# Cruise Lines



## Mopsy (21 Jan 2010)

I was on a Royal Carribean Cruise in 2008 and it was fantastic. It was around the Carribean and I couldn't recommend this cruise line high enough. I just want to know if anybody had any experience Costa Far East Cruises?


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## jhegarty (21 Jan 2010)

Costa can be very hit or miss depending the ship.

They have some great new ships, but their old ones are dire.


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## Staples (25 Jan 2010)

Mopsy said:


> I was on a Royal Carribean Cruise in 2008 and it was fantastic. It was around the Carribean and I couldn't recommend this cruise line high enough. I just want to know if anybody had any experience Costa Far East Cruises?


 
From friends of mine who travel a lot, Royal Carribbean are the gold standard.  You may be disappointed with alternatives.


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## Armada (25 Jan 2010)

I just returned last week from a Far East Cruise using Royal Caribbean. 

We boarded in Singapore and took in Phuket, Thailand, Langkawi and KL in Malaysia. 

We were on the Legend of the Seas. Fabulous!

RCCL are also doing a lot of Asian cruises from Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taipei if thats any help to you.


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## ClickityClic (28 Jan 2010)

My last cruise was on Costa Mediteranea.  Beautiful ship, good food but most unfriendly.  Officers and crew didn't acknowledge any passenger.  Very aloof.


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## jhegarty (28 Jan 2010)

ClickityClic said:


> Officers and crew didn't acknowledge any passenger.  Very aloof.



Very common on the Italian lines (costa/msc).


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## Dexysgirl (28 Jan 2010)

Have done 2 cruises myself. the first was a Med cruise on Royal Caribbean(RCI) Voyager of The Seas. Fantastic ship and service.
The 2nd was a Princess Cruise our of New York to the Caribbean. Would have been fantastic if we hadn't done a RCI cruise first. You couldnt compare the service. Also we much prefered the Med. Shorter flight and a lot more to do a the ports, also not as hot/humid.
From talking to others  you cant realy go wrong if you stick with RCI , Celebrity or P&O. NCL are very good also and a little bit cheaper. 
RCI would be my first choice also due to the wonderful facilities (ice rink, climbing walls. in-line skating etc) as we have kids.
If you have the funds go with Seabourn for pure luxury.


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## minion (31 Jan 2010)

We find RCI the best.  No complaints.
Have tried others and they are good too.
Only 1 i would warn people off and thats NCL.  You feel like you are in a market with the constant bombardment of selling from the staff and the over-charging etc.  Avoid NCL at all COSTS.


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## jhegarty (31 Jan 2010)

minion said:


> Only 1 i would warn people off and thats NCL.  You feel like you are in a market with the constant bombardment of selling from the staff and the over-charging etc.  Avoid NCL at all COSTS.




Right, now you have touched a nerve.

NCL are the best mainstream cruise line by far.

No formal dress code at dinner, no set dinner times, no been forced to eat with a table of strangers. The oldest ships is only 10 years old , and that only does 3/4 day trips.

I don't know what over-charging you are talking about , cruise fare for NCL is usually far cheaper than the an equivalent RCI cruise.

What's free on RCI that's not free on NCL ?


* No connection to NCL expect been a happy customer multiple times


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## Armada (31 Jan 2010)

No formal dress code at dinner, no set dinner times, no been forced to eat with a table of strangers 


RCCL now offer that option of My Time Dining too.


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## jhegarty (1 Feb 2010)

Petermack said:


> I'm just back from a RCCL cruise and the My Time Dining is only available to those who have pre-paid their gratuities. If you decide to dine after 7.00pm you are told to expect a 30-45min wait for a table.



NCL had the same sort of issues when it was first introduced. The problems only really went away when they built new ships when this type of dining in mind. 

Only one ship left from the tradition dining days now. That ship needed a major refit to get it working well.


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## roker (1 Feb 2010)

We did a Costa cruise last May in the Med., Brilliant service, great ship, great experience but it did not cater for the British (or Irish), more in the line of Italian food, Italian announcers for bingo games, bands etc, Italian staff were great but most of the guest were Italian and were down right ignorant, blatantly jumping queues, pushing and shoving to get on buses etc.  
When we booked a trip to Sorrento on a shore excursion, it was cancelled at short notice because there was not enough English speaking in the group. We were not told by Costa, but we volunteered to go with the French speaking group, the French guides could speak English and looked after us well.


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## Mpsox (1 Feb 2010)

jhegarty said:


> Right, now you have touched a nerve.
> 
> NCL are the best mainstream cruise line by far.
> 
> ...


 
Only ever been on on cruise in my life, that was with NCL to Alaska and I found them superb. We were never put under any pressure to buy anything we didn't want to, found it all very relaxed and easy going and if I ever did another cruise, I'd quite happily sail with them


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## col (8 Feb 2010)

Have travelled on RCI (3), Costa(1)and NCR freestyle(2). Thought NCR the best due to the many excellent restaurants on board but closely followed by RCI. Costa was poor in comparison to either of above but enjoyable all the same. Price wise for us RCI and NCR were similar when all charges were added in with Costa not too far behind. If you get the weather nothing as good as a cruise and suitable for all ages especially teenagers during school break.


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## SparkRite (12 Feb 2010)

Hi All,
My parents are going on a RCI Panama cruise next month, (first time cruisers) both are non drinkers.
What is the situation on board as regards water and soft drinks, please?

TIA.


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## jhegarty (12 Feb 2010)

SparkRite said:


> Hi All,
> My parents are going on a RCI Panama cruise next month, (first time cruisers) both are non drinkers.
> What is the situation on board as regards water and soft drinks, please?
> 
> TIA.




Tap water will be free, usually very good quality from the ships filters. Bottled water can be purchased , but won't be cheap.

Soft drinks can be purchased at the bars or you can buy an drink as much as you want 'soda card' for  $48.50 (rate for 7 day cruise, that will be more less depending on cruise length).


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## battyee (12 Feb 2010)

The Panama Canal is amazing particularly when you look forward at the ocean ahead from up on high before coming down through the locks.The proximity of the jungle to the vessel's sides in some of the passage is spectacular to put it mildly & will be the highlight of this cruise.
Fruit drinks & colas out of a cooler (not bottled) are free as are coffees & ice creams from locations around the ship.


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## PetPal (16 Feb 2010)

What about Thomson?  Has anybody travelled with them and are they ok?  I'm looking at cruising in Sept.  RC is just so expensive.  I know that they are wonderful cruises but it's a lot of money.  Thomson seem a good deal cheaper.  Anybody have experience with them?  Thanks.


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## jhegarty (16 Feb 2010)

Thomson wouldn't generally be regarded as been in the top tier of mainstream cruise lines.

What dates are you looking at , and what is your budget ?


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## PetPal (16 Feb 2010)

jhegarty said:


> Thomson wouldn't generally be regarded as been in the top tier of mainstream cruise lines.
> 
> What dates are you looking at , and what is your budget ?


Hi, firstly we're looking about the Med (want to see Ephesus/Kusadasi and some parts of Greece if poss) and for that reason we are looking at September-ish (so that the weather wouldn't be TOO warm but pleasant still).  As regards budget, we had paid a total of c.1100 euro each for a week last year with Princess Cruises and thoroughly enjoyed it.  That included balcony on a good level.  We were hoping to get the same sort of value this time, given the economic climate.  In fact, as far as I can tell, Cruise companies are ignoring the economic climate, and cruise prices have gone up!  If I don't find what I want I think that I will take a chance and wait until the last minute and see what happens then.  When we were with Princess last Aug/Sept there were a few people on the cruise who got their week for a good deal less than we paid because they waited until the last minute.  Do you know something about the industry?  Thank you.


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## jhegarty (16 Feb 2010)

Prices are a bit higher this year, everything was very cheap last year. So things are just returning to normal.

The best time to get good deals is after final payment. That's 90/60 days from departure depending on the cruise line. This is the last time for people to cancel and get their deposits back. So it's when the cruise line knows how busy the cruise will be. This can work either way as prices can go up at this time too. My own guess is that prices for September will go down , but it's a very dangerous game to play unless you are flexible.

Make sure you book with an American travel agent , prices in Ireland will be about +30%.

Try http://www.vacationstogo.com (very good discount travel agent) and [broken link removed] (get quotes from lots of agencies).

Looks at the information you posted the best fit seems to be the Norwegian Gem out of Venice. I have been and this ship before and can highly recommend it. The cruise is Dubrovnik Croatia , Athens (Piraeus) Greece , Izmir Turkey (Ephesus), Nauplion, Greece and back to Venice. 

It will cost about €1100 each for a balcony, but you will need flights to Venice too. If you want to go with an inside cabin it would be about €750 each.



RCCL do have the Splendour of the Seas heading to Greece but a balcony is going to cost about €1400 each. You could however get an inside for about €700 each. So that's something to consider.

I don't think there is any Princess ships going to that part of the med at the moment.


-=-=
No connection to any site or company mentioned about , except as a past customer.


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## PetPal (16 Feb 2010)

Thanks for v.good advice.  I would be prepared to take the chance in respect of waiting until the 60/90 days. Yes the inside cabins are very affordable but I really wouldn't envy anybody taking one of those as I imagine it's claustrophobic. Will look at the websites you have given me, thanks.  The Norwegian Gem is one I looked at earlier today, and I think that you might be right - it may be the best for our requirements.  You never know, I might manage to get cheap flights.  Thanks again.


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## minion (17 Feb 2010)

Just a little bit of advice on getting the best value.
As usual you are ripped off in Ireland, so here is what you do.  You can save 50% or more if you do this.  Works for all cruise lines.

Get your price on the cruise lines American website.

Check for flights on the dates you need (fly over the day before, and home later on the ship returns - they are always on time.)

Ring up the cruise companys US office and tell them you are interested in the curise and tell them you want to pay in Dollars.  They might tell you you have to ring their European agent (where it will be twice the price) but insist and say you will not be ringing them you will just go to another line who will let you pay in dollars.  Ask to speak to a manager.

When the cruise is booked (just pay deposit for now, or get them to hold it until you get the flights booked), then just book your flights and hotel yourself.

The markup from the travel agents here is unreal.  Avoid them.

You will hear all the crap about not being insured etc.  Just call your insurance company and clarify.

Example

14-Day Greek Isles, Adriatic, Greece & Turkey Round-trip Venice

Ship: Norwegian Gem
Departs: Venice
Departure Dates: 2010: Aug 14, Aug 28
Ports of call:	Venice; Split; Corfu; Santorini; Mykonos; Iraklion; Dubrovnik; Athens (Piraeus); Ephesus (Izmir); Nafplion

Balcony Room

US Website :                              $3,379     NCL.COM
UK Site       :               £2472       $3900     NCL.co.uk
Irish Site     : €2762                     $3795     www.cruiseholidays.ie

Thats cruise only from all 3 sites.  
If you add flights from Dublin to Venice you can add another up to €1000. Flights to Venice are cheap.  Book them yourself.  Those prices are Per Person too.  So for 2 people double the savings.


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## PetPal (17 Feb 2010)

Minion, great advice.  I will do that.  The saving will more than pay for the flights and hotel.  Thank you.


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