boulders

I cruised with HAL in 2000 - still getting endless things in the mail. Out of curiosity I phoned today to ask what was there policy about solo supplement - answer was 200% .

Yes, the standard is 200%, but most HAL cruises have a much lower single supplement.

So, if Allure is doing 7 night Med sailings in summer, 2015, does this mean that Anthem will be doing Northern Europe sailings the same summer? :D Surely, RCCL wouldn't have both ships in the Med??

Unfortunately, the video contains copyrighted material that is blocked in the US. Can somebody verbally describe MUTS for those of us who have not done Princess in many years?

MUTS is a huge outdoor movie screen that plays movies at night, sports games/movies/TV during the day. People sit in the pool or lay on deck loungers to watch. You can see it here if you scroll down the page.

Considering the roll out date is February, 2016, does anyone want to speculate as to where she will be deployed. It is too early in the season to be doing European cruises, so what do you think?

I would love to do a Med cruise in February! NCL has a ship in the Med in the winter.

But, I think they'll just put her in the Caribbean, sigh… :(

It's baaack!

Quick, use it before it disappears again.

Thanks all. Think we are going to book Zaandam on july 4th.

 

Any thoughts on the ship?

 

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We were on Zaandam for 21 nights over Christmas. She was just in drydock. A lot of the upholstery was new as was the carpeting. We had a great time. There were a lot of activities that the kids enjoyed.

Other options would be to take cruises outside of the Caribbean. In May and June, you can get Disney cruises that are: a 12 day transatlantic, a 15 day Panama Canal, Alaska, Mediterranean or the California Coast. There are cheap fares available now for the transatlantic and Panama Canal - around $3000. A 7 night Med cruise can be had for a little more than a 3 or 4 night Bahamas cruise.

Disney likes to fill their ships early. The best deals are usually more than 6 months out.

Alaska is a great destination with kids. There are a lot of wildlife and outdoor activities available. I have a dd15 and a ds8. HAL is their favourite cruise line.

I would still check with the cruise ship as to what they will actually require. If they say only a birth certificate is required, ask them to send you an email stating that. Then print the email and take it with you. This is an issue that in fact isn't as clear as it seems so it may be netter to be safe than sorry.

 

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Here's what the U.S. government has to say:

"Closed Loop" Cruises: U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship may present a government issued photo identification, along with proof of citizenship (an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization). Please be aware that you may still be required to present a passport to enter the foreign countries your cruise ship is visiting. Check with your cruise line to ensure you have the appropriate documents.

from http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

There is no US passport control when you depart the U.S. You use whichever passport you will be entering the country you will be flying to.

Have a look here

RCCL has many different cabin types. If you want a larger stateroom, you can certainly book one.

As for the comment about RCCL not having many young kinds, that one has me completely stumped. There are people of all ages on RCCL, including infants, young children, older children etc etc.

On RCI you are allowed to book minors in a room next door or directly across the hall. That is how my April booking is. You cannot do it online and neither can a TA, you have to call but they will do it.

I've had the same experience.

OP, I would not book 10 year old boys in a separate stateroom. :eek: A connecting balcony would be safer, imo. Call them again and see if a different agent will book connecting balconies.

I saw a great celebrity deal on travel zoo yesterday. We need to decide between Celebrity and Carnival by tomorrow so i'm just interested in following this thread. I've never sailed Celebrity. For some reason i'm imagining a bunch of old, boring people but i doubt thats not true. Im worried that there wont be as many kids on Celebrity?

It's generally a good thing if there aren't as many kids as on a spring break Carnival cruise. Each cruise line will have a wide range of ages. My kids' favourite cruise line is HAL. Believe it or not, they aren't into waterparks or climbing walls. They do like hanging out with new friends, visiting new places, high tea, trivia, bingo, lectures etc.

I cruise alone with my 3 kids. Cruising is a great vacation for a solo adult + kids. I would go with Freedom of the Seas. My kids remind me every time I book a cruise that I promised them that I wouldn't take them on a Carnival cruise ever again. They hated it.

Mr. Elliott and his group have been very helpful. Actually, almost all of what they have told and advised me is available in written documentation on his website (http://www.elliott.org), but the human contact has give me confidence to proceed. However, as with a lawyer you have to go though the preliminaries before he can take up your case. How would it look if he wrote a story and then the cruise line responded, "But the customer never contacted us!" Or, the CEO says, "Well, I was never notified about this problem." As Mr. Elliott advises in writing, if you give them a chance 99% of issues can be resolved. I'd rather not be in the 1% that don't, I don't need the aggravation. I'm optimistic that resolution is imminent. Also, just as I want them to be honorable, I also want a fair resolution. Although I think that the very best of companies would just provide a full refund or comp the same cruise over again, I think that's beyond the call of duty, even though relatively it's probably worth the money in good publicity. It always surprises me that corporations spend millions of dollars in advertising to establish good brand recognition and then weasel over an extremely minor compensation.

 

PS: Interestingly, my local paper carries Mr. Elliott column, but I was never aware. I don't travel that much. I also subscribe to National Geographic's Traveler Magazine, but I just look at the pictures. :o

But you have contacted them! This should have been resolved when you first brought it to their attention.

Your story is very disheartening and has solidified my resolve never to take a NCL cruise. Many of us on Cruise Critic pore over the deck plans, stateroom plans and pictures while we are deciding what cruise to take. We analyze the real estate, compare it to the price and make a decision on whether or not to proceed. Then we keep monitoring for price drops in that category and other categories to see if we can get a better deal.

The stateroom you were put in was substantially different than the one NCLA advertised. I agree that it was bait and switch, but I'm not a lawyer.

Would you have booked this cruise in that size of stateroom that you ended up in? What would it have been worth to you? Would you have taken that cruise at all? I do think that you should stand firm and that NCLA should give you a substantial cash refund, not an offer of credit for another cruise.

Wow, talk about a wild guess.

 

Celebrity R Class: 35/36; S Class: 38/39

 

Virtually identical to HAL and Princess--and lower than the newer Carnival ships.

Carnival Breeze's space ratio is 34.8, lower than the ships of the other cruise lines you mentioned.

I had a few problems yesterday -- just gave up and watched TV.

I see that I can't use the "search" feature.

I've been looking for the search feature. I can't find it. What happened?

Ship beds are like airline seats. There is no child price.

I have frequently got a less expensive price for ds8 on transoceanic flights.

Unless that child is an infant and flying "onlap"...Cruises don't offer the "onlap" infant option in your cabin :D

Some cruiselines do offer children's prices. Disney offers greatly discounted prices for those under 2 and discounted prices for ages 3-11. MSC offers free children's fares.

Some cruises have 3rd and 4th fares very close to the 1st and 2nd fares, or even sometimes higher than the 1st and 2nd while other cruises have 3rd and 4th fares at a tiny fraction. I've found excellent 3rd and 4th fares on HAL. You just have to shop around.

Children don't pay money for gambling or liquor which are big money makers for cruise ships. As well, they have separate kids club areas which are staffed and do not have a charge. The cost for food for adults is less than $15/day, so even though kids may eat less, any cost savings there is negligible. As well, Coast Guard regulations have a maximum number of souls that can be on board. A child who doesn't drink or gamble counts as much towards that total as an adult who spends lots in the casino. Small children or infants can make more mess, especially with diapers or food .

So, cruise ships make less money when a child is on board than when an adult is on board. When you think about it, it's surprising that they don't charge more for children. :D

With a family of 5, your options are limited. Disney and Carnival have the most cabins for 5, followed by Royal Caribbean. Celebrity has a few. For every cruise line except Disney, you would have to call the cruise line to get pricing. The other option is connecting cabins. Most cruise lines have these. If you decide to go this route, make sure the rooms are connecting, not just adjacent. If you wish, you could split you and your husband up, and then you're not restricted to connecting or family staterooms.

The best bang for the buck will depend on many factors. Prices change all the time and vary with cruise line, ship, date of departure, itinerary, type of cabin, when you book, how well the ship is selling, etc etc. Don't forget to factor in airfare, if necessary. All of the cruises in my signature gave me the best value for the dollar at the time of booking.

i spent close to 3 hours on the phone speaking to celebrity...my travel agent...lan-chile....and the israeli consulate in miami about not having to pay the recprocity fee because i am a dual citizen.....

 

i got NOWHERE....

 

no one gave me a definitive answer....

 

everyone sent me to someone else....

 

it was a total exercize in frustration....and i still don't know what to do !!!!!!

 

if anyone flew out of miami on an american passport and entered argentina on an israeli passport without paying the fee....i'd love to hear from them.....

When you fly out, you should use your Israeli passport, because that is what the airline will use to determine whether or not you've got the proper documentation for admission to Argentina. That's assuming there are no fees or visas required for Israeli citizens. You would then need to use the same passport for the cruise.

When you fly back into the States is when you would use your U.S. passport.

The Israeli consulate won't be able to tell you whether or not to use your Israeli passport or not. The Argentine consulate should be able to tell you what the entry requirements are for Israeli citizens though.

Are you sure there is no in cabin babysitting during the day on Celebrity? RCCL has in cabin babysitting from 8 am to 2 am.

In any case, I would choose Celebrity. There would be more room inside the cabin than 2 ocean views. I would be too nervous to put children that young in a cabin by themselves, even if it is connecting.

Are these pull-down bunks over top of the twins underneath? Those are the ones I look at and feel claustrophobic - the ones I see that I am fond of are the twins and then the sofa with the pulldown bunk over top of the sofa bed....

 

Thanks for all the replies!

In RCCL's family rooms, there is a separate area for the bunk beds. Different rooms have different configurations. On one ship, the bunk beds were in an area about 5 feet by 6 feet, separated by a curtain from the rest of the cabin. On another ship, the area was about 8 x 10, also separated by a curtain from the rest of the cabin.

Unlike other cruise lines, I have never seen Royal's pullmans come down over the main beds, but I've never been in an interior or regular ocean view on RCCL.

Be aware that if you are U.S. (or Australian or Canadian) citizens, there are reciprocity fees to be paid online to the Argentine government before your trip and a Chilean entry fee to be paid at Santiago airport on your arrival. For U.S. citizens, the Argentine fee is $160 pp and for Santiago, it's also $160 pp. Fees are less for Australian and Canadian citizens.

I sailed on HAL Veendam to Bermuda 2 yrs ago and they had that very thing in their buffet dining room.

 

My problem with it was that the water wasn't hot enough...it was barely warm.

 

Oh and the 7 or 8 kids that were on the cruise thought it was a great way to fool around and play while mom and dad ate their breakfast.

 

I think those things are germ machines. Maybe the Disney one was better than the one on Veendam?

They had them on Zaandam too. I never saw anyone playing with them, just using them as intended. Hot water could scald. Warm is perfect.