wcook

That sort of aggressive haggling will go nowhere with a giant corporation. However, you could always call and ask if they have any hidden deals and what is the cheapest price they could charge you. 
 

One quirk about cruise lines is they make all their money selling extras, not selling the cabin. If I were in charge and had the power to haggle, somebody making a lowball offer is they last person I want as a customer. They are unlikely to buy the overpriced drinks, excursions, art, etc. 

Sadly, I don’t have menu pictures. Assuming it is similar to the Toscana, dinner is four courses - starter, appetizer, main and desert. Lots of seafood and pasta with at least one meat dish. There were always available choices that weren’t that different from the main menu - a basic pasta, fish, a beef dish, etc. Main dishes were good sized. The other stuff - especially deserts - were small. Ask for two 🙂

Hopefully somebody has better answers for you. This is just my experience from my one Costa cruise. And I heard some rumbling that the lack of variety was impacted by supply problems due to trouble with the Suez Canal.  

Luggage is easy - you drop off when you get to your airport. You pick it up when you arrive. You hop into a cab to the port. Genoa port is a short cab ride from the airport. Sevona is a long cab ride from the Genoa airport. Marseille port is a medium cab ride from Marseille airport. If Barcelona is an option it’s medium cab ride and there are going to be more flight options. The only annoying thing with luggage is if your flight home has a transfer in a US airport you have to take your luggage through customs in that airport and recheck it. 
 

Of course, I’m sure you realize San Diego doesn’t have the best flight options to Europe. But that’s your karma for having perfect weather every day. 
 

As for Costa starting/ending in multiple ports, one you experience it you’ll never want to go back. Embankment and Disembarkment days are just normal days on ship. So much nicer and easier. Sure you give having everybody on the cruise starting the same day and having a sad last night together, it’s so worth it. 

1 hour ago, jsn55 said:

But my big question is "how do you compose a photo if you can't see the display in bright light?" 

If necessary, take a bunch of pictures blind, then pick the best one and clean it up later. 

The port has easy road access - it’s not an industrial port. Taxis that take credit cards should be there

To me destination are the most important thing, but not the only thing. Fortunately, most destinations have a choice of ships. I would never pick a ship if it wasn’t going where I want to go, no matter how cool the ship. But I would accept slightly less desirable ports for a ship I like more. 

14 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

IMO: Partial canal transit is like kissing your sister.

What’s wrong with kissing my sister? Is she not good enough for you; you think you are better than her?

12 hours ago, clo said:

Why is that? Asking sincerely.

The cruise lines are pushing more and more onto their app. I know one line no longer allows online check in from a computer; it must be done through the app (or in person at the dock). Bars and restaurants on the ship are using QR codes. Right now you can still get paper menus and there are work-arounds for everything else on the app. But for how long?

As a side note: Within the next few years it’s going to be near impossible to cruise without a cell phone. 

I honestly believe that first time cruisers only “need” one thing: to get their butt on the boat. A passport, visa if necessary, flight to Europe, etc. pretty much everything else is optional. As for your specific questions:

Your phone will take plenty great pictures for posting on Facebook/Instagram etc, or just sharing with friends when you get back. No need for a camera unless you just enjoy it as a hobby. 
 

No need for a swimsuit. If the hot tub does call, shorts and a t-shirt work in a pinch. 

I would price out the cost of having the third person get their own inside cabin. Sometimes it won’t be much more than the cost of putting three in a balcony, especially if you are thinking of upgrading the balcony to get more room. Having your own bed (and bathroom!) is so much nicer. Of course, it might be a lot more expensive, but it’s at least worth checking. 

Modern ships are more and more resorts that happen to move around on water and less and less about being a ship. As things change, traditions change. I don’t expect the folks in charge of driving or maintaining the boat to be responsible for everything on the ship. I don’t want to see the captain riding the roller coaster or going down the water slides. I want the bridge staff free to look out for icebergs (or whatever they do) and the kitchen staff worrying about the passengers food. 
 

Obviously this applies to mainstream cruise lines. Smaller ships are another matter. 

I just want to take a second to praise the UK’s NHS. My wife had an accident on a recent non-cruise vacation. Yes, those exist 😀. Everyone from the ambulance drivers to the hospital staff to the doctors was great and their #1 priority was taking care of her. Only in the downtimes did someone come around to talk about how we were going to pay. They took our info, our insurance info and said they’d figure it out. With all the stress of the accident and trying to manage things in a foreign country, not having to think about payment was wonderful. Most countries are not like this, so I wanted to give credit where it was due. 
 

For the curious, a we got a $5,000 bill a couple weeks after we got home. Her normal health insurance paid it after the $500 hospitalization deductible. 

I take a number of long haul trips every year. Some random advice; feel free to take or ignore:

0) Have a great trip; enjoy!
 

1) Jet lag either happens, or it doesn’t. Just accept it. Fighting/worrying just makes it worse. Melatonin can’t hurt, and getting lots of natural sunlight always helps. 

2) Reduce flight stress by getting to the airport extra early. Plan on having a nice sit down meal with your extra time. Carry on as little as possible. 
 

3) Talk to your doctors about getting a few benzos (Valium, Xanax, etc.) for the flights. They make flying and sleeping on flights so much easier
 

4) People love to complain about flying, but long hauls can actually be enjoyable. You’ll get some food, modern in flight entertainment systems are fabulous. You can watch whatever movies you want or binge watch a tv series. 
 

5) If your s.o. is going to be cranky, let them know it’s ok as long as (1) it ends when the flight ends (2) there’s an apology and some making up for it when the flight is over. 

The escudo is pegged to the Euro, which is why that is the most accepted foreign currency. But don’t count on shops accepting Euros or credit cards. Worth it - IMO - to get some escudos. 

Cholera is certainly scary, but it’s really unlikely to show up on a cruise ship. From an overall risk standpoint, I don’t think it adds much to the current risk profile of noro/Covid/flu. Not to mention the risks from driving to the port and what not. 

There are a number of crew members who have YouTube (and probably other social media) documenting their lives. I don’t recall much discussing of eating in the buffet, except from one (a royal Caribbean ice performer.) She and her friends have occasional “nights off” where they go into passenger dining areas. But they wear “civilian” clothes and aren’t readily recognizable as crew. 

On 3/1/2024 at 6:08 PM, sfaaa said:

The way it should be. Why do you think officers and managers get a bigger paycheck + perks every month?

It’s one thing to say officers need to be paid more because their jobs require specialized skills leading to a smaller pool of candidates. That’s very different from saying they are more “worthy” 

From the second day of cruise ships people have been complaining that the quality is going down. Either this is not an accurate representation of food quality, or we are all eating complete garbage. 

On 2/20/2024 at 11:09 PM, donaldsc said:

Wish me luck.

Good luck

Seems to me that as long as NCL is willing to book the cruise, it doesn’t really matter what the travel agent thinks. 
 

But, yeah, the other posters have correctly explained the legalities. 

You will be told - in the daily program and on signs when exiting - what the “all aboard time” is. Usually a half hour before the ship is scheduled to leave. 

Honestly, any of the mainstream lines will give you a wonderful cruise with something for everybody. Pick whichever strikes your fancy and have a great time. 

Q: Is a hot dog a sandwich? 

11 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

10 drinks over 10 hours puts my BAC @ .08…not a big deal on a cruise,

Unless you are driving the boat 🙂