ScottIsMyName

Haven't seen this posted recently, we will be taking a 4 night cruise November of 2024 and I was wondering what the current price is for an 5 day pass.  I saw prices in other ships are much higher, but last time we went in 2021 is was roughly $22/pp/day ($109 for a 5 night cruise).

I don't want to highjack your thread but also dont think it deserves it's own thread....

We were on NCL on the Gem in 2021 and it was $109 for a 5 night cruise.  We are sailing on the Gem again next November and I am wondering if the pricing has changed at all (this time will be a 4 night cruise)

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

 

Curious if you have actually done this successfully onboard before, on 1 or more NCL ships and your experience with resulting speed, latency & lags.   Odds are that it "should" be fine with basic email, news & weather and web surfing but not so simple against the bandwidth in live streaming or HD video calls like Zoom.  Unlike "home" WiFi (whether it's cable or FiOS, ours being 300/300 Mbps with ultra-low latency) - ship's satellite deployed by NCL are difficult to compare - some are comparable to 3G only with 4G being good ... a different story if you are on RCL or Carnival brand's fleet of ships.  

 

It is usable but let's be practical about expectations.  

I just got off the Gem last week and it worked fine.  Regardless of if you're sharing or not, live streaming and the like aren't going to work like they would at home.  Basically, what I'm saying is that sharing an internet connection is not going to degrade your connection.  There is a fixed amount of bandwidth available on the ship and whether you're sharing your connection via a hotspot, or you're making separate connections is not going to  make a bit of difference.

For WiFi,  you can purchase an unlimited plan for one device, and then use your hotspot feature on your phone to share with other devices.  You'll need to make sure that the device you get it on is able to connect to wifi and also act as a hotspot at the same time.  This is easy enough to test at home with your home wifi.

I know none of you are fortune tellers, but I was disappointed that Disney just released their last batch of cruises with no mention of any Panama Canal cruises.  I was hoping they might announce more soon? Anyone have any ideas if this is kind of standard practice?

Definitely not offline.  I will be on her Nov 7th-12th for a chartered cruise through Sixthman

Last time I paid for unlimited on one device and then used the hotspot feature on my device to share it with my other devices.  Worked out pretty well.  This is probably technically against their terms of service.

50 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

 

My wife and I have suite in booth aft and forward suites. I liked forward for the size balcony. Keep in mind it can be pretty windy. My wife liked the aft cabin. I wasn't thrilled with the ash blowing on the balcony every day. 

 

What is the charter you are taking?

I have heard mixed reviews about the ash on the balcony, I guess it's really kind of luck of the draw with regards to where the wind blows it.

We are sailing on the rock boat cruise:

https://www.therockboat.com/

Just to clarify, this is a chartered cruise, and I understand that most of the time you get Haven amenities with the Owners suite, but not for this one, so it doesn't seem worth it. 

Thank you all for the replies and advice, it is much appreciated!  When I first got the call, I almost immediately said yes, but glad I checked in.

They also offered me an Owner's suite, but the price is $1800/pp more, which is a bit out of my budget.

Looking for advice here.  We are currently booked in 10664, and have been called because an "upgrade" is available to 9502.  After doing a bit of research online, I'm not even sure this is an upgrade.  They are asking for $380/pp more for a 5 night cruise. 

What I have gathered is that 9502 will be a larger room, but it seems to me that the balcony on 10664 would be better because there would be no wind most of the time.

Anyone sail in one or both of these and have any opinions? Thank you in advance!

I am currently book on a chartered cruise on the Gem.  I have fully paid (through the charter company), and just recently I was able to see my cruise show up on my NCL account.  I started the check in process, bought a wi-fi package and dinner package.

I tried to book a thermal pass and the price kept showing up as $0.00.  I added that to my cart for my wife and I and it let me check out, for $0.00.  It is currently showing up under my booked items, but this seems too good to be true.  Anyone else have this happen?

One other question, what areas are co-ed in the spa for the Gem?

Thanks for the responses.

I contacted my TA and she said Disney would let us schedule a new cruise or even get a full refund.  I was pleasantly surprised by this.

However, after careful consideration, we're just going to take precautions.  We've already been to all the port cities and probably weren't going to get off the ship anyways.  We got a lot of repellent and other supplies that should keep her bug free.

After looking at the "Zika map" published by the CDC, the area we're travelling to (Mexico) is the same color as our hometown (San Diego)

We booked our cruise prior to my wife getting pregnant, and chose not to book travel insurance.  Final payment has already been made.

My wife will be about 16 weeks pregnant when we board early next month (well below the 24 week max set by DCL).  However, we're travelling to Mexico and our doctor advised her/warned her about the Zika virus.

I'm waiting to hear back from our TA, but does anyone know if we would be allowed to reschedule if necessary?  This is a lot of money to simply lose if we decide not to go.

I can't speak for certain about the Pearl, but on the Dawn, I was able to hook up to a secondary HDMI port.  The TV remote does not allow for changing inputs, but nothing a cheap little universal remote couldn't handle.

We had no problems getting alcohol into our room using these. Cheap and effective.

https://www.amazon.com/CRUISE-RUNNERS-Alcohol-Runner-Smuggle/dp/B016XAVZNQ

But you can purchase a case (24) of 1 liter aquafina bottles for the low price of $45! That is about 1000% markup last time I checked.

If you search for ways to sneak in beverages, we have had great luck in the past (most recently last week) getting our alcohol on board without any problems.

We just got off the Dawn. We were in cabin 11166 which is closer to the back of the ship. The location was great with respect that it was close to a stairwell and right next to the Spa and Gym (we had thermal passes too).

However, during normal times (7am - 11pm), we constantly heard the screeching of the chairs from the Buffet being moved around. It was very loud and distracting, and made taking any sort of nap in the afternoon almost impossible.

The buffet takes up a pretty large area, so I think this would probably effect a large number of staterooms.

Anyone else have this experience?

There maybe more than the one outlet - check around near the TV and coffee machine - DO NOT disconnect

the TV or its cable feed it maybe part of the emergency notification paging muster evacuation system.

As for the coffee machine that's fair game after you have had your caffine fix !

 

Stay away from extension cords using the bath outlet only suitable for electric razors and low current draw

appliances !

Bring a small three outlet socket or a power strip.

Avoid extension cords trip hazard and possible medical alert problems with CPAP machines being interrupted !

 

Need help co-ordinate your electrical needs with your cabin steward !

 

The outlets near the TV coffee machine are sufficient for most all demanding activities !

I just got off the Dawn, and in my Mini Suite, there was only 1 110V plug. The TV, coffee maker, etc all were using Euro style plugs which I didn't have any adapter for. If you bring adapters that is definitely your best bet.

As far as coordinating with your cabin steward, they told me to check with the front desk who were able to provide me with exactly 1 extension cord (that had 3 inputs) and was quite long. Using that combined with the extension cords I brought, it worked out just fine for me. I had it split off near the bedside so that we could plug in our phones and other things, and then ran the rest to the TV area with another splitter for the media player, etc.

I definitely agree that you should not unplug your TV though!

Yes you can do a lot of things on the TV including checking your excursion and dinner reservations.

For anyone who may be wondering, you can bring a $5 universal remote if you need to change inputs on the TV to use a DVD/media player, iPad airplay, etc.

Just be aware that there in only one 110V plug in the room (aside from the bathroom) and you'll have to run a long extension cord around the room to be able to plug it into the TV

Just got off the ship. yes you can use them on board. You'll probably have internet access through your cell provider until 9 or 10 PM tonight.

After that, you have to use the ship's wifi which is not cheap. If you have Verizon you can try to get international data for $10/day per device when in Honduras and Belize, and $2/day in Mexico. If your phone has a hotspot feature you an use that to share your connection with other devices.

Thanks for the replies. Good to know about surge protectors, I will bring regular power adapters instead!

I'm hoping with a universal remote I can get my media player to work.

I am leaving today for NOLA for my cruise on Sunday.

I have read that the Dawn only has one Power Outlet?! I am bringing a media player to plug into the TV. I'm assuming I can bring a regular power strip (with a grounded connector), and then plug the tv and my media player into that?

As far as the rest of the cabin, is there a power outlet anywhere near the bed that we can charge our other stuff? And just making sure normal power connectors will work like the one seen here:

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/aeb2cb13-665c-498a-8131-52e805418f39_1.2c51d05a7986083daa4382121881f67e.jpeg

OK.... We have a inside Guarantee cabin booked.

 

Received the email today about upgrading. I guess Im willing to try to get a OV for $25. Since thats the minimum bid.

Nothing to lose I guess

 

 

 

That would be $25 Per Person not Per day?

 

anyone have experience with this?

thanks

Yes, it's per person, not per day. When is your cruise?

We booked with a TA for the Dawn leaving 4/16 out of NOLA. We are currently in a mini suite. If I'm reading right, there's a chance NCL will send us an email asking to upgrade at some point? Just making sure there's nothing I can do proactively to try to get an upgrade in. Looking online, the price difference between MS and suites are pretty high, so not sure how much I really should try to bid to try to get the upgrade should I be given the chance. TIA for any advice!