Ok, first of all I totally and completely understand how the ATOL protection works and why it's clearly a good idea to have it, however, I would just like people's feedback and experiences if they have booked elements separately.

We are looking at booking an NCL cruise through iglu. It includes flights, transfers, an Amtrak journey from Canada to NYC and hotels. If I book all the elements individually, it's close to £1k cheaper.

Does anyone have experience booking separately, good, bad or otherwise

Hi all,

I’m looking to book the Daniel Johnson Island Tour in Roatan. I read that it is 3-4 hours. Has anyone been on this tour and can tell me about it? Is the time with the monkeys/sloths and the tour just 4 hours? Or is the time in the sanctuary not included in that estimate? Thank you!

Any affordable parking place ( covered ) in Galveston ? Don’t want to spend too much , instead of booking ahead , is it good idea to just drive around and find one ?

I’m currently Christmas shopping for my parents. They “have everything” but they love to cruise. Any unique gift ideas?

What are your recommendations?

Not into water sports or late night partying. Into sight seeing and taking it easy.

Eastern : Amber Cove, DR, San Juan PR. St Thomas USVI, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Western: Cozumel, Mexico, Georgetown, Cayman Islands, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

Or do you have a different suggestion for a 1st time Caribbean cruise?

I am trying to book a cruise and need some suggestions on where to look and what to avoid to not get scammed. I’ve never been on a cruise and my budget is around $700 with flights. This would be for my 3 year anniversary so I’m looking for something nice. When do I have to fly in and how do I get to the ports? I’ve never done this before so some help would be appreciated.

I have been all over that site today and cannot find the carnival gift card! I found it with the other gift cards a few weeks ago but not today.

We are sailing from the UK into NYC in January with Cunard, disembarking the 18th. We are considering taking ourselves down to Miami and joining NCL Joy on the 21st, sailing to Los Angeles via Panama. Now we are UK citizens, and US Permanent Residents. Our issue is our passports expire on July 18, so we're just three days shy of the six month limit at time of boarding. Anyone else had experience with this issue? How picky are they?

Hi guys!

Going on my first cruise with my husband in two weeks and we are super excited.

We just are feeling unsure about one aspect. How do you folks access the internet OFF the ship? Because cellphone carriers always have very expensive plans for international uses. Do you guys just rely on wifi available from cafés and restaurants? Would love some guidance here.

Cheers!

Ok, this is for those that have sailed the luxury cruise lines, like Seabourn, Silver Seas, Regent, Lindblad and so on. What do you do for a living, so that you can afford to sail on these cruise lines. I have done a few of these, and I will say that I have been blessed to have done well on the stock markets. That's were 70% of my cruising funds come from.

First cruise will be this summer, 7 days to Alaska on HAL. We have 12 year old twin boys. Glacier Bay is a must for us and kids are excited. For our next cruise I'd like to try something with a few more "kid" amenities like water slides or something. However, don't particularly want a ship that's mega sized, would prefer like 3000 passengers and under. Open on destination--Caribbean, Mexico, Europe are all possibilities and we'd do 7-10 nights. What cruise lines/ships should I check out?

Hey r/cruise community! Insurance agent here - I wanted to give you all a heads up about something that could benefit frequent cruisers. My company is currently offering annual multi-trip plans at the lowest rates I've seen in my career (about 70% off normal pricing).

Some quick facts about annual plans that might interest frequent cruisers:
- Take unlimited trips throughout the year, with stays up to 40 days each (30 days for FL residents)
- You choose your coverage range based on your typical trip costs
- Pre-existing conditions become eligible for coverage after just 60 days of having the plan

I know discussion of deals is sometimes sensitive here, so I won't name the company directly in the post - but if you're planning multiple cruises this year and want to learn more, feel free to message me. Happy to share details and answer any questions about coverage.

To be fully transparent: Yes, I am an agent who sells these plans. But I'm posting because I genuinely believe this is an exceptional deal that could help many of you save significantly, especially if you cruise frequently.

Stay safe out there!

I ordered the benefits starting with the most appealing one for frequent cruisers (unlimited trips) and made sure to note the Florida resident distinction since many cruisers are from Florida. Would you like me to adjust anything about how these benefits are presented?

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Hey r/cruise community! Insurance agent here - I wanted to give you all a heads up about something that could benefit frequent cruisers. My company is currently offering annual multi-trip plans at the lowest rates I've seen in my career (about 70% off normal pricing).

Some quick facts about annual plans that might interest frequent cruisers:
- Take unlimited trips throughout the year, with stays up to 40 days each (30 days for FL residents)
- You choose your coverage range based on your typical trip costs
- Pre-existing conditions become eligible for coverage after just 60 days of having the plan

I know discussion of deals is sometimes sensitive here, so I won't name the company directly in the post - but if you're planning multiple cruises this year and want to learn more, feel free to message me. Happy to share details and answer any questions about coverage.

To be fully transparent: Yes, I am an agent who sells these plans. But I'm posting because I genuinely believe this is an exceptional deal that could help many of you save significantly, especially if you cruise frequently.

Stay safe out there!

I ordered the benefits starting with the most appealing one for frequent cruisers (unlimited trips) and made sure to note the Florida resident distinction since many cruisers are from Florida. Would you like me to adjust anything about how these benefits are presented?

Are there any cruises that stay close to home , like Charleston to Miami with a couple stops in between

Me and my parter are completely new to cruises so we have no idea except Disney seem to be far more expensive than the rest? Which cruises would you recommend for 2 adults and a 4 year old?

I am going with a group of five women on a Royal Caribbean cruise from LA to Mexico next June. There are five of us split into three rooms. One person doesn’t drink very much. She’s the kind of person that will drink one or two glasses of alcohol in a day max. And really only does that once or twice a week. The rest of us want the drink package. She is not in her own room. She will have a roommate who wants the drink package. I understand that if she calls, she can tell Royal Caribbean that she does not drink and they will not force her to buy the alcohol drink package (but will make her buy a soda package). My question is will they notice if she buys a glass of wine with dinner?

👋 Hello, who’s onboard. Let’s catchup from Miami 😊 🚢

Hello!

I wanted to share our recent experience on the Norwegian Breakaway from October 27th to November 3rd.

We made some overviews on YouTube:

Full Ship Tour

Day 1-8 Playlist

Ink48 Hotel Review

**Pre-cruise:**

We flew into NYC a day early and stayed at the INK48 hotel in Manhattan. We took the LIRR from JFK to Manhattan. The location was great as we were able to walk to Times Square and Broadway. The area felt very safe. However, the hotel itself was not particularly clean but it was good enough for NYC standards.

**Day One: Embarkation **

Embarkation was smooth and efficient, but we noticed that a lot of the ship was in disrepair and looked older than expected. We encountered an issue with our dining package and had to spend an hour on the phone with NCL to sort it out. That evening, we spent some time exploring the ship. When we finally got to our room, it was mostly clean except for a urine stain on the bed sheets. It took over three hours to resolve this issue with guest relations.

**Day Two: Sea Day **

We spent the day exploring the ship and getting a full feel of the place. We dined at Le Bistro, which turned out to be the best experience on the ship. The food and service were excellent.

**Day Three: Bermuda **

We landed in Bermuda and spent the day walking around the Royal Naval Dockyard. For lunch, we had sushi at Anchor Bar/Restaurant which was fantastic (5/5). Dinner at Teppanyaki was enjoyable with a good show, although a drink was spilled on me and we had to end the evening early. Unfortunately, NCL didn’t assist us with the dining package issue that arose from this incident.

**Day Four: Bermuda **

Walked around the Royal Naval Dockyard then took the free NCL shuttle to St. George. Very good experience on the shuttle. Walked St. George to the unfinished church, had a rum swizzle and had more sushi at "The Wharf" right off the dock. Best sushi on the trip. Took the shuttle back, had dinner at "La Cucina" which was a huge surprise. Great portions.

**Day Five: Bermuda **

We took the NCL Excursion "Glass Bottom Boat Tour" ($79) - It was an incredible value. We then took the $7 city ferry to Hamilton. We spent some time walking around Hamilton and took the ferry back. We went to the Skyy Vodka Ice Bar and it was a really great experience. It was Halloween so the ship energy was off the charts. We finished at Cagney’s - another 5/5 experience.

**Day Six: Sea Day **

We left Bermuda early AM so we had lots of time to explore the ship. We spent a lot of time in the Spa this day. We explored the shops and saw the afternoon showing of "Burn The Floor" (5/5). We both played in the $35 Blackjack Tournament. I would recommend it! We tried to have dinner in the Manhattan but it was too crowded and slow so we ended up at Shanghai's Noodle Bar. This place was always consistently good.

**Day Seven/Eight: Sea Day**

We really just tried to enjoy the last day, spending a lot more time at the spa to relax. We tried to have lunch at American Diner but it was not clean so we went to O'Sheehan's (now called The Local). Went to a wine tasting at "Le Bistro" ($22) and it was great. Finished again at Shanghai's Noodle Bar. Disembarkation was a breeze, absolutely no issues.

Overall, we had mixed feelings about our experience on this NCL cruise.

- Penny pinching has become a noticeable issue at NCL, and it is starting to impact the overall experience.

-The ship is looking rough, and there were many areas that did not meet the standards that we have become accustomed to on NCL.

-The pool was packed and the hot tubs were so full as to be unusable (at least for us). I know some people love a busy hot tub but it was not fun for us so we had to book the Spa Package ($299/pp). The Spa was overall great, but one day there was an issue with people getting drunk in the Spa (passed out) and vaping. Not cool!

- Although much of the ship was blocked off for a private event, which seemed unfair to other passengers, it did not significantly hinder our plans.

- The included dining options were satisfactory but fell short when compared to the upcharge specialty dining. Le Bistro was exceptional, and Cagney’s was also a highlight.

- The ship is showing signs of wear and tear, and compared to other ships in the “Breakaway Class,” it feels neglected. It does not hold a candle to The Bliss.

- We found the initial condition of our room unacceptable, and it took three days for the issue to be fully resolved. While the staff did recover the situation, this should not have been necessary.

In conclusion, while there were some high points during our trip, such as dining at Le Bistro and Cagney’s, the overall experience was marred by several issues that NCL needs to address. The trip started out very rough but some team members really worked hard to make it right. By the end of the trip, we didn't want to get off the boat, which is always a good time.

This is not my favorite boat, probably will not go back on Breakaway but still had fun. Overall 3/5.

First time I've heard of this sort of offer. Pay $120K and two people can take any Virgin cruise they want anywhere in the world for an entire year. Comes out to $5K/per person, per month which isn't a bad deal imo.

https://www.virginvoyages.com/cruises/year-long-annual-pass

Hi all-I’m curious if anyone here has previously done the day pass (not through the cruise line-booking direct) to Atlantis and/or the day pass to Margaritaville in Nassau. My son used to be obsessed with the water slide POV videos from Atlantis but I’ve read mixed reviews on the day pass experience. It seems kind of disorganized from what I’ve read.

If you went to either were the lines super long for the slides? Was it easy snagging transportation to/from? I have a feeling he’d have more fun at Margaritaville (he gets stressed in overwhelming/chaotic environments) but his old obsession with the slides at Atlantis has me second guessing. 😅 FWIW there are 4 cruise ships scheduled to be in Nassau that day.

I'm planning a cruise with my wife. She is not a US citizen but does have permanent residency and a government ID. The Carnival website makes no sense. It says conflicting things. First it says the cruises listed on the page don't require a passport if you are a US citizen. But then it says you just need a government ID. My wife isn't a citizen but does have ID. So what is it? Non citizens can have resident ID's, drivers licenses, etc.

https://www.carnival.com/awaywego/cruising-fun/how-to-plan/places-to-cruise-without-a-passport

Getting married in the spring and considering options for our honeymoon in April. I want to see if a cruise is a good choice for us as we already wanted to be somewhere in the Caribbean.

As this is a special occasion, we probably want to party more than just lounge around and sleep although that’ll be a thing too.

So long story short, want a more adult experience, less family oriented, etc. a bit more leaning on the bar life, etc.

From what I’ve gathered so far, Virgin seems to be the best choice but that’s on limited research.

Thanks all.

I was thinking of taking a repositioning cruise, either panama canal or US to Europe, because it's a super cheap way to travel. There's a decent amount of stops on a panama canal trip, but for Europe you're going to be at sea for almost the whole trip.

I thought perhaps because of the unusual nature of repositioning cruises, maybe they switch entertainers/crews/whatever during those trips and they may not have the same types of activities that a normal cruise has.

So does a repositioning cruise still have shows, events, all the normal dining and bar options? Is there anything different about a repositioning cruise vs a normal round trip cruise?