Temeculaguy

I drank from garden hoses as a kid so my system can handle tap water but my wife has a different philosophy. We are regular diamond so no matter what they give us I ordered 24 additional 1 liter (33 ounce) waters to be in my room for $33. I originally paid $41 but got a refund and repurchased during a sale. I just checked and It's $40 for 12 bottles so there can be a benefit to buy during the sales and repricing if better sales some along.

On 3/23/2023 at 2:31 PM, Bruin Steve said:

We've taken a couple of cruises on the Navigator OTS since they brought it here....LOVE it.  Of course, for us, it's really easy as we live about and hour-hour and a half from the port in San Pedro.  We ordinarily cruise all over the world...but, between the more exciting international cruises, we can fill in the longer gaps with quick getaways of a few days to a week for a relatively low cost.

When we first started cruising back in the late 80s/early 90s, Royal Caribbean had the old Viking Serenade based here and it was our go-to quick family vacation.  Then, they put the old Monarch of the Seas here.  For a while, RCCL broughtr the Mariner of the Seas here...and we were invited on the "pre-inaugural"...but a short time later, RCCL abandoned us--leaving the market solely to Carnival--and Princess in the non-Alaska season months.  Due to that abandonment, we found ourselves doing a lot of Princess cruises (We've now done 11 on Princess and 4 on Carnival) though we prefer Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.  Now, we hope they leave at least one ship here forever...

As to the "limited" itineraries, they really aren't as limited as some think.  We've taken a few different itineraries from SoCal...and there are more that are offered on an infrequent basis that we've never been able to fit into our schedule.  Here's the basic rundown of what is available and what is possible:

1) The "Standard" Mexican Riviera:  Los Angeles round trip 7 nights--Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta.  This is the majority of what one sees from Royal Caribbean and others.  Personally, I think it's an outstanding itinerary...but, of course, we've done it way too often.

1a)  Mexican Riviera alternate routes.  We did one on Princess one time that went for 8 nights and added a stop in Manzanillo.  I've also seen longer ones--up to 10 nights--that add Zihuantenejo and/or Acapulco.

2)  Baja 3/4 nights.  You usually see the 3 night variation to Ens   Mazatlan and PV after Cabo, they turn north into the Gulf of California and visit La Paz and Guaymas.  One day, I'd love to check out that sort of itinerary. 

4)  Panama Canal.  Usually a longer one-way cruise either starting in LA and ending in Florida or vice-versa.  Some cruise lines only do this as a repositioning cruise but no reason you couldn't do several back and forth.

5)  LA to South America.  Another one that's usually a longer repositioning cruise, but, again, no reason you couldn't schedule them back and forth consecutively.  Other end in Santiago, Chile or in Peru or Ecuador.  Would be great for packaging with Macchu Picchu land tours. 

5b) A slightly shorter variation that I don't think anyone has yet tried would be one-way, LA to Panama--canal and back.  The cruise lines do this on the other side of the continent from Florida...Why not here?  There are West Coast ports south of PV in Mexico and in Central America thatcould be used.

6)  Hawaii.  Most cruise lines have a few one-way cruises to Hawaii.  (They used to do longer round trips as well).  Of course, for legal reasons, they usually go from Vancouver or Ensenada...but I am sure there is some way to go from LA and lengthen the cruise with one foreign port to get around the law.

7}  The round-trip "California Coastal".  The cruise lines throw in a few of these...Los Angeles 7 night round trip with Ensenada (to beat the law), and some selection of San Diego, Catalina, Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco.  As a local, this couldn't be more dull.  I would drive farther to San Pedro to pick up a ship to take me to the closer to home Santa Baarbara...and all of the ports are easy drives from home.  But for thise from out of the area, it could be a nice sampler of Caliufornia towns.  OTOH, I may book one some time just to spend some time cruising.

8 ) The one-way Pacific Coastal.  Los Angeles to Vancouver or vice versa.  I've taken a couple of these and LOVE them.  Always looking for one that fits into our schedule.  We have daughters living in Portland.  We can fly to PDX, spend a few days, then rent a car or fly to Vancouver, get on the ship and spend 7 nights cruising home.  Last time we did this was on Princess LA to Vancouver...7 nights, stopped in San Diego, San Francisco...Astoria, Oregon...Victoria, BC...ended in Vancouver.  Picked up a rental car there and drove to Portland for a few days with the kids.

 

Epic Post!!! I agree with everything and learned a lot about the LA to vancouver (we love that city). I am also a 70-90 minute drive to San Pedro and cruised on the Viking Serenade (my first cruise circa 1992 or 1993). I also cruised other lines because of Royal's absence and love that Navigator is here, just went on her and doing NYE on her this year. I think just having a ship here is great for the company to expose the coveted first timers (I've introduced over 15 friends and family to RCL in the past year via Navigator in LA).

Zihuantenejo is a favorite of ours, it really does look and feel like the ending scene from shawshank. Other lines go to La Paz, royal should consider it on the Cabo only cruises.

you may need to restart or edit your title, your date of sail is 2024 but arrival is 2023, if you mean May 1st 2023 to May 11th, 2023 then we are on this cruise with you. I am most looking forward to seeing how we like it as it is very different from all our past cruises. The amount of consecutive sea days, the length, the fellow passengers, the 23 hour days are all question marks. We love the idea of not having a long flight one way, if it works out we may use  transatlantic cruises both directions in lieu of flights. It will also open up some other options for us since until now, 7 days is as long as we've cruised. We just retired and have time for longer cruises and stays buy we're apprehensive about cruises in the double digits, this should answer that question for us. Once you look at the mainstream lines of CCL, RCL and NCL  the itinerary lengths can be intimidating.

6 hours ago, MichelleB1234 said:

We stayed at the Hotel Captain Cook.   

It is a historic landmark hotel.   

we booked that hotel for 2020, but had to lift and shift to 2021, then again to 2022 when it was sold out. If I find myself there again, I'd stay at the Captain Hook but it never happened so I was hesitant to recommend it. 

16 hours ago, NJCruisers said:

I've been following them on Facebook, I can't wait to try their pizza, they have some interesting choices! 

As Californians it's easy to dismiss our opinion but we regularly go to your part of the country and when we do we have the pizza, having hit almost all of the fabled pizza places in Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Chicago (Boston's North end honorable mention but we have the pasta when there). But trust me, even though you hail from an area with some of the best pizza in the world, you will not be disappointed with the Moose's Tooth. Here in Cali, the best places out here are usually owned and operated by Italians transplanted from the East coast. The Moose's tooth was founded by two blond guys from Portland, weird? But an hour wait on a random Tuesday, the parking lot affixed with a circus tent to accommodate another 30 tables and you'll see they are on to something, it was that good. Grimaldi's, Lombardi's, John's on Bleeker Street, Peqods and the Moose's Tooth should be mentioned in the same sentence. Unfortunately no halibut pizza, now that would be fusion.

Two dining highlights from Anchorage, Moose's Tooth Pizza. Not the first thing you think of when you think Alaska, but it was great and the #2 restaurant on yelp for Anchorage.

The other was 49th state brewing for the halibut and chips, like eating clouds. If you are with someone else, get one order battered and fried, one order another way if available and share, it is epic. But 49th state was our favorite of the 7 or 8 places we got halibut. I just cannot remember of it had grilled or baked, only half the places did and we got halibut every day in anchorage and in every port, but 49th state never got knocked off the number one spot not for lack of trying.

In Seward, the Cookery exceeded expectations, that town was far more of a foodie place than we expected.

As far as the hotel, we were there summer of 2022 with a couple of years of pent up demand and hotels were sold out six months ahead. We ended up at the embassy suites and it was nice (near the moose's tooth, which is how we found that gem) but we never had a problem getting ubers so it wasn't an issue getting around even though we were not in the heart of things.

the porters will fill them out for you, we've gotten royal up twice while in transit and despite having pre-printed luggage tags it nifty rcl amazon luggage tag holders we had new room numbers  by the time we arrived at the port. Nothing that a $5 bill for the porter cant fix in two minutes.

If you stay near the Newark airport I highly recommend taking an uber into Elizabeth and get some Portuguese food, Valencia is a favorite of ours. We have family in NJ that we cruise with so we don't always stay near the airport but sometimes an early flight or a quick turnaround makes it more convenient. In two months we will be there, the renaissance is quiet  but there's nothing to walk to so we will be eating here https://www.yelp.com/biz/valença-restaurant-elizabeth-2?osq=Restaurants

Paella and the filet mignon you cook on a hot rock are the best.

This is one area where the industry and RCL differs. Many other lines are offering all inclusive options, RCL may introduce something as they have on their other lines. Princess for example has 2 bundle options, on a few cruises I've priced they charge $72 a day for the basic package (wifi, drinks up to $15 a drink, tips and $150 OBS per person) and $92 a day including all that plus $20 a drink, 2 specialty dining visits, photo package (3 prints, unlimited digital) and reserved show seats. For a 7 day cruise the OBC drops that to 50 and 70, tips makes it closer to 35 and 55 for wifi and drinks or wifi, better drinks, 2 specialty dining, photos and reserved seats. I priced these for a couple, so it may go down for kids but it's not a kid cruise line. I haven't figured out the math on celebrity who offers something similar that RCL owns but I think RCL is one of the few that has no all inclusive option other than star class suites which is about 10-15 cabins per ship, the others offer these options to everyone. As a shareholder, I'm fine with it, as a cruiser I think they may be turning people off as even I am looking elsewhere as their fares have gone up bringing them close to the lines that have more value priced bundles. Truth is I will probably still cruise 3 times a year on RCL and they win for us when bringing a large group of varied ages or grand kids. But as a mid 50's retired couple, my other 3 cruises per year are probably going to be on other lines, as a shareholder I would like them to prevent that from happening or groom us into their other lines with a combined loyalty program across their lines to keep us from exploring outside their bottom line and my stock price. Right now they are in the driver's seat, better positioned financially that any other line but this is when they should try and dominate the market and not price people into their competitors.

I couldn't see the 2025 ones on their website but it is doing the same in 2024 late October, back late November. Could be going for a drydock, not sure how long it takes to do the amplification but it only has 2 weeks in Europe between the TA's and no cruises scheduled in that gap. I do not think that is long enough for the amplification but not sure. With the cost of flights to Europe, it's actually somewhat in the same price point if you normally fly premium economy, business or first. Far more comfortable but takes longer. We are weeks away from retirement and taking our first TA over and flying back but if we like it we would be open to a back and forth, the problem is that they are usually going over in spring and back in fall. We contemplated taking RCL over in spring of 2025 and cunard back as they go back and forth all year, 7 days no stops. I wish that adventure trip wasn't late October to late November, total trip is 6 weeks with 2 weeks on land in Europe, I like the itinerary just not the season. But I understand they are trading that for the Caribbean in hurricane season. It's on my "maybe" list for 2025.

Challenge accepted, hope I see him or anyone like him on one of my cruises. I guess I've been lucky in the suite lounge thus far, everyone was either reserved or very nice. Just made diamond, mostly by going on suites during the quad point post pandemic days so I would be the most undeserving diamond he ever met.  Looking forward to taking one for the team.

The size of your ship and the other ships arriving the same day can put stress on the transportation network all at once, even private reserved transportation can have issues. If I am going to fly home the same day, 3pm is the earliest, 5 pm is ideal if the port and airport are an hour or more apart. Ports in big cities where the port is essentially downtown it's easier but in ports an hour from the city like Civitavecchia, Southampton or even Galveston if multiple ships come in it can overwhelm the bus, train, taxi capacity and smaller cities and towns don't have hundreds of cabs and ubers like the city center ports do. Stay another night or take an afternoon flight just to reduce your stress. Now if you were sailing and flying out of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or San Diego or similar cities where the airports are next to the dock, heck you could walk in a pinch and a cab/uber can make dozens of runs back and forth in a morning. In San Diego I've seen people take Pedi cabs from the dock to the airport as it is a little over 2 miles from the airport. I just checked rome to rio, train or bus is nearly two hours, cab or car can be done in 40 minutes with no traffic, but what are the odds of that? Oh and it's Europe, so transit related strikes are not uncommon, even if you aren't taking a bus or train if either go on strike, the other modes get overwhelmed.

We stayed in a 1 br GS on Adventure they do not have a king, a queen and a sleeper sofa, just the king and the sleeper sofa, If the kids are under 12, you can get a rollaway next to the sofa sleeper between the window by moving the end table out, but you will have 5 people in about 350 sq ft and one bathroom, so it will feel like camping a little. On land that is an average size of a standard hotel room. Two connecting regular rooms, if priced about the same might be better as you get two bathrooms/showers. But a GS can be done with 3 kids especially if they are small or don't mind sharing a bed. The 2 br GS has the bedding you describe and would be ideal. cruise mapper lists its cap at 4 but they also list an OS as 8, so that isn't accurate https://www.cruisemapper.com/cabins/Adventure-Of-The-Seas-533

How old are the kids and what were you looking for in a cruise? You can do it, but this will not be the vacation with privacy and alone time for the parents with 5 in a GS. The 2 br family ocean view actually has more square footage and more beds, might even be cheaper.

Here's a video showing a GS on Navigator (same class built a year later, room is essentially the same floorplan), where the door is for the connecting room, ours didn't have that door on Adventure, it had an end table, that's a good spot for the rollaway.

Here's the 2 br GS on adventure

We love Royal but do not see it as infidelity to go on other lines, we are diamond on Royal and feel their loyalty program is #1. There are three categories of lines, mega ship resorts that tend to please all ages (RCL, Carnival, NCL) premium lines (HAL, Princess, Celebrity) and then the luxury lines, plus a whole bunch I didn't mention once you venture outside of North America. We cruise for different reasons to different places, the reality for us is that we are mid 50's, literally weeks from retirement and sometimes we want to cruise with adult kids, sometimes with adult kids and grandchildren, sometimes with just grandchildren, sometimes just with other 50's and 60's couples (friends and relatives) and sometimes just us. Royal checks most boxes but not all, it's a leader in it's class, so for us it wins with groups, kids and grand kids. However we are about to start a stage in life when 6+ cruises a year is in the cards and I'd prefer some variety. RCL is limited in Europe and on the West Coast. We are also averse to timeshares, we don't want to do the same thing, eat the same food and visit the same places over and over again., but we understand there are those who do. It's quantum and oasis class ship suites can cross into the price point for the premium lines in some regions they lack the itineraries of the others. When you get to sky or star class they can be costlier or equal to  to lines that include beverages, photos, specialty dining , laundry and excursions. For the Caribbean, they are #1, for loyalty perks like diamond and up, also #1 and the cost of their GS and OS and many ships is fantastic in the areas they dominate. But tonight I was pricing out some European cruises for 2024 and there's one i like on RCL and the rest I cannot justify it based on price and what are our priorities or an itinerary that doesn't exist.  I liken it to certain airlines I like and have their credit card yet some routes they either don't have or it's not a competitive offering. So I see it as 50-70% of the time I'll go with royal, if that is a preference and not a loyalty, then that is where I am at.

Since you are starting in Southampton, you will likely have pounds and they can spend them or convert them in the UK., If you are boarding a transatlantic back to the US the crew may not likely be back in the UK for a while, they might prefer greenbacks. I am heading to Southampton from NY but in order to buy pounds or Euros prior to boarding there is a conversion hit in the US for hard currency that can be steep, usually less once you are there but too late for me. The stops on the way are all Euros and you have to consider the nationality of the person you are tipping and how they save or send home. Me converting dollars to Euros or Pounds then the recipient converting to their money (lets say the waiters are from India) causes two conversion hits, I'll tip in dollars with the exchange rate in mind and just have them convert it once. From the RCL ships I've been on few staff are from countries using GBP or the Euro (only 20 of the 27 EU countries use the Euro) and some like Ukraine (met many casino staff from there) have seen their currency fall significantly against the dollar making the dollar worth 25% more than it was last year, but I tend to tip in chips. Now if they want to spend it in port just figure where that ship will be in the coming months. We cruise to places in Mexico frequently and never bring pesos however on land based all inclusives we do bring pesos mostly because the new bills are waterproof, easier carried in swimsuits and all the staff live in Mexico. But living in San Diego on the border we have access to places on the border with just a 1 or 2% conversion hit, other currencies can be 10%. Airports can be extremely costly for conversion costs, my guess is the crw know where the cheapest conversion locations are just like I know those on the SD/Mex border.

Wow, it seems unanimous, I cannot tell you how much this has put my mind at ease for going against what we normally do and this will be our first med cruise. Each of the 7 responses taught me something or affirmed my perceptions with real experiences. We are not blindly loyal but we are diamond so that is a consideration, in fact I'm itching to try celebrity and some other upscale lines as well as some luxury lines but it doesn't seem to make sense in the Med where our time on the ship will be minimal compared to all our other cruises (but I will price out HAL FSU fan). I've also been warned to not take MSC or Costa for many reasons even though they dominate the Med and are the cheapest. The only thing similar to these 8 am to 8 pm ports or longer on all days but one is a river cruise so I needed to wrap my head around the floating hotel room and not the floating resort I'm used to cruising on. I thank each of you for the sage advice!

I'm looking at 2024 options in Europe, would like to do a Rome to Barcelona (or vice versa) but would do a Rome R/T as we'd like to add 3-7 days on each end (Rome is priority #1, Barcelona #2). The only options are Voyager and Oasis, Oasis does the R/T, Voyager does the one way. Would love to hear from someone who has done one of them. Here's the conundrum, Voyager is older and smaller with fewer dining options, Oasis is bigger and newer with many options. Here's who we are and what we value, we are suites only, GS and above and dislike the buffet and most nights in the MDR (especially the new menu), having the UDP with options and coastal kitchen access is a plus  (oasis wins big for dining outside the MDR and Windjammer). Prices for for a GS is about 4.5k-5k on Voyager for a GS and 6k for an OS. On Oasis it's about 6.5k for a GS and 9k for an OS. There is a port every day but one and they are long port days, 10-13 hours a day, meaning many meals will be on land in these different countries. So Voyager wins on price and itinerary, Oasis wins on ship, dining and things to do. We are mid 50's, not bringing kids or grand kids on this one. I've been pricing Viking and Oceania and others as Oasis starts to get into their price range for their regular balcony but have many inclusives. Just struggling with the cost benefit analysis on the most port intensive cruise we've ever been on vs most other cruises where we have a few sea days and the ship matters more. RCL is smart by giving the older ship the better itinerary and longer stops to tie me in knots, we also plan on going in May or September to avoid the crowds going during school breaks, any advice on that is welcome as well.

what others have said about the older ships is my experience. Quantum, Oasis and icon class have the tiered suite perks (sea, sky, star). All the other ships don't and since they lack a coastal kitchen, don't include things like internet, all you really get is free room service and the MDR menu for room service in addition to a small suite lounge these suites on these ships seem to be cheapest. Cheapest I've ever gotten was an owners suite on Liberty for under 3k for two out of galveston. I've found the port matters as does amped ships, 3 day out of LA on Navigator in an OS in March cost me the same as a 7 day out of Galveston in January on Liberty. Alaska is a wild card as suites are about double even on older ships. Take a transatlantic or repositioning cruise, I'm paying the same for an 11 day translatlantic as a 7 day round trip, same port, same ship, same floor, same suite. Obviously the one way airfare across the pond blows out any savings but tat can get you 22 or 24 points as their TA's are 11 or 12 days.

On 1/7/2023 at 12:07 AM, Traveling Mike said:

I have been cruising those cities for years and from history two of the three have not been a problem.  Cabo has always been a very safe place to go because it is all tourists and they make sure there is no reason for the tourists not to come.  I love walking the city of Cobo (get off the avenue that is next to the bay).  Puerto Vallarta is a larger city and has not had many issues.  There are things to do but after being there a few times you start staying on the ship or going to one of all exclusive hotels.  I used to worry about Mazatlan.  There is always many military people going around the city.  We used to take a taxi from the port to the hotel district on the beach.  You get out of your taxi at one of the hotels and walk through the hotel to the beach.  Once you are on the beach it is safe, and they have all the toys to rent.  Last year when I was in Mazatlan it seemed much safer, and I took a shore excursion that showed me the town and I enjoyed it.  If you are worried about Mazatlan just take a taxi to the hotel district and spend the day on the beach.

Ditto what Mike said, Cabo and PV are fine, we go there and stay in hotels regularly, my daughter landed in Cabo today. Both are probably safer than LA where the cruises originate from. Mazatlan is probably on par with Nassau, be risk averse and selective where you go in the city and you should be fine. I won't fly to Mazatlan and stay a week in a resort but wouldn't hesitate to go to Cabo or PV tomorrow. That's the downside of the pacific coast of Mexico, two great towns in range of LA and Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa is quite a bit further but great yet requires and 8 day cruise to get there, Mazatlan is in the right place but not very good and Acapulco has seen better days,  Manzanillo is industrial like Long Beach. The west needs one more cool and safe city/port in range of a 7 day. They should just do PV, Cabo and San Diego, and skip Mazatlan right now.

8 hours ago, Va4fam said:

I loved Southwest but they have spent the past 3 years not loving me back.  Let my elite status go this year after too many delays, cancelled flights, and chaos.  I kept track of all of my flight segments and in 2022 they were 2 for 30 on getting me to my destination within 30 minutes of scheduled arrival.  18 of my flights were delayed more than 90 minutes, 6 more were cancelled.  

I have had a similar experience on SW lately although I don't have nearly the detailed or compelling statistics you have, well done. I have found the first flight of the day seems to have the best odds as the aircraft has usually has spent the night at that airport. As the day wears on, the delays and cancellation odds seem to increase. I must admit I now use SW as a last resort when years ago i started my searches with them. They still dominate some airports and some routes in California, especially with airports like San Diego near me that keep me coming back on occasion hoping they get back to their pre-pandemic efficiency. Right now I don't trust them and their December debacle where more than half the cancelled flights in the US were theirs has me wary of them especially for cruises that have a time certain start.

On 1/8/2023 at 6:55 PM, Traveling Mike said:

I book through RC and Celebrity (same people).  The nice thing is you can book now and change or cancel your flights up to your final payment.  If the price of the flight goes down, you just call them, and they will adjust the price.  If you have issues during your flight, there is a special number to call, and they will help you.

One Note:  I found out with my September flights that all the cruise lines have lost their power with the airlines.  The airline changed my flight to the middle of the night, and I did not get to my destination until the next early morning.  I called and all they could do is send a message to the airline.  Then second leg was just dropped and all they could do is message the airline.  None of the CruiseLine's have direct access to the airlines anymore.  If there are issues before your cruise you are better off booking directly with the airline.  If you have issues during your flight, you are better off booking with the CruiseLine.  

I second Mike's opinion, I used have good luck with Air2Sea through RCL but they seem to have lost their leverage. Plus I have lost faith in the airlines and I fly once every month or two. I have 4 airline credit cards for miles and free checked bags, easier to just go through them and add days before any cruise, the further the distance the more days. If it's a domestic flight 1-2 days, international across the pond, 3 days would be my comfort level. When returning I don't mind chancing a same day flight, if I make it home late or without my luggage it's not as big of a deal as before a cruise. I also put airtags inside each checked bag, that saved me on a recent flight where one suitcase went to a completely different airport in another country and I was able to tell the airline exactly where it went. Once you leave the US, the airport technology is a bit spotty, language barriers can add to the problem.

I understand it might feel like RCL and other mainstream cruise lines are trying to squeeze more money out of you but I see it differently. I see it as they are trying to stay flexible by offering different things to different travelers at different price points. We have plugged in the cord as a way of avoiding moving up to the premium and upscale cruise lines. RCL has an a la carte model, allowing us to pay for what we want rather than moving up to a more inclusive or more premium line. We are on the cusp of a move as we are no longer fans of the WJ or MDR, but by moving up to a quantum class Grand Suite we can get the coastal kitchen, add the UDP for $250 a person and still be at $6K.  Viking, Oceania, the haven on NCL and the retreat on Celebrity for a comparable suite is in the 10K+ range. So even with the plug firmly placed for some cruisers it's still a value proposition.

We went on Navigator this last spring, we got there about noon but we drove , some got on before us but not that many, the ship empties out at about 9 and starts boarding just before noon, rooms didn't open till 1 or 1:30. At 9:45, my guess is you will be sitting in a chair for two hours in the terminal then another hour or two in the windjammer. Fly in the day before and take your time. The whole process took about 30 minutes but between 9 and noon much of the crew goes ashore and it takes hours to clean the rooms, they lock the hallways so nobody gets in until all the rooms are ready. Much of the rest of this ship is closed off, the pool deck and some other areas are pretty much it until about 1 pm. With airlines today, I wouldn't risk a same day arrival especially with checked luggage , I'm nervous about a one day prior arrival but I've done it and been fine. I've never flown in same day but have flown out same day at the end of a cruise when luggage isn't an issue.

My only complaint about prime is hardly a complaint. The free cruises are usually the older ships in less than desirable weather, but that makes sense to give away berths that are not in demand. Our usual minimum is GS so the best I can get is $500 off whatever cruise and suite we select in trade for our free cruise, a benefit i actually like. Quantum/Oasis class tends to be inside or ocean view if at all. If you get a balcony offer on a new ship in good weather, jump on it, that has not been my experience. I'm gong to gamble anyway, so I like that they are flexible even if I don't get a free owners suite on a new ship.

While I agree the prices are usually better in booking early, we have benefited from increased OBC when booking while onboard in the next cruise office, recently to the tune of $600. But it is a delicate balance, depending on itinerary and ship and how far out. Also watch the sale for when you are cruising, so you know when to go to next cruise, if you walk up between sales, it is a hindrance. The best deal I ever got was onboard, booking 18 months out, same deal I could have gotten months early plus a $600 credit, so i always board with a few future options already priced and planned out, then check with next cruise to see what they are offering. Sometimes there's a huge benefit, sometimes it is minuscule. The time there was minimal benefit bu.t I did it anyway was a family cruise where I had no flexibility as I had to book a specific cruise on a certain date for a monumental birthday celebration for a family member. Where it worked best onboard was when I was flexible. That is how I paid the same amount for a 7 day cruise vs a 12 day, same ship, same room and got 600 OBC on the 12 day, not just same class but the same room, same floor. So yes, in certain situations, I like next cruise.