Mike & Tracy's continuing adventures: B2B on Carnival Vista & Norwegean Getaway

[MikeyA53]

Looking forward to your next trip this fall. I hope you write another review! Some of us live vicariously through your cruise experiences. Thank you for taking the time to post your reviews.

 

Thanks matondo, I can't promise I will write another one, I just spent one month preparing this review by writing it out on WordPerfect and downloading about 4000 photos on Photobucket. Then it took me 2 more months to post it. This was done by spending an average of one hour each night retrieving the information and the accompanying photos and then posting it. It didn't help matters that Cruise Critic recently made changes to this site and with it came the usual start up problems.

 

Anyway I'm happy its done, Tracy is also glad it's done! Maybe after a nine month break I will feel different about doing another review. Mike

[MikeyA53]

Thanks for taking the time to post these reviews. Our grandson has the Getaway booked for Dec. so I will make sure he has the link to your review. Already looking forward to your next reviews! Happy sailing!

 

Thanks travelink, glad you enjoyed it. :)

[MikeyA53]

HI all!

 

MikeyA53 ~ thanks so much for your informative account & comparison of 2 of my favourite ships.(y) Looking forward to your 21 day escape in November, a month I usually like to avoid here in Ontario, gloomy! I lean towards NCL as I travel solo mostly so they're best for me but love me some Carnival too. Divina looks like a beautiful ship so look forward to hearing more about it.

Thanks again.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Thank you Jo, We are really looking forward to trying out Divina, a lot of people have commented that it's the most beautiful ship they have sailed on. I've seen photos of her but I have not shared them with Tracy, I want to surprise her. Also for the first time we will have a aft cabin, right in the middle (cabin 10262) with an extended balcony. Another surprise for my Sweetie. :D

[Hogladyrider]

Awesome review and very thankful you took the time to write such a thorough review of both cruises.

 

One question, and I may have missed your answer to this, but comparison between CCL and NCL, overall price difference for the cruise?

 

Basically a balcony cabin, no extra restaurants or drink pkgs just the cruise before taxes and port charges.

 

Thanks

Susan

[MikeyA53]

Thanks again for the review and BON VOYAGE for your future trips. Sounds like an awesome 21 days. Be sure to come back to the CCL board and let us know when and where you post your review. Now I have to go on a diet. I gained 25 lbs just reading your review and seeing the food porn! :eek:CHEERS to you both!

 

Thanks Karen, as always I love your comments and your continuing support of my reviews. :)

[MikeyA53]

Thanks for the wonderful review of your 2 cruises. Really enjoyed it. We just recently booked our first NCL cruise. Will be looking for that review of the B2B2B!

 

Thank you ArkieCruisin, I believe you will enjoy NCL, we sure did. Mike

[MikeyA53]

Thank you for the review of both ships.

 

Hope you'll post the link to your next adventure on this page so I get a notification.

 

Happy sailing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank you Joan. If I write a review I will post a link on Carnival.

[MikeyA53]

Took a while but fun read. Good job with the info.

 

 

Thanks cccer. :)

[MikeyA53]

Great job - Looking forward to how you like MSC & Holland America!

 

 

Thanks BettyPC, I appreciate it.

[MikeyA53]

As always, very thorough and comprehensive reviews. The photos are fantastic and really give us at home an idea of what we can expect. Really liked the comparison of the lines at the end. Agree with your points based on my experience.

 

Looking forward to hearing back from your next B2B2B adventure... and seeing pros/cons and comparisons of those lines. Based on what some family members of mine who have cruised with HAL, you will be the youngest by far. Curious to know if that turns out to be the case.

 

All the best,

Jill

 

Thank you Jill, I'm aware that Holland America caters to older cruisers but I'm also aware that they are well know for their entertainment and food. Tracy and I love eating!

[MikeyA53]

Thanks so much for your review of the two ships....after sailing the Getaway in November it was like reliving our cruise! I thought Million Dollar Quartet was also the best show I've seen on the high seas....We loved Teppanyaki but mainly because we had such a good cook...he was very good at what he does!

 

We also sail Hal...so will really be interested to see what your opinions are of that cruise line...again thanks...wonderful pictures:):)

 

Thank you, glad you were able to relive your cruise. :):)

[MikeyA53]

thanks for the review...the only thing I am confused about is what is this working out you mention?

 

Thanks Captain, working out in the gym, running the track, running up and down the stairs etc.

[MikeyA53]

Awesome review and very thankful you took the time to write such a thorough review of both cruises.

 

One question, and I may have missed your answer to this, but comparison between CCL and NCL, overall price difference for the cruise?

 

Basically a balcony cabin, no extra restaurants or drink pkgs just the cruise before taxes and port charges.

 

Thanks

Susan

 

Thanks Susan, It's difficult to compare the two since Vista was an 11 day repositioning cruise and Getaway was 7 days. I can say that I believe I got a very good price for our Getaway cruise. $2,331 US taxes and port charges included. The bonus for us was we got Canadian money at par which saved me about $600 in the exchange.

 

On our next cruise with NCL Escape they do not have the Canadian money at par so we got the drink and dining package.

[Crusin Karen]

Happy trails and smooth sails to you and Tracy! ENJOY it ALL!

[pghsteelerfan]

I just finished the last part of your review and wanted to thank you again for taking the time to do another review. I stuck through the whole thing because I wanted to get a feel for what a cruise on Norwegian would be like AND I enjoy your reviews and pictures. We've mainly cruised with Carnival but have been on RCI, years ago, and enjoyed that one. We are also open to trying other cruise lines (decision is usually cost and itinerary), so I'm always curious on comparisons between Carnival and others. I think our biggest "fear" in going with another cruise line at this point is that we have gotten so used to Carnival and wonder if another line have the same feel, would we like it or would we be missing Carnival. I guess we won't find out if we don't try. :) Our RCI cruise was only our 2nd cruise (2000) and our first was Carnival in 1992, so there had been a pretty large gap between the two.

 

 

I also love your detail and photos of the ports since you went to several that we've never been to but are considering. We have been to Costa Maya, but that was in March 2006 before the whole cruise center was destroyed by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. From the ship, it looks the same, but after seeing your pictures from inside the cruise center, there are obviously a lot of differences between the old and new so it would probably be like a new port for us, although we do like to get out of the cruise center to actually see the ports.

 

Glad to see you back with reviews and even though you won't be on Carnival, I will be looking for your B2B2B review after your November adventures.

[Crusin Karen]

Holly, I don't want to quote your whole post, but that is exactly how we feel about CCL. If you look at my sig you will see that the majority of our cruises are on Carnival and we are so "set in our ways" that we hesitate to cross to another line. Another BIG THING is that we are Diamond on CCL and we get such great perks that it might be kind of a let down to not get the cushy treatment on another line! We booked the Pride Journeys cruise for 1/2018, then on a whim we booked Sunshine for September, just because we want to cruise one more time from our homeport (I found out CCL will be pulling out of NY in October except for a few Horizon cruises) and I have wanted to go back on Sunshine since we sailed on Destiny so many times. Well, DH called the Diamond desk and she all but gushed thru the phone when she found out who was calling lol. :cool: I would LOVE to cruise on another Princess ship, specifically the Regal, because I LOVE the old wordly feel of ships. I am not into the modern stuff and am a big atrium gal too. I just love GRAND atriums! So I, too, enjoy reading the journeys of trail blazers like Mikey!

Personal note: why don't you join us 1/7-1/21/18 on Pride!!! Sorry to highjack, Mike! :o

[Captain Canuck]

Thanks Captain, working out in the gym, running the track, running up and down the stairs etc.

 

sorry Mickey..my attempt at humour...

 

blew my knee out playing indoor soccer some years ago...torn bicep and torn rotator cuff in handcuff training 10 or so years ago. both limit exercise options

 

we do try and avoid elevators while on board a cruise. also try and walk as much as possible on excursions

 

we are doing the Legend around Hawaii then to Vancouver next month

[MikeyA53]

I just finished the last part of your review and wanted to thank you again for taking the time to do another review. I stuck through the whole thing because I wanted to get a feel for what a cruise on Norwegian would be like AND I enjoy your reviews and pictures. We've mainly cruised with Carnival but have been on RCI, years ago, and enjoyed that one. We are also open to trying other cruise lines (decision is usually cost and itinerary), so I'm always curious on comparisons between Carnival and others. I think our biggest "fear" in going with another cruise line at this point is that we have gotten so used to Carnival and wonder if another line have the same feel, would we like it or would we be missing Carnival. I guess we won't find out if we don't try. :) Our RCI cruise was only our 2nd cruise (2000) and our first was Carnival in 1992, so there had been a pretty large gap between the two.

 

 

I also love your detail and photos of the ports since you went to several that we've never been to but are considering. We have been to Costa Maya, but that was in March 2006 before the whole cruise center was destroyed by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. From the ship, it looks the same, but after seeing your pictures from inside the cruise center, there are obviously a lot of differences between the old and new so it would probably be like a new port for us, although we do like to get out of the cruise center to actually see the ports.

 

Glad to see you back with reviews and even though you won't be on Carnival, I will be looking for your B2B2B review after your November adventures.

 

 

Thank you pghsteelerfan, change is good sometimes and you can always go back.

[MikeyA53]

Holly, I don't want to quote your whole post, but that is exactly how we feel about CCL. If you look at my sig you will see that the majority of our cruises are on Carnival and we are so "set in our ways" that we hesitate to cross to another line. Another BIG THING is that we are Diamond on CCL and we get such great perks that it might be kind of a let down to not get the cushy treatment on another line! We booked the Pride Journeys cruise for 1/2018, then on a whim we booked Sunshine for September, just because we want to cruise one more time from our homeport (I found out CCL will be pulling out of NY in October except for a few Horizon cruises) and I have wanted to go back on Sunshine since we sailed on Destiny so many times. Well, DH called the Diamond desk and she all but gushed thru the phone when she found out who was calling lol. :cool: I would LOVE to cruise on another Princess ship, specifically the Regal, because I LOVE the old wordly feel of ships. I am not into the modern stuff and am a big atrium gal too. I just love GRAND atriums! So I, too, enjoy reading the journeys of trail blazers like Mikey!

Personal note: why don't you join us 1/7-1/21/18 on Pride!!! Sorry to highjack, Mike! :o

 

Considering what you said maybe MSC Divina would be a good match, MSC has a loyalty match program and therefore you would get the equivalent Diamond status on their ship. They also have really fancy atrium with their stairs studded with Swarovski crystals. Another plus is their prices for everything including the cruise fare is cheaper than Carnival. Check them out.

 

On a personal note, 1/7-1/21/18 on Pride is just a couple of months after our B2B2B and not feasible with our work schedule. Anyway we would love to meet you some day.

[MikeyA53]

sorry Mickey..my attempt at humour...

 

blew my knee out playing indoor soccer some years ago...torn bicep and torn rotator cuff in handcuff training 10 or so years ago. both limit exercise options

 

we do try and avoid elevators while on board a cruise. also try and walk as much as possible on excursions

 

we are doing the Legend around Hawaii then to Vancouver next month

 

 

Hawaii and Australia has been on top of my bucket list for a while, Tracy would like to do the Mediterranean and Australia. Have a wonderful cruise.

[Crusin Karen]

Considering what you said maybe MSC Divina would be a good match, MSC has a loyalty match program and therefore you would get the equivalent Diamond status on their ship. They also have really fancy atrium with their stairs studded with Swarovski crystals. Another plus is their prices for everything including the cruise fare is cheaper than Carnival. Check them out.

 

On a personal note, 1/7-1/21/18 on Pride is just a couple of months after our B2B2B and not feasible with our work schedule. Anyway we would love to meet you some day.

Thanks, Mike. I am going to check out MSC but I think at this point it would take a lot of time and a LOT of $ to achieve Diamond on another line! We will probably book an NCL cruise in the future if there is a good deal just because we are right here across the bridge from the cruise terminal. Enjoy all your planning! It's going to be an exciting November for you.

[Thrilled2012]

Hawaii and Australia has been on top of my bucket list for a while, Tracy would like to do the Mediterranean and Australia. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Please do see if you can do the Med. We did the western route on the NCL Epic for my first cruise and that's what got me hooked on cruising. It was wonderful!

[Captain Canuck]

she who must be obeyed and I have done 7 med cruises...helps that we have flown on air miles (the blue card). the Symphony of the Seas which will be the worlds largest cruise ship coming out in 2018. Has some really decent prices for 7 days out of Barcelona that spring.

check them out

[lobo55]

I have one issue with your reviews. They always end. Seriously I enjoyed very much.

[hockeyguru32]

Hi Mike fellow Ontarian here. Thanks so much for your review. I have also been on NCL Escape as well as a couple Carnival ships. I, like you, agree with the comment each line has their pros and cons and I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on either line depending on the pricing of course because of our dollar.

 

I am also going to try the MSC Divina experience at the end of April this year and Vista in October so thank you for the Vista portion of the review. I am going to hopefully do my first cruise vlog when I get back from the Divina and will post it on the MSC board or on my new youtube channel