Ms belp

A tear just fell upon my wrist and I realized I was crying. I'm so very sorry for your loss.Your posts were informative and beautiful. Thank you for sharing. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

As soon as I posted this, I found that someone had just posted a similar question and the knives came out.

 

I am not trying to offend anyone. Yes, this has soured me on NCL before even setting foot on the ship and now I am going to be CERTAIN I get well more than $168 in service from the staff. Enough said.

 

However, due to the fact that $168 is far more than a reasonable tip for the services I will actually call upon (the cruise was not a free gift from NCL).... additional tipping is now out of the question.

 

Matter of principle to me. You don't put your hand out for tips before providing service and then make it uncomfortable for guests to ask for it to be removed. Tacky.

 

No one be mad at me, I am simply asking what seems like a sane question.

It is not a tip, it is a service charge for everyone who works for you, from the cooks in the kitchen, to the servers, to the people who load and then unload your dirty dishes. Pick up your towels. Make up your bed, clean up your bathroom, and make you a damn towel animal. If you think $12.00/per day per/thousand wait staff is too much, stay home.

Anyone have a good recommendation for shampoo and conditioner? My hair is getting brittle and dull from meds. :(

Never had a problem with a power strip either, with a surge protector. Where does this stuff come from? We've cruised NCL since 2006.

Past such threads suggest there is a flat ban on box wine. Not allowed even if the corkage fee is paid. I don't understand it, but there it is. We've never had any trouble about our plug strip with surge protection, so that's something else I don't understand.

We have brought box wine on every cruise except the first. Declared it and had no problem.

Eyeglass repair kit! Not only for reading glasses but sunglasses. I once had the screw fall out of the only pair of sunglasses that I brought and was forced to wear one armed sunglasses for 3 days.

Excellent post. I also wear reading glasses and have learned to bring at least one extra pair with me. Nothing like trying to read with one armed glasses and they keep falling off your face. Especially looks great when you're at the pool.:D

Bring layers, layers, and more layers. We also brought a blanket that we could plug in, sit out on our balcony, and enjoy the scenery. Especially when we cruised Glacier Bay. Best cruise I've ever taken.

They always have to squeeze a penny to try and make it a dime.

It's always good to let your bank and credit union know as well. Hate CC's.

I've never needed a power strip but I couldn't agree more with the first suggestion! Just overhearing some of the other passengers can be a bummer and I never get what their issues are. :confused:

Alway bring a power strip. My partner has the most fun standing by the front desk listening to the complainers asking to get their $12/day refunded and watching people run to the ship at the end. We sit on our balcony and she laughs!:D

Birth control.

 

We have 3 cruise souvenirs at our house ages 19, 17 an 17

This has always made me smile! :)

Calling cards are nice. "Business" cards not so much.

Someone recommended labels for your postcards to friends, which they said they actually do not do. To me this is tacky. I would rather write their address out along with your message.

It's also a good idea to bring along a travel journal.

Well, this isn't something to bring, but a comon mistake first timers make is to not review the Cruise Compass left in your room every night. It details the activities for the next day.

 

Ziplock bags. Good for a lot of things, and will keep your money/cards dry if you get in the water.

 

Photocopy of your passport, cards, drivers license, etc. If you loose them, having the numbers will really help in getting them cancelled or replaced quickly.

Excellent ideas. I'd bring different sizes of Ziplocks too. Smaller ones for things mentioned and you can use the larger sizes for wet bathing suits if you change during an excursion and dirty clothes on your way home.

Don't forget to pack a sweater. The ship can be very chilly.

Forget my post......I wrote it....submitted it by accident...unfinished.......needed to finish it and edit it.....and my 15 minutes timed out....so what would have been an erudite post is now lost and sits as incomplete and not what I wanted.

 

I won't bother again.....I am a writer of prose and the prose, which would have seemed to make much more sense, is now escaped from it's prison and is lost to me.

 

This is most frustrating. :mad::mad::mad:

So much for the prose. We heard enough, believe me.:p

They still sent them through the mail when we cruised March 2009.

Yes, NCL has its own program. You pay $250 per future credit and get a $100 on board account credit for your current cruise, so your net cost is $150. This future cruise credit can then be used as the full deposit for one cabin on a future sailing...now up 4 years after you purchase it.

Yes, they do! It is the greatest; we buy one or two each time we cruise.:D

I second all these stages of Giddy!!! I also go through what you call " Did I make the right decision and book the right cruise or trip...

Well, I know now that I have booked the right cruise, but then I wonder...will I be able to spring for the airfare, hotel, etc. What if I choose the wrong place? What if our flight is delayed/cancelled? There is always something for us worry-warts to worry about. That's our job in life.:o

Where is mbisson (Monte) when I/ya'll definitely need him! He's disappeared. :confused: I've only had a glass of wine. I can't make martinis like they do on the ship so I don't even try.

My pattern:

1. I get very excited just before and after booking. Definitely giddy.

2. Then I level out to a general enjoyment of the boards and researching ports and excursions. This phase can last months.

3. Now, at about three weeks out, I am almost feeling grumpy because it will just never get here. I try to deal with it by being online and making up my packing list. But it all seems hollow right now.

4. The week before I will be very up and excited and packing. That is another GIDDY phase!

5. The night before I am a wreck. I feel awful, knots in stomach, worrying about what I forgot to pack, worrying about timing, feeling it will never happen and wondering why I EVER go on vacation and swearing I never will again. (I know, I am just a tad moody.)

6. The morning of, I let all that worrying go and have a wonderful time no matter what. DEFINITELY GIDDY!!! :D

I didn't need to read any further...I am right there with you. Tonight I have been up researching Venice; up one day, down the next. Will it ever get here??

Funny, I'm not feeling that way about our Bermuda cruise. I feel it will be very relaxing. Of course, that may change too!

We sound like kindred spirits!:)

The information comes from the United States Travel Alert issued February 20, 2009. Texas full time paid military forces are now forbidden to go to Mexico for any reason without prior approval. The crime has escalated in Mexico and is no longer just along the border although that continues to be a real problem. The last update was valid through April 4, 2009 when they will issue new information. The US state department alert is through August 2009. There are plenty of posts about tourists encountering problems inside Mexico, not just the border. I for one would not take a private excursion and am planning on cancelling my Chaccoben tour.

I don't think the State Department would issue an alert (not a warning) without just cause.

Gosh, you've done alot! I'm glad it worked out well for you. Whatever works!

Anan, who is now on the Pearl, and O'Neil, who is now on the Gem, or so I've heard. They are the reason we cruise NCL. Even my big sister went on the Jewel after I did and said O'Neil was wonderful. I hope to see Anan (sp?) on the Pearl in May. If you see either one of them, tell them Barbara and Chris from Dallas said Hi! They went out of their way to make sure we had a wonderful time.