Sand and Seas

Amazing....they spent an extra year or so to build this terminal and this is how it was designed? The construction workers probably had more temporary johns than it has now🙄

We have disembarked at the new terminal, but have yet to go thru embarkation there. If I'm understanding this right, there are 3 sets of restrooms, but one is sometimes 'off-limits'??? One set before security Second set with only ONE stall each after security and a Third 'secret' set that is possibly available only if they let you use it that day|😲

YES!!! Love Pete's style and those awesome photos😎

Just across the street is shopping plaza with a good Cuban restaurant. I think it's called 'Casa Juan'. You can dine in or take out. I always get an extra order of the sweet plantains! We have also enjoyed some great made-to-order sandwiches, soups & salads at the Publix store's Deli in that same shopping plaza. We've never needed transportation to other close by restaurants as these two are easy to walk to and we have enjoyed both several times. If you've forgotten to pack something, in addition to the Publix grocery store there's a CVS store on the opposite corner. And, if you have forgotten to pack some item of clothing, there is a Burlington store in that same shopping plaza. The Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon has been an ideal location for us pre-cruise.

We have twice booked hotels in Seaport area and then walked over to the cruise port. Not too bad with rolling luggage. (And we have been retired for a few years.)

They upgrade you to the lowest cabin available in the cabin category. And as pointed out already, you cannot be upgraded above Club Balcony. For example, from any Balcony, to the lowest Club Balcony available. For one of our upgrades, we were upgraded from a B4 (family balcony) to a MC. (MC being the lowest available Club Balcony for that ship.) Also remember that you do not get a choice of cabin in that next category. I would suggest you research available cabins before requesting the upgrade to see if you would be happy with the change.

Bird, Do you do self walk-off with all your luggage at Port Canaveral? Do you have a good strategy for being among first off the ship there? (We will be on Getaway.) Our flight home got changed by airline from 5pm to 1pm so we had to change to taking a private company shuttle that leaves at 8am. Just when we thought we had it all figured out...

To earn two of the CAS Next certificates you probably had 10,000 (or more) points on that cruise? With that much play it sounds like you should have a comped cabin. Maybe their new 'system' hasn't updated your account yet since your cruise. You definitely need to call back and hopefully get a more experienced CAS agent.

We have stayed at Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon several times. It has a free shuttle from the airport. There is a Publix grocery store across the street and several other stores within a block.

Glad you got through to someone helpful at NCL. We are happy with the cabin upgrades we got with each of our Diamond upgrades. We would have answered your question earlier, but we are busy digging out from the foot of snow overnight❄️

We used our my upgrade shortly after the new perk was announced. Since we thought DH's upgrade would expire within the original year announced, we used it last month to for our April 2024 cruise. Had no idea they dropped that one year to book limitation, but we got a decent upgrade for an 11 day cruise. Thanks for updating the thread! Very helpful to let others know they are no longer limited to one year after becoming Diamond.

Thanks! We were so surprised when Delta cancelled our 5pm flight and moved us to 1pm. We got our shuttle changed to 8am. That will give us extra breathing room to get through security.

Has anyone stayed at the Best Western Cocoa Beach? I've read some good reviews. Sounds like it's walkable to beach and close to restaurants.

Just checked out the Best Western Cocoa Beach. Prices aren't bad and area seem nice. Has anyone stayed here?

Radisson Country Inn & Suites has a good Military/Veteran rate if that might apply for you. Very close to terminal. We are keeping the rental car to drive the few miles to Cocoa Beach,etc. Then will drop rental at PC morning of embarkation.

Would love to know if it discounts the Admin Fee, or if it is just a discount on upgrade???

Can we make it? We booked a 10:30am shuttle for our late afternoon flight out of MCO. However, airline has now changed us to a 1:00pm flight. We have TSA pre-check, but I'm worried that might still be tight. (One shuttle company was already booked up for our May cruise! Luckily got a 10:30am shuttle with another company.)

Loving your review and the great pics! So sweet for someone to give your little guy that cute duck which I'm sure helped him get through the muster. Good luck in the casino! Hope you have some great wins and then let us all know which machines are hot☺️

If you charge funds to your room, there is a 3% convenience charge. However, we have a credit card that gives 3% back on travel expenses. (It rolls up on your onboard bill with all of your other charges and shows up as a 'purchase'. Does not count as a 'cash advance'.) This way, we don't have to carry much cash when we travel. Also, if you play enough in the casino to reach certain tiers they refund your 3% convenience fees at the end of the cruise. (Sapphire, Ruby & Elite tiers.) Win-win for us😎 Here is a link to the information about Cash/Credit access and Players Club benefits: https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/casino-cruise/players-club

We dragged our sons to see a traveling Beatles "Rain" group a few years ago. Told them this is classic music they needed to hear. They loved the concert and we all had a great time. Looking forward to our 12 days on Joy. Good songs and live music are always fun☺️

Thank you for sharing your review with us! We had a great Club Balcony (starboard deck 11) on our Prima cruise. Loved the ship, and yes, it's very different from other NCL ships. Thanks for the details on how much is expected of our room stewards now! For us, getting our room serviced once in early afternoon will be fine. However, will definitely be planning to provide a little extra 'Thanks$$' to a hard-working steward. Loved Indulge food hall and like you recommended in our post cruise interview that they keep it open for longer hours at lunch. Some hiccups, but all-in-all loved the Prima. As soon as we got home we searched for another great cruise on Prima and have it booked for for April 2024😎

I hope that's just a nasty rumor😒. Beatles in the Cavern club is still showing on our April reservation. Hopefully, someone currently cruising or about to cruise on Joy can report back to us.

I think this was the name of my favorite there! It was a cinnamon puffed corn treat in a bag that was delicious😋 Also enjoyed choosing flavors from the fudge counter. Only stopped there once, but looking forward to another visit😊

Do you need to have booked the cruise with the Military discount to get the pins? (Just signed up DH, but our cruises are comped through CAS.)

Ink48 looks very interesting. Love the rooftop bar and very close to Pier 88 cruiseport. Has anyone stayed there?