Cruising Lynne

This is true. You should receive a new confirmation email. I have had to call before to have them resend one. For some reason they forgot to send one or the email just didn't come through.

I am really enjoying your review. Glad that you are happy with the laundry service, but the clothes look clean and folded, but not pressed. I think getting things pressed on NCL costs extra? Your review has inspired me to look into this type of back to back for next year. It looks like a great combination, and I would not mind going to Bar Harbor twice. I have wanted to go to PEI to see the Anne of Green Gables home. I loved the books as a young girl. Read them almost fifty years ago!

No way NCL would switch back to fixed dining. The Freestyle dining is the big draw for many people who cruise with NCL. We sailed on Prima with the fixed menu. The only thing I didn't like was the limited dessert choices. Otherwise, I thought it was a great menu for a week long cruise. May get boring on a longer trip.

Disregarding numerous emails about the safety video is still better than the whole ship doing in person muster at the same time.

What a difference between the two boats. NCL should have reimbursed you a percentage of your cost for the excursion. They should also adjust the description of the excursion.

To AstoriaPreppy. Thank you for posting your review. I am glad that overall you enjoyed your trip. I agree that a movie in the main theater at showtime does not count as a show. Movie screenings should be in addition to live shows. Maybe a matinee or shown before or after the main stage show. I have also been on excursions where one bus or boat is packed, and the other has plenty of room. Very disappointing. NCL excursions should contact the tour operators to remedy this. Last year we had a nature tour on a boat in Bar Harbor Maine. They would not let the people booked through NCL on the until tourists from a local hotel were on. Of course they got all the good seats outside in the front and back of the boat. We were stuck inside with limited visibility. It was not the kind of boat that let you walk around. It is something that I try not to let annoy me, but we had purposely gotten there early to get good seats. So I was annoyed. Luckily we were seated at a table with some really nice people which made me feel a little better.

I do not understand this complaint either. They have to make the portion large enough so that larger men and teenage boys also get enough to eat. Smaller people or older people that can not eat as much do not need to clean their plate. I know it can be wasteful, but they try to make a portion that accommodates most people. It is hard for them to make special orders when they are making so many meals at once.

You can just fold it and wrap it in some TP or a tissue. If you know you will be needing pads on your trip you could bring some plastic shopping bags to line the bin with. If I am in a hotel or ship cabin, and have any bags from shopping I use them for the bins and wastebasket. The steward will remove them when they clean the room. Of course, where I live, only certain towns I shop in have plastic bags anymore.

Hope so. Not sure about the water in other restaurants or a bar. But still not as convenient as having ice brought to your room by your steward. We do sometimes drink ice bucket water in the room. I prefer to use the bottled water in the room, but if I get up at night and am thirsty and am out of bottled water I will drink the ice bucket water.

Made me look up Fujiwhara effect. Learn something new every day. We were on a ship in Bermuda during hurricane Wilma. I believe it was Jewel of the Seas. We could not go through the channel until the wind was below 30 mph.

I found that the Flow water is much better if you pour it into a clean glass. It tastes awful if you drink it straight out of the carton. I also grew up drinking from the garden hose on hot summer days, so am not too much of a water snob.

I think/hope that the ice maker has a filter.

I started putting the ice bucket in the fridge when they started once a day cabin service. On a cruise I do not want to carry a cup around to get ice for the room. I would like to have an ice bucket and coffee maker in the room without having to ask. I shouldn't have to feel like I am bothering the room steward. I feel bad for new cruisers who do not know you can get these items.

I am surprised that the tax rate is the same. It is interesting that some cruise lines do not tax the drinks in port. I guess NCL figured few would complain over these nickel and dimes since the amount is small for most people. All the lines get the money one way or another. Just have to say that I do not think NCL nickel and dimes more than any of the other major lines. Some vloggers love to say this. They all have charges for different things. For example, the charge for room service. I would rather pay the fee for room service that NCL charges than the per item charge that Carnival now has.

I didn't think you were complaining. I think it is because one is for liquor, which has more tax in a lot of places. NCL probably just absorbs the tax that may be on food. Liquor, they pass it on to the cruiser to pay.

If we use a platinum voucher, which is dinner for two people, is it four items or eight? Four sounds like enough depending on what is ordered.

I liked having the movable table in the room. You can put it at the foot of the bed to put your room service breakfast on. If you are in a balcony you can pull it in front of the couch. I missed having it on Pearl. They put more modern furniture that I do not think you can move.

It is gross. I also feel that a cash offer is in order, and not FCC. Anyone who thinks it isn't that bad is absolutely wrong. They need to think about how they would feel if they got up in the middle of the night to pee, and had a toilet full of other people's poop. If you couldn't flush it down, you would have to get dressed and find a public restroom to use.

Yes. Looks to be a 15-20 minute drive over to the port. Google earth shows not much around the hotel. I did see a Greek restaurant that there is a five minute walk to, and a Publix Supermarket for last minute supplies. Hoping the weather is good for a relaxing pool day. Definitely doing it different next time. This is our first cruise that we are flying for since the big shut down. We have cruised out of New York and Boston since then. We live in Massachusetts so not a bad drive to Manhattan, and about an hour to Boston. I now have an excuse to go out of Fort Lauderdale again and do things differently. I wanted to be able to do the water taxi in the canal. I am glad that at least I did not book the additional day at the wrong hotel. That would have been really bad since I booked the non- refundable rate. I incorrectly assumed that they would use the hotel that was near the port. Husband says not to worry about it we will have fun anyways.

I ended up adding a night to the hotel on my own. Did not try to cancel. Thank you everyone for the tips. Really looking forward to seeing the Rotterdam.

Agree. If the husband didn't pack the tablet, I would be up a creek unless they had some computers some place else you could use in an emergency.

Just spoke with HAL.I was hoping to add the night thru HAL, but it is wait listed. This is good info for next time, thank you. Unfortunately, she told me it is the Renaissance Hotel West on S. Pine Island Rd. in Plantation. Not as good of a location, but it has better reviews.

I was concerned about canceling the hotel for that reason. This is also our first time cruising out of Fort Lauderdale so I was playing it safe booking through the cruise line. Will do it differently next time.

Hi everyone. We are taking our first cruise on HAL in November, and I have been making our final arrangements. I had already booked a pre cruise hotel through the cruise line for the day before the trip, but decided to come in two days early. I need to book another day at the hotel. Does anyone know which Renaissance Hotel HAL uses? There is one closer to the port, but I think the one HAL uses is actually in Plantation. I am excited to be going on the Rotterdam, and am adjusting to how Holland America does things. Most of my recent cruises have been with NCL Thanks in advance for any help with this or any other tips for a HAL newbie.

I think so. It would be better to fly out the next day. Enjoy breakfast in the morning and relax instead of rushing around.