Happycrafter123

I bring the boxes that show my name, RX # etc. Also good if for any reason you run out and need to refill prescription when you are away.

These are great tips, thank you! At that time of life where I can't bear heat, ice baggies sounds excellent (and something I can do this summer in golf season too), I'm adding ziplocks to my list of stuff to pack! I hear you about the the guides, on our last cruise it was really hit or miss, we are crossing fingers especially for the museum that will likely be boring without a good guide. Hubby is not a big museum person and is never going to read plaques on the wall or next to a statue, but does like to listen to a guide talk about history and explain what we are looking at.

Yes, I'm quite excited for Olympia - it was an itinerary change from Corfu, which I had been dithering on excursion options for, and I love history so was pleased with this change. We will be doing the NCL excursion "Olympia & Archaeological Museum", it's 4 hours in the morning so will also leave us lots of time in the afternoon to lounge on the deck and have a few drinks 😉 Have you been to Olympia? It does not seem to be a more common port compared to the others.....

I’ve spent hours poring through everyone else’s live reports this past several months, it will be fun to pay this forward, and share this next adventure with you guys! We will be boarding the Breakaway on its first itinerary after it’s transatlantic repositioning to Europe this Spring, May 6th, and will be starting our journey departing home on April 29thwith a day for travel, and 5 full days to explore Rome and the area around it before we embark on the cruise. The cruise itinerary is: Rome (Civitavecchia),Italy, Santorini,Greece, Athens (Piraeus),Greece, Olympia (Katakolon),Greece, Valletta,Malta, Messina (Sicily),Italy, Naples,Italy, Florence/Pisa (Livorno),Italy, Cannes,France, Rome (Civitavecchia),Italy We’ve travelled a lot, but it is only our second cruise, and we are full of nerves! Travel is such a lottery! What will Rome be like? Will we get a last minute room upgrade? Will we like our room? Will we enjoy the excursions we’ve selected? Which will be our favorite port or experience? What drinks will we try, will we manage to get value for our Plus beverage package? What friends will we make? What things will we learn? What new foods will we discover? It is hard to say what this journey ahead holds, and the only thing I’ve learned about travel in my time is to enjoy the path….I sure hope it is a good one! Share your tips and questions as we go along!

Looking for feedback from someone who has used this feature recently, and in particular how the debarkation works. i am considering it as I’ve heard of mayhem on debarkation and so have a flight to get to. I will have carry on only. So if you are carrying your stuff off is there any benefit to the priority access? Do you just join the mass of crowds rushing the exit or is there any benefit on That debarkation on final day when carrying your stuff?

I am wondering how you registered? I just did my online check in for upcoming cruise and did not see it as an option anywhere…

Thanks for this! Yes, near Vancouver but planning the itinerary on the Sun from Seattle as the circle loop seemed easier. Will check out this prior report, and will pepper you with questions on some of the excursions! We are like you and not big on bus rides so mainly picked water/boat options. also will want to know about the many many layers of clothing we expect are needed! This will not be a carry on only trip I’m thinking. Please share your packing tips.

Yay! I’m excited to read your posts on this trip—your last live reports were humourous and entertaining, and we have an Alaska trip on the Sun booked for July so I will look forward to hear a bit more about the ports (was there a live report that you did on that one?) also a west coaster, in the lower mainland, so nice to read the perspective of someone from home. wishing you a wonderful trip ahead!

@thespiritmovesme thank you so much!!! Could you share a photo of the menu so we can anticipate? I love a fancy caramel coffee myself 😉

Agreed with @gravitar there is no Starbucks on board and others have advised they will honor the package at the other coffee place but have not tried it out myself

Agreed about being sad you are done I’ve loved following your live reports. Wishing you well!

Thank you for the info on disembarkation, would you please also share any other pages that talk about what time different colour tags disembarc etc?

@DorothyB you need to phone in and talk to the agent at NCL at the excursion line in order to book the small group tours in advance of the cruise. She told me they are usually 20 or less people compared to 40-50 in standard tours.

oh, and for others interested, the small group tours can only be booked (at this time) by calling in, not via website or app, and after booking it, it will NOT show up on your app or website (they ware working to fix that apparently), so you just have to rely on the email receipt and then when you get to the ship, the tickets in your room, nothing will show on app or website for the small group tours.

Thank you, I hadn't thought of the logistics like how much further you may have to park, that is great feedback! Just off a long phone call and NCL agent today confirms it is only 3 1/2 hour (the previous agent had made a mistake on time, and unfortunately the tour I gave up for this is now sold out, as is almost everything else....), but as you note it is a lot more efficient, it's unfortunate about the headsets, but some good points you've mentioned, appreciate it. If nothing else, it will be interesting to try a different style of shore excursion, and time afterwards for the pool....

I’m looking for feedback in the NCL small group tours? I called to move an excursion and the lady talked me into booking one. I have a receipt but nothing shows up in the app and I can’t see it there? She said it was 6 hours but the similar one, not small group is only 3.5hrs and I’m not sure if they are normally longer. If you have done these what do consider the pros and cons? She said there would be no headsets provided so I am thinking that is a con (hubby has hearing challenges and the headsets help a lot)

Anyone have any recent drink menus from the bars on Breakaway? In particular for Vibe? Any feedback on good drinks lately? I’ve read of cutbacks and new restrictions on wine so curious what will be available for mixed drinks……. And it’s always fun to to think about all the drinks you think you will get to lol!

@SeaShark yes maybe it is an overreaction but when I book a Disney vacation or a ski holiday with Vail I have no fear that they will provide the services I paid for, or provide restitution. I normally deal with high quality companies that I have confidence in. The news we are hearing of these situations with NCL causes one to be scared of losing a lot of money over a simple oopsie. That is not normal.

I think you are underestimating use of the app. I have done all my cruise booking and trip bookings for this and other vacations for at least the past 5 years on only my cel phone. Most people I know do everything like this on their phone, why would you dig out a computer unnecessarily? Maybe this is a generational thing…..but NCL should be making it safe to the consumer to use the tools they provide, like the app. if this is indeed how it is for them I will not be booking more cruises with them that is for sure as I don’t want to be scared of exploring the options and making online purchases for things like excursions online. For now I’m in morbid fear of messing up my reservations.

I can see how this could happen as they have a lot of system glitches. I tried to book excursions on the app the other day and it added me but not my spouse, I kept trying to add it and then it popped up as booked but no payment was requested. Then I found a spot on the payment page saying I owed money so I paid it but then I called customer service (1 and 1/2 hours of my life gone) and they had to apply it as the system had taken payment but not attached it. I was glad the CS agent could fix it. She did note they were having some big system issues that day. It terrifies me that they could cancel a persons trip and forfeit their refund due to a small matter of such inconsequential dollar value potentially caused by a system malfunction. Based on this info I will do all remaining booking by phone now instead of online, and hope they amend their policies, as this is the type of thing that makes people feel unsafe in their planning and starts making the Disney and other cruises look so much less risky to book.

I think it is a good package, based on my last trip. the wifi is only 150m but you can use that as a trade to get a discounted larger package if you need it, using the app after you have booked the cruise, or onboard at the Internet cafe on the first day. the drink package includes basic drinks up to $15 but excludes juice, fancy coffees, bottled water and a few other premium things. You can upgrade that too to a better option on the app after booking if you desire. the excursion credit is only for one person. i think you have to be very risk tolerant to use the NCL flights but that is a personal opinion.

I’ll be excited to follow your posts! We are going on the Sun on a similar itinerary later in the season and I’ll be particularly interested in any feedback on the NCL shore excursions, if you do any. enjoy the planning stage right now!

What is the size of bag you get to go inside?

It’s exciting to have a trip to plan for and look forward to—I always feel half the joy of a vacation is the anticipation. When is your trip?

Sometimes bid notifications are as late as the day before the cruise starts. However I do know most ships are full right now with spring break, but there is always hope right to the end!