MrsTocko

I’m waiting for Europe 2026…so much that I booked a place holder cruise for spring break 2026…

We charged from the aft balcony to 14758 for our cruise. Im so glad you loved it.

YES! All of this! This is all of my criteria. DH wants a balcony. Other then that, he doesnt care. We like the midship right by the elevators. Always quick to the room, if we need to run back for something.

So we were on the bliss in May 2019. So it has been awhile. Crepes in the buffet are my husbands favorite last night snack.maybe only one night they were available. but for all intents and purposes crepes are for purchase at coco’s. crepes at the late night buffet are routinely found on the smaller ships. definately check out spice h20. at the local…we are used to the smaller ships that have O’Sheehans. It is the equivalent. DH and I usually will split pretzel bites, and wings (single order of both) then I usually get the fish and chips or the carbonara. He like the French dip or the western burger (I think that is what it is called). Both of us get the Blue Glacier. Amazing. Favorite drink on NCL. I don’t know if the Local has it. They should have the food items. This is usually our embarkation day lunch spot, and a few others as well. I am not a buffet fan either, so this is a less busy restaurant. If you remember to, can you see if that blue glacier (or is it glacier blue) is on the locals bar menu? district Brewhouse is a great spot to hang out at. If you don’t mind the walk, the aft elevators were usually always empty compared to midship. Depending on your cabin location this may not be a good option for your DH. But it will help with the stair issue. As someone with bad knees, stairs can be brutal. we loved port side MDR (I think it was taste) and Mixx. Mixx had the best bartender, Will. No idea if he is there or back or where he is, but he left an impression for sure we enjoyed Jersey Boys, but it isn’t for everyone. We liked the music and the true story that the show is based on (taking out the creative entertainment additions and it is a very interesting piece of history) following along and enjoying it very much

Keep in mind that we will not arrive day of a cruise. DH won’t do it. So we are going at least the day before. Even when we cruise out of San Diego, we get a hotel close to the port. That way we don’t deal with traffic and don’t have that feeling that “we have to get there”. Never mind that we go for the earliest check in time…and we will have to wait at the port. We would rather wait there than have that feeling. We do the same when we fly for any reason, would rather wait at the airport. Our length of deviation is dependent on embarkation location, travel time, plans upon arrival. London…2 days before. We landed on July 1, Cruise left July 3. I book as soon as hotels open up availability. I can and have changed based on price, reviews, location, planned activities. But at worst, we have a bed to sleep in. Google maps is my friend. our savings on this trip was $1000 by leaving out of LAX over San Diego. I can’t figure the savings vs hotel because we would have incurred that anyway. We rented a car one way (both directions) for 200 total (we would have don’t that as well) When I priced out the flights after we received the information, the flights were $1300 each round trip. We paid NCL $399, and paid for upgraded seats together for an additional 250 total. So with taxes around a total of $800. No mattter how I tried to figure it, we were coming out ahead. You can really only compare the exact flights, that is the variable. All the rest we were doing anyway. now for HI, we are again landing 2 days before, and leaving disembarkation day. I want to have as much time as I want at Pearl Harbor. For us embarkation day is not a sight seeing day. That is our preference. Alaska out of Seattle, we are going the day before. We are in the same time zone, and it’s a 2.5 - 3 hour flight, with multiple flights a day, so request was to land day before embarkation. As long as we have a bed and food, we are good. It is not our first time in Seattle, so we are good to chill, or just do whatever. Total spontaneity. We will return home disembarkation day. That cruise is July 2025, and to give you insight to my over obsessive planning, hotel availability is starting to open up, and I am now looking for a hotel. This gives me the greatest options and price comparisons, to stay within what consider a reasonable budget. And in our preferred area and nearby amenities.

We did BOGO for our Europe Cruise in July 2022. Direct red eye from LAX to Heathrow (at the height of those travel issues), we flew back from Iceland to LAX with a layover in Minneapolis, so about half way. Our return flight left at 9:30 am. We had a 2 day deviation on both ends. My personal opinion is that we got decent flight times because we did the deviation. Offered them a little more flexibility on the routes with trying to book others, plus competing with people booking their own flights all at the same time. The outbound deviation I told them at cruise booking what day I wanted to land in London, and what day I wanted to leave Reykjavik. I couldn’t pass up the savings though of $800 round trip it Europe and back for the 2 of us. That is the total price, not per person. my next 2 are Hawaii, and Alaska. Being in San Diego, we have a good shot of getting decent flights. Again we told them the day we want to arrive and the day we want to leave. With the BOGO, we are paying $300 each trip for the 2 of us. I can’t do better than that on my own….though I will be checking

You can request the same waiter in MDR on NCL. We have found several that we connect with and seem to go above and beyond, remembering what we like to drink after the first time. We get the name and request them again. At the end of the cruise, we write a thank you card with cash for the waiter and then also a hero card to drop in the box. We also do this with our room steward. Anyone that has gone above, for us, on a single encounter. Also for that bartender that keeps the vibe up

This is great…I looked and honestly didn’t see it…I will keep checking it though hoping for updates. I even looked for gaps in itineraries. Yes, POA (will hope for the shower curtain replacement - but won’t hold my breath - and won’t “ruin” my cruise if I’m still fighting a shower curtain) but also Bliss, and Jade which are my next 2 after POA. I was on the Jade in March 2018, so not too long after the 2017 updates. And on the Bliss about a year after launch. Nothing I found lacking in either of them, like I said more curiosity than anything else. where did you find the info that POA is in dry dock in June? Or is that insider knowledge? I don’t mind looking for the info myself, I just don’t know the sites to look. Like I said I tried googling, but was unsuccessful.

Does anyone know if there is a published dry dock schedule? Not important and has no effect on my upcoming cruises, just curious about if we will see any updates on any of them, and what they might be. I tried looking, but I obviously wasn’t successful in my search words. The one thing I have seen in recent postings on you tube is that POA still has shower curtains vs the doors we are seeing on other ships…not a huge thing, and it’s gonna suck, but I’m still going and will deal.

Well healed now, though my eyelid is still a bit droopy after almost 2 years. And no scarring from the shingles or residual nerve damage

Yikes…thankfully I was at the top..and tripped off of it…

I thankfully had no witnesses other than my DH. Got ice. He has had concussion protocol training, so we both stayed awake on our red eye flight…this is after our non stop flight, and arriving at Southampton hotel. Our intention of redoing Stonehenge pictures…with me not squinting…still have to be redone because I had to wear sunglasses in all the pictures

After the shingles in April 2022, we had a European cruise in July 2022. On the way to security at lax before our flight to London, I tripped off the up escalator. Thankfully my face broke my fall, split my lip, and a big knot above my left eye. Looked like DH had beat the crap out of me (he didn’t). Had a black eye for the entire trip. DH put us in a travel ban. Thankfully that has been lifted.

I travel with it all. Pesto, Tylenol, motrin, hydrocortisone, butt paste, triple antibiotic ointment, tums, allergy meds, bandaids, gauze, aloe, sunscreen, Dramamine, Bonine, sea bands

I fall into a few of these….i suffer from horrible allergies. That often times will manifest into a sinus infection depending on the time of year. Severe congestion, and I sound horrible…had to fly home from Europe with that…not fun. I usually have to take a pill before I eat, because I can’t get away from my allergens easily. Different foods and concentrations cause different reactions, from congestion to hives to vomiting. I admit I’m not as diligent at home as I should be, but I use the towel on the door handle in every public restroom. I don’t care if I have wet hands yet from washing them, I will washy washy with the best of them. i woke up on morning 1 of a 10 day Alaskan cruise, with that turned out to be shingles. Self treated with hot compresses, Tylenol, triple antibiotic ointment and Boudreaux’s Butt Paste (which personally I think was the magic trick) DH was not getting anything, and it wasn’t spreading from my back and the one spot on my front. Blisters didn’t open. (Open blisters and contact are what causes them spread from one person to the next.) And I kept them covered (near impossible for me to NOT have covered them naturally). Other than uncomfortable, I was ok. If they were spreading or getting worse would have treated different. But I was lucky enough I guess to get shingles at 49…we did initially suspect an allergic reaction to something, we just weren’t sure what. While I know myself and my allergies, I also know that others do not, so I do my best to put people at ease as much as possible. If I’m in a full on attack, I will have DH do more for me, not because I can’t, but because Joe stranger will jump to incorrect conclusions, if they see me at the buffet not being able to breathe trying to get food…

@D_And_K_gocruising…a couple places to check for your pcc..check your cruise confirmation carefully. The name may be there. Check your latitudes rewards emails. Your pcc is usually listed at the bottom with contact information. Finally, try calling ncl. Whoever answers can look up who you booked with, and can give you the name, just ask to be transferred. I have never had an issue with that. I am on my 2nd PCC, the first one I loved…she called me to tell me she was leaving…expressed my “NO” in the this sucks for me, but glad for you tone, and I didnt want to have to “train” another to my preferences…she told me she was passing me to the one who trained her, so I was cautiously optimistic. Had a conversation. With the new one. Set a couple guidelines for our working relationship. Things like, I will send an email if not urgent with a clear question…get back to me when you can. If it is more urgent I will call. I am not a demanding client, we have had many conversations, about my and DH preferences, and I don’t worry about it. i thank her profusely. She is lovely. The best thank you I can give her is recommend her. I know I can’t here. But to all my friends, I tell them, and pass her info along. We were on a cruise, and talking to someone, and a stranger asked me some questions, about booking future cruises. I gave him her name and contact information. And he has become one of her clients (she tells me every time I talk to her, that she talks to him all the time too). Several others have also made her their PCC. during lockdown, when no one was cruising, I called them (ncl and ccl) to say thank you, hang in there. Everyone is frustrated, I appreciate you. Be nice to them, and they will be nice to you.

I can only speak for myself and my DH, as we fall into portions of those scenarios…. Our excitement propels us to want to first at the terminal. Yup, people are there trying to get off the ship…all of that. The excitement has us internally screaming at everyone to “hurry up, vacations over, time to get off the ship because it is my turn.” We are happy to wait our turn though. We would rather wait at the terminal, than a hotel. That time just drags. I only take on with ME anything that I want to be sure that I have with me. A ch age of clothes, medications, electronic charging devices, anything that I would miss if our luggage was delayed. I do everything I can to keep it out of others way. If I have my small suitcase, that I take on the elevator, I will stand over it with it between my legs, if we are at the buffet, it is under the table or some other place out of the way. DH and I will take turns, he takes my suitcase and finds a table, I grab lunch and drinks for us both, then find him and we switch. To us this is common sense. we usually stay pretty mid ship, elevators and stairs right there, we use them a lot. I have bad knees, so going down the stairs is much easier than going up. Frustrates me that many people will just shove onto an elevator, not letting the people on it OFF. We are not going to cram in either. Im not a string swimmer. More of a frolicker. I like to sit there and read, get some natural vitamin d, have an adult beverage, keep an eye on our things while DH gets drinks, or snacks or swims. In 22 years of cruising I can count the number of times on one hand I actually have used a chair…my max is usually 2 hours, but it’s not left unattended. Ever. And it is usually port days. We totally get the frustration from people when ports are changed or missed, for whatever reason. It maybe their only chance to visit. It is a risk we take when we cruise though. Your vacation (life really) is what you make of it. For us it is an adventure, it’s out of our control what we can control is our response to it. What else I can control is my interaction with staff. I tell them thank you, and hang in there, and I appreciate what they are doing, because there will be so many that are NOT nice, and will take the change personally and take it out on those around them, especially the staff. I don’t expect compensation, though it is nice. I usually book excursions exclusively through the cruise line, so excursions are automatically refunded if prepaid, or if booked on board it is taken from off account. That is all I expect. If I book an excursion outside of the ship, I confirm what happens in that event before I give them my money. we do not walk off with luggage, we go when we are told, but we do go as soon as we can. Not excited for the vacation to end, but want to get out of the way, because there is another 2000 people waiting to get their vacation started. And the sooner we can get off the ship the sooner they can start cleaning rooms and turning it over, we are ready the night before. We get up, go to breakfast, come back get our stuff, and get to a public area (making sure the room steward is aware we are done and THANK YOU). yes we are 2 plus hours early for flights (no matter the destination). We would rather wait there, than run the risk of a delay out of our control, causing us to miss a flight or a cruise or whatever. Yes, we fly to a cruise at least the night before, depending on the embarkation port and where we have to go….even our home port of San Diego, we will stay at a hotel the night before near the port. We live 35-40 minutes from the port, but we will stay down town instead. dh is a first in last out, if you’re not first you are last, if you are on time you are late type…and then add impatience in the mix, we both feel that vacation starts when we leave home, but not truly until we are on the plane or on the ship ( depending on the style of vacation), happy sailing!

We will be 54(DH) and 52(myself) this year. Very young at heart. Holland America routinely goes out of San Diego (Home port), and we love Alaska...I have a friend (that told me about CC to begin with) that is a Loyal Holland America passenger. Not to say they wouldnt go another line, but they love Holland America

we have taken advantage of BOGO 1 time so far. I have 2 booked. The one I we have experienced was for July 2022 cruise. we received flights 27 days before. For a planner that is nerve-wreaking. but the savings were unbeatable. we had a 2 day deviation both ways, and had decent flight times. LAX direct to LHR (red-eye left at 9:30pm...ish) and the return was KFL to MSP to LAX (9:30AM departure) we landed in LA at 2:30. The other times that I had it and then had it removed, we were able to secure great flights/times/with upgraded experience for the same amount or a bit more as what we were paying NCL to book the flights for us. example: the portion of cruise fare that I was paying NCL was 100 - one way flight - I got us first class for 200 each. so yes, double the price, but I got to pick my time, and experiece. that was worth it to me. We always take the bogo, and then I look at flights, if I can get it on a deal, then great i have it removed from our reservation. If not, then I am covered. DH will NOT fly day of embarkation, so we always get deviation of at least 1 day. Depending on the destination, it may be 2 days. my next 2 are to HI and SEA. SEA is day before, and HI is 2 days before.

We are fairly loyal to NCL. We like the freestyle format (especially DH and no formal nights). The things that we like and others - the MDR staff getting to know you and your preferences - we have learned that once we find the one we connect with, we just request them. there is sometimes a little wait, but worth it. So we have found a solution to the differences that is acceptable to us. If we were to cheat...I am thinking RCCL or Celebrity (intriqued by infinite balcony cabins), virgin (we dont have kids - not little ones anyway, and dont mind kids...we DO find it frustrating to see kids of an age that should know better acting like they are the only ones on the ship - you know the ones that I am referring too. It doesnt ruin our vacation, because that 30 second intaction, is JUST that - but you still see it happening - and I am not one to parent other peoples kids), holland america (they have interesting preferred itineraries - but I think the age range is still a generation or 2 older than us. We are not night owls, but we also dont to feel like the youngest on the ship). We have done CCL and PC in the past. So for now, NCL seems to be the best fit for us and our vacation budget. Bucket list is a river cruise. Destinations on bucket list are Egypt, Italy, Greece, Australia, African Safari. At some point all the stars will align, and we will check one of our list. I just have to find the right combination of price, form (cruise vs. land), time, and destination.

Hi. we are booked on POA in November, and I am looking to find out the earliest time in the embarkation window for POA. I found a great deal on transportation/transfer, and i want to book it. Not sure how flexible they are on modifying pick up times after reservation is created TIA

We sailed out of Port Pavillion (the “ new” terminal) in April 2022 and out of B Street in April 2023. Port pavillion had it dialed in. Was amazing. B Street was a nightmare. I understand that it is port agents and workers, and not necessarily employees of the cruise line. But there should be standardized training for all. Such an amazingly different experience. We will continue to go out of San Diego when the itinerary suits as it is the home port, but have some work to do. I see why cruise lines would not want to home port out of San Diego, because they are blamed for issues, rather than the port authority.

It’s actually either a seating area, for maybe 5 people or where that have a larger scale ship model. My in-laws were in 14758, while we were in 14158, but we still had no noise issues. DH is a fairly light sleeper and has never had noise complaints. This is in our general preferred location, on all ships. We did find the aft elevators less busy/ crowded then these right by the room. I would book this room again.

I have booked our pre cruise hotel for our POA Thanksgiving 2024 cruise. I booked at the Equus. Haven’t really seen much if anything regarding this hotel. We get that we are going to have to figure out a few transportation logistics (well, I will). Given the time of year we are going, and the location I think I got a pretty good rate (approx 150-175 per night). Hotel looks decent. Doesn’t look like I will be afraid to walk barefoot on the carpet, or other safety concerns. Im a responsible adult, that pays attention to my surroundings. We are only there for 2 nights, so we can put up with a lot if we need to. does anyone have any direct experience at the equus? I would rather spend money on the cruise and experiences than the hotel. It is prepaid, but refundable, if I am making a horrible mistake, I will try to find something else. We typically are a Hilton garden inn/towneplace by marriott - middle of the road type hotel.

What is Vesna’s last name? Do you have that?