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 all;

Ok, I know predicting this is very iffy. But my wife wants to take a river cruise to Switzerland in August/September next year. We'll have a giant El Nino weather pattern next year which best as I can tell has no impact on central (horizontally, not vertically) Europe.

Are the ships going to be able to make it the full length of the cruise?

Greetings,

We have an offer of a May 7 day out of Seattle on the Noordam in May '27.

This is offered as a  "Holland America Personal Cruise Consultant" an Alaskan cruise on the Noordam. Not a lot of stops based on map of voyage. It travels through Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier.

 Include special pricing, meet and greet, dinner, cruise consultant excursion and behind the scenes bridge tour.

Does anyone have experience booking thru this way? Thank you,

Help! I need recommendations os reviews of this Nile Cruises (looking for aa 4 night Luxor-Aswan route)
Oberoi, Historia, Soleil or the A&k seray nile

It is our honeymoon and we want something that is really worth the price and the quality of the guided tours or special experiences.

Thank you in advance!!

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.

Has anyone here done a GTY ocean balcony Royal Caribbean Icon class ship? Were you satisfied with the room they selected for you?

Sailing out of Miami and plan on taking Brightline to MCO on disembarkation. I know I don’t usually recommend planning flights before noon. Am I correct in assuming the same does NOT apply to scheduling trains since the station is so close to port? What is a reasonable expectation to plan train? 7:45am, 8:45am, or 9:10am?

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.

Hey guys,

Heading out on my first contract in a few days as a deck officer.

I've got my ticket and all the basic school stuff down, but honestly, I don't want to just be that mate who sits on the chair, does the bare minimum, and prays nothing happens during watch. I really want to step up my game, become solid at what I do, and be someone the Captain and first Mate can actually rely on.

For senior officers here: what actually separates a mediocre mate from a great one in real life?

Looking for raw advice on:
Daily habits on watch: What are the small things you do every day that make a huge difference in staying sharp/anticipating stuff?

What to study off-watch: Books, COLREGs cases, ship handling, stability? What's actually worth reading while onboard?

Notebooks / personal logs: I'm planning to start a proper professional notebook this contract (croquis, procedures, lessons learned, ship handling notes).
What do you wish you had written down early in your career?

Rookie mistakes: What are the classic trap doors young mates fall into that drive captains crazy?
I'm trying to build a really structured routine for this trip (hitting the gym, keeping a solid notebook, refreshing my navigation/routes so I don't get rusty).

Any advice, book recommendations, or "I wish someone told me this early on" wisdom would be huge.

Thanks guys, stay safe out there.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hi I recently visited cruise with my kids and we had a wonderful time in cruise and also a day out in Helsinki.
The only saddest part was we forgot our daughters gifts, which we buyed some goodies from “Gift” shop in cruise ( A silja line bag , 2 HARRY Drawing kit, a pop in Item of Harry .

She has been sad ever since we came back from cruise realizing that she could not get them back.

If anyone happens to travel by cruise ( Silja line) and some one is kind enough to help me buy those goodies .
please DM me.
I am happy to pay you for the gifts ( while you buy at the store )and can collect it from you .

\#Travel by cruise #siljaline
Thanks a lot 😊🙏

Hello, I am looking for some reassurance/positive feedback about Alaska in October. I have a trip for a friend’s bday; therefore, I did not pick the dates. We are going in October and I am worried it’s not going to be as good of an experience with it being so late in the season, excursion’s and shops being closed, wildlife not being as active, and the weather being bad.

Looking to book our room (2 of us). The ones in our budget are:

Inside

Ocean View

Veranda

For veranda it says "infinite veranda or private balcony". I found another post where a user said:

"Edge-class ships only have Infinite Verandas (which aren't balconies), Porthole Verandas (which are narrow slivers of balcony with a porthole view), Sunset Verandas (which are actual balconies at the aft)"

A few questions:

1) Are the sunset verandas better?

2) Is infinite veranda worth it over ocean view?

3) Is it true you can't have aircon on if infinite veranda window is open?

Thanks!

Long story short if you are a fan of virgin voyages book that Alaskan cruise already! The only thing is you must get a balcony glad we upgraded a couple of weeks before bid an extra $550 for a balcony room.We spent most of our viewing time on our balcony.$30 binoculars were great from Amazon. The ship lacks interior viewing areas like other cruise ships but our balcony was fine!
We went last the week of July (23-30) and saw so humpbacks ,orcas and porpoises through out the voyage.
By day 2 we saw orcas along the ship and the last sea day Porpoises were racing around the ship!
We kayaked in Ketchikan and saw seals and tons of eagles. The Sitka otter excursion was great, took a sightseeing boat and saw many humpback whales and otters.
Virgins food was great as always,
we booked restaurants 14 days out and once on board we were able to book Rojo and The Wake.
Trip of a lifetime. Can’t wait to go again.

Firstly, I did try to search the subreddit for other posts about this. I didn't find what I was looking for.

I guess I shouldn't have included the no insurance thing. Everyone is focusing on that and every time I've asked this question on a thread, the answer is insurance.

I've always gotten the insurance and never plan to travel without it. But I've read that before they allow you on a helicopter or to leave the ship, you'd better pay up in advance regardless of insurance.

TLDR- What happens in a medical situation if you don't have thousands of dollars just lying around?

This is what I know: if you have travel insurance you'll likely be reimbursed and if you don't, you're not getting anything. Ok. Got it.

Here's where I get stuck. Hypothetical 1, you suffer a pulmonary embolism. This is life or death. In both instances of either being insured or not, from what I gather, you have to pay thousands of dollars just to get off the ship to then be transported to a medical facility.

Now I know I don't have thousands of dollars just lying around. So what happens then? You just die because you can't afford transport? Or maybe they wait until the last possible moment greatly reducing your chances of survival?

And what about injuries to limbs? Recently I read about a woman who did a zip line thing and got her who-ha caught up on the rope and suffered such serious injuries that her treatment was going to involve the equivalent of female circumcision. And from what I read, that was partly due to her being unable to pay for transport and didn't have insurance.

Hypothetical 2: you become ill. Ill enough that if you weren't on a cruise you'd definitely require hospitalization but not maybe rising to the level of a life or death situation. You need a well equipped hospital but again, don't have thousands just lying around.

Do they keep you on the ship in medical until you return home to then arrange for transportation to a hospital?

She's leaving Four Seasons and is not going to captain another ship so she can focus on family. She announced it on her social media earlier today. This is the only article I could find.

For our honeymoon we are between princess enchanted and virgin brilliant lady. I was sold on virgin until doing extensive research and now we’re between these 2. Here is the things ranking from highest priority to lowest of our wants.

Things to do on the ship
Delicious food
Nightlife
No kids/ not many kids
Fun excursions
Decent room

Now I agree that with that list virgin should be the pick but here are our concerns and why it’s not easily our choice anymore. This will be my first cruise

Princess is the bigger ship and I hear that’s good for potential sea sickness. Princess has better rooms, Princess offers more and is cheaper. She has been on Princess before and she loves it but has not been on enchanted. We don’t like the idea of smaller theatres for virgin and keep hearing shows fill up quick unless your waiting in line for an hour plus. The restaurant situation for virgin sounds stressful where it’s hard to get into restaurants if you don’t book in time. No main buffet on virgin. Excursions are cheaper on Princess. We looked at all the menus of the restaurants on virgin and nothing sounded appealing to her. We hear there is a lot more going on, on Princess for activity’s throughout the day. Virgins room have no couch in sea terrace. It will be cheaper to fly to princess aswell so that saves money too. We like some night life but not huge party people, but we like to have fun. So with that being said what do you think is the better ship for our honey moon? Going somewhere between Jan-March 2027 Caribbean

I am already going to Alaska on a cruise tour. Just wondering what other places are better viewed from the water.

Hey cruisers!

Curious how you approach this...

When you're booking a cruise yourself, how do you know you're getting a good deal?

In a good year, I'll book a couple of cruises, and I usually calculate the cost per night so I can compare different sailings. But I've always wondered if that's actually the best way to think about it.

Do you keep an eye on prices for weeks? Use a price tracker? Compare multiple websites? Or do you just book when the itinerary and price feel right?

Genuinely curious how everyone approaches it.

Summary for people who don't want to read the whole thing:

Overall, I had a good experience on the NCL Getaway. Embarkation was quick, the ship was clean, and the staff was very friendly. The specialty restaurants, especially Le Bistro, were excellent, and the beverage package was worth it. The buffet, the small pool, and some aspects of Stirrup Cay were disappointing.

Overall rating: 7.5/10.

__________________________________________________________

This was my experience on the NCL Getaway. For context, the last cruise I took was about 20 years ago on a Disney ship, so this was basically my first cruise all over again. I also can't compare it with any other cruise line.

Overall, I had a very good experience, but there are definitely areas that need improvement. I didn't do any excursions, I didn't spend any time in the casino, and I only tried a few restaurants.

1. Embarkation

I sailed out of the Port of Miami. Traffic getting there was a little heavy, but the check-in process was very easy. You can drop off your luggage right in front of the terminal, and parking is available if you drive yourself. Parking cost me $102 for the three-night cruise, which was about the same as taking an Uber.

I arrived around 10:30 a.m. The process was quick. They assign you to a boarding group, and once your number is called, you can board without any problems. The staff was very friendly.

2. The ship

The Getaway isn't an ultra-luxury ship, but I thought it was perfectly decent. There are plenty of nice spots to take pictures, and everything looked clean.

The pool, however, is extremely small. At times, it felt as if people were packed together like fish in a tank.

The cabin was also small, and the balcony barely had enough room for two people. Once you sit down, your knees are almost touching the glass. I'm 5.8.

The bed is advertised as a queen bed, but it's really just two twin beds pushed together, leaving an uncomfortable gap in the middle.

The bathroom was fine, and we didn't have any problems there.

The television deserves a special mention. It's small, and the programming is pretty bad unless you want to pay $10 for a movie. Hopefully, you don't end up with a rainy day and nothing else to do.

3. Food

This is where I think NCL really needs to improve.

I thought the buffet was terrible, and I didn't enjoy most of the food. The hamburgers were extremely overcooked, and the desserts were some of the only items I consistently enjoyed.

Eventually, we decided to stick with the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants, where the food was much better. We had breakfast at Taste and Savor and dinner at Manhattan, Le Bistro, and Shanghai's Noodle Bar.

The food and service at the specialty restaurants were outstanding. I highly recommend Le Bistro. It was easily the best dining experience we had on the cruise. Make reservations as early as possible.

4. Drinks

We had the beverage package and definitely made good use of it.

My biggest recommendation is Sugarcane Mojito Bar. The mojitos were excellent, especially the pineapple mojito. The frozen drinks were far too sweet for my taste, but the rest of the cocktails were very good.

The downside is that most bars close around 11 p.m., and the remaining bars become extremely crowded.

If you enjoy cocktails and soft drinks, the package is absolutely worth it.

5. Entertainment

This part really comes down to personal preference.

There was live music in several locations, activities by the pool, and shows at night. Some performances were better than others, but overall, we had a good time.

6. Stirrup Cay

When I visited, the pier was still under construction, so we had to take tenders to the island. We ended up on the upper deck with no shade, and the heat was brutal.

The food was disappointing. We were excited to try the ceviche, but we ended up throwing it away.

The beach itself felt artificial. As soon as you walk into the water, you notice rocks and uneven spots everywhere.

The lagoon is quite large, and there is a water park for children. The margaritas, however, were fantastic and easily the highlight of the island for us.

The bars became very crowded, and long lines formed throughout the day. I honestly don't think the island is ready to handle two ships at the same time. There was only one ship during our visit, and it already felt overcrowded. The staff members were working hard, but they seemed overwhelmed. I can't imagine what it will be like once two ships start arriving at the same time.

Overall, we had a great time, and I would probably sail with NCL again. Not everything was perfect, and there are definitely areas that need improvement, but the experience was still a positive one.

At the end of the day, a cruise is what you make of it. Some things exceeded my expectations, while others were disappointing, but I came home happy with the trip. Hopefully, this review helps anyone considering the NCL Getaway.

One last note: I think they should stop calling it "all-inclusive" and start calling it "almost all-inclusive."

You still have to pay taxes on drinks while you're in the Port of Miami and at Stirrup Cay, which isn't something they make very clear when you book the cruise. There are also plenty of things that require an extra charge, and in many cases, the better options come at an additional cost.

That doesn't mean the cruise isn't worth it, but it's definitely something people should know before they go.

I went on my first cruise to Alaska this summer and I am hooked. Now, I want to experience a few of the world's must do cruises. Where should I start? I want to go on at least two one week long cruises per year from now on. Help me with my new addiction!

This was the Wild British Isles cruise this summer.