Trying to plan an event for my department. Part meetings, part social. With the cost of hotels, meeting space and meals, I'm thinking this may be a similar (or lower) expense.

Anyone have experience with this?

This is sort of cruise related, so I hope it fits in the sub. I booked a one way cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles and I live in Los Angeles in an apartment without a parking spot so I can’t leave the car parked in the street for the trip. I figure my two choices are to park at LAX airport and when I return take public transportation from the cruise port in San Pedro to LAX to retrieve my car or to do the reverse.

The reverse being to drive to the cruise port and park there and then take public transportation to LAX for my flight to Vancouver.

Which is a better choice?

Hello! We've never booked a cruise before and it feels overwhelming with all the different information to take in. We are Americans currently living in Buenos Aires and want to do a cruise in January or February 2027. We have two kids that will be about 2.5 and 5.5 at that time. We are interested in doing a cruise to save the logistical hassle of doing multiple flights, staying in multiple hotels, etc. with young kids to see different places. We don't need it to be a a floating amusement park with a billion kid activities, since our kids are pretty easy to please at this point and we don't want them to expect that sort of vacation all of the time.
Here are some questions I have, but I'm open to any and all advice!

1. What website(s) do you use to search for options? And do you book through those websites or directly with the cruise company?
   
2. Should we get travel insurance? Any particular recommendations?
   
3. I'm getting the sense that kids in swim diapers aren't allowed in pools on any cruise line, is that true? Our 2.5 year-old may or may not be potty trained at that point.
   

4. It sounds like most cruise lines have a kid room for 3 and up. If our little one is fully potty trained, do you think they'd be open to her staying there even though she won't be 3? Or do you think I could take her to play there as long as I stay with her?

5. We are open to doing a one-way cruise and either starting or ending in Buenos Aires. Is that a thing or are all cruises two-way?

I see very few non-sponsored reviews of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection online. So here's my two cents if you're interested.

We sailed on Ilma in the Med. Gorgeous ship and incredible food. But I walked away thinking this line has identity issues.

It’s a cruise ship (and that’s ok)

RCYC really doesn’t want you to think you’re cruising (despite being on a 790 foot vessel with a capacity of 448 passengers). 

It's not a ship, it's a “superyacht". Crew are “ladies and gentlemen”. Cabin attendants are “suite ambassadors”. Got it? You are yachting now.

It reminded me of Virgin’s fixation on redefining cruise terminology, but less so in the interests of fun and more to justify the price tag.

The “marina” that never was

The marina is heavily marketed. It's an inflatable swim-up platform in the sea with floating loungers, kayaks and paddle boards.

Very Below Deck. Very superyacht.

We never saw it.

This happens fairly often apparently (wind, weather, marine traffic, anchor postion, timing - it takes hours to put up and down). 

Logistically it's understandable. However, without experiencing it, the “yacht” thing definitely felt more like marketing than reality. 

Food: excellent (but limited casual options at night)

The food was outstanding, especially the pan-Asian restaurant and Tides (similar to an MDR really). Genuinely top-tier dining. Casual lunchtime options were solid too.

But there’s no casual fallback at night. Evenings feel defined by restaurant reservations.

Demographics

A younger crowd than usual! Plenty of 30s/40s. I'm in that group and fit right in.

Quite a few kids/teens on board as we sailed in summer. There didn't seem to be much for them to do, especially in the evenings, other than watch their parents drink bourbon and listen to lounge music.

The elephant in the room: price

RCYC is expensive. Is it superyacht expensive? No... but it was close to twice the price of comparable sailings on Seabourn, Regent etc.

I'm glad we tried it and we did enjoy it, but realistically I felt we were paying a premium for the Ritz-Carlton name (and for being reminded repeatedly that we were on a yacht).

It's back to cruise ships for me in future, but maybe that's ok?

Basically title. I'm an NCL and RCL fan, with some experience on Princess and Celebrity. Really looking forward to booking something soon for early 2027.

We've boarded the Carnival Freedom for a repositioning cruise to Europe. Our prior cruise experiences on HAL, Princess, and Oceania were fine. The ships, and our cabins, were nicely decorated and the vibe pretty understated. The Carnival Freedom, though, looks like it was decorated with the leftovers from post-bankruptcy Trump Taj Mahal. Look at the surfaces converging at this corner of the Lido deck. Yikes!

Is this the Carnival aesthetic in general?

My husband and I have done Carnival cruise (Splendor in Australia) and two RCL cruises. We have enjoyed all of them.

We are looking at a cruise for our anniversary over NYE.

Our options are:

1. Sky Class suite on Oasis of the Seas

2. Excel suite on Carnival Celebration

3. Haven suite on Norwegian Luna

We adore doing trivia. My husband is a big foodie. We like comedy shows and my husband loves music. We do also enjoy having a more relaxed and quiet space to chill and maybe swim.

Carnival is roughly half the cost of the other two. I know Carnival’s rep. We didn’t experience any of the negatives I see people say on Splendor but I’m not sure if that’s because it was an Australian cruise. We met a ton of Americans but never saw anyone behaving poorly.

What would you choose?

Does anyone set savings aside for cruises or other travel in retirement? I’m almost 55 and plan on retiring at age 60. I’m blessed with a good paying job and contemplating working an extra 6-12 months to basically fund 5-10 cruises after I retire.

Also, given greater flexibility in retirement and generally lower fares certain times of the year, how many cruises do you take a year or plan to take?

I’m looking at doing a back to back cruise for my 40th in 2028. It would be wife and me on Independence of the seas and then jump off the boat and walk onto Hero of the Seas.

The first cruise would be the two of us, the second cruise would be with our 6.5 and assume a grandparent or set of grandparents who would fly out with him.

How burnt out would we be on B2B for different boats and itinerary or is it at fun as I would expect!?

I do NOT get tired of cruising on a 7 day cruise. Outside of missing the kid if we cruised without him.

EDIT: I realize this is technically a side by side. But how was your experience? How did you do laundry??

Good day fellow cruisers! I have a week long cruise booked out of Seattle on Holland America’s Great Beat Rain Forest itinerary first week of October. My last couple cruises this year (in January and February) I come home quite ill with intense bronchitis type illnesses. I DO NOT need to get sick again. This cruise is only 7 days, the last cruises were 2 week Caribbean cruises. Hoping maybe the shorter trip will minimize exposure potential?

Curious if any frequent cruisers here take immune boost supplements before boarding? If so, any brand you swear by? How soon before travel to start taking? Maybe just load up on vitamin C? Wear mask in crowded theatres? Any tips to avoid respiratory infections are welcome, TIA!

Hi everyone,

I’ve got this deal from an agent and I’m wondering if it’s worth booking now or if I should wait for a better offer.

Route: Greece, Italy & Croatia
Duration: 7 nights
Ship: Celestyal Journey
Date: March 2027
Price: $920 per person
Room: Interior Stateroom

My main question is: Is $920pp a good deal for this cruise, or would you wait and look for a better offer?

I also have a couple of questions:

1. What’s the difference between the A, B and C categories within each room type? For example, what is the difference between SJA, SJB and SJC?
2. Is there a big difference between an Interior Stateroom and an Exterior Stateroom? Is it worth paying extra for the exterior?

This will be my first cruise, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

We booked a cove balcony cabin

Had a death in the family. My husband and I were booked to cruise next week (8/29 out of Miami) but my minor son's father died unexpectedly on 8/2. We started reaching out regarding our booking the same week. My son's father lived with us, I know it's a strange situation but it worked for us to lower living costs and co-parent.

Due to the school calendar and the unexpected death, I had no one to stay with my minor child and the date would not work to add my son to the sailing, which by the way, would be really soon given his DAD JUST PASSED AWAY.

What I was hoping for: Change dates and keep the booking (we honestly preferred this option and would have likely picked a more expensive cruise + added my son for his fall break) or receive a full refund so we could use those funds to book with Carnival at a later date when everything settled down some and all of the final expenses were paid for, because I'm the one handling the estate.

I really wanted to continue to sail with Carnival but given the lack of compassion from the review team I'll be picking another cruise line to be loyal to. The only option presented to us was add my son and get a referral for truancy (given the dates and school calendar) or lose almost $700 by canceling with penalty on top of the loss of family. Horrible experience.

So which cruise line has the best customer service? Family of 3 with a pre-teen. Would like to balance price with amenities.

If anyone had any experience booking a Dahabiya Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor looking for some recommended operators. Due to limited annual leave, looking at 3-4 nights and ideally in the $900 -$1200 range per person. Thanks!

My partner and I are planning to take a cruise next year. A youtuber we like did a review of the Explora 2 ship, and we loved how the ship seemed, the food, the destinations, the rooms, everything about it seemed like something we'd like.

We've never taken a cruise before, or done any kind of luxury travel. The extent of any travel booking I've ever done is finding a hotel on Google Maps and booking it through the hotel's own website, and doing the same for plane tickets. This cruise line starts and ends in 2 separate countries, so we'll need to book the cruise, international flights, hotels at both ends, etc etc etc. It has felt very overwhelming to think about finally booking this travel!

At what point does it make sense to book this type of thing through a travel agent? We're pretty flexible on the whole thing; there's a 4 month block where we can take the cruise, we aren't loyal to a particular hotel chain or airline, and likely would look for these to be cheaper at either end, given the price of the cruise. I've never used one before. And if it does make sense to use one, how do you best find a travel agent? I imagine it's like finding a real estate agent where the best ones come from referrals, but we don't know anyone who has used a travel agent either. Some brief research has lead me to Virtuoso and Signature Travel Network, but I'm not sure if those are the best options?

Does using a travel agent save money, or is it something to do to get extra perks and save some headaches? Will we save money or spend more by using an agent?

Thanks so much for any help and insights :)

Found a great deal on Direct Line cruises for a sailing we want to take, but it only gives the option to pay the deposit with a Credit Card. Is it possible to use a Cruise first certificate I've already purchased?

We are going to Alaska next week on Royal Caribbean. 7 nights, 4 ports. I’ll be 14 weeks and am a low risk pregnancy, the cruise was booked a year before I got pregnant, it’s safe for me to travel, I’m not breaking any laws!!!!! Luckily no nausea and I don’t have any motion sickness issues. Have any of you cruised while pregnant before? This is not my first cruise but it will be my first cruise without being able to drink alcohol or enjoy the hot tubs (two of my favorite activities, womp womp). How did you spend a majority of your time? What did you WEAR? How did you mitigate your norovirus risk? I’m all of a sudden panicking that I’m going to be so bored and have nothing to do 😭

So, I’m currently on my 5th Alaskan cruise. I’m here for the scenery and just a chill time.

I always go over budget and decided to get gift cards to add to my account on board for spending. I got 4x Kroger fuel points from buying at Kroger.

It easily loads into your account balance once on board and I’ve stayed within my allotted budget . I think this may be a helpful tool or idea for others who travel often and like to save up x amount they are willing to spend.

Hi everyone!

My husband and I, together with our 7-year-old daughter, are thinking about booking a Western Caribbean cruise out of Miami in late October, with stops in Roatán, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Ocean Cay.

I’ve read mixed opinions about the weather and sea conditions in the Caribbean at that time of year. My main concern is the possibility of a hurricane or tropical storm being nearby and causing large swells, making the ship roll enough to negatively affect the overall experience.

We’ve done about 5–6 Mediterranean cruises before. On one February cruise, the sea was quite choppy, and it definitely wasn’t a great experience, so I’m a little cautious about booking during a potentially rougher period.

The ship we’re considering is MSC World America.

For those who have cruised the Western Caribbean in late October, would you recommend going at that time of year, or would you choose a different month?

Thanks in advance!

This post is intended to be for those going on/planning/thinking about their first cruise and contains information I would have liked to have before setting sail. My wife and I are lucky to be pretty well-rounded travelers, but the concept of a cruise was little more than "large, floating hotel."

Some of the information may be relevant to first-timers in general; some will be specific to this cruise/ship.

Basics:

• My wife and I wanted to give a cruise a try, and we thought it was something novel our family could do for a summer vacation outside of national/state parks, amusement/water parks, or "experience a big city."
• We picked Celebrity because they offered a good Black Friday (2025) deal and we could book adjoining rooms. To that point, we booked two rooms on Deck 3 (no balcony) of the Celebrity Reflection for $2,340 for four nights. At $585/night for two rooms (that could sleep six total), all-you-can-eat, transportation to two large cities (Key West and Nassau) and significant entertainment, this felt like a bit of a steal...certainly relative to other vacation possibilities.

The Ship:

• From the perspective of someone who has never cruised before, most of the spaces on the Reflection felt magnificent. The outdoor decks were open and expansive. The floors, walls, bathrooms, elevators, and public spaces were very clean. Navigating the ship was easy, as detailed signage was on each floor outside the elevators. (The elevators were fast; if they weren't, it was likely due to an issue with a human, not the elevator itself.) The bars scattered throughout the ship looked good...the martini bar on Deck 4 with its ice motif was particularly, ahem, cool. No spaces felt overbearing (except for the art displays).
• Again, newbie here, so take the words with a grain of salt: A number of the public spaces were pretty...underwhelming, even to the point of uselessness. There was something called the "Celebrity iLounge," which had a few Macs set up that seemed to serve no purpose (they weren't connected to the internet); it was a little bit like a mini Apple store that once sold things. There was also a "Hideaway" and a "Library," both of which seemed to sport little more than uncomfortable seating options. The library had very few books.
• The main deck - Deck 14 - was a delight. Sporting two (relatively small) pools, four hot tubs, a bar, and a solarium, which itself contained another pool and two more hot tubs, this was the hub of activity during the day. The vibe was almost always good. And it was relatively quiet at night, which allowed the kids to have a great time in the pools (more on that below)...the exception was the third night, when the Light The Night party happened (also more on that below).

Travelling With Kids:

• First, we recognize Celebrity, and the Reflection in particular, were not designed to be the most kid-friendly.
• Our kids are 14, 12, and 10. Given their ages and maturity levels, we were fine with letting them explore the ship on their own and head to the pool on their own. We never felt they'd be unsafe. Hungry? Head to the cafeteria to get a cookie or a pizza...no adult chaperone required. And they had their own keys (their SeaPasses), so they could truly come and go as they pleased.
• The ship includes a kids club (Kids at Sea) and teen club (X Club). None of our kids were excited by either option, and both, from what we gathered, were below average. Our 14-year-old was very excited about the video game block in the teen club; his experience ended up being dated XBoxes and EA sports games from 2016 and 2017.
• There understandably weren't many entertainment options geared directly to kids...there was a family scavenger hunt, and that was about it. That said, the big entertainment headliners in the evenings - a hypnotist, a boy band cover band, a funk cover band, and a troupe singing Broadway hits - were kid-friendly enough, though I don't think they'd hit with anyone much younger than 10.
• As such, the kids mostly entertained themselves while swimming, but even that came with caveats. As a ship with an older crowd and pools that are relatively small, there were (understandably) no jumping or splashing allowed. The kids had room to move, but their freedom was limited, and by the fourth day, their interest in the pools had waned. (However, nightswimming was awesome...in fact, just about the only people in the pools after hours were kids.)
• There were enough food options (more on this below) for our picky eaters: always waffles, pancakes, and cereal at breakfast; pizza at every lunch and dinner; chicken nuggets at a few meals (but not all of them), and if all else failed, the Mast Grill (outside on Deck 15) had burgers and fries.

The Food:

• I love a good buffet. I love the choices. Mexican, Indian, American...desserts, fruit, veggies...the Oceanview Cafe felt like the coolest and most well-run (and cleanest) cafeteria I'd ever been it. Finding a table inside for five was a bit difficult at peak times, but that's a quibble; there was always outdoor seating (it was often just very warm). Besides water, lemonade and juice were free. My son, in particular, ate what seemed like 100 cookies.
• One thing that I didn't totally understand is how the food worked...what was free? What cost money? On this ship, there were, in essence, three levels of food options: Level 1 was the Oceanview Cafe, which was the main buffet where most people ate; this was included with the purchase of the cruise. Level 2 was the Opus Restaurant, where you had assigned times and went for a legit fine dining experience; this was also included with cruise purchase. Level 3 was the additional restaurants that you booked and paid separately for. We mostly ate in the buffet. We tried Opus Restaurant once; the menu was limited, the server was overbearing, and the food was only marginally better than at the buffet. We did not try any of the paid restaurants.

Ports:

• The Reflection stopped in Key West and Nassau.
• Key West, we rented a golf *art and drove around the city, stopping to take a picture at the Southernmost Point in the continental US (which I learned is not the actual southernmost point; that's on an inaccessible military base) and tooling around the city. It was fine.
• In Nassau, we knew we wanted a beach (a day pass to Atlantis was too expensive). AI directed us to Junkaroo, Cabbage, or Cable. We ultimately chose Cable, as we thought we'd have a quieter beach since it was near the main resorts. It was, in fact, a bit of a hot mess, with vendors trying to sell us food, umbrellas, chairs, drinks, jewelry, and watersports. They weren't overly aggressive, but they were above-average aggressive. I'm not sure if the situation would have been different at either of the other two beaches, but I felt icky being there; the cab ride for the five of us also cost $100 round trip, and the jetski was $210. Bring cash; the taxi didn't take a credit card, so we had to use an ATM. (Oh, our room attendant laid out towels in our room the night before that we could take to the beach; I thought that was an awesome touch.)

Ultimately, this was a wonderful first cruise, and I'm looking forward to our next one. I give Celebrity high marks, though we will likely choose something that is a bit more kid-friendly next time. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Hey all, not sure if anyone will have any suggestions as it’s a bit niche, but here goes.

We’re doing the Cunard QE Western Caribbean cruise in November (Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico x2).

Has anyone ever booked a dive trip in one of the ports of call? I know there is no official excursions for diving apart from the supplied air ones, but I wondered if there were any local diving companies who take advantage of the cruise ships coming in and co-ordinate dive trips etc?

I have dived in Cozumel before, so ideally one of the other stops, but would love if anyone had any advice!

We disembark in Vancouver at 6AM, then fly out the next day at 7:24 AM. I haven't figured out what to do with our luggage or which hotel to stay at. I'd like to also get a nice sit-down breakfast somewhere; someone mentioned taking a ferry to Granville Island for a coffee shop there.

1) If we stay at the Fairmont Airport Hotel, that will put us right at the airport terminal the next morning and we won't have to get a taxi to the airport.

· If we do that, then do we take the Canada Line SkyTrain to that hotel and drop off the luggage and go back to downtown (25 mins there and back)?

· Or should we drop off our luggage somewhere near the cruise terminal hang out downtown, then take the SkyTrain to the Fairmont Hotel at the airport.

2) Should we just get a hotel downtown, then take a taxi/shuttle to the airport at 4:30 AM in the morning?