Shellygal

15 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Cruises should not return until every person has the opportunity to take either a vaccine or an equivalent in a pill form.

 

When will cruised return ? Probably sometime in 2021.

I’m with you! We have two BTB in the med, this late fall. Either way, not the best time to go abroad either. People over profit is my motto....

She’s lovely. So sad we didn’t get to board her.  I’m a crane orphan. 

Not sure if this has been posted yet.....

We are looking for the Greek islands cruises for spring 20. Just got off the allure and next cruise agent said they would not come out until November. Anyone know differently?

They!

Update!!

I booked a cruise for my husbands Christmas gift...thx to all your advice!

TA from Southampton to Florida!

Half price!

Got a major bargain!

October 2018!

Thx again for all your thoughtful words and sage advice!

Shelly

We have never had a bad cruise.

 

We have experienced a lot of bad things on cruises, mostly from fellow passengers and occasionally from crew/staff. We don't let any of it bother us. We have had outstanding meals, and meals that started out meh but we made better. Remember there is food everywhere if your MDR dinner was horrible don't eat it, and either order something else or go to the WindJammer.

 

It is possible to adjust the environment around you by just being friendly. Don't just walk up to a bar and show them your empty beer bottle (see this all the time). Walk up smiling and say hi, ask them about their day, tell them you are having a blast and thank them for being a part of it, then ask, "When you have a second I'll take another Dos Equis". Then, tip them afterwards (or don't if it isn't your thing). Don't reserve this attitude just for your servers, use it on all the crew and your fellow passengers.

 

I ignore all parts of reviews except those dealing with specific things about the ship. Half the seats in theater broken, Omelet station in WindJammer broken and it doesn't look like they are going to fix it any time soon, Sky Bar closed and boarded up. These are things that would make me rethink a cruise.

 

The food was awful (subjective), the shows were terrible (subjective), elevators crowded (ya think?), crew were rude (were they? or did you receive a legitimate "NO" to your request or was your request unreasonable).

Great perspective!

100% agree with you!!

I totally disagree with the negatives. We did the 9 day abc’s and loved it!

She is still a great ship!

Put a call in directly to your air carrier yourself using your confirmation number. In the event of an approaching storm, most major air carriers will let you go a day early (if they have seats) with no change fees. They would rather get you to your destination early then have to worry about re-arranging flights for you in the event of a cancelled flight.

Thx dj! I’m on it!

Yes....blizzard of the season here! I hope we get out. Called air2sea to see if we could get out earlier.....800 bucks....seriously?

Glad I could help. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be on vacation with your hubby:hearteyes: While it's wise to get maximum enjoyment for money spent, it's impossible to predict all the variables that can happen. As long as you go in with a good attitude everything else is either icing on the cake or a "learning experience" that you can laugh about together.

Perfect!

I need you as my personal motivator always!

Keep it coming!

It sounds like you are flexible on your dates - I wasn't sure if the cruise was to be during the holiday or as a Christmas present with a later date (I've known people to do that too, with a much later date). You've gotten some good advice already and I'll try to offer some points I didn't see:

 

Create a spreadsheet to compare your various options and include base price, beverage price - either package or just an estimate, excursions, etc. Sometimes a base fare can look cheaper until you see how much you need to add on for the experience you want.

 

Watch some YouTube videos or search here for reviews of specific ships that interest you. While a line can have a general "feel" it can vary greatly from ship to ship.

 

I'm not sure where you live, but think about if you are flying vs driving. If the budget is tight be sure to include hotel costs and air fair in your comparisons.

 

I've learned that generally I can have anything I want, but not everything I want. We like laid back atmsophere, good food, quality entertainment, some pampering, interesting ports of call, options on sea days, polite language and general respect between fellow passengers and crew, and a live and let live attitude toward others. We can find many but not all of these things on every ship we've been on. Figure what matters most to you and focus on meeting those points.

 

Hope that helps:)

What an amazing and thoughtful reply! Thanks so much! So many great points! You summed up a way to clarify my thinking!

Anyone have a favorite hotel to stay at in Miami pre cruise? If so why is it your favorite?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hands down....the Intercontinental!

You can see the ship across the bay.

Hotel done right!

Just went through this with a TA who promised us certain things for transferring our onboard bookings. They changed the perk #'s to half of quoted values after getting the bookings released to them.

 

It took a bit of time, but I called C&A for a little guidance, and the rep helped us through the process. The link given to you did not help us, but phone calls with C&A rep did the job, very helpful.

 

I agree with the OP in this instance. The TA(according to the OP) hasn't had to do anything but make the supplied reservation. In my case, I make my own bookings lately onboard and have 60 days to transfer them to TA. If after acquiring my bookings , the TA is unresponsive(timely) for any price drops or cabin openings(as posted 72 hours), they would loose my bookings.

 

We got away from one TA recently because she said to just email her cabin changes we were trying to get or price drops, too busy for phone calls. She said they would get back to me in a few days..................sorry to bother you, gone

 

We were also given this web address for RCI ( http://rccl.force.com/directtransfers/dttroyal )during the process.

I am learning so much from this discussion from all of you! I’m probably the most rookie cruiser here. But after all our cruising sand the same TA, we have never had any help. The only help we get is at the end...prior to our cruise....prints our luggage tags. No perks, nada, zero.

I think I shall book on my own from now on and transfer to a TA if I want. Great discussion. Sorry for everyone’s hassles.

Hi Shellygal,

I ran through the responses fairly quickly, so if someone has already mentioned this, I apologize. We have used the website mentioned in this cruise critic article https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5303(I hesitate to use their name, in case it falls in the category of advertising, even though they are not a travel agent). I have run across other cruise critic members who have also used them with good results, ...you might want to look them up. I even found my permanent travel agent using them.

Oh thank you!! Another great tip!

I've cruised with Princess over 40 times, and have never been dissatisfied with a ship, the accommodations, the food, the itinerary, excursions offered, entertainment, activity options, or service.

I feel Princess is a midrange line, price-wise.

The ambiance, IMO, is classy but not snobbish.

The majority of Princess ships fall in the "large" category, with one "small ship" (the Pacific, with 670 passengers), and 3 extra large new ships. My favorite is the smallest one, but I also have done a lot of my cruises on the "large" ones.

I tried Carnival once for a short Caribbean itinerary, and while it was "okay", I was not especially favorably impressed with anything about it.

Wow...great perspective. I’m searching them. The battle with all this research is finding “the right ship” also. Your opinion helps a ton! Thx so much!

We've cruised Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean, and recently tried Holland America. Have you checked out Holland America? They have a wide variety of itineraries.

 

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on a 14 day Alaska cruise and last December completed a Panama Canal Transit. Both were on Holland America and exceeded our expectations in every area. We came back feeling very happy and relaxed.

 

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. If you have time, check out the links below to my wife's website. Happy travels wherever you decide to go.

Awww, sounds like you had a wonderful 50th and a great December cruise! Nice!

I will do that....I’ll take a look at Holland..another cc gent suggested that as well.

Thx a ton!

Shall keep you all posted!

Keep the advice coming!

And I’ll check out your wife’s link!

Thank you for your paramedic work! As a retired ER RN, you have my highest respect.

I also would recommend either Princess or Celebrity. Princess might get the nod when it comes to activities and the perhaps slightly lower over all age of those on board. Celebrity, I think gets the nod on vessels (Equinox, Silhouette, Reflection) and generally on food - yes, that's subjective. You will generally find pleasant, well educated and traveled fellow passengers on both lines.

Have fun planning.

Procruise...

You had the hard job!! Respect to you!

Thx for the advice. Good insight....

You all have been so incredibly helpful!

I cannot thank you all enough!

I would be careful with newspaper travel agents - make sure they are legitimate and don't have a bunch of hidden fees.

Duly noted grams....thx!

If you are a member of a certain big box warehouse club (rhymes with bosco), they have great prices on their cruises and give OBC depending on the category you book.

Roger that....nowhiners!

Never thought of that either!

Thx!

Do you have a travel agent? They can search all the lines for the best prices. Tell them when and what you want to do and let them do the leg work. It doesn't cost anymore.

 

Also, in almost every major paper I've read, there are travel agencies always offering packages for cruises, all inclusives, etc. in the travel section. Many are part of a larger organization that buy blocks at a discount and sell them at a better price than you can get direct.

 

Just a suggestion.

Toyman...

We do have a travel agent....however we have never gotten a single perk. Great idea! Newspaper...here I come!

Thx!,

We really enjoyed our first Celebrity cruise - we were happy with an interior with a great price on the 14 day Southern Caribbean. Different than RCCL and we loved it. Food was very nice and without our kids we were fine without climbing wall, etc.

Sounds like another great idea to research!

Nice.....

Thanks!

Shelly, do you need all the bells and whistles of the mega ships and can you go on a 9/10/11 day cruise? If you don't and you can, you might want to look at RCI's Serenade of the Seas out of Fort Lauderdale and Navigator of the Seas out of Miami, cruising to the southern Caribbean in that time frame between Thanksgiving and mid-December.

 

We did the 11-night on Serenade this past December. The prices were very reasonable and the trip was wonderfully relaxing.

That sounds like a great option! We have done navigator once before and liked it. The length of the cruise would be perfect!

Thanks!

What do you all think of carnival?

The prices appear so much lower....

Or am I seeing things...lol

At any given time any cruiseline might perhaps have a "sale." Notice I put sale in quotes! Compare itineraries, size of ship, transportation to port, inclusions like drink packages, gratuities, etc. You might find the bottom line prices are more similar than you think. You mentioned having sailed RC previously, do you qualify for C&A discount - also there are sometimes discounts for specific jobs like firefighters/paramedics. Make sure to check all your options.

Grandma....

Great advice also.

Yes we are royal C&A peeps....

I hadn’t thought of that!

You all are so darn helpful!

I thank you all!

OP Shellygal (and Hlitner as well), in no way are you a "lowly" paramedic. You help save lives. I thank you for your service and I hope you find the perfect cruise for you and DH.

Awwwww....thanks!

We just care a lot about helping people at their worst.

A cog in the wheel....

Thanks!

Maybe Celebrity or Princess

If you do not need to go over the Christmas holiday then early Dec or early Jan are good prices usually

That is actually perfect timing!

Thanks!

Shelly