mrsbunder

I was in Rome in May 2023 and stayed at the Albergo del Senato, I thought it was a beautiful hotel, and the Pantheon it right outside the doorstep, great location.

Thank you Mapleleaves, you already gave me a good head start on your synopses. I figured I'd do a mix of NCL excursion and DIY. My interests are more centered around getting a feel for the port with food, walking around, I'm not a history buff. My physical activity level is good for long walks, I can climb steps, but it will depend on how tired I am to determine how much I'd want to do. Ex., when I went to Cinque Terre last year, I was already very tired, the climbing was a bit much for me.

Hello, this will be my first Grecian Islands cruise, I'd love to get feedback on what stops are better to do shore excursions vs. exploring on your own. The ports are Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Corfu, Valletta, Messina, Naples and Florence. I will be coming to Rome before and after, and may try to get to Florence in advance, other than that, I'm hoping to get ideas on what ports are best to do the ship's excursions or go on my own, to save some money.

Thanks, I think she'd have one glass of wine at dinner maximum, so she's probably best off not getting the package. Even for myself, I would probably have 2 glasses of wine at dinner, maybe a cocktail after. Since this is a port-intensive cruise, I want to make sure I get good sleep and get up and at 'em in the morning for the ports, and not feel groggy from drinks.

I have a related question re: keeping or cancellation the drink package, I'm booked on the 10 day Grecian Islands cruise in Aug 2024, my roommate wants to check into cancelling the package, feeling like she won't drink enough to warrant it. If she cancels it, will her cruise fare be reduced? For myself, it's worth it to keep the drink package, it will be a port-intensive cruise anyway, I won't be sitting around on deck all day drinking, but it's definitely nice to have some wine with dinner.

Thanks for the input, I'm gearing more and more toward the solo room. Relaxing on the heated loungers sounds like the perfect way to end the day. My roommate is thinking that if she takes the drink package off the reservation, the cruise fare would be lower? Would that be the case? I'm fine to keep the drink package for myself, but she seems pretty firm that she doesn't want it.

Thank you all for your great input. I know that the $20 pp/pd gratuity will go to the dining room staff, stateroom attendants, etc. I typically add that ahead of time vs. paying it at the end of the cruise. Thanks for sharing the video of the cabin, that will be very helpful to show my friend. I'm leaning toward the studio cabin at this point as well.

Liljo, thank you, I'll have to let her know about that. If that's a make-or-break for her, then it may be best to get separate rooms. Can any of you comment on the bathroom situation? Does it have an actual door to close, or is it just a glass partition?

That's good to know, I'll let the other woman know that she can remove the drink package, for me, I'm fine to keep it on, if you spend over $15, you get charged the difference and the gratuity, which is what I'm used to anway.

Hi, thanks in advance for input on this. I consider myself an experienced cruiser, I primarily sail on Celebrity and went on Royal Caribbean for the 1st time, this will be my first time on NCL. I'm booked on the 10 night Grecian Islands cruise on 8/27/24, and am going with a women's travel group, and have a few questions. I have an inside room, sharing with another person (don't know her too well). Does the bathroom have an actual door that you can close? I've seen pictures online, and read reviews, I thought I saw posts stating that there was just a glass partition, no actual door. If that's the case, I may want to opt for a single room. Our package includes the beverage package and 1 specialty dining. I spoke to someone at NCL to ask if the gratuity is factored into the drink, I was told yes. However, I've seen reviews where a 20% gratuity is separate from the drink, and you'd have to pay at the end of the cruise (on your cc provided for onboard expenses). The woman I'm rooming with isn't a big drinker at all, and was appalled at the extra 20% charge, I've been used to Celebrity drink package, where the gratuity is factored in. If someone can confirm, that would be great. If any other tips can be offered, such as the better restaurants, bars, etc. on board, that would be great. I got a great price on this trip and it's port-intensive, so I know that this cruise won't be about relaxing onboard as much, so I feel I have a proper expectation, but any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated.

I just signed up for my C&A number and confirmed that I have diamond status, which will work out great, thank you!

I'm an Elite member on Celebrity. If that's the case, I won't need a drink package, 4 vouchers per day is fine, and we'd bring wine on board, we're in the Boston area anyway, so we won't have to worry about packing bottles for a flight.

Thanks, I usually said on Celebrity and get their drink package, so I'm not up to speed on current drink package prices on their own.

Great, thank you. I'm considering the 5 night cruise at the end of October, are the prices for the beverage packages on RC's site?

Thank you, I'll keep an eye out!

Hi, I'm looking into one of the Canada/New England cruises r/t from Boston in Sept. or Oct. of this year. I've never said on RC before, and had a few questions: 1). When on board, am I able to purchase a beverage package? 2). Can you take wine bottles on board? If so, how many per person? 3). What is the corkage fee to bring your own bottle of wine to MDR? The rates I've been looking at are for cruise only, I was curious if there's an option to buy a beverage package once on board. Thanks in advance.

We just came off the 12/11 - 18 Celebrity Reflection E. Caribbean cruise. This was my first time cruising since 2019, from what I saw onboard, everything was back to pre-pandemic operations. However, on the last night of the cruise, I started to feel like I was coming down with something, and my husband felt like he was getting sick about 2 days after me, we both got covid. We were saying that if we cruise next year, we'd like to bring our own tongs to use in the Oceanview, to take our own portions, vs. using the same tongs that everyone is grabbing. I was under the impression that a server would hand you your portion of food in the buffet, but I assume that may have been slowing down the process at breakfast and lunch.

I'm looking to my 12/11 cruise on the Reflection, I haven't sailed since 2019, pre-pandemic. Do the ships still have the libraries on board? My last cruise was on the Edge, which had the small seating space but no books.