grouchomarx

Sailing on the Joy from NYC to Bermuda tomorrow and I’m very excited! I just came here to say a huge thank you to all the CC community people who answered all my questions, gave me great advice and tips so I can make the most out of my first ever solo vacation/cruise. You guys are the best and so knowledgeable and helpful. I would not be so well prepared without you all. When I come back I’ll give a review and take any questions if anyone has any. I would like to give back if I can.

I’ve watched a number of videos of the thermal suite on Joy and it seems like absolutely everyone is in those robes. Is it expected you wear the robes? I am not really into it, it’s warm in there so why do I need a heavy robe? What is the norm. I’d rather a swimsuit coverup to enter and then nothing at all. Maybe people feel robes are a luxury? Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you guys you are amazing!

Sailing Symphony about a year from now so lots of time to plan and research. I will definitely want the unlimited dining package and the deluxe beverage package. They show it as “pre cruise savings” now in my planner and it’s not too bad but I’ve read about people getting much better rates than what I see now. Two questions: 1) how to get the best rate, do you just keep checking the cruise planner for a deal or is there a smarter/easier way and 2) it is my understanding that if you buy the unlimited dining package you are prohibited from booking dinners before you board. Is that true and any advice about that? I like to book ahead but I also like to save money. Solo traveler if that helps. TIA.

Thank you for your thoughts. I know what you mean about pricing. It’s insane sometimes what they want to charge a solo traveler! I got spoiled by NCL, I have a solo cruise this Sunday and a Christmas solo cruise booked and the fares were what I would call fair (nowhere near a double fare). I tried Royal a few times and sometimes they would charge even more than twice the fare for a solo! But I got lucky on this booking and got an ocean view balcony for what I consider reasonable (but not cheap). So I pounced on it kind of on a whim. Sometimes these cabins are all sold out by the time you check. I was looking at NCL Prima class ships next summer and all the ones I checked had all the solo balcony cabins already sold out. That is the only reason I booked so far out. I thought it was an opportunity I might miss out on. I have until March to decide.

Thanks so much for all the replies! This is just what I wanted to hear to feel more confident about sailing solo on this ship. I feel much better now with my decision.

Thank you so much! This is what I was hoping to hear.

Yes I loved both of those so much. But Symphony has all kinds of stuff Anthem doesn’t that I am eager to try like the Aqua theater and ice skating and different restaurants. And the Solarium has an actual pool which will be nice. I don’t know it just seems really so much bigger than Anthem it’s a little intimidating to tackle on my own.

I booked a cruise for about a year from now on Symphony. I will be traveling alone. I was wondering what it is like to be a solo cruiser on this type of ship. I have an upcoming NCL cruise this Sunday alone but I feel very comfortable with that knowing NCL attracts a lot of solo cruisers so it’s quite common to dine and do things alone. How is it on Royal in this class of ships? I worry I might feel out of place given the massiveness of this ship and the million activities to do. I have cruised many times but never alone and the sheer size and complexity of this ship makes me wonder if it’s uncommon to see solo cruisers. I want to do and see everything and I’m very into specialty dining. I’ve been on Anthem twice but this ship seems much more huge and with a lot more activities. I have plenty of time to decide if it is right for me. I’ve always dreamed of sailing on Oasis class. TIA.

Yes, I booked and then cancelled a cruise a few days later and got my money back no problem.

I am looking to book a cruise about a year from now. It says on the cancellation schedule if I cancel tomorrow after booking I lose the deposit? Am I understating this correctly? I never personally booked a Royal sailing, my husband always did it and we never booked this far out. I am used to NCL, they give you back the deposit back if cancelling ahead of final payment. I hope this makes sense. Thanks for your advice.

It’s very easy to call NCL and cancel things you booked. I have done it several times no problems at all.

Thank you that makes me feel better

I actually just called and asked. It would be a good bit extra to get an inside on an undesirable deck 5 (I’m in a studio deck 12, between all cabin decks) and the reason the travel protection is double is it’s based on the cabin total price not “pre person”. I have to say NCL has good customer service on the phone. I was treated very well and he didn’t try to upsell me anything, he knew I made the right decision. Gonna learn to love that studio!

I am considering this, thank you for you input.

No solo inside is not sold out. But I would really want a balcony. Ocean view and Balcony are almost the same price so no point getting ocean view.

I have a Christmas cruise booked in a studio cabin and wanted to see what it would cost for a balcony because I’m starting to worry I will feel claustrophobic in a studio. I see it is a full double rate which I understand, the solo balconies are sold out. BUT, in the mock booking it also charged double the travel protection when I opt for it. Is this typical? Why should I need to buy insurance on a nonexistent second person? I guess the only way around that is to book my own private travel insurance. Weird. But this is new territory for me.

I BOOKED IT! Thank you.

Love this story!

Wait, you had “poor bids” and got into Haven? Please disclose.

I came to realize this recently. I had a solo balcony booked and bid on a club balcony (which I would have paid 2x the offer had I gotten it). I soon realized they could shuffle me to non desirable decks with noise above or below, whereas I was originally between cabin only decks. I withdrew my bid.

Thanks for your input. I want to book an over the water bungalow in Roatan and it’s expensive. I know Caribbean weather forecasts are famously unreliable so making decisions a few days out can be misguided. But if I had this bungalow booked and saw it was going to rain a lot or all day just the day before or the day of, I would not want to go, money lost or not. That would be very unpleasant and I have been through that once or twice with a rainy excursion that I still went on, it was very lousy. So I am trying to figure out if it’s worth it to take the chance knowing I could lose it all or just play it safe and not do it. I kind of want to “live a little”, had a lot of hardships in the last 3 years and want to enjoy life as much as I can in these little ways. But losing $500 would suck! I have time to decide but this option has very limited capacity so I don’t think I can’t wait until too close to sailing. I appreciate your input as always.

I read the info on this in the NCL faq but honestly it's written in a somewhat convoluted way. Am I correct in understand that if you cancel and excursion less than 48 hours in advance you cannot get a refund but they will give you the value in OBC? I'm only concerned about this because I am contemplating booking a very expensive (to me, anyway) excursion on my Christmas cruise and I would be very sad to lose that much money if the weather was truly awful and didn't want to go. Do they ever make an exception for very inclement weather situations?

Thanks I'll check it out!

I booked a studio (first time) for a Christmas Caribbean cruise where I will have wet swimsuits every day and just today realized I usually have a balcony and strap things to the chairs to dry, Since it’s such a tiny cabin, is drying stuff in the cabin difficult? Is there a cord over the shower? I will plan accordingly. I hate wet swimwear so if it won’t dry in time I’ll just pack extra and bring space bags. TIA.