TravelingCircusof5

We also got emailed a statement after we had left the cruise- with errors from Day 2. I had checked daily every day but never saw them until after the cruise. This was for cheap draft beer on CocoCay even though we had a drink package. It is only $15, but definitely the principle of the matter after a less than great cruise. Is there an email address to point out the error?

Hi all, as the title says, I am about to fill out my post cruise survey. I would like to give honest critique, but most of my issues seem like they are Exec level cruiseline decisions (ex: poor food quality) but not the fault of the staff/ server bringing it out. I want the top brass to hear our opinions, but not the server and room attendant to be held accountable for it. Help?

We’re on Beyond (center SV) April 2024- no loungers. We don’t have them and the SVs on either side of us don’t have them. I asked immediately and was told no “we don’t”. It wasn’t an issue of a tip because I was not given the chance to tip before the idea was shut down. One year ago, same ship, we had them without needing to ask. MY theory is that having loungers on SV keeps people satisfied without needing to upgrade to a suite. It definitely dampened the benefit of an SV for us since the tiny chairs are impossible to get comfortable in for more than just a quick look around. (Napping, reading, sunning was not nearly as lovely as it was for us last year with the loungers.) It may have backfired though bc the more they take away things we enjoyed, the less likely i am to spend MORE money the next time. It may be back to land vacays.

I am the OP. I bought it when it was on a very good sale because it would upgrade 2 devices to premium wifi (for each of us- have to purchase one per person.) and the priority luggage at embark/ disembark- for less than premium wifi. The (limited) reserved searing for shows and free room service will be bonus if we used them. We have a sunset verandah, and they tried every email offer to get us to upgrade to a suite, which I ignored, so they sent this on sale. If in a suite, i don’t see much value.

I purchased the Premium Access when it was on sale. It is listed as ‘reserved’ on packages when I log in, but it is not on my cruise docs or luggage tags. Since priority luggage and priority boarding are some of the perks, shouldn’t it be listed somewhere? Our cruise is only a few days away. TIA

How and when does one get the assigned boarding time? Is it when you pay off your final payment (so earlier is better?) or when you fill out online check in?

I am really enjoying all the opinions and info re: Cococay. Thanks everyone

OP here. To clarify, I don’t mind spending some money on the island. I would spend $ on an excursion elsewhere. I was just surprised at all the separate fees. I would have to call later and see about switching our ressie- see what we would lose. I booked directly with X and we do have tips in our AI that we wouldnt get now.

Any thoughts on A Perfect Day at Cococay? We’re booked on an Eastern Caribbean this spring, and I am considering switching to a 5 night Western Cococay instead, for the same week. We’ve done the EC itinerary several times, on X and DCL, and I do like it, but we have been disappointed in the excursions in the past, and there are almost none offered or available for our upcoming cruise. As for private islands, we have loved DLC’s Castaway Cay and am interested in trying Cococay. Are they comparable? Seems like there is a lot of negative sentiments on here for Coco, but no specifics. It does look like everything has an extra fee, which is surprising. The reason for wanting to try Cococay is that I am imagining a more relaxed day at the beach without transportation stress or overly-aggressive beach vendors. Does that sound like what it is? We would also save $2000 if we switched itineraries.

How are the beach vendors and massage ladies at Divi? Last year at Orient beach, on an official excursion, we were absolutely swarmed the entire time we were there.

Yes, that would be great for 11 day to Iceland. Maybe one day i will have more flexibility for scheduling when the deals pop up.

My husband and I were just saying how we hear people say that they get such great prices on cruises. Where are the deals? I certainly don’t know where! We’ve only done 4 cruises over the years, but this year and next year, our X cruises for 1 week Caribbean non- suite is almost $5000 for two. Doesn’t ever seem like a bargain.

Ok, thanks. So, deposit is lost either way, and after 90 days out, more is lost. That does help the decision. Mostly i am trying to decide whether to pay 50% more for CFAR clause in case something comes up with our high school son, not sailing. One more question: if we needed to Lift and Shift dates for $100, are the deadlines the same as the cancellation? I don’t know why X can’t explain these things more clearly. I honestly took out a magnifying glass to look at my reservation docs, but can’t be sure of the answers.

I am confused by the seemingly conflicting statements about cancellation. (I do not want to cancel. I am weighing out which trip insurance options I need.) I did not opt for the “pay extra for a refundable deposit.” The docs say “$500 deposit non refundable.” But they also list out fees lost by the date schedule: “89-75 days before departure 25%”, etc. So what happens if cancelled before 90 days out? Lose $500 or no?

What if I purchased All Included on my 2024 cruise, followed these steps, and it shows ‘No orders’? Should I be concerned? Or does it not show up for a while? I DO wish X would make it easier to decode their offers and see what one has actually purchased.

Not different than when i booked, as I didn’t check exact times upon booking, but different than I have normally experienced, which were late afternoon or evening departures- not 3:00. And the 3:30 arrival at PR really surprised me. I was expecting a full day before the sun went down. I guess they are trying to fit it all in. Oh well. Will have to plan accordingly.

Just noticed the actual times for our ports. Do these time seem strange? The Puerto Rico times and St Thomas times especially will make it hard to see and do much. Why are we leaving St Thomas so early? SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO Arrive 3:30 PM depart 10:30 PM St Maarten arr 10:00 depart 7:00 St Thomas arr 7:00 depart 3:00 Puerto Plata arr 11:00 depart 6:00

We were on the Beyond February 2023 and just booked Apex for 2024. We loved on Beyond sailing. The ship is gorgeous! We are both 50, so kind of in between cruising age groups. We joined in to some of the Game Show type club events and dance lessons, which is something we normally wouldn’t do, and had a great time. The service was very good. Yes, the food was not mind-blowingly great, but we enjoyed it. It was never a problem to get a drink, and even with ‘just’ the Classic package, we were satisfied. Anytime dining worked great for us. We did have two nights of specialty reservations, but the other nights, just showing up at the door, we never waited more than 2 minutes to be seated. We were disappointed in both of our excursions, which were not at all what was advertised.

I was wondering if they had changed their classification on E class ships -to Aqua or Concierge or even suite bc they are in demand. i hope not.

Is there a good website to search for SV availability? We sailed in one on Beyond, and now I don’t want anything else. But doing a dummy booking for every possible date is getting old,

I gave up on asking for a specific one. It was different everywhere I went, and I didn’t really care as I liked them all except one.

I don’t know the answer to OP’s specific question, but I did want to say that we are just off the Beyond, and the Classic was better than I expected. I drank mostly sparkling wine and chardonnay, lattes from al Baccio, one martini (not for me!) DH drank beer, gin and tonics, wine, one martini. The only thing we were charged extra for all week was my martini, not his. We were never pressured to upgrade to Premium, and only on the first day did anyone even asked. It was never mentioned again. This really surprised me. Now, we were not overly picky about the name brands, but the wines were pretty good, and it was great not to sign a tab, and I am glad we did not upgrade. oh, also lots of bottled (canned water) and sodas were included, yes.

Wow! I feel fortunate. We are just off a week on the Beyond, and we did not encounter any of the above. Things were absolutely lovely, as were the people aboard— even when elevators were crowded. We all just joked about it and smiled. The only unpleasant thing we witnessed were a few older, mean, entitled people literally saying, ‘i’m a frequent cruiser’ and giving the staff long lists of things that were wrong in their opinions, while everyone around them stared and wondered what in the world was wrong with those sour people. That’s not a smart ass comment. It’s a true report.

Thanks everyone! These sound great! So many wines to try!

I am thinking about getting an opened bottle upright in a small beverage cooler- which are usually tiny. I don’t drink a whole bottle in one evening- especially when I will have a beverage package when out and about. I haven’t seen this ship’s fridges though.