HuliHuli

That is funny as we received the M&M's from our Butler on the Jade in July. I tipped our Butler $50 upfront for a special request and that set the stage for special services he initiated throughout the cruise, which earned him a larger tip at the end. Tipping this way gives you the information you need to separate the great butlers from the good or mediocre ones.

Hey @JamieLogical- I thought you quit sailing on NCL. Are you back now?

We were on the Jade at the end of July and they held this tasting. We did not need to sign up; it was a small event with only about a dozen attending. The Cruise Next staff were there to push their product and they collected our names/cabin information so they could target us twice a day for the balance of the cruise. Most of the wines were unimpressive as others have said,but still it was nice to wet our whistle shortly after boarding.

Another thing you might want to do @wtang (or have your TA do) is call NCL and ask them to send you an "AMENITY CONFIRMATION". This will give you a .PDF of the confirmed 'perks' on your cruise, by passenger. Print and take this on your cruise. In the event you are denied any 'perk' onboard, you can pull this out and show it to NCL staff to resolve the issue. The Amenity Confirmation also ensures that those 'perks' that your TA funded have been correctly transmitted to the cruise line. On my last cruise we had 21 'perks' and this document was helpful in collecting what we were due.

No, not exactly. Greece did not require any type of COVID testing before we arrived. However, NCL did, but since our vaccination and testing records were in order, we glided through check-in.

It pays to double check and clarify before booking!

You are comparing apples to oranges @MPHennessy. The rules for entering Greece have nothing to do with embarkation on an NCL cruise. We made this sailing recently and both were a breeze - airport entry on arrival was uneventful; boarding was equally uneventful as we had our paperwork in order.

This too is a great point @Strenz! Booking 6-months or more out has proven to save us points or dollars on airfare. On our most recent booking, I found a Business-class fare that was nearly 40% less than some Coach fares for flights on the same day. Whereas when we've had to change flights shortly prior to sailing, we've paid premiums of 50% or more to re-book the air portion. Again timing is everything and a little luck never hurts.

I too have a somewhat different take on this as @Strenz did. But first, I think it should be noted that price fluctuations up and down and policies restricting re-booking w/o penalty after final payment are not unique to Windstar; all of the cruise lines do this in one form or another. In our case, we are booked on the Wind Surf in March 2023. We saw the cruise we liked months ago at a reasonable price ($3,999 pp) for a 14-day sailing, but waited patiently for it to show up on the 7 for 7 sale at $3,299 pp, and then booked with the loyalty discount as well as $300 pp OBC combined from Windstar and our TA. Today, the same cruise is listed at $4,399 pp, a full $1,500 pp more than we paid. Similarly, on our NCL cruise later this year we booked early enough to secure our desired cabins, but watched the fare daily as we approached final payment. We re-fared the cruise twice in the final two weeks before final payment saving well over $1,000 pp on that cruise and getting a pile of perks from our TA during a simultaneous two week sale they were having. I've watched cruise prices rise and fall in the waning days prior to final payment on many lines and have learned that either you or your TA must be especially watchful for changes that will benefit you. Timing is everything in booking a cruise and you won't always win.

HA! Good one @Travelling2Some. But to be fair, Huli-Huli is an Hawaiian cooking style commonly used for chicken (see https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/how-to-make-hawaii-style-huli-huli-chicken/), but also pig. Most tourists only know Kalua Pig from the Waikiki luaus - wrapped in banana leaves, cooked in a covered pit with hot stones. But if you live in more rural parts of the state, Huli-Huli pig (meaning to turn and turn, i.e., on a spit) is more common and is what the locals do when celebrating an important event such as the 1st year birthday of a child. So yes @joelheather I hail from the islands, where I made the effort to build cultural ties with Hawaiian, Samoan and my other Polynesian neighbors, Huli-Huli(ing) a few pigs. The nick name stuck. As you note, you can still buy Huli-Huli-style chicken in the Islands, practically anywhere you see billows of great-smelling Kiawe-wood smoke emanating from a large roadside grill. Hawai'i no ka oi! and ʻO Huli-Huli ka ʻono loa! Aloha

OK @complawyer, here's one that doesn't pass the laugh test. "there isn't an option to purchase one." Really? I'll bet the tire shop he visited could sell him a spare. Never heard of AɱǻȥȫȠ? If you want a spare, there are endless sources and choices to choose from, including the car dealership.

I'm not sure why you would conclude that. And please, don't call me Shirley.

Indeed @BennyBrun - When we returned from the cruise and elected to try a taxi from the queue. Both police and Coast Guard port officials were monitoring the queue. We took a taxi that did not immediately start the meter as they are obliged to do; we demanded he start the meter and he reluctantly agreed. We used a car service for all other trips and found the slightly higher price to be well worth avoiding hassle.

You ASS-U-ME I didn't come prepared. My wallet was in a zippered pocket on the front of my trousers. When the locals suggest avoiding the metro, I listen.

This is a great excursion, but a very steep climb on a narrow trail. So if you have any mobility challenges, you might want to reconsider this excursion.

Indeed, there was no "posted" priority/Haven line. We had to press the port staff to recognize our priority status - they have a list on a clipboard and once they confirm you are on the list, you are escorted to a table at the front of the tent where you meet the concierge and are rapidly processed. Once processed, there was a short delay awaiting immigration review, but then we were among the first few passengers to board. We headed straight to Cagney's and were seated for lunch by noon.

I cannot stress strongly enough, the Metro is NOT the way to go anywhere in Athens! We were on this cruise as well and during our two days in Athens, I was pick-pocketed outside the Omonoia station, directly across the street from the Moxy Athens City hotel and a second attempted theft while on the metro itself by a team of thieves. They assaulted my DW as we attempted to disembark, opening zippers on her bag and my pants trying to get our belongings. We spoke with local police (who are stationed around the corner from the Moxy) and with hotel staff. We learned that pick-pocketing is an industry in Greece in the summer months and once we were alert to the problem, it was easy to pick out the culprits in the vicinity of Omonoia and other places. Be forewarned!

Clearly a comment by someone lacking business experience. Inventories have carrying costs, costs NCL can ill afford to pay as the cruise economy is still so tight. And it is not a single inventory, but multiple departure ports would need to be covered. As a shareholder and a passenger, I can live without any one particular liquor on a cruise.

So you're the guy that drank them dry before I boarded.

GREAT! Another deck chair we can use.

Nothing is free on a cruise ship! You've already paid for it.

Great! One more available deck chair.

NCLH "will no longer require guests to complete precruise COVID-19 testing unless required by local regulations." So it is not the cruise line requiring testing. Also see the new EU announcement:

From several past experiences, this is why I ONLY pack carry-on regardless of the trip duration. I've had bags go to Haiti, when I was headed to San Juan; bags left in New York when I was headed to Cairo; and bags thoroughly damaged on flights from Italy. This doesn't solve the OP's issue, but may save someone the same experience in the future.

NCLH announced this morning that the requirement for pre-cruise COVID-19 testing will end August 1, 2022.