letscruise

Yes! Just booked this cruise and getting excited for it! What are you planning to do while in Halifax? I'm leaning towards the simplicity of the Hop On Hop Off option.

Thanks! I think I know what to do, which is cancel. There was "only 1 left!" when I was shopping the Black Friday sale, so it was an impulsive buy. I do wish I was early enough to purchase it for the sea day, but I made myself a note for the future. I appreciate your input, thank you.

Sounds like you and a few other posters have been on multiple cruises previously and have "been there done that", so deciding not to eat at a specialty restaurant or do an excursion doesn't really have quite the impact as it would to a newer cruiser who decides to not do anything beyond what's already paid for (I would say they would be really be missing out!). I'm not being discouraging and I think its a great idea to be able to divert that money into a future cruise or other expenses, I'm only saying it's easier to cut the cord when you've already experienced something or done it enough times to decide you won't miss it. I don't think those who take a cruise as their annual vacation are all that interested in stripping out the extras like excursions, specialty dining, and a drink package. Like others, I'd enjoy hearing how your next, trimmed back cruise goes--my bet is you will have an awesome time! What I'm currently debating cutting out on our Wonder cruise is the casita I was able to book, but it's on a port day and I would only get use out of it in the morning hours. Not sure what to do, because in the spirit of this thread, it's an extra $200 that I've spent that I could easily get back, but since I've never rented one before, it would be a new experience that I'm sure I would like. Decisions, decisions!

I don't think so--I received the email and have a measly 8 days!!! Way to go, @Matt, putting up impressive numbers!! Wish it was more, but maybe this is just he motivation I need to bump up my number in 2023!

Oh no!!!! I've been giving them the benefit of the doubt and waiting, but I also canceled a deluxe drinks package on that same date. Was really hoping to avoid a call, but I guess I have to suck it up and ensure it's in progress. Thanks for posting your update; so frustrating.

August, getting off of Wonder. I will opt for the private shuttle option, so hopefully that would help us save time and make it. We do have pre-check, yes.

NP. I'm going to look into Cruise Control for pricing, thanks for the recommendation. We have used Skippy Transportation in the past and were pleased with their service. It will be interesting to compare pricing. We are going to attempt to make a 10:20 flight. It was either that or wait until 3:30 and that's a heck of a lot of time to kill for us.

This really stinks, but I would book at the $182 pricing to lock into the excursion (you may have done so already) and then try again if the price should drop, even though it's a lot of headache and hassle. You still saving a little and money in your pocket is better than theirs!

Last Black Friday I was on hold for 4 hours! Finally I somehow was routed to someone who picked up and was surprised to find me waiting so long. That was insane, and I hope to never repeat that.

Would someone help this newbie out? How do you reprice a trip? What does "get in there" mean? Where am I getting into?! I booked our July '23 cruise using Next Cruise and it's linked to a TA, so do I need to call the TA to check? Sorry, I don't know how/if I can check this myself or if I need to reach out to the TA and hoping you all can guide me. Thanks!

If this is your last spring break trip for a while, I would do the Allure for the extra night and $2k cost savings. I would use the cost savings to put towards a summer cruise (2023 or 2024) when you can plan on a different ship with different ports. Stop by Next Cruise to pick up the flyers and have fun at dinners talking about what everyone wants to do next, then book it while onboard! There is also winter break, so certainly other alternatives to spring break exist for cruising (though I get it--school-age parents are pretty restricted calendar-wise, myself included)!

@Jill Thanks for posting the link, I've saved it too! I'm curious if you notice much change in the departure port or if it's usually always Florida and usually always the same cruises/ships. Of course, a December cruise I'm currently debating is not listed on this sale flyer--I wonder if it may end up listed and if so, then it may be time for me to book it. I'm still unsure if I'm willing to commit to a 4-night cruise that involves airfare at the current rate. Again, thanks for the link!

We walked away from our first cruise in 2008 saying we'd never cruise again! Kid was 2 and does anyone recall--was Adventure Ocean not a thing back then?! We were on Freedom of the Seas and I recall having a conference room set up with some toys for parents to take their kids and stay with them to play--no drop off that I remember or that we utilized; the trip was exhausting!!!!! I hated not having a Diet Coke with meals b/c we refused to pay for additional drinks out of principle (Stupid, I know, we only made ourselves suffer!!). Flash forward to 2019 and kids were older at that point and we went on Symphony and had just the best time and went on Mariner during Summer 2022 and had an equally pleasant time. Now, cruising is the only vacation our kids will agree to do and we have Wonder scheduled for Summer 2023. Unfortunately, kids won't go to Teen Club, that's my only complaint. Oh, and with age comes wisdom, and we now purchase the Deluxe Beverage package!!!

Our approach is to generally know what we'd like to do each day and I get immense satisfaction from reading my cruise compass before going to bed each night thinking about the next day. Something along these lines for a general daily plan with lots of hours to fill in on the spontaneous side: Day 1 = get familiar with ship, dinner main dining room, show Day 2 = X excursion, dinner main dining room, Schooner bar, show (if up for it) Day 3 sea day = would be nice to hit the pool at some point, bingo at 3pm, dinner at chops, show A general outline of the day, but aside from paid excursions and dining reservations, we easily adjust as wanted/needed.

Oh my, this does really suck and I'm sorry your cruises needed to be canceled. I don't have much in the way of recommendation for the $800--I would probably look into the cheapest cruise I could reserve to utilize the money, knowing I may need to book an inside cabin or older ship or non-peak sailing time. This is a good time of year to watch the sales and get in touch with a travel agent to help you price all of your options and see what may be financially possible. I hope others have suggestions for you too, but know that I'm thinking of you and your wife and wishing good health to you both.

Personally, I would snag the $83.99 Deluxe Beverage Package now if that is even a maybe for you. That is the best price I've seen for our Wonder 2023 cruise (and the price I locked in). Seems like that is a package that could easily go up over time and be considered a real deal today.

Thanks for commenting! I will be sure to ask more directly on our next cruise (Wonder) and raise my coffee mug to you if I'm successful!

Has anyone successfully found half and half (cream) onboard?! I swear I will almost drink any coffee presented to me, but do not give me milk to add to my coffee! I really want my half and half creamer. It's definitely a pet peeve of mine onboard, but if anyone can share if this is a special request item or just simply not provided (I would be surprised if I've somehow overlooked it), that would be helpful.

My kids are 15 and 12 and I don't do the water rides. For the past 2 visits, we've purchased either a half or full day waterpark pass for three and then I go off and find chairs at the beach for when they need a break. They usually spend a couple hours in the park, come find me for lunch and a little ocean swim, and then hit the park again on the way out for a little while. This works for us and I get some quiet time at the beach. If this is your first time at Coco Cay, I say spring for the 3 passes. If you go back a 2nd time, you can probably just buy them passes as they will know generally what to expect and where to go. This does get me thinking about what I'll do when we are there in July and if I will buy the 3rd pass this time or let my kids go in on their own. I just don't like sending them with their phones stored away in unattended bags while they are in line and otherwise having fun (and I don't like the idea of them not having access to their phones in case there was a problem). So, I'll be thinking about this now, and will likely spring for the 3rd pass.

Not sure if Pinnacles would agree, but it's a great conversation starter! For lower-tiered C&A members like myself, I can really learn a lot from avid cruisers and have enjoyed any conversation I've struck up with someone at Pinnacle. I say wear that pin proudly! Heck, even I'M proud of your achievement, you should be too!!

I agree with the observation. I wish there were different stores on different ships and that the main store had more variety of merchandise (think Disney-type store with tons of variety). I also wish there were more options of snack foods for purchase like chips, candy bars, gum, etc. Would LOVE a RC fleece or berkshire blanket and had they been an option on our Mariner sailing, I would have bought 1 or 2 (one kid packed a blanket and one kid didn't, so lots of drama there!). Would also like RC to partner with Under Armour or similar athletic brand for additional merch options. T-shirts in a quality brand would also be preferred.

There is now a banner posted that the site is down for maintenance.

Personally, I would rather repeat a ship that I liked than do the same ports, but if the only choice for a cruise was to do the same ship and ports, I would definitely do it and be sure to choose new/different excursions. I would also be sure to build in different activities onboard that you didn't have an opportunity to do last time.

My recommendation would be to try as much as possible for family members to "quarantine" (restrict unnecessary activities) in the 2 weeks leading up to the cruise. We did this in advance of our July cruise just to do our best to be sure to test negative, but there is definitely a chance that someone in your group will test positive and impact the trip (or get sick while traveling). That's just reality right now. I wouldn't let it keep you from booking a cruise b/c chances are everyone will be fine and you'll all have a great vacation.

As an extra measure, you could move the desk chair in front of the door each night. While the 5 yo could perhaps move the chair, there might be enough noise generated doing that that the 13 yo would wake up. Unless there is a history of sleep walking or "escaping", I really don't see the 5yo wanting to leave the room at night. To me, it would be pretty scary as it's just a long hallway. Discussing the importance of staying together and never leaving the room alone is also something you'd do well in advance and on repeat. As you mention, you can leave the door open so you can hear what's going on--if the sacrifice is alone time, well, that's just what parents endure on occasion (you can send them to Adventure Ocean during the day for that!) I don't think this concern is enough to not book a cruise and keep your family from a wildly fun time!