DwayneG

I found SANFRANCISCOLOVETOURS.COM, looks like fun...2 hour tour is done in a VW bus with shag carpet and hippie paint job.  They leave from Fisherman's Wharf, about a mile from the cruise pier.  Or if you can put together a full bus (6 passengers) they'll pick up from the pier.  We already have 4 of us from the NCL Joy 4/21 11:00 AM, so we could take 2 more if you're interested.

Never been on a TA, but looking at the Epic November 2020 Barcelona to Puerto Rico.  We've been on Epic before and don't have any issues with the ship...layout is okay, and bathrooms don't bother us.  But we're wondering what activities NCL provides during all those sea days.  Do they run out of shows?  Do they have daytime activities?

If I also have the free Internet minutes does messaging within the app count against my free minutes?  Or are there seperate ways to logon to the app and the Internet (from phone)?

TripAdvisor gives a good rating to Best Western Plus San Pedro, and I see they offer free shuttle to the pier.  Has anyone had experience with this hotel?

Just finished a cruise on Dawn, had a great time.  Following advice on this board we booked shorex reservations by phone so we could use $50 per port credit.  Agent quoted prices that reflected our Gold Latitudes discount.  While aboard I checked our account on TV, found all excursions at full price, no Latitudes discount.  Went to guest services, they agreed it was wrong but needed to be fixed at shorex desk.  Shorex rep explained that the computer didn't automatically include Latitudes discount and they had to do it manually for each guest who requested it!!!  What?  So if I hadn't checked I would have to pay full price?  She did fix it, and the trip was great, but let this serve as a warning: If you qualify for Latitudes discount on shore excursions verify your prices and go to the shorex desk if it's wrong.

I watch my credit cards carefully and two months ago I saw NCL refunded $45 to my card.  No explanation, my trip showed paid in full, so I figured they had corrected an overcharge for something.  Then last week they mysteriously billed the $45 back to the card again and account still shows paid in full.  No explanation, and I'm paying exactly what I originally expected, so not a big deal.  But this looks like just what happened to OP on a smaller scale.

I cruise in 55 days.  Flights were okay, though at inconvenient times.  But seats were terrible, wife and I nowhere near each other.  Airline said plenty of seats together available but couldn't change until tickets were issued.  E-mailed air dept., no response.  Called yesterday, waited in queue for two hours fifteen minutes, but when I finally spoke to an agent they issued tickets within 10 minutes and all is well now. Went online to airline and picked seats.  Just seems like the whole thing could have been handled better.  Why 2 hour wait? Why bad seats in the first place? Why no response to e-mail? I'd like to think a huge cruise line could be more professional.

We're not big fans of wine.  Has anyone been able to substitute something non-alcoholic, such as sparkling grape juice  or cider?

Thank You, just what I needed

I am going on 11-day Canada and New England in August and chose the Specialty Dining promo.  Does this include only 3 meals or do I get more on 11 day cruise?  Wasn't able to find this anywhere in my cruise summary or NCL search.  Thanks.

We used this service several years ago. They picked up our luggage at the dock and it rode around in vans all day, then they delivered it curbside at the airport later in the day when we were done sightseeing. http://www.alohaairportdeliveryandstorage.com/Home_Page.php Their website says they still do NCL cruise pick ups.

Do we need to take our passports ashore or can we leave them in our safe? If key card and photo ID such as drivers license are enough, what about youngsters who don't have photo ID yet?

Cruising New England and Canada. I'd like to try the forward-facing suite (first suite for me), but wondered if wind is a problem. Is aft-facing better? Forward is a touch more cost, so theoretically should be preferred?

Find a friend who will check you in precisely 24 hours before the flight. Once he has reserved your boarding order number you can still wait until the airport to print your boarding pass, it will show your prized low number.

My adult son is interested in doing some fishing while in Bermuda. All the sites I've found online require chartering the whole boat, so way too expensive for just a person or two. Can anyone recommend a charter boat that will book individual passengers?

We've done it a couple of times, works fine. But those who switch will have two key cards, one to open new room and one for charges.

Be sure to take your handicapped hanger for the rental cars...in some ports you could rent the car and then come much closer to ship to pick him up.

I just laminate mine between two strips of clear packing tape. Sometimes I pack a small stapler (or borrow the hotel's) to staple them around the handles.

We had been ti HI 3 times before our cruise: once to Oahu, once to Maui, and once to visit both. Then we did the POA cruise, and I think it's a great first or even only HI trip. We found the character of each island to be very different, and I think the cruise was a good way to sample 5 ports. Then if you decide you want to re-visit any at another time you'll know which ones you like best. Oahu is bustling, with traffic jams worthy of Dallas. Other islands have more unspoiled beauty spots, and Maui has lots of outdoor activity. Give them all a try on a cruise, kind of like a hop-on hop-off bus tour.

NCL told us when to get on the bus. I know there were several buses, but they didn't ask if we had a preference. Buses did leave rather early...around 10, if I recall...because they also needed us out of the rooms to pickup luggage and turn rooms around.

We spent a couple nights at Marriott through NCL and found it to be a good idea. We checked into NCL desk on arrival, had a flower lei greeting (included). Took care of most of our paperwork there, then day of trip the bus took us to pier. Left our tagged luggage in our rooms, next saw it in our cabins. Checkin at pier was a breeze.

These benefits are only available if you book through NCL, otherwise you get no special treatment. We didn't think the price was out of line considering the convenience it afforded

We spent a couple nights at Marriott through NCL and found it to be a good idea. We checked into NCL desk on arrival, had a flower lei greeting (included). Took care of most of our paperwork there, then day of trip the bus took us to pier. Left our tagged luggage in our rooms, next saw it in our cabins. Checkin at pier was a breeze.

These benefits are only available if you book through NCL, otherwise you get no special treatment. We didn't think the price was out of line considering the convenience it afforded

And while theoretically you can order tickets in advance, each day's tickets sell out within a few minutes of availability. I think they become available about 90 days out, as I recall, and you have to be online ready to order the minute they go online or they'll all be gone.

I took my own GPS from home, programmed everything into it before I left home (fun to think of each sight as you plug it in). Saved all the time it would have taken to learn how to use a new-to-me GPS and plug in the locations. Even if you don't already have your own, it's probably cheaper to buy one then rent several on multiple islands.

Definitely go with nolatravelgirls recommendation and have a stay-at-home friend check you in! One less thing for you to worry about on your trip, plus chances are your friend will be using a truly high-speed connection, versus slow ship connection. And bring back a souvenir for the friend as a reward.