bahamamama11

We are considering a Caribbean cruise with Emerald Yachts in the Caribbean this winter. Has anyone been on one of these cruises, and if so do you have any words of wisdom that might sway our decision? 1) We are very interested in using the water toys from the swim platform. Are these available for use all or at least most days? 2) I'm also quite confused by their beverage package selections. From what my TA explains, everyone gets an intermediate beverage package (wine/beer/soft drinks/coffees) with meals, but anything other than water between meals costs extra. The premium package is said to include the aforementioned beverages anytime, and the platinum package adds in spirits. Are the wines available with the platinum package any different or better than those included with the premium package? Do either of the upgraded packages provide better wines than what is included at meals to everyone? I'd love to hear some feedback. There are very few reviews of the Emerald Voyages anywhere to be found, and I've not seen any from Caribbean journeys. Thanks so much!

Thank you everyone for the input and advice. I very seldom use cruise air, but had a really great experience with Oceania to the South Pacific so I thought I’d give them another chance booking flights for our Bermuda as the price was right. When we went to Papeete, we flew from the west coast. Oceania had us connecting to a charter flight from LAX which gave us far better flight times than I could find myself. On the way home flights left at Papeete at midnight and Oceania let us stay onboard until very late afternoon (no cabins but could use facilities onboard) and then transferred us to the airport with a very reasonable wait time. All in all a very positive experience. I was hoping for some similar care this time.

This sounds epically awful! This is what happens when you relinquish control and take cruise air!

I'm a big DIY'er and am constantly on the Internet snuffing out travel deals. I wouldn't think of booking a cruise without a good TA. They bring so much to the table! Years ago we would book our next cruise ( or a cruise credit) while onboard ship, and insist that we held the booking ourselves. I'd then shop this booking around to several agents, to see what perks they could offer. All of them brought extra value to the booking with additional shipboard credit etc. We'd try them out. We finally came across an agent who always adds to the booking, is responsive to our calls, and has come through for us several times in a very big way. An agent who books a lot with a particular cruise line has a lot more clout with the cruise line when there is a problem than an individual cruiser has.

We were on the Silver Muse in May, in a group of 6. Prior to boarding we could not get reservations at laDame on any night. (I do admit we were a bit late to the party on this cruise, booking only 2 months ahead.) We spoke with the dining room manager right after we boarded, and were able to get reservations for all of the specialty restaurants without any difficulty. We did not have any preference as to which night we wanted to eat in each. That being said, we found Atlantide to be superior to all of the specialty restaurants with the exception of la Dame. If you tell the staff at Atlantide what you would like to eat the next night, they will provide it so long as they have the ingredients on the ship.

I'm taking an Oceania cruise roundtrip New York to Bermuda.Oceania is supplying air and transfers.I'm just in a regular balcony cabin, and am still Blue with their loyalty program. I hope someone has experience with a similar situation, and can give me an idea of just how awful the first and last day of the cruise are going to be. We are arriving into LaGuardia at 9:30 am on the day of embarkation, after a red eye flight. Will Oceania take us from the airport directly to the cruise ship terminal? Will they let us board the ship on arrival (I know the cabins won't be ready), or will we be expected to wait in the terminal until boarding commences in the early afternoon? At the end of the cruise (Manhattan again) they have booked us on a 3:30 pm flight out of LaGuardia. Will they dump us at the airport right after disembarkation to sit in the airport for 6 hours, or will they let us remain aboard (out of our cabins) and transfer us later, for a more humane wait at the airport? Thanks so much for any insight!