dalgirl

I think for many of us it came down to price. I have actually done several helicopter tours along with small plane and even a float plane in Alaska, they were all wonderful. The plane in Kauai was excellent. If either will work for you and/or cost is a factor, go with the plane. If you have your heart set on going up in a helicopter, then do that. You'll have a wonderful time no matter what you do.

We leave in 3 weeks for a 3 week cruise in Asia on celebrity . I would have loved to have sailed with NCL but they haven't branched out to that part of the world . I had booked south America on RCL until ncl added SA to their schedule . So I changed to ncl. If you truly want to sail the world , you will have to branch out to other lines unless ncl begins to moves into other markets like Asia . We have all of our documents in order , all excursions booked , and start packing this week . What an adventure !

We decided to just get some HKD before we leave . Usually don't bother in Europe , the ATM is fine , but I am not sure how tired I will be to fool around with money exchanges at the airport . But I will keep the counterfeiting in mind when we reach China .

Thanks. I was hoping that either would be accepted so that I could avoid getting HKD.

We plan to purchase Chinese RMB before leaving the US. Is the Chinese RMB used the same as HKD in Hong Kong? If yes, we can avoid purchasing the HKD too?

yes, your TA OBC can be used for the service charge.

We have done both - when we have something really important the luggage will stay with us. As long as you are prepared to possibly keep it with you for a few hours, you should be fine. You will see others doing this as well. Sometimes we check it so that we don't have to bother with lugging it around the ship until the cabin is ready. But we always do a walk off with our luggage at the end of the cruise since we usually only have one carry one bag each - saves hunting for our luggage in a big pile.

Our first cruise was obstructed view and we were hooked on cruising with that cruise. We have had insides, windows, balconies, AFT balconies, and mini-suites (I am way too cheap to book a suite) -and they are all good to us. If the cruise is in the Caribbean, then we prefer a balcony - but if it is Europe, an inside is fine because it is so port intensive. Our next two cruises are over two weeks each - Asia and the UK - and both are ocean views to save on expenses. For so many days at sea I want the light, but most days will be port intensive and cool, so we are happy with our choice. We have been fortunate to have been upgraded for free a few times, but we never book with that expectation. I prefer to cruise several times a year and if a cheaper cabin is what it takes, sign me up:)

You may also want to wait until about a week before you cruise and ask your TA to contact them to see if there are any free upgrades. We have been upgraded three times on previous cruises just by asking at the last minute.

As others have stated, the price for the cruise has increased to cover the cost of the "free" packages. But last minute deals may be your bet for a true deal.

 

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Getting a good TA is a no brainer, you get the same promos offered by PCC along with TA extras. The TA is also your contact to the cruise line saving you time on the phone . Wish we could give you rememendations but not allowed .

 

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Just in General: If you don't have a US or Canadian passport, don't make an early flight - you could be tied up in immigration for a few minutes or a few hours.

I think he wanted to axe the snow room on the new ship and they said no:p

 

He did a wonderful job and will be missed. Sorry to see him go....

Since you have strong opinions on this, you must have experienced this. Can you tell us about your experience and why you don't like this? It would help others learn from your experience.

Thanks! :)

 

No experience with a snow room, it just hit a nerve because it looks and sounds so stupid:) And it's been that kind of week:p

 

As I said before some of the older ships had the ice cold plunge pools (again for those who believe dunking in ice cold water has health benefits, which may be true). The salt rooms on Breakaway and Getaway are out there, but at least the crew doesn't have to make sure that the passengers aren't stuck to the walls. The first time we sailed on Breakaway I went into the salt rooms - the room was cool and the tile seats were not heated. Left quickly and never saw anyone in that room the rest of the cruise - seat warmers were either off or not working. On Getaway in Sept. the tile beds were heated and the room was used a lot - including by me for a short time. I suspect that NCL will try to put in some sort of heated seat and/or floor just to let people in wet bathing suits spend 5 minutes in there to have the "experience."

 

A snow room is a gimmic - "hey we have a snow room in the Caribbean!" There are lots of good things they could put in that space that would be less ridiculous. Most health experts decry the benefits of mud baths, but even those make more sense than the dumb snow room. Maybe when the snow room bombs they will put in more heated beds - there are never enough of them.

 

I really don't know why this just hit me wrong, but it did:p

You are wet in a bathing suit. Snow is fun with a jacket and gloves. This is not the ice bar. I see people opening the door, peaking in and heading back to the heated beds:)

 

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How many people really would use this? A few MN natives and some Scandinavians? Dumbest idea ever... excep for the fake ice skating rink.

 

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Live down south for a reason. If this is in the spa you will need a pass to use it anyway. Still think it is stupid. Opening the door from warm to cold constantly could ice the floor. Rethink this guys.

 

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I take packing tape and "laminate" the tags, then use a hole punch before we leave to punch holes in each end. I keep some twisty ties in the suitcase. On cruise day I take the tags, wrap them around a handle (I usually put two tags on each bag just in case) and use the twisty ties through the holes to secure them to the luggage. When the luggage is delivered I throw out the tags and put the ties back into the suitcase for the next cruise.

 

Easy:)

Well this should go over as well as that fake ice skating rink on the Epic. Some of the older ships had ice cold plunge baths that no one ever used. I wonder what they will turn the space into when it flops? What an idiotic idea.....

The zumba classes on NCL were a huge disappointment. Lots of people in the atrium area doing something that was definitely not zumba. If it really is a zumba class I will gladly pay $11. But if it is a hot mess they call zumba they can keep it.

 

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If the price goes down after final payment you can always ask for an upgrade. But I don't believe we will see any relief soon. I'm booked out to March 2017-and I think that is the best course for now.

 

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So got a promo from my TA and checked out the cruises I have already booked on the NCL website to see if I should rebook for a better deal. Shocked to see the South American cruise I booked last May is now over $1000 more per person and $100 less OBC. Our UK cruise in Sept. is also over $1000 a person more with less credit. I will probably check out the price again before final payment, but I'm not holding my breath that the deal is going to be better. Well they have to pay for these new builds somehow.

DH has dived in Roatan with NCL and it was a very good experience. In fact, because they do such a good job he always takes the ships excursions when available because he knows they will be set up with a good company and back on time. You can't go wrong booking with the ship for this particular excursion. FYI: if you want to make sure that you only dive with others who are certified make sure that is the dive that you choose when you book and don't forget your dive card!

They've got rid of Howl but added a Magaretiville or something. Guessing they are steering it more to the U.S. target market as year round from Miami.

 

Howl at the moon is seen as a great show by many Europeans.. There will still be a piano player/requests but just not duelling on stage..

 

Dueling pianos if VERY American and has been around for a really long time - even Disney has this type of venue. We have seen dueling piano shows for over 30 years. Also many Europeans do not care for the format since it is American centric with American songs and American performers. They don't get all the songs. It is specifically geared to the Americans and/or Canadians onboard.

 

It can be great, or a real miss depending on the team they have in place (we have only had a few misses). I like Howl as a change to the traditional one performer standing in an area trying to entertain with no one paying any attention. And it is much better than Second City which also does not translate over to Europe. Comedy can be more subjective than music IMO.

 

I would miss it:(

Older ships have their problems like older houses, and the main draw on this cruise is Asia. I'll hope for the best, and I am sure we will have a wonderful time. And a small can of air fresher may help :)

 

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