oneteeny

1 hour ago, mapleleaves said:

yes, the day before. Charged to our cabin.  IIRC they put a tiny sticker on our cruise card to show the driver.  It was seamless; short walk from the ship to the bus, which loaded within a few minutes and left for the train station.  We were going to Pisa and Florence so saving time was important.  

I hope it's still an option for you. Have a great cruise !

Brilliant, thank you!  We board on 10/2, so hopefully it all works out.  We plan on taking the train to Pisa and then on to Lucca.  

On 9/14/2022 at 2:45 PM, mapleleaves said:

When we were on the NCL Epic in Sept 2019, there was a free shuttle from the ship to the port exit.

We were taking the train to Florence so we chose to pay NCL $25 for a shuttle that went directly from the ship to the train station. Pricey for what it was, but a better use of our time.

Did you book that $25 shuttle onboard the ship? Thanks!

Does anyone know if El Cid Castilla Hotel in Mazatlán still sells a resort day pass to cruisers? We went there about 15 years ago and loved it. 

Question on the boozie options.  If you have a the drink package what do they charge for those drinks?

12 hours ago, ellen4641 said:

Hi, 
My sis & I are aiming for the March 22nd departure, out of San Francisco.

What is the best sale offer to try to catch ??   We'll most like go for the interior room, or oceanview.

Thanks in advance 🙂

If there is a special running you can also check out cruise compete . com to put in your itinerary, room type and all that to get some bids from TAs. Those fares will include any current promotion plus the TA will offer on board credit as more incentive to book through them. You’ll be able to ask any questions you may have with the TA plus you then have someone that can help work out any price changes/adjustments that could pop up.  You aren’t required to book anything through them if you don’t like what you see. Then you can compare prices to what Princess is offering and what the TA has access to. 
 

We run any possible cruise through there to see what offers we could get. 

Hi everyone! We are new to NCL and booked through a TA over a year ago for our upcoming British Isles cruise. I keep looking at bookings to make sure we still got a good deal and I’m noticing that we paid quite a bit more in port fees and taxes than is being quoted now. Has anyone experienced this before and how do they resolve the over payment?

Seems to be around a $1200 overpayment at this stage.

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My kids will be 9, 14, and 15 so not too concerned about the atmosphere of the restaurants. I did debate about the specialty meals, but the other option was a $50 excursion credit per port and I’m not sure we’d book through the ship.

 

I thought I’d read that if adults have the UBP, kids were required to have the pop plan so you couldn’t share the UBC. Is that not correct?

I was told by our TA that we do not have to get our kids the soda package just because the hubs and I have the UBP. So you should be covered there with no additional drinks packages.

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Yes, the International Friends cruise tour-transfer buses, advertised on London Toolkit and well-received by cruisers, operate on sailing day.

Can be done if there's another ship sailing that day (and there very probably will) - you just ask the driver for your bags to be stowed separately (or they'll be taking their own cruise on that ship :p), then disembark the coach at the pier, collect your luggage from the driver before the baggage handlers whisk them away, and jump in a taxi to your Southampton hotel.

Save http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/

and check it out next Spring.

But, as you say, with 4 of you the cruise tour-transfer bus will be pricey.

 

The alternatives:

 

By car.

Especially if you've not driven in the UK before, London is not a good place to learn a different car in a different city in a different country with different rules and a different side of the road.:eek:

Can I suggest you rent from a depot at Heathrow airport. It's 16 congested and potentially confusing urban miles from central London, on the fringe of the city on the Southampton / Stonehenge side. Public transportation from central London to Heathrow is fast, simple and cheap by bus or tube or the Heathrow Connect train or (if you book at least 3 months early to avoid price hikes close to the date) the Heathrow Express.

All the major players have depots there, including Hertz, Alamo, Europcar, National & SixT who have depots close to the Southampton cruise berths (Avis are at Southampton airport, a £20 taxi ride from the port).

Heathrow is right by the M25 London orbital motorway, and a few miles along that motorway you branch onto the M3 motorway heading for Southampton etc.

Of course if you're not the driver, fighting central London's roads isn't your problem. :evilsmile:

 

To be sure that your admission to Stonehenge isn't delayed you need to book a timed slot, a 30-minute window for arrival. Timing can be difficult from London, especially since you need to collect the car etc.

I suggest you figure your arrival time at Stonehenge (or ask here closer to the day) and add 90 minutes.

If your timing worked out (ie you get there 90 minutes early) just carry on 15 to 20 mins to Salisbury & spend some time in that historic city centre and its magnificent cathedral, before heading back to Stonehenge to arrive during your 30 minute window.

You might even consider staying the night in Salisbury instead of Southampton. Then a 40 minute drive to Southampton next morning. Just a thought.

 

By Public Transport.

Via Southampton

National Express ( http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx ) bus from London Victoria or by train ( http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ ) from London Waterloo, to Southampton coach station or central rail station.

Stow your bags at your hotel, then by train to Salisbury (half-hourly service, journey time about 35 minutes, buy return tickets for about £10 pp).

Then ho-ho bus ( http://www.thestonehengetour.info/the-stonehenge-tour ) from Salisbury station to Stonehenge - Stonehenge admission tickets bought from the driver don't have to be for a timed arrival, they'll get you in at any time.

Ho-ho back to Salisbury, spend the rest of the day there, then train back to Southampton.

 

By Public Transport

Direct

National Express buses to Salisbury are very infrequent and the drop point in Salisbury not convenient to the ho-ho.

So take the train from London Waterloo.

At Salisbury station, store your bags at the Black Cat tavern (about £5 per bag) at the end of the station approach, and take the Stonehenge ho-ho.

When you return to the station, collect your bags and take the train to Southampton central.

If you choose to stay at a Salisbury hotel, drop your bags the before taking the ho-ho. Next morning take the train to Southampton central for your cruise.

 

Brew a jug of coffee, google for more detail of the options, and krunch the numbers.

 

Come back here if some of the detail eludes you

 

JB :)

JB, this is amazing, thank you so much! I had read that the car rental from Heathrow would be the far better option than central London and we were thinking about doing that but I had not considered a train from either London to Salisbury or Southampton to Salisbury. That sounds amazing and far less difficult for us. I will be going through all the details and pricing it all out as suggested.

We did explore the transport option but with 4 of us that became pretty pricey. Also we want to do it the day before the cruise rather than the day of departure which then excluded one of the companies if not all.

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We will be spending about a week in London prior to our British Isles cruise leaving from Southampton in May 2018. We are interested in doing a trip to see Stonehenge prior to the cruise. We are wanting to know what the best way to do that would be. Should we look into renting a car in London and driving ourselves to Southampton via Stonehenge? Or is it better to take the train from London to Southampton and then renting a car for the day to drive to Stonehenge? The travel to South Hampton and Stonehenge would be on a Thursday. TIA!

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And how do the specialty restaurants work for reservations with the current specialty dinning offer? Looks like with the 12 day cruise we would get 4 specialty dining tickets each. How do you know what you are going to want and when? Seems restrictive and confining.

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You guys are awesome!! Thanks so much for all the help!

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We haven't cruised Carnival, so I can't compare the lines, but we took our first cruise on the Jade last January and loved it! Our daughter was almost 5 at the time and she enjoyed the hot tubs, the kids' pool, the kids' club and all of the restaurants.

 

 

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Thanks so much for the info!! How did your daughter like the kids club when she went? We have been hit or miss for our youngest with the kids club but they always seem to love him!

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Well we've done 4 on a balcony on Carnival and made it through. I'm not concerned about the cabin choice, so no worries there.

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The hubs and I are toying with booking a British Isles cruise for 2018 on the Jade for our family of 4. We have two kiddos, will be 6 and 17, and looking at a mini-suite for all of us. We have only been on Carnival before and have done 7 cruises so far, we are leaving on our 8th next Sunday for a quick 4 day in fact. We have always loved Carnival and are super easy going.

So, question is, what should we know about NCL that is different from Carnival and/or tips on the Jade would be fabulous? Thanks so much in advance for your help!!

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Not that it's helpful for the Glory but we tried this on the Miracle this year with no luck. The problem was disconnecting the internet connection that gets you the menu for your sale and sign information and such and then being able to switch the input. The remote they provide does not allow for switching the input to read the HDMI connection and customer service is no help as they don't want you doing this.

I had read about bringing a universal remote with you that can control the TV and switch input that way but we did not prepare for that. Thank goodness we made my son bring his laptop to watch movies and play a game also or he would have been SOL. We all vacation our own way and I do not judge others for their choices so do not judge us for our's.

Hopefully you can find a work around that will work for your girls!

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We have sailed twice with 4 in the cabin and upper pull down was left down all day each day. It was tidied of course but down all day and night making the cabin pretty tight. We have sailed 3 in the cabin several times and I believe they made the couch back into a couch in the morning then a bed again at night.

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Punchliner

 

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That one tasted like a Hawaiian Punch to me. Pretty dangerous!

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We are planning our first cruise. Are these menu's showing the items that are included in the cost of the cruise? Or is this one of the dining options that are extra? I'm trying to get an idea of what additional costs I might incur.

 

 

 

Thanks

These would the menus from the MDR and included in the cruise cost. The Steakhouse Choices on this menu have a $20 up charge for one of those items listed in that section but otherwise all else is included.

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Would anyone's security have been at risk because he was on the ship without a ID with him?

Actually they would have no idea if anyone's safety and security would or would not be at risk by letting him on board. With no form of government issued photo ID for them to determine if it is in fact truly him and a true valid ID they could have been letting a terrorist on the watch list on board with a ship full of over a thousand victims. Yes Carnival does the initial check in but then you go through security with your ID providing further proof.

Also, Carnival doesn't make its money only on the cabin you booked. By all of you not getting on board they are also not getting the extra money you would have spent on board. Booze, extra charge food, casino, etc. This is a bigger loss for Carnival if they refunded or credited.

Completely sucks for you, I agree. I work hard for my money and am careful how I spend it like I am sure you are. However, this is not at all Carnival's rule really and I would be really concerned if they had adults getting on board without proving they are who they say they are.

In my opinion at least.

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I highly highly highly recommend the steak house for dinner on at least one of the nights. So very worth the $35 per person charge.

Last year on the Miracle the Piano Bar would get started late (11:15pm instead of 9:30pm) on a couple of the nights. I think the late starts were due to the singer participating in the staged productions? Anyone have any idea if this is standard?

Thanks!

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It says this on the booking page:

 

 

 

Dinner at a Carnival steakhouse is much more than a meal; it's an event. For the nominal charge of $35 adult/ $10 child (12 and under), steaks grilled to perfection, broiled lobster tails and all of your other mouth-watering favorites are always on the menu. So for a night of dinner and a whole lot of fun, request a table for any time between 5:30 PM and 9:30 PM. In order to best accommodate your party, we strongly recommend making your table request at least two weeks prior to your sail date.

 

 

 

But yeah it is probably not something my kids would care for.

Very cool on the price! Thanks for pointing that out.

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Oh dear, I was worried about this new CD, Saffie. We cruise on 4/30. I hope she gets more adjusted by then.

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I think kids are still the same $35. I thought the steakhouse was amazing and I highly recommend it. I would not necessarily bring my kids though. It is much more geared to the adult crowd. My 16 year old would enjoy it but I would not bring my nearly 5 year old. I like to spend the quality relaxation time with my hubs on our own though.

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