TPgal

Can you elaborate on why the Escape didn't hit the mark?

I found that when on the NCL site if I did a filter for just one port at a time the results were more consistent.    But some ports don't have many offerings.  Our stop in Roatan only lists 11 excursions and Harvest Caye only had 5 if you include the beach cabana.   Obviously, we're on a different cruise and the offerings may vary but some ports don't have much.

As for booking outside NCL - that is entirely your choice, but you won't get the excursion credit and you need to be clear on the policies about the getting back to the ship on time or transported to the next port.  We aren't doing any private providers on our next cruise but that's because we found the things we like via NCL and other cabins in our party didn't want to "risk" the non-NCL providers or miss out on the discount.

On 1/11/2019 at 4:10 PM, sargemrs said:

Thanks for all that info.  I figure the walk will be good for all of us.  Eating like we will be, we'll need something!  Since we're not into swimming or even "laying out" the walking to the Haven for meals and maybe relaxation if the Observation Deck is there, won't be too much, I hope.

 After reading all your comments, my little team opted to book in the Haven, but now we're on a campaign to get our favorite friends to book the Aft haven cabin.    Our booking is veeeerrry far out, so we have months to work on them.  Lucky for us, we have a Panama cruise in 77 days, that should hold us over for a bit. 

On 11/26/2018 at 9:54 AM, bam1957 said:

We did the Haven Spa on the Getaway last December and a Penthouse and Forward on the Breakaway. I won't do a Haven Spa again. The room was too small for my liking. The service with the Butler was the same inside the Haven and outside. I prefer either a forward or aft.  I'm doing an Aft on my 12/8 sailing on the Bliss. I just like that the bedroom is it's own separate room.

I'd be interested in a follow up now that your 12/8 sailing is done.   Do you mind sharing?   I'm debating an in-haven or aft cabin.  

I'm sure others who have cruised more than I have will have a more technically accurate answer, but we used the NCL app while on the Pearl in Alaska.  We were able to send messages via the app but it wasn't a perfect way to communicate.  As I recall we had to go to the app to see if we had messages rather than getting alerts.  We ended up using sms texting which worked out nicely.  We also set a specific time to check the apps/texts so that we knew that our messages would be seen by those times. 

I see that there are two apps to choose from, some of the smaller ships don't use the newer NCL app (iConcierge) and but the application says that there is no separate internet charge to use it.  

How exciting!   I think you've done your homework and it's a good question. 
 
Other than things that you opt into such as the casino, excursions or shopping onboard the only other thing I can think of that I ended up spending money on that I wasn't expecting was good coffee.   The coffee bar was not included in the UBP and this Seattle girl NEEDED a latte.  It was a minor expense but well worth it.  

You might consider having a stash of cash to be able to tip individuals who provide great service - i.e a favorite bartender or your cabin steward, but it isn't required (just nice).  There are some staff members that aren't included in the tip share - i.e. kid club staff and suite/haven butlers/concierge.  

You can pre-arrange your port to airport transportation and pre-pay that if you like.  

Have a great trip!

I think for the official view you'll need to look at each ship, but it is my understanding that cabins are pretty similar in each class of ship.  So, a haven 2bedroom suite on the Jade would be very similar to the 2BRS on the Pearl.    Enjoy the research!

3 hours ago, Jthomasou said:

However, is it a very formal adults only affair. She’s great, but she’s 4. You can always ensure the word poop doesn’t get mentioned occasionally at the dinner table or pool. 

I'll be cruising in April with a 49-year-old and a 75-year-old, and I also can't be sure that poop isn't occasionally mentioned at the dinner table or the pool.  Your small person is just as welcome and entitled to be on the ship as anyone else.   I hope you have a great trip.   

A quick google search comes up with:   https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Are they looking for homemade Christmas cookies? 

That's it, you win the Internet today.  🏋️‍♂️

If you are within the booking window (100-90 days before you set sail) and you have the premium dining package it might be worth a call to NCL. If you're only a few weeks or days out it is entirely possible that all the reservations are booked.

ProjectHandbag, do you happen to remember what the excursions for Panama/Gatun Lake were? I'm going on the same cruise in November and they haven't listed Panama excursions yet. For personal reasons, my mom and I are hoping to do one of the tours that goes into Panama City, but I don't know if those are offered or not.

We're going April 1, 2019, and can't book anything until 90-100 days out, but you can go to your NCL.com page and search for excursions. For Panama, narrow your search by selecting the Panama Canal/Gatun Lake excursions.

You'll find thirteen different options. We're looking forward to the Ferry which means we basically get to go all the way thru. Hopefully, the ride back to the ship won't be torture.

This link may or may not work...https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/search?destination=Panama+Canal+Cruises&port=PCG

 

Back to the Haven, I believe that NCL should make it clear that although children are welcome, there are behavioral standards.

Oh, I severely and ardently disagree. Terrible behavior should be absolutely never be allowed no matter where (in public spaces) the child may be, or what class of room the family has booked. My seven-year-old knows not to splash other people, scream, run, bump into folks, make a mess, and all sorts of other things. Loud, messy, rude children are a DIRECT result of inattentive and disrespectful parents. I'm not talking about kids with developmental issues - but even in that case, those children shouldn't be unattended.

Perhaps I'm the unfun mom, but we aren't ever on the receiving end of eye daggers from other people. We have rules about walking softly in hotels/ship hallways, not allowing doors to slam and being aware that there are other families on either side and above/below our room as the case may be. These conversations aren't hard, they aren't cruel they are part of being a considerate HUMAN on this tiny earth.

Try the Efeste Final Final at Purple (restaurant)....that was my wine of choice when I lived there

Squee...we love Efeste! They now have a tasting room in the SODO district - which would be an easy side trip for anyone flying into Seattle for their cruise. It's not walking distance from the pier but a quick cab/uber. Final Final or Big Papa, totally worth the effort.

Our booking included an airfare and hotel credit, but when attempting to book it wasn't clear if we could get the flights we wanted or even the exact details of the itinerary. As for the hotel, it appears that NCL has certain properties they deal with and the reviews for the one in Miami were fine - but we wanted to be in a different part of town so we booked on our own.

To be honest, I'm sure we're paying more, but by booking our own travel we have the confidence in our airline, and hotel choice and the schedule. If we were departing out of a non-US location then I'd plan to arrive at least 2-3 days before to explore and also to get on local time. That first day can be a loss if you're exhausted.

You will be spoiled for cruising any other way after this! Did you happen to book a forward facing penthouse? Those are our favorite cabins on the Jewel class ships, and that's absolutely the BEST cabin to have for the Alaska run!

 

You can ask about having your adult kids check in with you...they may not do it since they are adults and can check in on their own. But it's worth the ask.

Thank you for this answer. We're in a suite on a Panama cruise next year and my mom is in an inside cabin across the hall. I'm hopeful that she can check in and board with us as this is her first major trip anywhere ever.

-We did the Alaska trip last July - AMAZING!

Quick question: were you able to pre-book the Villa's on Harvest Caye before departure or was it an on board thing? (If so - is that something your concierge helped with?)

I think some of it depends on where you are going. On the Pearl last year in Alaska, I didn't see a single person wearing formal wear. Most people did seem to be a bit more dressed up than you'd probably see in a warmer cruise. Of course there were the jeans and t-shirt crowd, and a few brave souls in shorts and flip flops even in Glacier Bay, kind of like the tourists I used to see in San Francisco with shorts and an over priced sweat shirt they just bought at the local tourist trap for $50, because they are freezing in July.

Agreed, we were on the mid-July sailing and the majority of the time folks were dressed very casually. We had the dining package and I noticed that folks in Cagney's and Le Bistro were more formally attired. I admired the few couples that I saw in sparkly dresses and tuxedos, and they didn't seem out of place.

I am guilty of sporting a junky sweatshirt from one of the ports because my "I'll just layer" plan wasn't a good one. It was 80 degrees in Seattle when I packed and jamming a heavy coat into the suitcase simply didn't happen. I didn't wear the sweatshirt to dinner...just on deck during the spin in Glacier Bay.

We dressed for dinner each night that we had reservations, treating each night out like date night was our form of fun.