Aquahound

I was very fortunate to have a view to the west over open water when I lived in the Keys.  Between that, my USCG career, and all my cruises, I've seen the green flash countless times.  It never gets old.  

The good ole Majesty of the Seas.  Sadly, she was a COVID casualty.

I have a natural instinct to run toward disaster to help, but as a tourist?  No way.  Not now.  Not until well after the recovery efforts, cleanup, and they are willing to accept tourists to honor the memory.  

On 8/13/2023 at 4:57 PM, Froufie said:

Anyone know what the status of the Juneau port stop is right now?

The port is nowhere near the glacier so my guess is the port stop is unaffected.  

7 hours ago, cruiseaholic777 said:

Most long time cruisers will tell you that the A B C's are the best cruise. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. 

If the op goes Caribbean, I cannot disagree with this.  My favorite is Bonaire.  🙂

This is what happens when you pay the same price for a cruise as you did 30 years ago.  Something has got to give.

12 hours ago, RBCal said:

I am on Valiant Lady now.  I can confirm that 'influencers' receive free cruises.  

I guess my opinion is…….so?  Why would someone else’s good fortune offend you?  
 

But I’m sure they appreciate all the attention you’ll bring them by future readers of this thread who search Valiant Lady reviews. 

I agree to avoid specific cruise line cards. 
 

Check nerdwallet.  They rank best travel cards every year. Chase Sapphire seems to always be at or near the top. I use AMEX and I’m very happy with it, but do not claim it as best. 

For a first cruise in the summer, I recommend Alaska. 

I'm surprised to hear this because 70s parties and 80s parties are staples on RCI cruises.  

I occasionally watch videos just to see what the inside of a ship looks like.  Some are better than others.  There's a guy from the UK who tends to do good videos, but I can never remember his name, so I have to weed through several of the "So guys....," and "errrr" videos that shipgeeks talked about.  

On 7/28/2023 at 12:27 PM, the nurse said:

 

We were given a certificate for a 5 day Carnival cruise, or options for other vacation offers.

 

In this case, I think I would choose the latter.  

Scratch NCL off your list because, in my opinion, they are even worse than RCI regarding crowds and pool space.  I would also scratch Princess off that list.  FWIW, I'm not saying any of these are bad cruise lines....I'm just saying you'll run into the same issues.  

I recommend Celebrity.  They're a nice mix of passengers with beautiful ships.  I'm afraid you'll find HAL too far on the opposite side of the spectrum.  

Regarding rude/pushy people, unfortunately, I don't think that's avoidable any more.  

I guess it depends on your travel preferences, just like with any destination cruise.  Do you want to just see manufactured cruise ports, or do you want to experience the destination better?  I highly recommend a one-way cruise with a few additional days pre or post cruise in Alaska.  I don't think the land cruise-tours are necessary, but at least renting a car and doing it on your own.  

On 7/28/2023 at 7:15 AM, gartam said:

Trying to decide which tram/gondola to do--Alyeska, Goldbelt in Juneau, or the mountain top in Icy Strait. From info I have found, Icy Strait may not be worth the money, but maybe it would be if combined with the tram ride at the top. For anyone who has done more than 1, which would you recommend?

Just do both.  The costs are minimal.  Personally, I like the view from Alyeska better, but the ride up in ISP was a lot of fun and very relaxing.  

My favorite was a 2-week cruise on HAL Nieuw Amsterdam from Venice to Barcelona.  Best sailaway ever, and a fantastic itinerary through Croatia, Greece, Italy, and Spain.  

7 minutes ago, Sandie5 said:

Sounds like it's not worth losing sleep over those perks. 😄

Definitely not. Unless you’re going to become a very frequent cruiser, the perks aren’t much to speak of.  Just stick with the lines you like and let the perks eventually come to you. 

16 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I hear you on that “free at sea” marketing language.  But does anyone really think that when other cruise lines give out an included (“free”) beverage package without breaking out a cost for gratuities that some amount for them hasn’t been factored in by the cruise line? 

 

Probably not, but I’m not aware of any other line adding a surcharge to something they advertise as free. I’ll never be supportive of NCL doing that, regardless of how much I enjoy their product. 

IMO, you're overthinking this. 

NCL is known for their nickel and dime culture, especially charging gratuities on their so-called "free" packages.  No, NCL is not so much a bargain as the original sticker might indicate.  However, it is my opinion that NCL did a great job reimagining their product with Breakaway and newer ships.  I also cruise mostly RCI and I had a great time on a Breakaway sister ship.  My advice is just go with it.  Go enjoy your cruise.  

As usual, Chengkp hit very valid points and I do not disagree with him at all.

On the ship breaking side, the environmental impact is huge. Cruise lines send their ships to be scrapped in places like Bangladesh and India where the environmental laws are very relaxed....if they exist at all.  There are laws in the United States that prohibit shipping companies from sending their ships to these unregulated shipbreaking yards but extending that jurisdictional nexus to the foreign flagged cruise lines that are incorporated overseas has been problematic.  

Too many people think a CD is just what they see on stage before a show.  If you're happy with the entertainment and activities on board, then yes, the CD made a positive difference. 

I think this just highlights the fact that cruise ship tourists always seem to get sucked into the manufactured shopping area immediately adjacent to the docks instead of getting out to see the true location.  But yeah, this is a combination of a few problems.....too many people, and too few places to sit and congregate in that small downtown area.  The sidewalks outside the shops are very narrow.  

3 hours ago, tetleytea said:

Princess did that, too.   Their cruise map very clearly showed them sailing inside, and they didn't.

Yeah, Princess' new ships are too big to cruise the IP.  If I remember the story correctly, Princess planned those itineraries but were denied by the Canadian pilots.  

Definitely K'dam.  Cruising the Inside Passage out of Vancouver is far superior, and they are not obligated to make a Canadian port call in Victoria like the Seattle cruises.  

So, do you want to know why Carnival ships are more fun?  It's because they shove that word down your throat every chance they get so in the end, when someone asks about your cruise, your answer is "fun."  Seriously.  I think it was even stenciled on the dining room napkins.  I'm surprised it wasn't on the toilet paper.  

In reality, there is no more "fun" to be had on Carnival than there is on the Bliss or any of the new mega ships of NCL and RCI.  I cruised Bliss' older sister, Escape, and had a blast on board.  

Regarding included meals, in addition to the dining room and buffet, NCL has O'Sheehans, which is a 24/7 menu-order eatery.  It's mostly comfort food, but still pretty good. 

I'll double-down on my recommendation for Bliss.

I cruise