Javacruiser

I'll be on the 12/4 sailing with my wife and 6 others. First time sailing out of Athens

We did the New Years cruise on Armonia and the only complaints I would have are the shower (Wish I had thought to leave it open) which seemed to be groping me and the food tended to be more "hit or miss" than I am used to. Actually, the food overall is not really a complaint ...... I only ate in the main dining room once, on the first night, .... and did not do specialty dining at all. That first night was not a good experience .... strip steak that appeared steamed and tiny wilted Caesar salad. I just couldn't bring myself to go back after that. The buffet for dinner was much better .... The carving station always had something good ..... Prime Rib night there was the best Prime Rib I had ever had at sea. Pasta selections were rotated every night and were always fresh and excellent and the rolls were as good as I have ever had on a ship. For lunch ..... Burgers were good .... Hot dogs were really good and pizza was very good when you were able to get it fresh .... which was usually not a problem. Go in with an open mind and you won't go hungry.

Staff was friendlier than I am used to .... especially at embarkation. Entertainment was very good and the ship was overall well laid out and in great shape. Lots of open deck space, staffing was friendly and very adequate .... just an overall good experience

For a smaller, older ship, I would consider it as good as any mainstream cruise line option and I would not hesitate to sail her again.

Just off Epic yesterday ..... There were no college games on Saturday when conference championships were on. There were plenty that were not happy with the soccer, cricket and other sports showing instead. The ship was clearly primarily Americans and it is baffling to me that NCL does not feel its necessary to offer more choices.

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Wanted an authentic OSJ experience & stayed at the Casablanca ...... Walked to the Carnival cruise dock easily from there and loved the place. Not fancy but has rooftop deck and bar with restaurant on site. Loved it!

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Been on over 20 cruises...... Did this one in August. I love sea days but this was my favorite itinerary I ever did.

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I was just on her last week...... Loved the itinerary and the ship was in great shape. I've sailed multiple times on each class of ship and there is less to do on the Fantasy class...... But I personally like them.

Is she a gambler? She would probably be able to make it 7-8 times out of 10. I would probably personally risk it if I didn't have another reasonable option but with the hour drive, everything need to go smoothly

Just off the Ruby Mexican Riviera cruise. We did ATD and we had a table for 4 each night. Always got there at open and got right in. Your service may be affected by others around you (big tables, high maintenance tables), especially on lobster night......... We found the early shows filled quickly. If we were there 30 minutes ahead we found 4 seats together but we had to get people to move around a bit. 40 minutes early we had no issues at all. If we had gone in 15-20 minutes early, it would have been slim pickings. Late shows were not as full and never an issue

Thanks for all of the great replies..... Now I need to decide

I'm looking at an inside cabin (P323) that is below the casino and near the Piazza. I'm not real sensitive to noise but if the area will have excessive noise from the casino or Piazza, I may consider moving elsewhere. I love the idea of being in the location because of proximity to the Piazza as long as the noise level is reasonable. Opinions from those who have stayed in cabins here will be appreciated. Thanks!

Thank you, Alex! My wife and I are taking our first West Coast -AND- first Princess cruise January 31........ Same itinerary on the Ruby.

We have sailed many times on Carnival in the Caribbean including several cruises on the "sister ships" to the one you will be sailing. You'll still have your seaside theatre but you won't have them waiting on you........ I'm a big Guys Burger fan. Love the burgers AND the fries they serve with them......... Half Moon Cay is my favorite "beach stop" in the Caribbean and Grand Turk isn't far behind. You won't have the history at these stops though, but you will have the history in San Juan.

Thanks again for the great review!

Thank you for the replies. We will be flying Southwest and be checked in ahead of time. We will do self assist and pack light........ and if we take the earlier flight, I'll probably arrange for private transportation ahead of time. I've had delayed arrivals into port and customs issues before so I am realistic and know I will be taking some risk......... My biggest concern was that Princess recommends 12:30 or later and I've never used LAX......... or sailed out of the port. Both of your responses are helpful, especially since both of you are relatively local and have probably been through the experience. If I do the earlier flight (still not going to commit) and we miss it, my wife will tell me I should have listened to SadieN!

Is an 11:30am flight on a Sunday too early for our Ruby Princess cruise? We have priority debark. All of our cruises have been out of Florida so we have never been to this cruise port or LAX. We currently have a 1:10pm flight with a connection..... we have an option for an 11:30 nonstop but don't want to take too large a risk of missing the flight. Thanks!

I just got off the Majesty yesterday. I submitted my review about an hour ago but it isn't published yet. I organized a group of 26 guys for a bachelor party at sea. There were a couple of other bachelor/bachelorette groups also and I expected it could be a wild cruise. There were a couple of bumps along the way that I had to take care of with my group and I was amazed at how the cruise never seemed to get out of hand with partiers. You'll see in my review that I was very pleasantly surprised in all aspects and hope to sail her again before she leaves the fleet next year.

I'm sure damn near everything has been answered on the board at one time or another, but thanks. I think

You need to understand that things NEVER change and you are expected to read ALL posts before asking a question! Darn newbies!;)

Where does it show the cash amount? Pc6.

 

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Don't think your PC6 will have casino cash but it will have a free inside cabin or minimal cost to upgrade. I just got PC4 with $300

I thought the boards were to help and if people just returned from a ship they know

the information . So sorry.

No need to apologize........ CCL has 2 different internet lineups on different ships right now so it's actually a timely question. I'm hoping the Liberty gets the new packages before my January cruise

Maybe not recently-- but every group cruise I have done I was NEVER able to price match. (or lose the amenities which at that time were worth keeping)

 

Group cruises cost more then what is being sold on their own web page-- maybe not a lot of money but the early saver rate will more be less then a group rate 9 times out of 10.

 

 

Java-- I'd be curious to know what part of this post has the loaded misinformation. I have done MANY group cruises up until 2 years ago when it became so not worth it any longer

 

The group leader is given choices to amenities- its up to the group leader if they want to share with the group or not.

Serene56....... You give a lot of good information in your posts and are very helpful. It's just that with groups, you can't really generalize so much. I, too, have been involved with many group cruises and I stay away from those that are as restrictive as those you describe. In a Carnival, non charter group, whether it is an affinity or promotional group...... "Generally" bookings can be made into group allocations, early saver, past guest and many other rate codes "without surcharge" and "without losing group amenities". In these cases there is really no downside as long as the agent is diligent in watching out for you.

If you come across a group that states "this is the rate", "this is what you get" and it can't be changed for any reason, chances are you are either booking into a group that is offering some really special perks -or- it's a group that is making someone else a lot of money....... So yes, the groups you describe do exist...... They are certainly not the "norm" though. If someone books into a group, they simply need to know what questions to ask to see if it's a good option or a ripoff

Booking with a group-- you are tied to that rate if the price comes down you are out of luck anyways.

 

Is this a group or chartered?

 

Booking with the group your booking is tied-- so until EVERYone pays you will not be able to print your own documents or luggage tags. All it takes is one person not paying on time

 

Group rates are now always higher then what you see on line-- you are paying for the "free" amenities

This post is loaded with general misinformation. In a typical group with Carnival, you "most often" will NOT pay more and you will "most often" get group amenities on top of "not typically paying more"..... Furthermore, you will still qualify for most other rate codes (ES, Past guest, etc.) and "most often" still get the amenities.

There are exceptions to this and there are some groups that will require you to book strictly in the group allotment without allowing you to book into ES or other codes..... but generally, this is not the case. I would not book into a group without researching how it is being handled first.

Serene56 is absolutely correct regarding "some" groups..... but not most.

I've stayed in 4J, deck 9 on the Breeze..... best cabin I've ever had. ...... and yes, they do go fast because many people know it's the best bargain on the ship

I strongly agree with Domino that a Carnival excursion would be advisable in Belize. That port is one where you don't want to hang around the port ........ Belize City is just not very inviting. On the other hand, Cave tubing and ruins in Belize are very interesting but both are a pretty lengthy drive over bad roads....... which is why a Carnival excursion would be best there. They won't sail without their excursion returning........... Xunantunich and Altun Ha should both be available with Carnival and both are very good choices

I've been to Coba as a tour in Cozumel and Altn Ha as a tour in Belize. Though I enjoyed both, if I had to do one of them again it would be Altun Ha.

As Tapi says, CCL says 12:50 is the earliest they will allow for their shuttles. They are being pretty cautious. We have flights at noon and 12:50pm for 2 future cruises...... Noon is cutting it a bit close but I'm not too worried about it

I just booked an 8 day pack & play for $428 total - balcony for 2 people incl all fees - $100 OBC. Great deal!

All of the info posted here is really true....... I have cruised Premier as well as several with a PTC offer but this Pack & Play is easily the best deal...... and the best cabins go FAST! Luckily, I check my number for promos daily & don't wait for the mail. When I saw the Liberty 1/16 was available and I could get a balcony for $429, I was all in...... I'm already on the Liberty 1/24 on a PTC offer so I have B2B casino cruises. I guess I'll be joining Sammee and gamblingrandma...... I'll be sailing with my wife on this one.

As for those asking what to do so you will get the offers...... I'll be honest with you, I am not a big gambler. I sail with other people who gamble far more than I do and they don't get the offers. I don't have a clue what a person needs to do because they seem very random