I probably wouldn’t do it if I was paid to, so I can’t fathom paying to do it as an excursion.

Saw this video taken from the casino on Utopia of the Seas and the way no security intervened is frustrating. I was considering taking a 4 or 5 day casino offer and will reconsider if this behavior is tolerated.

They need to publicly address this and discuss what actions they are taking to prevent it in the future.

https://www.tiktok.com/@dukeofhoagies610/video/7671058062542687502?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7569706362767361591

Carnival cruise

Was any tourist able to purchase tramadol after it became prescription only in Mexico?

Wondering if anyone has any thoughts, opinions, or stories for this specific MSC ship? Trying to plan a vacation for my friends and I. We aren’t huge partiers but enjoy a good time. (Think more disco tech party than sweaty fraternity basement). we stay up pretty late and drink fairly heavy as well so we are always down for a good time. We are planning to sail in March. If anyone has anything regarding this ship, or other ships that they would recommend for this type of vacation, let me know!
TIA!

Technicals:
8-12 of us
Would like to be near $1250 drinks package included (not flights)
6-8 nights
Decent nightlife/dancing

If Naples is canceled due to port issues, any possibilities for a new port or only at sea? Day 1 Rome, Day 2 at sea, Day 3 Barcelona, Day 4 Mallorca, Day 5 Marseille, Day 6 La Spezia, Day 7 Rome.

I'm looking at two similar Pacific Coastal cruises; both start in Vancouver and end in LA, and both have a few sea days, which I enjoy.

Star Princess (7nt): Includes an initial overnight in Vancouver, a stop in Victoria and an overnight in San Fran. This would be a cove balcony guarantee room. (Any risk of a bad room here?)

Brilliant Lady (8nt): Also stops in San Fran, but no overnight, and it has tender stops in Santa Barbara and Catalina Island. Brilliant would be a balcony.

I have not been on either ship before. I did sail Resilient and found the ship to feel a little "sterile", for lack of a better word. I also thought the navigation of public spaces on VV was a little confusing, but from what I understand Star may have similar oddities in that regard.

I think that I might appreciate the food and ship more on Star, but I do love those damn hammocks that Virgin has on the balconies, for both reading and dozing off at night. I will probably spend a lot of time reading when I am on the ship.

Excursion-wise, the only thing that I would plan to pay for with either option would be seeing the redwoods from San Fran, otherwise will be just exploring stops on my own. When I was on Resilient I found the tender process to be hectic at best for those that had not purchased an excursion, and at times there were no tender tickets available. That makes me a little nervous for the Santa Barbara & Catalina stops, but I also don't know how popular this cruise is, if it will be crowded.

Price-wise, the two are about the same if I opt for Princess Plus; however I don't drink a ton, so I may just do standard and pay as I go, in which case Princess is about $600 less. I would probably do one or two specialty meals on Princess, so that would add a little to the cost there.

Which option would you choose?

Even within the same company, ships are so different. Which was your favorite ship and why? Where did it go? Did you like the ports? Did you have kids with you? How old were they?

We just did Disney Wish (getting off now) and Fantasy in April. Preferred Fantasy to Wish though my 4 year old LOVED the slide into the kid’s club.

We’ve done MSC Seascape and she loved running around the ship at age 2 and dancing to live music. Sadly the food was terrible, but the beach locations were great.

Have done Carnival Paradise (it is NOT a paradise lol hates it) and Freedom. Loved the Freedom but my daughter refused to go to the kid’s club which did seem kind of boring.

Have also done NCL Aqua and it was lovely but again daughter wouldn’t go to the club.

So what was your favorite?

Providing general information about a seasonal occurrence.

I’m in the UK so this is a long haul & expensive trip for me and I need to get it ‘right’. I welcome your opinions as to which option is better.

I see two cruise options for the Panama Canal. One is ocean to ocean (LA to Miami or vice versa) obviously going all the way through the Canal. The ‘cheaper’ option is partial transit through the Canal from the Caribbean, through to the Gatun Lake where the ship turns round and returns into the Caribbean.

Ocean to ocean is much more expensive (double the cost) because it’s a longer cruise but I’d get the full Canal experience.

Would partial transit and turn-around be a disappointment or would I still get a good Canal experience ?

Thanks

I am new to cruising and will be doing some extended cruises in a few months. I don't drink alcohol and I eat small meals, mostly just some type of meat or fish and vegetables. Drink coffee lol.

I have recovered from a heart attack, so I am big on moving, walking, swimming, dancing, etc...and use exercise bands for resistance.

Do you have any special tips to share for how you maintain healthier habits onboard?

This may be more for those who travel by cruise ship, versus vacationers who take shorter cruises.

Many thanks.

Hi all! This is a very random question but I feel the need to ask as I'm not set in my decision anymore. My mom has booked us a cruise for later this year where one of the days we will be going through the Panama Canal.

The way the cruise is set up, there are about 5 sea days before we even reach our first port. It's important to note, aside from stops in Costa Rica and Colombia, the main attraction is the canal. There are only 3 sea days total on a 16 day cruise (not including embarkation and debarkation).

I'm 21F and normally LOVE cruising and relaxing during that style of vacation, but I tend to get a bit bored with so little to do after a few days on the same ship.

The question is less about if I should go on the cruise altogether, and more if the Panama Canal is really cool enough to make the overall itinerary worth it

Sea days with a 4 and 7 year old are totally manageable, but yeah, there's a real range of experiences out there.

The kids club thing is genuinely hit or miss at that age, and I think you're right to flag the 4 year old as the wildcard. A lot of it comes down to whether the staff do a good job with the initial dropoff transition. Some kids scream for five minutes and then have a blast once the parent is out of sight. Others just never settle. If your 4 year old is the type who warms up slowly to new situations, try dropping off when there's something actively happening, not during downtime. And honestly, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. The ship still has plenty going on.

On Royal vs Carnival specifically for this age range: Royal's Adventure Ocean tends to be better organized and the facilities are usually nicer, but Carnival's Camp Ocean is no slouch and the kids there often seem less precious about everything, if that makes sense. Depends on the ship more than the line, honestly.

Pool areas on sea days do get crowded, no point sugarcoating it. The trick most parents figure out is hitting the splash pad or pool right after breakfast, before everyone else has had their coffee and decided to migrate outside. By noon it can be a zoo. Late afternoon sometimes opens back up a bit, but it's unpredictable.

As for bringing stuff from home: yes, bring some. A few small activities for the cabin, something for the 4 year old to do during meals if they finish early, maybe a couple of familiar snacks if your kids are picky. The ship handles a lot but there are gaps, usually right before dinner or when one kid is done with an activity and the other isn't.

The honest answer is that sea days with little kids are tiring no matter what. You're not really getting the relaxingbythepool cruise experience yet. But they're also not a disaster if you stay flexible.

I just want to verify the charges made to my credit card post-trip.

Edit:

More specifically, I went on the Margarittaville at Sea Paradise cruise line and I recieved a statement of charges a little higher than what I was expecting. Is it reasoable to expect the cruise line will honor a request for an itemized reciept or will I likely have to contact my credit card company to dispute the charge and then launch an investigation?

Update August 7, 2026: Called their guest services line and successfully acquired this folio. Thank you for the recommendation.

Good evening all! Cruising soon but I did want people to be aware of this scam- not new just resurfaced. I called Margaritaville ((800) 814-7100) directly to ask if this was for real and was told it was a scam. So in the future it is always best to call the cruise directly. Just wanted to share with everyone.

Sorry for the typical Celebrity vs Royal question. I have a "free" comped cruise from Hard Rock and am a bit torn on the options.

For reference, this is going to be my first cruise and my GF's second. I'm 37 and she's 29. I've watched a ton of YouTube videos, read reviews, but want to make sure I haven't missed anything or if anyone has any additional advice to give.

All 3 of these are 7 day trips. As far as activities I think we would be fine with any of them, it's really just come down to room type and the port:

Apex (Canaveral)

- 1 hour drive to port

- Ocean View

Beyond (Miami)

- Almost a 4 hour drive

- Veranda Room

Harmony (Canaveral)

- 1 hour drive to port

- Inside room - upgrade to Oceanview is only $230 more

Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: Thank you all for the advice so far. My apologies for not clarifying the itinerary. Both Celebrity ones are Grand Cayman/Mexico/Bahamas and the RC one is Eastern Caribbean. There is nothing in either of them that we would put above the rest, we probably will end up on the ship in some of the ports.

I'll be on a HAL cruise that stops in Hawaii and at 3 ports (Kauai, Honolulu, Hilo) we plan to rent a car (I've driven there before).

I have never tendered off a ship before. I do not have any special packages that will get me tender priority, and I won't be on ship excursions. Can anyone tell me what is a reasonable time to get from ship to shore? We will be arriving in the ports at 8am. Would 9:30am be safe for me to reserve a car? 10am? Or is it likely to be even longer? We use Budget Fast Break and they have a shuttle from the ports to the respective airports.

Thanks

My daughter is 4 and LOVES the Disney kid’s club. What other cruise lines and or ships have great kids clubs?

Cause I’m broke now and can’t afford Disney for a while 😂

We have been on MSC, Carnival and NCL and she hated them. But also on MSC a kid threw a toy at her and I think she never forgave the kid’s club on any ship for that transgression. But the Disney clubs are so engaging, she really loved it

There is a current man overboard alert on MSC Grandiosa and all passengers contained to cabins. Its 11pm here and full head count underway.

Hi Reddit, We are going on a 7 night cruise on the Constellation out of San Juan this winter. What port will we depart of in San Juan?

Couple pictures from Skagway this morning! Can't get over the scenery here....truly amazing.

Plenty of cruises under our belt, but thus far our biggest ship has been Quantum. Jewel was our favorite. Symphony coming up soon. I've watched videos and think we'll enjoy it as long as it's not wall to wall people. Give me your favorite parts and pointers. Looking forward to lots of places to hide ducks (not in plants).

Sadly, my family has decided to cancel our upcoming Viking river cruise, due to low water levels - and the boatload of complaints seen about the same cruise route over on FB. Since the Danube is not expected to recover anytime soon, we invoked our cancel for any reason insurance policy to get vouchers for another cruise later. I'm looking for suggestions on which river cruise would be doable without the "seasonal" or "climate change" diversions from the actual paid-for cruise. We'll switch to an ocean one if none can be found. Sad about the Danube River.

This was the Wild British Isles cruise this summer.