The Traveling Man

First off, welcome to Cruise Critic. It's unfortunate that your TA failed to communicate clearly and accurately to you. Since you are past the final payment date and you say that all the regular balcony staterooms are fully booked, there may not be much hope of improving your situation. One possibility might be if a different stateroom becomes available because of a cancellation or an upgrade and your TA is able to act quickly enough to re-book your room, you may be able to move. There likely would be an additional cost for the full balcony room. NCL also may offer you an opportunity to bid for an upgrade to a Haven stateroom, thereby getting you an actual balcony. That would definitely cost more. Since you booked through a TA, though, your cause for complaint would need to be addressed to your TA, not NCL.

NCL had a 270 day cruise back in 2016/2017 on the Star which they advertised as an around the world cruise. Actually it was a halfway there and back again cruise from Copenhagen to Athens via Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sidney. They sold it as a series of repositioning cruises. We were there for three legs and had dinner one night in Le Bistro with the Captain, GM, and a couple who had booked the whole 270 days. The ship had some logistical problems stemming from having to restock provisions at many different ports instead of always coming back to one home port between cruises. They ran out of certain foods and other supplies on a couple of legs of the journey. The biggest problem, though, was when the starboard Azipod shut down on 11 December 2016 as the ship departed Singapore. It limped along toward Hong Kong at half speed for a month, missing several ports and arriving late at many others. It finally was repaired after an extended and unplanned layover in Singapore in January. It continued its journey toward Australia, only to have the port Azipod fail on 24 January 2017. At that point, NCL seemed resigned to the fact that the original schedule for at least the next several weeks would be out the window, as more planned ports of call were removed from the schedule. On 10 February, the repaired starboard Azipod failed again, leaving the ship adrift in the Tasman sea. Finally towed back to Melbourne for repairs, it got back underway on 14 February with both screws turning. I think NCL may have learned a costly lesson the hard way. When you sail out and back from the same port several weeks in a row, if something catastrophic happens you can put into port, cancel one or two cruises, and get the problem fixed. When you schedule a series of repositioning cruises, though, you can't do that. Each cruise needs to end in a different port so a new group of passengers can board there. You just never catch a break or have a breather. I doubt that NCL would be willing to risk that again.

So do we, departing Boston on 26 September. The roll call for that cruise is awfully quiet.

There frequently are wide variances between the stated NCL policy and what is actually allowed. I have seen men wearing flip-flops, shorts, and a T-shirt seated for dinner in Le Bistro on more than one ship. Years ago I used to always pack a blazer, a couple of long sleeved dress shirts, and a neck tie or two when sailing. I still take a pair of slacks in addition to my jeans, but when sailing with NCL in the last several years, I have left the blazer at home. YMMV.

I believe that you may have confused Eric Idle with Bill Murray. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more!!!

Sorry...Did you say you would see many ladies in some European men???

t seems like just about every time we tried to go that way, there was a train occupying the tracks.

It's the New York Post, well known for it's sensationalism and lack of accuracy in reporting. They couldn't even spell Ketchikan correctly.

Taking a taxi from the airport to the Hyatt probably is the simplest and easiest solution upon arrival. The Hyatt Place is right across the street from the convention center, but most of the places you'll likely want to visit could require a bit of walking. The World War II Museum is the most visited attraction in New Orleans, and it is well worth spending the better part of a day there. It's about a half mile walk west from the Hyatt, so you may want to visit there during your pre-cruise visit. There are a number of excellent restaurants in the area within walking distance. If you want to visit the Audubon Zoo during your visit, you can get there via the St. Charles St. streetcar. There's a streetcar stop a block from the WWII Museum and another near the zoo entrance. The streetcar ride to the zoo also takes you though the Garden District with its outstanding examples of unique architecture. Another alternative would be to save the zoo visit for after your cruise. The Audubon Aquarium is near the end of Canal St. near the French Quarter. You can book a riverboat ride from there to the zoo, entering the zoo by the "back door." To get to the cruise terminal from the Hyatt, turn left and walk north on Convention Center Blvd. one block to Julia St. Turn right and walk a hundred yards or so to the escalator (or elevator if you prefer) to the walkway over the railroad tracks. The walkway takes you to the Riverwalk Mall. Enter the mall and walk straight ahead about 100 feet to an elevator on your left to go down to the cruise terminal. Baggage handlers will be near the ground floor elevator door to take your luggage. The entrance to the cruise terminal is about 100 feet from the elevator. The total walking distance is under a half mile, and much of it is inside or under a canopy. Easy peasy. The Inn on St. Peter St. is in the French Quarter, more than a mile from the cruise terminal, so you probably will want to take a taxi after your cruise. The streets in the Quarter are narrow and they sometimes are closed to all but pedestrian traffic. Many of the New Orleans highlight locations are in the Quarter, so be prepared to do some walking. There are many great bars, restaurants, and music venues there. A taxi back to the airport is the simplest solution for your return home. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Amen ! Mark me down for at least two per day.

And coat & tie requirements for dinner !

Mike, among the possibilities are: Lurkers Hangers on Lookie-Loos (or is it Lou?) Freeloaders (insert your own pejorative here for someone who only wants to take without giving) James

You may have opened a whole new can of worms. There has been a great deal of speculation on CC lately about NCL announcing itinerary changes only after final payment dates, but somehow port authorities and local tour providers were aware of the changes much earlier.

On most NCL ships, some of the lifeboats also are certified to act as tenders. I'm not sure what the specific differences are that designate the two types of boats. I would defer to an expert such as @chengkp75 for a complete explanation of that. The lifeboats on the Pr1ma and V!va, however, apparently are not certified for use as tenders.

We haven't tried it in Asia, but were successful "jumping ship" in Europe with the assistance of NCL VP for Guest Services Katty Byrd (kbyrd@ncl.com). She made all the arrangements and actually quoted us a reduced rate since we were only onboard the ship for the first three days of a ten day cruise. BTW, your CC signature line mentions Australia and Malaysia, but what about Pakistan? Just over a century ago, when today's Pakistan was still part of India, Rudyard Kipling began his career as an author while living in Lahore.

We've been to Rome many times, as well. We also have spent a night in Civitavecchia several times prior to a cruise, so we have explored that city a lot as well. The best tip I can offer is to avoid the many restaurants that line the sea coast road. They are very touristy and the food is nothing to write home about. Instead, walk a block into town (away from the sea) to the restaurants where the locals hang out. You can find some outstanding meals there.

According to the NCL website, the only tender port on this cruise is Castries, St. Lucia. https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-caribbean-round-trip-san-juan-curacao-and-aruba-VIVA7SJULRMORJWILKRASLUBASSJU?sailMonths=4294949401&ships=4294949396&numberOfGuests=4294949461&sortBy=date_nearest&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=VIVA7SJULRMORJWILKRASLUBASSJU

That is true, however some ships may sail to similar ports on several different itineraries over a period of several weeks. On some cruises they may dock in a particular port, while tendering at that port on a different sailing date. It would help to know the specific date.

If you could mention the name of the ship and the sailing date, we could look it up on the NCL website. Even without those details, though, the NCL website lists just about all the ports visited by any NCL ship with an indication if it is a "tender only" port. Some of the other ports where ships usually dock can sometimes require tendering, though. The best way to know for sure if you will tender in any of these ports would be to check the details for the specific cruise.

If either Alain or Vitor are serving as GM on your cruise, you most likely will receive red carpet treatment. I have sailed with each of them on the Dawn and have served as M&G coordinator several times each. On each occasion, as soon as the check-in clerk at the cruise terminal looked up our information, we were escorted from the regular check-in line to the Haven lounge to complete our check-in. The concierge then escorted us on board with the Haven guests and we enjoyed breakfast and lunch in Moderno or Cagney's throughout the cruise. This was despite the fact that we were traveling in a Balcony stateroom, not the Haven. When we had dinner with an officer on those cruises, we were paired with the GM in Le Bistro instead of a junior officer in the MDR. The fact that we are Diamond Latitudes members may have influenced the perks we received, but I suspect it was mostly because of the M&G. Let's hope that you get one of these two gentlemen as your GM and that they still are affording these courtesies to M&G coordinators when you cruise on the Dawn.

On some ships the GM may offer Suite privileges to the M&G coordinator regardless of the type of stateroom they have booked. This would include breakfast and lunch in Cagney's or Moderno. The GM also may provide an additional night to dine in a specialty restaurant over and above any FAS or Latitudes dining benefits they may have. Butler services, priority embarkation and tendering, as well as other benefits also may be offered. It doesn't happen on every ship or with every GM. As some have suggested on this thread, the level of benefits may vary depending upon the number of CC members who attend the M&G. I have served as M&G coordinator on several NCL cruises, most recently last October on the Dawn. We sailed on a B2B in Europe. We had almost 30 signed up for the M&G on the first cruise. About 20 showed up. I was a little disappointed since there were almost as many officers present as there were guests. The things that kept up my spirits, though, were GM Vitor's very positive attitude and the fact that we had over 40 CC members signed up for the M&G on the second cruise. Only ten attended, fewer than the number of officers. I felt embarrassed. I have been trying to drum up support for a M&G on a couple of roll calls on some future NCL cruises. To say the response has been tepid might be an understatement. Personally I enjoy M&Gs, but if so few others choose to attend, it makes no sense for me to put in the effort to organize them. They may well go the way of the Dodo.

@RWK1952 We have sailed on the Breakaway twice, a 14 day Caribbean cruise from NYC in January 2016 in the Haven and an 11 day Caribbean cruise from New Orleans in January 2019 in a Balcony stateroom. We had a great time on each cruise. I truly can't recall a single major disappointment with either cruise, but lots of wonderful memories come to mind. Maybe we were just lucky, or maybe I'm just easy to please, but if the itinerary were appealing and the price was right, I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Breakaway again.

We have been to Rome many times, including several times on NCL cruises. We took the "Rome on Your Own" tour once, In November of 2014. The drop off and pick locations may have changed over the years, but I expect the other aspects of the tour have remained about the same. We boarded the bus on the pier right next to the ship. It took about 75 minutes to get to Rome on that Sunday morning. The tour guide furnished us with maps and instructions on when the bus would begin boarding for the return trip. Our drop off and pick up point was on Via di S. Gregorio, next to the Palatine Hill about halfway between the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. As I recall, we had about six hours on our own. We had been to many of the highlight sites previously, so we just strolled along the Forum, visited the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps before stopping for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We continued our walk to Piazza Navona for gelati, then toured Castel Saint Angelo. Our return path was along the banks of the Tiber, then through the length of the Circus Maximus and onto our bus. The tour allowed us plenty of time for a relaxing stroll. If you have been to Rome before and just want to revisit a few familiar spots, this tour is a great way to do that.

When we were in Dubrovnik prior to COVID, NCL provided shuttle service from the pier to the old city center. It dropped us off just outside the main gate. On the return it dropped us at the cruise terminal building, so there was a little walking involved. I do not remember if there was a charge for the shuttle or if it was complementary. We have been to Naples many times, both before and since the pandemic. We never have looked for a shuttle into the city center, but did book a HOHO bus once. Usually, though, we would catch a ferry to Capri or Sorrento. The ferry terminal is next to the cruise terminal, so just a short walk.

I was hospitalized recently in a reputable health facility in Arlington, Texas. I brought along my pills in a daily pill dispenser and was told by the medical staff that if I had brought my pills in bottles with pharmacy labels on them I would be allowed to take the pills I brought. Since my pills were not in pharmacy bottles, however, they contacted my PCP to verify the prescriptions, then filled them from the hospital pharmacy.