A few days ago there was post on here asking what your "cruise world problems" are, and my comment got a lot of engagement. The tldr was that I couldn't book Princess plus for just my wife and i because we were split between two cabins with 3 kids and online you had to add it for the first 2 people in each cabin, regardless of age.

Full text here:

>*Current problem: Taking a Princess Cruise with a family of 5, so we got two staterooms. On paper, my wife and one kid are in one room, and myself and the other two kids are in the other. But obviously our teenagers can be in one room and my wife and I will be in the other. I wanted to add Princess Plus (the drinks package) for my wife and I. But they make you add it for the first two people in each stateroom, regardless of age. That would be $1,876 🥴. Guess we are buying drinks a la carte.*

When we boarded Emerald Princess in Vancouver yesterday, I had to go to guest services to sort something else out. I mentioned that would love to add Princess Plus, but just for the adults on the booking, in two separate cabins. The response?

"No problem Sir, I can override that issue here".

So I got Princess Plus the way I wanted to, without adding the kids.

I would like to add that coming from mostly Carnival cruises, Princess Plus seems like a steal. Its about the same price as Cheers, but includes your crew gratuities, wifi, and some specialty dining. You don't have to be a functioning alcoholic to make the math work.

🤘

That’s it, that’s the full post.

Emerald Princess 7-night round trip from Vancouver. Best sights of my entire life!

Booked on the Encore itinerary out of Seattle in July and genuinely cannot figure out how to play the Glacier Bay day. The ship spends most of the day slowly moving through the bay, which from everything I've read is already pretty spectacular just from the deck or a balcony. But the helicopter glacier landing excursion keeps jumping out at me every time I look at the excursion list, partly because it looks insane and partly because I keep talking myself out of the price.

I'm not sure the aerial view adds that much if you're already at water level watching calving up close. Maybe it does. People who have done both on the same trip say the heli landing feels like a completely different thing, not just a better angle on the same view, and that's what keeps pulling me back toward it.

Weather is obviously the wildcard. If the Glacier Bay day gets cancelled or fogged out, the helicopter math changes entirely.

Curious what people who have actually done the Glacier Bay portion would say. Did you feel like the deck experience alone was worth it, or did you wish you had booked something off the ship that day?

We found a great hack to get these magnetic paper towel holders ($12 on Amazon) and hang them from the bathroom ceiling. Works great if, like us, you have multiple swimsuits that might not all fit on the clothesline in the shower at the same time. My kids go in and out of the pool so sometimes we have several sets drying at once, and this has been a nice trick!

Edit: I get it you guys, magnetic hooks work great and we use them plenty as well. This is just an alternative if you have multiple swimsuits to hang dry at once and don’t want to hang each one individually, and you have the space in your luggage to bring one (or 4, like we did, because we could).

on previous cruises I’ve always taken a regular zippered crossbody into port and never thought much about it. our next one is a Mediterranean itinerary with Barcelona, Naples and Civitavecchia, though, and the number of pickpocket stories has me looking at anti-theft bags for the first time. for people who’ve actually used one on European port days, which features made a noticeable difference? Locking zippers, reinforced straps, RFID pockets, the ability to secure the bag to a cafe chair?

I am from the Albany, NY area. There is a private bus line that offers roundtrip transportation to the Boston and NYC ports for $120. I was curious if other cities have similar options.

We typically stay at mid to mid high tier All Inclusives. This will be our first cruise. It actually lines up perfect with a vacation we are already taking in Florida. This is a 5 night Bahamas cruise. I'm about to book it, I just was wondering what kind of crowd and is the ship decent, clean, food quality? Thanks!

I’m going on freedom of the seas on Saturday and I picked my time dining but now I hear that if you do that you have to wait very long , I’m trying to make reservations now but it’s only giving me the option to reserve for days 1, 2 , and 3

We are sailing over Labor Day, so I’m trying to be proactive and get a few things in line. I’m specifically looking for a diaper bag that could double as a purse, but is big enough to hold enough diapers/snacks/wipes/change of clothes for a full day of travel.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated too! Our son will be 18 months, and we are doing a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas on the Norwegian Getaway!

Essentially what the title says. Why are the prices much cheaper? If I book through their site, will the cruise line accept the reservation and I’ll be able to get on the cruise smoothly? I’ll still be assigned a room and won’t get my info leaked/stolen? Thanks for the advice, it’s my first time booking a cruise since I have a limited time frame of when I can go and I’m looking for the best last-minute deal I can.

Hello! So this is my first time on cruise and it will be my honeymoon. We would like to go Carribean to South America (Brazil,Uruguay,Argentina) so that our last stop is Argentina. Does someone has experience with this kind of tour? Are there another better tours? Any reccommodations?

Has anybody had success with bringing their dispo on carnival specifically sunshine? I’m a daily smoker worried about going without ittt

Hi! I’m helping my parents plan a cruise to Greece, targeting spring 2027. Their budget is $10,00-$12,000 all in.

Does anyone have recommendations on specific cruise lines to look into?

Anyone with experience or opinions? The latter is more expensive but im not sure whether the experience and entertainment pays off.

Looking forward to your opinion

My family and I are thinking about doing a Royal Caribbean cruise from the New York/New Jersey area to Hawaii in December.
For anyone who’s done this itinerary around that time of year, what’s the weather like during the sea days and once you get to Hawaii?
Is it usually warm enough to lay out by the pool and get a tan, or is it too cold for most of the trip? We’d love to spend time outside, so I’m curious what to realistically expect.
Thanks!

**•**Hey everyone! My wife and I have a cruise coming up with a stop in Nassau, and we’re looking to book some excursions on our own instead of through the cruise line.

On our list:

Swimming with the pigs (fine with a full-day trip to Exuma or wherever it runs — just need to be back with a solid buffer before boarding)    

**•** Jet ski rental
**•** Scooter or e-bike rental to explore Nassau a bit on our own

We checked the Royal Caribbean excursions page and it’s pretty pricey compared to what I’ve seen locally-booked tours go for. Before we just book through the cruise line, wanted to ask:

**•** Any legit, trustworthy websites or local operators you’ve used and would recommend?
**•** For the pig swim — full day is totally fine, but who reliably gets you back to port at least 2 hours before all-aboard? Don’t want to cut it close.
**•** Good spots for jet ski or scooter/e-bike rental near the port that don’t rip off tourists?
**•** Any horror stories / scams to avoid, especially with independent excursions and ship timing?

Appreciate any tips — TIA! 🐷🛥️🇧🇸

Has anyone used Carnival’s Premium Wi-Fi for Zoom calls while the ship was at sea?

I’m planning on going to the Carnival Conquest in September out of Florida and may need to attend a few Zoom meetings (with video and audio) while we’re sailing. I’m considering purchasing the Premium Wi-Fi package.

If you’ve done this:

- Were you able to stay connected during the entire meeting?
- Did you keep your camera on or off?
- How was the audio quality?
- Were there certain areas of the ship with better reception?
- Did you experience disconnects while at sea?

I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has done this on the Carnival Conquest or recently on another Carnival ship using Starlink. Thanks!

Entertaining, was surprised the bridge spoke English. Anyway, what do think? Looks like you don't have to get to your exact muster station

Hi everyone! I have a Carnival Legend cruise booked out of Dover in late August. I’ll be staying in London for three days before the cruise.
For those who’ve done this trip, is the train from London to Dover reliable enough to get to the port, or would you recommend booking the Carnival shuttle instead? I’d really appreciate any advice or recommendations. Thanks!

Planning a 9-day NCL cruise departing out of Ravenna, Italy and disembarking in Barcelona. Port calls along the way: Dubrovnik, Bar Montenegro, Salerno, Civitavecchia (Rome), Florence/Pisa, Nice, and Palma de Mallorca. Not that we would do an "all-dayer" in each port, but I'm of the mindset with AI (Chatgpt) I can put together my own tours and save tons of money. I'm an experienced traveler but haven't been to Europe in a long time. Has anyone done something like this? Seems to me that the biggest reason people book their excursions through the cruise line is to avoid missing the ship. Thoughts?

Do people really pick cruise ships based on who the Cruise Director is at the time or who it will be or let that influence their decision? I keep seeing questions asking who the CD is. I have never selected a ship or itinerary based on who the CD is.

Hey Cruisers: I've just booked my second SOLO cruise on the MSC Seascape out of Galveston for Jan 31.

I went in February 2026 and had a blast. Really re-set and worried about nothing.

Question for those of you who travel to Roatan, Honduras. On my last cruise, I took a taxi to West Beach and hung for the day. Then took a motorbike back to the ship. The day was fine. But I'm looking to do something different. Any suggestions?

I love a good massage on Port days. I love good food. Not really into zip lines, but I'll swim, hike, shop, whatever. Just want to have fun and relax and be no-stress!

We have booked a pretty expensive cruise for November but just found out my wife has a heart murmur. She isn't getting the full test until September so we don't know at this point if she will be able to travel. At this point, cancelling the cruise with the line is going to cost more than $6,000 when we don't even know if we have to cancel.

I talked to Allianz this morning and they said it wouldn't be covered.

Anyone got any recommendations?