Sailing12Away

Our 2 most recent trips were both on the Joy in an HH cabin. The HH, HI, and HJ rooms are the best bets IMO. The room is huge compared to the courtyard rooms, balcony is twice as wide. Rooms are midship, and a short 2 flights up to the main Haven areas. So very easy to get to when you want to pop in for a snack, a drink, or to just enjoy the lounge. So bigger room for less money is a automatic yes from us. My only complaint with the HH rooms is the tub/shower combo. It's a really high tub wall to climb up and into (at least for us short folks). Always had to hold onto that old folks grab bar for dear life getting in and out. Much prefer the nicer shower only ones, but it's marketed as a family suite so I get it. Families want a tub for the littles. Save the money and spend it on wine tastings (the cellar master Ceclia is great, she'll teach you everything you could want to know), go karts, excursions, or anything. That's a lot of money just to be a smidge closer.

Surprised to see the shrimp & grits (or in my case, double andouille sausage & grits) didn't make the cut.

As for the picky eater part - I'm one of the biggest PITA when it comes to food and I do just fine. If it's listed on the menu, you can somewhat easily swap things around. At Le Bistro I like the sides and sauce for the veal - but refuse to eat baby cows. So they easily swap the protein out with a poppa cow instead for me. In the MDR, I've often ordered an appetizer from the kids menu, or asked them to hold certain veggies or swap them out for other ones that are listed under a different meal. If you're trying to ask for something not even listed, less chance, but if it's there under a different dish it's not too much of an ask for them to grab the mashed potatoes instead of the seasonal veggies for your plate.

My upcoming trip in September we have the shareholder OBC, plus another $1350 from a TA. So yeah...not sure about there being a $1000 max limit, but we're well above that and all my documents say it's there.

Pretty sure you still pick your own preferred check-in time around 21 days prior to boarding. So if you wanted a later time, but not the last possibly time, just remember to log into your account around 21 days before sailing and finalize your check in. We did POA pre-Covid and had a great time. Would gladly do it again and take the opportunity to do different things on the islands than what we did the first time around. The sail past the napali coast was a highlight, so if that is now gone that's a bummer.

With regards to the drink plan - the menus and offerings are posted all over the place here on CC. Did you review them first before deciding to get the package? Also don't go by what is listed on the menu. That applies to any cruise line. I too like a nice sweet moscato, but on RCC I had to ask at the wine bar to get anything even semi sweet. They had plenty of options - just none advertised. I know with NCL they do have a few good ice wines on the menu and possibly a gershermemerananeiernr (I have no idea how to spell it, but if you know what I'm talking about you know.). Talk to the cellar master, tell them what you like and they will offer you things that would be free in your package, and often let you taste ones that aren't. That extra $1-2 upcharge for the ice wine is worth it. Last trip on the Joy friends and I were looking for some good port to enjoy after dinner. There was only 1 listed on the wine menu, but they had about 3-4 options available. Especially if you're a Haven guest, just ask. If it's something they have, they will get it for you. If they don't - they will find the next best alternative. Ask your butler to bring you half & half to store in your fridge, ask and ye shall receive. Do nothing but comment/complain on FB & CC - and you'll get nothing but eye rolls or feigned sympathy/empathy from others. As for the internet - I've never heard anyone rave about internet speeds while at sea on any cruise line. Some are passable, some are better than others, but none will be similar to what you have on land.

The "best" ship 100% depends on the cabin you are looking to book, and what you find important to you. Not everyone cares about a sap - so ships that either don't have one at all or not a great one - that isn't in the books for those folks. Folks without kids, or folks who don't like to be big kids themselves - they don't care about ropes courses, go karts, laser tag, virtual reality, etc. There are some ships better than others based on the rooms. Solos - yeah, POA has I think 4 solo cabins. Whereas the newer ships give solo guests a separate lounge to hang out in and meet new friends. Folks who like to splurge on Haven - the jewel class ships technically have a Haven category, but I personally wouldn't pay extra for it going forward (except for those garden villas - which you can only find on the jewel class ships and now Prima). Star & Dawn have by far the best garden villas out there - so despite them being older and not great or new and flashy - if you're able to snag one of those villas it's your own private yacht with the amount of room they give you. So it honestly just depends on what you would find enjoyable and get use from. It's nice having options.

If you're looking at 2025, but the cabin you want now with the minimal deposit. If you have a cruise next certificate, even better as you can use that to reserve your cabin with no OOP expenses (depending on category of cabin booked). So long as you are before final payment, which for you would be sometime in 2024, you can reprice your cruise as often as you want with any new promotions that pop up which may be better. But if you wait to find one and miss out on a particular cabin or location you wanted, well that's on you. We always book as early as possible and I price check every few weeks. This gives us the cabin we want at the best possible price. I book with a number I'm comfortable with, and then sit back and use those 'savings' to book the next one after.

We've used the NCL air 6 times, our 7th is coming up in September. Only 1 issue where we almost missed the ship, and it was an airline issue not an NCL issue. The amount of money we've saved has more than made up for the stress of that day, which is why when the price is right we will continue to use them.

Last few trips have been on Local vs O'Sheehan ships, but the menu for the Local was paired down significantly. All the irish dishes are gone, along with many other of my favorites.

First trip with celebrity coming up in November and with all the reading I did, I thought I understood what comes with the premium drink package but now I'm confused again. We'll be in the retreat - so is the mini bar in the room included or not? I keep hearing different answers. Yes, sometimes I understand you may get something that you normally aren't 'supposed to' - but what is the official ruling? Are you able to get pitchers of juice or soda in the fridge if cans are 'not allowed'?

We booked our first Celebrity cruise for the Galapagos in 2024. Figured we should try a 'normal' Celebrity ship first for a realistic comparison between them and what we're used to (and enjoy) with NCL, so now we'll be on Summit in November this year. Everyone we talk to has an opinion as to which they think we'll enjoy more, but they're all swayed by what THEY find value in. Nickel & dime, nickel & dime.... fans of Celebrity love to throw NCL under the bus for that one. Again, we'll see for ourselves if there are any additional charges on our Celebrity trip, or if we enjoy the things that are included that we normally wouldn't choose to pay for with NCL. But on the surface level when adding in things which are important to us and looking at similar experiences (Haven vs Retreat) - NCL has always come in as the winner price wise. We're going into it thinking this is a Celebrity cruise and being open to the new experience - not with the intention of nit picking what is different from NCL and why one is better/worse than the other.

Are both legs the same length? It makes total sense to me that a move from an OV would be cheaper than a move from an inside, since the OV typically costs more than the inside. So the difference would be less on that one. It also depends on current remaining inventory. If they have 500+ inside rooms open, there's no benefit to them moving you from an inside to a balcony as no one will want your inside. But with the OV, if they get more money from you to move on up, that frees your OV room up for someone inside to move into that.

Oooh, you need to talk to those of us from the Joy who experienced the horrors of little "Ivy". Too young to know better (she turned 3 on that trip), so I fault the guardians more than the child. But yeah.... when the whole ship knows your kids name and warns others to come back later for meal time, it's a sign.

We did an 11 day southern caribbean cruise a few years back and brought back a ton of liquor. 2-3 bottles from each port. NCL took them from us when we got on board, then gave them all back the last night. Packed them all up and had no issues getting them on the plane and back home.

I'm new to Celebrity, have my first 2 trips with them booked for later this year and 2024 so trying to find out all the nuances and tips/tricks with sailing with them. "Suites Access" - is that for non-Retreat guests to be able to utilize the Retreat only areas? For our upcoming Thanksgiving trip, hubby & I are in the Retreat, MIL is by herself in the Retreat, and another family member is considering tagging along but on the fence about Retreat pricing. If it's possible for them to pay for the pass at $400 to sit on the sundeck with us at eat at Luminae, that is certainly a better option for them than the 2K+ it would cost to join MIL in her room.

Call me silly, but what about this bar right here to drape them over? Again, call me silly - but I would prefer a 4 person shower to a walk-in closet every day of the week. Between closets and drawers, I put my stuff away and otherwise use that space for 5 mins a day. But a nice car wash shower - I would stay in there forever if I didn't have anywhere else to go. Lucky for you, I have a good record of finding good deals for other people so I can live vicariously through them with my lack of PTO to go myself.

Our first Celebrity (Summit) trip is coming up later this year. Even on non-Chic nights you're saying that shorts/t-shirts are not permitted in the MDR? Well that's concerning. Our first Celebrity trip will be a 4 night Thanksgiving cruise. But you saying it felt more like RCC and not saying Carnival at least eases my mind a bit. We're fine with a less posh experience so long as it doesn't become spring break chaos.

https://www.bike.nyc/events/td-five-boro-bike-tour/

Maybe I read it wrong, but the 35% off promo is actually 35% off both guests 1 and 2. So it's actually 70% off in total which is bigger than 50% off (assuming they haven't first raised prices before giving the bigger discount, which they're notoriously famous for).

Are you cruising solo? The BOGO deal is a bit different if you don't have a 2nd airfare getting added on. But regardless of what deal you're seeing, if it's a legit NCL promo you should be able to book it yourself online without having to talk to anyone. If it's not a legit NCL promo and it's a travel agency, just be weary.

Yesterday we hit the 70s here, and today will be similar. So even though you got drenched coming in, at least we're giving you a proper send off back home. Thanks for taking us along on your journey.

Not sure what point you're trying to make there... you're comparing apples to polka dots to June 2nd. If you had said a 7 day land tour of Italy with some meals was 13K vs an all inclusive luxury hotel in Italy for 7 days is 8K vs a the 7 day Mediterranean NCL cruise is 4K - that I can follow. And anyone dropping 13K on a land tour needs to come talk to me and give me that money instead. Our first NCL cruise was the Mediterranean one with 2 days pre in Rome and 7 days post in Venice/Florence. For 3 people with flights and everything all in we didn't come anywhere close to that price. It was closer to 7-8K for the group.

Thank you, good to know. I have a more lowbrow palette, so knowing there will be options beyond the standard Luminae menu is a plus. With NCL Haven they were begrudgingly willing to get food from the MDR and didn't make it an easy process so I often reverted to the kids menu instead for a more simple meal at times.

Liquor, Le Petit Rothchild, Louis XIII Last trip hubby bought a watch the last night of the trip when things were discounted.