croozelyfe

By far, one of the best and most detailed reviews I've read on here. Thank you so much, I love all the photos and tips!

Thank you all for the well wishes. The research is a great distraction and it's keeping me busy! I am nervously counting down the days.

I am recently widowed, it's been about a month and a half since I lost my best friend and soulmate. I am still very much in the throes of grief and it all seems very surreal, still. Before he passed, my husband mentioned briefly that he wanted to do a Mediterranean cruise. I immediately started looking into a trip for us to take on or around his 50th birthday (January 2019). Unfortunately, about 2 weeks after having this conversation, he passed away unexpectedly.

Anyway, after reading about the brave folks on this board who solo cruise often, today I took the plunge and booked a Mediterranean West cruise on the NCL Epic, scheduled for October 2018. It's not quite around the time of his birthday, it's a few months before - but I think it's OK. I have never traveled solo, let alone taken a cruise without him so I don't know what to expect. Hopefully by that time I won't be in a fog of grief and will be able to enjoy myself. We traveled together a lot, but he was definitely more the world traveler than myself. He would definitely want me to take this trip and have a good time. I just hope that I don't chicken out at the last minute!

I am now obsessed with researching each port and the ship itself. Only 415 days to go!

Adding my name to the recently widowed club, very recent as in 2 months ago. We were hoping to cruise the Mediterranean for his 50th birthday (in 2019) and I am hoping to follow through with those plans. I'm not sure how I will feel a year and a half from now, but at this point I am very anxious and unsure about cruising alone.

I applaud you for taking that step! I look forward to reading more about your solo cruise experience, please come back with an update.

If your're only using it for cruising I would say at least get a passport card, it doesn't cost as much as a passport book. I did not have a passport until recently, I kept putting it off because I thought it would be a big hassle. It wasn't. My appointment with the passport agency was on a Wednesday and by the following Friday (7 business days later), my new passport was delivered to my house. I didn't need it on the cruise, even with a stop in Canada, but it was such a breeze to walk through customs and also through TSA at the airport.

Hello everyone,

Just back (last Friday) from this cruise. YES, we did make it to the ship on time but we were on the last shuttle from the airport and there were only a few of us on the bus. When we checked in for the shuttle, even the attendant said "We've been waiting for you guys!!" The good part about this: There were no lines for security and to check-in/obtain SeaPass card once we got to the ship. Would I take this chance again? No.

Even though booking the shuttle directly through the cruise line means that they guarantee to get you to the ship on time, I was a ball of nerves all day. I kept thinking, what if the bus breaks down or we have an accident or...any number of things could happen. Mostly I was worried that our flight would be delayed or cancelled. Next time, I will book a flight for the night before and spare myself the worry.

We had a great time though and I'm thinking about doing a quick trip report once I take care of some things at work. Have a great day!

Here is the current running thread on using an agent vs booking direct:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2388887

Thanks!!

Hello to all you seasoned cruisers out there! I am researching my next vacation and I'm wondering the best way to book it. Do you typically use a travel agent or do you book the cruise yourself? Are there advantages to using an agent instead of say, using Priceline or one of the other travel websites?

I've seen some good deals, at least to my eyes, but I'm not sure if an agent can offer more.

Thanks in advance!

Thank you for your recap! We will be on this ship in 2 weeks and I can't wait. How was the weather? I saw your mention of 85 degrees one day, was this consistent? I know that the weather in Alaska is unpredictable and that I should dress in layers, etc., etc., but I'm having a tough time narrowing down what to pack.

It seems like you and your wife had a great time, I hope to do the same!

Sorry for yet another drink package question. We will be on Explorer at the end of August, sailing to Alaska. I am wondering if it is possible to by a drink package per day instead of all 7 days?

*Takes a bow* You're welcome!!

Practically every day last week and now this week, in the middle of the afternoon......why WHY WHY???? They've been down for THREE HOURS.

 

"Oops....looks like Royal Caribbean is on vacation" on their website.

I was having the same problem when I try to access the website from my work computer. Try adding "secure" to the url. For example: secure.royalcaribbean.com

I hope this works for you!

Looking forward to reading the rest of your recap.

Actually OP did not specifically say they were using an RCI ground transfer - all s/he said was "a shuttle". If it is RCI, there may be some wiggle room at the Captain's discretion if they are delayed. If they are taking regular ground transportation not associated with the cruise line, they will have to wait for that shuttle to fill up before they are on their way.

 

 

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Sorry, I did not mention that it is an RCI transfer. I did not know this at the time of my original post.

Royal's latest recommended arrival time is 12:45pm.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=324&faqSubjectName=Air+Travel&faqId=2724

I had not seen that, thank you. The travel agent that booked the cruise also booked the transfer and this is how we ended up with the 12:45 pm arrival. I guess we'll be ok? I mentioned to my husband that I planned to take an earlier flight and meet them on the ship. That did not go over well. Le Sigh.

Hi, I'm sorry for going a little off topic in this thread, but how do you pack the wine bottles in your luggage? Do you buy special containers to protect them? I am bringing two bottles of red and I'm concerned about the handling of my bag and ending up with tie-dyed clothes.

I agree, go the day before if you can or change to the earliest flight you can. Just sharing my experience from the May 20th cruise and since this was the first for Explorer, maybe some things have changed. We flew in the day before and stayed near the Space Needle. On the day of the cruise we left the hotel at 10:15. I don't know how long it took to get the the ship, but traffic was very bad, Once we got to the ship, check in was very smooth & reasonably quick considering the lines. We chose to go to the Promenade cafe for a quick light lunch and the announcement was made that rooms were ready. So just noting that from leaving the hotel at 10:15 to rooms being ready at 1:00. Fast forward to Muster Drill; mine was at station B13, right be the ramp were guest were boarding the ship. There was a constant line of folks still boarding while Muster was going on. I don't know what time we actually left, but it was later than planned. I'm guessing they waiting until all the passengers were processed in the terminal and those who had booked air through RCL had arrived. My flights with Southwest were all on time.

 

Now leaving the ship and getting back to the airport on the day we came back home....it took us 3 hours from the time we left the ship and got to the airport. One of the delays was our transportation/transfer was by bus and it seemed to take forever for them to get the luggage on the bus, first bus to Southwest was full so we had to wait for another one, then again traffic was also very heavy, but only the stop & roll until we got out of the port area. There were probably 10 or more buses, but there seemed be be only 1 designated for SW. I would think a taxi or van shuttle would be quicker.

 

Celebrity was also there and boarding at the same time, so 2 big ships, traffic, etc.

Thank you for your insight. If traffic was not issue, I don't think I'd be as concerned.

We're flying Delta from Pennsylvania and our flights have changed 3 times already. I did rebook our flight because it had us coming into Seattle at 12:30 am (3:30 am EST) which made for a long day for us. Fortunately, there was no charge since the times changed so much. We are also flying in 2 days before cruise which is also a good thing. I would definately see about trying to either fly in earlier or day before. Good luck and enjoy your cruise! Our cruise is mid July - can't wait!!

Delta has already changed our flight once but it wasn't a significant enough change for them to waive any change fees. My group is convinced that we will be on the ship in decent enough time, but I am still very worried. There's a large part of me thinking about booking my own flight separately and letting everyone else figure it out for themselves.

The good news is that when flying Los Angeles to Seattle, I don't see a need to fly in the night before. If you catch the first flight out of LAX, you will be in Seattle by 10am and have no problem making the cruise. The first flight of the day usually is reliably on time and even if late, there are plenty of alternatives. Both SEA and LAX are good airports with few delays. 12:45 is cutting it too close. I would suggest trying to get to SEA by 11am. Tickets between SEA and LAX are very very cheap. You probably can buy a new ticket for less than the $200 change fee.

Thank you. I am looking into early morning flights from LAX to SEA on Southwest and Virgin America; they seem to have good deals. I wanted to just "miss" our original flight leaving LAX, but I'm afraid the airline will cancel our return flights back from SEA if we do that. Looks like we will be buying more RT tickets. :o

Where are flying from? Are there any chances of weather delays or cancellations ?

We're flying in from Los Angeles, on Delta. It's a relatively quick flight. I haven't flown Delta in awhile but I remember they used to be notorious for flight delays and cancellations. I don't know if they have improved over the last few years.

I just talked to my hubby and he said that we arrive at 12:45, not 1:45 pm. I'm guessing that is still too close for comfort huh? I know, I know, I know. We'll change our flights LOL.

Thanks, everyone for the quick replies. Yes, I agree that this is cutting it way too close. I don't think that my group was aware of the transfer time from the airport to the ship. I'll talk with them tonight and see if we can make other arrangements. I'm upset that now we'll have to make flight changes at $200 a pop. :mad:

Otherwise I'm very excited about this trip! I've only been on one other cruise, which was 3 days. I am counting down the days to this 7-day trip.

Hello!

This is my first post, please bear with me :)

My family and I are cruising to Alaska on the Explorer during the last week of August. We are flying in to SEA and our flight lands at 1:45 pm, then taking a shuttle to the port. Does our arrival time to SEA give enough cushion to get to the ship in time? I'm worried about flight delays and I don't know the distance from the airport to the ship.

I would prefer to fly in the night before, but I was vetoed. Can anyone give me some indication of the transfer time from the airport to the dock?

I am enjoying all of your posts and tips, I've learned so much in my short time here. Thank you!! :)