LadyZolt

We mailed off our renewal passports on October 3. The website indicated they were received on October 7th. They then said "in process" until November 18 when I got an email that they were being processed, and then a few hours later that they had been mailed. LOL! My husband supposes that renewals are pretty easy, so they are put in a pile "in the order they arrived" and say "in process," but then when they actually do get to it, they're done pretty quickly. They arrived in the mail on November 21 -- which is 7 weeks to the day of when I mailed them off. I know things can happen, but I think you'll be all right. One of the online sites for "passport processing time" that people use to say how long it took are saying it's about 35 days for renewals, which is what mine took. You have five weeks -- I imagine they will come in plenty of time. Hope this helps!

Yeah. Ever watch a cashier put bills UNDER the cash register drawer? That's more work for them. They do that with the $50's and $100's because they don't receive those denominations dozens of times a day. I think over time, the penny could be dropped (as it was in Canada), which would open one of the coin slots, and then we could use the $1.00 coin and replace the $1.00 bills with just coins and incorporate the $2.00 bill into regular usage.

An issue actually in the United States is that because $2.00 bills weren’t common for the past five decades of modern cash registers, so there is no compartment in those registers for them. As prices rise, maybe the $1.00 bill will be replaced with the $2.00.

Our experience on the Meraviglia in December was similar. Nothing so egregious that it warrants official complaints, but so many aspects were “meh” for us. The staff were trying, but things were just “off” enough to make me question booking a future MSC cruise. Maybe in Yacht Club. As we were debarking, I noticed two things that illustrate my point: (1) a sign that said, “We wish you a happy holidays.” And (2) Another sign that read, “Brake glass in case of emergency.” Meh.

There is a Hyatt Regency hotel actually IN the Orlando airport. We stayed there in December and we thought it was very nice! If they stay there, there is probably a Norwegian Cruise Line shuttle that can get them to the ship. We were on a Royal Caribbean cruise and we used their shuttle from the airport. It was very easy and convenient. I hope you all have a great cruise!

We did that earlier this month, but the other way — Wonder to MSC Meraviglia. Worked perfectly. The Uber was around $21.

They do. I did it over the phone, so not sure if it can be done online.

On the Bliss, it was about $10 per person -- not per day, just for the whole cruise. We were able to send messages to our friends via the app because they had purchased it, too. The problem is that you have to be looking at your phone to see that you have a message. Sometimes, it rang if they called, but it was sketchy as we were at sea and all. LOL! But it doesn't make a sound or anything if they send a text. In interesting information, my husband and I both have iPhones and I'm sure it's a loophole that will get plugged at some point, but during our cruise in September, I was able to send him iMessages, and also send iMessages to others who weren't on the cruise at all as iMessage worked the same as it does everywhere else, including sound to notify him he got a message and my phone told me when it was read. YMMV.

Thanks! Good to know!

Thanks! This info helps! 😀

I understand sometimes MSC has a white party where everyone wears white. Did they do that one night on this cruise? I don't want to pack for it if I don't have to. Thanks!

On the Bliss in September, there was hot chocolate if you went out on the deck. Not sure about blankets as we dressed warmly for the occasion.

You should just have them book you to LAX and then book your own flight back home after you visit your family. Deliberately missing a connecting flight (sometimes called "Hidden City Ticketing" or "point beyond ticketing") can end up getting you banned by the airline for any future flights you'd like to book with them. Here's an example of what some people will do: You want to fly from New York to Chicago. That flight costs, say, $1,000.00 But another flight goes from New York to Denver with a stop and connection in Chicago and it costs $800. So, people will book the cheaper flight and then not make the connecting flight in Chicago. Airlines don't like it. If you do this on the first leg of a round trip ticket, they will cancel all the remaining flights on the round trip ticket. I knew someone who unintentionally missed a connecting flight due to some issue outside of everyone's control and the airline canceled the entire rest of her trip. She eventually convinced them it wasn't on purpose. Deliberately not showing for a flight violates the airline contract the passenger has. I think it is wiser to tell the airline that you can't make the flight rather than simply deliberately missing it and not telling them anything. Just my thoughts -- YMMV.

We're going to be on a 4-night in December. I look forward to reading about your experience! 🙂

Yep, what Peg013 said -- you won't see it, but NCL and your TA can see it. I don't know why, but that's how it is.

I had a similar situation with a price drop after final payment on the Bliss in September. They gave me and my husband each a FCC. I could see the Cruise Next on my account, but not the FCCs. So, I called NCL and they could see it. I asked my TA, too, and she was able to see it and apply it. I did book another cruise, and it is going to be over before the 12 months, so I can’t answer your other question about the timing before the FCC expires. So, I suggest calling NCL and finding out for sure. And then let us know, if you can. It would be nice to have that answer. 😀

On October 24th, I had my TA apply a $1,000 payment toward a fall 2023 cruise and the $350 credit appeared on my statement on October 28th. So, it took a few days, but it worked!

We were on the Bliss out of Seattle for an Alaska cruise in September and at every bar, there was a sign posted about the taxes added while we were in port. The sign was taken down once it no longer applied. Edited to add: I just want to post this as it may be something new NCL is doing if they had feedback about people not realizing when they would incur these extra charges.

We used NCL’s BOGO. We flew direct from Albuquerque to Seattle for a cruise on the Bliss. Friends using same deal flew direct from Philly to Seattle for same cruise.

Thanks for this thread! I added it to my card. My Radiance cruise has to be paid in early December, so this offer is helpful! 😀

We sailed on the Bliss September 24 to October 1 and got the coupons last week, I think on Wednesday.

Log in and you should see your cruise. Click on "Plan my cruise." Once that opens, you will see a lot of stuff across the top of the page. At the very right you should see something like your initials in a little white circle. Click that and it will give a list. One of the choices is "Order History." Click that. It will display your orders by date, order number, total paid, etc. Your drink package should be there. 🙂 Hope this helps!

I also don’t have enough information to conclude the system *is* secure.

Since no one seemed concerned, I noted it as odd, but I didn't otherwise think much about it until reading this thread because, as I said, all that the experience did was to let me know that the system isn't as secure as I had hoped it would be when I first saw it (which was just days before when I boarded the Bliss. I haven't cruised in about five years until the Bliss cruise in September).

If I'm not mistaken, you can only use one CruiseFirst certificate per reservation. So, if you bought 7, you'd have to book 7 different cruises.