dad son team

I'm sailing this weekend on a TA from Miami to Barcelona.  Our first stops are in the Canary Islands, followed by 2 more in Spain before ending in Barcelona.  I know when flying you do immigration at the first port of entry.  Since all the stops are in Spain, will that be the case here as well or will we have to do immigration/customs in Barcelona?

22 hours ago, Ashland said:

Thanks for adding to my post #9.

you're welcome

Diamond only gets a discount, not a free bag.  Diamond + get the free bag

For the $15 bucks at JR I'd rather spend a few more and go to Chops for lunch

Not to get too deep in the weeds on this, please understand the length of validity rule is set by each country visited, not RCL.  RCL will suggest the passports have 6 months validity as that is what most countries will require.  That said, it's not like they are checking your passport at each island.

Also, RCL doesn't require passports on closed loop itineraries (depart and return to same port) but do require passports for open loop, like this itinerary will be.  I suggest you call RCL, or better yet email so you have written proof, to confirm what they will require.

On 4/11/2024 at 12:41 PM, smokeybandit said:

There is a fee (like $8-10 per hour) in kids' club after 10pm. But we rarely saw anyone using that.

How times have changed.  When my DS (now 27 yo) used to go it was $4 and hour and there was usually a good crowd, all vying for the gaga ball trophy.

it's been a minute since my DS was in the kids club, but there wasn't a fee for that unless it was the afterhours time, I think 10p-1am?

Might want a line for extra tips to room steward or server/bartender that may go above and beyond.

Depending on how inclusive you want to be in your costs, don't forget things like port parking and hotel the night before, if applicable.

If you want it to be quieter, and outside of your cabin, then doing it on the port day when most people are off the ship would be ideal.  Maybe you Bro can decorate the room while you are proposing.  Bring the decorations with you or he can bring them so she doesn't see it coming.  It will be much cheaper than buying from RCL.  

Talk to the cruise director staff about locations. They know the ship the best and have probably seen it all so they would have great ideas

Funny story about Foster's.  When my DS was 18, we went on NCL and they will allow 18-20yo to drink beer and wine with parents' permission.  I agreed to sign the waiver and said he had a limit of 2 a day.  Without a drink plan I was afraid he would go crazy and bankrupt me, lol.  Well, I see him with a group of new friends his age holding a can of Foster's and when I asked about it his response was well, you didn't say how big.  He had me there.

22 hours ago, Jetdriver787 said:

We are just embarking on our 6th TA cruise in a months time. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned but we have always found very useful, are airline loyalty programmes! Even if you aren’t currently signed up to one or don’t have many points, membership can give you a lot of flexibility and a considerable amount of extra comfort at a surprisingly low price.

 

One of the (many) frustrations of these programmes are the difficulty of finding available flights when you want them. Cruisers usually avoid this problem by being able to book a long way in advance at “quieter” times of the year. Another frustration with these programmes is often that when you find a flight you can use, it can be very difficult (if not impossible) to marry it up to a return flight. Obviously “one way” cruisers don’t have this problem.

 

As many people know (or discover) one way air fare is often significantly more expensive than a return journey. Reward tickets are very much geared to one way travel and proportionally priced per sector.

 

This type of ticket is also (usually) very flexible. In that you can change or cancel the ticket up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund of the points and around $100 change or cancellation fee. 
 

If you don’t have enough airline points within a scheme, you can often purchase up to a certain number a year. Often and particularly for premium class travel, this can be a very cost efficient way to obtain a suitable and highly flexible ticket.

 

we have used this method for all of our TA’s for air travel between Europe and the USA/Caribbean. Also used them for a lot of one-way travel within Europe. 

 

I agree that the one-way tickets can be outrageous.  Many will do 2 TA's and utilize one RT ticket.  Example: sail Miami to Barcelona in May, fly home, then fly back to Barcelona in September and sail back to Miami.  Requires one RT Barcelona-Miami-Barcelona.

I am doing something similar but have no intention of using my return flight.  Barcelona-NYC one way was $3k, but RT with a September return was $782.  

Does anyone have experience with traveling to the southern part of the island, closer to the airport, from the port?  Mapquest is saying it is about an hour by car.  Any thought on the cost for doing this?

I think anything under $30 is probably good.  My upcoming cruise has it at 29.99 but it was up to 32.99 not long ago.  

20 minutes ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

Unless you hit 175 points on Royal only!

Only 80 for Diamond and I think that is as high as they will match.  175 is Diamond+

13 hours ago, SEA DOGY said:

We are Elite + on Celebrity. Can we get in the Crown lounge. TIA 

you will need to call C&A and have them do a status match with your captains Club number.  You will only have to do this once and then your status will stay Diamond

Sailing with my Bestie on my first TA.  Anyone else want to join us for daily happy hour?

On 11/10/2023 at 3:33 PM, Dobby36 said:

true, but the tourist areas including PV are noted to be excluded.  If they were regularly unsafe for tourists, the monetary losses would be devastating. 
 

 

Last time I was there we rented an apartment with VBRO and the owner was an American artist from California.  She said PV is very safe because the drug cartels keep it that way to launder money through the hotels and tourist sites.  It's plausible and she's lived there 20 years.

Fair enough.  I usually make "friends" with a bartender or server on the ship as we see each other every day, but only ever kept in touch with one person who I became "FWB" so to speak and we are friends on Facebook

These questions always stump me as to why you would want to know.  Does it make a difference in your cruise, or which one you book?  I have been on 20+ and I don't remember 1 officer or whether they made a difference in my experience or not.  

Please don't be offended by my question, I'm just being curious.

I just booked my first NCL award, a $250 off cert.  I didn't know how this all worked, and wasn't expecting the $79 fee, but I guess it's still $170 off the cost of the cruise for paying nothing to MyVegas.  I was also able to combine this with a $250 cruise next cert, and a 50% off coupon that NCL was kind enough to deposit on my account.  Made for a good value when it was all done

Tagging on to this thread, can internet be purchased by the day?  I need it for 1 day (really 3-4 hours) to do some work and don't want to pay for the whole week if I don't have to.

for the extra few dollars it costs, take the medical coverage and have peace of mind

cruise pricing can be strange sometimes.  I booked a cruise for 3 people, and it was cheaper to do 2 cabins, with 1 being a solo cabin rather than doing 3 people in 1 cabin. 

AS for connecting, I did a studio on Epic and they did have connecting studios

2 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I think I found the group you were referring to.

 

I don't necessarily care about sub-groups.  Of the ones I qualify for, I'm not attracted to the men (there's probably a psychoanalysis there. 😆) 

 

As a solo traveler, my concern is being the "third wheel."  I'd hate to spend thousands of dollars only to wander around by myself feeling awkward.  It's conceivable I could travel with friends who are a couple which would mitigate that but not sure (they seem to be of the same mind as CDNPolar's husband.) 

 

For those who have done these solo, what have your experiences been like?

Don't overthink it.  These groups are not necessarily for hooking up but more for camaraderie.  I go with the bear groups because that is what I am defined as in the community, and it's nice to not be the only chubby, hairy guy at the pool in a speedo.  Are there hook ups?  Of course, but there is also a lot of just friendly conversation and socializing.  Dinner for example is usually a set of tables for the group in the dining room and the tables can be anywhere from 2 to 12 people.  It's usually a mix of sizes.  You get to choose each night, and the larger tables are usually made up of both couples, single friends, and solo travelers so you never feel like the odd number wheel.  Last one I went on was a group of about 150 and I sat with different people each night.  Sometimes it was a table for 2 at a specialty restaurant with a new platonic friend, other times it was the table for 12 with the host and entertainment.  

10 hours ago, cb2367 said:

I've been on several cruises and mostly book studio cabins, although I am interested in knowing how others here have booked inside or balcony at less than double cost.

 

There's a studio lounge on the ships with the studio cabins. After the first night, the group of solo travellers will meet up there with the solo coordinator. They will hang out for a bit and then the coordinator will arrange for the group to go to dinner.

 

I would recommend booking with NCL and checking out a studio cabin/meeting up with other solo travellers.

You just need to watch the fares for the best deals that do not have the solo supplement.  My September cruise on the Sun to Alaska doesn't have the supplement so that was great!  When shopping be sure to use the filters and select 1 person traveling so you'll see the correct fare.  

17 hours ago, phillygwm said:

It's personal preference.  I'm someone who hasn't done a pride parade in decades.  I go to bars maybe a few times a year.  I'm certainly not someone you'd consider part of "the scene." 

 

Would I consider one of these tours?  It's intriguing. All else being equal, I'd probably have more in common with a group of gays than a mostly straight cohort.  Or not:  I've gone to my share of LGBT mixers on traditional ships and they can be kind of cliquish, though I'll take my share of responsibility there.  I can be a bit socially uncomfortable/awkward so maybe I was projecting.

 

Weighing against it, I'm a single traveler so adding the supplement makes many of the cruises pricey.  Though the land-based tours might be doable.  

The single supplement isn't always that bad, especially if it's just a group vs. a whole ship.  Most of the group prices are close to the online prices so if you shop that way you can get a good feel for the price.  For the one I am going on next month, there was no single supplement.  it's a bit convoluted with the various discounts I got, but in a nutshell, the price quoted me to book with the group was about the same as the online price, which allowed for no supplement.  The agency that books the group was not able to book using all the discounts I had but told me or a small fee I can link my reservation to the group, which I did. Since I am traveling solo, the value in this for me is being able to dine with the group and go on excusions with the group, if I choose.