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hi all,

Is anyone currently booked or looking into the 7n cruises on Rhapsody next summer out of Cyprus that go to Israel and Egypt? Does anyone have any reviews or recommendations or anything to share about rhapsody of the seas? 

Thank you in advance!!

Hi all, 

I am supposed to leave on a Baltic cruise on May 29th on Voyager of the Seas. One of the stops is Saint Petersburg, Russia. With all the unrest happening between Russia, the US and Ukraine, how likely is Royal to swap out our stop in Russia for another port?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, looking to book a 7nt Baltic on Voyager at the end of late May. 

Was wondering if anybody had any tips on the ship, or any reviews they care to share before I impulsively click the book button? 

The biggest parts of a cruise to me are the food (quality) and the level of congestion / crowds. Any tips or tricks? 

Please lmk!!

4 hours ago, twangster said:

For planning purposes this is what my TA can see:

19Nov2021    7 Night Cabo, Vallarta & Mazatlan 
26Nov2021    3 Night Ensenada  
29Nov2021    4 Night Catalina & Ensenada 
03Dec2021    3 Night Ensenada  
06Dec2021    4 Night Catalina & Ensenada 
10Dec2021    3 Night Ensenada  
13Dec2021    3 Night Ensenada  
20Dec2021    4 Night Catalina & Ensenada 
24Dec2021    7 Night Cabo, Vallarta & Mazatlan 
31Dec2021    7 Night Cabo, Vallarta & Mazatlan 

07Jan2022    3 Night Ensenada  
10Jan2022    4 Night Catalina & Ensenada 
14Jan2022    3 Night Ensenada  
17Jan2022    7 Night Cabo, Vallarta & Mazatlan 
24Jan2022    4 Night Catalina & Ensenada 

so does this mean no cruises around the tip of south america as we probably all hoped for??

1 hour ago, twangster said:

When Mariner made the voyage around Cape Horn in 2009 it lasted 46 nights.  It looked like this:

• Port Canaveral to Rio de Janeiro - 15 nights
• Rio de Janeiro to Valparaiso (around the Horn) - 15 nights
• Valparaiso to Los Angeles - 16 nights

What would it look like if Navigator repeated Mariner's 2009 voyage around the Horn?  

Navigator has a 3 night sailing from Miami on April 22, 2022.  Her last Miami turn around day is April 25, 2022.

• April 25, 2022 to May 10, 2022 - Miami to Rio de Janeiro
• May 10, 2022 to May 25, 2022 - Rio de Janeiro to Valparaiso
• May 25, 2022 to June 10, 2022 - Valparaiso to Los Angeles

That's 46 nights and it fits quite handily into her schedule.  Coincidence?   

Didn't they expand the Panama Canal recently so that Navigator and ships of that class could fit?

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Ha!  They are hardly small ships! 

Until Carnival built Mardi Gras (which hasn't sailed with guests yet) Voyager class is larger than anything in the whale tail fleet.  

That is crazy, I've sailed on CCL Breeze and really enjoyed it, but even that felt crowded. 

Is it larger in tonnage or passenger capacity, or both?

Also what have you thought in trips past about the food on voyager, I recently cruised on Oasis and thought the food was lacking in the buffet area. 

Hi all, 

I was recently looking at cruises and I narrowed it down to two. 

Option 1: 10 Night Baltic, June 2022- Voyager of the Seas - R/t Copenhagen

Option 2: 7 Night Israel/Greece/Turkey, May 2022 - NCL Jade - R/t Athens

I am leaning towards the Voyager cruise, but know virtually nothing about it. Paging anybody who has sailed on that class of ship please with recommendations and reviews!

in other news, Carnival posted Europe 2022 completely under the radar. no coverage from any media or their corporate news releases page. 

1 hour ago, JLMoran said:

I wasn’t even looking at Vision. She may be listed now, but if Royal has to get rid of some ships she (and likely Grandeur) will be top of the list for the next scrapyard sale. I have zero faith that 2022 sailings on her will actually happen.

Interesting you say that. I love the 10nt Copenhagen r/t Baltic Cruise on June 5th. the two 11nt voyages are okay, but I don't understand the two days at sea from Riga to Stockholm on one itinerary, where on another itinerary, they do it with no days at sea!

On the deployment flyer, it is listed as finishing in Copenhagen, but on the website it shows Stockholm. I'm confused lol.

1 hour ago, JLMoran said:

I found the Mediterranean options they gave to be very disappointing compared to options from Princess and (for 2021) Celebrity / HAL / other more-European lines. I really hope that those other lines release theirs tomorrow / Real Soon Now. If 2021 pricing is any indicator, X will be very competitive with Princess' "Princess Plus" pricing on equivalent cabin categories and their "Always Included" option. And I'd rather sail X than Princess, even if it means a slightly shorter 11- or 12-night cruise (same number of ports, just fewer sea days) or doing a S2S. I'm one short sailing on Royal away from Select status match on X; kind of hoping I'll be able to do a semi-last-minute Bermuda sailing late next year, if NJ's expected vaccination coverage goes according to plan.

Same, with the exception of the 8nt Vision of the Seas cruises. Not many ships go straight to Portofino, or to Palermo, or to Sardinia/Corsica.

6 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

14 NIGHT British Transatlantic Cruise

LEAVING FROM:Miami, Florida, onboard Jewel of the Seas

 

VISITING:Miami, Florida | Cruising | Madeira (Funchal), Portugal | Cruising | Vigo, Spain | Cruising | Bruges/Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium | Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

When does this cruise go to Britain ???

That's what I was thinking!

12 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Ugh! I have 5 holds down already! Each offering a bit of something that we want. It’s going to be hard to decide. There is not one single sailing that stands out and has all the check points that we want.

Wow 5?! Which ones!!

...and it is a very nice offering of sailings!

If there is one thing I noticed, their pricing seems to reflect people's feelings on longer cruises in the post-covid world. 

7nt Baltic vs. 10nt Baltic vs. 11nt Baltic are only different by a couple of $!

What does everyone else think of them?

29 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

My wife and younger daughter threw me a curve ball. I showed them the third itinerary option, which I hadn't listed here and figured wouldn't be as appealing because barely any Greek Isles stops, and only a single stop in Naples (so only time to see one sight). Well, they liked that one the best. Waiting to see what my older daughter prefers, but I might be on the "losing" end of this discussion.

 

I personally would definitely pick the one that includes Istanbul and Ephesus! I've wanted to go to those places for the longest time. Plus Crete isn't found on many itineraries, but the standard "Western Med" (Marseilles, La Spezia) has been offered for as long as I can remember and will probably continue to be. On the idea of variation alone, I think the Rome - Athens - Barcelona cruise is the best! But it is all your pick. 

2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

 

I really like the top one, out of Rome and into Barcelona. Not sure of your departure area in the US, but it gives you more options for nonstop flights if that matters.

On a side note, I'm really hoping that Royal will have a cruise to Israel during the summer season like NCL is planning to have in 2023. Sorry, @JLMoran but that would make your decision a lot more difficult likely!

Does anybody think this is possible or would they stick to the Off-season cruises to Israel. only time will tell....

3 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We cruised on  Epic many years ago.  While the ship itself was ok I really HATED the balcony rooms.  They had a split bathroom with the sink out in the room.  It was very weird.  The balconies were very narrow.

I agree! As a man I really disliked having to shave while sitting on the bed! Really tough to split with a family too.

11 hours ago, JLMoran said:

I’m really not interested in a Vision-class ship, but I actually have that NCL itinerary on my current “to be strongly considered” list. It’s actually what prompted this post, as I was looking at possibly combining that with a 7-night on Norwegian Epic out of Civitavecchia to the western Med as a S2S. Would have to spend a night or two in Rome in between the sailings, but my mom has lifelong friends who live there and who I’m sure would be happy to show us around.

Going back to this one, I wanted to mention that many years back, I cruised on the Epic and it just did not meet expectations. It felt more like a ferry service with people embarking at EVERY port (not just Rome or Barcelona)... but maybe it changed. Do they have any smaller ships doing med? 

Maybe you could do the Oasis-class Western med and then take a train up to Ravenna, then do R-class Eastern Med?

Once a year typically they offer a great 8night Itinerary out of Venice/Ravenna that sees Croatia, Montenegro and a bunch of the Isles. 

RCL tends to have a 12nt cruise on Vision of the Seas that incorporates alot of both sides of the Mediterranean. 

not sure which lines you're more loyal to, but I know NCL has some longer itineraries that may better suit your needs. 

10nt cruise on NCL Escape, for example....July 2022

• Rome (Civitavecchia),Italy
• Santorini,Greece
• Athens (Piraeus),Greece
• Mykonos,Greece
• Corfu,Greece
• Valletta,Malta
• Messina (Sicily),Italy
• Naples,Italy
• Florence/Pisa (Livorno),Italy
• Rome (Civitavecchia),Italy

The last two times I was in Rome, I stayed at Hotel Nerva and Hotel Golden before a cruise. Hotel Golden was cheaper and a better experience overall. I also think they provide pickup service from the airport. 

4 minutes ago, KWong said:

I live in the heart of Leafs Nation, and it's never not funny when they fail to win.

This comment is the best.

45 minutes ago, twangster said:

The National Hockey League is posting about cruise ships?  Slow off season I guess...

as a huge hockey fan I got really excited when i saw NHL!!

45 minutes ago, princevaliantus said:

 

that's pretty awesome that it is not in the main corridor. thanks!!!