3Sisters

@cruise granny sj I, too, have seen some memorable ones onboard a few of my recent cruises. I wouldn't go through all the effort if it's just my immediate family cruising but for a larger trip with friends, I will absolutely give it a try. What do you typically give as gifts to your crew? Also, once you receive your new bag, I would love it if you would be able to share it with the group! I always enjoy seeing the new gifts.

@Onboard Thanks for this great review! Because Azamara is such a niche cruise line, I don't pass by many reviews for this cruise line. I can't believe the crew welcomed you back. I'm mind-blown because that would never happen with the major cruise lines. It's hard for me to even picture such a warm greeting! I'm so glad you had such a lovely time on your cruise. How many Azamara ships have you cruised on? I would be tempted to splurge on booking with this line based on your positive cruise review!

@euroguy That's so nice you have a summer cabin to use at your leisure! Do you rent it out part-time when you aren't there? How often do you end up using the cabin? You are a full-sized candy bar house? Well, can I say I'm surprised? Those are everyone's favorites. I'm the opposite on Halloween. I'm the pretzel house! I always hand out Halloween-shaped pretzels because we don't do much candy in our home. The parents usually appreciate it, the children, not so much. This year we did minimal fall decor, but we went to a wonderful pumpkin patch and decorated with real corn and white pumpkins all over the home. It came out beautifully, and I intend to cook with the pumpkins this month. Do you like pumpkin butter?

@Rayk After reading your review, I don't know if I could skip J.O.s! How could you even compare the MDR to this dining experience? They are just completely different dining categories. I always go home from cruising so inspired to cook more gourmet, and it only lasts one week. After that, it takes way too much time and energy to cook a wide variety of meals and my one-pot dinners come back like never before. Speaking of at-home cooking, have you cooked lamb chops at home? I would love to try grilling some chops over the holidays with friends.

Gratuities are going up again, and it isn't just one dollar extra daily but two dollars extra! That's a pretty significant jump, but it's just in time for the holiday season. The timing seems pretty strategic to me. I don't mind paying the upcharge as long as 100% of that surplus is going directly to the crew. RCL's crew always goes above and beyond. They work exceptionally hard and deserve the extra bump. Do you agree?

@LukeJ I rarely see those VP games being used. I doubt it's really as popular as the cruise lines have hyped it up to be. It's a bummer because I truly love the concept of VR, but I never end up enjoying it. What other addition do you think would do well on an unused sun deck? What do you think about shuffleboard or horseshoes? These ideas may be dating me.

@Catherine Cyr That's a great question. I have heard of this promotion in the past but I'm not 100% sure how it all works. Does this promo earn enough points to fund a whole other cruise? If so, that's a pretty big incentive. How long do the points earned remain active before they expire?

@RoadTravelled You are in the know! Thanks for confirming the bag change. After many fanny packs, I'm sure guests are excited about this toiletry bag change. You should probably resell the unused bags and make a bit of a profit! @cruise granny sj Well I want to cruise with you! You sound like the life of the party. That's such a nice idea to make gift bags for your cruise crew! For my next cruise, you have inspired me to go above and beyond. I want to try making matching shirts for our crew. Have you done that before?

@kefthecruiser I would not go on a cruise without the extra travelers' insurance that covered medical emergencies onboard if I was covered by Medicare! My husband and I were just having this conversation yesterday because I wanted to book a 16-night transatlantic itinerary and told him I wouldn't cruise without the travelers' insurance. The RCL extra coverage included up to $25,000 in emergency medical coverage, including if you have to be airlifted for emergency medical care. That's such a huge benefit! The cost was only a few hundred dollars extra. He disagreed, but it's a necessity, especially for a transatlantic cruise.

@LukeJ Well that would have been ironic. Usually, opposites attract and since you love cruising maybe that's your favorite thing! How many cruises have you been on with your wife? My husband and I have been on about 10 together. I grew up cruising and when we met he had never cruised before! Now we cruise annually, and he does enjoy it, just not as much as I do. I'm not sure he will ever love it as much as I do.

@Rayk I haven't even looked into booking P&O Cruises! Thanks for sharing your experience. I will have to browse itinerary options with the line. What do you enjoy about P&O Cruises? Is it a more luxurious cruise line? Would you recommend this line for a family or is it more geared for adults-only? My apologies for all of the questions, but I don't know much about the line.

@Rayk Thanks for this info. It's always so convenient to pre-purchase specialty dining choices ahead of embarkation. Next time we cruise, I'm going to follow your advice and wait to see what the offers are like onboard. I have no problem booking later if I'm going to get a better rate. What specialty restaurant was your favorite onboard?

@LukeJ This NZ port is expecting lots of growth this year! https://www.cruisehive.com/new-zealand-port-expects-record-visitors-with-strong-growth/114606 Wellington would be on my list to visit based on its growing popularity.

@cruise granny sj I saw this CCL update on a popular souvenir guests have been concerned about. https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-addresses-bitterness-over-sweet-souvenir/114630 This was another recent VIFP gift update. https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-to-deliver-top-tier-loyalty-gifts/112257

@Woody14 Thanks for your input here! I appreciate that you have been on a couple of DCL ships and enjoyed them. I guess the DCL experience is all about the magic for the children and not so much for the adults. I'm glad that you enjoyed the older ships because I have found some of the older fleet members to be a bit better priced, depending on the itinerary of course. A short weekend getaway would probably be all we do for the price!

@Woody14 I noticed that Disney Treasure isn't cruising yet, but it does look amazing. It's just so hard for me to justify the cost of DCL, especially the steep prices of the new ships like Disney Treasure! I intentionally left out Disney Wonder because I noticed it was cruising out of CA, and I would prefer to embark out of Florida for a DCL itinerary. To make it less confusing, I will eliminate Disney Treasure from the poll. Have you cruised on any DCL ships in the past?

@LukeJ I love that idea! If I was traveling with a group, this game room booking idea would be fabulous. I love playing pool with a solid group of friends. A deposit is very smart, it could be in a monitored area like the arcade. I have to say, I would prefer a pool game over the VR stuff. It just makes me dizzy and confused. I rarely see people using it onboard anyway, and you get like 5 minutes of play. You should submit this recommendation to a few cruise lines. It's a grand idea.

@SpaceCowboy9 That's great feedback! If there is an accident on the road, expect a minimum of an hour's delay. It's always best to give yourself plenty of time and not feel rushed. It would be super detrimental to miss embarkation! My husband and I almost missed our embarkation time a few months ago due to a rental car facility closure. It was truly our mistake because we didn't check the closure time and it closed early that day, but we had to drop at another facility and incur an expensive Uber charge just to barely make it in time. Next time, we will give ourselves more time.

@SpaceCowboy9 You have a great point. Visiting family or having them visit would be difficult if you are a moving target. I would love, if I had space in my stateroom, for my loved ones to hop onboard and rotate visiting me onboard. The trouble is really catching a flight to wherever you are on the map and then having those guests be willing to fly in and out of different regions just to visit you. Those flights add up! I do have many questions about healthcare, and if my health insurance would work onboard.

@LukeJ Oh no, you are on to me! I would never divulge such a secret. The key to my heart is a cruise with my loved ones. Do I still sound like your wife?

@Mommabear Were you able to get these itinerary changes all sorted out? Despite the tragedy in Hawaii, Royal Caribbean is still slaying by outperforming its Q3 earnings!

@LukeJ Your wife and I sound way too similar. I want to be calm, cool, and collected but once my husband makes more than one wrong turn, he's gonna hear it. I like the idea of enjoying the scenery and making the detour part of the adventure, but when I'm on the 100th "Are we there yet," my patience is slim to none. That's why I love cruising so much, less whining in the car and stressing about traffic and wrong turns. A major perk of cruising is having an experienced captain and crew taking the reign on transportation. That means less nagging from me!

I have yet to cruise with DCL, but I'm curious to hear which ships are worth the price. I would prefer to get the full-on Disney experience, but if I can spend a little less on an older ship, I would happily to do that. Disney Treasure sounds amazing, but the prices are so expensive! https://www.cruisehive.com/disney-cruise-line-unveils-early-2025-voyages/114225

Post Tropical Cyclone Tammy is unfortunately still impacting cruises! Did these changes impact anyone's itinerary? https://www.cruisehive.com/cruise-ships-flee-bermuda-and-adjust-itineraries/114184

@Seaawgs Yet another Celebrity Cruises loyalty per has been added! https://www.cruisehive.com/celebrity-cruises-adds-new-loyalty-perk-for-top-tier-guests/114201 @Loyal Cruiser This new perk may be worth the extra money spent to earn your loyalty status, especially if you enjoy cruising with Celebrity Cruises. A new cocktail hour does sound pretty nice!