Revised on 02/12/26
This page references posts which do not fit into the categories of cruising lessons, cruise reviews, cruise tips, or cruise photos.
Cruise Lines:
- MSC (USA Cruises).
- One device internet packages may be used on only one device during
a cruise. (Other cruise lines allow switching devices using a single
internet connection.)
- Many MSC studio cabins have non-operational virtual portholes.
- Studio cabin closet doors cannot be opened fully when the sofa-bed
is used as a bed.
- Pizza served on MSC's ships is exceptional, and as good as a NYC
Pizzeria. - NCL.
- Most ships have solo cabins, priced without typical solo supplement.
- NCL has the only 7-day Closed loop Cruise through the Hawaiian
Islands.
- NCL hires its own Bermuda ferry to transport cruisers between the
Royal Naval Dockyards area and St. George,
- NCL uses its own Ward's Cove port area to service Ketchikan, AK.
(A shuttle is used to transport people between Ward's Cove and
Ketchikan.)
- Unlike many other cruise lines, NCL charges extra for cabin mates
to use the NCL App as a walkie-talkie for onboard "text" messages. - Princess.
- Princess's Medallion replaces the typical cruise card (key card)
used by most cruise lines for entry to one's cabin, charging goods
and services to one's onboard account, and monitor who is on or
off the ship.
- Princess's in-cabin free entertainment options (TV) are robust. A
large number of movies and TV shows are available on demand,
including many episodes of "The Love Boat" TV series.
- Princess is one of the few cruise lines which are allowed to sail into
Glacier Bay national park. US Park Rangers will board these ships
when entering Glacier Bay and provide educational narration while
ships sail through the bay. - Cunard.
- Cunard's technology is behind the times. Instead of having an App
which can be downloaded to one's phone ahead of a cruise, Cunard
has a website which can be used while cruising to perform the same
functions of a typical cruise line App.
- Although Cunard's onboard website performs many functions of a
typical cruise line App, it does not provide for onboard walkie-talkie
texting between cruisers.
- Cunard's website does not have a straight forward way of accessing
cruise check-in functions. I had to contact Cunard's customer
service to complete my online check-in. - Virgin Voyages.
- Like Princess, Virgin Voyages uses a wearable token instead of using
a cruise card. (More information to be provided after our next cruise.)
Cruise Repricing / Upgrades:
- Cruise lines can and will change cabin prices up to the last day that a cabin can be sold. In many cases for cruises sold in the US, people can ask the cruise line (usually, via their travel agent) to either honor the current price for the cruise, or to offer upgrades for the cruise.
I have had mixed results asking for a reprice / cruise upgrade. When we found that the price of our Virgin Voyages cruise had dropped, we had asked for either a reprice or an upgrade. Virgin refused, saying that our fare type prohibited this. However, when we saw something similar happen with our Cunard cruise, we asked for a reprice or an upgrade, and we were upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony cabin.
- Assuming a person in the US has made either a refundable deposit or an ultra-low deposit that can be forfeited, it is possible to cancel then rebook a cruise to get the lower cruise fare. This tactic only works before final payment date (usually 3-4 months before the cruise sails), and is being made harder to use due to the growth of non-refundable deposits when booking cruises.
- City Pairings.
In many cases (especially in Europe), the ocean port city is different than the city associated with the cruise stop. The following city pairs are examples of ocean port cities and their associated inland cities:
- Southampton, UK - London, UK
- Le Havre, France - Paris, France
- Civitavecchia, Italy - Rome, Italy
- Pireaus, Greece - Athens, Greece
- Warnemünde, Germany - Berlin, Germany
There are many other city pairs that can be added to this list. Be prepared
to travel 90 to 180 minutes between the port and its associated inland city. - Cruise Terminal Locations.
- Industrial Port Zones:
Many cruise terminals are located in a city's industrial port zone. For
example, Royal Caribbean's NYC area cruise terminal at Port Liberty is
located near Newark's container terminals. Often, one will need to take
some form of shuttle from the cruise terminal to get to/from the terminal's
associated city.
- New York Area Cruise Terminals.
New York City has 3 cruise terminals located within the metropolitan area:
Manhattan, NYC
Brooklyn, NYC
Bayonne, NJ
Only one of these, the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, is located within
walking distance of the NYC Subway and NYC Buses. The Brooklyn
Cruise Terminal is in an industrial area, easy to reach by a ferry to/from
Downtown Manhattan, but hard to reach by other mass transit. The
Bayonne Cruise Terminal (Port Liberty) is not accessible using mass
transit available from either side of the Hudson river.
- Los Angeles Area Cruise Terminals.
Los Angeles has 2 cruise terminals in its metropolitan area:
Long Beach
San Pedro (2 piers)
Unlike New York, neither of these terminals are accessible by mass transit
from the city's center. Like much of California, access to these terminals is
primarily by car, although San Pedro is accessible via shuttle bus from the
Los Angeles International Airport.
- San Francisco Area Cruise Terminals.
San Francisco has 2 cruise terminals in the heart of town. Both terminals
are on the Embarcadero: Pier 27 and Pier 35. Of these terminals, Pier 27
is the main cruise terminal, with Pier 35 only used when 2 ships are in port
at the same time.
Being in the heart of town, San Francisco's cruise terminals are easily
accessed by mass transit and by car. However, there is little parking
available for cruisers near the cruise terminals.
- San Diego Cruise Terminals.
There are two Cruise Terminals in San Diego. The main Cruise terminal
is the B Street Pier & Cruise Ship Terminal (1140 N. Harbor Dr.), with an
overflow terminal at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier (1000 N. Harbor
Dr.)
I've sailed into the main Cruise terminal on my two visits to San Diego, and
it is reachable via nearby mass transit. However, there is no parking at
the terminal. Parking is available for cruisers at nearby hotels.
- Philadelphia Cruise Terminal (PhilaPort).
As of April 2026, Philadelphia's new cruise terminal will open near its
airport, replacing the former Navy Yard terminal. Its location is a relatively
short cab ride from Center City, and may be reached by mass transit.
However, parking for cruisers is not located at the cruise terminal proper
(from what I've read), but is nearby and may be reached via shuttle bus.
- Boston Cruise Terminal (Flynn Cruiseport):
Boston's 2 cruise ship piers are located near the center of the city.
They are reachable by car and mass transit. However, if one uses mass
transit to reach the terminal, one will need to make multiple transfers
between subway and buses or between buses and buses to reach the
piers.
Note: I have been in other cruise terminals in the United States (such as
Miami, FL and Fort Lauderdale, FL), but do not know enough about
the city and its port area to provide useful information.
Cruise Ship Services:
- Laundry.
Some cruise lines have self-service washers/dryers available to cruisers to launder their own clothes. This can be very important on a long cruise, as it is cheaper to launder one's own clothes than to send it to the ship's laundry service. I have taken a random sample of ships from each of the lines below to provide an idea of what laundry services are available:
- Carnival: Self-Service Laundry NOT available on all ships.
Other laundry services are available.
- Princess Cruises: Provides self-service laundry rooms on most ships,
often located on passenger decks, with options to purchase detergent
and fabric softener. Other laundry services are available.
- Cunard: Offers self-service laundry rooms with complimentary
soap and fabric softener. Other laundry services are available.
- Holland America: Self-Service Laundry NOT available.
Other laundry services are available.
- Disney Cruise Line: Provides self-service laundry facilities on several
decks. Other laundry services are available.
(Note: I can not verify self-service laundry from my own experience.)
- Royal Caribbean: Self-Service Laundry NOT available.
Other laundry services are available.
- Celebrity Cruises: Self-Service Laundry NOT available.
Other laundry services are available.
- Norwegian: Self-Service Laundry NOT available.
Other laundry services are available.
- MSC: Self-Service Laundry NOT available.
Other laundry services are available.
- Virgin Voyages: Self-Service Laundry NOT available.
Other laundry services are available.
If Self-Service Laundry or other laundry services are important to you, please do your own research for the ship you plan to cruise on before booking a trip on that ship.
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