ECCruise

For an Antigen test? We normally pay about $25 each in the US, less than 15 Euros in Europe. Been on 6 cruises that required testing and all of those tests combined are nowhere near $250.

And some may think not allowing pharmacies to rip off a customer for a health test is a pretty awesome thing.

A whole deck and a section of a second deck of quarantined passengers and crew sounds like an outbreak to me. Especially when the total passenger load is less than 200.

There are lots of outbreaks on ships right now. You just don't hear about them and the media doesn't report them.

True. But what is good for us customers trumps what is good for the cruise lines in spades. Give me good service, a good itinerary and a fair price and I will add to the 19 we have booked now. Otherwise? Sayonara.

The ships are sailing virtually full now. They don't need alot more demand for cruising.

You called it. There are 3 now, and probably someone hurrying to type a 4th

That may be because the lecturer who was on our sailings (26 May and 5 June) was supposed to be on the ship until later in June. I guess he caught the COVID that was wandering all over the ship during that time period.

Yep. You are definitely wrong. Different choices every night along with "always available" items.

Was on Journey for 3 weeks (B2B) in May and June and had a different experience, acknowledging in advance that food and entertainment are very subjective. Pax load was about the same (184), onboard crew # about the same, but lots of COVID, close contact with crew so crew # very reduced. Noticed no deterioration in service though (with only 184 less those quarantined, not a surprise). Entertainment is pretty much what it always has been. Cast of 6 (this cast is 4 singers/2 dancers which varies from cast to cast). Thought the 4 singers were quite good, and Stephen Millett as CD and a very talented singer added to the mix. We enjoy the low key entertainment on Azamara, especially after over 30 sailings on Celebrity and watching that entertainment deteriorate badly after they took it in house. Generally a bunch of contemporary/Broadway songs stitched together with no cohesion with an aerialist floating above and dancers on the stage. Meh. Still find Azamara food a notch above Celebrity and almost an equal of Oceania. Prefer the staterooms on Celebrity (who wouldn't?) but since we generally sail O on R class ships there is no difference, save the fact that we actually prefer the shower curtain on Azamara to the awful shower doors on the repurposed Oceania R class ships. Our 3 weeks on Journey only solidified our desire to enjoy the 6 future cruises on Quest and Pursuit.

Sailed both many times. Diamond level on both. Probably 25 or so total on both so fair amount of comparison (likely 300 or so days). Sailing Vison in September followed immediately by NCL Dawn B2B2B for 31 days. Honestly, there are differences in food/entertainment/decor, but for us the differences are so minor that we book exclusively on itinerary and price. We find prices to be fairly comparable, when you factor in the 4 drinks/day we get on Royal with Diamond and the included drinks on NCL (even when you add the gratuities to the "free" package there). Caveat: We no longer sail any large ships. Nothing above Radiance class RCCL, nothing above Dawn/Jewel on NCL. After making a few mistakes on both lines, decided that the big ships have no appeal for us.

White Night? No. Not familiar with "Island Night" For the Destination Celebration onboard (nee Azamazing Evening), you can book it in advance to get your requested time. It will be in the Shore Excursions area of your Cruise Personalizer. You will need to find what night it is (if it is open for booking it will obviously be on a late departure day or perhaps an overnight port).

Yes. This is the exact wording: Effective for sailings 8/1/22 and beyond for cruises originating in any port EXCEPT a U.S port, Canadian port or Piraeus, Greece

Greece and Turkey, yes. Greece was actually a little better in October, 2021 then they were in June, 2022.

Carlsberg as of a week ago.

Since this thread is for discussions on booking levels/onboard experiences, I am hoping it doesn't evolve into the non-stop tonic discussions that go on and on....

As mentioned, varies a lot by sailing. Journey 26 May, 518. Journey 5 June, 184. They are trying to ramp up, but there still are staff shortages, aggravated by quarantines for positive cases and close contacts.

Depends on where you are sailing. Just got off Journey and masks were required in all indoor venues except actively eating or drinking. Compliance was around 90% or so. Always the same handful of non-compliant, strolling everywhere unmasked including crawling along the buffet line in Windows. No challenge from staff whatsoever.