bruzin_for_a_cruizin

I've been maintaining a similar "PP/PN" spreadsheet since 2019. I include: cruise fare, drink/dining packages, gratuities, air fare/hotel/transfers. Pretty much all trip expenses which are consistent from cruise to cruise. The only expenses I don't include on my sheet are excursions, which vary widely from sailing to sailing. Since Dec 2019, I've been on 6 cruises, balconies or suites. I've been on Oasis-class twice, All three E-class ships, and one time (and last!) on NCL Prima. Converting to CAD$, the cheapest cruise in the past 4 years will be my upcoming 9-night sailing (booked more than a year ago) in a Sunset Veranda on Beyond. That one comes in at CAD$363 pp/pn. A real bargain! The most expensive is the Christmas cruise in 2019 in a Jr. Suite on Oasis at $556 pp/pn. The others all came in around $400-$450 for Balconies or Suites, which is probably aligned with the OP's findings in USD, and not including airfare. Looking ahead to 2024, I've only been able to get quotes in the $500+ range. Suite are up to CAD$1250 pp/pn!!! Given the increases, we have decided to forgo cruising for 2024, and will instead be checking out some of the higher-end AI resorts in the Caribbean. I'm looking at prices there which are, even with airfare, as low as half the cost of cruising.

I was in Belize in November 2021 off Apex. Most dive shops in Belize are located on San Pedro. The cruise ships, however, tender into Belize City. As far as I know, the only currently operating dive shop in Belize City is Sea Sports Belize. The shop is a short walk from the cruise pier, and the diving is lovely. Pretty standard: small boat/groups, 6 divers max. The owner of the shop is Linda, and she was very helpful in coordinating a full dive boat from all the inquiries that came in on that day from the two ships in port. Normally I would recommend against booking directly with the dive shop at a tender port, but the proximity of the shop to the pier means you'll be back on board in plenty of time. 1 I have taken Harris' recommendation on Gypsea Divers in Costa Maya and had a spectacular time. Great people in this small shop, and it really felt like hanging with friends for the day and diving. I wouldn't hesitate to dive with Catherine and her people next time I call on Costa Maya.

Last sale: $90.28 x 100 Woohoo! I'm out of the red on this stock! OBC is all gravy now, BABY!!

I'm in agreement with you on suites. We were fortunate to enjoy 2 sailings in suites just as things started up again, and the pricing was quite reasonable: $4400 for 7 nights on Apex in November 2021 and $8200 for 10 nights on Edge in November 2022. Those prices are now double or triple (Nov 2024 on Apex is $11,000 for a 7 nighter). The Retreat is indeed an exceptional product, but not at the prices they're asking. Though, some people are obviously paying the freight, so it's "value" for somebody! Overall, I'm considering land-based vacations for 2024. Pricing is too high for me to justify, when comparing.

Since the pandemic, we've not used BUF, but before The Plague hit, I took my family through BUF exclusively to FLL/MIA. We live in Vaughan (just north of Toronto proper), and adding everything up -- air fare, driving time, airport queues, walking distance from counter to gate, etc. -- it was a no-brainer. We mostly traveled Jet Blue or Southwest. Those airlines used to fly out early in the morning, so even with the added expense of a night in a Buffalo Airport hotel, it came out to a substantial savings. The sheer size of YYZ vs BUF makes a massive difference. For a 6:00 a.m. flight to FLL out of YYZ, I'd have to leave my house at 2:00 a.m. For a 6:00 a.m. flight to FLL out of BUF, I can check out of the hotel at 5:00. My kids are grown now, so it's just me and my wife. Since resuming travel, I've mostly been able to get decent enough air fare through YYZ (and I've got some Air Canada vouchers to use!) that it hasn't been worthwhile, but I definitely check pricing out of BUF before booking anything domestic!

While Harris' recommendations have always been excellent, I'll toss out a couple here, based on some recent experience and an upcoming ABC+GCayman cruise in November: In Curacao, after much research, we have settled on Caribbean Sea Sports. They have been very accommodating, moving their morning 2-tank boat to a 9:00 departure to allow for our arrival at 8:00. They offer free pick up and drop off, and free unlimited tanks in the afternoon for unguided shore dives on their house reef. That's a huge bonus, depending of course on the quality of the house reef. In Aruba, Jeffrey at Happy Divers was not available for us on our date in November. I have used him before (back when he picked up/dropped off), and would gladly have booked with him again this time were he open. I will warn: Happy Divers is a one-man operation, or at least it was pre-COVID. Jeffrey was the van driver, boat captain, dive guide and underwater photographer. We dove Arashi Reef and the Antilla Wreck. Great dives. This time, we have booked the ship excursion as a Plan B, and are on a waiting list with AquaWindies. If two more divers sign up for the day we're in port, we'll cancel with the ship and go with the LDS, which is always preferable to keep diver counts low. I don't think cruise ships typically miss the B in an ABC Islands cruise. Don't forget about Bonaire, which is probably the best diving of the three islands you'll be visiting! You can't go wrong with just about any operator on that island, but I've only ever booked through VIP Diving and never had anything except an excellent experience.

You, and me, and hundreds (thousands?) of others! LOL!

Okay, to be fair "no entertainment" might be a bit of a stretch. The Donna Summer show ran two nights. We saw it. The singers were great, but the talky bits in between were cringe-worthy. When I booked the cruise, Noise Boys was also on the calendar, but it has since been cancelled. The Improv shows were impossible to get into with only 70 seats in the Improv. They moved the "comedian" to the Theatre one night, but we only stayed for the first 10 minutes of his act. I'm no prude by any means, but there are only so many BBC "jokes" I really care to sit through. There were limited musicians around the ship. There was a guitar player in the Metropolitan, but there are not enough seats in the venue. There was a small band on the lower deck of the atrium, but there are not enough seats, and it's not even a real "venue." There was no live/recorded music on the pool deck, nothing on Ocean Boulevard, no piano bar... so very limited opportunities for live music (which is one of my favorite things about cruising!). There was trivia, but that's not really my jam, and there was 1 Newlywed/Love&Marriage gameshow. I will concur that we loved the Syd Norman's band the first night when we were fortunate to get there before a line formed and got seats. Otherwise, I'm not waiting for 1.5 hours, and I'm not standing in the back of the room. Those days are long past for my middle-aged self! I did/do get a strong sense that NCL fans are fiercely protective of the brand and any criticisms. A bit of cognitive dissonance makes folks uncomfortable. But the truth is the truth. Read the reviews. Like I said, a 2.8 average score from 143 passengers isn't just one or two Karens with unreasonable expectations. If you've got a booking on Prima, go and have a great time. The food is great (if you adjust your schedule to suit the ship's), and the cabins/bathrooms are a plus as well. But know that she might not otherwise match up to what you're expecting, especially given the Premium pricing they've been chargin.

Two things in response: 1) the complaints/issues with Prima are real. You'll find that for yourself in 2 weeks. BUT, despite the issues, my wife and I still had a fun vacation. It will be what you choose to make of it. If you choose to harp on the issues, you'll be miserable. If you choose -- as we did -- to laugh at it, you'll still have fun! Just go in with the proper mindset: this ship has major design flaws, but the food will be great, and you'll just have to adjust your schedule to accommodate for all the queuing up you'll have to do. Have a great cruise! 2) on every other cruise I've ever been on, pre- and post-COVID, hand washing before entering the buffet is mandatory (many cruisers will smile when I say: "Washy Washy!"). There are so many surfaces where bacteria/germs can linger on a cruise ship, that simply washing one's hands after exiting the restroom isn't sufficient. The fact that they don't enforce that on Prima is gross. Period.

I saw that sign one day during the (brief) lunch period, but they certainly weren't serving what you show in the picture, which looks like pizza. They were serving as @dexddd suggests: some inch-thick bread with a meagre amount of cheese and some other topping sprinkled on top. Calling it "pizza" is a stretch. My experience with Royal Caribbean (Sorrentos) and Celebrity (Oceanview Cafe) set an expectation that cruise lines have a place open most of the day and into the wee hours where one can grab a quick slice and get back to the vacation. I understand Princess has pretty great pizza as well. As for the night club, they did pull back the seats one night for an event called "Sensoria" or something like that, and it was pretty cool. Other than that, the one DJ on board was more frequently in the very-small Syd Norman's. Not really a night club setting. And a band playing music pressed up against the wall (no stage, mind you) in the atrium doesn't count either.

We, too, were on this past sailing. I agree with just about every point nearly every passenger has made about the ship. It was our first -- and last -- sailing on NCL. They had one chance to make a first impression on my wife and me, and failed miserably. The Prima seems to be built for the Instagram age: it looks great in pictures, but doesn't work in the real world. They made some bold design choices, and almost every single one is a big fat fail: - I usually figure out where everything is by the afternoon of the first day. It took me until Day 5 to understand the layout of Prima, and even then I found myself walking into dead ends. - the pools are too small, and putting the infinity pools on deck 8 means shade half the day. On this past cruise, the main pool was closed/drained for 2 days. Thank goodness we were able to secure Vibe passes (at a $600 expense for something that is included on every other cruise line) so we could at least enjoy some sun after the storm passed. - the buffet is wayyyyyy too small, the hours are too restrictive and it's gross that people have to walk through to get to other venues. No hyperbole: I did not see a single person wash their hands prior to serving themselves at the buffet. NOT ONE. - the only venue for breakfast after 10:00 a.m. is The Local until 10:30, and good luck getting a table since everyone on board is trying to get breakfast before everything shuts down until 11:30. - the only option for lunch after 2:30 -- when most people are returning from excursions! -- is finger sandwiches in the Observation Lounge. - entertainment is non-existent. My wife and I watched 5 movies on this cruise. We've never had 10 hours in our cabin at night on any other ship on any other cruise line. - lineups for everything. Again, no hyperbole: People were lined up for Syd Norman's more than 1.5 hours before showtime. Who wants to waste that much vacation time waiting in line? - no pizza? Really? - balcony cabins on deck 9 are blocked from the ocean due to the roof structure on Ocean Boulevard. These should be sold as obstructed view. Extremely disappointing for a cabin I booked more than a year ago. - no nightclub? Really? - Premium Plus Beverage Package was a total rip-off. I enjoy tequila, and the best I could find at any bar was Cazadores Anjeo. That's a CAD$47 bottle, hardly "Premium Plus." The Vibe bar, where I did most of my drinking because it was the only bar which wasn't overly crowded, only had 1800 Reposado. That's a CAD$40 bottle. I could go on, but just read any review on this ship and you'll keep seeing the same notations over and over again. It wasn't all bad. The food was uniformly quite good, with Indulge Food Hall for dinner as a standout. I also quite enjoyed Onda, and the service at Cagney's was 100% spot on (coming from someone who waited tables in high-end restaurants for 20+ years). The Price Is Right Live was fun, and the ship is modern with some nice seating and colour choices, though not as nice as the Edge-class ships on Celebrity. There's a reason why Prima enjoys a 2.8 review score here on Cruise Critic. I'm tempted to short NCL stock... they've got 3 (4?) more of this design bought and paid for, and it just doesn't work.

UPDATE: I received my eDocs, and tried to cancel the transfers. I'm not hung up on the cost, as there isn't so much a difference between the CAD$218 I paid and what I'd pay for Ubers, but the idea that my wife and I will have to sit on a bus and wait until they're ready to go is making me itch. I'm not much for sitting and waiting when I could be making better use of my time elsewhere. So, I connected with an agent on the NCL chat and was advised that while he would be happy to cancel the transfers for me, because I was less than 21 days out he would NOT issue a refund. Nor would he even issue OBC. So I'm keeping the transfers. I'm still heading into this cruise (our first experience with NCL) with an open mind, but so far I've been less than impressed with the cruiseline. I've long heard of NCL's "nickel and dime" reputation, and I'm seeing it now first-hand. I'm also less than enthusiastic about the ship, as the early reviews have not exactly been stellar. Still, any day on the ocean is better than the best day in the office, right?

I've just got our eDocs for our upcoming Prima sailing out of NYC, and I'm wondering about Arrival Time vs Boarding Time. I was able to get a 9:30-10:00 arrival time. With RCL/X we don't usually arrive that early, but concerns about getting reservations for Prima's tiny venues pushed me to selecting the earliest time available. I do note, however, on my eDocs it says Boarding begins at 12:00 PM. If that's the case, what are we supposed to do between 10:00 and 12:00? Is there a "holding area" in the terminal? Will we still be able to connect to the ship WiFi to book our reservations? Should I just opt to get another hour or two of sleep that morning and just show up to the terminal at noon?

Yeah, it's down for me, too. I was able to complete the Check-in process for our April 9 sailing (yay for 9:30 boarding!), but now I can't get past the Vacation Summary page to view any of the details or make dinner reservations. App is down too.

Thanks everyone for your comments. We are currently 24 days away from departure (26 from sailing) so I am going to wait until the eDocs populate and then make a decision. I'm not fond of sitting and waiting on an empty bus, so I might just call to refund the transfers and use Uber for all three trips.

Sorry... I should have provided some additional detail. The hotel we are at is the Marriott Marquis. I took it because the rate they offered me was about USD$200 cheaper than the best rate I could have got there even with my Bonvoy status. So I'm happy with the hotel because I wanted to spend the 2-day deviation staying in Times Square and am prepared to pay the premium for that. I'm also happy with the air arrangements. We're flying direct YYZ-JFK, arriving in NYC at 4:12. I checked the Uber estimate, and JFK to the Marriott alone is about USD$90, so I can't imagine saving much on the transfers. I guess my worry was that I hadn't received a voucher or anything, but as long as there will be someone at baggage claim, I'll sleep well for the next 27 nights!

We are sailing with NCL for the first time, on Prima out of NYC in less than a month. I booked the BOGO Air with NCL on a 2-day deviation, and I'm quite happy with the flights. My confirmation also includes transfers: BUS FROM AIRPORT TO HOTEL and BUS FROM HOTEL TO PORT and then upon return BUS FROM PORT TO AIRPORT. The cost shown on my confirmation for Transfers is 218.88 for me and my wife. While I received my flight confirmations several weeks ago, I haven't yet heard anything from NCL on the transfers, and we're now 27 days out. my questions: 1) is CAD$218.88 a fair price for three bus rides for two people? Intuitively, it seems so to me. We will have 2 checked bags and carryons. 2) should I have heard anything from NCL on the transfers yet? Or will there be someone at the arrival gate holding up an NCL sign with a clipboard? My "Personal Cruise Consultant" is never available and doesn't return calls, so I figured I'd check here before calling into the toll-free line and waiting on hold for hours...

I'm going to be overnighting in Bermuda (Dockyards) in mid-April. I'm considering taking my gear along for a two-tank dive one of the mornings we're in port. I've looked into water temps, as I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold weather. I wear a 2/3 full wetsuit even in Caribbean water temps! I checked with Blue Water Divers and was advised "April tends to still be around high 60s low 70s and so a 5mm is advised." I might just rent a 5mm suit when I'm down there, and save the space/weight in my luggage.

,,, which is one of the strongest arguments as to why the IV is absolutely not a balcony. If the window is open, the AC is off. Period. Bifold open or closed is irrelevant.

My wife and I are going to be in Bermuda on the NCL Prima (3 night overnight) in April, and I believe it would be a shame to miss this opportunity to catch a whale watching boat during the humpback migration season. My wife, however, doesn't like small boats: she was very nauseous on a catamaran trip during our honeymoon 30 years ago and has avoided anything smaller than a cruise ship since then. I do note there are several different options for vessels for this excursion, everywhere from 45' to 60' boats of different configurations. Has anyone a recommendation based on experience? We will definitely avoid the catamaran option, but I really don't want to miss the opportunity to see these magnificent creatures in the wild.

I've been keeping a pretty detailed spreadsheet with all my cruise budgets since 2019. I factor in the costs of: cruise fare (including all on-board fees like gratuities, drink packages and any dining) air fare hotels/transfers I then subtract any OBC and calculate a cost per person, per night. Most of the cruises fall into the CAD$400-450 range pp/pn, for balconies, or even The Retreat on Celebrity (got a couple real good deals there!). The most expensive cruise since 2019 is our upcoming sailing on NCL Prima. We are in a balcony with Vibe access, and this one is coming in at CAD$540 pp/pn. The cheapest will be our Nov 2023 sailing on Celebrity Beyond in a sunset verandah, coming in at only CAD$340 pp/pn. NCL Prima is the most expensive cruise I'll have ever been on. Facts.

Or, simply type "Cozumel" in the search box above and get 4 pages of recommendations: Showing results for 'cozumel' in content posted in Scuba and Snorkeling. - Cruise Critic Community

That's why I made the post. After reading so many stories of bad routes, terrible flight times and general airline issues, I was very pleased to not only get my flights so far out, but also very favorable times and airports. I thought others might like to know that its not all gloom and doom. If one is going to take the time to write about a poor experience, one should also take the same amount of time to write about a good one.

Well, so far, at least. Our upcoming April sailing on Prima out of NYC is our first experience with NCL, having sailed many times on Royal/Celebrity. It's also my first time taking any cruiseline's air program offer. Coming from Toronto, I took a chance that the multitude of daily flights out of YYZ would give me a decent chance of getting favorable flights. I requested a 2 day deviation, so we would be arriving in NYC on the Friday prior to a Sunday sailaway. This morning -- 69 days out -- I received our Air Flight Confirmation. We will be flying YYZ->JFK direct on Delta, with both the outbound and return flight departing at 2:30 pm. I am very pleased with this flight arrangement! The 2:30 departure means we don't have to be at YYZ at an ungodly hour, though it would have been nice to arrive in NYC a few hours earlier to enjoy some extra time in that great city. We will still get to our hotel well before the dinner hour, giving us the opportunity to enjoy dinner and a show that night and have a full Saturday to explore. Best of all, the promo on the flights was CAD$222 return for 2 people. Checking the exact flights this morning on Delta, if I were to book today it would cost CAD$912, so a savings of almost $700.