debenson0723

Interesting...I haven't done that on any of my cruises since the restart but last one on NCL was in February (from Port Canaveral) so must be a change. Enjoy your cruise...super jealous! 😉

You do the virtual appointment from home or the hotel prior to your cruise with your own test.

You can decline the drink package and not pay the $20 per day gratuities with the Free at Sea package.

You can use the gift card or the app on the ships that have a 'real' Starbucks (most of the Breakaway, Breakaway+ ships).

Not cruise related but a reflection of the airlines right now. Coworker had a red-eye flight to DC last Friday night (7/1). They were on the plane, in their seat when the flight was cancelled! Got off with everyone else, first available flight was Sunday. Ironic part is his checked bag is still in DC...somehow it got there but he didn't! Full refund but no additional compensation from American. 2nd coworker had a flight for 7am Saturday morning to Philly. Got a phone call Friday at 6pm that flight was cancelled. If they could get to the airport in 2 hours, there were 2 seats on a flight to Philly with an 11 hour layover in Denver, otherwise Sunday. This was on American also. I am going on Prima in September and arriving in Europe 6 days early. Just get me on the Continent and I will get to Southampton somehow!

I have sailed NCL many times and there was only one or two times that I had something in the MDR that I didn't enjoy. Not sure what 'better' offerings are but food is subjective so what is better to you may not be for me. Personally, I am not a fan of cruise line lobster on any line. That being said, I have done cruises where I only ate in the specialty restaurants every night..nothing against the MDR, it just worked out that way.

That's what I was wondering also. I charge my devices while sleeping or when I come back into the room to nap, freshen up for the evening or whenever I am there. Never saw a need to leave anything plugged in while gone.

Trivago is owned by Expedia. Booking.com is owned by Priceline.

There are reports that Walgreens is going to start charging $129 in the near future.

Lots and lots of transfer (and other info) here on the British ports board. Are NCL transfers even available if you don't come in day of cruise? We are coming in 1 to 2 days early so are doing the National Express bus. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

This is a document that was received in June by one of our Roll Call members in regards to the new Latitudes dinner vouchers. Kind of hard to read but the yellow highlighted area states that the 1st voucher can be used at Cagney's, Le Bistro, Onda and Ocean Blue (with a bottle of wine) and the 2nd voucher can be "redeemed at any other specialty dining package qualifying restaurant towards a dinner for two".

Which ship are you looking at? Are you more interested in price or location? If price, then your best no additional charges would be the Sailaway rate...lowest price but you don't get to pick the location. You get what you get. I have found that on the Bliss and Encore, you will see much more of Alaska from the Waterfront or Observation Lounge...you aren't limited to just the view from your balcony.

The Platinum dinner certificates have changed. It is now one dinner for two at either Cagney's or LeBistro and the 2nd dinner for two can be for any other specialty restaurant on board (since new ships do not have Moderno or LaCucina).

We stayed at an airport hotel the night prior to our PC cruise and had a shuttle pick us up at the hotel. No need to go back to the airport. There are many shuttle options on the Florida Departures forum on Cruise Critic. We chose a private car service that was great...met us in the lobby, loaded our luggage and we had a very relaxing start to our cruise. Took the NCL shuttle back to PC as we needed to go to the airport to rent a car. First bus left PC at 9am, we were at MCO by 9:50 and as soon as we were off, they started reloading to go back.

We grabbed a Scrabble game from the Card Room on the Encore and took it back to the Haven one night. We were in the completely empty lounge and had a great time. You do you.

The Florida departures forum will have many shuttle recommendations from Orlando to PC. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/

Are you staying overnight in this hotel room or is your flight at 9:30pm the same day you disembark? If the latter, just google 'day use hotel Seattle' and you will get some options with day rates (most major cities have this service). They typically have options for 4, 6 or 8 hour stays at various rates. Major hotels like to do this because depending on how long you use the room, they can possibly rent it twice in one day.

The horn works! 😄

I hope you had travel insurance.. And I agree with you about the Miami airport...I have flown into/out of FLL for my last 2 cruises out of Miami.

The port in PC itself is not difficult...it is just getting there from Orlando. We did this in February and booked a very nice private car service which wasn't that much more expensive than a shuttle. We actually had a harder time finding a way back to Orlando and took the NCL bus, which was fine (but that was more on us not being able to make a decision than anything else). I enjoyed the Escape but would chose the Encore for the Observation Lounge (really missed that) and the Specialty restaurant, Onda.

If there is a particular city you want to see, the best advice has always been to go there on land and not depend on a cruise. Even if the port isn't cancelled, there is always the possibility that the excursion could be (or delayed)l. You aren't going to see much of Paris by going to Le Havre; the bus ride alone is a few hours each way. The Siene river cruise is nice but what if the weather is bad? When I wanted to see Paris I flew and spend 5 days there (still didn't see everything) then took the train to London. As for Berlin, I did the same thing...flew there a few days prior and took the train to Warnemunde to catch the ship. I have no idea why the port is missing but enjoy your time in the Haven.

It's on the first page, about 10 posts below this one.

Just so you know, this is your check in time at the port, not your actual boarding time. You will board the ship once it has been cleared and cleaned, typically around 11:30am-noon, depending on port and ship. So no need to rush if you oversleep.

Thank you for this information. Also sailing in September from Southampton on a Friday and think I would rather do the test there on Thursday than in London on Wednesday (if still needed at that time).

When and where will you be on the Bliss? I have had different wi-fi experiences on the Bliss in Alaska vs. Mexico or the Caribbean.