Redsky5292

I've had 50% luck, sailed in April twice to the Bahamas, the first cruise we skipped GSC due to rough seas, the next year we were able to make it.  Since our next stop was Nassau, and there was room at the Pier, we went to Nassau and spent the afternoon and whole next day there.  We weren't planning on getting off at GSC, and subsequently stayed on board the following year, so it was no big deal for us.  I don't remember if we got an OBC for skipping GSC...  We were on the Breakaway both times and it was mid April.

I just called, they are running about a week and a half behind in booking their flights, I should have my flight by the end of next week.

We are on the Getaway this summer (59 days out!!) and still don't have our cruise docs or our flights...

Morning!  We are at 59 days out for our Baltic Sea Cruise this summer on the Getaway.  We took the free/reduced air fare perk when we booked (so glad we did as flights to Europe from Boston are running about $2600 for two people round trip) and were told that we would have our flight info 60 days out.  When should I expect the flight info to be on our e-docs?  Should I just call?  We want to make sure we have seats next to each other. TIA!

3 hours ago, Sianli said:

1st time in NCL. Do we carry wine on board or after paying corkage fees, can it be checked? Also, do they sell a muti bottle wine package, i.e. 5 bottles or always ala cart? Thank you!

You carry the wine with you on board. We didn’t realize that when we bought a case on board the Breakaway and my poor husband had to carry the box everywhere. If you are bringing a decent amount of wine I would invest in a cart or backpack to make your life easier. We kept the box in the closet and put the whites we wanted to drink in the mini fridge in the morning. 

We sailed the Breakaway twice with our twins, but they were a lot younger than your nephews.  That being said there is a TON for them to do on the ship: sports court, ropes course, video arcade, mini golf, teen entourage, pools, rock climbing wall, water slides...

We brought an entire case on board the Breakaway.  We made the mistake of not repacking it and my poor husband had to carry around our case of wine until our room was ready.  Next time we will buy one of those padded grocery cart thingies to bring it on.  Other people have also used wine holder backpacks.  

We have sailed twice on NCL's Breakaway with our b/g Twins, first when they were three and the next year when they were four.  We used Splash Academy both times and the kids loved it!  We are sailing on RCI Brilliance of the Seas in April 2020 (the twins will be 6) and I am looking for information on Royal Caribbean's Adventure Ocean.  The RCI website says that Adventure Ocean is open from 10 AM- 10PM, on NCL there was a set time the kids could be dropped off and then picked up in the morning, afternoon and evening, the kids had to wear a bracelet for the whole week that got scanned when they came in and out.  What are other people's experiences with RCL's Adventure Ocean?  I'm looking for the good, the bad and the ugly!  Thanks!

Morning!  I am bound and determined to bring just carry-ons with us when we go on our 9 day Baltic Cruise this coming summer.  That being said, I am a notorious over-packer.  Does anyone have experience with packing cubes or anything similar?  I don't want to have to pay a baggage fee and I would like to have some room for souvenirs.  I'll be checking the weather religiously before we leave so I'll be sure to pack the appropriate clothing (we will be embarking in Copenhagen and then going to St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki and Nynashamn (Stockholm)).  TIA!

That is what I am wondering!!

We are sailing the Brilliance next April and are considering booking the Chef’s Table for one night of dining. Does anyone have experience with this?

Utilize the Water Front on deck 8.  It's the outside eating area for the specialty restaurants and during the day you can sit, relax and enjoy the view of the water.  My husband and I would sit on the shady side and it was pretty quiet.  The sunny side would get pretty busy.  

1 hour ago, RedRover96 said:

I understand the outlet situation except for the "shaver outlet" above the mirror in the bathroom.  I was thinking about putting a night light there if it will fit.  However, once I started thinking about it, I bet the outlet is powered while the light is on and cuts off with the light switch, making the nightlight useless, any thoughts on this outlet?

When we sailed with our twins we had a nightlight in the main cabin and if you didn't close the bathroom door all the way, you could see in the bathroom at night.

My family and I (DH, myself (both in our early 40s) and 5, soon to be 6, year old boy/girl twins) will be sailing the Brilliance of the Seas, Western Caribbean Itinerary, next April.  We have sailed RCI before but it was before kids.  We've sailed NCL the past few years so I have a few questions regarding RCI:

1.) What are the children's programs like?  Does anyone know what the hours are?  On NCL you can drop them off for three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon and then there are night hours

2.) Talk to me about the drink package, the good, the bad and the ugly.

3.) We are deck 7 with a balcony, come to find out after we already booked it that it has obstructed views (I know, I know, I should have done my research prior to booking but it all kind of came together quickly), does anyone have experience with obstructed views on RCI ships?

4.) Talk to me about My Time dining, we are used to FreeStyle Dinning so give me the good, the bad and the ugly.

5.) Any other tips, tricks and things I should be aware of.

It's been 9 years since we sailed RCI so I imagine things have changed.  

Thanks for all your help!!

Did they put USB ports next to the beds?  We are sailing the Getaway this summer after it's dry dock and I was curious if they would do similar upgrades to the Getaway (if they did them in the first place)...  Thanks!

We brought a case on the Breakaway two years ago, we carried it on.  There is a little table as you go through security were you can check the wine in (i.e. have them write down how many bottles you are bringing so you can get charged the right amount 😉)  They checked the bottles, put stickers on them and our room was charged $15 per bottle on the credit card we have them at check-in.  It took a few days for the charge to show up.  My husband carried the case on the ship, if we had known we could keep the wine with us we would have brought a trolley or packed it in a backpack, the box got heavy after a while! 🙂  Every morning we would put the white wine that we wanted to drink in the mini fridge and it was ready to go by the time we wanted to drink it!  Our room steward was able to give us a wine opener that we kept in the room for the week.  Enjoy!

2 minutes ago, Quencups said:

 

 I will :(...We are scheduled for 6/17 to Cuba and who knows what will happen....We DO NOT want to go to the Bahamas, which is what I am thinking they will do....<sigh>….oh well....

If you don't want to get off the ship in the Bahamas you can get a discount at the spa when you are in port 🙂 

Just now, pinkie60 said:

At this point for me at least it’s a go. I’m paid up for a July 15th cruise to Havana. I received an email from Norwegian to remind me to complete all my documents for my visa. I had that completed a month ago so I’ll assume it’s a form letter. With that said I believe they have no idea what the state department is going to do.  If I go to Cuba that’s fine but if I don’t I’m still booked in a beautiful suite with a concierge and Butler. Wherever we go I will be happy because I’m on the water and on a ship. 

That's what we are thinking, I'd be slightly bummed that we couldn't go to Cuba but a massage in the Spa would help me get over it.  We want to spend time with my parents, who winter in Orlando, before and after the cruise so a 5 day trip out of Port Canaveral is our best bet.  My major concern is that if the travel restrictions do go into place and travel is limited to family only NCL might cancel the cruise, that would be a MAJOR bummer.

I know that there is not a lot of information out there regarding travel to Cuba moving forward (I Googled the living daylights out of the topic and basically got nada).  My husband and I are looking at a Cuba cruise out of Port Canaveral next April (we are both teachers so our ability to travel is limited to school vacations).  So if the travel restrictions actually do go through what do you think NCL would do? I know we are just hypothesizing right now as no one really has any idea as to what is going to happen.  Just looking for thoughts.

We've sailed the Breakaway twice with our twins (they were three, then four).  We pretty much headed right to Splash Academy after we ate lunch and registered them.  They loved it!!!

Ocean Blue, we liked it so much we booked it for our Baltic Cruise on the Getaway this summer, we will be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary there!

We sailed the Breakaway two April’s in a row with our Twins who were three, then four. We registered them at Splash Academy as soon as we embarked and we were never turned away when we went to drop them off. The line for drop off the first morning was MASSIVE but moved pretty quickly. 

When we sailed on the Breakaway last year my sister and her family had the adjoining room to ours.  We asked the steward to open the balcony partition and they said they weren't able to.  My BIL went to Guest Services and he was told no.  My MIL and FIL sailed the Breakaway with friends about two months before we did and they opened the balcony for them.  I guess it really just matters who you get as your room steward.

We've sailed the Breakaway twice and loved it.  I can't answer all of your questions as our twins were 3 and then 4 when we sailed so we didn't do a lot of the nightlife.  We husband and I loved the Waterfront, which is on deck 8, it's the outside dining area for the specialty restaurants, but during the day you can sit, read and relax there.  The pool, and sun decks surrounding it, get very, very, very crowded.  Spice H2O, the adults only pool, was pretty quiet and not crazy crowded.  We printed out our eDocs and brought them with us just in case.  My BIL and I used the old version of NCLs iCruise app to message each other.  It worked fine, I just wish it had a better notification system.  I haven't used the new one yet so I can't help there. We ate at Ocean Blu, Cagney's and the Noodle bar.  I really liked Ocean Blu and the Noodle bar, Cagney's was okay, I'm not a huge steak lover but my husband was happy.  The Spa was FABULOUS!  Just be prepared for them to try and upsell you on things, I told my therapist from the start that I was not interested in anything beyond the treatment I signed up for and they were respectful of that.  The ropes course was a lot of fun!!  Just make sure you bring closed toe shoes with you, they won't let on it with flip-flops (thankfully my sister switched shoes with me so I didn't have to go back down to the room). Hope this helps!

We sailed the Breakaway twice during spring break in April (both Hubby and I are teachers so our vacation time during the school year is limited).  We sailed last year and the year before out of NY to Florida and the Bahamas.  We hung out on the waterfront (the shady side) almost every morning at sea, it was quiet and calm, I believe it is deck 8.  The waterfront is the area that is used for outside dining for the specialty restaurants.  There are tables and chairs outside of the restaurants that you can sit at but they also have loungers and comfy places to sit.  Most people were reading, sleeping, or having a quiet conversation.  We found the sunny side to be a bit more crowded and louder, but the shady side was nice and quiet and I didn't feel packed in.  We even brought our speaker with us and quietly listened to music.  Hubby worked on crossword puzzles and I read.  The waterfront is my favorite part of the mega ships.  The ship was PACKED but everyone was at the pool or the surrounding areas sunbathing.