Kimberlyr22

We are currently planning our first Alaska cruise (me, 38 and husband, 47). We are seasoned Caribbean cruisers and have typically opted for NCL or Carnival. I have cruised Celebrity once on a short 4-day on the Infinity and enjoyed the trip. As we are researching Alaska, we've narrowed it down to Celebrity and Holland America based on their itineraries, prices, and ship offerings. However, now my husband and I are struggling to finalize our ship choice. I don't think we can go wrong with any of the options, but wanted to get some insight from those who may have made this decision previously.

 

We're currently debating between a late-August or early September cruise on either the Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Eclipse, HAL Eurodam, or HAL Koningsdam.  We're currently leaning towards Eurodam because the spa thermal suite looks amazing and that's one of my favorite things on my current favorite Carnival ships (Dream/Magic). I would immediately choose the Eurodam, but have read the spa verandahs don't include access to the thermal suite and you can only book it once onboard for an extra $300. Does this tend to sell out early?

 

I'd love any feedback on these four ships and which one you'd choose.  We like all of the itineraries equally and pricing for our preferred rooms and dates are within a reasonable $500 range, so that's not proving to help with the decision!  Both lines also both have really good promos right now that I'd love to jump on.  

 

Thanks!

I'm the cruiser in the family and travel either solo or with my husband or sister. In the last month, on three different cruise lines, my sister and husband have received really good offers, while I've received none. And I have priority with all three lines. I figure the cruise lines are targeting less frequent cruisers because they figure the regular cruisers don't need the incentive of a better rate to cruise...

Doing the solo thing for the first time on the Carnival Sensation October 18th, a 4 day to Key West and Cozumel. Every two years I do a 3 or 4 day with my sister and her husband and some friends, but if I’m flying to Florida I want a little more cruise than a 3 or 4 day, so I threw this 4 day on Carnival in front of the group’s four day on Celebrity. May swing a day at Disney in the middle just for kicks! Leaving the husband at home with the puppies.

 

 

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Just curious if you don't open any of the 6 bottles can you take them home?

 

 

 

Yep. And, the bottles I️ did open but didn’t finish I️ capped, put a ziplock bag around the cap and neck, and wrapped with packaging tape to secure during transport. Wrapped each bottle in clothing for safe transport home in the luggage with no issue.

 

 

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Is there mixers other than soda for the booze? Can you get beers too?

 

 

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We requested and were given strawberry daiquiri mix, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and orange juice

 

Not beer drinkers, so I️ can’t address that.

 

 

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We interchange NCL and Carnival and sail in suites on both. Overall product and entertainment/activity wise (subjective of course) I enjoy Carnival better. NCL wins with in cabin extras (suite bathrooms and perks). However, I've always found that even with the Carnival suite and the added Cheers package I'm paying substantially less than NCL for similar cruises.

 

I have been able to slightly replicate the NCL suite perks by booking spa suites, which gives you access to a semi private "oasis" to escape the crowds. We also spend about $120 in the fun shops to get daily treats delivered (fruit, cheese, cookies, etc) like we get on NCL from the butler. And we do any time dining because I dislike set dining times.

 

Honestly, we find very little difference between the two cruise lines, and a few tweaks to Carnival give us the little added treats that NCL spoils suite guests with.

 

 

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We love the NCL Gem, but only because my husband is anti social and it's a smaller capacity ship and has the Haven so he can hide from other people. It also has a couple of suites with private hot tubs which are fun to splurge on every few years. It would not be my first choice if my husband had normal social habits (or it was a non splurge year). My teenage stepson (15) was unimpressed with the activities on board and spent most of his time with his new cruise friends watching movies in our room or on our room's verandah.

 

Im on the Dream next month with my sister and I'm looking forward to all the extras it has that the Gem doesn't -- bigger water slides (gem slide is lame), outdoor movies, more lunch time/lido food options, cloud nine spa etc.

 

My stepson would probably love the Vista or the Dream for the expanded water areas and additional activities, but my husband will never go on a boat with a capacity over 3000.

 

 

 

 

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We are on the Dream March 19th and I just checked to make sure Verizon hadn't changed anything since my 2016 cruise. They have several options, but I like the Travel Pass that allows you to pay a small daily fee to use your regular plan talk, text, and data limits.

 

With Verizon your plan should allow you to use your phone in US, Canada, and Mexico (this is a change from 2016, last year I had a $2/day upcharge to use the Travel Pass in Canada). So you should be able use your regular plan in Cozumel while at port (Verizon told me my plan includes that, you should check yours).

 

In Belize and Roatan, you can add the Verizon Travel Pass on your account before you leave for your trip. This will allow you to use your plan in these ports for $10/day.

 

By adding Travel Pass to your acct before you leave, it will automatically prompt you to confirm use when you use your device in a different country. Once you get to port and use your phone you will receive a text confirming you want to activate Travel Pass for that day. As long as you reply yes, you're good to use phone, text, and data within your normal Verizon plan limits.

 

You can add Travel Pass online or you can call Verizon and they can add it for you. I always like to call just to confirm things, plus if something goes crazy and u come back to a bill you weren't expecting (which I've never had happen) there is record you inquired.

 

I like the Travel Pass bc I don't want to have to pick and pay for an international plan for two days. Plus, if I'm having too much fun in port and decide I don't need my phone that day, I'm not out any money.

 

 

 

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We love the aft wraps on the Spirit-class ships (Pride specifically) and most of the cabins only hold two people. So...no, the aft wraps are perfect for two people and offer more flexibility for positioning loungers than the aft-extended balconies.

 

 

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My favorite on Carnival are the aft wraps on the Pride (and her sister ships). It's the perfect room for a small family of three or a couple. For us the living room turned into my stepson's room while my husband and I had a private bedroom. Huge closet, nice size private dressing area, and bathroom. And with the wrap balcony I'm not sure I even made it to the pool deck on our last cruise.

 

Overall I'm always a fan of the aft, I'm going to miss the aft and the wrap balcony on my March cruise, but looking forward to trying out the spa suite on the Dream. I've never had a side balcony before.

 

 

 

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I experienced the same "glitch" last week when I booked a cruise under the casino rate. Two days after purchase I checked again and the problem had cleared and I was able to see the Cheers price and purchase.

 

 

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123 days. Just booked yesterday for March. I typically book 18-20 months out, so I'm feeling pretty good starting my countdown in the low 100s!

 

 

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My go to dessert is the banana split with no chocolate (I hate chocolate). By night three it just shows up, no menu necessary!

 

 

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This is a phenomenal thread. Typically I'm in your boat and book a cruise 400+ days out (my DH will only cruise once every two years). But I just talked my sister into a March 2017 cruise on the Dream this week and I know nothing about the Dream, cruising from New Orleans, and it's been over two years since I thought about Carnival...so this thread has helped kick off my expedited planning pace. So much good information in one place!

We replied to the pre-concierge email in a very upbeat and pleasant tone and listed all of our requests along with a substitution for one of the bottles of alcohol (disaranno amaretto). All of our requests, including the amaretto were in the room when we arrived. (It seems this is hit or miss, but for us it was a hit).

 

We were on a back-to-back and got another three bottles for the second week and we again requested two bottles from the list and asked the butler if we could get something not on the list for the third bottle, and it was brought within an hour with no question (Midori Melon).

 

Granted, our requests were both monetarily in line with the bottles listed.

 

I found anything reasonable, requested with a smile, was fulfilled.

 

 

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Hi Dziazdi:

 

We are in Gem 15000 in August-- did you work with pre-cruise concierge or just wait until you got on the ship? Do you happen to have a list of the liquors available?? Any other tips would be appreciated..

Thx

Bob

 

Not the OP, but we were just in 15000 in June. We got our pre-concierge letter exactly one month before sail date and responded to the email with our choices. All of our requests were taken care of and ready for us when we boarded. Alcohol list is below:

 

Beefeater Gin

Grant's Blended Scotch Whiskey

Smirnoff Vodka

Jim Beam Bourbon

Seagram's 7 Crown

Bacardi Superior Rum

Cazadores Blanco Tequila

Dry White Vermouth

Sweet Red Vermouth

Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry

Sandeman Reserve Port

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Kahlua

North & South by Norwegian, Sauvignon Blanc, California

North & South by Norwegian, Red Blend, California

 

Note: in my email to the pre-concierge I asked if we could get DiSorrono Amaretto and Midori in lieu of two bottles from the list, and they were both in our room with the rum when we arrived. I've read this is hit or miss, but in our case it was hit.

 

Our supplies in the bar (and bathroom) were well stocked every day. The pre-concierge letter didn't list Mt. Dew as a soda option, but they do have it. We saw it on a cart one day, and my stepson made a comment to the butler that he loves Mt. Dew and when we got back to the room 12 cans were on the bar.

 

As for the bathroom supplies, there was shampoo and conditioner in bottles in the shower and on the sink. We used the stuff in the shower and I stashed the rest (conditioner, lotion, lip balm, etc) in my luggage every day or two, and came back to it fully stocked after the room was made back up. I love using the products at home...it smells like I'm still on the cruise!

We just did a similar back-to-back that we booked as one 13-day cruise. I can't comment on getting on/off the ship b/c we actually cleared immigration in Portland, Maine the day before, so we didn't have to get off the ship at all. As for the tipping in the Haven, we received info in our room the night before our "turnaround day" that confirmed we would have the same concierge, butler and room steward on the second half of the trip, so we took care of all tips at the end of the cruise.

 

One thing that I saw at least one family forget to do that luckily I thought of at the last minute -- if you are interested in your photos from the first half of your cruise, stop down in the photo gallery and let them know you are on a B2B. I did this and they tagged our photo binder so the photos wouldn't be tossed. On the last night of the B2B I saw a couple distraught because they were on the same B2B and their photos from the first segment were gone.

I've heard rumors of an excellent peanut butter cheesecake... anyone know when / where this is available (on the escape)

 

 

The lunch menu in the MDRs has a peanut butter cup cheesecake that my husband and stepson said was the best dessert ever. It was so good my husband insisted on eating there many times even though it meant taking his hat off. I don't like chocolate, so I can't weigh in. My favorite dessert was the apple pie at O'Sheehans.

 

 

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Just out of curiosity, what does it cost per a bottle of water at the bar?

 

 

20 oz Aquafina is $3.25, liter Aquafina is $5.50. (As of June 2016).

 

 

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I guess I should have stipulated that the article didn't mention Sky.

 

 

The story did at one time reference NCL Sky (the OP was not crazy)...a Google News search for "Norwegian Sky", will bring up the archived version of the story with reference.

 

The links provided says nothing about the Sky leaving Miami to gp to China as the OP stated. It's the Joy that is going to China.

 

They fixed the story in question to remove the reference to the NCL Sky...bad content editing is a great way to start a bad rumor :)

Hi guys,

 

I bought $300 (3 separate $100) in OBC about a week ago and it is not showing up on my NCL (or maybe I don't know where to look). In addition, it hasn't been charged to my credit card yet. That's a clue that it didn't go through, of course.

 

Is this typical for NCL or do I need to call and be onhold forever to find out what happened?

 

Thanks!

Mallory

 

Did you book through a TA? I booked through a TA and while it felt like I was buying OBC, dining plans, etc through the website, it would never actually bill me -- it just gave me a confirmation that said it would be billed and I'd receive a confirmation in my email (which I never got). I had to call my TA and have her make the purchases.

$699 is the average base cruise price per person (x 3 = $2100) -- even with the KSF they still do the average price calculation on all three people. Then taxes and port charges will run another $150 per (x 3 = $450). And $200 for beverage package gratuity for 2. Total is a little over $2700 which drives the price to a little over $899 per person. You're saving the $229 for the third person.


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Is it Taylor Swift?? Please say it's Taylor Swift!

We are on the June 18 sailing and fingers crossed the issues are resolved, weather cooperates, and we get to GSC -- but we have scheduled a beach day in Nassau just in case (need to have at least one beach day in the Bahamas!). Plus, if we don't have to pay for the cabana we booked and get an extra $50 (if they're still offering that for change of schedule due to propulsion issues) that just means more bingo and/or casino! An overnight in Nassau would also give us an opportunity to checkout the Graycliff Chocolate Tour -- their tour times never seem to line up with our itinerary. I've found on cruises it's always good to have a plan A and a plan B to avoid any possible disappointment.