jsn55

I agree with the concept of 'self-regulation' in this example. If I had underlying medical issues, I would not be cruising or travelling ANYWHERE that might have less than excellent health care. Piling a potential virus on top of other physical issues is not a very smart thing.

As a Brit, you'll appreciate the fact that our cabin refrigerator on Queen Victoria actually kept drinks COLD. First time we've ever experienced more than 'fairly cool' on a cruise ship! Since Americans are used to being teased about our passion for ice by everyone, that was a very nice surprise.

Come on guys, NASCAR is always good for a snicker. 🤩

You're reading my mind! Over the last two years, for two different reasons, we both almost stopped drinking alcohol. So we now have drinks packages included with the fare on several upcoming cruises ... so should we go back to our previous habits of guzzling champagne all evening? My Minnesota upbringing makes it hard to not want 'my money's worth'.

A good travel companion is worth his weight in gold!😁

Well, maybe I'm not as stiff-upper-lipped as y'all on the opposite coast. I have had very little opportunity to travel in almost three years, I have researched, booked, cancelled and rebooked countless cruises. I am bored to tears. We're supposed to be DONE with the virus hysteria. If I were a month out from sailing and the cruise was cancelled, it would be AWFUL. I would be shocked and I would find it painful. Our OP has my heartfelt sympathy.

I'm a big fan of 'real-people' situations ... I read Ann Landers when I was a kid, and personal opinions have always been interesting to me. So I read reviews ... lots and lots of reviews. Cruises, hotels, Things to Do. The whiners and dopes are so obvious that it's easy to just move on. The 'gushing it's perfect' people are the same. I've learned to look at the type of cabin before reading the review ... interesting that the pax who pay the least for an inside cabin often find enjoyment in almost everything. Those in the expensive cabins are far more picky. But their opinions are very informative. By carefully reading many reviews of anything, I get a very clear picture. I think people who cruise need to realize just 'what they're doing'. You are a captive audience for the cruise duration. You're the only one who can make or break your experience. So seek out the good stuff, ignore or work around the negative stuff, and create a great experience. People who sit back and expect perfection on a cruise are bound to be disappointed.

River cruises are magic. But we've found out that more than one dining venue needs to be available for dinner. Can't bear a long meal in a stuffy huge noisy room every night.

What a great question! I want my water COLD. Probably throw a couple of smaller empty bottles in my suitcase.

Well, I've heard of them all. But why would I care about their relationship with water on a cruise ship?

Oh my, I'd never book any kind of cabin without a balcony, never gave this a thought. Thanks for this!

Triple LIKE! I hate phone trees.

I can offer this regarding predicted weather. I find out two months in a row and calculate the difference based on our trip dates. But I don't remember ever being anywhere in the Caribbean when it wasn't very warm. Often too hot for us.

The issue for some of us is that the cruise lines have our money ... they've had it for years. So we will cruise. Fortunately, we both just make the best of nearly any situation so we'll enjoy it. We've had two disasters with Viking and American Cruise Lines; otherwise we always manage to find the good parts of any trip.

I thought it was odd too. So I just ordered a case of water for the cabin outside all the rest of the packages.

Think about the 'wind factor' when underway.

And here I am thinking that booking a brand new ship in these virus hysteria times would be naive ... you had a great strategy and wound up a winner. Well done!

I just booked ShoreExes for a late September cruise. My husband is recovering from some surgery, so I read the cancellation terms and booked the excursions that we hope to take. I was unaware that they couldn't be cancelled online. I already have enough grief with United, Virgin and Delta with credits that must be dealt with on the phone. It is maddening. Does NCL answer the phone?

I know! It only takes a couple of encounters with people like that to make you swear to never, ever have any contact with them. Even without the segregation of The Haven, you can pick them out by the way they treat the crew. I prefer people who don't even know what a class system IS.

Oh dear, my TA wanted to know the dates of my birthday and our anniversary (the BIG 5-0) and I didn't even think about the foolish singing and fuss. Both fall within our Christmas cruise. A small cake or cupcake with a candle would be perfect to commemorate the occasion. Champagne and strawberries in the cabin would be even better. The rest is just embarrassing for anyone over the age of 12.

We like the buffet because we an eat small portions of things we like ... or large portions of things we REALLY like. We loathe sitting around for two hours having dinner. We like an early meal. The cost and the amount of food have nothing to do with this preference. A couple of nights we'll 'dress for dinner' and visit the MDR. Then it's special, not just an 'every-night' routine.

Oh, if the ship is staffed only by "Americans", NCL should have been able to predict that they wouldn't be able to fill all the jobs many months ago. That's a real fail on NCL's part.

This is just AWFUL. I totally empathize with your pain. They might state that they 'cancel those who booked last' but I can almost guarantee that they cancelled those who paid the least for the cruise. Absolutely awful, it's only human to think that the last 3 grueling years of constant disappointment are 'over', so this is a horrible shock. I am so sorry and hope that you'll be able to rebook something in the same timeframe.

Agree here too. I've run the numbers many times, and booking a mid-level cruise line is always a better buy for us. The amusing thing for us right now is NCL ... we decided to try to travel less expensively 3 years ago and booked a cruise Quebec to Boston on Gem. After many rebooks and cancellations, we have yet to cruise with NCL and we still don't know the results of our experiment! Perhaps the cruise on Pearl will go next month ... one can only hope.