Sundiego

8 hours ago, 2013N00sa said:

I have had the 10% off Bliss one in my account for awhile as well. We sailed to Alaska in April of this year. While looking for a European cruise this summer, I noticed a 10% Future Cruise Discount in my account. Expired 5/31/24, we got back from the Alaska cruise on 4/29/24. Applied the 10% discount to a July 4th Viva sailing out Venice (Trieste). Glad I checked.

Same for us. DH and I both had the 10% Bliss coupon on the account and then I happened to see the 10% European cruise coupon on DH's account a few months ago. No interest in Bliss Alaska but we booked the Euro 🙂

Denise

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

My advice, if you want a private tour, is to simply book a tour in Paris from a local company or "Tours by Locals."  Then you simply take the train (the generally run every hour) and arrange where to meet your tour guide.

 

Hank

Thanks for your thoughtful reply Hank. I always appreciate how much you give to the CC community!

Actually we aren't interested in a tour so much. Especially in Paris where we are pretty independent travelers. I was more looking for a path of least resistance getting to Paris and maybe seeing something along the way. Looks like it will be the train for us 🙂

Denise

3 hours ago, IAcruising said:

As Platinum, it's a bit surprising you even have to ask about these things.

 

We're Sapphire and I still ask questions like this. So many helpful people here to refresh my memory. We cruise different lines and it's hard to track all the details sometimes.

Denise

Our cruise ends in La Havre and we're planning on a hotel stay in Paris after the cruise. We're experienced travelers and have no problem doing the train from Le Havre. But then I got to thinking...

When we cruised out of Southampton UK, there were plenty of options for tours between London and Southampton cruise port (via Windsor Castle, via Stonehenge, etc.) Does anyone know of anything similar for France? Is this an option? Maybe the ride from Le Havre to central Paris is not that interesting?

Thanks!

Denise

2 hours ago, pghflyer said:

This is why I find the cruise I am interested in and then set a price alert on a monitoring site like cruiseplum

Same.

My booking was re-fared due to price drop. Have a new promo code "NATOBC3". In looking at my perks, it might be $100 obc x 2 ($100 per passenger).

Best wishes to you both!

Denise

In the old days, a jetpack on a Verizon plan was a piece of hardware and served the same purpose as a hotspot on your phone does today. It tethered your laptop to your phone so your laptop could use your mobile data plan.

Fast forward to today...  @jack300s, we don't have Verizon so I'm not familiar with their International plans. We have Tmobile and use mobile data in the various ports, even from our balcony if the signal is strong enough from the "local village". We only use ship's wifi when truly at sea. And maybe not even then if it's frustratingly slow (pre-Starlink).

Hope that helps!

Denise

@Hlitner, @simplyrubies - thanks very much for the info on the Flixbus. Sounds like a great solution for us!

Denise

On 3/20/2024 at 1:37 PM, D&N said:

 

I'd say that's a best case scenario and booking an overnight stay would be far safer.

Thank you so much for your detailed response!

Denise

Hi helpful people!

Our cruise ends in Le Havre and we're flying home from Paris. We'll go straight from the ship to CDG, not going into the city.

So my question, what is the earliest flight we could book without stress? Looking at the train or maybe the cruise line bus/shuttle (not preferred but might be the path of least resistance).

We are mobile seniors and do pack light so will have luggage but not A LOT.

We're considering staying @ CDG and departing the next day. Both HI Express and Residence Inn have hotels INSIDE the airport and we have points, so that might be the least stressful solution?

Thanks for feedback!

~Denise

Thanks everyone! I knew they had to be booked in a certain order... it's all coming back to me now. Fixed first, a la carte second. Appreciate all the feedback 🙂

Denise

This was discussed before and I made notes for our last cruise, but I've searched and can't find. Please help 🙂

We are booked in a suite on our upcoming 12-day cruise and are Sapphire. So we have a bunch of dining reservations to make. I know when we do this online, we should book the Latitude dinners first, then the Free At Sea dinners. Or is it the other way around? If I recall, if we do it in the wrong order then  NCL's website charges us for what should be free.

Can one of the dining experts on here clarify for me?

Thanks!!

Denise

13 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

We did a B2B recently that was a 7-night plus a 4-night out of Canaveral on Seaside. There was one other YC cabin that did the B2B. We felt a distinctly different vibe coming from many of the people who were only on the 4-night. It made me wonder if the crew doesn't invest as much time and attention when the itinerary is shorter. Or maybe the party atmosphere that we hear about on the shorter cruises is what leads to that. Who knows which causes which?

 

Interesting! We are doing a 10 day B2B on the Seashore (3 plus 7) starting Dec 7th. It will be our 4th time in the YC. Hoping for the best but prepared for "the worst" after reading some of these reviews.

Denise

Is unlimited use of the spa still included for YC guests? That's been our experience when we've sailed YC before (pre-Covid), but I thought I saw somewhere that this has changed??

TY!

Denise

4 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

So disembarkation was a hot mess. We chose to walk off with our bags so our butler takes us and 2 other passengers down the elevator to 6. Then we had to walk against traffic all the way to the middle of the ship like salmon swimming upstream. We went right up to the front of the line and gen pop was a little salty about it.

I don't remember our experiences on YC (pre-Covid), but I know on Haven they use a service elevator and take you all the way to the gangplank area where they swipe your card. You never actually see the "gen pop" line. 

I sooo appreciate you taking the time to "document" your travels. We board Dec 3rd for 10 days. We have sailed the Haven and also have three previous YC experiences that were really enjoyable. We are prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. 

Denise

13 hours ago, oceans.calling said:

Experienced here too, 26 down, 8 past YC and with 6 more YC’s coming up. We use a MSC Concierge who works wonders for us anytime I need assistance. I don’t use a TA because I don’t like giving up control of my booking. OBC is not that important to us. I guess each to his/her own. 

Fellow YC person here and I totally get this. I have a few TA's depending on the cruise line and they are all people I know and trust. We booked Haven through Big Box under a free grats promo and NEVER AGAIN will I give them control over my booking. 

Denise

3 hours ago, New2Cruise76 said:

 

So, thIs is an interesting one. I did serve in the Naval Reserves, but only for 2-3 years. For complicated reasons, I seperated early. We're going through the file cabinet to try and find my discharge paperwork, but to hedge my bets, I've also requested a new copy of my DD214.

 

I know that the discharge status was "General Discharge Under Honorable Circumstances", so it was nothing bad surrounding my discharge. I honestly haven't touched my paperwork in close to 20 years, because I didn't need to use any possibly available benefits and I also didn't feel right using benefits that rightfully should go to those who put their lives on the line, and not some dude who sat in an overglorified classroom once a month for a few years. I guess I'm ok with saving 10% on a cruise though, guess we know where my line in the sand is, lol.

Ha. I was surprised that MSC wanted to see the DD214 *again* since we had cruised with them a few times previously. Most cruise lines link it to your "Voyager" number and some even show military rates when pricing a cruise. But this is MSC after all. It's never seamless. Sent the DD214 to our TA and she forwarded to MSC for repricing to include the extra 10%.

Denise

Experienced cruiser here... I would NEVER book an MSC cruise without a travel agent who is familiar with all the quirkiness of MSC. We've been on over 30 cruises, three of which have been in the MSC Yacht club. It's not all about the bottom line money-wise. MSC screws things up. A LOT. A travel agent who is familiar with MSC can navigate that for you. Also, in addition to the Voyager's discount, make sure you get the 10% military if you qualify for that.

Denise

41 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

We stopped back at the room after massages and found this. Delivered after 1130 this morning. For an event that had already passed. Okaaaaayyyy.

What a comedy of errors!! Time to have a little chat with IANCU?

@go.without.you I can understand if you don't want to post your cabin number, but can you tell us approximately where it is located? We will be on deck 18 starboard and hope we don't have the same butler 🫣

Eeek. Sounds like the YC on the Seashore is not all it's supposed to be. We've been in YC 3 times, each time was excellent. But the more I read about the Seashore here and elsewhere, I'm losing faith. @go.without.you have you spent any time in the Top Sail Lounge?

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review.

Denise

3 hours ago, go.without.you said:

 

We ordered Sav Blanc wine and were told they were out!!!   Screeeecchhhh!!!! But they are getting more today. Ok......cruise can resume.

 

LOL. I think this is going to be an awesome review 🙂

Super excited to follow this review! We've been in NCL Haven but prefer the YC and have cruised YC 3 times. Will be on the Seashore for 10 nights in December so looking forward to your YC review 🙂

Denise