crazycatlady82

Regarding the AARP cards, it's asking me to become a premium member for $12 a year for the carnival gift cards. Does this sound right?

We had a 4:45pm flight, but with the distance from the airport to the city, we chose to sit at the airport…especially with the price of a taxi. There are luggage lockers there but it might be better to look for a private tour with the time crunch. We only sat there for 3 hrs before checkin, and there was a lot of others doing the same.

Ah, there was 2 of us. Hopefully the wait isn’t too long! I’d contact BSR to see, and even though I don’t recommend Greyline personally, some people had good experiences with them. We loved Reykjavik-very friendly people. I hope you all have a great time!

So, I looked at my credit card statement. Interesting, we used Hreyfill for the taxi, so they must have changed their policies. However, that taxi ride was about $140 from the cruise port to the airport…so the transfer is similar price.

I don’t have the email saved anymore, but googling the companies, I believe it was BSR.

100% agree with this. Prebook your transportation. We were on the Star last summer, and disembarked in Reykjavik. Huge taxi line. We booked our taxi online a few days prior, and they were there on time, with our names on a sign. We stayed in Reykjavik for 3 days before the cruise. Buses are plentiful, easy, but do not run early on Sundays. When we called for a cab on Sunday morning, the cab driver asked when we wanted a taxi, we said now, and he goes "Ooo la la," laughed and hung up. We were able to get another taxi with another company. Also, we do not recommend Greyline for transportation. I had to file a credit card dispute after the private shuttle that I booked for the airport to hotel transfer did not show up. They lied and said that they were there....they were not. Luckily, my credit card dispute was successful.

I used NCL for my flights in April for the Epic San Juan to New York cruise. Mine were great, and I had no problem. Flight times and layover times were good, even coming from North Dakota (Fargo-MSP-ATL-SJU). My cost was $258, which I cannot even get an Allegiant flight for that price, let alone 2 one-way tickets. For me, personally, I will have sometimes 2 layovers, even in the US because of my location. One thing to be aware of is that you are giving up a lot of the control and they book the cheapest routes. Think about it: for the price that you paid for tickets, even with the overnight, is it still considerably cheaper? Is the price worth the frustration?

The SJU-NYC cruise was one of my favorite. I had zero complaints…even the weather was great.

Personally, I am disappointed in NCL's mugs. Carnival's vessel series mugs are very similar to Starbucks. (I collect Starbucks mugs to my husband's dismay, haha)

Lol, the one that was assigned to me after a really good one left, dumped me after I booked a cruise on my own. The new one that has been assigned only contacts me if I email him stating that I want to book, as compared to email with questions. I'll just book on my own.

I wonder if it's going back to San Juan? (Secretly, I hope so. I was on the April repositioning cruise from San Juan to New York and had a great time!)

I've sailed on both--the Legend in 2019 to Alaska and the Epic just recently in April 2023. I had two sea days on the Epic and to be honest, there was not much to do. I had a great time on the ship at night, and the dueling pianos were awesome. Comedy is better on the Legend...shows can be hard to get into on the Epic. For food, I preferred the Epic, although I did miss the deli sandwiches. I feel like the nightlife was better on the Epic with activities and things. Also, the specialty dining on NCL is so good. Le Bistro and La Cuchina are great....but I do prefer the Carnival Steakhouse to Cagneys. My husband said his meal on the Legend at the steakhouse was the best ever. The balcony cabins on the Epic seemed small compared to the balcony cabins on the Legend. We did enjoy the Legend (I was solo on the Epic). For me, it depends on the drink package and how many sea days....but there wasn't much to do on either ship during the day. If it's port heavy, I'd probably pick the Legend due to the savings and spend the money on excursions...you're not going to be on board much then anyway.

Hello! Our hiking tour (Chilkoot Trail Hike & Float) was cancelled due to severe storm damage. We were automatically booked on the Dyea Trail Hike & Float tour and am wondering if anybody has done this one....or if anybody has other suggestions. We're fairly active in our 40s, heading to Alaska on the Carnival Miracle in August. We're also open to suggestions for other tours in Skagway. We're comfortable booking private excursions. We've also looked at the rail tour also--open to thoughts and suggestions! TIA!

I hope that the parties of 2 that read this also are encouraged to sit down, eat and don't linger.

Exactly. I sit down, and I eat. I have no reason to camp at a table at the buffet, by myself. And thank you for encouraging people to sit with you. It's actually really interesting how many times as a solo traveler I've been asked to move from a table to accommodate others.

I was on the sailing right before you--the San Juan to New York. I had a great time. I was also a solo traveler and had problems finding seating at the buffet. I tried not to take the large tables, however, when there are no tables, would you like me to sit on the floor so the party of 6 can have a table? What is your solution for this?

The Star was our first NCL cruise and we definitely booked for the itinerary (Iceland/Greenland). We're a couple in our 40's, and while we don't need go-karts or anything, we were kind of bored due to our 5 sea days (we missed a couple ports). It was ok, but it wasn't our favorite cruise. Le Bistro and La Cucina were definitely the winners for specialty dinner, and we had a great service at the garden buffet bar. Would we book the star again? Probably, based on the itinerary.

See you in 3 weeks 😉

This year? I’m on the epic cruise that leaves April 14 and sails to New York on the 22nd….

Not the Panaroma, but I was on the Radiance in December with premium wi-fi to do some video calls for work (zoom). I had poor signal for video and often dropped, and that was just in port on the ship. Audio was fine though.

Jimbo, this is totally off topic but I just looked at your list of upcoming cruises…and can I stow along?? You’ve got some wonderful cruises coming up!

He’s still trying to prove he’s right…even though nobody is engaging with him on it at this point. He even made the comment that the cruise line has to follow their own guidance. I really think he believes he’s right.

Thank you! We’re going on the Miracle in August 🙂

Their last comment to me was “this is annoying” so I stopped engaging.

I was on a M-F, 4 day Radiance cruise in December. I booked a cheap, interior room with a porthole…basically cheapest I could find due to traveling solo. My goal when I travel solo is to read, relax, eat and drink. It was my fault for not researching the weather in Southern California in December…but it was too cold for me to sit on the deck and read all day. I eventually found a nice spot to read, comfy chair, outside of the casino…but then they set up for bingo sales. I spent majority of the sea day, in my room, reading, as I couldn’t find another quiet(ish) spot inside. Buffet was bad. I did blue iguana, guys and the deli. Room service pizza was good. The pizza Pirate was not the greatest experience-I stool outside, waiting for several minutes a couple times before another lady told me that he hides back there and you have to yell for him. Fun times stated that Blue Iguana opened at 7; they said no, we open at 7:30 and turned me away. Eggs were also cold due to the weather-couldn’t keep them warm for the burritos. Huge lines for anything on the sea day. I ended up going to the coffee bar for drinks, as they have some alcoholic beverages and the line wasn’t too bad after the early morning hours. I told my husband this solo cruise didn’t count, as I wasn’t able to fully relax…if the goal is to just get away, it’s great for that.