tscoffey

Well, the available excursions have finally posted on MSC for the stop in Vik. Not too many choices. RIB boat ride for 2 hours - $204 per person? A "walk in Vik" for $107? (I think I can walk for free).

I wonder if she sports that "We heart Alaska" on her bow when she is cruising New Zealand/Australia/Far East itineraries.

Well, I would argue that money spent on raising children generates a return many times over. Money spent on alcohol is money that literally is placed down the toilet. So no, your comparison is not at all valid.

But the specialty restaurants are also an elective charge, since the base cruise fare includes all food in the MDR, and buffets, etc.. One can easily go without that extra charge (the same as going without the extra charges for alcohol).

I was on a HAL ship (Westerdam) in Alaska. HAL is traditionally a 50+ clientele, which was definitely the case for our cruise. BB King blues club was still going most nights until 11:45PM. Not sure when the casino closed, since I don't gamble. I would imagine a Princess, NCL, or RCCL ships would be at least as busy at night, if not more. And in general, Alaska cruises aren't where the young party-boozer crowds tend to go to. They want sun, fun, sand, and all that - which definitely isn't Alaska. Plus, Alaska cruises tend to be longer, and cost more - making them more of a disincentive to the party crowds (who normally want shorter cruises, and have less money to book with). Alaska is insanely nice. You won't believe the scenery. Watching a glacier calve icebergs is an astounding experience. Seeing a whale come up out of the water is amazing. Get a balcony stateroom. Bring a good camera. The port towns are all quite small (of course - Alaska is the least populous state), so everything is more easy going in them.

Well for starters - cruise prices are very competitive when compared to hotel, travel, food, when going to the same places. But none of these are as vastly overpriced as the alcohol is. If they priced the food on the cruise ship the same way they priced the alcohol, much fewer people could afford to go. So they purposely price the alcohol at a much higher level in comparison, and yet people still give them their money. I just wonder why.....

When I asked this question in another topic, it really hit a nerve with some people..so I thought I would ask it here instead. The cruise lines charge extremely large amounts of money to buy alcohol. In some cases these drink packages can add 50-60% (per person) in addition to the cost of your stateroom. Why are you willing to pay so much for something you don't even need? Why not save all that money for another cruise? It seems to me that they're exploiting you, and you just go along with it.

My goodness, I ask one simple question - (Why do you continue to buy something you don't need if you're going to constantly complain about it ?)- and some people react like a fragile 17-year old boy after his first beer, perceiving that his manhood has just been questioned.

Oh now, that's just silly. We could dine together in the main dining room and I wouldn't care the least what you were drinking. Now, should you decide to complain about the price of your glass of wine, or beer, cocktail, or liquor, you will forgive me if I indulge my curiosity a bit and ask you the logical question, "So why are you paying for it?" (all while sipping my complimentary iced tea, and yes, with a wry smile). Look, if you're going to participate in the pricing game the cruise lines have, where they know that you -- 1) have much disposable income (hey, you can afford to cruise, right?) 2) like most people, grew up socialized to expect alcohol 3) have no other recourse to get it, except through them -- then you can hardly complain when they do the obvious thing and attempt to monetize the situation by vastly overcharging for it. (The top tier drink package on my next 14-day cruise is 60% of what I paid per person for a balcony. All that extra money to essentially stress your liver and kidneys, and make your urine smell funny. Oh, and the hangovers, or worse. I can take an entire extra cruise every 2 years for that price!) Look, the logical response to the situation is simple: Don't participate in the game. But if you do, don't expect too much sympathy when you complain about it. Don't get upset with me for pointing all this out to you. I just figured out by age 15 that growing up and being an adult doesn't have to include alcohol. But I admit I thought differently than my peers.

I continue to be bewildered over all the lamenting cruise travelers constantly have, simply because they allow others to exploit their groomed and socialized "need" for alcohol. The subsequent massive overcharges for it should surprise no one. Just go without it

I found Ocean Cay to be quite relaxing. It doesn't have the water parks, zip lines, etc., but that is the point. (Nor does it have the $$$$ costs that go with those kinds of attractions). It has many beaches of various types, and crowd sizes. There is a large lagoon beach, as well as more secluded beaches on other sides. Yacht Club has their own dedicated beach, as one would expect. You can be as busy or as restful as you choose. There is a large section off to the left side (from the dock perspective) that appears to be in the planning stages still. I can't find any references to what might be planned there.

How was this only $26? On Divina in March it was quite a bit more.

Done, and it did.

Would that be called the, “Have It All Back” package?

I booked my 2nd MSC cruise for July, on Fantasia to Norway. I have some advantages over most cruisers, in that I don't drink alcohol. And quite frankly, the #1 complaint I read on these forums is about alcohol: The cost. The availability. The quality. (Hey, just try going without it for even 1 cruise, and save all that money! You don't need it to have fun, fit in, or socialize). Also, I'm not real big into specialty dining - although I'll take good Italian when I can. So only having Butcher's Cut or Sushi as specialty options isn't a big deal to me. Finally, I can't afford - nor likely would even care for - all the extra pampering, room cleaning, salutations in Yacht Club. I just don't need to pay so much extra to feel that special. (We first tried MSC on Divina to Central America. It was great, and well worth the money I paid). The reason why I chose MSC for Norway (and the Baltics - 14-day, B2B) is that they can get me around there for about $500-600 less per person that NCL, HAL, etc. And since I go to Norway for the views and photo potential, paying extra for that makes no sense.

I was lucky and did my upgrade a few hours/days before the last balconies were gone. Had I waited for the bid upgrade email to arrive in maybe 2 months (if it would even be sent), I would have likely missed out - unless there were cancellations in the interim.

I was planning to try to bid for a balcony (from an ocean view) on the 14-day Norway/Baltics cruise on Fantasia. I kept watching it to see how much it was filling up. Good ol' Fantasia was getting her belly full pretty quick! I really wanted that balcony for Norway, and it looked like they were all going to be taken soon, so I decided to just pay the difference and upgrade, without waiting on a bid opportunity.

The beaches are very rocky, unless you know someone in the military and can get onto one of the Key West Naval Air Station bases (our daughter was USAF). They have some nicer, sandy beaches. There are many, many B&B places with pools. We stayed at one called Azul Key West on Truman, for about $300 per night around Memorial Day.

Perhaps Lincoln Center is having issues supplying sufficient talent? On Westerdam last summer they had 4-5 string players, and a pianist. Maybe players of sufficient caliber aren't too interested in a cruise ship contract? (Might not be a good look on a resume if you plan to be a paid performer in a good symphony).

If I add in the ATH-ROM flight to a multi-city search, the price jumps from around $900 person to $1500. ($600 extra for what is maybe an $80-140 one-way flight) Not sure if I am adding the flight incorrectly, or if 3-flight multi-city itineraries just work that way. I searched using similar weekdays in February, 2024, , and flight intervals, since flights in early April, 2024 are not yet available.

Already grabbed 5 nights at the Hotel Lancelot. Walkable to most places east of the Tiber, as well as Termini for train trip to Naples/Pompeii.

Celebrity Infinity, medium sized ship 2100-2500 passengers. We will not be in a preferred class for disembarkation.

I had no idea whether or not my May 27th cruise would have been impacted eventually, so I just decided to switch away from Japan and over to Greece, and pay the $200 charge. Too much to worry about with this situation. Plus, the money we will save on airfare ($400-500 each), Tokyo hotels for 5 nights before/afterwards ($700-800), and very expensive shore excursions, allows us to have 3 extra days pre-cruise in Athens, plus 5 extra days post-cruise in Rome. And, the replacement Athens/Israel/Egypt/Turkey cruise is almost 2 months earlier (early April versus late May) than the Japan cruise was. There’s also the fact that my wife has been putting the bug in my ear that she wants to see visit Israel soon. I’m more than happy with this decision.

Divina

So I travel light. I cannot justify bringing a 64 oz water bottle with me. Who says the 64 oz bottle has to leave the ship with you? Just pitch it before you disembark.