Joanandjoe

Looking at people's signatures, we collectively have had several thousand cruises. You wouldn't know it from the number of reviews in the Cruise Reviews section of this board. There are 63 reviews for Royal Caribbean, 71 for Carnival, 43 for Princess, and 22 for X, but under 20 for other lines. That's less than two review per ship for most lines. On HAL, for example, ours is the only review for the Noordam, and there are no reviews for the Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Prinsendam, or Westerdam. Our next scheduled cruise is scheduled for the Regent Seven Seas Navigator, and there are no reviews for the ship or (other than our review of the RSSC Navigator) Regent. We also have the only reviews for Windstar and Avalon; so there are three cruise lines, plus one HAL ship, for which we have the only review. That's not much help. Please share your experiences and write reviews on the ships you've sailed on--kudos, flames, and everything in between. It will help everyone in choosing a ship for their next cruise. Thanks

Joan.. Thanks for the wishes....Here's hoping the "no vacations allowed" mode will be lifted before too long!! Thanks. We haven't been able to book any fall vacation. We have a cruise booked for next May, but we won't even start a countdown until there's more than the current 10% chance of going.

Have a wonderful cruise, Joey. We're jealous: Joe's department at work is still in a "no vacations allowed" mode, and has been since May.

Spot on, old chap!

For us, this is an ironic question. We've never cruised with anyone we knew, despite great efforts to get family and/or friends to join us. We seem to be the only cruisers in our circle. We can't even talk our adult (32) son into a cruise. We had one group cruise; but it was a special interest cruise (World Ocean and Cruise Line Society) of online "friends", so we hadn't actually met anyone before the cruise. It would be fun to cruise with at least one other couple; but, unless our son gets married to a cruiser, I don't think it will ever happen. The B2B question of a few days ago, on the other hand, was reality. When we took our cruise of 3 days in Nice, two 7 day B2Bs, and then 1 night in Lisbon, we packed the same as if we were going to be away for 7 days, not 18. In essence, we packed 5 days worth of clothing, and had laundry done several times. Joan bought two caftans in Morocco, which definitely spiced up her wardrobe for the remaining five days of the vacation. She's wearning one of the caftans in our avatar picture.

Unless Arvids decided to vote, I'm not sure why this topic popped up, after no posts for about 20 months. Since the poll, I've had three cruises. On one, a river cruise, I had not internet access, and it was a pleasure. On the other two, my office had to be in touch with me, and I was required to have internet access. (At least they had the decency to pay for it!) On the good side, I might not have been allowed to get away at all had I not been able to be online. On the bad side, spending more than an hour every day (well, slightly less on weekends) being online on business definitely detracted from both the Bermuda cruise and the Caribbean cruise. (For Joan, being able to accfess her Ebay account was a plus.) I think my vote against having the internet onboard would be stronger than ever.

Please give everyone the answer, since the URL is blocked. Presumably the reference is to another cruising board, known here as the "critical board". My understanding is that the ship is leaving Hawaii, and will have another name in the main NCL line, perhaps as NCL Pride.

Low blow! At least we Jersey boys know how to make fun of ourselves! Only in NJ could one come up with: NJ has always been a swing state, and Gov. McGreevey gave new meaning to the term.

My vote is for avoiding them all. My family situation prevents me from taking vacation during any major holiday; but I'd want to avoid the crwods in any event. In fairness, it should be noted that we took an 11 day Noordam cruise 2 days after Thanksgiving last year, and there were very few kids onboard.

I helped someone with this on the "big board" a few years ago. Go to a site such as Travelocity, then search for rental car agencies near 711 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10019. That's the address of the Manhattan cruise ship terminal. As I recall, if you have roll away luggage, there are some agencies (possibly Avis) quite near the terminal. I can look for this later this week, if you need help. One way rentals tend to be a bit pricy. Do you really want A C after the gambling on the ship?

We would think that a young at heart woman is more appropriate as godmother of a ship than a woman who is young in age. But who are we to talk about entering video contests: we don't even own a video camera! Maybe we'll get one if and when we have grandchildren. Not your problem (no grandchildren), Keith. LOL J&J {Oops, there are 13 NCL reviews. Soemhow, er missed the Norwegian Cruise Lines entry when we were looking for reviews. NCL cruisers, where are you?}

Maybe not. I just looked for NCL reviews, and there aren't any. Former NCL cruisers, please sign up for the contest, and please post a review of the NCL ships. How does NCL compare with the lines Crazies cruise the most: Carnival, Royal Carib., and, possibly, Celebrity?

If you thought past-passenger programs were only good for a free cocktail party, think again. Norwegian Cruise Line is giving its repeat guests the opportunity to vie for the title of Norwegian Gem's godmother via an online video contest. The contest is just one of the high-tech tactics being used to hype the ship's launch. The cruise line's "sitelet" gemitgirl.com, was created specifically for new-build Norwegian Gem. Here's how the new contest works: Starting Monday, October 8, female members of NCL's past-passenger program, Latitudes, will be able to submit a video on gemitgirl.com explaining why they should be named the godmother of Norwegian Gem. The marketing bonanza that has surrounded the 93,000-ton, 2,384-passenger ship has been pegged to its position as the "It" Girl of the fleet -- hot and hip -- so it is no surprise those are some of the qualities the line is looking for in its godmother. Additionally, applicants must possess the "'free spirit' of NCL's Freestyle Cruising," including: Sophistication, independence and confidence Eagerness to explore new destinations and learn new things Glamour, style and culture Youthful and adventurous spirit -- regardless of age If this is starting to sound like a post-prison profile of Paris Hilton, bear with us. Entrants are also encouraged to include how many times they've cruised with NCL and exhibit their own unique talent (if they have one) that exemplifies the line's "freestyle" spirit. Entries may be submitted until November 12, and will be judged on creativity and originality. The top five will be announced on gemitgirl.com November 15, and the grand prize winner will be selected with the help of a public vote open through December 7. All five finalists will be flown to New York to attend the christening ceremony on December 18 and set sail on the ship's two-night inaugural cruise. But only the grand prize winner, once announced, will get to christen the ship. She will also receive a seven-day cruise in the luxurious Garden Villa on Norwegian Gem for her and five of her "entourage" (friends). If you haven't cruised with NCL before, you can't win the grand prize -- but a video submission will enter you to win a seven-day Bahamas and Florida cruise for two aboard Norwegian Gem in 2008. Further details, including the contest terms and conditions, can be found online at gemitgirl.com starting on Monday, October 8, 2007. Ready for your close up? Create your video at home, or -- if you'll be onboard during the open call for entries -- visit one of NCL's complimentary onboard videotapings; you'll receive a DVD that you can submit online once you return home. (These sessions will be offered on every ship except Norwegian Crown, which is leaving the fleet.) More info on the submission process should be available on October 8. You'll also be able to check out "sample" videos on gemitgirl.com, created by famed improvisational group Second City. Remember: All submissions will appear on gemitgirl.com, where visitors can rank them by a variety of by traits including funny, glamorous, freestyle, chic and "too hot." There is also a category for "most viewed," so don't do anything we wouldn't do.... C'MON LADY CRAZIES! ENTER, AND (MAYBE) SHOW US THE LINKS TO YOUR VIDEOS!

We had a wondefrful tour of the island from Glory tours, going to a botanical garden, a local restaurant, a plantation, and other nice places. We wanted to see the synagogue, so she added it to our tour: they're very accommodating. Other tours include sailing, snorkeling, beaches, and/or diving. If you can't find their URL, send us a message, and we'll but you in touch with Gloria, the manager of the tour company. A great value, and a lovely island once you get away from the tourist areas. Almost all islands are ugly if all you do is take a cab and go downtown; but almost all are lovely in many places. Dominica was one of the few exceptions to this rule: it's lovely all over. Barbados is pretty nice too, with the exception of Bridgetown.

Rose, I know it's off topic, but go to the post about RCCL Wants Me Back. RadiofreeBC will be the video director on your holiday cruise, and he wants to get together with you.

Are any Crazies entering the contest?

You have that right: cruisers take it for granted. It sounds as if there's a lot of behind the scenes work to make it all seem just a ho-hum part of the cruise.

Congratulations. Sailingrose is shown on the meeting place as being on the 12/30/07 New Year's cruise. Will you still be there? Is so, you should send her a message. What is a head video tech?

Certainly we check. The next ship on which we are scheduled to sail, Regent Seven Seas Mariner, had a score in 7/07 of 100. Both of us cary small bottles of hand sanitizer, and we wash our hands quite often when we're cruising.

Here are a few posts from another board about Cunard Grill class; 1) just one person's opinion : if you are not in the grills the QM2 is just another mass market ship albeit very large and beautifull 2) Grill upgrade- worth it? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Having sailed on the QM2 in both Britannia and Princess Grill category staterooms, the differences are pretty distinct when you start making a point by point comparison. Is the price difference worth it? I guess it depends on your income level and what you consider important when traveling. For instance, do you travel in business or coach when you fly? You are on the same plane but the differences in service, location on the plane, food and seating all make for a more enjoyable, hence more pricy journey. In a PG cabin you have a LOT more space insdie as well as a large balcony. Also you have a walk-in closet adjacent to the bathroom, which has a tub and a shower, all of the cabins are located on deck 10 and also feature a sitting area, a separate bar and personalized stationary. Then you have the single seating PG restaurant. You eat when you want and how you want. They cater to your every whim. You can order a la carte however you want or test them. With 24 hrs notice they can pretty much make you whatever you want. And they enjoy the challenge! You want to eat fast, they can do it! You want to eat in your room, served in courses like in the restaurant- they can (and will) do it! Also the PG is much easier to get to and and from since it is located on the same deck as the promendae and you can go to the QG Lounge both before and after dinner for drinks and coffee. It is a nice little oasis where you can slip away to and not be bothered. We loved it. Then you also have the priority boarding and disembarkation. All in all there are a lot of little reasons which add up to a Grill experience. Would I do it again? Absolutely. But if the Grill is sold out do I not go? Never, I will sleep on a sofa if it means I get to sail on her! If you have not tried the Grill, I would highly recommend it. Plus, I have been in a Queen's Grill cabin and I actually preferred the Princess Grill cabin as well as the decor in the PG restaurant. Also, the PG is smaller than the QG since there are fewer PG cabins than QG cabins. Those are just my top of mind thoughts. As I said, I have enjoyed both cabin grades and would prefer to sail in PG always, but it is not always available as they tend to sell out rather quickly. Enjoy and bon voyage! 3) Dining. In a word, superb. The first night was very good, and things got better as the crossing went along. Meat was the usual very high standard, and flambé was on the menu each night. There was no problem in being a little greedy – in fact the greediest evening was at the instigation of our waiter, who suggested that we might like a lobster as a side order! Needless to say we did….. The Britannia restaurant may be spectacular but during dinner what matters is quality of food and service, and both have been superb. The service in particular has been wonderful – the Maitre’D has moulded a superb team – which, in our case, is all ex-Queens’ Grill. And it shows. I have never had better service on a Cunarder. I’m convinced that this grade offers the best value on board – by a wide margin. I know what one gets over and above this grade in Queens’ Grill, and the difference in food isn’t worth the difference. Unless the cabin is important to you (and I’ll discuss this later) then Britannia Club offers 90% of the value of Queens’ Grill at 50% of the price. That’s not to say that the Queens’ Grill isn’t worth it if you can afford it, or that it isn’t better – because it clearly is. But it does mean that you could do a back to back for the price of a westbound. 4) We have sailed both the QM2 and the Noordam, and must disagree with you on food quality and overall value. I will admit, the Noordam is very good value for your money. It does have a better system for their lido buffet area than the QM2's Kings Court. However, if you eat most of your meals in the dining room, then I would give the QM2 the upper hand. Not only is food quality superior on the QM2, but so is the service in my opinion. In fact, on the Noordam, our head waiter was borderline rude to us at times, something that we are not used to. Holland America does excel with their room stewards, and we have had our best room stewards sailing with them, while Cunard's just don't seem to go the extra mile. The Noordam does not have the Grill level, and to charge a similar fare for a suite (compared to Princess Grill) with only a handful of the QM2's perks is not good overall value. Dining in the Princess Grill for three meals a day alone makes the QM2 superior in dollar value.

Joe or is it Joan today ... anyway.. discuss if you will for us not as familiar with Cunard.. your comment "grill class only" It's Joe. I haven't sailed on Cunard either; but apparently it is a line that has a true class system similar to the old ships. According to people who rate ships, their first class, which even eats in separate restaurants (called grills), is a 5 star experience, but ordinary rooms, with the ordinary dining room, are not. Picture, if you will, old style ocean liners with first class and tourist class (but no steerage anymore!). Maybe someone here has sailed on the QE2 or QM2, and can enlighten us. Here are the 2006 Berlitz ratings of ships: Berlitz Publishing’s Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006 FIVE-STARS-PLUS (*****+) CLUB Europa (Hapag-Lloyd Cruises) with 1,858 points out of a possible 2,000 FIVE-STARS (*****) CLUB SeaDream I with 1,790 points SeaDream II with 1,790 points Seabourn Legend with 1,786 points Seabourn Pride with 1,785 points Seabourn Spirit with 1,785 points Silver Shadow with 1,757 Silver Whisper with 1,757 Hanseatic with 1,740 Silver Cloud with 1,722 Silver Wind with 1,722 Queen Mary 2 (Grill Class) with 1,712 points Sea Cloud II with 1,706 Sea Cloud with 1,704 Crystal Serenity with 1,702 Crystal Symphony with 1,701 Seven Seas Mariner with 1,701 Seven Seas Voyager with 1,701 For 2007, Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, and the two Seven Seas ships were dropped to 4 + stars. Bear in mind that Berlitz is a tough grader. Several of the five star Berlitz ships are rated six stars by other rating systems, and the two downgraded Silversea ships, both Regent ships, plus the one we sailed on, the Navigator, are rated at least five stars in most ratings.

It's an academic question. Crystal was the only 5-6 star line that had inside cabins, and they got rid of the only ship that had them. There are now no insides on any 5 or 6 star line that I know of. By my standards, 5 and 6 star lines catering to the U.S. market include Seabourn, Sea Dream, Silversea, Crystal, Cunard (grill class only), and Regent. Non U.S. market lines include Sea Cloud (no insides) and Hapag-Lloyd. I don't knopw whether the Europa has insides; but few Americans will sail on a ship where everything is in German. Windstar, which has no inside cabins, is perhaps 4.5 stars. HAL, Celebrity, and Cunard other grill class are not in that category: they are all 4 star. We've had both the lowest category on a 5 star line (category H on the Regent 7 Seas Navigator, with no balcony) and a suite on a 4 star line (category SA on the Noordam). The room on the Noordam was much bigger, and had a balcony. The Neptune Lounge and the Pinnacle Grill were fantastic. Nonetheless, if the Noordam and the Regent Navigator were sailing on the same itinerary, we would pick Regent. The Service and food were much better than HAL, and we enjoyed being on a much smaller ship; so it would be worth having a smaller room on Regent.

I love sea days, but it's good to stretch my legs ashore, even if I'm not interested in the port. If I wanted to do just sea days, I wouldn't take a cruise that goes to a lot of ports, Instead, I'd do a crossing on Cunard, or take a "naked Transatlantic" itinerary that goes to either no ports or a minimal number of ports. Windstar and Sea Dream do Transatlantics with no ports, while Regent does Transatlantics with very few ports. The cost of repositioning cruises with no ports is relatively low: luxury cruise lines at a Carnival price.

What's a bump out or hump cabin? I don't think I've ever been on a ship where there is a bulge in the ship. I don't think anyoneone has mentioned how different people are in the way they use ship staterooms. That has a huge impact on location. 1) If you're in the room a lot, as we are, you want a big room, possibly with a balcony. If you're almost never in the room except to sleep and change clothes, you don't need as much space. 2) If you like to see the daylight and night from your room, avoid an inside cabin. If you don't care, you may save money on an inside cabin. 3) If you're any earlybird, a room under or above the nughtclub or showroom is a non-no; but the sound of breakfast being set up on the lido deck above you won't bother you--you're awake anyway. If you're a night owl, avoid being under or above a restaurant; but you might be OK under the show room or night club. Party on! 4) The more you're bothered by motion, the more you need the middle of the ship and/or a low deck. However, I can't imagine anyone who wants to be on a low deck near the engines in the back or the anchor and bow thrusters in the front. On a high deck, front (but watch for high wind) or back (many people love the view) are OK or even desirable. 5) If you're a gambler, you may want to gamble on an upgrade from a guarantee. Many people, including us, prefer to choose their location, and get what they pay for. I usually pick a location, then specify "NO UPGRADES", so I don't get stuck in an expensive, but lousy, location.

(Well, not us, because we haven't sailed on NCL; and not any guys, just gals. This is an expansion of the "win a cruise" post.) If you thought past-passenger programs were only good for a free cocktail party, think again. Norwegian Cruise Line is giving its repeat guests the opportunity to vie for the title of Norwegian Gem's godmother via an online video contest. The contest is just one of the high-tech tactics being used to hype the ship's launch. The cruise line's "sitelet" gemitgirl.com, was created specifically for new-build Norwegian Gem. Here's how the new contest works: Starting Monday, October 8, female members of NCL's past-passenger program, Latitudes, will be able to submit a video on gemitgirl.com explaining why they should be named the godmother of Norwegian Gem. The marketing bonanza that has surrounded the 93,000-ton, 2,384-passenger ship has been pegged to its position as the "It" Girl of the fleet -- hot and hip -- so it is no surprise those are some of the qualities the line is looking for in its godmother. Additionally, applicants must possess the "'free spirit' of NCL's Freestyle Cruising," including: Sophistication, independence and confidence Eagerness to explore new destinations and learn new things Glamour, style and culture Youthful and adventurous spirit -- regardless of age If this is starting to sound like a post-prison profile of Paris Hilton, bear with us. Entrants are also encouraged to include how many times they've cruised with NCL and exhibit their own unique talent (if they have one) that exemplifies the line's "freestyle" spirit. Entries may be submitted until November 12, and will be judged on creativity and originality. The top five will be announced on gemitgirl.com November 15, and the grand prize winner will be selected with the help of a public vote open through December 7. All five finalists will be flown to New York to attend the christening ceremony on December 18 and set sail on the ship's two-night inaugural cruise. But only the grand prize winner, once announced, will get to christen the ship. She will also receive a seven-day cruise in the luxurious Garden Villa on Norwegian Gem for her and five of her "entourage" (friends). If you haven't cruised with NCL before, you can't win the grand prize -- but a video submission will enter you to win a seven-day Bahamas and Florida cruise for two aboard Norwegian Gem in 2008. Further details, including the contest terms and conditions, can be found online at gemitgirl.com starting on Monday, October 8, 2007. Ready for your close up? Create your video at home, or -- if you'll be onboard during the open call for entries -- visit one of NCL's complimentary onboard videotapings; you'll receive a DVD that you can submit online once you return home. (These sessions will be offered on every ship except Norwegian Crown, which is leaving the fleet.) More info on the submission process should be available on October 8. You'll also be able to check out "sample" videos on gemitgirl.com, created by famed improvisational group Second City. Remember: All submissions will appear on gemitgirl.com, where visitors can rank them by a variety of by traits including funny, glamorous, freestyle, chic and "too hot." There is also a category for "most viewed," so don't do anything we wouldn't do....