g683002

We are planning on a shorter Florida cruise to see if we like things before making a bigger commitment. Probably the Magnifica for 3 or 4 days. We also like NCL, but can’t ignore the price difference so giving it a shot.

I’ve been on many cruises and now want to try MSC. One specific question: does iMessage work without the WiFi plan? Also looking for advice and recommendations from past travelers.

Would like to hear about experiences with the new Wheel of Fortune game show. Is it worth buying cards?

Yes. It worked with no issue last month. Try booking a cancellable room and then you can cancel if it doesn’t work for some reason.

This was the taxes and the hotel service charge in total.

It states you have to own the shares of NCLH. If they’re in a fund, I don’t know how you’d prove ownership of a specific number is shares.

If you’re new to NCL, you might consider getting 100 shares of stock. If you’re taking a long cruise like this, you’d get $250 in onboard credit just for being a shareholder. That can cover some of your meals. https://www.nclhltd.com/investors/shareholder-benefits/shareholder-benefit-faqs

How’d it go for you?

Just go to the front desk. They will direct you to a hallway and when you exit, you’re basically at Atlantis. In there, walk through the casino to the front desk area and downstairs to the desk for your wristbands. Only advice is to go early, best to get off the ship quickly so you can maximize your time at the hotel.

No trouble at all. There was another family doing the pre-checkin at the same time. Literally checked in and out at the same time, got the passes and walked to Atlantis.

It was $102 in total taxes for 2 people last week.

For anyone still doubting, this worked great for us last week. Real easy to get a taxi to the hotel, do the pre-checkin and check out at the same time. Quick walk to the Atlantis for wristbands and then enjoying the water park. One word of caution, some of the rides were malfunctioning during our visit and had to be closed for short periods. They all reopened, but there was uncertainty about how long the repair would take and customer service was minimal.

What time will they let you “check in”? Did you book the hotel for the night you’re in port or the night before?

Can you share how it was and what was open when you went? Also, how was the water for swimming/snorkeling?

They do list biosteel as an option on the FAS+ menu https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/790164-BEV_Package_Flyer_UOBP_PPBP Update_V7_no_crops.pdf I have not been on the Epic in a while though.

We were on the Jade last month. All the shows were great, lots of variety. Times depended on the port but generally 730 and between 9-930 for the second show. No comedians since it’s an international crowd and comedy tends to be different based on nationality (per our cruise director Victor)

NCL may not have different prices in their “sales” but travel agencies offer promotions around holidays and events (like Wave season.) You can get additional offers like gratuities and onboard credit by timing a purchase during one of those.

The app was pretty inconsistent onboard our cruise last week too. It logged me out a number of times. That combined with the Wi-Fi made for some true connection issues, but not enough to impact my trip.

Yes. It’s frustrating but they limit use of OBC to purchases only after you board. I’ve heard of others book an excursion beforehand and then cancel/rebook when on the ship, but that may not always work.

How full is the ship this week?

Thanks all for the info. Anybody play 3 card poker?

Do you mean 3 to 2?

For any recent cruisers, especially on Celebration or Mardi Gras, what are the table minimums in the casino? I play blackjack and 3 card poker mostly.

What’s going on? Everything okay?

We were on the Bliss that week in 2020, which sailed from NY right before COVID shutdown. It was a lot of families, which was fine. However, I want to share that the ship was 108% capacity that week due to all those families taking advantage of a winter break week off of schools in the North East. That made it harder to do activities onboard and get reservations for specialty restaurants/go karts.