NEW 2 CRUISIN

Airfares are out of control, but people keep paying them so they're not going to come down any time soon -- if ever!

It's got to be considered part of the total vacation package and NOT a stand-alone cost.

We wanted to do a Mediterranean Cruise.

Cost of the cruise - $1,000 per person.

Cost of airfare - $1,200 per person.

Total vacation cost - $2,200 per person. If that's a workable total, we take the trip. If not, we move on. When thinking of the TOTAL cost, you can pretend the airfare is $200 and the cruise is $2,000 -- it doesn't matter!

That thinking has helped justify our flight choices.

For example, this year round-trip airfare could be had for $800, but we didn't want to have to change planes. So for $300 more per person we got direct flights there and back. Totally worth it to us.

If cost is the only concern, remember that the "agony" factor will go up as the price comes down (to quote my favorite flying chipmunk site). Consider being more flexible in your travel dates (we couldn't) and how many times you are OK with changing planes (we're not OK with that).

There were MUCH cheaper flights available if we would change planes 2 times each way.

It's a shame to have to pay those prices for generally declining service, but again -- it's part of the TOTAL cost of getting a way for a couple weeks....and totally worth it to us!

GOOD LUCK!

:)

Is it better to book excursions through norwegian or on your own? I am looking for things to do in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau. Thanks!

"Better"??

It's hard to say. Depends on what you are looking for.

The cruise ships use local tour companies for their shore excursions that can sometimes be booked on your own at considerable savings.

We have used ship excursions for longer tours just for the security of being able to get back on the ship at the end of the day if things run late.

More often, we have booked shore excursions directly online with the companies at the ports we were visiting. These can be found by doing a simple search for "shore excursions in XXXXX city".

As mentioned, you can then talk about them in the "PORT" or "ROLL CALL" boards to see if anyone has suggestions or tips for those tours.

GOOD LUCK!

:):)

The secret to enjoying your cruise is not believing for one minute you are on a cruise to sleep and get in each others way in the cabin all day.

Sure it's going to be crowded. My HOUSE is sometimes crowded with 4 people! HAHA!

Simple things that will help:

- Alternating times in the room during shower/prep times. Two leave the room while the other two get ready or sleep in.

- We usually wind up sleeping a bit by the pool during the day to make up for any restless nights due to ship movement/noise/etc.

- There's always plenty of time for one or two people to go back to the cabin for a nap after breakfast if needed.

Seriously, you'll be fine! The accommodations will be remembered as part of the adventure! Someday you may not have the pleasure of traveling together and this will be a fond memory.

Call it a lesson learned and focus on enjoying your time with family and the other fun you are sure to have on the cruise!

Of course, You can still always cancel and re-book on Carnival, I guess.

While everyone will have favorites shaped by their own likes/dislikes, I predict you will LOVE your European vacation as much as we enjoyed our first time!

As mentioned above, we immediately began planning our next visit when the first one ended! :D

Of course, the best part of the "cruise" is actually the places you visit on land before, during, and after the water portion!

There was so much to do and see in each port that we are taking the exact same itinerary again to do stuff we missed or didn't have time to do the first time around.

As many of the cruises begin in either Barcelona or Rome, many folks add on a few days in those cities before or after they sail.

We chose to spend most of the week before our cruise in Paris. Highly recommend it if you have never been to France. You'll get a taste of Barcelona and Rome on the cruise, but Paris is worth the visit!

You can't go wrong with the "Western" Mediterranean as an introduction. We sailed on the EPIC and stopped in Pisa, Rome, Naples, and Palma Majorca last time. This time the itinerary is reversed and Canne/MonteCarlo is added.

Things we recommend:

- Barcelona - See some Gaudi Buildings (Sagrada Famillia especially!) and stop at the Boqueria Market as you "ramble" down Las Ramblas to the waterfront.

- Livorno/Pisa/Florence - Obviously we had to climb the bell tower in Pisa! The one of our favorite cities was Florence, with it's Duomo Cathedral and shopping on the Ponte Vecchio.

- Rome - All about the Coliseum and Vatican for us! Both are spectacular for their own reasons.

- Naples - This is the stop for Pompeii! We explored that with a great guide and still agreed we probably wouldn't need to spend time there again this time. Our most favorite place to see/visit here was the Amalfi Coast/Sorrento and Positano! We plan on spending the full day there and skipping Pompeii this time.

Once you start planning, you'll see lots more and have tons of questions like we did. The best place for answers was right here on the CRUISE CRITIC Forums and Roll Calls!

HAVE FUN!!!

:)

I totally agree with the Original Poster's review of this excursion!

After many years and excursions, this is still one of our most memorable and talked about! Great sights and photo ops. The boat ride was an adventure in itself!

The only thing that was different when we took the trip was that lunch was BEFORE we we started our hike to the ruins.

Would definitely book this NCL Excurision again when visiting Belize!

Cozumel is one of our favorite stops too, and we never even have time to go to the beach! HAHA!

Renting a car and heading over to the other side of the island is relaxing and you get to walk around the tide pools and patronize the beach clubs away from the tourist crowds near the port.

Its also a very walk-able city, as you know, so we have spent an entire day walking around the shops in the square and buying $1 Coronas as we got thirsty.

Pancho's is good, but we also like the wide open atmosphere of Las Palmeras, right on the main street front. The food is OK, but the drinks are good, the servers are fun, and the atmosphere can't be beat! If you're lucky, the mariachi band will serenade you!

Have fun! We can't wait to get back to Cozumel!

:)

Definitely go!

The meal was great and the performers were AMAZING!

There was so much going on, and the talent was so awesome, we really had a fun night!

I'm looking forward to going again on my next EPIC cruise.

People that say they didn't like it must not have known what they were buying tickets for, as it is exactly what you want it to be -- and AT SEA!

GO!

:)

I was just looking for a last minute Caribbean cruise going sometime in March. I prefer Celebrity, but I go where the deals are. I was stunned at the low prices for the Epic, all categories, for this period. Oceanviews under $500 p.p., balconys under $600 p.p., and to top it off, mini suites for $649 p.p. In a lot of cases, this is hundreds of dollars less than any of the other lines. I've read the reviews but they don't paint a bad enough picture to warrant these low of prices.

I hope you booked!

Sounds like a great deal!

LOVE the EPIC!

I never understood the whole "lobster" thing either, but to each their own! :confused:

I noticed on some lines that the lobster is actually just a distraction for some other "better" stuff on menu they offer that night! :D

I agree with those who surmised that it's the whole thought that "lobster is too expensive in restaurants at home, so we must eat as much as we can of it on the ship"!

Whatever you fancy, the BEST part is still not having to clean up the mess and wash the dishes! HAHA!

We have spent time in Paris and Avignon BEFORE crusing out of Barcelona by taking the train with much success!

As your Barcelona flights home are already booked, to make the most of your time you could fly round-trip from Barcelona to Paris or Nice, depending on what you want to see.

If I thought it would be my only chance to get to Paris, I'd book flights from Barcelona to Paris after the cruise. I bet you could be in Paris by early afternoon. Enjoy 2 days there, and then fly back to Barcelona to catch your flight home.

In my opinion, Paris is worth ANY challenges it takes to get there! HAHA!

HAVE FUN!

I guess we've been missing out...

Every time we ordered the "bar setup" we assumed we were just over-paying for a bottle anyway.

There's no way I expected them to have the mixers we all wanted in the room -- or even available on the ship.

We have always stopped at a store on the way to the ship and picked up the mixers and garnish we wanted.

In a pinch, we'd run downstairs for juices, iced tea, and fresh fruit to cut up.

That said....it really is mis-represented by calling it a "bar set-up" instead of just an over-priced bottle of booze!

:)

Well, on board I can keep my spending to around $1000. I will be going solo, but I am more interested in how much people spent doing excursions and exploring the sights along this cruise.

Truth be told, LBT, you do not have to spend a penny on board if you choose not to. We generally do not, aside from a drink here and there.

For shore excursions, budget $200 per port for a day trip to see the majority of sites in each city. Another $50 for food and/or souvenirs in each port.

We did that and had money left at the end of our cruise!

It's a GREAT cruise! We liked it so much 3 years ago, that we immediately began planning to do it again this year!

HAVE FUN!

:)

We took a ship excursion in Samana and found that port completely forgettable!

Whale museum? HAHA!

Cigar rolling in some guys garage? HAHA!

Absolutely no shopping or dining near the dock!

Nice to do once, but we gave feedback to NCL that this was our least favorite port, too, so glad they are looking at a more attractive alternative.

yes,

 

at la cetto they served cheese and bread with the olive oil that they make. There was one fellow cruiser who said they took this cruise only so they could come back here to buy olive oil to bring home. A friend of my wife had given her money to buy jugs of the olive oil back too so we bought that there as well as wine.

 

At casa de dona lupe's, they serve pizza. It's a flat bread style. They also served wine smoothie that my wife really liked but i didn't. Inside they do sell sandwiches and pizza if you don't like the one that is free

thanks, dyer!

:)

We just went this past weekend, it was on a Carnival cruise but it was the same excursion, going to LA Cetto and then the other less commercial winery.

 

There was some walking at LA Cetto, you see the fermentation tanks, their wine cellar, and then the little area where they have their parties. Then you go to the tasting.

 

At the other winery you go directly to taste and you can sit the whole time.

 

It was a really good excursion, I was really pleased with it.

Thanks for the review!

Were there snacks served...or even food available to purchase?

I think I read one review that said pizza was served on this tour, but have not seen a tour description that mentioned anything like that.

This will be a nice tour for us!

It's amazing how one person can touch so many...

This is the first we are hearing about Randi's passing and it saddens us.

We often talk about being able to sail back to Mazatlan and ride the Happy Hours and sit at Victor's with Randi. It truly was one of our favorite itineraries and we looked forward to flying from NY for our Mexican Riviera Cruises.

I am a bit shocked, but thankful to stumble across this post tonight.

Thank you WINEMANVISALIA for the original post...and for kicking this back up to the top so folks like us could find it.

RIP Randi...and HAPPY TRAILS!

:(

We booked this tour for our October cruise!

Seems to be a relaxing way to spend the day and see a bit of Ensenada country-side!

Does Orange Fever offer a package with two chairs, an umbrella and drinks?

Yes...their website has all this info.

http://www.orangefeverorientbeach.com/

The "package" of 2 chairs, and umbrella and 2 drinks you described would be $14.

(It didn't mention anything about an "all you can drink" package, if that's what you meant, though.)

Looks like a nice place and gets good reviews from here and other places....

Great pics YANKEEFAN!!!

Getting excited, as we are taking this cruise for the first time in a couple weeks -- hopefully without the added excitement of a hurricane! LOL :D

Thanks for sharing your adventure!

The best thing I learned from a seasoned cruiser was that you can order a banana split for dessert in the main dining room.

Thanks for posting this, Lisa!!!

My NEW, MOST FAVORITE-EST TIP YET!!! :D

If everybody starts ordering them, they may discontinue offering them, so I will make sure to take full advantage of it on our cruise on the GLORY next week!

Banana Splits are a favorite of mine and I have been known to make my own in the evening with bananas from the breakfast bar and soft serve late at night. This will save me the trouble! HAHA!

...The question I have is once we are boarded, could we knock on that door and ask for a switch. My wife thinks it is tacky and inappropriate. Most important question, if this agreed upon could the switch be done by going to the front desk and switching out the keys. Next, is this tacky and looks suspicious? If someone approached you with this request would you do it? Or is this just a waste of time. Any input would be appreciated...

1) Your wife is absolutely correct! (It's inappropriate, and even more inconvenient!) They have probably already unpacked and are settled in.

2) Yes, it looks suspicious...and I'd be a bit creeped out by it.

3) No, I would not do it.

Good Luck!

...and if I add in some guides and admission charges to museums, etc. the gap does close in between the two options (of course that is if our family does the private on our own without sharing) .

This is the part of your comment that sticks out the most to me, and we have been planning our first trip to Europe with NCL for almost a year.

The savings on a Private Tour is mainly because you are splitting the costs among 8 people. That was the reason we even started looking at private tour companies. If you are paying the whole bill that 8 people otherwise would have split, then naturally the cost will be higher.

Add in the ability to customize our stops, and having locals to communicate with and make our requests known before we get to Europe, it was an easy call for our group.

Then the fact that the smaller size of the private group allows for changes along the way, whereas the NCL tour must deliver what they promised at the start, even if you see something else along the way you'd like to visit.

Whatever you decide, the important thing to remember is that the shore excursion expenses are just another element of the TOTAL cost of the trip -- much like airfare, hotel stays, and cruise fare. Each seems large on their own, but are really just a small component of the total vacation cost. Whatever the TOTAL cost of your vacation, I'm sure it will be justifiable in the end.

Let us know what you decide!

:)

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your story and pictures here!

We are on this same cruise in 100 days and are now more excited than ever!!!

Glad you had such a fantastic trip! We are looking forward to the same!

:)

Group of 30 people have a flight out of FLL at 3 pm after cruise on Oasis in April. Any recommendations on what the group could do for a few hours? Disembarking about 8 am so it will be a long wait at the airport if we go directly there.

I assume with 30 people you have a bus for transportation once you disembark, so tell the driver to take your group to the Casino for a few hours before taking you to the airport.

There's plenty of shopping, dining, and gaming to pass the time.

http://www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/

Assume you get off the ship when you say you do.

30 people with luggage move at glacier speed, so you will not get on the bus and be ready to go for an hour. Then allow time to get to the casino.

It's now 10:30 - 11:00 AM.

You have about 2 hours to play at the casino before gathering the troops to board the bus to the airport. Next thing you know you're at the gate waiting for your flight.

Time flies when you are having fun! It's not as long as it sounds!

Good Luck....and GOD BLESS anyone travelling with a group of 30!!! HAHA!

I'm really looking forward to trying MODERNO!

I've been hearing such good things about it and I really love the concept!

BRING ON THE MEAT!!! :D