Cruiseathoning

some star performers

do not substitute travel insurance

many who cruise Carnival have tried "better."

of graduating it is a matter of mood. Sometimes you might want more formal, while others you just want to throw on your flip flops, kick back, and drink until your liver emails you a warning.

Which---goes to the spam folder, because most everything important goes there first.

It just depends if you want pomp or a good-old fashioned good time. Fried chicken vs. coq a vin. It is not about better or class it is just taste. Carnival is fun. Princess is more formal. Royal splits the difference and NCL tracks the Royal experience closely.

You can run into people of esteem on the Breeze and slimy politicians on the Allure. Better is subjective. Is the food better on Royal? No. Yes. Depends what you like. Lunch is more formal but much less varied. Windjammer can't hold a candle to Carnival's buffet, and as far as entertainment, you will have comedians and impressionists you will have never heard of on both lines, and NCL as well.

What environment do you want? Upbeat and fun? Relaxed? Quiet? Family-friendly? Most people cruise with multiple lines based on mood, itinerary and pricing and that is fine. If you want to chuck stress, head down to port, hop on a Carnival ship, eat a Guy's burger, meet fun people, dance your butt off and drink until your ex's face is a fuzzy memory.

And don't feel one ounce less of a person for it.

it was a contextual one albeit easy to diagnose and ignore if one chose to.

Troy didn't choose to.

Personally I am shocked that hurricane season is so booked up, but it is. We made a value judgment to not cruise right now because the pricing seemed out of whack to weather and demand, especially on Carnival, who right now is sitting on some stock with the Dream I feel they are overpricing.

But that is their problem because I can find good deals on the Allure or Breeze, or other lines if I wanted to chance a storm, which I don't.

You can get mad but it is a waste of blood pressure. The pricing never really changes based on a sale. It just depends on how aggressive they are about filling the ship. On the whole if they find themselves stuck with rooms it is not unusual to find a $400pp cabin at the last minute, but you can't count on it.

We have a budget, and usually, the best value wins. That brings up all-inclusives, who all in are starting to compete, or beat, cruise pricing. Ever eat at an all-inclusive?

Safe to say, it will change the cruise price game if the two meet in price.

except being flexible with my plans.

but so you know OP, any number of cruises are available on Liberty, a tricked out ship, for like $500pp. Whatever the sale, that is a good value.

eaten that cruise.

because I need to avoid sugar.

why we opted not to cruise until next year-election season. Perfectly normal people start frothing at the mouth. I want politics absolutely nowhere near our cruise, period.

this option our next Royal cruise. All the taste, none of that nasty inability to walk a straight line.

As of right now there is a 60 percent chance of it hitting an embarkation port on Sunday, if that model is accurate.

class ship, to the cruise, than risk being involved with a hurricane. Flights can get delayed, this is true, and cruises can be missed, but use the insurance if it is a common carrier problem.

There is no cruise on this planet I would risk flying into a hurricane for, none.

Now in general, I broadly agree with your argument about getting in a day early, but now that there is this risk, I would be glad to have my flight booked when I do.

to Magic class.

Breakaway, Getaway, Escape, et.al are different.

I would rather drive a Chevy than a Buick. I have never driven a Buick that did not make me want to drive up to the factory and complain. But I suppose then by that comparison I am looking for Corolla of the Seas, because neither manufacturer is worth much.

Book what you want just be informed.

I would be glad your flight is Sunday. There is either going to be a cruise or there is not, and by Sunday it looks like they will know if a storm is coming that day.

Fly in any earlier you might leave yourself stuck in a city with no power during a hurricane. At least now, you know Saturday night most likely what the score is, and can hop a plane to Vegas or something if it is cancelled.

once onboard. So if you have booked, rest easy.

end up needing it? What happened if I may inquire?

Don't ever book a flight that early out of Galveston. A while back, some friends we met onboard were on their way to a late flight, on a fog day, when the transfer drive did a u-turn on I-45 to return to their port to pick up more late disembarking passengers. They missed their flight and were forced to stay a night, change the flight, and cost themselves hundreds of $$ dollars.

They did not have insurance, and Carnival, despite the fact their own driver with a transfer they paid for caused them to miss their flight, did nothing.

Would not even offer them so much as a future onboard credit. The lesson? Get the insurance.

That said, Miami is good to go as those people know what they are doing.

peak of hurricane season. But you are going on such an amazing ship, as long as it sails you should have a great time.

Three weeks out whatever may pop off the coast of Africa isn't even a sniffle yet, so don't worry.

There is a weather disturbance with a 60 percent chance of cyclonic formation by Sunday, headed directly, according to models, for the coast of Florida. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php

Plan accordingly. This means be flexible, alert, prepared to accept changes.

FYI-there is no compensation, aside from refunds for excursions for cancelled or shifted itineraries, unless the actual cruise is cut short. Then you usually get a discount or future credit towards another cruise, but each line varies.

However if you do nothing but sail around water for seven days, expect to receive only your port fees and excursions refunded because the lines cannot control the weather. This is explicitly stated in your cruise contract. Rather, I would advise to be focused on safe travel arrangements and/or any work schedule concerns delays may create.

For newbies or non-coastal northerners-hurricanes are no joke. You will lose all concern for excursions if you find yourself stuck in one. The travel insurance that we have examined, Berkeley Care I believe, specifically states that if your destination, or route to, is under a severe weather warning, such as flood, ice, or tropical, you are entitled to a refund of the purchased fare if you decide to cancel.

Meaning-if the cruise line declines to cancel the cruise for storm related reasons BEFORE you depart for your trip, but before you depart from your trip the National Weather Service issues a warning, contact your insurer for details about your rights if you decide to cancel. Do not assume the above policy, I only included this information so that you could investigate the possibility, as I would gather each insurer is different. Assume nothing. Protect yourself.

If you did not purchase insurance, what were you thinking? AGTI.

Always Get the Insurance.

Not sometimes.

Always.

Safe travels and happy cruising,

-T

because I don't want to ruin your cruise but excursions are among the least of your worries.

Getting back to port is among your biggest. You need to know now, so whatever arrangements need to be made can be made before everyone else realizes it.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php

But while you are in Cozumel, go see my buddy Luis at the cuisine workshop. Mexican cooking class I believe it is called.

a styrofoam cup funny much the same way Carnival can make a piece of paper and a pencil fun, with trivia hosted by dedicated staff who engage with the participants.

Carnival does fun. They may not have the best shows, or the best food, or even the best ships, but we have cruised on four major lines and when the subject of cruise comes up, it is Carnival's site I go to first.

Why? Maybe it is the "Happy Meal" effect. Like with McDonald's as a child, I have a confidence in what I will get in return. Not the best burger, (ok Guy's aside) or best playground, but most every time I would A. get my meal hot, tasty, and with a smile, and B. my toy would be there.

I would get my toy, head to the playground, and this was a pleasant Saturday to a five-year old. Carnival to me is that type of thing. I will have fun. I won't meet former cabinet members like on Crystal, but I will have a ball laughing, eating, meeting people, being silly. Being a kid, really. No pretense. Just real everyday people having a great time. The toy will be in the box.

They have ingrained in me as a cruiser that they are fun, and a value second to none. NCL puts together a nice cruise, that is not the issue and I do not want people to think I am not being objective. But apples to apples, go straight MDR, no drinks, no specialty dining the experience is not even close.

At times the smoking has bothered me, and the transition to American Table was clunky, but guess what? The "toy" (fun) was where it always was, in the box. And because I can trust my toy would be in the box, tucked neatly next to the burger, we returned. And the next time, our burger was fresher, so to speak.

See, Burger King (Royal) and Wendy's (NCL) tried a similar tactic with toy giveaways, and for a time, I went there. When they had toys I wanted, that is. But in the end, when I wanted that familiar feeling of warmth, and happiness, I reached for a Happy Meal.

NCL is not giving you anything free. The toy may be in your box, but you will have to pay a good bit extra on top of the kid's combo to get it.

And that doesn't make anyone happy.

but thought if someone is on the fence, they would come to the Carnival board first.

Suppose it could go either direction, but I posted more about what Carnival offers.

It would not be fair to continue to hold knowledge to myself, because though NCL puts out a great product, their marketing schemes are at best, dubious.

Let me put it like this-if you are debating whether to do a Carnival ship, or an NCL and are deciding solely on the FREE drink package, or FREE dining, don't.

Go Carnival. Get on Carnival to find Guy's Burgers, as good as any burgers not named Dyer's on Beale Street in Memphis, and have a ball. Grab some Blue Iguana burritos, get some BBQ, try some cereal crusted french toast. Go get some pasta, and while you are at it, would you grab me some sushi at Taste Bar?

Drinks? CHEERS is $50 per day, plus gratuities. Oh you think you have me? Think again.

Pick a ship, any ship, that Norwegian is sailing. Find an inside stateroom. Let's say New Orleans, in FEB, on the Pearl. Grab an inside stateroom and your drink package, do a guarantee..oh wait, that inside stateroom is not eligible for the package, you have to upgrade to an...

Inside stateroom? You mean instead of paying $499 for an inside cabin you have to pay $649? Yes exactly. But wait..that cabin, with the free drinks, will also run you another $198 or so for drink package gratuities. So now your free drink package with your inside stateroom costs you, roughly, $500.

Want dinner? Three meals will cost you about $140 bucks all in, but if you want that package you have to go up to an oceanview room. That is another $300 or so. So now to get your FREE drinks, and FREE dining, you had to spend an extra $800. Or, you could just buy a guarantee, pay for a few meals, a few drinks, not try to disqualify your liver for organ donation, and come out way ahead.

But let me be real clear, the Jewel class of NCL in no way should garner more of your hard earned $$ than Magic class on Carnival, not even close. Besides the food options running deeper, the entertainment being more plentiful, there are the nightly comedians, an HD movie screen, a waterpark, and a full-sized basketball court.

All for ACTUAL free. How nice. And honest. In the end an all-inclusive experience on Carnival will cost you roughly the same price purchased than NCL's "free." All of this on a much nicer ship, with more fun, more energy, and more space.

So you think I am writing a commercial for Carnival, do you? Next cruise we take, in probability, will be the RCL Liberty, because Royal has Saturday Night Fever the stage show. But then, Carnival is getting Jim Gaffigan, and Jeff Foxworthy next season, so the battle continues. I don't know how much they will cost, but not as much as FREE on NCL.

I enjoy the Norwegian product, I really do. The food is good, the shows are good, and the ships are pretty. But the marketing practices, well, those are ugly, quite so in fact.

On Norwegian FREE is costly. But so is the growing lack of trust in their management.

Go Carnival, and save yourself from the expense of FREE.