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clskinsfan

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  • Location
    Winchester, VA
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Carnival, RCI

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. This right here. After 19 years of multiple cruises on just about all of the lines, not only are we done with X but we are most likely done with cruising period. We are on Carnival next weekend out of Norfolk to Bermuda. Than that will most likely be it for our cruising careers. :). Out of all of the cruises we have done we never made it to Bermuda. So we wanted to do that before ending it. Norfolk is our homeport. So it is the right way to go out. We loved X. It was our favorite line for many years. But we cant afford them anymore. And the quality of cruising has just gone to the basement on all lines. If I need to spend the kind of money it takes for a luxury line to experience what cruising used to be like I am just done with it. For the cost of a luxury line plus airfare we can go see beautiful places all over the world. And really dig into those places instead of spending the day in the tourist hot spots that are ports. We just feel like cruising has left us behind. We are not willing to spend more to get less. And that is where all of the lines are at this point.
  2. We are coming back to Carnival next week out of Norfolk to Bermuda. Have cruised just about all of the lines at this point. And behaviour is down on all of them. It seems to be an issue with society right now IMO. This will most likely be our last cruise after cruising multiple times per year for 19 years. We have never been to Bermuda and wanted to experience it before we end cruising. We feel like cruising itself has passed us by. It used to be a fantastic vacation. Lately I have left more stressed than when I got on the ship. The food has gone downhill dramatically on all lines as well. There just isnt the value in cruising that there used to be.
  3. I would be with you if the experience was 3 times better. I am going to find out if thats the case in two weeks.
  4. We are going back to Carnival, on the Magic in 2 weeks out of Norfolk, after 15 years of Cruising X. Our last two cruises on X were no better than a carnival cruise was 15 years ago. They just werent. And there is no justification in our mind for paying almost double to go to the same ports. Now we may get to the Magic and find out that it is awful. But it was worth a try for us. Would love to try Viking. But it is so expensive that we can take 3 cruises on Carnival or Royal for the same price. And 2 on X. Post pandemic cruising is an entirely different ball game than it was pre. And if the product is going to be poor on all lines I may as well spend the least I can for the experience.
  5. Would love to hear how this worked out for you? We are cruising in September out of Norfolk and staying over the night before at the Marriott. We planned on leaving our vehicle in the city garage for the week. The price quoted online is $13 per day.
  6. No its not for me. I can literally drink 15 beers in a 6 hour night no problem. And I will barely have a buzz. Not like I am bragging or anything. And it wont stop me from cruising. But it needs to be based on your condition whether you continue to get served.
  7. Woah! I quit when cigs hit $2 per pack. Shows you how old I am. 🙂 Although I live in VA so there is nowhere else cheaper to buy them.
  8. Amazing review. Are they enforcing the 15 drink limit? And if so I am going to order a bucket or a Tube for my 15th drink each night. 🙂
  9. That is interesting. I have never seen comparable cruises that close. But that is still $500. And that will be my alcohol bill on a Carnival cruise. The same alcohol bill on Celeb would be $800. Or you can spend $1000 up front with the drink package included. We are doing a 6 nighter on Magic to Bermuda in September. Balcony room is $1400 for both of us. Or $110 per night. I cant come close to that on Celebrity. I cant buy beer buckets on Celeb for $6 discounts. There are just so many things that are more expensive. Again. We loved Celeb. Until we didnt anymore. Because we felt like the value was not there like it used to be. And I am not saying we will never sail Celebrity again. Because we would if the itinerary was right. But we think that the decline in overall product from ALL lines makes spending less worth it for us.
  10. I agree with the two replies after your post. Celebrity IS a step above the other mainstream lines. But you are going to pay for that difference. As far as what changed? Pretty much everything. They went to a new more modern model for their ships and entertainment. And the ships are pretty much dead at 11:00. Most of the activity after that time is in the Sky Lounge on the older ships. Not really our style. It is just a much more laid back experience. Their food declined noticeably over a 4 year span as well. Service is still stellar. I am not saying you will be disappointed in a cruise with them. You will most likely love everything about it if you have been exclusively Carnival. But you are also paying A LOT more for that difference. And to us the cost isnt worth it. I can sail twice on Carnival or Royal for the same cost as a single Celeb cruise. And the product is quite comparable in our opinion.
  11. On our last cruise we waited to board our plane with a couple that was heading to a Viking cruise. The gentlemen was a guest speaker for them on their Panama Canal cruises. Really nice couple. We enjoyed speaking with them. But he basically said the same about Viking. Older demo for sure. Now my wife and I are no spring chickens, being in our mid 50's. But we arent dead either. 🙂 As far as other lines go, we started on Royal way back in 1997 on Granduer. Our next few cruises were with Carnival. Then we did a NCL, HAL and Celebrity. We fell in love with Celebrity. Everything about their product fit us perfectly. So we stuck with them for a few cruises. And then they changed. And lost us. So last year we tried one of the mega ships. RCL Allure. It was the worst cruise we have ever taken. The ship is huge. But so are the number of people on it. It was madness. The food was poor. But that just seems to be the norm now with cruise lines. The product has basically been reduced by all lines. So we said screw it and are going back to Carnival on the Magic in September. They provide just as good of a product for far less money in our opinion. And the passengers are more fun as well.
  12. The biggest benefit is on embarkation day. We were one of the first 50 people on the ship. And had a fantastic lunch in the MDR which included Chops food. It was the best meal we ate the entire week. No stress of dealing with the windjammer. Just go to the MDR get served drinks and food and wait for the staterooms to open. The rest of the stuff? Meh. We had priority seating for the shows. That was nice. We got it on a deep discount (cheaper than VOOM alone) so it was worth it for us. But I would never pay full price for it.
  13. Finally able to login and add to this thread. The Solarium did open on Wednesday. We enjoyed it. Although overall we did not enjoy this cruise and would rank it as the worst have ever been on unfortunately. Oasis class ships just aren't for us. The ship itself is pretty amazing. But the number of people onboard and the wait times for everything from drinks to elevators to reserved dining times is ridiculous. Like I said. Not our cup of tea. And we had "the key". We will do one more cruise with another line we favor to see if this is just the new norm for cruising. Overall we kind of feel like the industry itself is passing us by in many ways. The great days of cruising are over in our opinion. Thanks for listening!
  14. I am on Allure right now for our first Oasis class cruise. And while the ship itself isn't too big there are way too many people on it. I have never been herded around like cattle like we have been the past couple of days. The staff works hard at getting you service but the wait times for drinks is ridiculous. I actually love the ship itself. Walking through Central Park last night was amazing. You really can't believe you are on a ship while you are in there. We have 4 days left on this ship and maybe our opinions will change. But we currently don't think we will ever an Oasis class again.
  15. Congrats. The adult only part if it is what matters to us. So we got shorted in that regard. Just got back from an excellent excursion in Puerto Plata. And for those that haven't been to Taino Bay it's a nice port. Huge pool and beach area overlooking the ship. Nice day today not having to battle 5800 people over 3 pools.
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