Liljo22

Was she the one that didn’t make the full cycle on the drop slide and was stopped over the ocean?

Dailies are just the paper schedule usually left by the room steward at night. It te,s you everything you need to know for the next day including what time you get into and leave port, what the ship time is, what events are happening that day and the open/close time for all the bars/restaurants/venues. Have fun on your trip. Hopefully you will get hooked like the rest of us on here.

Ha. No you are right but I refuse to overspend both at work and in my personal life. First off, My wife and I will almost always get a drink package no matter the line so I factor that into the price comparison. I look at similar ships and itineraries. Let's say a 7 day balcony for 2 on NCL is $1,500 but includes the drink package and a Royal Cruise is $1,200 but I am going to spend $1100 on the package, its a no brainer to go with NCL. I didn't even factor in the 2 dinners that are probably going to cost an extra $200 on RCL. I will say that sometimes I will overlook value if its something I really want to do. I booked a pre-Christmas cruise and was comparing NCL and RCL(also MSC but not ready to pull the trigger on them yet). The NCL was a 5 day on the Encore and the RCL was on the Oasis. The NCL was about $500 more for 2 in a balcony but the package on RCL was $660 so NCL was still the better value. I haven't tried an Oasis class ship yet so I gave up the extra day and the savings to give it a try.

I understand. Not trying to attack you over it. Just trying to point out its not as cut and dry. I am an accountant by trade so I always comparison shop and go with the best value. Sometimes it NCL and sometimes its not.

You are paying an additional $122.50 on a 7 day cruise for those items.

On NCL the limit is $15 and if you want to get something above $15 you are also only paying the difference plus 20% gratuity on the difference.

Ok so now I am a little confused. I thought that Celebrity includes the drink package at no charge including tips. I just did a mock booking and that is not the case. On the 7 day balcony I mocked, its an additional $437 per person to get drinks, wifi and automatic gratuities included. The gratuities are $17.50pppd so that comes to $122.50 on the seven days. That means you are paying $314.50 for wifi and the drink package. On NCL you are getting the wifi and drink package for $152.60. You are actually paying more on Celebrity than NCL.

The breakeven on the gratuities on NCL is an average of 2 drinks a day so if your wife didn't drink all week it would be just 4 drinks a day for you. Carnival an Royal both add gratuity to their packages when you purchase them pre-cruise but they also charge a lot more for the package. I know Celebrity does not charge additional for gratuities on their drink package but they are pulling it out of the cruise fare(hopefully). If a Celebrity cruise for 2 is $2,400 and a comparable NCL cruise is $2,100 plus $300 for the gratuities, I don't see the difference.

Nothing to be embarrassed about. The whole point of this message board is to get answers to your questions.

The included brands are all good quality brands. There may be a bourbon that is not included that you want but you just pay the difference above $15 plus 20% on the difference. Here is some menus to show pricing that says it’s from 2022. https://profcruise.com/norwegian-bar-menus-2022/ Getting the drink package makes sense if you plan on drink at least 2 drinks a day.

Same with my December Oasis cruise. It had been at $69.99 and then went to $74.99 so that it could just go back to $69.99 for the sale. Already had it at that price and was hoping for it to come in a little cheaper.

In terms of flow, yes RCI designs it’s ships better. In terms of venues, NCL has the upper hand. Now I will preface this by saying I haven’t been on an Oasis class. I am on the Oasis in December so this could change. MDR - I like that all MDRs are My Time Dining. If I want to have a quiet dinner with a land based restaurant feel, I can do Taste or Savor. If I want the large cruise ship dinner experience with a band playing I can go to the third venue. Free dining venues - NCL does this way better than RCI. O’Sheenan’s is a great venue and open 24 hours. The Local is also great for free food options. You also have Shanghai's on some ships. They added a food hall on Prima that is getting really great reviews. On RCI, all the comparable venues are paid venues. For free options you really have premade Mexican at El Loco Fresh, what I would label as good drunk pizza and sandwiches. Entertainment venues - Syd Normans is the most fun I have had on a cruise ship. The energy in that venue is just amazing. Cavern Club is also fun with the Beatles cover band playing, District Brewhouse is a great bar and has a huge beer selection and fun live music. Bliss nightclub beats the 10 people that show up to Red on the night they convert the ice rink. Both RCI and NCL are very comparable to each other even though most on this board don’t want to admit it. I will continue to sail both although my family likes to point out the extra things that NCL does every time we cruise on RCI.

Are talking on the ship or in the planner? In the planner, the price is just the price whether it’s a solo or two people. Once on the ship, a solo has to pay the full price.

On the ship is different. That is a legit BOGO where you have to pay full price on the package if you are a solo. The pricing before is just Royal making up a price calling it a promo.

Breakeven is 6-7 drinks average a day so it’s up to you if you think it’s worth it. Based on what you said, it’s going to be closer to 5 drinks a day. Now you also get bottled water, coffee and soda with that so if you usually drink those items it would more than likely make up the difference.

Same reason why I don’t book a guaranteed room. I want to know where my cabin is at. If I am going to bid, it’s only going to be suites since it’s limited and you pretty much know where they are.

Is the $68.90 after the gratuity? Or are you trying to calculate the promo based on the listed price? The drink package prices always have .99 so the price seems weird if that price is without gratuity. If you are trying to calculate the promo, that’s not right. The price RCI shows is already the per person price after the “promo”. As for if it’s worth it, I consider the average price per drink to be $12. I divide the pre-gratuity price by that amount to get the break even. Usually the breakeven point is 6-7 drinks average per day. Personally I drink more than that so it’s always worth it to me.

I have sailed on the Getaway during spring break and sold out. I felt like the ship handled the crowds well.

Honest question. Princess is advertising up to 30% off and including wife and the drink package but when I go to price it, I have to pick at least their better package to get those things. Are you ok with that type of promo?

Check with T-Mobile on what plan you have. If you have the Simple Global plan, you are covered in the Bahamas. If you don't have it, I would check on how much to add it. Spending a little extra to not get a huge bill a month later is worth it. I can't think of anything specific towards Latin music but the Getaway is themed to Miami(Breakaway is themed to NY). They will sometimes have latin much in the Tropicana Room at dinner. Also there is a mojito bar on deck 8 but can't remember if a band plays there. Also make sure to hit Syd's. Its a fun venue. They had a karaoke night on my cruise but, as Bird said, they might not have it on a 3 nighter.

I know I am probably going to get flamed for this but I don't get the anger people have. I know its not "free" but its not like NCL is charging the fees after the fact. Its in the final price of the cruise that you see and it opts you in to the drink and dining package so you are not seeing one price and then seeing another after you decide to add the package. The people that get angry are pretty much saying if NCL raised their fares by the gratuities and called it included, they would be fine with it but having it broken out makes NCL the bad guy. Personally, I comparison shop and take the final cruise total I see and compare against other lines before booking. If NCL is a good deal then great. If not, I will sail another line. If the price is close or under the other line and I am would have to buy the drink package and specialty dinners on the other line, even better.

Yes. Shore excursions are legit 50% off with this deal. Everything else not so much. Drink package at the same price that I bought of $69.99. Dining did not change except Giovanni’s is now 36.99 instead of $41.99. Our only port is Labadee so a little disappointed with the sale although the zip line at $48.99 is attractive compared to $98.99.

Cabana Beach is great. We had Cabana 11 which was close to the park. If your plan is to go to the park, it’s worth it to pay a little extra for a cabana. You get guacamole and fruit platter plus snorkeling gear included. Drinks are pretty cheap also. Just let them know what time you want to head back and they will have a taxi waiting for you.

Sky Dawn Getaway Escape is the ship I want to sail the most. Just seems its the perfect ship for what my family and I like. A lot for my teens to do and fun adult venues for my wife and I.

RCI needs to get with the program. Texans need their breakfast tacos.