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The way I remember the cruise stop in Nassau is this, in general terms: Walk off the ship and: 1) Turn left and go towards the (fake?) island with the all-inclusive resorts on it. 2) Go straight a block or two and hit a row of dozens of duty-free shops. Designers, jewelers, etc. 3) Turn right and eventually find an area of bars and restaurants. All surrounded by what seemed to be genericcaribbeancity01.
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Jun 16, 2023 18:16
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Plus because it's so close and the government has made going there a requirement for new development of "private" islands, something like 90% of cruises from Florida stop there.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:03
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Anything in Bermuda that I shouldn't miss? Currently on boat getting ready to take off for it.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:12
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I don't get off the ship anymore at Nassau. The last time I did was around 2018-19ish, because I was absolutely hell-bent on going to the Atlantis Water Park to hit up the slides. The Abyss and the Leap of Faith, particularly. That lazy river is also really great. Anyway, now the admission is so high to go there I won't pay it. Last I remember it had gone up to drat near $200 for a single adult daypass. gently caress that, I'll just stay on the ship and drink by a pool.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:19
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Man you’re not kidding. A day pass is $250.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:38
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Man you’re not kidding. A day pass is $250. Jesus loving Christ. So my family of three could go to the Disney Parks for a couple of days for what it would cost to go to Atlantis for 5 or 6 hours, tops. Or we could drive to wherever Dollywood is and get a 3-day pass for everyone with a couple of hundred to spare.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:49
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NCL and their studio cabins are a great intro to solo cruising. I'm not the biggest M NCL fan anymore, but their product is still solid and their prices reasonable. Plus they do a good job with their solo program.
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Jun 16, 2023 20:46
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Doronin posted:Jesus loving Christ. So my family of three could go to the Disney Parks for a couple of days for what it would cost to go to Atlantis for 5 or 6 hours, tops. Or we could drive to wherever Dollywood is and get a 3-day pass for everyone with a couple of hundred to spare. Do that, Dollywood is rad. Go in the fall after school starts. There will be a bunch of boomers around but they don't ride the rides, so the park is basically yours.
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Jun 16, 2023 21:41
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I never felt more hassled and harassed by the locals as I did in Nassau. I don't get off the ship there now. It's just not worth it to me. I'd go to San Juan a million times though. I liked it a lot.
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Jun 16, 2023 22:01
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Chin Strap posted:Anything in Bermuda that I shouldn't miss? Currently on boat getting ready to take off for it. We really enjoyed Crystal Cave and are going back to see Fantasy Cave later this year. Also, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo was fascinating.
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Jun 17, 2023 00:34
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Just did the caves 2 months ago. Worthwhile for sure. We did not do the zoo or aquarium last time but we did the first and I agree, it's excellent and absolutely worth a visit. If you golf there are some amazing courses. Bermuda is safe and laid back, just exploring and checking out towns old churches is kinda fun too. We did a glass bottom boat tour in April and it was a pleasant surprise. Super friendly staff, captain was a ringer for Trump lol
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Jun 17, 2023 01:49
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EL BROMANCE posted:Then September 2024 I’m waiting to lock in with Virgin. First time using https://www.cruisecompete.com - I submitted the cruise info I wanted then a bunch of reps send their offers. One was a few $hundred less than the Virgin Voyages site and also had $700 in onboard credit included. Not too shabby, just waiting for them to confirm that. Virgin definitely looks different, and polarizing. This got sorted out today, and feels like for a tiny amount of effort it definitely paid off. The Virgin web price was around $3,600 for what I wanted and according to the blurb included the $300 bar tab, albeit I couldn’t see *anything* in the checkout screen to confirm this which was a concern. The dude I hit up on that site managed to get me the same cabin class with the $700 credit for $3,100. The bar tab he can’t see for that late next year yet but thinks it should be easy enough for him to add on before the sail. At work if it doesn’t happen, I’ll do the usual $300/50 deal and won’t lose out at all.
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Jun 17, 2023 06:50
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That's an interesting site. I have used a well known agency out of New Mexico (Pavlus Travel) and they offer fairly generous $$ rebates on high end products. As in, after you book and pay you get a check from their commission account. So I wonder if the people on these sites are doing the same thing, competing against which agents will give up the most and give back to you in the form of (CC/Rebate/included packages/whatever). Sort of a race to the bottom for TAs?
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Jun 17, 2023 14:41
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I know my particular guy used the Virgin equivalent of cruisenext vouchers, as he told me this (I suspected it was the case after seeing the deals you get with those). I know the bids are blind so the TAs can’t see what others are offering, I’m guessing some are going by reputation because there was some offers that were about a $1,000 with less perks. Guess you just gotta throw in an offer and see if it’s good enough for someone to bite. It worked!
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Jun 17, 2023 16:37
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WhiteHowler posted:Do that, Dollywood is rad. Oh hell yeah, sold! If I didn't already have our Disney Fantasy cruise booked for October, I'd just do that instead. That sounds awesome. I also imagine there is a better than 0% chance Dolly herself makes an appearance, which is worth the ticket anyway.
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Jun 23, 2023 15:41
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I guess there was some jackass on Regent Voyager (this ship I was on a couple months ago) picking fights for the past few days and it finally ended up in a scrap. The presenter of this video is not great but it's the only video I could find. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrVjXvbap50
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Jun 26, 2023 23:43
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Ha I knew it would be his channel, he’s ok but I get ya. I haven’t watched that video yet. For people I do like, my go to is https://youtube.com/@Cruisewith they mix having fun personalities (super camp British dudes) with probably the best production quality of all of them. Obviously spend their time editing and make concise videos of their experiences while not waffling on aimlessly walking around the ship with no agenda. I’ve seen too many of those, people who think they’re a lot more interesting than they are. Ben and David are just enthusiastic people who love what they do, and do a good job selling the life.
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Jun 27, 2023 00:34
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I like them and Life Well Cruised. She seems to like, BE the cruise lifestyle. Oh and Emma Cruises, she's adorable.
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Jun 27, 2023 04:59
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Emma Cruises is great. Her and the older guy with tips for travellers. I'll check out the cruise with ben and david guys, never heard of them. Thanks. slidebite fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Jun 27, 2023 |
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Jun 27, 2023 14:34
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EL BROMANCE posted:Ha I knew it would be his channel, he’s ok but I get ya. I haven’t watched that video yet. They really are the best of the best for cruise insights. I can't remember when I picked up on their videos, but it's been since well before the pandemic. They give you all the practical info, but I also really appreciate that they aren't shy to point out when a cruise totally sucks rear end, but will somehow parse out anything redeeming they can to keep it level (ie: their Margaritaville vlog). Basically, even a bad cruise is usually better than not going on one at all if cruising is your thing. Besides them, I think I talked about him before in this thread, but Tips for Travelers is fantastic. Never goes over 15-minute and everything he mentions is very useful and practical, although he does have some curmudgeonly gripes here and there. Then again, he's probably older than all of us on this forum. I also really like Emma Cruises. It took me a while to warm up to her, but I've really grown to enjoy her content. Now one other guy, The Shiplife, he gets really annoying and preachy. Him and, La Lido Loca (I think) have good info, but also 75% of the time it's clickbait nonsense like, "cruise passenger PISSED himself! Crabs outbreak on Carnival!" and doesn't actually make cruising seem appealing. From their perspective, I'd swear I'm going to get assaulted by redneck children smoking weed or something if I ever travel Carnival, MSC or Costa.
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Jun 27, 2023 22:09
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Grem posted:I like them and Life Well Cruised. She seems to like, BE the cruise lifestyle. Oh and Emma Cruises, she's adorable. Emma just seems so drat cheerful and is actually pretty respectful with what she records and when. Unlike most other vloggers.
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Jul 1, 2023 01:46
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My SO and I are doing our first ever cruise in September on P&O to the Norwegian Fjords, for 7 nights. Kind of an impulse, no idea what we're doing, watched like 1,000 hours of youtube cruise videos, trying not to freak out about how unprepared I feel about the whole thing. Hoping for the best!
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Jul 10, 2023 02:25
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Make sure your passports aren’t going to expire, and that’s a good chunk of prep done already. Most other things can be sorted, but loving that up… that can cause problems.
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Jul 10, 2023 03:44
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EL BROMANCE posted:Make sure your passports aren’t going to expire, and that’s a good chunk of prep done already. Most other things can be sorted, but loving that up… that can cause problems. Good news, we already sorted that out because one passport was already expired when we booked! No big deal, there was slightly more time available than the amount of time it might take "up to" for a renewal. (It was not my idea to do things in this order.) Thankfully the renewal happened in short order but I would not advise this path for anyone else.
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Jul 10, 2023 03:54
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SePtCfrzo7g Watched this yesterday and thought it would be interesting to bring up here. Going through them one-by-one... -- I was very surprised to learn is that any lines are still doing crew talent shows. I assumed those went extinct 20+ years ago. -- I sincerely do not like formal nights or dress codes for the main dining room. That's just me, but my wife is actually the opposite on this one. -- Do people really have problems with towel animals? This was literally the first time I've heard anyone mentioning that. -- The ever-expanding premium ship-within-a-ship areas are awful. I'm already paying the fare, yet as years go by, less and less of new ships are available to all passengers. Since I'm mostly a DCL person, the Wish was the first time I felt that way because there's only one hot tub available to everyone. Otherwise, your options are pay 4x higher fare to get access to the Concierge sun-deck and its two large hot tubs, or buy the Rainforest room spa pass to get to its pair of hot tubs. This practice really is resurrecting the old class systems. -- Does the in-person muster make things marginally safer? Maybe. But the video version we got from Covid was so much simpler and easier to understand. I got way more from watching the video on my own time while I'm having a drink, as opposed to melting to death outside with my life jacket on, not listening because all I can think about is the other stuff I want to do.
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Aug 18, 2023 19:19
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I agree. I don't mind the talent shows, but I'm largely indifferent. I do attend them but it's usually because a few of the staff will be "Mr. Slidebite, are you coming to the talent show? I would love to hear what you think of it" kind of thing. I assume they are being genuine and always ask me what I thought. My last regent cruise though, which was primarily 65+ year olds, many were aghast at the one crew member that played 5 minutes of hard rock electric guitar solos on his strat. Stuff like Eruption and a mix of his own. And it was loving loud. The pearl clutching by a few was hilarious. It was worth it just for that. 100% agree on formal nights. Nobody is stopping you from wearing a tux or fancy evening gown. I do not have a problem with a general dress codes in the main dining room... like no wife beater T-shirts or flip flops. There are venues for that already. But if you want to dress fancy, fill your boots. Nobody is stopping you but please don't force me to. Once again, the irony of this is the really fancy lines like Regent, where you would think a super elegant night would be expected, never happens. Always what they call "Country Casual" which is basically long pants and a collared shirt for the main dining room. Sometimes people do wear suits/tuxs but it's absolutely not required or even inferred. I've literally never heard anything negative about a towel animal before either. If someone bitches about that, I'd know to steer clear of them. I mean, use the towel as a towel. It's not going to "waste" Our muster on Regent was as simple as check into the muster station in person as you board and watch the video on the TV in your cabin. Worked great. The biggest issue is probably physically finding the right station and getting there. Once you're there, the crew is directing you anyhow so it solves that problem just fine.
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Aug 26, 2023 19:45
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slidebite posted:
It's demeaning to the towel. Or the animal. I don't know. Check your privilege. Did you assume the towel's[sic] gender?
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Aug 26, 2023 19:55
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Mental health is in the crapper, so wife and I decided to book a 7-night eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy
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Sep 17, 2023 20:28
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Omne posted:Mental health is in the crapper, so wife and I decided to book a 7-night eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy Cool, what stops are you making?
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Sep 18, 2023 02:44
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Omne posted:Mental health is in the crapper, so wife and I decided to book a 7-night eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy Nice! When is your embarkation date? We're sailing on the Fantasy again coming up on Oct. 14. Speaking of my own DCL sailing coming up, we booked the Disney bus for the first time ever from the resort to the port. I didn't want to spend the money, but it ended up being ever so slightly less expensive than rideshare AND we get the benefit of our earliest boarding group ever! We've never done better than about Group 7 or 8, but this time, we're Group 4 so we'll be able to breeze through check-in and walk onto the ship earlier than normal (hopefully). Plus, apparently once they take our luggage at the resort, that's the last time we will handle it before it's at our cabin door. Now I'm super happy we paid for the service. Doronin fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Sep 18, 2023 |
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Sep 18, 2023 19:31
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Ulesi posted:Cool, what stops are you making? Stops in Tortola, St. Thomas, and Castaway. Plenty of at-sea days to relax. Doronin posted:Nice! When is your embarkation date? Nov. 11-18. Cannot wait
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Sep 19, 2023 17:49
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Omne posted:Stops in Tortola, St. Thomas, and Castaway. Plenty of at-sea days to relax. Nice. You have the exact same itinerary I have, too. I think this is only the second time we will get to go to Castaway (weather permitting) where it should actually be warm. We almost always end up there in January when it's either super nice or impossibly cold wind chill.
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Sep 19, 2023 19:07
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I’m trying to book an NCL trip that has a few in common too, not been that far before so should be fun.
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Sep 20, 2023 02:01
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And booked. I “love” how some cruise lines have mastered the art of holding back the true final cost at every opportunity. First page you think you’re on final cost, no fees and taxes included. I think you then have to even enter the payment details (mine was through a TA this time, but I was going through the direct system too to compare prices) before finding out the room gratuities aren’t included and that’s another $300. At least I have some OBC to counter this. At least with Virgin they were just like ‘here’s the price. Pay it. Hell, pay it all now and we’ll knock 10% off too.’
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Sep 20, 2023 22:49
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Booked a Carnival cruise recently and was curious about Disney even though they’re double. Was seeing about getting one big room for more than 4 people (rather than side by sides ) and the agent said they actually have that on Disney…. For the low low price of 50,000$ ! Eyes just about popped out of my head, that room is clearly for a different class.
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Sep 24, 2023 19:30
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I thiiiink Royal Caribbean also have suites set up for that but while they’re not the 50k level they’re definitely not cheap. I kinda feel sorry for first timers who see that regular cabins can be set up for 3 or 4 and the idea of that many adults sharing that space is kinda horrifying. I remember the first time I cruised at 16 was with my parents and we fell for that, and luckily the cruise line realised it was kinda a crappy situation and gave me my own decent sized inside cabin. Given that I was already using the fact that I’d ended up with an adult key card and was using this as the confidence boost needed to order alcohol at the bar, it was a pretty good trip.
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Sep 24, 2023 19:50
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Gotta be careful in cruise ship bars at that age. You know. Because of the implication. Also I wish I could imagine a world in which a cruise company would be so generous with extra rooms these days.
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Sep 24, 2023 23:16
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If I book a general main line cruise (not a luxury cruise) Costco seems to have good and accurate all in pricing, and I've had nothing but a positive experience with the couple trips I've done with them. Also typically get OBC and $$ back with Costco. That's costco.ca, not sure about costco.com slidebite fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 00:14
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Goreld posted:Booked a Carnival cruise recently and was curious about Disney even though they’re double. Was seeing about getting one big room for more than 4 people (rather than side by sides ) and the agent said they actually have that on Disney…. For the low low price of 50,000$ ! I don't think that's accurate about DCL rooms. None of the deluxe family staterooms run that high. Even if you bump up to Concierge class, those rooms start at about $10-11k for a seven-night sailing, with the Walter E. Disney Suite coming in, usually, in the $24-28k range depending on the length of the cruise. The 'Tower Suites' aboard the Wish three and four night sailings, however, go for about $30k, and I imagine on the Treasure (debuted late 2024) will go for closer to $50k since its sailings will be almost entirely seven nights. Granted, this is all still wildly expensive, but pretty far off from the $50k you were cited.
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Oct 4, 2023 19:44
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The Carnival agent told you that or a travel agent? Either way it's wildly inaccurate, but you know, it's en vogue to poo poo on Disney.
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Oct 5, 2023 00:55
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