TOMCAT22

It is the worst drinks package at sea in my opinion….Only single measures,125ml glass of wine,very few cocktails £6.95 or under,15 min wait between drink orders and a limit of 15 alcohol drinks a day.👎🏻👎🏻 It’s almost as if P&O wanted to make a package that would dissuade the majority of customers from taking it….Well they have achieved that objective😤

Apparently the Coast guard advised them of the exclusion area,someone’s dropped the ball tonight🥺

You will find very few solos on this ship.It is mostly used by couples.No activities as such for solos although there was a meet up on 2nd day.Hope this helps.

We are planning on sailing inside and I was wondering if it's worth it to book guarantee cabin. I don't really mind about the position or deck, any chances of getting an upgrade since it's a new ship?

I have had guarantees on NCL and based on my experience you will not get an upgrade but probably get a cabin that nobody wants.I am in a guarantee inside cabin on Escape TA (not by choice,that's all that was left when I booked with TA).

My assigned cabin is on 13th floor about as far forward as you can get and beside a grey space on the deck plan which could mean a storeroom,pantry,machine room or other noise making space!

I accept that a guarantee is a lottery but you don't win very often with NCL:)

On the NCL Getaway I managed to get 24/7 access by having my keycard coded for access at guest services.

The singles host had said this was possible as the studios were all sold out and people who had wanted a studio were in inside cabins etc.

Guest services were reluctant to do it till I mentioned the singles host name and then it was no problem.

Lounge is pretty empty most of the time but I found access to the vending machine useful and for a late night coffee.

Hope this helps.

She should be able to get her keycard programmed for anytime access to the studio lounge.I did this when I was solo and in an inside,the NCL host suggested it and reception were ok with it once I mentioned the host had suggested it.

I've been solo on several cruises including Caribbean Princess and I have to say that in my experience Princess don't really cater for single travellers very well.

I think there was only 1 single event listed all cruise and it was a meet up at the open aft bar near the pool on the first night.Trouble was that it was not hosted so you didn't know who was single/solo travellers and who was not.

NCL on the other hand are the best cruise line for solo's as they dedicate a member of staff to arrange dinners,shows etc for the single solo travellers and if there are studio accommodations on the ship then there is a meet up every night usually between 5 and 7 in the solo lounge were the host suggest activities for the rest of the cruise.

RCI are hit and miss with the solo traveller,on the big ships Oasis etc they often have a singles lunch most days but on the smaller ships they don't do much at all.

I now prefer NCL for my cruises even though I have status on RCI.

No matter which cruise line however I'm sure you will find people to talk to as the cruise folk are a friendly bunch and I was often invited to share people's tables at dinner or in the bars once they realise you are cruising solo.

That makes more sense as they do use beam forming technology,still can't help thinking that RCI just have not bothered to arrange service with 03b for the repositioning.Real shame as I was looking forward to trying proper high speed internet from Dubai to Singapore.

Hi

Who told you the slow internet was due to the position of the satelittes? I am familiar with the new o3b system and in Barcelona and South of Barcelona you are in the optimal coverage pattern of the satelittes.I think it's more likely that Royal Caribbean have not paid for the new 03b satellite coverage on the repositioning portion as this would take admin and I.T. effort and RCI are poor in these departments.

Don't let them fool you,if the speed is slow then ask for your money back,nothing to do the satellites position as they are low earth orbiting so change position constantly and are unlike "normal" geostationary satellites.:confused:

I have been following the deployment of the 03b service and my understanding is that North of new York (62 degrees north and above) the satellite service is out of main coverage till a new satellite is launched.

03b is totally different from normal satellite service in that it has steerable antenna (in space on the satellite itself) which creates a hotspot with the ship in the centre ,the ship transmits its position to the satellite every 2 hours which adjusts its beam forming antenna to keep the ship in the centre of the hotspot to maximise speed, each beam can carry 600mb in each direction which is shared amongst the ship (assuming one beam is dedicated solely to the ship).

For the Quantum cruise to Shanghai this SHOULD mean that once the ship is in the Med or below 62 degrees latitude then high speed internet should be available. A few caveats are that although RCI has contracts with 03b to provide coverage in USA and Caribbean they might not have these contracts in place to cover a ship repositioning across the globe.

Essentially if you are on Quantum now and don't have high speed internet then its almost certainly the fault of RCI as you are in prime coverage area of 03b satelites....complain like mad and get a refund.

Good luck.

Gary.:)

I was on the getaway last year and it was great for solo's. NCL have realised that the solo market is important and they do it right with the studio cabins but more important is the singles host.

They organise group dinners and a meet up every night,sometimes in the solo lounge,sometimes in one of the bars.Makes it really easy to talk to people and make friends.

I also use Royal Caribbean but NCL ships (especially Epic,Getaway etc) are the best for solo travellers in my opinion.

Gary.

Hi

I am just back from a cruise on POA and can tell you that there are solo bargains to be had but you have to wait till 2-4 weeks out to book.

I tracked prices on this cruise for a couple of months which is easy to do as the itinerary and duration are the same all the time.

I booked 20 days out for late March and got an inside cabin for $1023 including taxes etc.

This kind of deal was available for most sailings but only last minute.

As other posters said it is an American flagged ship which means no casino,no ability to purchase alcohol packages of duty free shopping and extra tax on every drink.

It is a nice itinerary and they do have a singles host but this cruise does not attract many singles unfortunately.Krystal was a fantastic singles host but Gary was not so good.

Hope you get a good deal.

Gary.

That's a good price,thanks for posting.:)

I feel the same way pre cruise but it always works out ok.I guess you worry that there won't be other singles etc. or there will be no one to talk to but cruising is the friendliest type of vacation I have been on and making new friends seems easier on a cruise than on most land based holidays.Enjoy,you will be fine:)

@howardk Why was Jewel the wrong ship?

Hi

I have just booked an inside cabin on NCL Pride of America for a 7 day Hawaii trip departing 28th March for $1023 which equates to single supplement of 0%.

I have been tracking this cruise for a couple of months and it seems they ditch the single supplement for inside cabins about 3 weeks before departure.

No other cabins are discounted,just the insides.Hope this helps someone get a good last minute deal round Hawaii.

Regards

Gary.:)

I have heard the diamond Lounge on the Oasis TA isn't open yet?

You heard incorrect as it's the Diamond + lounge that's not open yet.

I am boarding this ship on the 15 th for the TA but as people are boarding the day before in Rotterdam I suspect that by 13:00 on the 14 th Oct you will know all about the changes.There are loads of Cruise Critic folk on board (over 200) at the meet and greet..:)

I have definitely had cider on board RCI ships although I think there was only a choice of one or maybe two at most.Also it was only available in certain bars.:)

Hi everyone

Quick heads up that NCL currently have NO single supplement on early November sailings on NCL Getaway.

You can have an Oceanview for TOTAL 1 GUESTS $549.00 plus taxes on the 1st November sailing.

I just booked a mini suite guarantee for $1,094.94 USD inc taxes and got $200 OBC from airline TA.

I think this is a great deal and this ship will be perfect for solo travel as they have the studio lounge and singles host who organises dinners etc as well as loads of different entertainment options.:)

Thanks for all the replies guys, I am going to book online using my "Canadian" address and see if it accepts the booking.

I have already tried a dummy booking but without entering credit card details so hopefully it will go through.

Just hope I am not discovered otherwise I might get thrown in San Quentin for years before being deported back to the UK:):) all for the dastardly crime of trying to save some money.:p

Obviously Tomcat22 is a seasoned cruiser and knows his way around, however something does seem to be amiss here. I know with a Canadian address a Canadian TA would have no trouble booking him.

Looking at my post I don't think I have made myself clear,I have a valid Canadian address but I am not a Canadian resident or citizen.

One of the other posters suggested a proxy switcher program which is for Android but I have found a similar program called Netshade for IOS which enables me to access Princess USA site so I will try a booking over the weekend.

Really can't understand Princess's logic in massively different prices between countries.I want to cruise on Princess and will be spending lots of money onboard and will be buying a balcony or above normally.In addition I am a solo cruiser so will be paying double the price but only consuming 1 lot of food etc so it's win win for Princess as far as I can see!!

I would contact a TA in the US. You will save money off of Princess's US site if you have a discount TA and Travel Agents give the same OBC as Princess (plus possible additional benefits).

 

Travel agents won't care if you have the Canadian address.

Thanks for the reply but I have looked at several TA's including a couple I normally use but they are not offering the generous OBC that Princess are which is why I wanted to book via Princess.

I know it's really unusual for the cruise line to be cheaper than a TA but it seems to be the case in this instance....strange..:)

Hi

I use the App "Zenmate" which works very well at disguising my location. It can be found at the Google App store (free download). Switch it on - set it to the location you wish to appear to be and away you go. Remember to switch it off after you have finished.

Thanks for the reply,I will give that a try.

Hmmmmm... well, if you have a valid Canadian address, call the US call center at 800-PRINCESS.

I would prefer to do it online if possible,that way there will be no awkward questions....

Hi

I am trying to book a Princess cruise via their USA website as its miles cheaper than ethe UK site.Now I know Princess don't like you doing this but I have a Canadian address so I should be ok.

Problem is when I access their USA website it detects I'm in UK and redirects me to UK website which is no good.

I have tried using an American proxy server and I can see the prices using this method but it errors when I try to book as I think it detects the proxy.

Has anyone ever managed to do this? I know you can book via TA with a Canadian address but Princess are offering $200 onboard credit whereas the TA are not.

Any help greatly appreciated.