Brian V

Saw that this afternoon...cue the cries of "We want compensation!" when the cruise lines cancel their excursions because the road and rail line are blocked 🙃

So looking forward to your impression of Princess - we have only ever cruised on NCL (6 so far with another booked for next March) and are open to exploring fields anew 🙂 We would really appreciate your views on the food and service on board. Even though we are not veggie ourselves, we have found that any place we have been that does a good vegetarian meal does everything else well as well 👍 Enjoy your cruises, only sorry your Dad may not be able to join you on too many more 😒

I sure hope so!😮 They start launching lifeboats I'm straight to customer service demanding a refund!

Summer solstice would be my guess...

Following as we are doing the reverse of this itinerary in March of 25 and wouldn't mind a little more up to date info 🙂 We saw Elements on a previous Joy cruise in 2022 and really enjoyed it. We also (not planned at all) got to watch the Super Bowl 🏈on the big screen in Spice H2OI As you will be on board for the game (Feb 9th), I highly recommend staking out a spot on the pool deck or Spice H2O if the weather permits 😎 If past cruises are anything to go by (and who knows these days) the Beatles Tribute will do at least 1 show in the theatre (would expect 2 or 3 in 15 nights?), as will the comedians.

Add in DSC and gratuities, advertised rate of $926 pp inside ($1852 for 2) becomes $3723 for 2 people so, yeah. Leave off the "Free at Sea" ($450 gratuities on the drinks and dining packages) and your still looking at $3278, still close to double (1.77 times actually) and your buying your own drinks. Big change from the headline rate either way...

Actually, if you search for a cruise, the taxes, fees, and port expenses are shown at the very bottom right hand side...in 0.5 point type 🔍 These do not change no matter what promos you take. What does change is the gratuities on the dining / drinks packages and the daily service charge. As these are optional (you don't have to take the drinks package or the dining package, and are free to remove the DSC) they will not be shown as part of the headline price. As the port fees / taxes are not optional, they should be included in the headline price IMO - nothing worse than "Ooooh, we can get this cruise for $900 each", only to shell out double that by the time you get to the final page 😞

And sadly - it is not 😞 Among dairy products, only cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and kashk (?) are permitted as per https://inspection.canada.ca/food-safety-for-consumers/bringing-food-into-canada-for-personal-use/eng/1389630031549/1389630282362

Thanks @BlondieB, that is great info for us! We are sailing out of Miami on the 29th of March...we are likely flying into FLL (we can get non-stop flights from our home airport of YYC) and thought we would transfer to Miami and spend the night there. Guess we will be staying somewhere around Fort Lauderdale instead and shuttling / Ubering to the Miami port in the morning 🙂 Also nice to know FLL is not the $h!t show that MIA is...really do despise that airport😒

Amen brother! "Ooooh, they're newbies!", "Aaaaah, they've done this before.", "Wooooah dude, turn down that shirt 😲" Best past time ever 🥂

Don't give them any ideas 😲

Guess you COULD be sitting around the lovely Miami Cruise Terminal waiting for your boarding group - no shade on NCL's Miami terminal (it's lovely) but I would much rather be on the ship eating / drinking / pool decking (is that a thing?) / whatevering. To each their own...

I really expect the laser tag to be removed at the next dry dock, much like they did with Joy. Any time we looked in on Encore or Joy it was deserted, much like American Diner and Galaxy Pavilion. Expanded spa and Spice H2O coming? One can hope 🤞 More cabins / less observation lounge? Sure hope not 👎

Glad we got our application in when we did 🙂 Just for TSA Precheck, it's a screaming good deal imho!

As noted above, you are under no obligation to tip over and above what you have already paid when you purchased the drink package. You are certainly free to slip your server / bar tender a buck or two when they bring your drinks, it does seem to make getting another round just a little quicker and easier 🍹

Indeed, such activities might find one escorted off of the ship 👮‍♂️

LOL, I stand corrected...will have to try that next time we are aboard 🙂

No, you're not - NCL is. Would be so nice to have deck plans (or maybe a "how do I get to wherever" function?) but I am not holding my breath 😒

Like @RocketMan275 said...and you will likely get a bit of OBC or some other perk 😉

It appears that they don't fill all the dining reservations pre cruise so you should be able to book on embarkation day. If you can connect to the ships wifi from inside the terminal (long shot but you never know) you can use the app to book reservations. Even if you have to wait until you actually board, its far more pleasant to be booking things on the app while sitting somewhere with a drink in hand instead of standing in line at wherever they are doing the reservations on board 🙂

If you book the charter train - the one that picks up at the airport, not downtown - it drops you off right at the ship...and your bags are checked at the airport station and reappear at your cabin door that afternoon / early evening 🙂 If you take that early morning train from downtown then yeah - it's a pretty good hike (or a cab ride? do they have cabs available?) to the cruise terminal. And yes, the ride is fabulous...many glaciers to be seen, wildlife is possible, fantastic crew on the train serving snacks and beverages. You get your first excursion before you even board the ship!

On the Getaway, the M6 cabins on deck 8 (waaaaay forward) have the mondo huge balcony - no wider than others but 3 times as deep. The outer 2/3rds is open to above as well so not the most private. The cabin itself appears to be the same throughout the ship, and indeed, the same as we have had on the Joy and the Encore - no surprise I guess. The cabins are a tiny bit bigger than the standard balcony, the real difference is the bathroom with its huge shower 🙂

Didn't notice the brand but they use the flat paper pouches. It is better than the coffee in the buffet but bringing your own is not a bad idea. Let your steward know that you only need him / her to keep your sweetener / whitener of choice stocked up along with an appropriate reward 🙂

Ship - Getaway Deck - 8 Stateroom # - 8116 Stateroom Category – M6 Club Balcony with larger balcony Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Most of the time, very quiet. As you are above crew space that is used when docking the ship it gets rather noisy early on a port day. As long as you don't want to sleep in, not an issue. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Excellent views from the railing, bit of tunnel effect from inside due to the depth of the balcony. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Huge balcony...2 chairs, 2 loungers, and a table large enough to eat dinner off of :). Only drawback is that you stick out farther than the balconies above so sacrifice some privacy. Was wind a problem? - No problems except when in 50+ knot winds near Bermuda...going to say everyone on the portside was staying indoors 🙂 If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A Any specific problems with this cabin? - It is a hike to the elevator / stairs, only 4 doors from the very front of the cabins on 8. For someone with mobility issues it could be a problem. Any other comments? - Love, love, LOVE the big jetted shower and larger overall bathroom. Would book this cabin again.

Hope that has cleared out by the time we set sail on the 17th but the forecast looks like right around freezing and rain / snow for the three days we will be in the city. Oh well, better than the -40 I woke up to this morning🥶 Thanks @Gappleby for the daily, good to see they have things planned for the Illusionarium, looks like a neat venue.