Hutcherl

I book inside staterooms, except for once on a Carnival cruise. Was offered a upgrade to a balcony for a reasonable amount and booked it. Was initially worried about moving up, although slightly, and not wanting to go back. I enjoyed the balcony more than my wife but it wasn’t enough to keep booking them. The balcony did nothing for her. I’m sure suites are a whole other level. Probably will never experience them. Even if it was in our budget, we probably wouldn’t see the value for the extra cost. That’s just us. The only thing I take into consideration when picking a room is it’s location. Prefer to be near a stairway. As far as flights, it has to be nonstop for me. I fly out of Pittsburgh so that is a challenge. Typically, the fare is between $600-900 for 3 tickets to the Florida ports.

I do something similar before every cruise so I don't think you are crazy! Or maybe we are both crazy! lol The last cruise I set a goal of losing 15 lbs. with 15 weeks to go before sailing. I succeeded but it wasn't easy.

You are going have a awesome time. WARNING - Once this bugs bites, it bites hard!!

My TA just repriced our booking under the non refundable deposit. It's my understanding that you can reprice your current sailing but you can't change to a different one.

Well said. Yes, it is only a few dollars and won't hamper my cruise as well. Sometimes it's just the principle no matter how big or small. I will reach Diamond after this cruise(not sure why that milestone ever mattered to me) and will definitely explore other lines each and every time I plan out our annual cruise. RC is still my preferred line and who knows if I'll ever stray. I do know that I'll definitely be looking around. I never tried handling it myself by calling RC since I have a TA. I figured it best to let them try. After that failed I just moved on.

Same exact thing happened to me. I switched booking to a travel agent after the cruise. Then later changed sailing and that's where I lost the next cruise obc of $76. Had my TA go to bat for me and contact RC. RC wouldn't budge. I wasn't exactly sure which sailing I wanted. The Next cruise manager explained that it was a no brainer to book while onboard because the next cruise obc would follow even if/when I changed sailing. To be bamboozled by the manager, of all next cruise reps, really shocked me.

When I was there in April construction was underway on a resort hotel right at the entrance. Didn't think about it then but maybe it was bought out to make way for the resort.

Agree with the above. I started to use next cruise primarily for the reduced deposit. I feel I burned the last time with the next cruise manager giving false info regarding all obc following your booking if you later change. So I wasn't going to use next cruise moving forward anyway.

Thanks Matt, Without any delays, it looks to be completed just in time for our June sailing!? Too bad CoCoCay isn't part of our itinerary. I have always enjoyed the private islands. For us we usually head to the beach at any stop. The private islands eliminated any extra cost of an excursion. Plus, drink packages can be utilized! Oh well maybe the next eastern Caribbean itinerary we pick we'll get to check out the updates.

Have been looking for a beach break in Nassau for our June Oasis sailing. The front runner was the British Colonial Hilton because of it being walking distance from the port. Now it appears that the price went up to $100. Not sure if the value is there now over a AI. This has me thinking how nice it would be to be visiting CoCoCay. If only the construction of the pier was complete to handle Oasis class ships. Any idea when this would be complete? I know it won't effect our sailing but was just curious for future considerations.

I'm also on the hunt for the Oasis drink package sale. I'm also seeing it at $55. But, I have some time before our June sailing.

I just repriced our cruise yesterday because the new promo showed a small savings. I wasn't logged in when I checked to see if the current promotion saved us anything toward our scheduled cruise. Notified TA of the savings and she came up with the same price I was seeing. Again, maybe it's the stateroom category we chose or the ships or our C/A level but I never noticed a difference between any cruise fare that I would see, not logged in, and the booked price I would get. Just my experience.

We will be diamond after next cruise. With that said, never got C&A special rate for any sailing. Same pricing a first time cruiser would get. I think their "exclusive rates" are available to anybody. I think there might be something if you book balcony or above. On RC we have only booked interior. Avoiding some of the congested lines at embarkation is the biggest benefit that we see at our current C&A level. There is the coupon book but never benefited much from that, especially since we purchase the ultimate drink package now.

Nassau is a stop on our next cruise and we haven't been to in quite some time so I'm curious as well.

We are emerald and will be diamond after our next cruise. But it never seemed to matter what level we were to be able to get onboard around 11. We just try to be at the port around 10. What our initial activities are depends on if we have sailed on the ship before. First thing no matter what though is to grab a drink! Our last cruise and first on the Harmony, we explored the ship before before most are onboard. If we are familiar with the ship it's usually a drink, quick bite and the little one steers us to the pool.

I never purchased insurance but I bet it would be covered with a letter from her doctor. I would check the policy to see what situations are covered. My TA explained that these policies vary depending on who you purchased it from and what they cover. I would review your policy but this certainly seems to be a situation that should be covered in any policy.

We ended up rebooking and didn't end up on a ship with slides after all. Picked a Oasis sailing out of port canaveral. Was all set to switch to the Harmony(slides) until my wife brought a good point about seeing the same shows again as our April Harmony sailing. We really liked the Harmony and feel confident the Oasis will be equally enjoyable being a sister ship from the same class. Minus the slides of course! Lol

Hour south of Pittsburgh. I did check into a Athem cruise out of Cape Liberty. I love the itinerary and the two extra days. Also, priced going back on the Harmony, which we loved, and got us hooked on the slides. All options are open at this point. Even staying booked on the LOS I guess. I think I found what might be a descent option of staying in Houston at a La Quinta which offers a cruise package with all transportation. Pricing isn't out for our date yet but will probably still be a shocker. We really wanted to stay in Galveston and be a close as possible to the port. Which in the end is maybe what we end up doing.

For people within driving distance this isn't a issue. For those who have to fly in, I'm surprised that this port is successful considering the overinflated costs associated with cruising for there. It's not like it gets the latest and greatest ships from Carnival and RC where the ships draw people in on their own. Maybe with limited west coast cruising options it helps Port of Galveston stay viable to the cruise industry. Just thinking

Good thought DocLC, I have thought of Cape Liberty and the Anthem. Don't remember why I didn't consider it but I will explore that option. Cape Liberty is still a fairly long drive(7 hours I think) so It would require a overnight stay and parking but does avoid the dreaded flights. As to your point about Bermuda, I could go to Horseshoe Bay on every cruise and never tire of it. I did the Granduer to Bermuda out of Baltimore twice. Again, for me, it's just too bad that cruising out of Baltimore has the limitations that it has.

That's interesting because I followed the slides to the Adventure as well along with the awesome itinerary of the ABC islands out of Puerto Rico. That is until I checked on flights! So I rebooked to Galveston and now I'm probably rebooking to go out of Florida. I guess prior research would serve me well before booking but with ability to cancel without penalty and rebook before final payment never caused me to pause. Extra work in this case but I don't mind.

If Baltimore could handle bigger ships I would never consider another port because that would eliminate flying . Flights to Florida are plentiful and sometimes reasonable. Looks to be the way we are going to go. I really like the oasis class ships anyway.

Just an observation- We have a cruise booked out of Galveston for a June 2018 sailing. After doing Harmony this year and my daughter just old enough to enjoy the slides, that made a ship with slides a necessity for us on our next cruise. So the cheapest fare on a ship with slides steered us to the LOS out of Galveston. At least It appeared that way until I starting planning the other aspects of our trip. With the cost of a one night hotel stay, ground transportation and extra flight cost being we are from Pa, the savings quickly have evaporated. Looks like the allure out of ft lauderdale gives me a higher class ship with a better itinerary for similar money when taking all aspects into consideration.

Never been to Bamboo Beach so I can't add anything about that place. I have been to Red stripe a couple times and always wondered if, after buying chairs, food and drinks, would a place Bamboo Beach Club would be a better option? The main reason for me always choosing Red Stripe is it's proximity to the port. Not a lot of options close to Falmouth. If I remember correctly from past research, Ohco Rios is around an hour away. If that long of a ride doesn't deter you, I'd say give Bamboo Beach a try.

Good service at the bars and lounges for me too. Actually, the bartenders have always been great. It's away from the bars and lounges where I notice the decline with the availability of the roving bar service. I guess before the drink packages I got spoiled because it was so good. Just had to look in any direction and somebody was there at the ready,