Anoynmous Phoenix

@mking8288 You will be lucky to find them as there was no List given in the Freestyle Daily and there was no M&G. We were there three months ago; Roger Gustavsen was Master; and Zater Dal was GM, Vikram Mohindra was F&B. Will Fishburn was Future Cruise. April Anne Acosta was the EXCELLENT GM's Secretary

@MoCruiseFan There are mo gratuities changed to your account How do you get your own (mo) gratuities? VBG

When you do the first bag put your name on the bag with Latitude level and on the second the other person in the cabin each week/fortnight. If there is only one in the cabin talk nicely to the steward!!

If you see a lower price than you paid you should do a mock booking. You will OFTEN find that the cheaper price is for a SAILAWAY cabin, the old Guarantee, with fewer perks.

A couple of recent ones Hudson's is the MDR here

@luckybecky My reading is that you want to see "wildlife" and scenery from the ports your ship will visit at an inexpensive price. Sorry "no can do"! Tours that would give you what you are looking for would be LONG days and VERY expensive. Use the cruise to see the cities and come back to do a land tour to see what you "need"

@BirdTravels Not when you need a wake-up call for early Shorex!! VBG

Both cabin stewards know you are changing and, between them, they will make the arrangements between themselves and with you. Get a new room key, go ashore and enjoy Tahiti. You will have an "In Transit" sticker which you should wear when you go back from your outing to ensure you miss check-in and go directly to Security. Find a shore staff member to make sure that happens. Wear it onboard so the crew don't "hassle" you but newcomers can ask for help!!

@yakcruiser No need to carry a clock. They will do a manual call from Guest Services if you ask, especially if they can't get your phone to work for you. Not only that but we got a room change when they couldn't get our phone to work after 3 days.

If you look here you will see that return in that direction is not possible on the same day. https://www.tehuiatrain.co.nz/timetables/ For the Inter-city Bus look at https://www.intercity.co.nz/north-island-buses/bus-auckland-to-hamilton Whichever I would suggest a taxi to get to and from the Gardens.

Remember that, like many seas, the Tasman Sea can be very rough. If you really want to see the NZ Sounds you might find it better to do the Tasman twice!! Double the chances of getting in!!

Any reason why Wai-O-Tapu? I presume you mean Waiotapu south of Rotorua. Personally i would suggest that you go to Rotorua itself and spend time there with all its attractions, including many thermal areas. Kuirau Park, Whakarewarewa and, especcially, Hell's Gate

I think that you get a few days to make bookings BEFORE they are opened up to everyone else. If you ever have any trouble getting any bookings see the Haven Concierge.

@bluesea777 We did the ill-fated Dubai-Cape Town cruise before Covid hit on the Spirit and really enjoyed the ship, the passengers and the crew so are hoping for the same this time. As long as the senior officers are different!!!!!!!

@sanger727 Australia is too large for it to be efficient to be seen by cruise. I agree totally but the Princess "Round Australia" cruise is a real starter to see so many places and then you decide where to go on a second and third visit.. It is a pity that NCL do not do the same thing. That cruise gets booked out VERY quickly.

As a New Zealander we have had Transtasman cruises booked and cancelled for 3 years. January 2024 we are doing NZ-Aus-NZ; two cruises on the Spirit. Looking forward to visiting all the ports twice.

@Seafan22 My plan is to do four days in Australia touring around, then take the cruise over to Auckland and then stay there for another three days. Please don't think that you will see anything of Australia in 4 days or New Zealand in 3 days. You will hardly get out of Sydney or Auckland. If you want to VISIT Australia or New Zealand turn the DAYS into WEEKS and then double them.

In answer to the question posed; both my wife and I are Ambassadors. We didn't start cruising till we were 70 and it took 10 years including two Covid years with no cruising. We have 6 cruises booked followed by our two "free" ones. So still going strong.

I agree that it isn't allowed. I also agree that I have never heard of anyone being "picked up" for doing what you suggest. BUT, like most things, "you pays your money and takes your chance!! You are more likely to "get away" with it if the person donating the ticket is the same gender as the person receiving it!!

@sailingships If you are an authority on this how about giving an answer for @Always Cruising; mine was a "tongue in cheek" guess and I would like to know too so I can give a more accurate answer the next time someone is looking for help.

If Dining with Officers is not openly offered then go to the Future Cruise Desk on the first day and ask; VERY politely; "Why Not?". If the answer isn't al all convincing go and talk to the GM's secretary as that is the person who makes the arrangements; Future Cruise only collects names.

Two and a half?

We had three cruises earlier this northern summer, two on the Star and one on the Prima, and there was a dining with officers on each one.

@natefish95 ... (on my most recent NCL Jewel cruise, there were no comedy shoes). You couldn't have had the right Cruise Director then!!! Most of them wear Comedy Shoes for the effect. Their clothes can be very funny too.

@AndyCapn ... buffet and lunch and MDR for dinner on Embarkation Day. There are two reasons that the buffet, at lunchtime on Embarkation Day, is so crowded is because the staff only tell embarkees that that is the place to eat and that only old hands know that there is an MDR open.