CruizinSusan70

Was recently on the Oasis OTS and had the pleasure of drinking through a biodegradable plastic like straw from a company called Strawfish. Now why can't Carnival get these instead of the stupid flavored ones that taste like crap and melt. https://www.strawfish.co/our-products

We are on the 10/31/22 sailing of the Prima.

So, how do you take your 1942?

First world problems. Guess that Norway must be like Cozumel for Caribbean cruisers.

Are reservations still open at 90 days? Had read somewhere it was now 120, but I can't reserve dining or shows and I'm currently at 107 days.

Did the Vibe on the Escape two different sailings back in 2018 and had a blast. You'll just have to decide which is more important to you, but either way it's relief from the kiddies that like to take over hot tubs and run rampant. It's when their parents take a vacation from parenting. It's a 24/7 job for 18 years and if they parents want a break then they should leave the kiddos home with their grandparents and not let them run loose since they are in a finite area on a cruise ship.

And the drinks there are included if you have the drinks package. It is the place to relax and get away from unruly rug rats and mingle with adults. Have been there multiple times on the Escape and looking forward to 11 days on the Prima at Halloween. After breakfast, you start with some Grey Goose Bloody Mary's, continue with various adult beverages throughout the day and about 5:00, it's time for Shot O'Clock. Mini Beers anyone?

That's a bargain. It's 289 pp on our 11 day Prima cruise, along with the Donna Summer Musical, the Noise Boys, Top notch Standup, Game Shows, Prima Theatre, Sensoria at the Club, Improv at Sea and finally VIP Experiences. Looks like it's going to be a large sail n sign bill at the end of our 11 days.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Worked like a charm. Went on my PC, followed the steps you said and I made my seat request on the Princess website and then confirmed that they went through onto the AA website and everything is a go. I now can just wait to make final payment at the end of February.

These seats were booked through EZAir, they are true AA flights, a non stop from PHL-SEA 3 days before our cruise. The CSR was from both EZAir and also AA. The CSR from EZAir said to contact AA and the CSR from AA said I could pick seats online, which I can't do. The record locator is attached to my AAdvantage account, which is nice, but I need two seats together before final payment, which isn't until the end of February.

I will keep monitoring the seat selection and hopefully there will be two together right after final payment is due. This way I will be able to pay for everything with my gift cards and save 93 bucks on the one way EZAir flights on our outbound.

Either the Edge Class on Celebrity, especially the new Beyond or upcoming Ascent, or pick one of the newer MSC ships and stay in the Yacht Club, which is very similar to the Haven, but at a better price point. Their newest ship is the MSC World Europa which debuts in December and will be 205 K tons.

But because of that you pay dearly for it because of no competition. At one point NCL had three ships doing Hawaii, but because of demand and lower profits, the bean counters decided to cut back to only one ship. It's an older ship with an American crew. I don't think the all American crew would bend over backwards for you like a normal crew would, but that's just my opinion. Have been to Hawaii 6 times with land vacations between 1985 and 2007 and enjoyed each trip, so I'm looking forward to getting there via cruise ship. Possibly in 2024 or 2025.

I would choose the Celebration, which is the second ship in the Excel Class which starts this November and embarks from Miami. This way you can fly into either MIA or FLL The Excel Class on Carnival has been a game changer for them. I predict the Prima Class will be a game changer for NCL, especially with the way that bookings have gone for them so far.

Just went online as well as on the app and it looks like seats can't be picked until they are paid for and ticketed on American. Has anyone been able to get their seat choice before making final payment? I would hate to have reserved seats in the system but not together if I can't choose them until after final payment is made. I was on the phone with a CSR today and she said to do it online, but I'm not able to.

Update. Bookings opened up today on EZAir even though bookings for our return flight opened up yesterday with the airlines. I smartly put a 24 hour hold yesterday on our flights that I want. With regards to our return flight, I snagged seats three and four yesterday and 24 hours later 8 out of the 16 business class seats are gone on the first leg from Vancouver to Dallas on American. With regards to pricing, I was able to get tier one directly with American, which was only available for the first 4 seats up front. The price was 606 pp. When I went back to see if the price was still the same, it had jumped to 821. Pricing through EZAir was 706. I was very surprised that the flexible pricing was cheaper than the restricted. So, I ended up going with my own reservation since it was 100 pp cheaper. The outbound flights are non stop to Seattle a few days before the cruise since we'll be visiting my daughter in law. The flexible first class seats were 546 on my own, but only 465 through EZAir, so I ended up going through EZAir since they were 89 pp cheaper. Don't have to pay for them till final payment is due, so hopefully the entire amount (1 way air + cruise fare) will be lumped together and I can pay for it with my gift cards.

One cruise out of ten on Carnival and you paint the entire line with a wide brush. Go on one of their Excel Class ships, the Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral or the upcoming Celebration out of Miami later this year or the Jubilee out of Galveston next year and your opinion will certainly change.

If there are cruisers that normally get Vibe passes under the old method they should at least be aware of CC or FB groups that would be discussing the new availability method. If they're clueless about these marketing venues, then they have nobody to blame but themselves if they come up empty when it comes to obtaining passes.

Med cruises are very port intensive and you may not get the value out of booking Vibe passes. Just like Alaska and Canada cruises are colder so once again, where's the value? Caribbean and transatlantic cruises would give you the most value.

Just snagged two passes on the 11 day repo cruise on the Prima over Halloween from Galveston to Miami @ 289 pp.

Just got my confirmation for Vibe for the two of us on the 11 day repo cruise on the Prima over Halloween from Galveston to Miami. 289 pp. Better value than 229 for the 7 day version.

No problem, just paying it forward.

Just to give you a heads up, in August of 2022 and 2023, the Celebrity Summit is scheduled to do a Bayonne to Iceland and Iceland to Boston B2B sailing, stopping in Canada, Greenland and Iceland. Assuming it may do it again in 2024, it could be something you may be interested in, whether as a one way 12 day from Reykjavik to Boston or a B2B 24 day cruise starting in Bayonne.

OP....what is more important to you the ship or the ports? And what type of ships have you sailed on the past, newer larger ones or older smaller ones? The Diamond is an 18 year old ship that has the medallion technology, but it's still an 18 year old ship. It's not like there's going to be USB plugs in your cabin. The only thing it has going for it is that the ports are unique and that would be the ONLY reason to choose it over the Discovery. Spent 14 days on the Discovery in April on the third and fourth sailings and had a blast. There's a line in the sand with many Princess cruisers, those that prefer the older rust buckets that hate the Royal Class ships and those that like the more modern ships. Those that hate the Royal Class will have major conniptions when the Sphere Class comes out at 175 K tons.

Spent 12 days recently on the Oasis after spending 14 on the Mardi Gras earlier this year. The Oasis was OK, but it's a one and done. Even though it was amplified, it's still a ship that is 13 years old and is showing it's age and doesn't have the modern touches of recently built ships. Haven't written RCI off since we have a sailing on the Anthem next year and a B2B on the Wonder in 2024.