Miss Ellsworth

Definitely smaller ships. I really want a lido/promenade deck that lets you walk all the way around the ship, fairly near to the water. One of my favorite cruise traditions is to make 4-5 circuits of the ship immediately after dinner. Many of the newer/larger ships have done away with this deck (not sure about all of them). I don't want to walk a circuit on a top deck jogging track or in a straight line back and forth or behind lifeboats on lower decks I also think that the smaller ships may be or feel less crowded. Maybe they're not so heavily booked, or maybe the design doesn't allow facilities to grow at the same rate as passenger capacity. It seems like complaints about lines come disproportionately about larger ships Finally, while the larger ships add lots of clubs and dining options for adults, their biggest change has been the family and kid friendly activities - from race tracks to bigger arcades to laser tag to cool slides to swings and roller coasters and who knows what all. The smaller ships like Jewel class and smaller must look like absolute bores to those looking to book a family event that their kids will love. Bottom line is that I prefer a quieter and more relaxing cruise. Having a promenade deck and maybe less press of people and fewer kids all contribute to that for me. My favorite cruise by far has been a TA on the Star that was just over half booked. So there may be a division along the lines of preference, like more action and buzz = larger ships, more laid back = smaller ship. Of course, this isn't mutually exclusive. Lots of clubs and nightlife on smaller ships and definitely quiet corners on larger ships, but I think the premise holds overall

I think it was Confucius who famously said "never fly the day you sail." 😁

It drives me to drink that they can't list transfers without flight info! I did what a subsequent poster suggested and entered any flight number, but that's a very irritating change from how NCL used to display transfers I've used the NCL xfers for port-FCO twice now, and they're pretty nice. Comfortable, a little guide narration on the way For my last trip through there, NCL offered a separate xfer for ppl with later flights that was a really good option. They drove you through Rome, gave you short free time at a few locations, etc. They gave us a few hours on our own at Vatican City, and that's how I most unexpectedly got to see St Peter's Basilica (the line was pretty short that day). The Basilica was one of the best unexpected surprises in all of my cruising. I completely loved it, but had no particular interest in it before then and would never ever have seen it if not for the NCL "extended" transfer for later flights.

I happened to be watching the Miami port live camera feed on YouTube (for no other reason than that i saw it and thought "huh. I wonder what that is") at about that time yesterday. Maybe 5:00 or so. It was busy with cruise ships! There was one the has cleared the channel into the ocean and was traveling north parallel to the shore, visible behind and between the buildings. That was a monster ship! There was another that was in the channel and headed out - that was also decent sized Three were at the pier when I started, but two moved into the channel in the first 10-15 minutes I had it on. I think one was Icon of the Seas and the other Carnival Magic? Couldn't read them well, and I was just kind of idly (but with strange fascination that this is even a thing) keeping an eye on it as I got ready to go out Then there was one still at the pier, black between the water line and deck, maybe like HAL but I couldn't tell. That one hadn't moved when I left at about 530 I don't see how the terrible weather could affect only one of those ships. And maybe they can't just tell port control to let the next guy skip ahead in the departure line so they can wait for late pax. If they all had some level of ppl arriving late, there may have been no way to untangle the departures to accommodate Although ... I forgot to turn the TV off, so the Livestream was still on when I got home at 9:00ish, and those docks were all completely empty as was the channel. So maybe they all could have waited ETA: It's about 12:30 pm today, and it looks like there may be seven of them docked. Busy port!

I'm on the same Epic TA in October, and it does hit everything on my checklist for a TA!

This bottom is currently the subject of discussion in the air travel industry, particularly among flight crew and gate agents. Passengers want to lobby the employees close to boarding-door-closing time to give them first-class upgrades for a song. They suggest, in that moment, that the airlines should be economically literate enough to know that their low-ball offer should be accepted because of "sunk costs". Nope. The employees then go online and laugh. Sometimes it is indeed more profitable, long-term, to let a first-class seat (or cruise cabin) go unoccupied than it is to let someone sit in it for a ridiculously low price. They have to preserve the sense among customers that these spaces have enhanced value, and giving them away just to get "more than zero" will ultimately lead to changed perceptions of value and even expectations that they will be cheap or free (as with airlines no longer giving away most of the FC cabin for free via upgrades, even if it means empty seats.) And honestly, if pricing is still in the thousands the night before sailing, it's very possible that the ship is at high capacity. I think the ships are pretty good at pricing at the best price they think they can get and will continue to adjust that *subject to a floor price*, up until sailing

At least they didn't call them "steerage".

You were right - those cannolis were hammered! Even powdered sugar couldn't have hidden that

What time was your sail-away? If boarding was congested at 2:00, how far ahead of departure was that? I have a sailing in April and am in a conference until noon (15 minutes from the port) and thought I'd get there at around 1:00 for a 4:00 departure

The NCL site does not show a TA for Epic in April or anytime this spring. Def sold out. Egads. I'll be watching with fingers crossed that my October TA doesn't disappear from the NCL site sometime in September.

My fall TA is also on the Epic. I'm very interested to hear all of you report on how crowded the ship was when sold out with whatever mix of solos. I think the small silver lining is that a TA may my less likely to have a lot of triple and quad bookings with fewer families My second-hand take on the Epic is that it's not particularly well designed for either lots of people inside or lots of people outside. It's kind of crowded no matter what, especially now that pretty much everyone on the ship is lining up at bars for their free drinks. I've never booked a Thermal Suite and have never had the slightest interest in it, but I booked it this time for October so I have a less crowded place to escape to. I'm also buying two bottles of wine in Rome and then 1-2 in the Azores to bring aboard so I can have a quiet drink on my balcony without having to wait in what I understand are very long bar lines to do it Good luck on your upcoming Epic TA. I hope it goes well!

I'm on a TA later this year and booked with some trepidation about crowding. My last TA was in 2016 and sailed at 50%. A full TA is a very different thing than a less-full TA If they're full now, maybe it's temporary pent-up demand or maybe it's that people are finding out about them. But whatever the reason, a crowded ship seems like a bigger problem on a TA because it's a lot of days to be penned up with a gazillion other people and few to no port days as relief from the constant congestion. Maybe demand will cycle as crowds discovering TA's stampede en masse onto the ships until word gets out that TA's suck because the ships aren't really made for 6-8 consecutive days of crowding, and the crowds stampede right back out I'm going to mitigate against my sailing being full by booking a Thermal Suite pass and specialty dining every night

That should definitely be warm enough while you're in the Miami area and beyond. It may even be good throughout. I went once in April, and the weather didn't turn really cool until we got past the Azores (we were eastbound) and into northern Europe. You may have nice weather for longer in May

Thanks much! Exactly what I was looking for. I'll take the 1:00

I almost always do DIY, including taking a train from Alexandria to Cairo for $12 each way in first class rather than book the $600 NCL excursion. I have two exceptions: As noted above, if there is a long over-water haul to the next port, take the NCL excursions. I'm on a westbound TA this fall, and in the Azores I will get off the ship and walk Ponta Delgada, staying in walking distance. If I want to see more of the island, I will take an NCL tour. Last time in Azores I walked PD. But no way no how can I miss the ship leaving Ponta Delgada, because if I do, my cruise is literally over - next stop is Florida Second exception is when embarkation port doesn't have hotels and is far away. I'm out of Rome for the third time this fall, and I will absolutely take the NCL transfer on the hour+ drive from Rome to the port. Same reason. Uber or private bus gets a flat, the ship goes without you. NCL vehicle gets a flat, they wait. That is much more important on embarkation and on stops with several sea days following

Hi all, I've never sailed Carnival before nor in or out of the Tampa port. So I have two questions: If I leave a meeting from downtown Tampa at noon, will I be okay to board a 4:00 sailing the same day? It looks like they are close. Not counting the bad luck like traffic accidents, can I make this? Is there construction on the route? (Cruise is next month.) If the ship docks at 8:00 am on a Monday, can I make an 11:00 flight? Again, normal traffic and existing constructions - I'm okay not having a rare-event cushion on the return. Carry-on luggage only - no counter check-in. Thanks very much in advance for any info

Many thanks to the OP! I just threw $1010 at my cruise on my Platinum to get the $200. The rest will be on my CSP for the 2x travel points, unless I grab a Citi or Cap and use the cruise to meet a SUB

I don't think this is correct. I don't think it matters whether a cruise is paid or not because they can still be cancelled for 100% refund (minus just the non refundable deposit) up until the final payment due date regardless of whether you've paid for the entire cruise or just part of it So long as anyone can cancel any cruise up until final payment date, then they would be able to simply cancel and rebook at the new lower price. NCL used to credit you the difference (or difference less any non-refundable deposit) if you called and asked for the lower rate bc it was easier than having everyone cancelling and rebooking, once NCL figured out that ppl would make them do the paperwork to cancel and rebook to get the lower rate. I'm not sure they still do that, but I think they do. That's why ppl don't like the big changes, be it to price or itinerary, right after final payment date

I don't know that this kind of thing would ever be for me, but being able to buy for as low as $100,000 + $2500 per month solo (inside cabin), with a guarantee that the monthly would never go up, might be compelling for a lot of people. It sounds like everything, really everything, is included plus the ports and timing also seem unique compared to mass lines. An inside cabin might not be ideal, but it's on the ship. These are usually so much more expensive that the pricing might draw interest. Personally, it seems like a guarantee that monthly fees will never be changed even at 15+ years is a recipe for business failure. There's gotta be some fine print somewhere. I'm not in this business or industry, so I don't know, but that seems really unlikely to last, unless it's a limited startup promo

Does he Double Up promo, when it comes up, apply across all NCL cruises? Or do they cherry pick specific cruises that allow use of two CN's. If it's the former, I'll get two on my upcoming cruise. If only for specific cruises, then only one Thx

Thank you! I thought I was losing my marbles because I couldn't figure out what fig of a difference it would make where the OBC is applied - all costs and spending go into the same bucket and all credits and payments apply to the same bucket. I couldn't fathom what possible difference the specific contents of the bucket could make. Thought I was missing something but wasn't

Actually, the last time I bought one of these, I did walk off the ship with the CN's and kept them in my strongbox. Heh

I can't figure out what this means Is this how it works: Pay $250 for 2x CN's so you have $500 for next cruise. They give you $125 OBC. Does that mean that the $500 in CN certificates are now only worth $375 bc they took the OBC from the CN's? I don't think it means this Or does it mean that I still have $500 in CN certs AND I get $125 OBC, all for my original $250? Or does it mean that my onboard account had the $250 docked for the CN's, but the OBC of $125 is applied to the $250, so I'll only be out of pocket $125 for CNs worth $500 off my next cruise. Because that sounds really good to me and not like a rip-off or trick I've also searched but unable to find an answer that I understand bc most responses are piecemeal, answering narrow individual questions, but don't lay out the basic math

I'm wondering if there's a shortcut to figuring out how many cabins of a certain type are open. I don't know of any way except to do dummy bookings for each cabin type and then check for open cabins for each type and on each deck one by one. Do you have an easier way? Thx

Thanks for the heads up. If have missed this and have my big NCL payment coming up soon