skittl1321

Thought of another one- I heard NCL lets you connect to Cruise Critic for free. Is that still true? How do I do that? I only have 150 internet minutes, so I thought a live review would be a good way to let my kids at home (and all of you...) know what I am doing.

1. The soda package in the app says it includes bar juices, online it does not. Can I order a pineapple juice from the bar and have it included? 2. If I have already purchased it, what time after boarding can I use the thermal suite? 3. Lots of early reports show that the Encore had rowing classes in the gym. Do they still have those? 4. Is it rude to sit at a buffet table and draw/color if it isn't during a crowded meal time (I'd never do this at lunch, not that a table would even be found...)? Is there anywhere else on the ship that has a good table height I could go sit at? What about the waterfront?

I can not confirm with first hand information. From the article "For voyages that depart from Spanish ports and do not call at any nation outside the European Union, the tax is charged throughout the trip. On other cruises, VAT applies when the vessel is within 12 nautical miles (22km) of the Spanish coast."

Oh man, I just saw the food republic pictures, and now I am thinking I SHOULD use both of my FAS meals there. It looks SO good. (As of now I've decided on food republic and los lobos; but I am so torn... I keep thinking a restaurant with a filet; but then go back to thinking I really want to just eat yummy sushi and guacamole...but then those FR pictures look SO delicious.) Too many choices, planning is so stressful!

Thanks for the correction.

Must be nice to have pockets. I always clip mine to my swimsuit strap, but NCL is super picky about any metal or clips, so I don't know if they'd allow it. (A bit different than the OP's son; but it does make me wonder what they expect you to do with your keycard... I'm solo, so it's not like someone can hold onto it for me.)

Carnival charges taxes on drinks sold in Galveston or within a certain distance. They don't start the cheers package until day 2 on those cruises because of this. The difference with Spain though, is they are charging it the entire cruise if you don't leave the EU; not just while in their waters. (The 12-miles applies if you leave the EU on the cruise.)

I travel to Cozumel semi-frequently by air. Every single time we are leaving there is someone there who is going through the process of flying home without a passport. It's standard for them. It takes a long time, there is a lot of rigamarole, but it happens probably daily. Not having a passport doesn't mean you can never come back to the US. The passport is not these girls problem. The problem is the inability to pay the medical bill. (And if they are well enough to fly on a commercial airline without a medical escort. Some airlines may refuse them passage depending on their condition. That's why you need travel insurance with medical evacuation to your home country.)

No, not a typo. I am saying I can understand it. Even though I think it's cute, I see why ships don't want it. Liability, more for staff to clean up, potential brand confusion. Lots of things.

I took a number of years off of cruising when I had newborns, but I don't ever remember anyone talking about it on cruise critic when I first started cruising (2008-2015 would have been the timeline on cruise critic.) I don't hide ducks, but I think it's super cute. I just can understand why ships don't like it. It would be really fun if they'd get on board. Find a certain duck and win a prize, or just get a branded duck...

But that's only the second page of the menu. The "everyday" option. The interesting choices are on the other page. Personally, we felt MSC's cruise was on par with what we ate on the Celebrity Xpedition, except the beef was better on MSC. We only ate in the MDR for dinner, no paid options.

On Seascape the muster drill was a giant cluster. It was impossible to find the actual muster station, and people kept pointing us in the wrong direction. I had zero faith things would go well if we ever did need to evacuate.

I was prepared for terrible shows based on internet complaints, and MSC shows were fabulous. And I LOVED that the performers on our ship came out afterwards, in costume, to take photos. My 4 and 6 year old felt like they were meeting Taylor Swift. And all the performers were so kind, especially the men, encouraging my son who just loves to dance, and doing little dance steps with him.

I've always wondered if the duck thing just makes a lot of work for the crew. How many unfound ducks are thrown away. And now it seems like they are tossed before they are even officially "found". If it's not sanctioned, it's littering, essentially. I think it's fun, but I can also see how cruise lines don't want it.

Excellent point. It's not really per person though, it's just doubled per cabin. If you have more than 2 in the cabin, you still just pay double your bid (not per person), if you have only one in the cabin, you pay double your bid.

We always do. It's just so hard to get reasonable flights to our regional airport if you don't leave somewhere at 7 am. Too much of a risk to try to fly out at 11 am after coming home from a cruise. (We also always fly in two days before. It extends the length of the cruise, but even with the extra, extra buffer, we've still had some close calls!)

How long did you spend wandering around Mount Roberts? I originally planned to go to the glacier, but the excursion was changed, so I am going up the tram again. Is it a few hours? Or should I make a secondary port plan too? (Go to the capital? Try to find a tour on the dock?) Looks pretty! I have a few weeks to go, so really hoping for good weather to stick around.

Looking forward to continuing to read about your experience. We went on MSC (not YC) this summer; and it was fabulous. We expected bottom of the barrel, and it was really phenomenal. My first NCL cruise is in a few weeks, so I will see how it compares and which line we may want to go with more in the future. Planning for NCL has been very stressful to me- freestyle seems to mean I have to make a lot of reservations and know what I'm doing ahead of time; and I am worried about the entertainment. The shows on MSC were a highlight, and while I know the broadway quality show on NCL will be amazing, I am still in a bit of shock that there is only a single production show. MSC's main dining room was fabulous, looking forward to seeing how food on NCL does. And MSC was the first time I've had a drink package included, and that spoiled me a bit from my typical water only. I wish NCL had a non-alcoholic option, I declined the FAS drinks because the tips are more than I pay for drinks; but did get a soda package.

I mean, I have no idea on NCL. I just know that on MSC, it alerted to the need for a guardian, and they asked who her guardian was and checked my ID, despite me holding her (so clear assumption I was the guardian.) I saw it happen for a teen too, whose mother was a few people behind her. For sure, parents have a lot of the responsibility here, there is a lot that could have gone wrong with a minor left on the ship with no adult responsible. But I'm just shocked a minor was able to get off the ship without a guardian. That IS a breakdown in security. (Actually, based on this- some cruiselines do allow minors off the ship on their own. NCL's policy isn't clear, as it only mentions shore excursions. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/your-guide-to-cruise-line-age-policies But CCL, for instance, would only need to be 16 to leave for a port.)

Does their cruise card not ping that they are a minor on NCL? That's what caused it, it scanned and a light went off.

Wow- what a disaster! (I sailed with kids for the first time ever on MSC, and I'd literally be holding my daughter, and when they scanned her sail card, the officer would ask "who's the guardian", and then check my photo against her account.)

The ship let minors off without a guardian?!

Thanks for an amazing report! 27 days left to go, and I can't wait to get on this beautiful ship!

Thank you, this is very helpful. A little disappointing, but helpful. I had always heard NCL had the best shows; but didn't realize it was quite like this. This is a solo cruise for me, so it will be fine, just not what I hoped for. (I did a really impulse booking on reputation and really didn't research before jumping. If I had researched I would have come to my sense and not spent so much money on my solo trip and just done a staycation or something...)

There isn't a second person. Good to know Starbucks is limited. I'm pretty simple though. I think I'll just stick to sodas. On cruises that let you carry a 12 pack on, I usually manage to leave with a $0 bill, so an extra $9 a day is a lot on an already very expensive trip. Solo supplement makes the cost a lot bigger than normal. A balcony is more important to me than extra drinks. I can bring some instant coffee if the included coffee isn't good enough