sambamama

Those single cabins on the Pinnacle class ships are a total ripoff. They are almost double price, and are tiny things squashed way up in he front of the ship. If you are going to make me pay a single supplement, then let me have a normal size cabin. I always, always tip my stewards well, and I always spend on the ship. Some of the things I loved about HAL are gone-the smaller 1200 passenger ships, the ginger that the yum yum man had after dinner, the Adagio group or the Lincoln Center, the chilled fruit soups. HAL still has its amazing crew, the fantastic itineraries, the big cabins, fixed dinner sittings, and wonderful food. The cruise I took to Alaska was on HAL, and if I take another Alaska cruise (and I imagine I will), I will only take it on Princess or HAL. I'm lucky because I have credit cards that get me free hotels, or hotels I can get on points. In Vancouver, I have friends I can stay with. With expensive flights, I can usually manage to fly with ff miles, or pay if the price isn't too horrific. I am not trying to hate on HAL-I wouldn't have sailed 130 nights on HAL if I didn't love HAL. My point I am trying to make is that HAL may want to rethink their pricing a bit about single supplements as they are out of touch with the other cruise companies. I am not saying I wouldn't sail on HAL-but they would need to have a 50% supplement or less. But maybe they are selling out all their cruises and don't need to worry about empty cabins. But I used to cruise twice a year, and I don't do that anymore. Since COVID hit, I sailed one HAL casino 7 night cruise they offered me for free (the only time they offered me a casino cruise), and a Princess 15 night Panama Canal cruise. I am booked on a 15 night HAL Asia cruise that was supposed to sail 2 years ago, has been paid in full since December 2019, and is finally sailing January 2024. I am booked on a fairly new cruise line for a 7 night Greek cruise August 2024. It's about the size of the Maasdam-around 1200 pasengers. The supplements range from 15% to 50% and they include free wine and beer at lunch and dinner. But if I can go to Turkey for 3-4 weeks for the price of a 10 day cruise, I am going to do that. At this point, I don't have a burning desire to go on a cruise unless it is somewhere I haven't gone -South America, a World Cruise (but I would have to hit the lottery), Africa, the Fjords, New Zealand, or going back to Alaska or the South Pacific, or any respositioning.

Princess has several long repositioning cruises going through Hawaii and the South Pacific at 0% solo supplement. They don't have many ports, but the ports are good. One was 26 days long, and an inside cabin was about $1700.

For anyone who is free to travel last minute, solos, especially, Princess has several repositioning cruises at 0% solo supplement, and even if you are traveling as two, at 50-75% off the regular price. They are going through Hawaii and the South Pacific. The don't have many ports, but the ones they have are good. If I could travel last minute, I would be jumping on these. They are fairly long, though-so most likely for retired people.

I'm a long-time HAL solo cruiser. I just was looking at a popular cruise pricing website. I looked at a number of cruises and couldn't find ANY cruises where HAL had less than a 79% solo supplement, and most were 100%. In the meantime, I looked at Princess and found a number of 0% solo supplements-that's right, O%. Granted, these were cruises within 90 days, but I have looked at cruises further out, and I have have to book cruises 6 months out or later, and I can't find any on HAL less than 79%, but found cruises on Princess, NCL, Celebrity, RCCL, and even Cunard for less than that. Before COVID, you could find transatlantic, South American, Mexican Riviera, 7 day Carribean and others at 50% or less, and now there is nothing. At that price, it is much cheaper for me to either do a land tour, or simply travel on my own as I have found booking hotels on my own never charge a single supplement. I am a four star, and love my free laundry, my early boarding, my tender privileges, and my half off at the Pinnacle Grill, but I won't be cruising any more at this rate, or at least I won't be cruising on HAL. HAL took away Lincoln Center-the best entertainment they ever had, and didn't replace it with anything. They were never strong in the entertainment area anyway. I took a cruise on Princess for the first time, and found food just as good as HAL, and much better entertainment. I didn't find fixed dining, but found a workaround that got me the same waiters every night-just no dining companions. If this pricing trend continues, I won't be sailing on HAL anymore-the price difference isn't worth it.

I would look at an alternative route. I've done that Miami route international to national a number of times and its always bad. Doesn't matter what time of day. And the signage to even get to Global Entry is bad.

At least two hours, maybe more. Miami is a nightmare. I flew first class from Costume to Miami with a 2 1/2 hour connection with Global Entry and TSA pre check and still almost missed my flight! Its a disaster!

I like Skyscanner, too. Its an easy app to keep on my phone to get rough ideas. Its easy to use, you can switch to one way, switch to the class you like and filter stops, airlines, or airline alliances, or by cheapest or best, and its airlines you have heard of.

Which is what we said three pages ago! You can't expect to cross the Atlantic for the same cost as to fly to Miami. And she is lucky. Boston is a big airport. My local airport , Hartford, doesn't have the same deals JFK or Boston does. And although Boston is only 90 minutes away, there is no reliable easy public transportation there for me, so I have to fly out of JFK which is 3 1/2 hours away for most international travel.

The toilet problem is bad, but it is a backed up toliet, NOT raw sewage. I was on a cruise where people at my table had a raw sewage incident in their cabin and were promptly given a new cabin. I agree the deck needs repair, but I don't find it in disgusting shape. It looks rusty and needs to have some plank work repaired. But there is plenty of deck that is fine. We all know there have been cutbacks, and so the deck should have been fixed sooner.

I went on a 22 night South Pacific cruise RT from Auckland and hit some neat ports. We went to two islands in Tonga, Nieue (a tiny island that doesn't even have its own currency), American Samoa, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, and 4 stops in Fiji including Dravuni Island where only 200 people leave and has some of the best soft corals in the world! We were supposed to stop at one of the cook islands, but the weather was bad, so we did a scenic cruise instead.

I swear by those bracelets, and have for years. I use them on planes as well. I used to take Bonine as well, but don't any more. I will if it gets really rough. I usually only get motion sickness if there isn't enough ventilation, or if it gets too hot, or if I am breathing in diesel or gasoline fumes, The two TA's I did were both very smooth. I hit 50-70mph winds on my Panama Canal cruise near Columbia and the sea got pretty bouncy there-enough to close the outside decks for 1 1/2 days!

What I should have said is if you are using miles for business or first class, you need to start looking early. If you are looking for economy, there is always more room. But I always start monitoring flights in case a flight pops up at a price I am happy with. And no, I have no idea what NCL Air offers-so my opinion was pure speculation. The only time I used cruise air, we were flown in the morning of the cruise. I would never do that again. I don't really think you are looking for advice as you are criticizing most advice you are given. People have given you excellent advice that you are disregarding and criticizing. I only mentioned the low domestic fare to contrast it to the higher international fare. And go ahead and rely on a third party website. It's fine until you have a problem. Let's see how cheapoair or expedia helps you out.

I never book a cruise without a TA. You have to know what you can live with booking a guarantee. Me, I 've been very happy booking guarantees, and every cabin has worked out well. Many times I get upgraded to an entire category higher long before the ship sails. For example, I booked an L guarantee, and was upgraded to a C 2 weeks ago. If there are any upsells, I am now in position to end up with a balcony!

It's always been $250 for 14 days. However, that is per cabin. So if two people both own stock, they have to split the $250. Every year the announcement about the stock shipboard credit says this is good for the year. However, I have yet to see it get discontinued or lowered. I bought my 100 shares for about $45 a share, and then the stock market took a huge nosedive. My shares have yet to come anywhere close to what I bought them for. However, I've owned them long enought and taken enough two week cruises that I have made up the loss in shipboard credit. It's also good on Carnival, Cunard, Costa, and Princess-if you ever decide to sail those.

So you booked this yourself? You have no travel agent to intercede for you? If you are writing your complaint letters the way you are posting on here, you aren't helping your cause. We all are on your side; we have all had things happen that should not. But ranting madly to the people in authority isn't the way to get things to go your way. A calm, short letter with bullet points gets the job done better. Who have you written to so far? Its very possible that a calm letter written to the Office of the President can get you help. I wrote such a letter myself a couple of weeks ago. I got a canned response where it was obvious that my letter had only been skimmed through, and that briefly addressed one issue I had, and gave an incorrect answer. I wrote back, as the letter was the rudest reply I've ever gotten from any corporation. Two days later, I got a call from a HAL executive who spoke to me for 70 minutes, addressed all my concerns, apologized for the letter, gave me $85 in shipboard credit and upgraded my L guarantee cabin to the highest available outside cabin, a C, on my upcoming, twice canceled Asia cruise. I've been sailing on HAL since 1983, and I've never had a call from HAL personally. It completely changed my mind about the company.

What no one has mentioned is especially with foreign flights you should start looking when the flights open up- - about a year out. So you are coming to the party late. It looks like you could have a JetBlue or an AA nonstop flight for around $650 with a checked bag, or at least a carryon, and other choices that involve 12 or more hours in transit. I don't know how far the port is from Heathrow, and if you will be forced to spend the night or have to take flights after 3pm. I know which one I would pick- a nonstop over a flight with a connection on TAP, Air Lingus, Icelandic. But then I would never be picking a January TA anyway, and I wouldn't be complaining that price was too high. You probably got a great price on the cruise because it was a TA ( they are always cheaper) and its in January. I see it sails out of Miami, and you can fly there with a checked bag for $175. Also, what you may not know is they add lots of taxes flying out of London, too. So its doubtful you will find $300 flights to Europe with $30 checked bag fees.

What you also are not considering is that you are looking at the lowest class fare. The next class fare usually includes a checked bag. And many domestic flights are getting expensive as well. I know that is how JetBlue does it. Or just don't travel to Europe, or do a Europe cruise and fly RT, so the flight is cheaper than one way. You could check to see if its cheaper to fly out of JFK, too. Or possibly Montreal. But the travel costs may negate the cost of the luggage. Or wait and book a cruise that subsidizes your flight or gives free air. If you are going to book cruise air, r then make sure you read the cruise air thread so you completely understand air deviation and what you give up by letting the airline pick.. From what it sounds like, NCL has complete choice and could fly you in that day. That's something I would never do. However, here is another option. Get a credit card and earn enough miles to book an award flight. Then you don't have to pay for a ticket or a bag. Or book two transatlantic cruises.

I got a prescription mask for about $110 at my local dive shop. Best thing I ever did, and I wish I'd done it years ago. It can be totally customized as to color of mask, color of lenses, and size. Even though my prescription changes yearly, the mask has been fine. I recommend buying one and any gear you buy from a dive shop is always top notch!

You just said you won't pay $544 for a one way fare overseas. You may have no choice. First, one way fares are always more expensive! Second, you could find a super cheap airline, but you pay for everything. Airlines like Ryanair for example, make you pay for seat selection, carryons, etc. They frequently cancel flights and then you miss your cruise. I've flown TAP a number of times. TAP and a number of European airlines require a smaller carryon than American airlines do, and they have a metal bin they make you put yours in. If it sticks out in the least, you must pay to check it. They weigh them, too. If it is overweight at all, you pay extra. I imagine your carryon is too big for TAP, and you need to buy a new one. Some of the airline credit cards only get you free luggage for domestic flights, for example American Airlines. And domestic airline prices have shot up in price as well. Look into flying into an alternate airport and taking a train or bus. That could save you money. Start monitoring flight prices. Google flights lets you set up alerts, I think. JetBlue is a good choice, but be aware they don't belong to an alliance, so they won't put you on a different airline if your flight is cancelled. Finally, plan your flight for at least 2-3 days early.

I've only dove once on a cruise and it didn't work out well. I only got one dive in, I didn't get lunch, and I rushed to get back to the ship. This was in Cozumel. I've done lots more snorkeling while cruising. Of course I just got into diving during COVID. I had been doing snorkel tours in Cozumel at a dive ship as the snorkel tours are almost always better through dive shops. I had always been interested in diving, but thought I would be claustrophobic breathing with a regulator. At my resort, they had free diving gear tryout in the pool, so I signed up for a discover scuba dive. After finishing the course and pool work, the harbor was closed because of wind. The dive shop manager suggested signing up for Scuba Diver certification as I would have to come back the next day. I told him I wouldn't have time for the second dive as I was changing hotels. He offered to send me out on my own boat with just the instructor to make the time work. I accepted that and became Scuba Dive certified in February 2021. I already had a trip to Belize booked for June 2021, and changed it to add diving. I did the course work and pool work at home, and got Open Water certified in Belize. Since then I've dove in Egypt, Cozumel several more times, Tulum where I dove 6 cenotes, and this summer in Thailand. Before I went to Thailand, I went back to Cozumel ( I always dive with the same dive shop-Dressel Divers at the Iberostar), got my Advanced Open Water Certification, and dove my 99th and 100th dive with the divemaster who started me off. I now have 130 dives. I dive because I feel like Jacque Costeau underwater. I feel totally at peace-It's totally gorgeous, and I see things I could never see above ground. I love doing swim thrus, I love diving cenotes, I love seeing new things like nudibranches, I love meeting fellow divers, I love seeing how diving is different in different places. One place in Thailand looked like an alien planet. Thailand had huge mushroom shaped corals, Christmas tree worms, more kinds of sea cucumbers than I could shake a stick at, and beign able to swim in the middle of a fish ball of 1000 fish! I am now 66 and I started diving at 64! I only wish I had started diving earlier! I can't imagine not diving, and I will regret when I cna't dive anymore.

I talked to a diver familiar with Greece about this. Greece is a nice place to dive, but not a GREAT place to dive-not a top 30 place to dive. If you are interested in looking into this further, try looking at Matt Barrett's forum about Greece-it has loads of information.

I booked with Linda to dive in Belize, but it is a tender port. So, I missed the dive as my tender ran late, and the other people diving were on an earlier boat. I can only speak about Cozumel. Be aware as a newbie that Cozumel can have very strong currents AND sometimes the harbor closes because of wind. Also, the BEST reefs are on the other side of the island a good 30 minutes away from the town. So it depends on if the boat is picking you up and taking you there, or if you must take a cab. If 3 or boats are in port, town can be a disaster! So, although the best reefs are on the other side of the island, the reefs closer are still pretty darn nice. I would try to book so there are only 4 or so divers with one divemaster. You can Google and find lots of Cozumel dive shops.

Many, if not most, operators require you to wear a life vest if snorkeling. If you are a poor swimmer, I would reccomend you buy one of your own. Also, assess how comfortable you are in the water. It's easy to snorkel when it is calm. But sometimes it isn't. And when boats go by, waves come. This could really scare you, or even worse things could happen. And when diving, water conditions change all the time. I don't advise you learn to dive until you are a better swimmer. For example, this past summer in Thailand, the sea was rough. I jumped in with the divemaster. It was a full 15 minutes before the rest of the other divers came into the water. In the meantime, I was being bounced around on the surface by 2 1/2 foot swells waiting for them to get into the water.If Ididn't own my own BCD that was a full wraparound vest that kept me up on the surface, I could have been in trouble. It was dreadful getting back into the boat as well.

I would offer a different opinion. The BEST reefs are 30 minutes away. But Cozumel is one of the top 10 diving sites in the world, so even their secondary reefs are better than lots of other reefs. For example, I did 22 dives in Thailand this summer, and the visibility was pretty bad for most of those. Granted, still cool dives, but nothing like the 80 + feet in Cozumel. There are many, many dive operators in Cozumel. Some operate right out of San Miguel. I did 4 dives with a shop there and saw a huge turtle, a 7 foot green moray eel, and lots of other great things-and have great pictures of this to boot. So I would contact a local shop that dives out of San Miguel and see if you can arrange a later time. It will probably be cheaper than anything the cruise shop can arrange for yu anyway. And with a bunch of cruise ships in port, you don't want to get stuck in a taxi driving to the other side of the island anyway. I did that on a cruise ship once-no fun-I won't do that again!

Try Tours with Tong. She can probably arrange for a taxi to meet you at the cruise port, and she can certainly arrange a private tour for you. She is very reasonably priced and I did two great tours with her myself. I would look at Booking.com or Agoda for a hotel. A river hotel is a great idea-if you want to splurge-The Chatrium Riverside is lovely. If you want to go cheaper, make sure you get a hotel by a BTS or an MRT station-if you are going to sightsee yourself. You can book cheap airport transfers on Klook. The Grand Hyatt Eragon is also lovely-but pricey, and in a very noisy section of town.