BabysBday

Try ARASH car hire in Portals Nous, I always used them before I bought my own car ,all they need is a copy of your driving licence, they will leave the car in the car park at the port with a locked box on the window with the keys, all you have to do is return it to the same place and put the keys back in the box.

 

https://www.arashrentacar.com/

Has anyone tried this rental car company? We will be in Mallorca next Saturday and hope to take a drive out to the west coast of the island.

Thanks.

 

Do most people get their Butler to bring drinks to the cabin? I feel that's a bit OTT. Surely it's only minutes to the Haven bar to get them ourselves? But if it's the norm, then I'll follow suit.

 

 

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I believe there is an additional charge for room service cocktails (i.e. they're not included in the UBP), but I don't know if that applies to Owner's Suites. On the BA, we were on the 15th floor so we just had a short walk to the Haven bar. We're so excited about sailing on the Epic in the Haven and we'll have an even shorter walk to the Haven bar this time ;) We'll have to look out for Diego, Stefano on the BA is basically a legend on CC, so it's nice to hear about the Epic Haven bartenders.

If you do go to GSC, the best beach area for mobility-impaired people would be the nearest beach to the tender dock, by the Patron Bar and behind the vendors. It's near the paved areas, they have clamshells available, and the taco bar isn't too far off, either.

There are also patches of shade due to palm trees between that beach and the excursions hut and the restrooms where some people who didn't feel like being on the beach hung out. There are a few picnic tables and some people dragged beach recliner there or just laid down towels.

Yes, for the 3/5/17 sailing.

They will close it if it is too windy. Not sure if they close it if it's cold out.

Thanks!

Is the Courtyard Grill basically unusable in cooler temps, or is it heated? We'll be on the Epic end of Oct / early Nov in the Mediterranean and wondering if it will be too cold to sit there and have drinks by then.

i assume you were able to bounce to the front of the line for your final swipe of your ship card on the ship.

 

once you get to customs, there is no VIP. you wait with everyone else.

Hmm, well in NYC after we got off the BA, as Haven passengers we skipped all the lines to get to the baggage collection area at the port and then were directed towards the "express" (i.e. shorter) customs line that porters and those disembarking with wheelchairs used after we showed our Haven key cards.

Loving your trip report! We were in the Haven on the BA earlier this month and I'm reliving our trip as I read your posts. I loved the Haven so much, we're trying to get a larger group to join us there on the Epic this fall.

Totally agree with you on getting the Vibe pass if you're not in the Haven (or the thermal suite pass for winter sailings out of NYC)... the hot tub situation on the BA pool deck might have been fine back when I was in college, but these days I have no desire to be crammed in with strangers. And I can only imagine what the water looked like! In contrast, we basically had the hot tubs all to ourselves in the Haven, which truly lived up to its name on this huge ship.

I may have misled you... not $900 more total to get into the Haven but $900 more than I am currently bidding. Total would be about $3770 more!

 

So, I am currently paying X for my balcony room. I am bidding $1440 p/p for the Haven Fwd Penthouse (H7). If I paid $900 (X + 2880 + 900) it would be like booking it outright (paying the current rate).

 

Does that change things?

 

I was also told that because I booked with a TA, I would have to cancel my current booking (and pay a penalty) and rebook.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Did you bid on the H7 or the H4 (2 bedroom)? Your previous post said the latter, so I'm confused.

And are you saying that if you tried to pay full price for the upgrade to a Haven cabin, to guarantee you'd get the cabin (versus waiting to see if your bid was accepted) you'd have to pay a penalty for doing the change? If so, is that penalty factored into the $900 price difference you've calculated above?

CRAustin also makes good points regarding the calculation of booking outright vs. bidding. You already have the UBP & Internet, and those will go with you if your bid is accepted, but if the free at sea promo is still available, the first two passengers would also get the UDP and the shore excursion credit with an outright Haven booking.

I had a similar experience with bidding on an H4 as CRAustin did... three days before sailing, I noticed Haven owner's suite and 2BRs had popped up as available despite the cruise being sold out for weeks. I put in a bid on the border of poor/fair which ended up saving us 2k off the outright fare at the time, in addition to the low ball $450 bid on an H7 I had put in weeks prior. The bid acceptance email came through just a few hours later.

At the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with how much you're willing to bid, weighing that with your desire to be in the Haven. My last minute bid wasn't a steal on the Haven cabin like some other posters here have gotten, but I really, really wanted it and was happy to get a discount, albeit a modest one.

Good luck with the bidding and I would just confirm with NCL directly if you really would have to incur a penalty fee for changing your booking because you used a TA.

Instructions from Anoop this week were much different than you described. Easy walk off Haven passengers were told to meet in the Haven lounge earlier than the meeting time for standard disembarkation Haven passengers. He also had a cut off time of 9:45 for Haven standard escorted disembarkation.

 

However, the whole ship started disembarking earlier than planned because it arrived somewhat early and was cleared for disembarkation by CBP at an earlier than expected.

 

This was my fifth BA cruise (third in the BA Haven) and I don't ever recall the Haven instructions being as you described. In every case the Haven walk off passengers were given an earlier time to meet in the Haven lounge than the time given the Haven standard disembarkation passengers.

What I posted was based on my March 12 disembarkation on the BA experience, which was different from yours which is why I shared it.

I would suggest woodards speak with Anoop or whoever the head concierge is on the BA during their sailing to find out the best way for them to disembark to ensure they're at the pier exit when they need to be.

Its a pity you are restricted by time but most possible ,Taxi is your best bet to get everywhere,

Parada del Mar Open 1pm -3.30 pm 10mins and 10 eu

Belver castle 10 mins from P del M keep taxi as you will only need 20 mins max and you might not find a taxi from there then go into Palma 15 mins.

you should be back in Palma by 3.30 pm which will give you plenty of time for some of the rest.

 

http://www.portsdebalears.com/sites/default/files/Plano%20Palma.pdf

Thanks Roger!! I had a notion of heading all the way out to Portocristo, but realized quickly that I had no time for all that.

on the dawn this past october a "gentleman" in the room next to ours "fishbowled" his room and then opened the door to let the cloud of weed smoke into the hallway.

Did security deal with your neighbor because of this? Guess they weren't staying in a balcony room. :')

Hi - Has anyone done the Petit Train in Cannes? We'll be there during the first week of November on the Epic and since we've done Nice & Monaco, we thought this would be a nice option to quickly see the Cannes, particularly since we'll have senior travelers who aren't going to be able to traipse all around town by foot.

Considering that we'll be there in early Nov, does the Petit Train have plastic covers for its windows to protect from rain? Or does it just not run in inclement weather? Can anyone recommend better alternatives than the Petit Train to see Cannes?

As movie buffs, we'd also like to have a drink & some snacks at the bar at the Carlton hotel. Wonder if it will be hard to get a short taxi ride back to the old port to catch our tender or if we'll have to hoof it.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

What good plan for an educational day out in Palma, It is easy as Palma is very pedestrian friendly and you will have plenty of time to do all.

 

I like your idea of lunch on the terrace at Es Baluard , I would start at the Cathedral mark your stops on google maps and I think the order you have put your stops in are good anyway.

 

Try to get the Mercat Oliver market in as well if you can where you will find your wine shop there it is on the route.

 

I will try this plan out myself before October as I have not been to a couple of the museums or had lunch on the terrace at Es Baluard and keep you posted.

Hi Roger,

Thanks for all your posts, this thread has been so helpful and informative!

We will be there on the first Saturday in November arriving at 1pm. Will many places be closed for the season in Palma? We'd like to go to La Parada Del Mar, Beliver Castle, and then maybe follow some of QuattroRomeo's itinerary given that we'd like to be back at our ship by 7pm.

Can you please suggest the best means of transportation (taxi, bus, etc) for us if our ship, the NCL Epic, will be docked at Muelle Peraires, Estacion Maritima 1, Poniente Sur? Thanks in advance!

Technically neither of you used the "easy walk off process", because you had tagged your bags, set them outside your cabin the night before disembarkation and then retrieved them in the terminal. "Easy walk off" is the process that has you take all your bags with you on disembarkation day.

 

It usually doesn't make a heck of a lot of difference for Haven passengers because you get to bypass lines either way, but on some days there will be a significant time difference between when passengers who are doing easy walk off can disembark and when passengers who can retrieve their luggage can disembark. That largely got erased this past Sunday because the ship docked early, allowing easy walk off to start early, bags to be placed out on the pier for retrieval early and thus regular disembarkation to start earlier than usual. On some past cruises on BA we have had to cool our heels with a mob of other Haven passengers in the lounge awaiting clearance for the non-easy walk off disembarkation while Haven (and other) easy walk off passengers disembarked much earlier.

Interesting. On the 3/5 BA sailing, Anoop the concierge informed Haven guests that he would escort us to the disembarkation area between 9-11:30am. We were non-easy-walk, and he escorted us down at 9:30am, and joined the rest of the passengers (who appeared to be easy-walk as they had all their luggage) departing the ship on the gangway to the pier. Once we were on the pier, we were able to bypass the long lines of easy-walk passengers the rest of the way, collecting our baggage en route. We didn't have to wait for separate non-easy walk disembarkation clearance to leave. Don't know if the BA had arrived early on 3/12, but Anoop had given us our instructions the day before so it wasn't as though we were allowed to leave earlier at the last minute.

Great report was in the haven right before the TA. 7Th time on Epic and I agree like home[emoji41]

 

 

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How was the weather in the Mediterranean last year? We're on the Epic's last Med sailing at the end of October before it's TA this year and also in the Haven and wondering if it'll be too cold/ windy to enjoy the Courtyard, Courtyard Grill and Posh spaces.

Definitely a mild fish. I enjoyed it at Le Bistro last week.

A funny thing, though, my companions all either ordered the scallops or the other fish dish and when our entrees were served, they all had a dome-type dish cover which was dramatically removed by the server except for me. We all laughed that I was like the black sheep cousin who basically just got her dish slapped on the table in front of her while everyone else got the top-shelf presentation. :')

One of the best trip reviews I've read... ever! Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed that you'll have smoother sailings on your next, err, sailings : )

Thank you so much for your remarks. Very helpful. WHAT is the full price if I purchase once I'm onboard versus the $199.99 that is the going rate online?

$229 or $249, I think...

For all those procrastinators out there... They open up the Haven-only seating at the Theater to the general public five minutes before the shows start. It's on the left side facing the stage about 1/3 up from the stage.

I actually plan to purchase the thermal spa pass, prior to boarding online, if my bid is not accepted. I am bidding on The Haven Spa Suite with Balcony. I know that if my bid is accepted, slim chance but what the heck!, that I won't need to purchase the spa pass or try to get the private pool area VIBE pass which I hear is quite expensive if you are fortunate enough to get one. I'm hoping and praying. I'm taking this cruise ALONE which is on my bucket list, so I figured why not go for it and get the best if I can manage it.

Good luck with your bidding! FYI, you might not want to leave buying the discounted spa pass for after finding out if your bid was accepted. They start sending out the "declined" emails a day or two before sailing and for our sailing earlier this month, the spa passes were no longer available for purchase online at that point. Once I got on the ship they still had spa passes left for sale, but at full price. Enjoy your cruise, you'll have a blast!

Hey everyone!!! Has anyone done the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter? If so, how was the ferry ride to the island??? Since the encounter is only 3.5 hours, did you Hang on the beach for a while before the ferry took you back to the boat??? How was the Encounter overall???

 

 

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We did the BL Dolphin Swim, which was basically the Encounter plus the foot push. It was great. The staff was wonderful and the dolphins incredible.

We did hang out on the beach close to the tender dock... the beach wasn't great, maybe there were other areas on the island where it was better.

The ferry/ tender boat ride was fine, 20-30 mins ago each way. Not bad at all. If you're on a Carnival ship, the tender dock is right there, but if you're on an NCL or RCL ship, you'll have a long walk there and back, but there is a free van shuttle that runs within the Nassau dock area.

Since when? I had it in February and it was fantastic!

 

 

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It was no longer on the menu on the 3/5/17 sailing :( Neither was the lobster for upcharge! Sounds like you were on one of the last sailings to offer both.

Just keep in mind that the Thermal Suite spa pass only come with a Spa Suite. In regards to a Spa pass for the Haven, it only comes with the Haven Spa suite.

True. But depending on what the person wants out of the Thermal spa and/ or Vibe passes, the Haven-only areas might suit their needs. At least they did for me, as I was primarily looking for a quiet area away from the crowds on the BA. I ended up spending money at the spa anyway, but for massages and facials. The BA Haven courtyard "solarium", hot tubs, and sauna were more than adequate substitutes for the thermal spa for me, YMMV, of course.

I'd suggest the OP buy a discounted spa pass online in case their Haven bid is not accepted. If they're awarded the upgrade, they can call NCL and cancel the spa pass and get a refund. That's what I ended up doing because I definitely wanted the thermal spa if we were in a regular balcony room.

Does anyone know what kind of music they play? (i.e. is it for disco dancing, rock and roll, or cheek to cheek--I mean on the face!);p

On the two nights we went last week, they played ballroom dance music and American songbook (standards). There was a female singer with the band.