lgates63

I know that Norwegian banned door decorations last summer due to potential fire issues.

Can anyone tell me if this is still being enforced? 

We are cruising on the Escape in a few months and thought I'd ask those of you who may know what the current situation is.

I usually create a magnetic door sign using my home printer. It is 8.5x11 and the entire page is one big magnet. I do not put any balloons or other decorations on the cabin door - just this sign.

Thanks!

Lori

Is that an NCL excursion? If so, I will try inquiring at the shorex desk.

Yes, it is an NCL excursion. We have purchased this already. Figured it would get us from Nynashamn to Stockholm in a timely manner and save my classmate the trip to the port.

Thank you!!!!

Safe travels - cannot wait to hear about your trip!

Lori

Hello Doug - fellow Rochester traveler (W. Henr.) enjoying your review! We will be on the Breakaway departing September 5th!

IF possible, could you find out where the Stockholm On Your Own excursion drops you off and the approximate drop off and pick up times? I graduated high school in the 80s with a Swedish exchange student in my class. He is picking us up for a personal tour! But, I haven't been able to nail down details.

Please leave some beer behind for those of us following you!

Enjoy your trip! Travel safe,

Lori

Hi all,

We are traveling in September on NCL Breakaway. During our time in St Petersburg, we have arranged a private tour with SPB. We thought we understood all the visa requirements....that a private excursion company would arrange for any necessary visas. Our group consists of several nationalities and recently, one of the Australian members brought the following to our attention.... check out the highlighted text.

All cruise passengers visiting Russia on sea cruise ships may enter and stay there without visa up to 72 hours. Compulsory conditions are: · They should have accommodations on board. · The list of all passengers must be submitted to the local authorities 72 hours prior to arriving to the port of destination. · Every passenger must have valid identity documents. · They must be included in the above mentioned list. · They must travel only with the group according to the pre-arranged program of the shipping company. All cruise passengers visiting Russia and wanting to undertake their own independent shore excursion should apply for a tourist visa.

Is this an issue? Are private tours going to be a problem?

Thanks for your help!

Lori

We are sailing on the Breakaway this September and plan to take the Stockholm on Your Own shore excursion as transportation into Stockholm from Nynashamn. This will allow us to meet with a high school friend who lives in Stockholm who plans to show us around his home city.

Does anyone know where they bring you into Stockholm? I assume the pickup point will be the same, right?

All the information provided (even from NCL on the phone) is it is in the city center close to the major landmarks.

I appreciate any insight you may have to offer. Thanks!

We did a 14 day Ultimate Med cruise on NCL Jade in July 2015. Prior to that I would have said I was definitely "loyal to Royal". But, when it came down to price & itinerary, NCL could not be beat. We felt like we would have been paying too much for the ship and it's amenities when really our focus for that cruise was on the ports of call.

We also had been waiting for the European RCCL itineraries to be released. In our case a Baltic in 2019. Looked at what RCCL was offering for 2018 and what NCL was already offering for 2019, and we booked NCL Breakaway.

Go ahead - ask me any questions you'd like. We visited 9 ports and started in Venice....

Lori

Does anyone have any thoughts as to Royal vs Norwegian for a Scandinavia/Russia cruise? We have cruised both and are wondering in this area if there are things to consider that we may be overlooking.

We are planning for 2018 and waiting to see what Royal will offer (no itineraries yet).

We have been checking what NCL has to offer and noticed that they have a cruise but they allow you to embark in multiple ports. Is this common? I have never experienced a cruise where people are starting their cruise on different days. Was wondering about this....

Thanks so much!

Lori

PattyMo:

We are traveling with Daveeboy in 3 weeks. We are staying in 11626 & his family is in 11624 - is there an openable/removeable divider between these balconies? It would be great to have one big balcony.

On our last cruise together on (RCCL), they did not allow the dividers to be opened. :(

Extremely happy to see that you had our exact rooms and thought the location was good - recently we were offered an "upgrade" to a mid-ship minisuite right under the pool deck. Didn't sound like an upgrade to me!

Lori

First cruise on NCL ....loved it. It compares right up there with RCL, celebrity ,HAL and carnival. Pluses ...availability of food anytime including extended hours of basically non stop buffet from like 6am to 11pm. They even put out a spread in the casino at 11pm ...never waited to dine in the comp restaurants .. Live music ..in the eve 2 to 3 dif venues had singers/guitarist. And they were all great !!! So much to do . Ports were great .staff and service outstanding ...good bar service. It seemed everyone had the UBP .. Our adult kids enjoyed the spa ($129 pp ) Internet slow but doable. Had the unlimited internet. Cagneys was very good. We had 2 mini suites on 11th deck. Rooms 11624 and 11626. Great location under la cucina dining area. Very quiet. Never heard any hallway noise either ..very convenient to pool and garden buffet and the great outdoors. ! Loved the great outdoors on the fantail

 

Minuses....LaCucina. Awful. I had heard bad reviews likening it to Olive Garden but thought it's hard to screw up Italian. Well My Irish MIL who never ate or cooked Italian could have cooked it better. Waste of money and time ... Missed the soaring atriums and nicer public bathrooms of RCL...but there were more public bathrooms on NCL ... Shops were disappointing. Not as much merchandise. Duty free liquor prices were high ....

the trek to the ship from the people mover was long ( not NCL fault). Took the private water taxi back to our hotel in the grand canal. Fabulous. Worth 80 euros ...

Great trip. Sorry it's over !

The cruise is not a B2B - we leave from Venice and 14 days later return to Venice.

Thanks by the way - love the knowledge on these boards.

Lori

We are going on a 14 day Mediterranean Jade cruise this July. I was thinking about setting up the dining reservations at the 90 day window and was curious about how entertainment is handled on a 14 day cruise.

With such an intense itinerary, some days we may just want to crawl back on the ship and do nothing.

So, will everything be duplicated?

If we opt for a dining reservation at a "show time" on one week, will we have the option to see that show the next week?

So excited - final payment is right around the corner....then it is really REAL!

Lori

Does anyone have any experience with the Miles & Miles private tour company?

I am considering them for shore excursions in Rome and Livorno. They also have a walking tour in Venice that might be a good precruise option.

Thanks,

Lori

We will be on the Jewel in 2 weeks sailing your 2nd week itinerary.

Can you post when the formal nights were for your 2nd week?

Were there 2 shows every night except for Day 1 and Day 7? Were they always at 7 & 9?

Trying to plan a little ahead....

Thanks!

Lori

We did this a few years ago....at that time, the kids were 17, 15 and 9. We were also traveling with friends on this trip with kids of similar ages.

Excursions we did:

St Thomas - RCCL excursion Jeep tour of St Thomas. We stopped at several beaches.

St Maarten - Loterie Farms (zipline and ropes course) SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Private Island - Jet Skis....

Lori

On our last Royal cruise we purchased the Premium Beverage Package - and it worked out for us! On that trip, we purchased the beverage package online before leaving home. As with anything purchased online prior to the cruise (excursions, specialty dinners), the charge was applied to our credit card before we had even boarded NoS. This left us with a LOT of OBC that we had to "work" to spend onboard.

In April, we will be sailing on Jewel of the Seas. This time, we want to wait and purchase the drink package when we board. Any idea where we do that? Is there a special place to go?

Thanks,

Lori

I'll be honest....my husband and I have been planning a quick getaway in July while our youngest is off at summer camp. Hadn't really thought about a cruise, but then started considering the 1 point deficiency.....

Since we are already planning to sneak away....

Any excuse to cruise....:)

I currently am C&A Gold level (22 pts) with a 7-night cruise on JoS scheduled for April.

After that cruise I will be 1 point short of Platinum level.

We are planning on booking a Med cruise for July 2015. Should we find a way to squeeze a 3 or 4 day cruise in prior just to reach Platinum level?

Is there any benefit to doing this before we book the Med cruise?

Tips, hints, thoughts are all welcome!

Thanks!

If the deck plan indicates connecting cabins, does that mean there is an interior door connecting the two cabins?

On our last cruise (Carnival Triumph) connecting cabins was by means of removing the balcony divider. We are bringing some friends on board the Freedom with us, but they have younger children - using the balcony connecting method is not an option.

Thanks,

Lori