cinsans

If I am traveling abroad I enroll with The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program is a free service that allows U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad to receive the latest security updates from the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. 

I also alert my credit card company of the dates I will be visiting each country. 

4 hours ago, room with a view said:

Thanks for all the fantastic photos. It all looks amazing .

 

Looking forward to September for our cruise..... any recommendations for a hotel in Athens ??

We are staying at Urban Nest Suites and Apartments for a few day prior to our September 13th cruise. Never stayed there but they have good reviews.

 https://www.urban-nest.gr/

53 minutes ago, Travelers56 said:

My deposit was refunded back to my credit card yesterday-  which thankfully was the only $$ we had into this trip.

 

Question-  has anyone re-booked a new cruise ?  I am curious about how this 10% credit is being calculated?  10% of the NEW booking-  or of the cancelled Asia cruise?  and just the cruise fare?  (not port fees or gratuities?)

letter from NCL said the 10% would "appear" in my profile after 2/14-  but I dont see anything. I am assuming that it will show once we decide where we will go instead. 

anyone rebooked yet ?  just curious to know how that is showing.

Thanks

I just re-booked the Spirit sailing September 13, 2020  going to Greece and Turkey. The 10% credit comes off the cruise fare only for the new booking. 

I hope this helps!

It will be a hand-held hair dryer at the desk.

To view the cabin and hairdryer just search YouTube for NCL Star Oceanview cabin.  

17 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

 

good to know about the 10% but the 50 shore credit would pay for 2 umbrellas (3 ppl). which brings up something else. how close to each other are they. will the 3rd person be far away?

 

 

The umbrellas are in long rows on the beach. Just let the staff know you want two umbrellas next to each other.  

They are located in front of the small cabanas.  The umbrellas are  installed in the ground and can't be moved.The umbrellas are locked and you will need to show your excursion ticket showing you paid for the umbrella to staff at the beach before they will open it. The staff will assign you an umbrella with two lounge chairs. 

If you are Silver latitude member or above don't forget to ask for the 10% discount on shore excursions when renting umbrellas, snorkeling equipment, etc. 

Very little shade on the island.You can rent an umbrella for $21 thru the shore excursion desk on board before arriving at the island. The umbrella rental includes two lounge chairs. 

13 hours ago, CruiseGal999 said:

A friend and I are on the April 28th TA on the NCL Pearl.  I am hoping there will be 2 laundry specials in that time.  The 'bag' where you fill it with as much as you can and pay 1 price.    Now .... can EACH of us have that bag, each time they offer that special?  Or do we both have to share 1 bag for the whole cabin?  Anyone have experience with this?  Thanks .... 

I have sailed on several 14 day cruises and they always offer two laundry specials.

As far as offering each person in the cabin a laundry special, I believe the offer is one laundry bag special per stateroom each time it is offered. 

I am very happy with NCL cruise price for my upcoming South America cruise. I shopped and found I would pay $1000 more for an inside cabin on Celebrity versus the outside cabin I booked on NCL. Plus I have OBC, specialty dining and Wifi included on NCL. There was no additional promotions offered on the Celebrity  sailing.  

So I guess it depends on where you want to cruise, whether NCL still offers a good value.

Very helpful! 

Thanks

We stayed at the Travelodge Hotel Martin Place. This is a budget motel located close to Hyde Park. It is centrally located and we were able to walk to most of the attractions. If you are interested in the history of the penal colonies in Australia and have time, check out the Hyde Park Barracks Museum.The World Heritage listed Hyde Park Barracks is one of the most significant

convict sites in the world and it is only a few blocks from the hotel.

Before purchasing a hairdryer check if your hotel provides one!

We are also staying at the Premier Inn London Victoria in September. We have stayed at other Premier Inn properties and find them to be clean, comfortable and reasonably priced. The Premier Inn Victoria is within walking distance to Victoria Coach station, making it easy to take National Express bus to Southampton port.

We are also sailing on Norwegian Jade in September and decided to stay at the mid-priced Ibis Southampton Centre for one night. It is within walking distance of City Center cruise terminal where the Jade will dock.

https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-1039-ibis-southampton-centre/index.shtml

You could consider taking a taxi to Victoria Coach station and take the National Express bus to Southampton. The bus driver will handle loading and unloading you luggage, and you can buy your ticket in advance for 5 pounds per person. That is what my husband and I plan on doing for our September cruise.

Link to more information on taking the bus.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/accommodation/victoria_coach_station.htm

Take a look at Travelodge Martin Place. The hotel is within walking distance of train station and all the major attractions. Also very easy to take the train to the port. We are staying pre-cruise at the end of November for $204/AUD per night ($156 USD). If you are interested, book on a Tuesday to save even more money! The hotel is currently being renovated and should be finished by August 2017.

Just got off a transatlantic last week and the internet speed was very slow during the day! If you are willing to use it early in the morning or late at night it was much faster.

I did book an airport hotel for our pre-cruise late night arrival at the Salles Hotel Ciutat del Prat. It gets good reviews on Trip Advisor and the package they offered includes transfer from the airport and transfer to the port plus breakfast. I believe with taxes it came to $150. It's a refundable rate and I don't have to pay before we get there.

 

I'll continue to look for post-cruise and remain open to suggestions if there's any better rates, etc.

I stayed at the Salles Hotel Ciutat del Prat in 2013 and really liked the hotel. The airport/port shuttle was very convenient and the breakfast was delicious. Even though it is in a residential area there are several good local restaurants close to the hotel. Also you can walk a few blocks to the metro station and get to Las Ramblas in 15 minutes.

We liked it so much we booked it again for our transatlantic cruise on NCL Jade in the fall.

Hi This will be the first time in Barcelona precruise in Oct... Could I have some Hotels recommend other than the Jazz or any of those really expensive hotels. We are looking around £100 a night hotels...in a safe district.

 

Many thanks

 

Brenda

We like to stay at Salles Hotel Ciutat Del Prat. They offer both an airport and cruise port shuttle package along with breakfast. Hope this helps!