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I've cruised three times since the re-opening, once on Princess and twice on Carnival. We had scheduled arrival times with all three... both carnival cruises had lines for people who arrived before their assigned time. Even pax with priority boarding were told to adhere to there assigned time, but I don't know if they made any of them wait. In both Canaveral and Long Beach, I saw lines of people who had arrived as much as 1-1.5 hours before their time (the arrival time was on the sign at the front of the line, with the Carnival logo on it). I'm sure they complained later about the wait, while pax who arrived in their assigned window walked right by. I understand the terminal is not run by the line, but there must be some coordination... Carnival does it. If NCL wants to enforce arrival times, they can.

I really wish CC would allow for more reaction emojis... you're story warrants a 🤯 at a minimum!

I was just able to book the Thermal Suite on Breakaway for our Dec 1st sailing. We're not in a suite, just a regular balcony cabin, and do not have any Latitude status at all, as this is our first NCL sailing.

Ship - Panorama Deck - 5 (Havana) Stateroom # - 5205 Stateroom Category – Havana Interior Starboard or Port Side - Starboard Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – NA Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - NA Was wind a problem? - NA If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - NA Any specific problems with this cabin? - not a problem specifically, but the TV is on the wall beside the bed rather than in front of the bed. Any other comments? Layout is sideways, which made it feel more roomy. Additionally, the layout means the desk with the plug-ins is on the same wall as the head of the bed... it's much easier to string an extension cord or power bar without it going across the floor and becoming a tripping hazard. I was worried that being behind the elevators would be noisy, but we heard nothing.

We're on the same cruise. First time on Panorama, first time in an inside cabin and first time in Havana area. No kids with us so no pointers on that but it sounds like there's some great options. For those recommending Quest, is it interactive for everyone, or only certain participants? I'd love to watch but not necessarily participate, if that makes sense.

We have that same cabin on Panorama next month. The sideways layout seems so much better... it's also our first time on a Vista class and Havana, and our first interior.

Yes

Obviously experiences differ. We had excellent food and service at the steakhouse on MG last year. I was excited to try Chibang as I'd heard such good things and honestly we were very disappointed in both food and service. Ate at Cucina twice (both were free at the time, now I hear second visits are an upcharge). The first time was unimpressive... slow service and cold pasta. We went the second time on Elegant Night... very few people there, much better service and better food, plus we got to sit outside on the deck. Rudi's was amazing and well worth the cost. And agree that Shaq's was great, Guy's is good (same as other ships), we found the pizza only ok. Last tip... check out Street Eats... menus change daily so if you don't see anything you like one day, check back next day... you never know!

FWIW, I had the exact same thought you did 🤣

Here's a link to a YouTube video for cabin #6340 https://youtu.be/2VaQqPDqrTs?si=gjt-KOkAOZvmfJrc

I don't know if it's the same as OBC from TA or granted with room bookings, but I used shareholders OBC to buy FTTF. If your cruise is last minute, is FTTF even still available? My experience is it tends to sell out shortly after being released.

We had a spa Balcony on deck 17 Fwd... not all the way to the front but close. Being in a spa cabin, we were able to take the dedicated elevator to deck 5. I don't recall any problems with getting to the dining areas, but we also don't have any mobility issues.

I can't speak to the Excel suite, but if you have a TA, try calling them to see if the suite is actually taken. We had something similar happen on a Princess cruise. There was an aft balcony I had my eye on and when I finally decided to pull the trigger, it was gone. I called Princess direct, and when I asked if there were any aft balcony cabins available, he said there's one, and told me the cabin number. It was the one I had been thinking of, so not sure if was on hold and was just released or if there was some other reason it appeared to be unavailable.

We had the same experience on Princess... I have no idea if the casino or stores were open or closed (we were pretty much just hanging out at Good Spirits until close). But I know we stayed anchored in the bay... we had an aft balcony and we sat out there just looking at the lights.