tonyfall1

I am looking at booking an MSC cruise for early next year. I have narrowed it down to a similar itinerary on either the Seascape or Seaside. Prices are the same. I know the Seascape is newer but it is also quite a bit larger. It will be just me and my wife, we are in our late 50's. We sailed on the Meraviglia 2 years ago and liked it. We would prefer lesser crowds and kids if at all possible, so I was leaning towards Seaside since it is smaller, but the newness of the Seascape is also appealing, or am I just splitting hairs lol.

Hello, I am looking at booking my first Carnival Cruise for February 2025. I have done 1 NCL last year and an MSC the year before. Both of those were Western Caribbean. They were both pretty good. I am trying to decide between the Easter Caribbean cruises below. 8 days on the Magic or 7 days on the Celebration. The prices are the same. We are a couple in our late 50's, prefer to not have a ton of kids but understand that may not be avoidable. We went to Nassau last year and have been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten but that was more than 20 years ago. 8-Day Eastern Caribbean from Miami, FL Carnival Magic Start: Miami > Amber Cove > San Juan > St. Maarten > St. Thomas > End: Miami 7-Day Eastern Caribbean from Miami, FL Carnival Celebration Start: Miami > Grand Turk > Amber Cove > Nassau > End: Miami

I don't think this is just affecting the cruise industry. My wife and I enjoy going out to eat regularly. Almost every restaurant we have gone to the prices are way up and the quality is way down. It is very noticeable. Almost to the point where we may stop going out. Also some of the grocery products the quality is down.

Hi All, I'll be taking my first NCL cruise on the Breakaway on 2/18/2024. I see a lot of reviews saying that it is very difficult if not impossible to get into many shows and venues even in the main atrium. I was wondering if there are any tips or tricks you could share or shows and venues I should not miss. I have already reserved Burn the Floor, but I am not able to reserve any other shows.

Just wondering what everyone brings on excursions. I would like to bring the least amount of things as possible. Was thinking cruise card, cash, credit card and phone. Do I need to bring my license or passport? I would prefer not to.

Yeah we are flying in a day early to enjoy NOLA.

I thought of another one. What time does the pool open? I am an early bird usually up by 6 am ET. Wondering how early I can go and get a chair by the pool. I'm not a chair hog just an early bird so wondering what time I should get out there.

Thanks for the answers. How important is it to check in as early as possible on the 21st day? I already have a room assigned. Is it just for people that are waiting for a room to be assigned? I ask because I belong to a Facebook group for this cruise and they are all saying they are staying up late to make sure they can check in immediately. Not sure of the urgency of checking in.

Hello All, My wife and I will be taking our first NCL cruise on the Breakaway next month. I've read through the forum and got answers to most of my questions but I am still a little fuzzy on a few things. 1. I have the FAS package and we each get 150 minutes of wifi. I will upgrade one of us to unlimited. It sounds like it is best to do this on the second day on the ship as opposed to ahead of time? 2. How to book shows? Sounds like I have to do this onboard. Doesn't look like I am able to do this ahead of time. 3. Where to eat the first day? We hope to board around noon. Sounds like I should do one of the MDR's cause O'Sheehan's and buffet will be packed. 4. How much can you eat in the MDR's? We're not huge eaters but just curious if you can order multiple entrees, apps or desserts or is it limited somehow. Thanks.

Hello, I booked my first NCL cruise for February using the BOGO airfare. I am pretty happy with my flights, they booked me on United. They booked me for economy which is fine. There were numerous seats for economy for my return flight which I was able to pick the seats we like. For our flight to MSY there are numerous seats available but they are all either economy plus or premium, there are no economy ones to select. I assume we will just get one of the economy plus seats if we take no action and there are no economy seats to select.

We are hikers and like to get lots of miles in a day. Particularly while cruising since we will be overindulging.

Oh thanks.. that's good to know.

Maybe my wife and I can share one of the 150 minutes until that is almost gone and then upgrade the second 150 to unlimited. We would use it primarily on sea days. We have 4 port days.

It looks like according to google maps the walk from the port to Mahahual Beach would be short using a dirt road that is close to the coastline. But everything I map to walk to Mahahual Beach takes me through paved roads through town which seems to double or triple the walk. Has anyone done the walk along the coastline?

Hello, I am doing a cruise with stops in Cozumel, Roatan and Costa Maya. I plan on doing excursions in 2 of the ports and plan to just walk around in one of the ports. I will be docked at Punta Langosta. I have been to Cozumel once before and did an excursion to Chankanaab. I have not been to the other 2 ports. Which port is best to just walk around in and perhaps skip the excursion? I am thinking Cozumel might be the best for that? I plan on probably doing the sloths in Roatan and a beach day in Costa Maya.

I shopped all of the lines and NCL had the cheapest price. They were even cheaper than MSC. When shopping the packages the FAS seemed like a great deal. I know it's not "free" and doesn't include the service charge, but it cost me and my wife $328 total, or $164pp for unlimited drinks, some wifi and one specialty dining plus $50 off per excursion. Even if you factor in the $20 service charge it comes out to $304pp all in. That seems like a pretty good deal. I also got the BOGO airfare. I don't want to go down that road lol. My flight is only a couple hours and I am flying in a day early. That saved me $700 as well. I also got the cruise first certificate for a down payment which saved $150. When I was crunching the numbers between lines, NCL came out significantly cheaper.

It should be changed to Benjamin'ed and Grover'ed.

Yum, I love Indian food so that is a bonus.

Not being loyal to any cruise line. I based my decision strictly on which line was giving me the biggest bang for the buck. Comparing all of the main stream lines it ended up being NCL when I factored all in costs and it wasn't really even close. MSC was the closest and I cruised with them last year, they were ok, but NCL certainly gives you more than MSC did and it was cheaper.

Thanks .. to me it doesn't seem like totally unexpected costs, but I am somewhat of a novice cruiser.

Thanks, yeah most of the stuff I am seeing is not stuff I would necessarily expect to be free. Doesn't seem substantially different than some other lines. Maybe a few things.

I haven't booked yet I need to wait till next week. In order of preference just from reading things. I think: 1. Cagneys 2. Moderno 3. Teppanyaki

Hello, I will be taking my first NCL cruise in February on the Breakaway. I have done one Princess over 20 years ago and MSC last year. I have been doing a lot of reading to familiarize myself with NCL. A common theme I read on all of the different sites or see on Youtube is how they nickel and dime you once they get you onboard. They don't necessarily provide a lot of examples, other than Starbucks or water which are non issues for me. I have the FAS package, I have booked my excursions prepaid all of my gratuities and service charges, upgraded 1 internet to unlimited.. I am not really into laser tag or things like that. It seems like I have pretty much paid for everything I would want to do or be interested in. I can't think of anything else I would really need. What kind of nickel and diming is everyone referring to? Thanks.

I am reading the terms and it sounds like it can be used at the Casino? " It may not be used toward onboard service charges or prepurchased activities."

Thinking about buying stock for the $100 obc for by Breakaway cruise in February. I have purchased the FAS. My question is I would probably use it to upgrade my wifi or put it towards and excursion. My price right now to upgrade to unlimited internet is $109 which doesn't seem bad and the excursions seem reasonably priced right now as well. If I wait to upgrade or purchase once onboard will the prices increase significantly. I have heard that could be the case. Not sure if it makes sense to buy the stock if it ends up being basically a wash.