Travelling2Some

Did anybody else think Blendjet might be a new budget airline?

There ya go . . . now I'll just have to glue magnets onto them and put them on my cabin door. . . "I like fat ducks and I cannot lie!"

You can send your laundry out any day. We usually "tootle around" and by the time we board the ship we are wearing the last of our clean clothes. Just write your latitudes tier on the bag and laundry slip so you are charged correctly.

Small question. I was just watching several Youtube tours of Constellation's inside cabins and did not see shampoo and body wash dispensers in the shower. Is that the case? Just want to be prepared if I need to pick these items up before embarkation. Thanks for the info.

I don't gamble at all and I'm thinking I could get even by ordering a FAS already paid for drink every 10 minutes, lol.

Unfortunately, they get away with it because the vast majority of passengers will think their cancellation is an isolated event, rather than knowing that it is a persistent pattern. Very few cruisers have ever heard of Cruise Critic.

Yes, that probably explains it. I was thinking Juneau must need cruise money unlike the ports mentioned, especially with such a short season. But, as you point out, it is likely a case of too many ships at once. Also as someone else mentioned, ships have gotten much bigger. On land vacations I still check the port schedule and avoid being there when a "Behemoth of the Sea" pulls in.

Yes, I'm assuming this will exclude all of the major cruise lines going forward. One of the reasons we booked it was that we were thinking "last chance" to port in Bar Harbor. Years ago we booked one of the last sail outs from Venice for the same reason. Looks like Juneau and Key West are on the endangered list now. Bar Harbor, Key West and Venice get plenty tourism by land but Juneau is a bit of a surprise since nobody can be driving there.

Also, we had one of the October cruises booked and canceled it when they canceled Bar Harbor. Actually it was part of a B2B with Bermuda and we canceled both. Looking at other non-NCL options now to replace it. Two can play this game.

After being burned 3 cruises in a row with bogus itinerary changes I've become very suspicious. Now I always check the ports websites to make sure they really have a reservation. The Port Authority has zero reason to lie. NCL has both motive and opportunity.

Thanks for this. Will be following since we are doing the same in reverse (Rome to Lisbon) on the Viva next month. Looking forward to hearing your impressions.

This is true on all NCL ships, not just their newer ones. They don't advertise it but it is longstanding. We've always had a relaxing, uncrowded lunch in the MDR on embarkation. By the time we finish eating the cabins are ready.

For the price of that excursion you can get a hotel for two nights in Berlin either before or after your cruise. If you are able to take the extra days then add Berlin that way. We really enjoyed the town of Warnemunde. It was so enjoyable that we didn't even venture over to Rostock.

Thank you! We will be on board in June doing Ravenna to Rome. Looking forward to your impressions. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

From what I have seen on many past cruises, you are pretty much stuck with the early start times when doing ship sponsored excursions. You do see a lot of 4 hour beach excursions starting early in the morning when I'm sure most people would much rather do that later in the day. This is one of the reasons we try to mix in DIY days whenever possible.

At the buffet I put the sauces and meats on top of steamed or stir fried veggies instead of rice or pasta. I also ask for a "double" when I order I drink. That may seem counterintuitive but it is a way to avoid excessive amounts of juices and sugary mixers. Plus I will sip a drink that tastes stronger so it lasts longer. I ask them not to bring the bread basket in the MDR. I also prefer to book cruises where will do a lot of walking touring the ports (Europe/Asia) rather than lying on a beach sucking up cocktails all day.

Here's a weird story from our Carnival Mardi Gras cruise: We went to lunch at the Italian specialty restaurant one afternoon. The place was almost empty. Maybe 8 other people there. We were seated at a two-top that was (I am not kidding) less than 6 inches from the next table. The weird thing is that in the middle of our meal in an empty restaurant they seated a single woman at the table right next to us. She was a nice person, luckily. (Yes, we felt obligated to say hello to someone practically seated in our laps, lol.) The three of us actually discussed how odd it was that they sat her there with all the open space. We were in the middle of our meal so it was kind of "on her" to object to being seated there but I guess the waiter took her by surprise. Very strange though.

Of course. My point was that Celebrity CAN be less expensive than Carnival since you suggested that it would not be possible to get a Celebrity Cruise for less than one on Mardi Gras. We cruise for itinerary, not burgers.

Well, our upcoming cruise on the Constellation (10 nt. Italy/Croatia) cost us $2,182 all in. Mardi Gras was more expensive for 7 days and the one we have booked on the NCL Viva is over twice that. Agree that Guy's Burgers and Big Chicken were great though.

We recently tried the Carnival Mardi Gras and agree with the OP's complaints. We probably will not sail with them again for several reasons, one being that we had to book dining at the last minute on the ap. We like to plan out our evenings in advance and we are not fans of this. I kept thinking about how I already had all my dining reservations set 125 days in advance on NCL as opposed to having to "scramble" every night on Carnival. Just not the way we like to do things.

Blu is smaller and quieter than the MDR. My husband is a "people watcher" type who likes a crowd so he did not find that a plus. I found myself ordering from the MDR menu at least half the time anyway. The service is more attentive in Blu but we don't feel any need for that.

We loved the little Spirit even before the refurb. I always keep an eye on her itineraries but so far the stars have not aligned as far as going where we want to go and when we are able to go.

We're pretty much about itinerary first and foremost. I like any ship as long as the entertainment is good. My husband enjoys the energy of big ships with lots of action. We're doing a European "Side2Side" on the Celebrity Constellation (very old small ship) followed by the Viva next month, so that should be an interesting contrast. We've sailed on the Constellation before and were both fine with it. The Viva cost well over twice as much, which will make the comparison even more interesting.

Like many older people, we can't eat a lot at one time so Moderno just wasn't a good fit for us, especially since meat is heavy. The concerned wait staff repeatedly urged us to eat more with the manager even getting into the act. I know they meant well but it was pushy to the point that they were making us feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. Just curious if anybody else had this issue?

I had lunch with someone recently who ordered pasta with pesto sauce and was absolutely horrified that it was GREEN. I was thinking she might need to get out more. . . Like you, I do not find a measurable difference between Veuve and ordinary champagne. Maybe I need to drink more 🙂