BarnCat1

I priced out what we would pay on our own and what the promo is and there is a huge difference, even when pricing the cheapest fares.  I am not sure how they even manage this promo.  We're going to bite the bullet and hope for the best, while expecting we will probably be disappointed at the same time.  Just want to get on the ship 🤞

Do you have to reserve dining in the MDR's as well on the Prima or just the Specialty Dining restaurants?  On embarkation day, is there one MDR open like there used to be on other ships and does that have to be reserved if it is open on the first day?  

In the smoking area on Deck 18, is there anywhere to sit or just a little huddle area?  How closely is the Cigar Bar monitored to be sure you are only smoking Cigars (i.e., party of 2 one has a cigar, the other a cigarette, is that a problem?). Is the Casino monitored to be sure you are playing and smoking?  Can you be watching a player and smoking? Sorry, just trying to cover all probable situations. 

Thanks for such a great review, honest opinions, sense of humor and amazing pictures. I hope the embarkation process gets the kinks worked out by our cruise next year.  

Thanks so much for this great review. This will help tremendously in our sailing for next year. Great information and pictures.  Safe travels back home. 

Cruising out of Pan American Pier next year and looking into a precruise hotel.

Does anyone have any preference between these two. They both seem reasonably priced and close by. 

1 hour ago, n4w said:

Curious about your plans for St. Thomas and/or why the draw... St. Thomas is a scheduled port for us in Oct, still searching for ideas on things to do.

Just have never been to St Thomas and thought it was a good itinerary combined with San Juan.   

43 minutes ago, Shidah said:

I would take a sea day over Nassau any day of the week.

Yes I agree, I should have added Tortola and left out Nassau, but you get the general idea of what I was saying. Skipping St Thomas only leaves San Juan, DR and GSC for the itinerary. Another port would be nice.  

Sadly, St Thomas is the main drawing point for this cruise for us.  They really should consider adding another decent port instead of a sea day.  Turks, Caicos, Jamaica, Nassau or Key West

6 minutes ago, UKstages said:

here again, i hate to shatter childhood dreams, but there likely is no "toilet paper truck." that truck is packed with paper towels, disinfecting wipes, tissues, straws and a host of other food and hospitality supplies, including toilet paper... or the stuff that passes for toilet paper on NCL. frankly, no great loss if the toilet paper truck never arrives... the toilet paper is not exactly top of the line.

 

 

   I would think that bad toilet paper is better than no toilet paper at all. Let that truck in the loading dock!!

The first thought that popped into my head while reading all this is that I hope the toilet paper truck makes it to the port ok.   Don't want to run short on that by day 3 in the middle of the ocean somewhere.  

4 hours ago, blue_water said:

1) By “they” are you referring to a shared tour? Then yes, the cruise line and the independent shared tours do typically include MT, the scenic overlook on Skyline Dr, and Drake’s Seat before dropping you in town or spending an hour or two at a beach like Magens Bay. If you don’t mind being in a group shared tours are an inexpensive way to see those highlights. Obviously a private tour is even better.

 

2) If you are looking for shopping then yes, CA is your target for sure. Again, many shared tours will drop you in CA after. Otherwise yes, you would taxi in if interested in seeing some of the history and shopping.

If docked at Havensight you can just shop there, but you will not get the feel of old Charlotte Amalie. And of course Paradise Point tram is right across from Havensight…
 

If you want to share your ship and date that would show where you will dock…

 

We're docking at Havensight.  Most of us are more interested in views and history as opposed to shopping.  "They" would be a shared tour, but I can certainly look into other options. I do know we can walk right to the skyride from the dock, just not sure that's the best option for views or history.  

We are thinking that Mountain Top might be the better choice since they also stop at other viewpoints.  Any opinions from those that may have gone to both?  

Also, if time allows, is it worth it to take a cab to Charlotte Amalie?  

I hope so too.  I feel like I must take a cruise I am not comfortable taking quite yet. After reading the thread on the NCL Spirit, i dread it even more.  Holding off a few more years might be a good idea.  Of course, we could be up to BA999 by then with nothing really changing. 

Thanks so much for the information.  I'll definitely check into all this.

We will take a loss.  We are trying to get someone to replace the party that can't go.  

Has anyone ever gotten tested at the airport and what was the cost?  Did they provide the required information for the cruise line? 

Can you cancel a cruise that you booked with an FCC? We are no longer able to take the new booked cruise and with a new job for one of our party, another vacation is probably not going happen for a while.  At this point we're willing to take the penalty. 

If you purchase OBC upfront and the cruise is cancelled by NCL or if you cancel or change it to another sailing, do you get that OBC refunded, or does it get transferred over to the new cruise you book?  I know you get your shore excursions refunded by not sure about OBC paid upfront.  I don't want too much money tied up with NCL. 

Thank you for the very detailed information.  Hopefully, since our plans are several months away, none of this will be necessary but it's good to know. 

On 3/9/2022 at 10:08 AM, njhorseman said:

Yes, for that itinerary you would have to be tested again on the ship.

I apologize if this has already been answered.  If you have to get tested on the ship, who is testing you?  Are you doing the proctored test on the ship or is NCL testing you? Is there a fee? What if you test positive and you're already enroute? 

Thank you all for the information. I adjusted my pick-up time based on the advice given.  I was looking up the port area and there is nothing within walking distance to do, so there is no point in hanging around. A lot of the restaurants nearby don't open until 11am so we wouldn't even be able to Uber there and enjoy hanging out as it would be time to leave to go to the airport. Off to the airport we go and relax before our flight. 

Our ship docks at 7am on a Saturday, and we'll be 1 of 5 coming in port that morning. Our flight isn't until 3pm in the afternoon from MCO.  How long do they let you hang around the ship in the morning?  What is a good time to request our driver to pick us up?  We would like to walk off with our own luggage. Is there anywhere that is open to hang around at the docks or will we have to hang out at the airport? 

On 1/18/2022 at 2:09 PM, JessyCruises said:

We used them in October for the Allure. Corey was great to deal with as we changed our hotel a few times so had to have our booking updated.    We booked a one way shared shuttle and ended up being the only people on the shuttle.  It turns out Corey was actually our driver and was super friendly

How far in advance did you book with them?  We'll only need them from the port to MCO.

What if you already applied the FCC to a new cruise, but really would rather have the money back, if the cruise you were originally supposed to take got cancelled.  Would you be out of luck to get the cash back?