MagnoliaBlossom

Since Dream did the original testing in June, and is not listed in JH’s post,ndonwe know if they have remained implemented on the Dream? A post from page one seems to indicate that but I may have misread that. im a New Orleans girl, so I love Emeril!

We are booked on a British Isles cruise 6/26 on the Dawn with a port of call at Kirkwall. Last week we received an itinerary change that we will skip Kirkwall and have a sea day. No reason was given, as is their prerogative. Today I was reading a Cruise News article that said the council in Kirkwall has decided to limit the number of ships as it is disrupting public services and quality of life for the residents. If you have had the privilege of call thre, you know it is a lovely, small island. According to the article on some days they have received three ships with a total of 7,000 passengers. I had hoped to show my grandkids the Shetland ponies and zillions of sheep, but maybe next time. no need to flame me - I am NOT complaining, I am NOT going to cancel my cruise, and I am NOT going to “never sail NCL again”. I’m just sorry we didn’t make the cut. we are seeing more areas prohibit or limit ship calls, so this is another on the list. MB

Meta upgrades with points have nothing to do with money. They only deal with cabin category. Even if your current inside is valued higher than a balcony it is still an IN # category. Upgrading with points does not change. If you are outside penalty you may look at just booking the balcont direct and save your points for later. No one here can answer that. Call your NCL rep or TA

I never buy CruiseFirst in advance, just at the time of booking. I do buy CruiseNext in advance' though.

NCL does not offer a bonus for applying onboard. I know CCL does,, but I’ve never even heard the card advertised onboard. You can apply now, begin using your card then use your card onboard. and receive triple points for all purchases. using the points for OBC is the worst use of points. Cabin upgrade is best use usually, followed by cash back. Many discussions on that here, just read back a ways.

There are several shuttle services. Just search for airport to Galveston pier shuttle and you will find them.

Not crazy about Zing zing. Too much sodium.

Usually it id 30 minutes prior to sailing. The all aboard time will be in the newsletter the night before and it will be posted on a sign near the exit. Make sure you know if you are on ship time or local time and that your watch is correct. Do NOT allow your watch to automatically adjust to time zones. Do it yourself so you know exactly what you need.

And a Tierra!

I am a Diamond level so I have had quite a few cruises and I can tell you that the procedure with FTTF varies depending on port, ship, stage of the moon,who knows what,so all the above information could be true on any given day. our last CCL cruise was in May and with out boarding passes was a new notice that stateroom access for baggage drop would not be available. No reason, not that they need to give one, so I don’t know if it was a one time thing or it is a new thing. I can see it being very disruptive for the crew doing turn over. Another line we sail often times has a luggage check at a loung near the atrium where a crew member gives you a claim ticket for your bags and they are watched over til you go claim them. Very nice feature.

We like a good BM, amd DH is an aficionado! Years ago we had an excellent mix and asked what it was. We had always made our own, but sometimes it handy to have prepared bar mix, but finding the right one is tough. On that cruise we found Ocean Spray BM mix. Superb! We use it to this day. Problem is, it is not a retail product. You must buy it through a beverage distributor or a source on the internet. we find the best price is WalMart online site. We order a case at a time and get free shipping usually, or we can do store pick up. last time we were on Carnival they were using Mr and Mrs Ty’s.

I didn’t see it on the photos posted in this thread, but maybe I just missed it. But when we were on the BA in February, it was not available.

We just switched our insurance to Allstate this month. But if I read this right, their discount cards have gone away, is that right.. I’ve checked Allstates website and don’t see anything there. Thanks

Wow! That would be so cool. I’ve seen it from the air but never by ship. I got a little peak one being just before full dark because we were trying to outrun a storm and get into the river early. I could see the buoys and marshy land but nothing clearly. It would be expensive with dock fees, but I think a lot of people would enjoy a late departure that would allow them to have an evening to enjoy NO before sailing, but that’s not likely to happen.

The news tonight was filled with footage of the horrific fires on Maui. Has anyone heard from cruisers on POA about effects throughout the islands from smoke? Prayers for all those people.

Yeh, buts it’s about an eight hour trip up the river so that would be a long day.

We are Diamond on CCL and NCL so I can address the CCL v NCL issue with some personal experience. Much of the experience will vary based on the ship and that is true of both lines. The older small ships offer less than the bigger new ones, with, IMHO, the small ships excel at more personal service. inthnk NCL is a bit more of an upscale experience (I have on asbestos underwear, so I’m prepared). Small example is, years ago CCL did away with tablecloths in the MDR as a cost savings measure. I think it’s tacky, but that’s just me. Food is so subjective, I’ll just call that one even. I think CCL does better drinks, but their wine list is lacking. CCL has fewer evening dining locales as opposed to NCL. NCL will provide, upon request, coffee makers for the cabin. CCL won’t I find the noise levels on CCL awful and NCL has more quiet spots. CCL has a better program for children, but even in their supervised program they often allow the kids to run wild in common areas. CCL does not enforce its own rules regarding security, noise and smoking as well as NCL. CCL has better pricing on cruises, but NCL beats them in onboard packages. NCL has the MDR open on embarkation, CCL forces you into the buffet or GUYs, etc. NCL has a better thermal suite, but CCL offers more flexible pricing on services. NCL has more varied itineraries, but CCL sails year round in the Caribbean. CCL has a terrific veterans party where all vets and families are invited, while NCLs new program with gifts, etc, requires sign up. NCL offers a 10% discount to vets and their spouses, CCL only discounts active military. CCL does the best disembarkation at sea, NCLs is semi-organized chaos. NCL caters to the Haven folks, while CCL does not treat anyone more special. NCL has better production shows and live music, while CCL uses DJs a lot. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot, but I think you will find NCL enjoyable if you keep an open mind and allow yourself to enjoy something different. Giving up your very comfortable routine can be a bit anxiety provoking. For instance, we sail CCL and NCL a LOT, but have just booked a Princess cruise, we got for a song. We’ve sailed them but not for 16 years, and reading their webpage and the CC roll calls is, well it’s gonna be different. the sailing down the Mississippi is always nice. I just wish they would depart at 10:00:am so you could see the mouth of the river during daylight. For sailaway get on the port side, as after the ship sails it will turn and you want to see the French Quarter and it come up quick and lasts but a few minutes. Lots else to see downriver. Grab a drink, find an outside spot and watch all that history float by.

Ignore

And it’s a win for NCL if you choose between paying 18+ dollars for a decent wine vs having you to pay for the basic Bev pkg, “allowing” you to bring on your own wine, and then not have to serve you wine out of their cellar. I notice they have discontinued their North South and East West wines from the Mondavi vineyards. I enjoyed North South but last time I had it, it too, was no longer in the basic list.

We have four of these booked right now. Plus they gave us OBC to cover the port and taxes.

On a cruise, it stays in my safe. I’d I wanted to talk on a cell phone I ’d stay home

I have been reading that. Not sure I’m into being tracked .

We enjoy sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee in the morning. On NCL we request a coffee maker and bring our own coffee from home. We have some neighbors who cruise PC mostly, I’ll ask them- but right now they’re off cruising!

We have been away from Princess for quite some time, but have booked the Regal for December. Do the balcony cabins have coffe makers, or can you request one? Thank you

The COVID restart prices were reminiscent of post 911 when everyone was afraid to fly and being on an e posed target made cruise occupancy very low. Well, the prices seem to have recovered but we did book a lot of cruises while they were down.. we are driving distance to Galveston and Royal and Princess have been having some excellent rates. Booked a large balcony cabin on Princess Friday for $500 pp with some OBC thrown in. We’ve not sailed PC in a fifteen or so years so I’m looking forward to a change of pace. We’ll see.