marrashadow

On MyViking Journey there is a place to put your frequent flyer miles number. hope that helps.

They are not noisy at all. We did not have any issue.

I don't think they monitor CC in specific but it is very well seen cruise lines monitor several avenues of social media. That's proven by how items get revolved by certain posters on say FB or the clock app. Especially if it goes viral or gets a significant amount of views. Often going against written policy. The only recent change based on a common gripe is the removal of Venice as an excursion. This was based on the inability to dock in Venice and the 2 plus hour drive to get there that people were very upset about. It could also be a bit of forethought as Venice is currently voting on weather to instill a per person fee for non-residents to enter the city. It seems to be a 5 euro fee which isn't a lot, but enough to deter some tour groups.

Previous post did say it was just carpets and addressing plumbing issues so not sure how noticeable it would be. I'm happy about StarLink as that should make internet faster which makes those 300 minutes more efficient.

There is a Tube video of cabins they did get Starlink it went live today.

If you want low crowds and high end service you can't expect that on a ship that has 3k or above capacity. You best believe their goal is to get as close to 100% occupancy as possible. Just like a hotel. You can find specific ships with lower capacity rates in most areas some may be on older end. You can also look at higher end lines but you pay for that service much like those in a Haven suite pay for those perks. All the US focused lines are not focused on the older retiree cruisers but really the lines are building bigger ships with more family based amenities or focused on that kid free party experience(VV). There are tons of lines all over the world and they all have niche's. Find one that suites your needs but anticipate there is a fee for that. I also think travelers in general have to loose their entitlement. As a traveler you can not expect anything to match your home comforts and you have to be flexible. In life we have very little we can control most of all other people.

A dollar per order is way less than you would at a restaurant or bar in the states. Its not about excess just appreciation. Also I'm not going to the bar every 5min so yeah its maybe 5-10 a day. Now I get NCL does charge gratuity with Free at Sea for drinks and restaurant but I don't believe that the workers are getting them. I think its their way off making you pay for beverage package. I've also listened to many workers on these ships and their pay is low and hours long unless they are management level.

I have trip exchange coverage through AIG travel guard it states it will reimburse fees paid or lost from change of reservation. So I'm not sure all of them have it and I know they have a list of airlines they won't cover. So if you have independently purchased travel insurance call them and see. I specifically splurged for the top end plan due to taking a trip that stops in several countries. So it may be an added benefit. It also has a missed port reimbursement of up to $250 per person. Not sure if multiple are missed if its on a per stop basis but thinking not.

So NCL website does not list Sarande, Albania excursions is this a wait till on ship situation or is this a book on your own?

Which again is not a cruise line staffing issue but border control. High volume ports with multiple ships leaving means less agents to go around add to that unprepared passengers and what should take a minute or two per passenger takes much longer.

We experienced a long wait on HAL for embarkation and often these times are based on activity at port. And how organized passengers are with the paperwork needed to board. I watch 6 people stop at counter then began digging through luggage. We had ours in hand and we got the sweetest smile from the woman checking us in. You are waiting at least 20 minutes and even with the signs everywhere you can't get your items ready beforehand? Lines are mostly cruisers fault. Debarking is different as often that is border agent staffing which cruise lines do not control. That being said on any ship, rooms won't be ready until at least 1pm so if you want to be able to access your room once you board opt for times late in afternoon. Bartenders will tend to go towards those who are nice to them or tip them. Take a few minutes when they aren't busy to chat and possibly provide a small tip and you will find your service expedited as a general principal you will find that with most cruise staff kindness counts.

From facebook so take with a grain of salt. It is said this is to change carpeting and address some plumbing issues. There is a second rumor that it is to install StarLink but I think that is wishful thinking. The carpet and plumbing makes most since its a brief dock only 2-3 weeks. They picked up workers in Lisbon for the project.

https://www.flagright.com/post/the-role-of-credit-cards-in-money-laundering

So the thing is if you were to take out a large some of cash at sea prior to returning through customs it can flag you. You are permitted $10,000 cash for travel without declaring it. Which anything higher requires documentation to be filled out. My guess would be you'd later get an undeclared income letter from IRS on that one. No way they don't share information. Now technically since its a cash out you could then prove the charge to the IRS but it looks fishy and you'll probably get audit flagged. That's what the algorithms look for, odd things. Just want to add this type of cashing in gambling credits charged through cards is also used by those laundering money so it could be flagged for that as well. Now for a few hundred here and there probably not but when you start talking about high amounts like in example, buyer beware and if its flagged World Points will cancel your card.

ETIAS begins in May 2025(postponed from 2022 and now 2024 due to Olympics) this is a new required specified precheck which gives you 3 years of travel within EU but you are intended to declare travel intentions. This will include on cruise ships. The time between now and then is not black and white due to adoption of regulations so you may have to verify with that country their requirements and if they allow such a departure from itinerary, then if approved speak with NCL. For deviations NCL doesn't do the work for you and as such will likely just say no. If you go an say I have a preapproval for xyz they may be okay with it. I do not recommend intentionally missing the ship as they can refuse your re-board and they record all calls so they have you asking so they will know. If not maybe switch your travel arrangements to a TA they may be able to assist with getting an approval. Doing travel arrangements for yourself is fine if you do not need anything special but for things like this a TA is extremely helpful.

I'm scheduled for the Mediterranean cruise Trieste to Rome on the Dawn its 10 days with 9 port days. We were on the Rotterdam which is an older smaller ship as well. Our plan is more based on floating hotel than looking for a cruise to keep us engaged 24/7 that being said we do have a sea day. I'm hopeful that with the ships age, size, and itinerary it will be less kids.

Because they contacted the media to share their harrowing adventure and hopefully guilt NCL into paying their cost to rejoin ship. Entitlement at its finest. This stems from people doing public post to convince cruise companies to forego printed policies and succeeding. Carnival just did it with a family that posted on Tiktok who didn't purchase insurance and cruiser had a heart attack and wanted it refunded. They went against policy basically to shut them up. It creates this atmosphere that people believe if their story pulls enough heartstrings they can circumvent the rules.

I find it interesting her descriptions of the other passengers vs pictures. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/cruise-passengers-including-pregnant-woman-32488918 look at the photos of "pregnant woman" and "quadriplegic" these are used to invoke pity but not a real representation. They certainly got their 15 minutes.

@Tyler414Nope it was a tendered port, no gangway nice try. The tenders were all up and they were ready to sail. They had time to call attendance and determine who wasn't aboard get their passports and then take a tender to port authority to drop passports as previously stated at least an hour to do all that.

So this has prompted Carnival Brand ambassador to comment " Heald shared that Carnival likely would have left at the appointed time as it is the passengers' responsibility to be back on the ship on time. "Anyway, I explained that all the cruise companies make it very clear that they will wait if you’re on one of their excursions but not otherwise. These guests were told what time they had to be on board and they weren’t. It really is that simple," he added." Someone said they should make accommodations for time blindness and he commented we do its called a clock!

They all re-boarded so we shall see what comes next. I do not see any boards where NCL is villainized. Most threads are calling them idiots many saying their interviews made them look entitled. The 80 year old mentioned by them had a stroke while on an excursion so they sent her to the hospital. A ship does not have the facilities to care for her so it was the best option. They would not state what happen because they couldn't. It's reported the ship was trying to contact her to set up a return home once she was well but wasn't able to reach her. Her family is upset that they left her at a hospital alone.

According to news story they are not reimbursing all expenses just the expense from Gambia to next port as the ship missed that port and had granted re-embarkation for it. So the expenses it took to get there are still on them and now SC couple is stating they aren't sure they want to re-board. Idiots!

Prior to this story I was reading a blogger review about this cruise and she stated due to the once in a lifetime vibe of the cruise many people were not being smart cruisers. They were so caught up in the trip that they were ignoring staff instructions failing to listen to announcements ect. making it difficult for crew. So I'd guess this is the same. If they do go for a lawsuit it happens in Florida which in the past has been very pro NCL passenger contract. Meaning if its explicitly stated you are not getting an exception. Most I see, are supporting NCL and as stated this does happen all the time all over the world. It is passenger responsibility to get to designated areas on-time. I've seen it happen in Alaska and in France. How fair is it for an entire ship to lose out on their trip for a few irresponsible folks. The fact the are playing to the media should not matter. Someone will start a go fund me for them and they will get money back. I don't think they should but people are suckers.

Very few tours booked on alternate sites offer guaranteed on-time drop off. Big part of risking it is knowing how much time you have. One browse through Viator and you will see bad reviews linked to this and companies refusing refunds after itinerary change. Also if they had communicated with the ship would it not make sense to tell them a passenger has meds they need to survive? If they went to rooms for passports they would have grab meds if notified. The difficulty re-boarding is not black and white as someone said if the ship already pulled anchor that is a long process to re-drop and secure a boat that size even if traveling at a slow speed(see Baltimore bridge) Itinerary and other docking requirements are a factor for a ship to delay. Next just getting to new place to board, this isn't like it would be in Caribbean which is tourist friendly. Africa is made of a multitude of countries and each has own rules and there are different requirements to fly in versus sail in and are not always tourist friendly. Although you feel bad, this is a rather common occurrence across all cruise lines. They just played the pity card to the media. Which also if you were so concerned about getting home but you called your hometown media outlet? I mean I'd be figuring out what to do and how to fix the pickle I'm in. I'd be looking for a consulate getting a hold of travel agent/insurance provider not worrying about making a cruise line look bad. There is plenty of time for that after you are no longer stranded in a foreign country. I always take these with a grain of salt. Carnival is having people pulled off boats in handcuffs and that's not got a single article but its all over social media. BTW based on what I can tell its legitimate reasons drugs, violence, using stolen credit cards ect so not faulting them just saying this is news because they are pushing it to be. What we know is cruise lines hate bad press and often will reverse stance for an exception to avoid it and I'm betting they want a refund.

I am booked for April 2025. I've read a lot of advice that you need to view actual port. Europe ports may be in industrial areas not right by attractions. So on your own requires more research. I was told Naples is best done with cruise ship due to traffic to guarantee they wait.