, but yeah, virus conditions in Buenos Aires and Santiago will be crucial.

We’re booked on a January, 2021 Antarctica cruise. That’s almost half a year from now.  I won’t mind being one of those who get on board soon after cruising resumes.   Unfortunately it’s getting a little less likely to be on Holland America, as we’d prefer the ships that were sold over the newer ones.

Deleted 

20 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

The Europeans are desperately trying to resume cruising without a vaccine and without a reliable last minute COVID test.

I doubt it is “desperation”.  I think it was just a reasonable attempt, keeping in mind that there won’t be   100% security- there never has been.

As for the crews, they could be quarantined for two weeks before the cruise.  There won’t be guaranteed safety and there never was.  The vulnerable populations may need to wait longer.

Probably this November, Tampa-Cozumel.  Otherwise the soonest will be this January, South America/Antarctica (Princess).  Hopefully Buenos Aires will not suffer from the missteps of Brazil in handling Covid.

9 hours ago, rdsqrl said:

A604 is way aft of the pool where MUTS is, and the MUTS screen/speakers face forward not aft, so it's very unlikely you'd hear anything.  I'd be more concerned with noise from deck chairs on the deck above you. 

 

Princess delineates its cabin categories by location:  a BC is in a theoretically more attractive location (higher up/closer to midships) than a BE (all the way forward). 

Thanks.  Although the BE that I had wasn’t very far forward, I can see how that is a factor.  As for being higher up (and in this case just one deck), I guess that’s what people assume must be better, although I can’t imagine it actually being better (in fact a lot of people seem to want lower decks for less motion).

Perhaps a reason I got this “upgrade” is because there is in fact almost no substantial advantage/improvement. 🙂

Thank you all for your replies.

I will try to search past threads regarding my concern that I’ll hear MUTS on my balcony.

I am still confused regarding what makes the BC better than the BE.  Almost like Princess designated these two categories at random.

Thank you all for your replies.

I will try to search past threads regarding my concern that I’ll hear MUTS on my balcony.

4 hours ago, Renmar said:

Try to stay with BE and see if the BE cabins on the Caribe deck are available C311+312+314+315+316+317. These cabins have a larger balcony 😉.

 

Theo

Thanks for the info! I’m not sure we need a larger balcony.

Did you hear MUTS from those balconies?  Do you think it would be heard from a balcony on Aloha deck?

I was assigned a cabin upgrade from BE on Baja deck (B308) to BC on Aloha (A604).  Is there anything actually better?  I’d say my BC appears a bit aft of midship, so I doubt the location is better (marginally so, at best, looking at the deck plans).

In Aloha cabins is there more noise from Lido deck above?  Noise from MUTS?