Kendall James-Vargas

@euroguy In fact, you may be on to something. Now with RCL canceling ports of call to Labadee over the course of the next seven days, CCL is having to rethink its choices. CCL has notified guests that it will continue to visit Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic for the time being, while ensuring the areas safety at this time. Personally, I would be cautious while stopping at Amber Cove, but I'mm hopeful all of this local unrest will pass and settle quickly. @Old Cruiser RCL has released news that it will be pausing stops to Labadee for the time being, monitoring the situation and updating guests of changes as they occur. Currently, RCL is suspending visits to Labadee over the next seven days. We may be seeing more cruise lines doing the same in the coming days.

@FJB Thanks for taking us along on your previous cruise onboard Celebrity Silhouette! The drink looks delicious, and I love the dim lights in the World Class Bar. I also love how you can appreciate a quite lounge at this stage in your life. After spending many of my days in loud/fast paced environments, the idea of just being in a relaxing, relatively quiet space does sound quite nice. Just being in silence can be a treat for me most days! That's one reason why I love the thermal spas onboard cruise ships. Do you enjoy the thermal spas while cruising?

@Jim Lamb Thanks for the update here! I'm glad RCL is making the choice to reroute its itineraries to reflect the safety of all guests. Hopefully the local unrest in Haiti is short lived and the local authorities can get everything under control in a timely fashion. For those that were booked on these rerouted itineraries, I hope Labadee is replaced with another desirable choice! On my last itinerary, we had to reroute due to poor weather, and MSC Seashore did an exceptional job at changing its itinerary to actually add a stop instead of skipping any at all! Hopefully the affected itineraries all end up being just as fun as initially slated.

@FJB Where can I find some? I'm so glad you chimed in here! I want to try it, but I'm not sure where I can get my hands on some. I'm all about a good price. As long as turkeys aren't in the ice cream, I think it will be good. Breyers isn't cheap. When I used to live in Florida I would only purchase Breyers if it was BOGO at Publix. Now the local grocer options I have access to don't offer BOGO deals. Those are the absolute best. They just take up a good amount of freezer space when buying in doubles. Do you know if King Soopers sells it?

@FJB I'm so glad you considered my recommendation and tried out zip line during your time in Antigua. Were you able to film part or all of your experience? I know you typically create great video memories of your cruises. Zip lining clips would likely be great in your memory videos! Did anyone else do the zip lining with you?

@euroguy Thanks for this forewarning. For those that may be unaware, Haiti is in a state of emergency and many cruise ships will be avoiding this area. If you are cruising to this area, you can expect an itinerary change or to plan on proceeding with extreme caution during this time. Labadee is another area in Haiti that cruisers should be cautious of during its current state. Hopefully, Haiti can get everything under control pretty quickly, but it may take some time considering the massive prison break that took place. All of this being said, it's always best to check the news and search advisories of all areas you travel to ahead of time to ensure you are properly prepared for each destination.

@Caribbean Dreamer I'm very shocked that you got sick on 50% of your cruise itineraries. Why do you think this was? Did you end up catching viruses? It's pretty ambitious you continued to cruise on despite these ratios. I love how real this post is and that you were so understanding when cruises skipped ports due to weather or tendering issues. It's a shame you feel the need to avoid cruising altogether due to NCL's lack of consistency. I would venture to say that NCL is one of the worst lines right now in terms of constantly shifting it's advertised itineraries. If you were willing to give cruising another shot, I would recommend going with another line. Why have you been cruising NCL? Would you consider cruising with another line?

@pablo For a five-night cruise, I would purchase the three bottle package if it was just for me. I'm not a huge drinker but I think the 3-bottle premium could be worthwhile. Which package did you end up selecting? Do you plan to pre-purchase this package before embarkation? I find it easiest to pre-purchase as much as possible so everything is already set once I'm onboard.

@LukeJ I thought the same thing! That's why I assumed it was a wholesale supplier. I don't want ice cream that comes from a turkey hill. The fact that my ice cream would even be surrounded by turkeys just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe turkeys and dairy cows really hit it off. In fact, the brand may be marketed as such, "Happy cows produce sweeter dairy" or "Turkeys are a cow's best friend." I like all the names you came up with! I want my deli meat to be packged at Turkey Hill. Now that I have roasted Turkey Hill ice cream, it's fair to say I should put my money where my mouth is and give it a try!

@Lou Thanks for sharing your recent experience onboard Norwegian Encore. It's nice that the line is "switching it up," but clearly these changes aren't crowd pleasers. Based on what @Clay31 stated, there was only one theatre production for the duration of the sailing. I think that's not enough for a 7-day itinerary. I hope NCL is just in a transitional phase of adding bigger and better shows to its production line. Otherwise, this is an evident disappointment. Clearly I'm trying to give NCL the benefit of the doubt, but a cruise without entertainment is certainly a bore!

@hi Sunshine This is an obvious safety issue cruise lines are beginning to crack down on. CCL is one of those cruise lines that is trying to be more strategic about mobility scooters in the halls. A big factor to this is accessibility cabins. A guest with a mobility device should book an accommodating cabin that fits the device inside, so it doesn't block the walkway. The halls are small enough as it is, so its important cruise lines become more vigilant about keeping the halls clear and properly accommodating all guests booked onboard. @LukeJ You and I feel very similarly! The idea of ticketing scooters isn't a bad one, as long as cruise lines are giving realistic expectations for those with mobility scooters. Cruise lines can't expect guests to store their scooters out of the hall if they don't provide appropriate options and accommodations. Let's just hope there are better protocols set in place to keep the hallways walkable and clear.

@LukeJ I haven't heard of Turkey Hill either! Maybe they are a wholesale company. If not, I really haven't seen "Turkey Hill" ice cream in any stores in the US. I love to explore new things, but ice cream is one of those items I think I'm more inclined to try. What is your favorite dessert? Beyond ice cream, I'm more of a dark chocolate girl. If I had to choose between ice cream and chocolate, I would choose chocolate. I love that just a little bit of the concentrated good stuff hits the spot! Over indulging isn't my thing, but a great quality chocolate is superb in my book!

@euroguy I'm surprised about the lack of themed parties onboard Mardi Gras. I'm not going to lie, based on the the name of the ship, I assumed it would be filled with fun themes and parties every evening! It's awesome you were able to save all of the paper itineraries. I was not as organized and a few of mine got destroyed next to wet pool items. That's a good observation about the dining options and the MDR. CCL does a really great job of having plenty of dining options onboard. I also love that CCL has many included dining options that don't charge an additional fee. It sounds like you and the cruise director were the best dressed onboard your cruise! The cruise director even recognized your attire! That's so fun. I saw your port review! I love how thorough all of your reviews are. Also, the pizza thing sounds super odd. I wonder why the crew members were handing out the pizza. I haven't experienced this before. On my last cruise, the pizza buffet was open nice and late. It was pretty busy with guests chowing down on the delicious fresh pizza MSC Cruises offers. I would be a little annoyed if I couldn't just grab and go myself. It sounds like a new thing.

@RaySharpton Thanks for sharing your thoughts here! For those who haven't cruised with a scooter before, it could feel intimidating, but most cruise lines, like CCL can be very accommodating! You shared some really detailed and helpful tips for those planning to cruise with mobility devices. I understand how scooters can take up a lot of space on a cruise ship due to limited space, but that should not stop anyone from cruising with a scooter. I see the value in keeping the hallways cleared, particularly on days where luggages are being taken on and off of the ship. It's a hard job for the crew to get all the luggage off of the ship in a timely fashion! I have seen it done with dollies down the narrow hallways with 10-12 large suitcases stacked up at the same time.

@Ginny I wonder if you ended up on @euroguy's sailing! When did you cruise onboard Mardi Gras? This scooter rental experience sounded very efficient! It's good to know what cruise lines and ports take care of their guests needing mobility assistance. Have you always had great experiences while cruising with a scooter? I'm curious if all ports have been as wonderful as Port Canaveral and Tampa. This particular experience does seem quite exceptional!

@LukeJ You make a really good argument. I love shopping small, but it isn't always affordable or consistent. Large, big box retailers are more dependable and reliable. I find myself shopping more at the big, commercialized stores because it's a one stop shop. I don't have the time to shop around or drive to and fro to find the best of the best products. It's convenient to only have to go to a one stop shop. Farmer's markets are fun and can be consistent but the products aren't backed like other stores! If I have a defected product, I can go back to the store and have it replaced without hassle. It's not always the same with small businesses. I try to support both parties, but when it comes to day-to-day purchases, I choose the large retailer.

@Bill Day I see your point here, but if we are cracking down on scooters, we should crack down on strollers. They take up about the same amount of space. I agree that too many scooters onboard a tight cruise ship can feel congested and uncomfortable at times due to the limited amount of space, but it's not a huge deal. Obviously, dealing with mobility devices like scooters and strollers takes more patience, but we all should have more patience when on vacation anyways! Also, at least those who don't have mobility devices have options to use the stairs! Those with scooters don't have that same luxury. @CaptainHunter I also value your perspective here. I think the issue is limited space onboard a ship. The hallways are particularly narrow. It can be hard to maneuver when there are too many scooters/strollers primarily due to space. I'm not sure if there needs to be a limitation, but there certainly needs to be more accommodating hallways and elevators. A private one for those with mobility devices could be helpful with the flow of traffic.

@Caribbean Dreamer This timing is particularly striking. I have noticed NCL does change itineraries quite often, more than other lines, and the reasoning tends to be fuel efficiency. I'm all for being fuel efficient, but if it's going to prove the line to be inconsistent and constantly change itineraries, I'm not interested in entertaining the line. When I book a cruise, I'm looking for the same or almost the same itinerary that was advertised to me. It's a shame that NCL kept your deposit after changing the itinerary, but I have heard worse. Other things I have noticed are the line changing it's trajectory mid-sailing and/or skipping ports of call entirely to be more fuel-efficient without any other reasoning at all. Since you are clearly dissatisfied with your NCL experience, what other cruise line would you consider instead?

@LukeJ It may depend on the cruise line, but I don't think that would occur if it was all done legally. The cruise lines can't deny legal drinkers to drink once off of the ship. It's completely legal activity at that point. Cruise lines can only control what happens on the ship. If a cruise guest gets in trouble and detained off-ship, it's not the ship's responsibility to care for that person at that point. One thing I wouldn't do it get severely intoxicated off of the ship; you don't know what may end up happening after that. It's better to stay in control of yourself and be aware of your surroundings in unfamiliar environments.

@euroguy I have been awaiting this review! Thanks for sharing all of these details with me. Your cruise sounds like it was amazing and you surprisingly enjoyed this mega-ship! The staterooms sound lovely other than the new layout, which may just take some getting used to. I'm glad you connected with other lovely guests like yourself, and were able to have such good weather. The poolside crowds looked wild. Did you stay up late for any of the late night parties? Did you participate in any of the themed nights onboard? What was your favorite stop? I never understand why the MDR has become so unpopular, just like dressing up in the evening. The food and service is much better in the MDR. I prefer that over the buffet any day! I guess people like you and me are hard to come by. Your roasted duck dinner looked amazing! I didn't see any duck options in the MDR on my last cruise. I haven't had duck in a very long time actually.

@TV Don There are still some truly all-inclusive options! The costs for those can be very steep, which is why I haven't cruised on an experience like that before. I do miss the days where all services were included, but I also see the benefit to pay-as-you-go cruising. In order to afford cruising for my family, I rely on the bare minimum services. We love the included activities, entertainment, and food options, and thankfully it's still an epic vacation for me and my family. I do find lobster included on most sailings on the elegant nights in the MDR. Are they delicious? They really are pretty basic (not great quality) and not worthwhile, but if you love lobster, it's worth a try! I would rather go for the fillet.

@Rainy I think that's courteous enough! I agree that some people just have no manners, if manners are even a thing anymore. It would be nice if there was a better situation for the pool loungers, but it's hard to even think of one. The system at the gym is the best. You get 30 minutes per machine if others are waiting for it. This system is fair. Maybe cruise lines could implement a 2 hour limit per chair. It would give everyone an opportunity to have a chance to lounge in the sun. The problem here would be monitoring the system. Not all guests will follow the rules unless there are ramifications. Every chair could have a green or red light to show they are available or timed out like a public parking spot. This would require each chair to have a place to scan your cruise card. The idea may be a bit too costly.

@SandyB This is such a shame! Those are two classic shows most everyone enjoys. The fact that there have been no replacements is very odd, but hopefully there is a new wave of shows coming our way. NCL is notorious for doing things like this. I'm not sure why the line doesn't always communicate that well. I wish NCL was more transparent with guests! It would help with trust and consistency. Did you notice these changes on a past sailing? I'm curious how long this has been going on. HAL announced it will begin offering Deal or No Deal onboard nine of its ships! Maybe it's time to consider giving HAL a shot.

@pablo The premium wine selection for CCL's "Cruise the Vineyards" package is much more vast than that of the regular package. Personally, I would be content with the regular package, which is priced at a cheaper rate. If you have higher standards or prefer a larger selection of wine, I recommend the premium option. It also depends on how much you drink. I would likely get the 5 bottles with the regular package for me and my spouse. The red selection is minimal but it would be good enough for us. It also depends on the duration of the cruise. I would go for the 5 bottles if the cruise was a 7-night itinerary. Were you able to see the wine selection for both packages?

@Rainy I highly recommend this dining experience if you have the time while on Enchanted Princess! The Catch by Rudi is newer to the ship, and the menu is highly reviewed. Have you heard of Chef Rudi Sodamin? https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-unveils-new-dining-venue-and-enhancements/98453