mumachaz

Thank you for taking the time to share your review.  We sail on the Seaside February 15th and are getting more excited by the day!  Would you mind sharing the price they charge to rent a YC Cabana?   We have rented a YC Oceanfront Cabana for the private island day and am curious to see if anyone has rented both and/or if they prefer to have one over the other and why. 

Thank you all for your comments, advice, and some good laughs!  My husband will wear a pair of dockers and a nice golf shirt, like he has always done in the Haven on NCL. I was more worried about the jacket and tie, I never meant to suggest that he dresses overly casual because that's simply not true.  This is vacation after all and we intend on enjoying this adventure. 

10 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

On your final question, no.  The Italians have a different concept of what dining is and it doesn't include dining in a lounge.  

 

On your first point, I've sailed in the YC twice, one in the Western Med and once to the Baltic Sea and Norweign Fjords.  In both cases I wore Dockers and  a button down shirt to the YC restaurant on the elegant nights and it was completely appropriate.  A collared golf shirt would have also been appropriate and is what I wore the other evenings.  And I'd imagine a US based cruise would be even more casual.  Shorts for men are a no no in the YC restaurant for dinner every dayday on European cruises and I'm curious to see if that is maintained on my upcoming YC Caribbean cruise a year from now.

 

If you are not comfortable with even that, you have the buffet (free) and the specialty restaurants (not free).. Or (free) room service and/or pizza in your room.or

 

Don't sweat it.  You are going to have a great time.

I'm really concerned about regular dining in the YC.  Are you saying that my husband cannot wear shorts into the YC restraurant for dinner?  This is our vacation.  We are required to dress up for work every day.  While vacationing, we prefer to dress casually.  Are men required to wear dress pants and dress shoes in the YC restaurant each evening.  We have sailed the Haven on NCL and if we didn't choose to dress up we could order room service and dine in our room.  MSC's rooms do not have dining tables or chairs in the suites.  I'm curious what others do if they choose not to dress up for dinner each night. 

4 hours ago, capriccio said:

For our upcoming first cruise on MSC I booked through the TA I've used for years.  She handled the paper work for our 10% civil servant discount and then added her 7% discount to the fare.  No muss, no fuss!

I've never heard of the 10% Civil Servant Discount.  Could you tell me where I might find out more information about this?  

 We add international calling on our Verizon account every time we travel.  It is $10 per month to make international calls from Mexico.  We call right before we go and then cancel when we return.  We've never had any issues.  

The fish swim upstream!  

13 minutes ago, havanadaydreaming said:

i think zq nailed it. 

 

we're headed on cruise this weekend and plan on hitting the pool at Harvest Caye - inexpensive + sun + water = good times.  I don't do the pools on the ship so I love getting to some at port.  

 

Costa - heard lots of positive buzz on Tropicante, I'm debating heading there too.  My wife loves massages and she can get one on the cheap there.  plus, I can have a could adult beverages waterside and even check out the bookstore, which I'm fascinated by the fact it exists there.

 

Cozumel has lots of access to all inclusive resorts for a day, tends to be the most affordable place in the Caribbean for day passes in my opinion.  Cozumel has three ports and I've only been to one, on Carnival.  Lots of shops, hard to find the exit!  There are a few bars and restaurants on the water to boot.  Cabs, if memory serves, are a bit pricey...but necessary to get downtown. it's a loooooong walk!

Costa Maya - We've been to Tropicante 3 times and it's our absolute favorite.   The beach is amazing and the water is absolutely perfect.  They will provide you with free lounge chairs & umbrellas and all they ask in return is that you purchase your food and drinks from them. The food is excellent and very reasonably priced.  You couldn't ask for a better place to spend a beach day. 

Roatan - the ship practically docks next to the port so it's a very short walk to the shops.  There are several small shops as well as a nice outdoor coffee shop.  At best we've spent 2 hours walking around.  If you're not going to go on an excursion, it's not a bad place to walk around, although there really isn't much to see.

Belize - There isn't much at the port if you're actually going to Belize, but we have also spent some time walking around and having our obligatory photo at the Belize sign.  (It's actually a fun thing to do!)  If you're going to the private island, the pool is fantastic but the drink prices will send you right back to the ship.

Enjoy your trip!

Thank you all for your quick responses. You have been extremely helpful and I truly appreciate your efforts in helping me with this planning.  Regards! 

Hello all, I know that there is a place to find this information, but I can't seem to locate the thread.  We will be flying into Orlando the day before our cruise.  Can you tell me your experiences, the good, bad, and ugly, with getting transportation to the port?  Thanks in advance.  

We go to Tropicante every time we visit Costa Maya. You pay a $3/person taxi ride to Tropicante and they provide you with beach chairs, tables, and umbrellas. They ask that you purchase food from their restaurant - that's it, no charge to be there. Their food is good and very reasonably priced, in fact it's cheap. You will love this day. https://www.facebook.com/Tropicante-Ameri-Mex-Grill-125417864172150/

You can get Grey Goose Bloody Mary's all over the ship! They are included with the UBP. Enjoy!

Holy bleep Disney's prices are higher than NCL.What do you get for that price, besides a prettier boat and Mickey? I've heard the food is largely equivalent.

My husband and I took our 8 year old granddaughter on the Disney Fantasy in 2014. We had a fantastic time and I would highly recommending doing a Disney cruise once. The highlights included fantastic entertainment: a screening of "Frozen" (again it was 2014 and the movie was new...and she was 8); off the chart live shows; an interactive scavenger hunt; the water slide; and of course swimming. The activities for families and children were wonderful and exactly what you would expect from Disney. We had two main complaints that are personal, and others may find our negatives to be enjoyable, but for us, when we decided to cruise again, we looked for other options.

First, dining. The food was very comparable to NCL, it was good, no complaints, but it wasn't anything that would make you say that "it was the best meal I've ever had." Our problem was the assigned dinner times and tables. On Disney you either eat at 5:00 or 7:00, I believe. Based on when we booked, we were given the later seating. Frankly, how does Disney know when we'll be hungry? We found our assigned time too late for an 8 year old. After dinner we were tired and found ourselves falling a sleep in the shows that were attended at 9:00 pm. That's just too late for children. The other issue was that they assigned us to sit with another family, all of whom did not speak English. Not only was this uncomfortable for all of us, but it just didn't make sense. After many calls, it took Disney 3 days to give us another seating assignment. We love that NCL lets you eat when and where you want. You don't have to share your family dinner time with others. Now, again, others may find this as a positive. For us, it wasn't how we wanted to spend our family vacation time.

Second, still...dining. Dressing for dinner every evening really got to be a bit much. Again, some people may find that part of the thrill of a cruise, but for us, we wanted a more relaxed vacation. That doesn't mean that we dress like bums on NCL, it just means that we're comfortable in cruise casual - no dress shoes for my husband makes him a happy camper. We're from Michigan, and anytime that we can wear flip flops or sandals in March - it's a good thing!

I truly think that you'll be happy with either cruise line, it just depends on which overall experience you're most interested in. I'm not saying that we won't be cruising Disney again, just saying that for now, when it's just my husband and I cruising, NCL is the very best choice for us. We'll be enjoying our third cruise on the Getaway next month and have already booked NCL again for a 2018 cruise.

Better bang for your buck is an AFT Balcony on the 9th floor. The balcony is as long as the room and you can fit 2 lounge chairs as well as 2 regular chairs and a table. Some of the balcony is in the shade and some has sun. Look at videos on Youtube to see.

True Story! We had 9916 last year and it was out of this world. We had a table plus four chairs and four loungers on our deck. I never wanted to leave.

We loved Tropicante. We visited it in 2014 while on a Disney Cruise. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we are returning on on NCL Getaway Cruise this April. Enjoy!:)

Greetings!

We have eight people traveling in our group. We will all be arriving at different times at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport on April 23rd for a cruise on the Getaway. I'm looking for suggestions for a hotel. We will not have any rental cars. While we're a flexible group, we'd like the following things:

1.) A hotel that has a restaurant or one where we can walk to get a nice dinner.

2.) A hotel bar would be a plus.

3.) Free breakfast.

4.) Hotel shuttles.

5.) A hotel that will store our luggage while we stay over one night following the cruise.

Suggestions? Would you recommend staying in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami? Thank you in advance.

We booked the cruise 7 days before sailing. We had a Balcony room and paid exactly $200 less per person than what they have as their advertised price right now for your trip next July 4th.

As an FYI - I didn't see anything spectacular for the 4th of July. There were a few tacky paper decorations and many people had "flag" t-shirts, but there weren't fireworks or anything that necessarily celebrated the holiday.

I didn't feel that we over-paid for our vacation and we were able to take advantage of the Free Unlimited Beverage Package. It was our first NCL cruise and we enjoyed it so much that we've booked again for next April.

After viewing all of your comments and suggestions I have cancelled the QuickSilver Transportation Company. We have decided to do the rental car option, which for us will be a savings of nearly $150.00. As we are arriving in Florida on Friday we were able to secure a full-size rental car for $80.00; the same car is costing us $120.00 at the end of the cruise, because it's a weekend rental, but we are pleased with our decision.

We found a lovely hotel in Melbourne that we'll be staying in the Saturday after the cruise and then traveling to Orlando on Sunday before departing. For us the rental car option will allow us the flexibility to explore Melbourne if our hotel room isn't ready at 10am (which we're sure it won't be) and we can leave on our time and not have the worry of being on the transportation companies schedule.

Again, I thank you all for your suggestions. We are over the moon with excitement and anticipation for our Fantasy cruise that beings in 22 days!

Could you tell me what sites you use to determine reviews? I'm currently looking at Mouseplanet and they reviews are very old. The reviews on Trip Advisor are very old too...thus my worry.

I've booked with Quicksilver Tours and Transportation but I'm not sure if I've made the right choice. Has anyone had experience with this company, good, bad or indifferent? We're arriving the night before the cruise, planning on staying at the Country Inn & Suites at Cape Canaveral and then staying one night after the cruise at the Raddison Oceanfront in Melbourne before heading back to the airport.

I'm worrying myself sick that something will go wrong with the transportation so your comments and/or suggestions would be very welcomed.

Thanks!

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I've got so much to think about that I'm afraid my head may burst!!! :o

Thank you everyone for the awesome responses.

Moki's Mom - I found the information on the Stingray Excursion that you mentioned. I was surprised that DCL is only $10 more, however the DCL adventure doesn't include the reef snorkeling. I think that we will explore your suggestion further.

All - We won't have an extra day in Orlando, except for the day we leave the ship. Our flight leaves the following morning. Considering the time it takes to exit the ship, obtain travel, etc. is the Orlando Dolphin adventure something that's really do-able? We have booked a hotel on the ocean and planned to spend a relaxing day swimming and hanging out prior to our flight home.

Again, thanks for all of the advice. You've given me so much to think about!

Thank you for the quick response. I didn't realize that there is a stingray opportunity on CC. I will look into that. Regarding the Excaret excursion, do you think that it's something that a child who just had her 8th birthday would be able to do? She's a good swimmer and loves the water. Also, if we were to switch to the Excaret excursion does anyone know if the dolphin swim on Grand Cayman is a good choice?

Thanks again. I don't know what I'd do without these boards!

First I'd like to thank everyone for answering all of my questions. We're new cruising and are taking our first cruise in March. I've booked Port Excursions for each port, but I'm really not sure if I've made good choices for the places we're visiting. I know that these adventures are subjective, but I'd really appreciate your comments and/or suggestions. My husband and I are taking our 8 year old granddaughter on this trip, her dream is to swim with the dolphins so that is a MUST, the other things are pretty flexible.

1.) Grand Cayman - Day 3 - Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar Snorkel.

2.) Costa Maya - Day 4 - Jungle Beach Break

3.) Cozumel - Day 5 - Dolphin Push Pull and Swim

Also, I've booked the Pirate Deluxe Maiden Package for her the night of the Pirate Party. We've taken her to Disney World the last three years (ages 5, 6, and 7) and she loved the Princess make-overs but didn't want that now that she just turned 8! She is however, very excited about the Pirate makeover.

Thanks again, looking forward to your comments.

Thank you so much for posting your reply with pictures! I truly appreciate the thoughtful response.

Thanks to both of you for the quick response. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.