Crazy planning mom

Sorry to tag onto this post but is it loud by the Hideout Cabanas?

23 hours ago, Folsomdoc said:

We took a Celebrity excursion to Meghans Bay on St. Thomas. It was expensive but we were using OBC. When we got there the chairs were side by side for many rows and you had to pay for them. Nothing was included except the transportation. I’m sure the beach is beautiful but not when you are sharing it with 1000 of your newest friends. Similar experience in St. Martin although that one included an inedible lunch. Next time I’ll research alternatives.

We went to Magens Bay.  We followed another cruise critic poster's advice and walked all the way down.  It was much quieter.  There weren't any chairs there but it was worth it for the peace.  Then, we took the cable car.  We enjoyed it.

26 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I cringe when I read of Broadway style shows on cruise ships.  I always think they have never seen a real Broadway show.  Yes, there are a few of the largest, newest ships that have a real Broadway show.  But for the other 99% the show in the theater is more like a Vegas Revue.  EM

I live in NY and go to 3-4 Broadway shows a year.  Our next cruise is on the Symphony of the Seas and I have heard they have an excellent production of Hairspray.  Royal's ship on the West Coast is Navigator. It doesn't have a real Broadway style show.  Norwegian does but I don't like their port times in Cabo.

Some background about us.  We are a fifty something couple who usually sails Royal, NCL, and Celebrity.  DH is a meat and potatoes guy.  I am a more adventurous food eater.  Neither of us have tattoos or are partiers  Planning to sail the Mexican Riviera in 2027!  The Brilliant Lady is a new ship.  Our other option is the Navigator of the Seas which is old but we know we liked Royal. I also like to go in the pool and Royal has more pool space.  However, LA can be cool.so maybe the pool isn't important.  Thoughts?

On 11/20/2022 at 6:42 PM, nanseev said:

Allure of the Seas vs. Carnival Panorama

 

History:  Live in Californian and been on about 9 cruises in my life, both Caribbean and Mexico/Mexican Riviera.  First was Carnival Miracle, second was RC Oasis....and then never looked back and travelled RC going forward - Harmony, Adventure, Liberty, Navigator x 3 ...and one MSC cruise in between those.  Embarked from various Florida ports, Galveston, and Los Angeles areas.  We live in CA, so airfare always adds the extra expense, so when Navigator came to the west coast it was fabulous, although I do prefer cruising in the Caribbean.    

 

We tend to stay on the ship - I enjoy the lack of crowds on port days, and try to save the $$ I would spend on excursions/food off of the ship for the casino on the ship 🙂 .  My daughter does enjoy the Flowrider, which has been one of the reasons we stayed with RC, but it's not the "end all, be all" for her, and my son enjoys the sports deck and will hang in the teen club.  My husband and I tend to enjoy the casino, comedy shows, trivia and just relaxation time versus the "rides" and "thrills".

 

I haven't been on an Oasis class ship in a few years, so I have been shopping for options.  I'm missing the sandwiches from the Park Cafe in Central Park...lol.  Wonder is out of my price range.  With Allure now going out of Galveston, I've found a decent price for my family for the week I need to travel (I'm a teacher so my travel weeks are not flexible).  We're not heavy gamblers, but do get some casino offers, but they are usually for interior or OV rooms during timeframes within the school year, so we tend to not be able to take advantage of them.

 

I was ready to book Allure...and then I did a random search for cruises during the week I wanted....and the Carnival Panorama popped up in my search.  After researching, I'm seriously considering the Carnival Panorama.  It's a "new" ship, a larger ship (more like Oasis class), and the price of the cruises is basically identical, but I don't have to pay for airfare with Panorama.  I'm giving up the Caribbean for Mexican Riviera, and giving up the Flowrider, but there's other fun things for the kids....but the biggest reason is that I'm saving around $2,000+ by the time I add in airfare and hotel.

 

I feel like saving $2k (and it would probably end up to be more with transfers, travel meals, etc.) is worth jumping ship.  I've been Loyal to Royal....so it's hard for me to pull the trigger.

 

Tell me it will be ok...lol....I know this group is skewed towards Royal...as am I.  But.....it's $2,000 of spending money (or money for another cruise this summer) that I will have.  Has anyone traveled on both and can give me some insight?

 

 

So, how was Panorama?

On 5/10/2024 at 10:45 AM, MichaelCMTX said:

Seeing as she hadn’t seen one in her airport experiences in North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Arizona, Massachusetts, Utah, Nebraska, Colorado or Washington but yet has seen such stores in Houston, multiple terminals at DFW and practically every local mall that still has a bit of a pulse, I can understand how she’s come to her conclusion.

 

To be 1000% clear, we're not talking about a magazine and candy concession that sells some magnets and T-shirts. It's a "STATE NAME store" thing. 

The Heinz Store at PIT was pretty clearly exactly that.

 

I have flown to PHX airport many times due to family there and there definitely are Arizona and Native American stores there.  I have picked up some cactus candy.

George C gave you some great advice- arrive to Barcelona a couple days early, join your roll call.

What is different on a Med cruise rather than a Caribbean cruise is that its more port focused with less sea days.  Try to enjoy some local cuisine.  There are some evenings that you will be tired-just hit the buffet and relax.

I've sailed both lines.  What I like about NCL - O'Sheehan's/ Local, the thermal spa, interesting itineraries, NCL allows you to make advance dining reservations with a dining package which Royal hasnt.

I love Royal Oasis class ships including the entertainment.  Our next cruise is on the Symphony.  We will be going to CoCo Cay which has a dock.  Great Stirrup Cay does not have a dock.  Also, Royal's drink packages work on CoCo Cay whereas Norwegian's doesn't work on Harvest Caye.  Bottom line, they both have pros and cons and variety is of the spice of life.

16 hours ago, Bleueyes44 said:

I'm  also on this non cruise and yes it sucks. We have been on board since  LA. .  We just spent 3 hours on the phone trying to exchange our tickets to no avail .  Had to make new reservations  and lost almost 700.00 one way airfare.  Also  we were lucky enough to snag a hotel close to the airport so we will fly back to LAX on Monday morning.  Lucky for us my daughter is a flight attendant and she flys in on Monday also so got my ride home.

The other bummer I  changed rooms between cruises si now I'll be packing again for the 3rd time in 7 days yuck.

The $250 offered by Royal is not sufficient and pretty cheap on their part.

We have done some great bucket list itineraries with NCL.  With their recent frequent itinerary changes, I probably only would book them if I was only interested in the ship and didn't care about the itinerary so much.

We went to Cayo Caribe in February and we found it to be tasty.  It's nothing fancy but we enjoyed.

On 4/20/2024 at 10:47 PM, rrraydon said:

A couple of things I've already booked for this sailing:

 

1) Avocado Fiesta Guacamole Class scheduled for day 2 at 11:15am in Sabor the Mexican restaurant. This class includes lunch and a margarita. I purchased the ticket on sale and with gratuities it's about $35.

 

2) I also purchased (on sale for about $20)  the Hideaway adults only day pass for Coco Cay. This will be my 2nd time at Hideaway and although it's nice, I think it's only worth it if it's on sale and if it's in the colder months when the heated pool is needed. Otherwise, I don't think it's worth the extra money when there is another pool area that is free, free beaches and free food that tastes great already available. CoCo Cay is one of our stops next month when I'm on X and I did not purchase Hideaway for that one because I think the water will be nice at the Lagoon pool and at S. Beach where I plan to snorkel. 

While enjoying drinks and fun in the sun in Hideaway, I'm also going to be meeting up with my TA whom I found here on CC! He will be cruising next week as well and will also be porting in CoCo Cay the same day we on LOS are there. Although we've swapped many emails for my bookings, we've not had the pleasure of meeting. I'm looking forward to meeting the man behind the famous name here on CC! 😉😁

 

I contemplated booking the tropical drinks class, but it's $50 and I think I'm ok with mixing drinks at home (😝) and I'm ok with my 5 D+ drinks and my casino drinks for being Prime.

 

If you've done the quac class before, what's your opinion of the class?  (especially if the class was on LOS)

We did the Avocado Guacamole Class a few years ago on Harmony and enjoyed it.

Palma Majorca also had a very nice aquarium.  We did the aquarium and then went across the street to the beach.

The NCL Gem and Jewel also do Panama Canal cruises.  Those ships are better if you don't like crowds or big attractions.  We sailed the Jade which is a sister to the Gem and Jewel.  It was renovated, perfect for us and didn't require any reservations.  The Joy is a big ship where you do need reservations for shows.

Hope you have a wonderful trip on the Apex!

The entrance fee was included.  I don't think loungers were but we didn't try to get one .  We just put our towels down. My husband did bring his backpack on the Skyride.  We enjoyed the excursion.  When you get to Magen's Bay, go left and walk down aways to avoid crowds.  Definitely, get a bushwacker.   Yum.     

We were on the Apex which is a newer, popular ship and there was maybe 5 kids tops on the whole ship.  Just sail when school is in session.

I would book any must do excursions as soon as possible.  Check your cruise planner.

Royal Caribbean has some itineraries advertised as Cabo overnight.  How long is the tender ride?  The boat would be in Cabo from 1pm to 1pm the next day.  Would it be worth it to tender the morning you are only there until 1pm?

39 minutes ago, RWK1952 said:

 

Go to the first page of the NCL message board and collect down.

1 hour ago, RWK1952 said:

Thank you for your helpful responses.  I am fairly new to Cruise Critic.  I would like to check out that person's Live blog on the NCL Bliss.  I see where to access Live Cruise Reports, but I don't see how to search for a specific one.  Is there a way to do that, or do I just have to scroll thru all of the current Live Reports until I find this one?  Thanks.

Here is the link

37 minutes ago, RWK1952 said:

Do you have experience specifically with NCL, or with the NCL Breakaway in Southampton, or around the Iberian peninsula, on the worth of the Priority Pass?  On a huge ship like the Breakaway, if the Priority Pass also gave you priority disembarkation for shore excursions as well, I could see that being a real benefit.

I have never gotten the Priority Pass.  There is a live thread here on someone sailing the NCL Bliss out of California.  She showed herself bypassing lines.  I have only sailed NCL out of Rome, Athens, and Honolulu.

Getting the Priority Pass would be a good investment to avoid crowds at embarkation, disembarkation and tendering.

6 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I doubt many children would be going to Spain for a spring break cruise.

Except you would need to check the UK and European Union school schedule.

A few years ago, we sailed the Epic in August, and there was loads of Spaniard and Italian kids on summer holiday.

Isn't this a port intensive itinerary?  Wouldn't you most likely be having lunch off the ship and spending very little time on the ship?  On the sea day, you can have breakfast and lunch at the Main Dining Room to avoid crowds.