Qwenya

I just got off the July 7th sailing and we booked a time on gokarts for my grandson as soon as we boarded, but had to cancel when his mom was ill. I had zero problems on Thursday afternoon making a reservation for a doubles time for he and I on Friday afternoon.

Our favorites on the July 7th sailing were Los Lobos and Tepanyaki. La Cucina was so so to us, but I am half Italian from a restaurateur family, so I am probably too picky. I did love the lemon vinaigrette dressing on the salad there and they were so kind as to give me the recipe. In retrospect, we would have substituted Cagney's for La Cucina.

Also, you may ask them to give you your left overs to take to your stateroom. That was something we did not learn until the final night in Tepanyaki. Because I have had bariatric surgery, I wasted a lot of food with my small portions.

YMMV

Does that mean all bids for upgrades are in vain for the Bliss through September?

It just means the chances are slim.

Sorry emails already out for Saturday.

The sailing for July 7 is showing full except for inside staterooms. All of my upgrade bids from balcony to Haven have been marked Expired. I called this week to double check if there was one available to upgrade out right and was told they are still full. The Mini suite upgrade I won was gone by the time my account was clear to charge. So planning to stay in our balcony with the angled balcony.

When we used to travel with little ones, I would pack items in ziplock bags (usually gallon sized) for the kids. That way, underwear, socks, and color-coordinated outfits would be in one place. They could just pull out the bag and have everything they need. Stopped a lot of fussing--especially if they helped pick out the outfits as they were packed! The bag could then be used for any wet clothes on the way home. Some of the bags saw multiple trips, since I would just fold them up and pack for the trip home, ready to use again! They would easily fit upright in a cube, I'd think! Easy-peasy to have a different colored cube for each child.

Exactly what I do!

I wouldn't say that's necessarily true. It depends on what others on the ship have bid for. If a Balcony room is in higher demand from inside/oceanview bidders than a mini-suite is from oceanview/balcony bidders, then NCL is just going to do what nets them them most money. From what I have seen in this thread over time, it seems like balcony occupants are unlikely to bid on mini-suites because the risk of getting a poor room location doesn't justify they slightly larger bathroom. But lots of inside/oceanview people bid up to balconies because the luxury of having a balcony is worth the risk of a poor room location. So I suspect that on the BA/BA+ ships they actually get a lot more bids for balconies than they do for mini-suites.

That makes perfect logical sense.

Bid 1600 from angled balcony on deck 15 for an aft penthouse H6. Escape on sept 16. Will we win??!!

Consider you just gave cruisers on the same sailing the information to outbid you by $25 or so. Another factor is minisuite bidders generally have priority for Haven bid consideration over Balcony bidders.

I see. We usually have 3 of us in a cabin (2 adults and an adult sized teen), and we probably use about 1/2 of the available storage space, and we are pretty heavy packers. (4 big suitcases for the 3 of us.) Never had an issue with keeping our stuff organized, and certainly no issue finding places for things, but I see from this thread that not everyone is the same. :confused:

Indeed. If I were traveling with my 6 foot tall DH instead of my 5'3" DD, I would probably not concern myself about the use of the top shelf, but at 5'0", I have always had to consider what I can reach as a factor. As I said, the cloth cubes allow me to use that top shelf independently without concern.

Traveling with a toddler is a whole other ballgame. A quick trip to Walmart might mean taking more than you need because life with an infant or toddler is so unpredictable. I camp with my grandchildren and have foldable fabric cubes of sundry items. I take them on vacations, too, and they help me stay organized, while also allowing the 8 almost 9 year old a modicum of independence.

I also am an extreme couponer with a stockpile of items I got for free or pennies, so I tend to not want to buy things for travel at jacked up prices while I am traveling and thus prepare for every eventuality (first aid, allergy meds, wipes, Tide and Chlorox pens, laundry pods, Lysol,etc.). Now, my husband is a different story. He will pay the jacked up prices for the convenience. That's OK with me as it is his money. :DI am fortunate that my salary from teaching and my couponing allow me to travel and treat my grandchildren to these trips. Therefore, I am more frugal. To each his own.

OP, I have a question. It sounds as if at Tepanayaki they did not charge you for a "seat" for the kids? Am I inferring correctly? Did you only make a reservation for 2 and bring the kids to eat off the kids' menu (plus the free soup and fried rice)?

My grandson will be turning 9 during the cruise and loves the hibachi "show," so we were thinking of visiting there on his birthday night, but I know he and his 3 year old sister will not eat $40 worth of food. From earlier postings, I was given the impression kids are charge the adult rates at Tepanayaki because they take up a seat. Perhaps if we go at 10 pm it will be less crowded and not an issue. Any advice/information is appreciated.

Thanks so much! Traveling in 9 days with the grands (3 and 9). This helps a lot!

I can't fathom why anyone would need these. Just stack your stuff on the shelves. Why would drawers be needed?

I plan to bring them since I am traveling with my 2 grandchildren. My daughter and I find the better organized we keep the limited space available, the more comfortable we are. Each child will have his/her own color coded baskets for their things. Another thing is my daughter and I are both shorties so this way we do not risk items from piles getting pushed to the back of that uppermost shelf where we cannot see them.

Yea, we are in 10876 and I noticed the same bumped out balcony. I was glad all the upgrades to MS were sold by the time I got my grad school refund. Larger balcony >>>larger shower, I think!

Eleven more days! So excited!

Love Rebellious Fish too, and love my two glass fish bowls :)

 

Is it possible to get these with the UBP and pay extra for the souvenir bowls?

No need for pool floats for the diapered kids, since they aren’t allowed in the pools/splash areas on board.

Correct, I apologize I did not make that clear that is for the 8 year old. Actually did not need to include it since it is for a thread about an 18 month old.

I think you got it right. NCL wants to maximize revenue so they start the Havens at crazy high rates with catching some folks. Rest is more dollars to them with the succession in chain of upgrades.

 

As far as sold out, few mention of getting into sold out category and GUESS is that due to cancels.

 

Our recent trip our category sold out about 18 months in advance. Never came back as available yet people were getting option to bid for that category.

Cancels or they got an upgrade and it opened up the room they booked.

I have been told for 2 weeks now the Bliss 7/7 sailing is fully booked. Yet my upgrade bid on a MS was accepted this past Monday. Up until today, MS showed as "not available " on some staterooms. Now if you look at the site for a mock booking on 7/7, MS show as "sold out" and everything below that shows available to book. My understanding is that "not available" is not the same as "sold out" and if you attempt to book a "not available" room as a single guest it will come up and allow you to put a 24 hour courtesy hold on it. You then can call and ask if they will change your courtesy hold to a permanent booking and book for how many guests you need and pay your deposit.

I also note although Balcony show available now, they were only GTY no stateroom choice up until last night. Now you may select a stateroom.

We'll be taking our toddler, he'll be 2.5 at the time, on a NCL cruise this summer! I'm excited and nervous! My little guy is super active so I'm worried I'll do nothing but chase him the whole time! I think I'll buy a "baby leash". I know some people will judge and think it's tacky, but I don't need him getting lost in a crowd.

Have you seen the adorable backpack animals with the leashes? The animal is on the leash but the toddlers wear their friend on their backs. I know small difference but we have one and my grand daughter tends to wear it easily.

https://www.amazon.com/Alphabetz-Animal-Harness-Backpack-Brown/dp/B06X9FYXJ3/ref=sr_1_20_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1529798907&sr=8-20-spons&keywords=baby%2Bbackpack%2Bwith%2Bleash&th=1

We ordered the dipes and wipes gift package to be delivered to the cabin as we are coming from New Orleans and did not want to deal with carrying on plane.

My daughter who lives in Alaska told us to be sure to bring a weatherproof hoodie and waterproof shoes. Another tip is to buy the mosquito repellent bracelets and put on his ankle or stroller so they will not go in little mouth, but we are sailing in July during mosquito season.

I have inflatable floaties still flat I am bringing for the pool and also packed my camping portable air pump.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Ih%2BKPOpNL._SL1500_.jpg

I watched a video of the Escape large balconies on the 8th deck yesterday. The balcony was large but uncovered. There were 2 chairs and a round taller dining table by the door and then 2 deck chairs by the balcony with the small square table. Plenty of room to walk around.

Here is a picture of the Breakaway class mini suite with all 4 beds shown

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2122298

i go on sunday and my bids are still pending lol

Right I was asking about awarded bids and cabin

assignments.

Within 2 hours of bid acceptance, porters at terminal have blank tags and can write in the cabin number.

Awesome on both counts! Thank you!

How soon after your upgrade did you get your cabin assignment? I know it can be up to the day of sailing, but since we have to print new tags and tag our own luggage in Seattle, I am hoping we get a room assignment next week.

I called reservations (not the NCL line on the website but Reserevations number in the email), and I wish to confirm for everyone that there is nothing in the Terms and Conditions that say my paid reservation is at risk of cancellation by NCL. So thank you all for your concern, and I hope you are breathing easier. They understand these things happen from time to time, which is why the terms and conditions say I can only lose my upgrade or any add on that the declined funds were attempting to purchase.

She gave me the number for the upsell department and confirmed for me that the upgrade would be for 4 people if available. If it is no longer available, the upsell department will inform me and not process the upgrade, and I keep what I have. If it is available, they will put a courtesy hold on it tomorrow morning when I call, and process the fees on Friday, per my request.

PS Connie,

I love Canadians.