mac66

We've cruised on NCL 4 times, Carnival 2 times, Royal about a dozen times and Celebrity 7 times. We like Celebrity the best but Royal is our go to. The Oasis class ships on Royal I think are the best for families, tons of stuff to do. Of course now they have even bigger Icon class ships. Now that our kids are grown we tend to like the smaller Royal ships but we've sailed on all their classes of ships and always had a good time. Just got off one of the biggest Celebrity ships (Beyond). It was nice, almost too big. I think I prefer their smaller ships as well. And BTW, we don't do suites, rarely do specialty dinning or drink packages or anything special. Often sail in inside cabins. And...while food quality and service tended to go down after covid, we went on a smaller Royal ship last winter with my brothers and their wives (who don't cruise very much) and they raved about the food and service. I was pleasantly surprised as well considering the previous couple cruises, food and service were mediocre. I would like to try NCL again but so far haven't found a price or itinerary comparable to Royal.

We went on the POA in 2008. Flew in, spent a week, got on the ship and flew home after. Went back in 2018 with friends. Again flew in for a week before, did the ship, stayed an additional 5 days on Kona then flew home. The ship was pretty worn and tattered the second time but we pretty much just ate and slept there so no biggie. I do think it's a great, maybe even the best way to see the islands. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

We are constantly looking at other cruise lines than RC or X but frankly haven't really found any better deals. Not to mention having to learn all the ins and outs of a different cruise line. We are Ds on RC, elite on X. Have sailed NCL 4 times (last in 2016 in Hawaii) and Carnival a few times in the early days. Had a Princess cruise booked once but I broke my leg 2 days before and had to cancel. We don't do suites, rarely buy specialty restaurants. We're not married to RC/X but still manage to find deals occasionally and are comfortable with their system and ships. We just did an 11 nighter, panama canal/ABC island cruise on X. Wasn't cheap but was a good deal for what it was. Probably the only cruise we are doing this year unless we can find a really good deal with an interesting itinerary. I open to suggestions for better prices, itineraries and cruise experiences from other cruise lines.

Kind of funny listening to people complain about prices when they do multiple cruises a year in suites and/or buy all the added packages etc. First world problems...tough life LOL

great info Harris as usual. I was thinking that transportation would be the biggest obstacle but navigation could be a big issue particularly if not used to navigating under water. However, when we were snorkeling at the salt pier we saw lots of divers. Looked like a pretty easy place to dive. Some of the other places off shore, not so much. I think when it comes downs to it (in Bonaire anyway) transportation is going to cost you $100 ( a golf cart is $100 for the day) and then equipment depending on what you have. Tanks and weights were $25, a BCD would be more. Ultimately it would probably be easier to just go through a dive shop. Third strategy would be to make friends with someone who dives and lives or stays on the island. Let them know when you'll be there and have them pick you up from the pier. LOL

If each of 2 people in a cabin bring two bottles of wine during check through there is no way security knows or can correlate that those two people are together. We typically only bring two bottles in one carry on but we have taken 4 bottles as well at times. Additionally, we've put bottles in our checked in luggage and have never been flagged. So there's that. BTW, just got off Beyond in mid February

We just got off an 11 night cruise. There were a lot of people on scooters. These ships are so big now they should have trolleys to get from one end to another.😁

I've dived in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao a few times always off a cruise through a dive vendor/shop. The Bonaire and Curacao dives have always been shore dives. Just got back from a cruise to the ABCs but decided to spend time with the wife touring the islands instead of diving. On Bonaire we rented a golf cart and went all the way around the island stopping at beaches and snorkeling along the way. Every beach we stopped there were divers coming and going. Some were dive shops many were just people with dive gear going out. I stopped and talked to a couple at the Salt Pier who said they rent a place every year and just drive around diving off the beach. On Cuarcao, I dived at tug boat beach and off the shore about a quarter of a mile from the ship port. Too far to walk because its' not a straight down the beach route. They send you on circuitous route to get out of the port. Probably a mile or so. But you could rent a car or taxi. So the question is this, could you just bring your own gear, and/or rent a tank and gear and go diving on your own? You can download diving locations. I'm still a relatively new diver so I wouldn't go out by myself and my wife doesn't dive. But if you found a dive buddy could you just go out and dive?

Just be aware that Anthony's Key is what the cruise ships use in Roatan so they may may sell out.

On our last cruise in early Feb, my wife put $100 of non refundable OBC in the slots just to try it. Spun the wheels once and cashed out. The next time we tried it we were blocked. So I used my card and put the remaining balance of OBC in and immediately cashed out.

We've done the NCL Pride of America Hawaii cruise twice, ten years apart. Our thinking was if you are going to take the time to go to Hawaii, it's better to spend in on Hawaii and not on a ship getting to Hawaii. First trip we flew over, spent a week, then got the POA and then flew home. Second time we flew over with friends, spend a week, got on the POA then spent another 5 days before flying home. I would do it again in a heart beat. The POA was kind of run down the second time but we didn't spend much time aboard her.

We are diamond on RCL which makes us elite on X. We've done 7 X cruises and the points we have combined would make us D+ on RC, so another free drink..WOO HOO! Don't think we'll ever get to Pinnicle but combining points would be a good thing.

I am assuming you did your confined dives/classes at home and are looking to do your open water certification dives on your cruise either through the ship or privately? Since you mention Coco Cay I assume you are going through the ship for that one. Most if not all diving on Nassau is done through the ship's dive opp which is Stewart's Cove. SC is on the other side of the island. Timing and traffic makes it difficult to get there and back within the confines of ship time in port. Therefore you pretty much have to go through the ship to dive there. When I dived through the ship there they had to hold the ship for us. I've never heard of any diving on Labadee either through the ship or privately so unless you can arrange something through the ship at Nassau and Coco Cay you may be SOL.

I've had good luck with Dive In on Bonaire. They are part of the Dive Friends network. I was the only diver with the DM both times. Cost was about $140. Also had good luck with Scubcao on Curacao. Dived with them 3 times so far. 5 divers each time. Cost was $140-150 I don't remember exactly.We're Dived with Happy divers on Aruba the first time, but he was full the second time I was there. I ended up booking through the ship with Red Sail sports. It was a cattle boat but was pretty cheap, something like $115 for a 2 tank dive. Pretty much the same dive happy divers did for $50 more. They take you to the Perdanales wreck as does everyone else unless you ask for another location. If you do go with Happy divers, book far in advance. Thanks to Harris, they book up fast 😄

We got an I V for the price of an inside on our last cruise. First time on an an icon class ship. We appreciated the openness and airy feeling it provides. Beats an inside every time but I don't think I'd pay extra for it.

I would guess that the more people who complain about the music the more likely it will be changed. We get on the beyond next Monday. We'll keep our ears open 😀

Seriously?

Just an FYI, some travel agents, including the one we use, include gratuities and other perks as part of the price. On our next cruise we got the X "free" wi-fi, basic drink package and OBC. From our TA we got "free" gratuities and another 10% in refundable OBC at less cost than the regular cruise fare from X.

We were last on X in August of 2022. It was an 9 day cruise on the Summit. While we had a good time, the food and service were mediocre. Leaving on an 11 day Beyond in a couple weeks because A...we wanted to try and Edge class ship and B....we got a pretty good deal since we booked it early last year. I don't think we would go at current prices and C...it's an itinerary we've not done before. We'll try the Beyond and see what happens but we have no further cruise plans. When we decide to cruise again we will consider our other options. Frankly our 8 day cruise on RCL in early December the previous year was a better cruise in terms of both service and food.

I would start any child out on a lesser than Oasis class ship. Otherwise what do they have to look forward to? Our kids first sailed on the Explorer in 2001 then later the Freedom. We also did a few Carnival cruises back in the day. Always had a good time. It wasn't until they were grown up did they do an Oasis class. They still talk about the Explorer and Freedom.

I was under the impression that 2 bottles per cabin was allowed. I've heard that in order to get around that some people in the same cabin each bring 2 bottles and board in different lines or times. Probably just a rumor though.

Good looking crew. Makes me miss cruising when my kids were young. Great memories. They're all grown up now. Always had a great time.

Nevemind, I just looked at the date.

I'm kind of a new diver but I dived in both Aruba and Curacao 2 times. Curacao has the better diving IMO. Going back to the ABCs again next January and diving again in just Curacao with Scubacao. Although if you never done the Antllla (a WWII German freighter which was scuttled at the start of the war) is a good dive in Aruba and they usually include the site of the Perdinales another wreck as the second tank dive. Both are about a mile off shore so it is boat dive. I did it twice, once with Happy Divers and the other time (3 years later) through the ship (Red Sail Sports). I enjoyed it both times.

my first open water dive was at Tugboat. My family snorkeled there as well. It was great. Diving the pier was awesome. Not to mention there was a guy on the beach making the best chicken wings I ever had.