elcuchio24

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Yeah. And, of course, you don't tell anyone where you actually got it!

No one knows but I! And now you fine folks....

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

And little Lobster magnets from China at the souvenir shops too.  I have several of them.  😉 

I've had a couple times where I wanted to get a t-shirt at port, and forgot, or got busy and it didnt happen. So I just ordered one. My Malta shirt is still just as good even though I forgot to get it in Malta....it was waiting for me when I got back home! 🙂

15 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Yeah.  You could walk down the beach on a romantic evening.  Find an interesting shell to take home and remember the time you enjoyed on that beach. 

 

Or...you could go to the touristy shell shop that brings in shells on container packs from China and pick one up.  

 

Which one brings more memories.?   

The memories exist no matter what. If its important to someone to memorialize those memories in physical form, and the cruise line is saying no, this is the next best option.

probably grab one on Ebay for $4.99

I'll just add that if you do think you'll be CLOSE to the break even point, its nice to have so then you dont have to have it on your mind or think about the cost if you choose to have some extra drinks, wine at dinner, etc.

Not an issue for us, as we break even at about 10:30am.... 😁

Everything is free!

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

There is a very well accepted saying on that major investing forum.

 

"Once you know enough to select a good financial advisor, you no longer need them"

 

This is VERY true.

10000%!!! Do mine all myself and wouldnt change a thing..

Love the balcony. Balcony everytime, doesnt matter the itin/length. #Balcony4life!

Break even comes down to about 8 drinks a day. We can hit 8 each before lunch. Works for some, not for others.

Have two RCL cruises booked on Wonder and Oasis, thats right in the wheelhouse...works for us but certainly need to down some serious cocktails to make it cost effective.

19 minutes ago, AllgoodOnTheRoad said:

Love that they are back to ordering more ships, but it is time to start raising the quality of goods and services onboard again. It was understandable after Covid, but now we should see some of that come back again. 

That doesnt help the bottom line...;-)

2 hours ago, ineedadisplayname1Vbbjhju said:

This is amazing news , I can't afford icon of seas because I get the casino offers for carnival. so I hope these ships are big like Icon. I go on Celebration in December and can't wait. 

It won't be big as icon, more likely same size as Celebration/MartiGras

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

I agree with @mz-s. Cruising as an industry is changing with big ships going to a few tightly controlled ports becoming the norm for the 3-4 big mass market lines. I think the belief is that such a strategy vastly increases the potential customer base.

 

Other lines will continue to serve the traveler market. 

Agree 100%. The big lines aren't going to order any smaller ships anytime soon. For CCL, we probably won't book anything other than Excel class going forward. I like them. Not as much as some of the larger RCL ships, but still pleased to sail on them. 

10 hours ago, Port of New Orleans said:

The Mardi Gras was originally slated to sail out of New York before the COVID pandemic

We've been on some of the larger NCL ships out of Pier 88, similar size. Its a big bridge, shouldnt be an issue. 

our kids always love it. If you can just get over the hump of the first day, to get them to go, should be clear sailing!

Can't say it make total sense, but I always take ours in European/Asian ports but rarely if ever do in the Caribbean. Maybe its because we're closer to home? I do keep photocopies just in case. Wouldnt be as good as the originals in a pinch, but something. 

Many time the 'upgrade' upsell is the same amount as if you'd booked the upsold room originally. Always do your homework. We have very rarely taken an upgrade, since we usually book what we want.

The UPGRADE FAIRY used to be around a bit more, with actual upgrades at no cost, but seems to have vanished, at least for me, over the last decade...

Kennedy Space Center is awesome, if you are at all interested its a great time. 

Just now, Rick&Jeannie said:

And get hit with a *second* bad exchange rate....

No, we just hang onto any extra as well.  I've got Euros and British pounds (currency and coins) sitting in our "travel" drawer! Probably not enough to do much of anything but maybe a few tips...

In all reality, we find we usually use credit cards anyway, pretty rare to have to use cash unless you prefer it 

17 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Well...it's "easy" but not exactly cheap in my case.  My bank requires you to purchase $200 in US equivalent to whatever foreign funds you want...and you CANNOT "mix & match" the foreign funds.  All of one type, so if you need Euros AND British pounds...$400!

 You can typically trade them back if you have unused currency when you get home. We usually get $500 of each at a time, but travel enough that if we dont use it all, we'll just use it the next time.

You can also just use at ATM or currency exchange while in the specific country. We've done that before as well, just make sure to use a cash advance credit card with no foreign  transaction fee. 

On 3/23/2024 at 11:53 AM, cruisekitty22 said:

We love NCL  for all it offers. How does MSC compare for a balcony room,.  Do people on board speak English or is it all foreign languages 24/7?  How does the food, drinks ect compare?   Do they offer a good drink package?  How much is the cost?  How is it sailing from Brooklyn?  Sorry for so many questions.  We are used to NCL and have yet to try MSC. 

Even for European cruises we've taken on MSC, the primary language is English (which is interesting because often only 10% of guests are english speaking).

We like MSC alot. I thought the food was similar to NCL, although different especially on Euro cruises. Drink packages are similar cost on RCL/CCL and probably similar to NCL when you figure in the Free at Sea package upcharge. Brooklyn is pretty easy and the sail away is beautiful. Enjoy!

very easy to get euros from your local bank ahead of time 

15 hours ago, moviegal said:

A big, hearty "thank you" to  everyone who responded. Super useful information, and I really do appreciate it! Now I know my homework when I sail: try to find all of the "above $20" drinks and report back, LOL!

you fancy!

3 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Sounds great!! Reason I asked was that Pride arrives the day Venezia departs Bermuda and we are planning on meeting some CC people from Venezia for a drink that day.  Wanted to extend the invite to you!  Have a great cruise with your family!!

That is very kind and thoughtful of you. Great to have nice civil people on these boards still, reminds me of the old days!

Enjoy your cruise as well, and time with fellow CC'ers--catch you the next time around. 

19 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Are you sailing on Pride out of Baltimore?  Or Venezia out of NYC?  

NCL Gem out of Boston. We sail CCL some but sail alot of other cruise lines often as well.