graphicguy

Still cheaper than the others, plus NCL gives you drinks, SDP, some internet and excursion credits.

I mentioned before, I'm a cruise shopping fiend. I have not been back to NE and Canada for a couple of years. I love that itinerary and in September, the leaves are turning. So, it's beautiful. Let's do a comparison. MSC doesn't have a cruise available in Canada for Sept so I can't include them. All are balconies...all are sailing in Sept. All are 7 day cruises. Royal's is an older ship. Carnival's is a converted Costa ship. NCL's JOY is a Breakaway Plus ship that just finished dry dock. Just looked all of them up from their WEB site booking pages. NCL's fare includes FAS and tips. The rest do not. So, tell me who is nickel and diming. I'll put NCL's food, drinks and service up against any of the other ships on this list. And yes, I've sailed Carnival and Royal, too. Royal 7 Night Canada Cruise Leaving from Boston, Massachusetts onboard Jewel of the Seas Sep 22, 2024Sep 29, 2024 Due today Total price $500.00 $2,743.28 USD Staterooms Ocean View Balcony 2 Guests Ocean View Balcony Aft Deck 7 #7650 Guest Info Dining & Options Payment Summary View pricing by guest Staterooms $2,332.00 Subtotal $2,332.00 Taxes & fees $411.28 Total price $2,743.28 Carnival Itinerary:7-Day Canada & New England from Manhattan, New York City, NY Sat Sep 7, 2024 - Sat Sep 14, 2024 Ship:Carnival Venezia 1 Room 2 GuestsChange Room 1: Cove Balcony Onboard Credit Bonus Early Saver Sale $50.00 Credit to spend onboard Included Guest 1: $1,239.00 Guest 2: $1,239.00 Taxes, fees & port expenses: $419.30 Room Total$2,897.30 NCL 1. NUMBER OF GUESTS & DATES 2 Guests Sep 10 — Sep 17 2024 2. STATEROOM & OFFERS Balcony#9746 Offers 3. GUEST INFORMATION & PAYMENT Stateroom Offers Prices shown in USD unless otherwise noted. PRICE SUMMARY STATEROOM 2 Guests Balcony $3,676 50% Off All Cruises $1,838 FREE AT SEA Open Bar Selected Specialty Dining Selected Shore Excursions Included WiFi Included +MORE OFFERS 50% Off All Cruises Included 2-For-1 Deposits Included GRATUITIES Open Bar Gratuities $305.20 Specialty Dining Gratuities $39.60 Subtotal $2,182.80 Excl. taxes, fees and port expenses, they will be added at checkout. View Cancellation Policy

We all met up at Sail Away and in the Solo M&G. It was all very impromptu. I tend to "do my own thing". I know the solo group dined together and went to some of the shows as a group. Still, while one of the cheapest cruises I've ever taken, it's probably at least a top 5 cruise for me.

They sure do know how to tempt you to come to the casino. Come and get cookies!!!!!! 😉

Donna was on the Prima a few weeks ago. Price is Right, not really a game show guy, but went anyway. It was packed. I hate to admit I had fun, but I did. They were giving away a Corvette. You won it if you got within a few hundred dollars of the Retail Sticker. I did. But alas, I wasn't called up.

I'm sure Jamie remembers more than me. But there was her, @ESCARGO, and others I don't recall right now. I've met a lot of great cruise friends on NCL that hang out here.

That sounds like a good time. You snagged a deal. Outstanding. To this day, that cruise we sailed together was to date the cheapest cruise I've ever taken. $800, Club Balcony, with FAS, and I think $200 OBC for 7 nites, all in. That cruise was fun (well, they all are). I'll be on the Joy in Sept! New ship (for me). Looking forward to it.

I look at this from a dozen plus different cruises with NCL starting 30+ years ago. Looking back even a dozen years ago, there was no "free at sea". Drinks were paid for a la carte (and I had me some eye popping liquor bills). Now with FAS, you pay tips only. There were no "free" specialty dinners. Now, you pay tips only. Regardless of how you or I feel about the entertainment, it is WAY better today that it ever was on the SS Norway (my first NCL ship). Smoking? Everywhere...all the time! I tipped everyone all the time. Wine Steward? Tip! (even though I perhaps had one glass of wine all cruise). Maitre D? Tip (even though he only found a table for you on that first night). Bus Boy? Tip. Towel guy by the loungers? Tip. Bartenders? Tip...every single drink. It went on an on that way. Food? Truthfully, I don't remember it being better or worse than it is today. Different menu items? For sure. But, also way more selection these days. Go see what a drink package costs on a Royal Cruise, for example. Believe it or not, adjusted for inflation, my cruise fare (and total costs) are about the same today as they were 15-20 years ago. And, there is much more variety and much more included in the NCL cruise today. Nickel and dimeing? Never understood where this came from!

I get it. I shop like a fiend. I know I can find some fares on some cruise lines lower (total cost, not just the fares) on any given time and itinerary. There was a time MSC was considerably less expensive than just about any other cruise line out there. To me, that just isn't the case, any more. IF MSC works better for you, I understand. It doesn't for me. But, I'm a party of one. Personally, I get way more bang for my buck on NCL. Has that, or will that, always be true? Probably not. You and I have spoken about some frustrating times with both NCL and MSC. That's why there are other great choices. Finally, Jamie does not need me to defend her. She can do that quite ably on her own. However, I've sailed with her. I consider her one of my "cruise friends". To me, that's high praise. She's one of the nicest (and cruise knowledgeable) people I know. So, attacking her won't stand if I notice it without some sort of defense by me.

Nickel and Dime? Compared to which other cruise line?

I get it. But how much is their drink package? How many Specialty Dinners do you get?

Jamie…we’ve met and sailed together. I have the utmost respect for you. We just have different cruise objectives. I don’t spend much time in my cabin other than to sleep, shower, have cups of coffee on my balcony in the a.m. to start the day overlooking the water or port. And, to have nightcaps on the balcony reviewing my day! In between? I’m rarely in the cabin. I will request extra towels in case I need to “reshower” if I’m sweaty because of excursions. Turn down is another situation where it doesn’t mean much to me, nor are towel animals. Our focus is just different. I sincerely hope our paths cross again on a ship!

..or, in any jewelry store anywhere in the world . Jewelry has the highest markup of any consumer product, anywhere!

Park West (cruise ship art purveyors) has had a checkered past. I never realized it, but I guess it’s a big business on board. On my last Prima cruise, I befriended a couple who bought a Peter Max for a $100K piece that they said was a “bargain” at a reduced price of $82,000! They showed me the contract for the purchase, otherwise I wouldn’t have believed it myself! I don’t k ow diddly about art. Bourbon? Oh, I can write a dissertation! LOL! I don’t know what NCL’s cut is, but I would love to have dinner with one of the Park West managers to understand how it all works!

Attack? Where did they say you got unlimited lobsters for free? What were you charged for that they said they’d give you and didn’t? What did the Concierges promise you they couldn’t provide? Just because I may or may not like SIX, or Price is Right, for example, doesn’t mean no one else does either!

Even the acts are different, the shows are different, the food and food venues are different, sometimes from ship to ship, but certainly from ship category to ship category. I dined next to a crumdgeon on the Prima in Indulge. He was beside himself that he had to order from a tablet vs having a person come by to take his order. They walk among us.

It's the sense of "entitlement". "I WANT MORE LOBSTER"....."FOOD IS POOR"....and on and on. How many lobsters do you order, anyway? How much food can you possibly want? You tried everything on board and it was all "poor"? Really? I remember one person who, instead of setting her alarm, wanted the Butler to quietly come to her cabin door, with out knocking, quietly enter and gently wake her every morning so she wouldn't have get up to answer the cabin door. There have been various threads roaming around here that wanted the Butler and/or the cabin steward to baby sit her kid(s). Over the years I've been in here, there are a wealth of these stories. Gimme....gimme....gimme....this makes me nuts.

Highlighted your quote. That's the very definition of the "thing" of not getting exactly the same "thing". I can tell you from experience, the different classes of ships have wildly different experiences. If you want the same experience from ship to ship, then NCL is not for you. That's the main reason some people do not like the Prima. It is very different than the experience on ANY other NCL ship....right down to the different dining venues. Not a loyalist. I have sailed Carnival (Gold), Celebrity (Elite), Royal (Diamond), MSC (Diamond), HAL (not sure what I am with them), and NCL (Sapphire). Have sailed NCL the most. Why, because each ship category is unique. I love the variety. They treat me well. Their fares are competitive. If (and we all do) I run into an issue, they are willing and determined to fix it. NOthing's perfect. Their food is overall quite good, as is their entertainment. I don't like all of it, but can find something I like to be entertained by. All the cruise lines have that. I think that's why I like sailing new ships. On NCL, they tend to be different, offering a different experience. Not better or worse, just different.

That's not a thing. The Jewel Class ships and way different than the Spirit Class ships, which are way different than the Breakaway Class ships which are way different than the Prima Class ships. Different galleys...heck...different restaurants, sometimes. Differences? Yes. Decline? I haven't seen it. You make or may not like the changes from year to year or ship to ship, but NCL is sailing full. They must be doing something right...that the majority of their guests like. Premix drinks are pretty much standard, but different bartenders in different bars have different "long pours". The variables are many and the differences are just the same. Human Nature, being what it is, even some crew, although all trained the same way, will react differently to a constant complainer vs someone who gives them a chance to shine.

Thank you! It is toxic. And, for the most part, you can tell what kind of "cruiser" the chronic complainers are. Plus, while changes have occurred, none of it has affected my cruising enjoyment. Aside from a faux pas here and there, most of which I've documented here at CC, I find if you treat crew with respect, they will repay it 5 fold. Be a jerk, and crew will smile and accept the abuse, but they are paid to do that. I have yet to sail on any cruise where the food was totally "bad"...as some here purport. IT has been overall, quite good. Have only had one meal I just could not eat....Lobster Thermidor in LeBistro. Lobster was tough and the sauce had "broken". Not a good taste, nor a good look. Even though it was part of FAS, they gave me a credit for another Specialty Dinner on board. I have yet to find a situation that didn't meet my expectations which NCL did not try to rectify (and overall succeeded in doing so, given the chance). I've sworn off NCL after the start up fiascos of PROMISING to sail, and then reengaging on their promise. They threw me some generous FCC as compensation. Did a header recently on a puddle in the Local. After being interrogated by the ever hapless security people, trying to find a way to blame me for slipping in a puddle, they. gave me a generous discount on my next cruise. I've seen complaints that people couldn't find cookies on board. They're there, maybe not where you wanted them to be, but they're there. Potato hash rounds gone? Don't care one way or the other. Replacing the show SIX or Kinky Boots with Price is Right or Deal-No Deal? Not my cup of tea, but apparently it's a very popular change. Just because I don't like the change, doesn't mean others feel the same. Those game shows were all well attended as best I can tell. I've seen it in all the different cruise line threads. The chronic complainers seem to find fault at the most mundane and inconsequential "things" on board. And, it does become tiring. There are a wealth of cruise lines and cruise ships. If NCL doesn't fit the bill, there are others that might. Try them. See if they work for you. Short of my cruise ship running aground or raw sewage running down the hall ways or backing up into my cabin, most problems can be readily resolved....if they are truly problems to begin with.

Same here. The ships I’ve sailed with Starlink make things a LOT easier and quicker. But, if you’re going to vlog live, everyday, you need the unlimited plan. Plus, it’s way faster than the “free” minutes. Before that, it was a highly frustrating (including posts getting lost), sllooooowww, live, drama filled posting experience!

You’re driving right through the heart of my home! Welcome!

Generally speaking, NCL transports are on time and budget friendly compared to Taxis and Uber! I've used them from MIA, FLL, SEA AND Galveston!

Mercy! Wound a little too tight? Take deep breaths. Exhale slowly. Go have a biscuit, or a cookie, or whatever you want to call those sweet or savory things that are good to eat. 😉

It does help on higher end fares like Haven cabins! NCL is good to Vets! They have a really good “meet and greet” for us, too!