I sail out on Sunday for a 7-day from L.A. to Mexico. Apparently, there's a tropical storm/hurricane in progress or approaching. I have never sailed in bad weather so far. I trust that they'll cancel if needed. But in case we do sail, what can I expect? Will they shut down the waterslide and other outdoor activities onboard? I didn't book any excursions; I just planned to enjoy the ship.

I live near MIA and FLL cruise ports that I can just take a cab too, and I haven’t taken advantage of doing last-minute cruises.

Any advice on when/how to book?

I’ll be traveling solo (and am okay paying for a two person/occupancy room).

I’d like to get the best deal possible. When do those typically pop up? Should I book a week in advance or a day before?

This is our first River Trip, slated to leave on Sept 12th. It has been a "once in a lifetime" wish to travel by boat down the Rhine. We were just informed 2 weeks before the trip that our itinerary has been updated. The e-mail was very vague sounded like it would be minor- it IS NOT!!! We are now NOT traveling to the towns as promised. We are instead spending 2 nites in Amsterdam then headed to Antwerp, Belgium (not on the itinerary) where we will take a day long bus trip to Strasbourg. We will be getting on a different boat there and staying 2 nites. Self guided tours and more long bus trips to other towns. We will have 3 days of floating on a river and 4+ days of being bussed to towns. This is not what I would consider a "River Trip". We signed up for $1500 worth of Travel Insurance thru Ama that will be lost if we don't keep the reservation. We are being offered to switch to a Fall excursion or 2027 Trip but due to the late correspondence we can't change the rest of our trip that flanks the pre and post "River Trip". On top of that Ama messed up our original booking that we placed back in March. We had worked with an Ama agent for a week and once we were about to sign up/ finalize everything the cost came in $3500 more per couple (we are going with friends). I guess we should have run at that point but Ama came back with a minimal discount to retain our business. I was aware of the river levels and had called Ama twice to discuss but they insisted it would be ok and that was plenty of time for the river levels to rise. HA!!! By that time cancellation obviously not possible.

RECOMMENDATION: Stay clear. Go with a different outfit or go by land on your own!!

Carnival Breeze sustained damage this morning while docking at Cozumel. Pictures taken from Carnival Jubilee

Hi! I’ve gone on cruises in the past and enjoyed them, but my husband has never cruised before and is hesitant to go on one because he thinks he will get bored. We are considering taking an Alaska cruise over a land tour because we think it might offer the most accessible way to see more of Alaska. I was wondering which cruise lines might be the best for us? We are hoping to enjoy great food, amazing onboard entertainment, and relaxing excursions where we can take in the breathtaking views of Alaska. Our budget is about $15,000 for a 7-day itinerary. Thank you!

Carnival Cruise Lines’ new loyalty/rewards program has officially launched.

You can read the program details here but in short, guests will earn points and stars on all their Carnival purchases. Points can be redeemed for towards your cruise fare or various things like Wi-Fi, shore excursions, drinks, etc. However, Carnival has not released any point valuations, so it remains to be seen how valuable those points actually are.

Stars will be used to determine a guest’s status in the program, starting at Red and going to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond (the same tiers as VIFP). Guests who earned Diamond prior to today will keep the status for life, and guests who earned Platinum prior to today will be lifetime Gold. However, from this point forward there is no lifetime status. Status will have to be earned every two years, much like airlines and hotels.

I’m really curious if any other cruise lines will follow in Carnival’s footsteps. On one hand the program change rightfully pissed off a lot of guests, so much so that they had to walk part of it back and let Diamonds keep lifetime status. On the other hand, Carnival bookings remain strong and they continue to serve lots of first time cruisers or once a year cruisers who probably don’t care about a loyalty program. If this new program drives additional revenue (especially with their co-branded credit card), I can totally see other cruise lines at least considering it.

Hi, my girlfriend and I are heading on our first Caribbean cruise in December and I would like to buy a nice piece of jewelry while there.

Any suggestions on reputable shops? I am not going to go crazy as we have not been together for that long, but would to get her something nice on our first cruise together.

Thanks in Advance

Set sail from Kiel today.

Hi,

We are thinking of booking this cruise for our upcoming honeymoon. Has anyone been on this cruise?

It would also be our first cruise, is there anything we should know? Do we need to book excursions or can explore on our own? Any advice on the deck we should choose?

Thanks!

Edit: more details - Mariner of the seas; Barcelona, Mallorca, Malaga, Tangier, Casablanca, Madeira, Porto, Lisbon

Just saw the news that Princess has removed Princess Cays from all published itineraries beginning in November 2026, with calls changing to Celebration Key and RelaxAway Half Moon Cay.

It almost looks like Carnival is building a strategy exclusively around two private different destinations: Celebration Key for activities, pools and entertainment, and Half Moon Cay for a more traditional beach day. If so, this explains why Princess Cays is being dropped since it is basically a Half Moon Cay without a pier or as much investment.

That would also be a downgrade for Princess passengers. Drinks have historically been included at Princess Cays, while they are not included at Celebration Key at all and I don't believe that drink packages from other cruise lines work at HMC.

So what happens to the island? Carnival has not said anything, but if it is eliminating Princess Cays from its portfolio, there are some interesting possibilities. Disney's Lighthouse Point is right next door. Could Disney expand it even though it just opened? Could Margaritaville at Sea buy it? And if Universal really does enter the cruise market, could this be an opportunity for a new player to buy an existing private resort with infrastructure already in place?

Pure speculation, but the timing is certainly interesting.

What do you think happens to Princess Cays?

https://www.princesscruisesblog.com/blog/princess-cays-news-ending-calls

Hello! My family (3 kids under 10) did our first cruise in August on the Disney Destiny. This turned out to be such a fantastic experience that we are looking to make this a quarterly trip. We are looking at taking our next cruise in November.

The two cruises that caught our eye are the Disney Dream and Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas both sailing out of Fort Lauderdale on 11/09. Because we booked a placeholder while on our previous cruise the booking cost is a minimal difference for our family of 5.

What is not included when sailing on the Oasis of the Seas? Which will have better food options? Is CocoCay or Lookout Cay a better beach experience? How crowded does Oasis feel on sea days?

Any other advice, recommendations, suggestions you have I’d love to hear them.

So in 2028 we are getting on our first princess cruise for 16 nights headed through the Panama Canal (FL->CA). We never did Princess before but has sailed Carnival, MSC, Disney, Royal, and Celebrity. Of what I’ve sailed, Celebrity is my favorite. I keep telling myself Princess is going to be similar to that of Celebrity, but I want to know people’s honest opinions and thoughts. We are going on the Emerald Princess.

What is the best way to book a cruise for a family of 5? It’s for my middle child’s high school graduation and she wants to cruise the Bahamas. 2 parents/3 kids ages 20F, 17F and 14M. We like Norwegian, as I (Mom) have taken the 2 girls and stayed in an inside cabin and are comfortable with that line. Should we book 2 rooms or a suite? I know this will be expensive, but I want to keep cost down and still keep it enjoyable. Thank you for any advice.

EDIT: Thank you, everyone for your great suggestions!!

While sailing, what is the strangest thing you have ever seen in the sea at night? Either something you couldn’t explain or that remains a mystery till the day.

I’m trying to book a cruise for May of next year on the Norwegian Escape. My girlfriend and I are both 20 right now but we will both be 21 by the time of sailing. The website will not let me book the cruise because neither of us are 21 in spite of the fact that we will be on embarkation day. Do I really need to wait until I’m 21 to book this cruise?

Thanks.

Hey all, my family is planning our very first cruise trip for this NYE holiday. We're a group of siblings along with our partners, majority being in the late 20s-30s age range. But also we have a couple older family members coming including those in the 70+ age range. We also may have one infant coming too.

We're very flexible with where we can depart, the only real requirements are (1) Cruise departs in the USA (2) Cruise overlaps with New Years (3) no more than about 1,000 USD / person. After some research I've found these options:

Norwegian Dawn

• 5 Nights, Dec 28 to Jan 2
• Jacksonville FL --> Grand Bahama Island --> Nassau --> Great Stirrup Cay --> Jacksonville
• $929 inside $1029 outside

Adventure of the Seas

• 6 Nights, Dec 27 to Jan 2
• Ft. Lauderdale --> Cozumel --> Puerto Costa Maya --> Nassau --> Ft. Lauderdale
• $1069 inside, $1671 outside (too high)

Celebrity Summit

• 7 Nights, Dec 27 to Jan 3
• Tampa --> Key West --> Bimini --> Nassau --> Tampa
• $1024 inside $1109 outside

My understanding is these ships are a little older, but I suppose we're ok with that (our very first cruise). We don't care as much about the loud party vibe, hence avoiding Carnival. Any suggestions on what to pick? Or if anyone has other recommendations or thoughts, please do share.

Cheers!

Edit: Another option I just came across

MSC Seashore

• 7 Nights, Dec 27 to Jan 3
• Orlando --> Puerto Plata --> Nassau --> Ocean Cay --> Orlando
• $779 inside $891 outside

As soon as I get in the room I turn the temp all the way down. I get a blanket but rarely use it. I don't take apart the bed but just sleep on top so there is less work for the room stewart plus slightly more padding on the bed.

I often get hot to the point I get up and sit on the couch to let the bed cool back down. I am looking for ideas of something to bring to put on top to help stay cool.

I looked online and found things for a normal bed I don't think would work so well for traveling on the cruise. I drive to the port so having an extra bag for something is no problem. I already bring my own pillows. Does anyone have ideas? Something they might already use.

Hi everyone, I just went on my first cruise, a 7-night trip through southeast Alaska. I had an amazing time and did not feel seasick at all, although I could definitely feel the swaying of the boat.

During our 3 port days, I noticed that my brain was still perceiving the swaying motion even though I was on solid land. I didn't really think much of it, only being off the ship for a few hours at a time.

Its now been 4 days and I'm still experiencing the swaying and rocking both in my vision and as a physical sensation, even though I am definitely stationary.

Is this normal, or should it have gone away by now? Is there anything I can do to fix it? I don't feel nauseas or "sea sick," just like I am still on a boat.

Taking an MSC cruise out of Port Canaveral. On the return day we are considering renting a car. We have an evening flight out of MCO, but wanted to visit some friends near the Orlando area during the day. Does it make sense to rent a car with the drop off at MCO or should we just Uber everywhere?

I’m looking to book one for 2027, preferably Glacier Bay for 10-14 days with my 2 kids either late May or late July.

I found a few but I’m unsure how they cater to kids. My kids went on a Disney Caribbean cruise last summer and loved it. They aren’t Disney maniacs but loved the different rooms and experiences. Mostly the kids club was their favorite. My son also liked the water slides but sounds like that is hard in Alaska regardless.

I like the idea of Princess and saw the older Princess ship is available at good deals, but unsure of the age factor 2008 vs 2022.

I’d like an awesome kids club they can enjoy on the boat, bonus for heated pools or covers, good flexible dining unlike Disney. Maybe kids movies under the stars. Ideally Glacier Bay, but if you have alternative options, I’m open. Great kid excursions too!

We see a lot of cruise decisions start with the ship, which makes sense given how much newer ships have onboard.

But the itinerary can completely change the experience. You could sail the exact same ship twice and have two very different trips depending on the ports, number of sea days, and how much time you actually spend onboard.

What usually wins when you have to choose: the ship or the itinerary?

We are planning a trip to Egypt. Can anyone share feedback about their experience with the smaller sailboat Nile cruises?

I just got off of my very first cruise and im sitting here wondering how can I go back to real life.

I went solo on msc seascape and met so many people. Most were great a few weirdos and a husband that wanted me to cuck him.

I did everything from a pretty good dinner, theater and clubbing in la cabaret Rouge almost every night.

It was predominantly old people and families. I blame myself for not doing enough research.

Overall I think I love cruising .