Repositioning/Transatlantic

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

I've just put this cruise on hold. 

Does anyone know if port or starboard of preferable on this ship for when pulling into ports? Pulling into Ponta Delgorda portugal, Valencia, Malaga and Barcelona in Spain and Kings Wharf in Bermuda

 

Also we become platinum on this cruise. I'm wondering if there will be lots of platinum cruisers on this sailing? I was thinking there would be more than usual because of the length. Only asking because we are so excited to finally get the perks of boarding first and stuff like that but if half the guests are platinum and diamond that might now happen?

[BlerkOne]

Preferable for what? But it varies from port to port and isn't always predictable.

 

On longer cruises expect more P/D cruisers and on special cruises they might well be quite a large number. You will still get your perks, but you can wait in line with all the other P/D VIFPs.

[skrufy]

49 minutes ago, Cruisin 4 Ever said:

I've just put this cruise on hold. 

Does anyone know if port or starboard of preferable on this ship for when pulling into ports? Pulling into Ponta Delgorda portugal, Valencia, Malaga and Barcelona in Spain and Kings Wharf in Bermuda

 

Also we become platinum on this cruise. I'm wondering if there will be lots of platinum cruisers on this sailing? I was thinking there would be more than usual because of the length. Only asking because we are so excited to finally get the perks of boarding first and stuff like that but if half the guests are platinum and diamond that might now happen?

The docking is up to the captain, you never know which side of the ship faces which way. As for the P/Ds there are more of them on the longer cruises, also it’s usually an older mix of cruisers All our platinum priority boardings have been quick, never any delay boarding. A few years ago on the Miracle we had half the ship P/Ds no delay boarding. The reservation desk can get long and cause you a bit of a wait.

[BlerkOne]

The P/D party will become parties with some going at one time, others a different time. If too many D cruises the Diamond party can be split. Laundry turnaround may be slower.

[Lil2Angelic]

Our experience, with the longer Journeys cruises, is that there are more platinum and diamond guests and an older demographic. As far as port or starboard side, I'm not sure it matters because it can vary and some may be tender ports. You may want to search or post the port forums here on Cruise Critic to see if you can get more info. Sounds like a wonderful itinerary. Which ship are you sailing?

[Linda the Book Lover]

I am trying to talk my husband into taking a partial Journey cruise (we have 4 pets to board, and it gets expensive). We will not be anywhere near Platinum as we sail on various cruise lines depending on what type of cruise we are looking to enjoy. I am going to continue research into the Journey cruises. Cruisin 4 Ever, we sailed the Wind in 03 and 09.

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

16 hours ago, Lil2Angelic said:

Our experience, with the longer Journeys cruises, is that there are more platinum and diamond guests and an older demographic. As far as port or starboard side, I'm not sure it matters because it can vary and some may be tender ports. You may want to search or post the port forums here on Cruise Critic to see if you can get more info. Sounds like a wonderful itinerary. Which ship are you sailing?

Its Carnival Pride. I was so excited yesterday but today I'm feeling concerned about what happens if the virus is still circulating. I'd hate.to be confined to my cabin for 2 weeks. I will be vaccinated by then so not worried about catching it, just what will happen if someone else gets sick onboard

 

16 hours ago, Lil2Angelic said:

Our experience, with the longer Journeys cruises, is that there are more platinum and diamond guests and an older demographic. As far as port or starboard side, I'm not sure it matters because it can vary and some may be tender ports. You may want to search or post the port forums here on Cruise Critic to see if you can get more info. Sounds like a wonderful itinerary. Which ship are you sailing?

 

[skrufy]

1 hour ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

I am trying to talk my husband into taking a partial Journey cruise (we have 4 pets to board, and it gets expensive). We will not be anywhere near Platinum as we sail on various cruise lines depending on what type of cruise we are looking to enjoy. I am going to continue research into the Journey cruises. Cruisin 4 Ever, we sailed the Wind in 03 and 09.

 

We have 4 pets also. The dog goes to a puppy motel quite expensive for two weeks (only do 14 day cruises ), and we are lucky to have sons who stop by and check on the 3 cats while we are gone. The boys use our house as a sort of man cave while we are gone.

[chocolate melting cake]

20 minutes ago, skrufy said:

We have 4 pets also. The dog goes to a puppy motel quite expensive for two weeks (only do 14 day cruises ), and we are lucky to have sons who stop by and check on the 3 cats while we are gone. The boys use our house as a sort of man cave while we are gone.

Agree with all---older crowd (us) a lot of plat/diam (us).

A few years ago we were lucky enough to sail on the Spirit to Australia-that 18 days plus another 12 between flights and a stay in Hawaii to rest from the Australian flight meant a month in the Vet's kennel for our 16 year old dog--amounting to close to $2,000.

As far as port or starboard--today it's just luck. However, the "story" is that in the early days of European cruising the ships stayed close to the coast of Europe and Africa on a sail to the east. Therefore it was more expensive to book a Port room on the cruise to the east and watch the shore roll by. Then on the return to the west the Starboard rooms were higher priced. Those who could afford the luxury of both were considered P.O.S.H. -- port out starboard home!

Edited April 18, 2021 by chocolate melting cake

[Linda the Book Lover]

39 minutes ago, skrufy said:

We have 4 pets also. The dog goes to a puppy motel quite expensive for two weeks (only do 14 day cruises ), and we are lucky to have sons who stop by and check on the 3 cats while we are gone. The boys use our house as a sort of man cave while we are gone.

Too funny! Our offspring are all at 50 or knocking on it with families and/or live too far. Now that we getting even more long in tooth, we decided to not adopt any more furry offspring. 

[Linda the Book Lover]

26 minutes ago, chocolate melting cake said:

Agree with all---older crowd (us) a lot of plat/diam (us).

A few years ago we were lucky enough to sail on the Spirit to Australia-that 18 days plus another 12 between flights and a stay in Hawaii to rest from the Australian flight meant a month in the Vet's kennel for our 16 year old dog--amounting to close to $2,000.

As far as port or starboard--today it's just luck. However, the "story" is that in the early days of European cruising the ships stayed close to the coast of Europe and Africa on a sail to the east. Therefore it was more expensive to book a Port room on the cruise to the east and watch the shore roll by. Then on the return to the west the Starboard rooms were higher priced. Those who could afford the luxury of both were considered P.O.S.H. -- port out starboard home!

I know the kennel/hotel for our fur members cost as much as an additional cruise passenger sometimes! 

[SOCACRUISEGUY]

1 hour ago, chocolate melting cake said:

Agree with all---older crowd (us) a lot of plat/diam (us).

A few years ago we were lucky enough to sail on the Spirit to Australia-that 18 days plus another 12 between flights and a stay in Hawaii to rest from the Australian flight meant a month in the Vet's kennel for our 16 year old dog--amounting to close to $2,000.

As far as port or starboard--today it's just luck. However, the "story" is that in the early days of European cruising the ships stayed close to the coast of Europe and Africa on a sail to the east. Therefore it was more expensive to book a Port room on the cruise to the east and watch the shore roll by. Then on the return to the west the Starboard rooms were higher priced. Those who could afford the luxury of both were considered P.O.S.H. -- port out starboard home!

The reason for the P.O.S.H stamp on passenger tickets was due to the lack of air conditioning. The east facing rooms on the ship were cooler as they did not get the hot afternoon sun like the west facing ships. This making them more desirable. Or in this case, POSH. 

[xDisconnections]

It can vary from cruise to cruise but I remember the port side facing land in Ponta Delgada while on the Regal Princess and the port side facing land in Malaga and Barcelona on the Carnival Magic.

 

On my last transatlantic cruise onboard Regal, over 50% of the passengers were Elite with at least 80% being Platinum or higher. Benefits such as priority embarkation weren't and other benefits, such as the laundry, had a 72 hour turnaround window due to the amount of guests. When we sailed on the Carnival Magic, there were a lot of Platinum members (highest level at the time back in 2011). That was several years ago and there have been thousands of additional guests added to the Platinum/Diamond member pool since then.

 

Keep in mind, 75 days isn't much when the status tiers are lifetime and don't require any requalification. When everyone has loyalty status, benefits don't make much of a difference. If I remember correctly prior to the suspension of operations, there were several cruises here and there part of Carnival Journeys where they could not guarantee and accommodate all Platinum/Diamond rooms to be ready upon boarding.

[jonbgd]

ports are never the same docking

 If sailing with balcony or above It depends if you want sunrise or sunset 

Depends on what coastline you want to see from balcony

if going eastbound to BCN port side you will see the rock of Gibraltor and Spain

starboard North African coastline  

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

 

Keep in mind, 75 days isn't much when the status tiers are lifetime and don't require any requalification. *

* not true on MSC. If you don't complete another cruise within 3 years you are booted and have to start over and without a status match.

[Lil2Angelic]

6 hours ago, Cruisin 4 Ever said:

Its Carnival Pride. I was so excited yesterday but today I'm feeling concerned about what happens if the virus is still circulating. I'd hate.to be confined to my cabin for 2 weeks. I will be vaccinated by then so not worried about catching it, just what will happen if someone else gets sick onboard

 

 

We loved the Pride and her crew. Have you ever sailed the Pride or another Spirit class ship? Great deck plan, one of our favorite class of ships. I wouldn't worry about being confined. Personally, I think we're way past that happening at this point. We know so much more than we did about the virus a year ago. We have multiple treatments and vaccines. RCL's President said recently that they've sailed 100,000 guests with only 10 cases and that was without vaccines. Ships have been sailing safely in Europe and Asia. It's time to start living life again.

[xDisconnections]

7 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

* not true on MSC. If you don't complete another cruise within 3 years you are booted and have to start over and without a status match.

I’m a fan of that.

 

Hotel groups offer a lifetime opportunity with a certain amount of years attaining a specific status combined with a specific number of nights among other qualifications. I’m glad they reset for most guests.

[Linda the Book Lover]

16 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

* not true on MSC. If you don't complete another cruise within 3 years you are booted and have to start over and without a status match.

It certainly guarantees you will most likely book with MSC again. We had to rebook our canceled cruise and hope to sail in December. For sure we will book and sail with MSC, because we are spoiled in the YC.

[Jamman54]

21 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

If I remember correctly prior to the suspension of operations, there were several cruises here and there part of Carnival Journeys where they could not guarantee and accommodate all Platinum/Diamond rooms to be ready upon boarding.

On both of our Journeys cruises, (14 day repo on Pride & 14 day Hawaii on Splendor), we received an email prior to the cruise stating that due to the high number of Platinum and Diamond cruisers aboard, ALL rooms wouldn't be ready until 1 :30. You were allowed however, to drop off your carry on luggage. On our Splendor cruise, an announcement was made around noon that all Diamond cabins were ready. YMMV.

[LostPuppy]

I'd consider getting a cabin on the Port side. 

 

With the number of sea days on a westbound TA cruise, a Port side cabin would have sun every day while a Starboard cabin would only have late morning/evening sun at best. And as others said, predicting which side faces the dock for port calls is a "roll of the dice".....

Edited April 21, 2021 by LostPuppy

[grandmacani]

We’ve done several European with a transatlantic added on to be a back2back. Tons of platinum and diamond cruisers on those. But it sure didn’t stop us. The perks, laundry, on a 28 day cruise was so good. As far as which side is better, go figure. Which ever way the wind blows. We’ve done the Spirit and the Legend. Same set up as the pride. We’ve booked next summer a European cruise, hope we make it.