2026 NCL Cruise Critic cruise (proposed)

[debenson0723]

6 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

It is hgh but that’s what we get for sailing the newest ship in the fleet.  I waited a year before doing the Prima so it was more reasonable.  The devil made me book this one 😈

Viva won't be the newest ship in the fleet in 2026.  Aqua takes that spot in about 6 months from now. Hopefully that will make the Viva cruise prices drop a bit.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

True, but I think the current prices are still in “new ship mode”.  I, too, hope the prices will drop when Aqua launches.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

15 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I actually didn’t think it was more overly priced than the other NCL cruises these days.  I’m giving it serious thought…new ship, itinerary with lots of ports we’ve not been too…cruising with some nice CC folks.  Tempting.

Last year we had a Prima cruise with ggtexasgal, graphic guy and Linda, whose screen name escapes me.  Rocket Man was onboard but only graphic guy caught up with him.   It was great fun.  

[Sugar Magnolia]

On 9/4/2024 at 7:12 PM, 2bc cruisers said:

We’re on the 2/6 PC cruise with 4 of our family members.  I’ll be lurking on the waterfront and near afternoon cookies. 🤞 I’ll most likely have a melted credit card as pre PC cruise we are on the Sun 1/19 Melbourne-Auckland flying to LA on the 4th to rest and catch the Joy.  🤪  

 

The afternoon cookies were definitely spotted at the Observation Lounge on the Joy during tea time in June. I was stalking them until cookies started to mysteriously appear in my cabin. It was likely a ploy to distract me away from the OL which failed miserably.

 

Hope to meet you on the 2/6 PC cruise @2bc cruisers. Fingers and toes crossed that you are able to dock at every port in NZ. That is a fabulous itinerary on the Sun. However, I don't envy you having to take that long flight to LA.

 

[graphicguy]

23 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Last year we had a Prima cruise with ggtexasgal, graphic guy and Linda, whose screen name escapes me.  Rocket Man was onboard but only graphic guy caught up with him.   It was great fun.  

That was fun.  Enjoyed meeting and  making more CC friends on that cruise.  Loved the Prima, too!

[2bc cruisers]

10 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Hope to meet you on the 2/6 PC cruise @2bc cruisers. Fingers and toes crossed that you are able to dock at every port in NZ. That is a fabulous itinerary on the Sun. However, I don't envy you having to take that long flight to LA.

 

Thank you.  I hope so too.  

[graphicguy]

On 9/5/2024 at 6:12 PM, laudergayle said:

I actually didn’t think it was more overly priced than the other NCL cruises these days.  I’m giving it serious thought…new ship, itinerary with lots of ports we’ve not been too…cruising with some nice CC folks.  Tempting.

Be careful what you wish for. 😉

[cruiseny4life]

It's been quiet here! So, I just did a looksie at prices given NCL's "gimmick" $1,000 off (*up to) cruises. The price for the June cruise has gone up slightly, about $100 from when I priced it earlier. The January cruise seems to be about the same. 

 

So...well, at least prices are holding roughly steady. 

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

It's been quiet here! So, I just did a looksie at prices given NCL's "gimmick" $1,000 off (*up to) cruises. The price for the June cruise has gone up slightly, about $100 from when I priced it earlier. The January cruise seems to be about the same. 

 

So...well, at least prices are holding roughly steady. 

 

Do I have to act NOW? $1,000 off sounds like a deal of a lifetime.

 

 

[complawyer]

hey cruiseny, as you are a travel agent, ,once again i am surprised at this post.

the issue isnt that the prices are holding at roughly the same, they have done so for almost the last 3 years, regardless of how NCL spins their sales.

the point is, where the heck is the up to $1,000 off cruises, that have so blatantly been offered?

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, complawyer said:

hey cruiseny, as you are a travel agent, ,once again i am surprised at this post.

the issue isnt that the prices are holding at roughly the same, they have done so for almost the last 3 years, regardless of how NCL spins their sales.

the point is, where the heck is the up to $1,000 off cruises, that have so blatantly been offered?

Oh, no travel agent here anymore. I turned in my Mickey Ears and credentials. I'm just a regular traveling member of the public now! 

 

10 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Do I have to act NOW? $1,000 off sounds like a deal of a lifetime.

 

 

Until Groundhog's Day.

[graphicguy]

My December Getaway sailing just dropped $200 for my cabin.  Probably ask for the OBC now, instead of waiting for it to drop more...if it drops more...or if it goes up!

[Sugar Magnolia]

3 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

My December Getaway sailing just dropped $200 for my cabin.  Probably ask for the OBC now, instead of waiting for it to drop more...if it drops more...or if it goes up!

 

I usually get FCC for a price drop. Have not received OBC for a price drop in a long time.

 

[schmoopie17]

33 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I usually get FCC for a price drop. Have not received OBC for a price drop in a long time.

 

Yep...after final payment, it's FCC.

However, on this site, who knows what those initials might stand for...😛

[graphicguy]

7 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I usually get FCC for a price drop. Have not received OBC for a price drop in a long time.

 

Just spoke to my TA.  She said the same.  She said they’d offer a FCC as a “one time adjustment” since they value me.  Not buying that but nice sentiment.

 

Ends up being a $300 FCC.  All the ore reason to give those 2026 cruises a look-see!

 

Ad an aside, thinking of all of my NY friends today! 

Edited September 11 by graphicguy

[Sugar Magnolia]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Ends up being a $300 FCC.  All the ore reason to give those 2026 cruises a look-see!

That is great news!

 

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

thinking of all of my NY friends today!

 

Solemn day. Just returned from an annual 9/11 dinner. Great to see old friends but sad to remember those who are missing. 
 

[schmoopie17]

I go out of the country and this topic slips off of the first several pages. Fixed.

 

We’re on the Escape right now and I have to say this trip is by far the least fun yet. Having a five…count ‘em…five hour delay in our flight to Rome didn’t exactly get the trip off to a flying start (pun intended). Then sitting in a cramped airline seat for nine hours only added to the enjoyment. Once we fly back, it is highly unlikely we will fly internationally again. That makes us a probable “no” for the Croatia cruise in June, 2026.

 

The Escape is hit and miss so far. Disappointed that Jack is no longer the CD. It took forever to get into CC (ship’s WIFI is garbage…) so my posts on this trip will be sporadic. But I’ll do a recap when we get back.

[JIMESOPUS]

@schmoopie17 Thanks for the update, we had similar issues with our flight to Rome last year and will sail to Europe next year. I would rather be on a ship for 15 days than inside a plane for 9 hours. 

[dexddd]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

I go out of the country and this topic slips off of the first several pages. Fixed.

 

We’re on the Escape right now and I have to say this trip is by far the least fun yet. Having a five…count ‘em…five hour delay in our flight to Rome didn’t exactly get the trip off to a flying start (pun intended). Then sitting in a cramped airline seat for nine hours only added to the enjoyment. Once we fly back, it is highly unlikely we will fly internationally again. That makes us a probable “no” for the Croatia cruise in June, 2026.

 

The Escape is hit and miss so far. Disappointed that Jack is no longer the CD. It took forever to get into CC (ship’s WIFI is garbage…) so my posts on this trip will be sporadic. But I’ll do a recap when we get back.

Hopefully things get better.  Escape is a nice ship and lots to do.  Maybe spend some time in the beer hall.

[schmoopie17]

45 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Maybe spend some time in the beer hall.

Been there…done that (a couple of times). 

[Sugar Magnolia]

@schmoopie17 I am sorry to hear that your Mediterranean Escape is no exciting escapade. Are you enjoying the ports or the excursions? I would have eaten my way around the Mediterranean to make up for the disappointing parts of the trip, gelato being my choice of poison.

 

We shall regroup upon your return. Stay safe and stay healthy.

 

[cruiseny4life]

SCHMOOPIE!!! I wish I could have schmoopie'd you. Then your trip would be epic, alas the whole work thing. But, I do hope the trip gets better. Even if the ship isn't great, perhaps the ports will be stunning! I'm here in NY wishing the best for my seafaring friend cruising the great wide open Med. 

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I go out of the country and this topic slips off of the first several pages. Fixed.

 

We’re on the Escape right now and I have to say this trip is by far the least fun yet. Having a five…count ‘em…five hour delay in our flight to Rome didn’t exactly get the trip off to a flying start (pun intended). Then sitting in a cramped airline seat for nine hours only added to the enjoyment. Once we fly back, it is highly unlikely we will fly internationally again. That makes us a probable “no” for the Croatia cruise in June, 2026.

 

The Escape is hit and miss so far. Disappointed that Jack is no longer the CD. It took forever to get into CC (ship’s WIFI is garbage…) so my posts on this trip will be sporadic. But I’ll do a recap when we get back.

Hopefully, things smooth out.

 

I know having done those international flights often when I was still in the work force, I was always in a bad mood once I got to the other side of the Atlantic.  And now, the flights and seats are even worse.

 

I like Escape.  I know WiFi in the Mediterranean overall is hit and miss....on land and sea.  Not sure if there's a correlation, but when I had Verizon, the European WiFi on board and on land excursions war pretty bad.  T-Mobile, which I just switched to in the last 12 months was much better.

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

@schmoopie17 I am sorry to hear that your Mediterranean Escape is no exciting escapade. Are you enjoying the ports or the excursions? I would have eaten my way around the Mediterranean to make up for the disappointing parts of the trip, gelato being my choice of poison.

 

We shall regroup upon your return. Stay safe and stay healthy.

 

Yo! Had a couple of good days in Rome (once American Airlines decided to finally take us there). Naples/Amalfi Coast had a very good private tour. Sicily/Taormina was beautiful. Not so beautiful was Mrs.Schmoopie having a bad bout of gastritis. That, along with her hobbling made for an interesting stop. Today was Malta and we stayed on the ship to be in bathroom range.

 

Food and service have been mostly fine. Bartenders very good and we seem to have a pretty good cabin guy.

 

The worst thing was the Comedian/Magician who was neither funny or magical. The grand final was him doing shadow puppets. (Yes, you read that right). Tonight is Choir of Man and I know from experience it will be great. If nothing else, beer on stage.

 

Edited 15 hours ago by schmoopie17

[schmoopie17]

38 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

SCHMOOPIE!!! I wish I could have schmoopie'd you. Then your trip would be epic, alas the whole work thing. But, I do hope the trip gets better. Even if the ship isn't great, perhaps the ports will be stunning! I'm here in NY wishing the best for my seafaring friend cruising the great wide open Med. 

Thanks for the positive thoughts. Hoping for the best.