Almagetty

I would choose a ship that goes to Glacier Bay. Sapphire would be my first choice.

Mickey Arison posted this picture on his Instagram today:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/07/new-explora-i-cruise-ship-delivered-by-fincantieri/
 

And it’s officially delivered. 

Thank you for taking the time to post this very excellent live thread! I’ve enjoyed following along on your cruise. Soon it will be our turn to board!

I’ve been looking forward to your review since you posted about it yesterday, and it’s gotten off to a great start! Lots of good information ahead of our cruise on Regal next month. I can’t wait to keep reading! 🙂

Just now, voljeep said:

hope they figure out to be in Fort Lauderdale and not Miami ...

Lol. According to the OP, it looks like they did make it onboard.

This is from the Belinda King Productions Instagram account:

They also perform aboard the Seabourn ships.

Thanks for an excellent review! You’ve convinced me to take this cruise next year 🙂

1 hour ago, Alma7 said:

Quick question. Any live ‘80s bands?
Thanks in advance.

On the Regal in January, they had some really great tribute bands. A Pat Benatar tribute band, a Foreigner one and a Bon Jovi one. They each performed two shows in a packed Princess Theater. It was a lot of fun!

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

What I don’t get is if the changes make you miserable than why do you continue to cruise with the line and/or post to this board ?  I for one love the lights to show me the way to the bathroom

I liked the lights, too! After reading so much about them, I boarded armed with bandaids and tape, prepared to disarm them. And then I found them to be helpful . Go figure …

You would be charged the difference, plus the gratuity on that difference. $11.80 as in your example. 

25 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

We were onboard the Royal earlier this year when they were testing this.  We were also they when they brought the fitness gurus in .. they were really working those that chose to participate and there were quite a few passengers that did choose to participate.  
 

But, back to the reserved theater seating, there was an area roped off on the port side of the theater from the center aisle and I can’t be sure, but most likely to the end of that row.  I believe it was about 4 to 6 rows of seats on the lower level .. at least the evening I went to the show. It could be adjusted based on the number of the people that have purchased the premier package.  For those with the new premier package, they are offering you a seat without having to go early.  It was not opened to general seating throughout the show.  I see no problem with this whatsoever.  I actually have been skunked out of shows in the past and as cruising returns to normal, I could see myself opting for the premier package as many of the items are of value yo me.  For $5 a day more, I would probably pay for the privilege of having a reserved seat so I didn’t have to go to the theater ultra early to make sure I got a seat.  

I find it interesting that anybody is up in arms about these extra items holding no value as I am sure these extras they are throwing in are just a thinly veiled cover for the price increases they are putting in place.  I personally don’t see where they have a choice … every day living has gone up like crazy here in the Bay Area and most likely where you all live, as well.  Every time I turn around, something else goes up in price.  Why would we expect any different from cruiselines, who are simply trying to achieve some profitability since they were decimated by CoVid?  

The gratuities onboard are just keeping with industry standards and I certainly don’t begrudge them at all for that increase.   
Alas .. I digress!  


 

Thanks for the sharing what you observed!

2 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

No deck plans yet?

Not that I’ve seen. I’m just going from the renderings in the post I quoted.

12 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Looks like they didn't get the memo on balconies being too small.

This is the Deluxe Balcony.

Mini-Suite a little better though. There's room for a foot stool.

And of course the Cabana Mini-Suite is fine.

 

But … it looks like glass enclosed showers in all the renderings. No shower curtains!

We are currently booked on this cruise but have asked our travel agent to cancel our reservation. I do appreciate NCL doing the right thing and advising us well before final payment that there would be changes, which is a departure from what they had been doing to this point with the Star’s current problems. Like the OP, we have a very nice deal on our stateroom, but the port time reductions in Iceland are a deal breaker for us. Too bad. It was a very nice itinerary with ample time in ports.

Sirena was scheduled to spend most of late 2020/early 2021 doing Cuba cruises. With those itineraries now not possible, and since her return TA voyage from Europe and all scheduled voyages after that cancelled, it looks like she will probably be redeployed to another area of the world for the fall of 2020 and winter 2020/2021. I was just notified today that our Cuba sailing for Feb 10, 2021 was cancelled and that our deposit would be immediately refunded. Oceania also offered us a $500 future cruise credit if we make a new reservation before June 2020 for a sailing before December 2021.

17 minutes ago, CC Help Michell said:

I'm onboard the Sun.  We are not going to Cuba, per the captain's announcement.  We will be arriving in Nassau at noon tomorrow and staying overnight.  We leave Nassau at 5 pm Thursday to return to Port Canaveral.

I’m heartbroken for all of you onboard the Sun right now. We were onboard last week and I can only imagine your disappointment.

4 minutes ago, navy60wife said:

I was sailing to Cuba on July 1...no word on my account at NCL yet regarding new Itinerary.  Lucky you!  My nightmare became a reality. 😞

I’m very sorry for you. 😞 My brother and his family are booked in mid-July. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the cruise line attorneys find a loophole of some sort.

10 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Considering that Oceania is part of the NCL “family” one would assume that this will apply to O as well. 

I am saying this even though I know what they say about assumptions....

That’s my assumption, too. Here’s to hoping that their lawyers find a loophole.

I can’t express how fortunate and happy I am to have visited Havana last week aboard the Norwegian Sun. We have an Oceania cruise booked for Feb 2021 that  visits 4 ports in Cuba. I’ll hope against hope that something changes and the cruise lines are once again able to call on Cuba.

NCL has just posted the following in reference to its’ Cuba cruises:

Passengers booked on NCL have received this message in their account online, as per a posting on the NCL board:

I’m very happy to see this. We are booked with him at the end of May. Happy to see both your recommendation and that they are still operating. 

Thanks Almagetty for posting the Norwegian statement which is good news for us since we always book ship-sponsored cruises. Hopefully they'll have clear procedures in place regarding the "trip ledger" requirement US Customs is supposedly going to be enforcing when we return to the US. Not quite sure what that is all about, but I'm sure by the time we go on our Cuban cruise next May, they'll have it all figured out.

I hope so, Ken. We are also traveling next May and are anxiously waiting to see how this all shakes out.

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It seems as if the initial responses from the cruise lines are stressing their "OFAC compliant" shore excursions. I'm a bit worried that we may not be able to tour privately which, for my group, is a deal breaker.

Here's NCLH's press release:

"Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Response to Trump Administration announcement about Cuba

June 16, 2017

Based on the information shared today, we are very pleased to learn the news that cruises to Cuba will continue under the new guidelines laid out by the Administration. All of our cruises to, and shore excursions in, Cuba are in full compliance with regulations set forth by the US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), and we will work with the Administration to comply with any changes to those and any other regulations that will result from its decision. We are also pleased that education travel and travel that supports the Cuban people will continue.

We were very concerned about any potential changes, given how popular Cuba itineraries have proven to be with our guests, and we view this as a win for the cruise industry, our valued guests and travel partners. Across our three brands, there are 70,000 guests booked to sail to Cuba who would have been very disappointed if they were unable to experience this spectacular destination. We are delighted our guests will continue to have the opportunity to experience the wonderful culture and incredible history of Cuba along with the warmth and friendliness of the Cuban people through OFAC-compliant shore excursions that support private businesses and the Cuban people, an opportunity that was restricted for over fifty years."

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This is NCL's press release today re: Cuba. I'm a bit worried about their statements about "OFAC compliant shore excursions".

"Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Response to Trump Administration announcement about Cuba

June 16, 2017

Based on the information shared today, we are very pleased to learn the news that cruises to Cuba will continue under the new guidelines laid out by the Administration. All of our cruises to, and shore excursions in, Cuba are in full compliance with regulations set forth by the US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), and we will work with the Administration to comply with any changes to those and any other regulations that will result from its decision. We are also pleased that education travel and travel that supports the Cuban people will continue.

We were very concerned about any potential changes, given how popular Cuba itineraries have proven to be with our guests, and we view this as a win for the cruise industry, our valued guests and travel partners. Across our three brands, there are 70,000 guests booked to sail to Cuba who would have been very disappointed if they were unable to experience this spectacular destination. We are delighted our guests will continue to have the opportunity to experience the wonderful culture and incredible history of Cuba along with the warmth and friendliness of the Cuban people through OFAC-compliant shore excursions that support private businesses and the Cuban people, an opportunity that was restricted for over fifty years. "

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