complawyer

so you ended up paying almost $2500. let us know when you get back if it was worth the difference in $$$

chiefmatejrk. you always seem to have the most logical, common sense answers. some people just cant or wont accept or see the obvious. they are affectionately referred to as "CLUELESS"

there are many times and different ports where my wife and i choose to stay on the ship. i wont bother with GSC, Harvest caye or Nassau. we were on bliss in july,to alaska and only took the whale watching tour (waste of time an $$$) i see more fish in my aquarium. having been to alaska before and seen these ports, we just watched the scenery, vegged out in the observation lounge, had leisurely lunches at the buffet and/or mdr. if youre wondering why we bothered to take this cruise and not leave the ship, (1) wanted to experience the NCL Bliss (2) the cruise was a freebie)

as the dawn offers no haven, the "suites" get all the perks that you would normally receive , butler, concierge breakfast/lunch in cagney's and moderno. your only drawback is no balcony. (personally, i cant live without one) but to each his own.

or go onto google and check for the shuttles. a few years back, we booked a shuttle from ft lauderdale to our hotel in miami, we stayed a few days prior to sailing, the hotel has a shuttle directly to the ship. when we got back, the same shuttle we had booked from ft lauderdale was waiting to take us back to the lauderdale airport

been to aruba and curacao. as far as im concerned there is nothing to do in aruba but shop, gamble or go to the beach. never been to bonaire, but i understand its great if you scuba dive or snorkel curacao is by far the most picturesque and worth just wandering around the city. we were there many years ago, and it's beautiful.coming into the harbor, all the shops/buildings are all pastel colors. out of all the ports on the cruise, im most looking forward to seeing curacao once again. actually the only reason i booked this cruise is for the canal transit

i dont know if this will truly help, but it's similar. we're on the jewel from jan 26th thru feb 4th in panama. there are either inconvenient flights (we live in los angeles) or the need to overnight in panama. i did some research, and copa airlines has a 6 hr non-stop flight from l.a. to panama city, but coming home, there are only 2 flights. one is slightly after 8 a.m. which i know will be impossible to to take, and the 2nd is just before 7 p.m. which will necessitate spending 7 hrs in the airport. As i have no overwhelming desire to see panama for the day. so we got a hotel and take the 8 am flight out on the 5th. i booked the airport crowne plaza hotel,it has 24 (allegedly) shuttle service to the airport, and the room was $75. even if you dont want to tour new york, i'd still get a good nights sleep and take a flight out the next day

sorry, magnolia, obc is use it or lose it. think about it. if they refunded any unused obc, personally, i wouldnt use any of it and just get my money back at the end of the cruise

gratefully, we were on the gem for the back to back, and pepsi was still available by the glass or can. it was around 3 per can, but by the glass it was free with the original drink package. i has a terrific butler, however, who brought me cans of pepsi for my room at no charge

you are not missing anything. this is very common for whenever ncl runs a "sale" . to me when advertising the 2nd person sails free, you look at the price quoted and that should be the price paid . ncl quotes prices per person when you check out the cabins. i have written on this topic many times. i admit to being very, very anal about checking prices. in my opinion, my opinion only (at this time) is that at final checkout, what ncl has done, is jack the prices way, way up, allegedly cut them in half, leaving you with still and inflated price. hey must think we're dumb. i've sailed with ncl over 20 times since 2010 and i think im aware of how their sales really work. if youre wondering why i stick with ncl, when they're not running their sales, i find the prices reasonable and the ports outstanding. when it comes to booking during an ncl monstrous sale, "CAVEAT EMPTOR"

hey, golf-pro leithbones: while i think it's admirable that you can change personas after getting on the ship. bottom line is why bother. my point was, i dont want to discuss my kids,listen to or tell you a joke, have a meal or take an excursion with you. all of that means that i need to be friendly and sociable with/to someone i will probably never see or have any contact with ever again. begs the question? if you're on a long distance flight, cross country, cross atlantic or pacific, will you strike up a conversation with the person next to you? i wont, not because im truly anti-social, i just want to try and get some sleep, or if its a really long flight watch a few movies. when we were much younger (about 40 years ago) anytime/anywhere we traveled, we always managed to hook up with other people. on cruises where you were seated with 6-8 other people, we always had a great time. a couple of nights, i even bought champagne for the table. I liked to have a "posse" and it usually worked out well. now that i'm almost 75, very cynical and pessimistic, i dont look to make any contacts with other passengers. while i wont intentionally ignore you or be rude, i wont go out of my way to get together either

no, we're booked on the jewel in jan, and the dawn in june. but as grumpy as i might be, i would love to share a scotch with you. chivas on the rocks with a twist of lemon have a great cruise!

well said !

no, we're booked on the jewel in jan, and the dawn in june. but as grumpy as i might be, i would love to share a scotch with you. chivas on the rocks with a twist of lemon have a great cruise!

on our most recent cruise (ending onthe 15th) one of my travel companions took a couple of on your own tours, and i dont believe the buses were equipped with toilets. most of the shore excursions we have taken through ncl the buses did not have on board toilets, but with regular stops it did not present a problem. at most ports, however, we hire a cab took take us around, andjust ask him to stop when/if necessary on the bright side, if youre doing anon your own tour, im sure there will be a number of places (shops, restaurants, hotels, where you can stop and use their facilities.

fyi, you are not in any way obligated to tip the butler, it was just suggested, and if he was in fact useless, maybe you were not utilizing him/her correctly. he cant be useless if you give him directions of what you would want, like, and need, right from the start of the cruise. i may have had some butlers that were not as good as others, but never had one that was useless. remember yours is not the only cabin he has to service. it's not your personal butler besides, if youre unhappy with your butler, merely talk to the concierge and have a different one assigned. having a 24 hr on call butler is one of the major marketing points by ncl for getting passengers to book the haven or regular suite.

no, i still dont want to gravitate to other grumpy old men. who wants to hang out with other fat, balding old guys, sitting around drinking bud lite and talking about the good old days, or for us vets, our days in the "NAM"

much easier to list ships we havent sailed on.. encore, escape, joy, breakaway, prima, pride of america, sky, sun. i think that about covers it. of course, some we've done twice

first thing we ask of the butler, is that every morning around 730, he bring in a pot of coffee, decafe, and hot water for tea, along with assorted rolls, pastries, butter and milk. my wife and friend who shared a 2 bedroom suite with us, like frosted flakes so i asked for a few boxes. also had him bring me some cans of pepsi and a couple of bottles of heinekin. asked for peanut m/m's gummie bears, and cheese an crackers. we will unpack our own bags, thank you. since you have a butler you can eat breakfast and lunch at at moderno's and cagney's. one morning our friend wasnt up to coming up to breakfast, so our waiter had thebutler bring her breakfast down to her in our cabin. by the way, why opt out of the butler service if it's included in the cabin fare, and you are already paying for the service. by the way, some butlers our more helpful than others. on our recent cruise, i had our butler swap out the bottle of champagne (that nobody seems to want to drink, kind of like fruitcake)for a bottle of prosecco

just got off back to back on the gem,14 days starting in venice and ending in rome. next cruise jan 26th on the jewel, panama canal

thruthfully, although i am not really "anti-social", im not inclined to be social either. i dont go on a cruise with the intent of meeting people, so consequently i dont go out of my way to do so. im very content to socialize with just my wife (who talks to everyone within range) and our 3rd traveling companion. i may exchange a comment or 2 with someone on a a shore excursion, but other than a few words that would be it. ok, i confess, im just a grumpy old man!

extension cords. i have a cpap machine and there is usually only one ac outlet near the bed. this way, we can plug in cell phones, kindles, and my wife's apple watch.

for what it's worth (and we've been through this many times)we usually tip the butler between $100-$150 at the end of the cruise. the concierge $50-$100, depending on how much he has done for us. whether it's factored in or not, i give the cabin steward $20 at the start of the cruise, $20 after a few days, and another $20 at the end. if he's been exceptionally diligent, i'll up it to $100 total. on our last cruise on the star this past sept, the asst maitre'd for maderno and cagney's was particularly helpful, so we gave him $75. while obviously under no obligation to do so, we usually leave $5-10 as a tip to the waiter/waitress who serves us, and a few $ per drink to the bar-tenders. you can tip or not tip as you see fit. i find that the staff is much more appreciative when they receive a little extra. and daniel A, sorry, it aint that hard to figure 15%. if you can multiply by 2, you can certainly divide by half, unless you're hopelessly mathematically challenged. finally, one of my very close friends used to me a waitress many years ago (we are now both retired lawyers), and in her honor i always leave 20% please note, im not trying to indicate we throw our money around, but these people dont make a lot, and even if the daily gratuities are dispersed to the entire staff, it doesnt give them a great deal of cash at payday.

why dont you try and make arrangements to fly in a day early. most cruise chat lines will advise this. isnt it better to pay for a night in a hotel, rather than take the chance of missing the embarkation, and the hassle of trying to get the ship at the next port. you'd have to pay the fare to get from honolulu to maui anyway, so may as well spend it on a hotel room, and relieve the potential stress.andif you did miss the embarkation, you'd have to find and book a hotel at the last minute

well then, log on to your cruise, click summary, check for volos and it will show you whats being offered. i was only giving you alternatives. most of the time (and ive taken 20 nlc cruises) i hire a cab. its often cheaper then the ncl shore excursions, and sometimes they can take you to the same locations. you asked for recommendations, so i gave you some choices. you are not bound to only take ncl shore excursions