hallux

3 hours ago, DominicAUS said:

We stopped there in January this year. The Bliss was the first ship back post the hurricane. Was a huge deal with TV cameras and whole lot of pomp! 

Were you on the cruise starting in Miami or LA?  I embarked in Miami, we had TV cameras covering our arrival.

3 hours ago, DominicAUS said:

Took a tour to release baby turtles had the best time but didn’t walk round as many places were still closed, we loved our tour and never felt unsafe.

I did the same tour, it was amazing!  I had the same feeling.

25 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

stopped in Acapulco this Feb.  Still signs of Hurricane damage ( I think it was Hilary) from last year

I was on your same cruise, second ship visit to Acapulco since the hurricane.

As awesome as it is to travel the Panama Canal, I think I rank Acapulco as one of the most meaningful days on the cruise.  Seeing the devastation of the landscape and the resilience of the people, and contributing to their recovery by bringing tourist $ just warmed my heart.

Mexico overall - I walked the port area in Puerto Vallarta alone, I walked much of Mazatlan on my own.  Never really felt unsafe.

I've had my eye on the Bliss Westbound.  The post-drydock concerns me, as does the idea that it's going to be filled with people 25-30 years older than me.

I was on the Escape last year.  One of the shows you CAN'T make a reservation for (the Rumours show in The Pour House) is one of the best on the ship and if you want to see it you really need to be in line an hour or more before the show.

If you want to see the dueling pianos you either need to be early or show up later after people have left.

Both are popular shows but small venues.

@Captain Obvious I don't consider it a 'chair hog' situation if you're actively sitting in the chair.  I don't even consider it that if you're sitting there and have one saved for your travel partner or new friend you met on board to join you at some point.  It's the people that are on deck as soon as the chairs are set up, stack of towels in hand, reserving rows of chairs (I saw it one time) with towels only to come back after having an 8 AM breakfast, participating in 9 AM trivia, then meandering back to their cabin to put on their swimsuit and finally appearing sometime around 10 or 10:30 that are the real issue. 

If the chair has just a towel, or a towel and a book but no indication it's been used and has been unused for over 20 minutes it should be fair game unless there's a living, breathing, soul in the chair next to it saying their spouse or friend is coming.

As a solo cruiser this gets even trickier - I either need to find a pool buddy or hope that someone sees my sandals under the chair to recognize that I'm somewhere in the area.  I will often spend 20-30 minutes at a time in the pool, but then I'll want a chair to sit on when I get out of the pool.

I wouldn't remove it myself, but I'd certainly find a crewmember to assist with securing the abandoned items so I could utilize the chair.  If the person comes back and claims you took their seat - "it was empty when I sat down, maybe that crewmember knows where your towel is"...

4 hours ago, Maanio said:

Well it's not completely accurate.

NCL Europe actually has sales on the NORMAL FAS package. Only upon booking the cruise.

FAS+ not though.

They weren't asking about FAS/FAS+, they asked about the Premium Plus beverage package

10 hours ago, complawyer said:

if youre asking about your platinum plus status

Or they were asking about the Premium Plus beverage package, hence the words "Premium Plus" in the thread title...

1 minute ago, galveston gal said:

Guess no one else has input.

Not to toot my own horn, but if the current input is accurate information why does anyone else need to provide input?  NCL is not like Royal Caribbean - the price of the package is what's advertised, it does not fluctuate based on season, ship or itinerary...

17 hours ago, Matahari47 said:

Actually we did request a disability compliant cabin when we booked. Obviously my request wasn’t understood or communicated

You asked for one, but did you then confirm that what you were given was what you asked for?  Accountability goes both ways, it's easy enough to look up the deck plans of a ship and see if the cabin you were assigned is actually an HA cabin, you can then call back and ask to have your reservation amended if you were not given the cabin type you requested.  The calls should be recorded, they could pull the tapes to find out that you made the request known.

21 hours ago, Matahari47 said:

- as a disabled passenger there was no provision for adapted cabin despite us requesting one

I agree with @PelicanBill on this point - if you want a HA cabin you need to book one.  Don't hope to get moved to one once you board, it doesn't work that way.  This goes way beyond 'requesting' one - you need to specify a HA cabin and ensure that the cabin number on your confirmation matches a HA cabin on the deck plans online, PRIOR to the cruise (within minutes of getting the confirmation, preferably).

2 hours ago, ecs66 said:

Or maybe just because they don't want to lose money on selling an internet package that would allow PAX to do wifi calling...?

Sat phones are INSANELY expensive (have you looked at them?) and seem like voice-only so I doubt this is the case.

Iridium, for example, is $100/month for 100 minutes of airtime per month (with a 1 year minimum term) and the device is $1400.  The purchase price of the device can be lowered if you go with a 2 year term.

Bottom line, I doubt selling internet packages is why they're not allowing satellite phones.

I once connected in ATL to an international flight from a domestic one in about 20 minutes.  Off the domestic flight, to the tram to the international terminal, showed the gate agent my passport and they slammed the door shut behind me as I walked down the jet bridge.  My bag even made it!!  This was a Delta-Delta connection.

2 hours ago, Edsny said:

No.They are tiny and sometimes more money than a regular inside cabin.

You're thinking of the STUDIO.  NCL has SOLO categorized cabins in inside through balcony categories now (was announced in November 2023 and sailings started in January 2024), this is what the OP is asking about.

1 hour ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

Never mind. Found my answer on Google. The answer is no. A USB port doesn’t put out enough voltage to power anything more than a phone, etc. 

Correct, USB is low-voltage, no way it could be used to power a 110v device.

@schmoopie17 my parents have done that type of itinerary on Princess

2 hours ago, laudergayle said:

It could include Mexico and Canada also.  But one port might have to repeat on turn around day.

No, can't do one US port to another without a stop outside North America (Caribbean included).  Look up the PVSA...

11 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

And perhaps the cruise could be 2 7-day cruises that start in one port and end in a different

Can't do that with US ports unless one of them is a repositioning with a stop in South America.

13 hours ago, complawyer said:

these cruisers are people i would personally love to have along, you and mrs schmoopie, rocketman, traveling man, chiefmate jrk, cruiseny4life and husband, and of course bird travels.

well... I see how I rate with you!!  haha

Jokes aside...  Might be cool.  I agree that it might be good as a >7 day cruise.  I loved my 2 weeks this year, but I skew to a younger demographic (I'm 44, a cruise that has an avg. age of 70+ isn't really my thing!!) so I'm trying to figure out how to swing a B2B or S2S for my next one so I get more time on board but get younger folks.

14 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

(assuming we make it that far. Once you hit 70, you just never know).

My dad turns 81 this year, they embark in 2 weeks on a TA (I have to drive them and another couple the 3-4 hours to port), his birthday is during the cruise.  

1 hour ago, stellarose33 said:

following this thread . doing NCL getaway to Bermuda next summer. newbie to NCL and very nervous about the dining, reservations, etc.

 

 

Just need to scroll through threads in this forum, most of these questions are asked and answered at least once a week.

21 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

Actually don't you pay $500 each but then get $250 OBC?

No, you pay $250 each and get $250 OBC.  No need to question, it's in B&W on their website - https://www.ncl.com/cruisenext

19 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

would be 8 x $500

non-Haven CruiseNext are $250 each.  If you do the BOGO you're only paying for 4, which is $2000.  That's 6,000 points or about $60 in redemption value if my math is correct.

You buy on board.  There are groups on certain social media sites where they are sold.  I don't imagine there are many being sold anymore unless the people just need the cash or have decided to swear off NCL for one reason or another. The certificates no longer expire, there were lots sold because some people had some expiring in the next year and ended up not planning to cruise before the expiration.

1 hour ago, cruiseagona said:

I am under a doctor care with my diet. 

That may be so.  However, like @njhorseman I highly doubt that a "I want to drink soda but you don't have the kind I would prefer" is a valid reason to get an exception, even though you have a medical reason you MUST drink diet soda.  They have diet soda on board, just not the flavor you'd prefer.

Next will be the 'I won't drink the tap water and I don't like the water you sell, I need to bring my own as water is medically necessary for sustaining life so I have to have something to drink'.

7 hours ago, EliseL said:

But I just noticed tonight that they changed the flight coming home to July 5th.

WHO changed it?  NCL sent you the updated booking, but is it possible the airline adjusted schedules?  Is it possible the airline changed the time of the flight on which you were booked so as to be too early to make it from the ship to the airport in time?  There may not have been another flight meeting NCL's financial requirements that left on July 4.

49 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

I don’t know if this is a fire hazard…and I’m certain someone will let me know if it is…but at times there is a space above mini-fridge that is warm and dries smaller items.

Usually no mini fridge in a Studio cabin