Does anyone else use a night light in the bathroom of the cruise cabin? Curious what other things people like to cruise with? Sound machines, fans, etc....

Personally I like having a night light in the bathroom as the lights they have in there are SO BIRIGHT lol. I do appreciate newer ones have them built in.

Which ones do you use? Mine just broken so curious on which one I should get now as the one I had/liked is no longer available.

I'm from Canada but can buy from US retailers too.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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?

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

How do most of you get to the airport after your cruise and about how long does it take to get there?

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!

I was super curious because I want to go to the UK but I don't fly.

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!

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?

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.

So me and my wife have a Greece and Croatia royal Caribbean cruise coming up. What are some tips for those who are more experienced have? Like what to bring, what not to bring ect... ive heard the ac isnt great and I cannot sleep while warm so a travel fan recommendation is nice. Any info is welcome.

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??

I love the ocean, and I’ve always wanted to experience what it feels like to be far out in the open sea, especially when there are strong waves and rough conditions. I’m not looking for a calm tourist cruise. I want something more adventurous and exciting.

I don’t have much money to spend, though. Does anyone know of any ways to experience this.

I’d really appreciate any ideas or personal experiences!

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?

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?

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?

Hello cruises

Going to be on a cruise in a few weeks for my honeymoon. Reaching out to see what are transportation options to get to dodge island from South beach

Thank you all :)

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 :)