marelind

I am currently on the Pearl in Alaska. I have not personally had the experience, but overheard another passenger complaining that she wanted to take a plate of cookies from the buffet to her cabin and was stopped from doing so. I had not heard of that before, so I was surprised. Now I understand. :cool:

I'm on board the Pearl right now in Alaska. Men generally wear slacks and collared shirts, while ladies wear slacks and a nice top or a skirt or long skirt with a sweater.

We just did the Mexican Riviera on the Star April 5-12. There were a LOT of kids on board, over 1000, so I'd agree to skip late March and early April. Also, that late in the season the whales have mostly migrated north if you want to go whale watching. The weather was great, warm to hot in Mexico, cool on the way back to LA.

We also did this cruise in February a few years ago. The stops in Mexico were quite warm while again the days to and from LA were very cool to cold and only the hardiest souls were out by the pool on the sea days. The weather in Mexico is dry up until about April when their rainy season starts. If I had my choice I would take late February or early March.

only for Haven and owner's suite

I would say only Owner's Suites, Deluxe Owner's Suites and Garden Villas include sodas and bottled water, also a choice of bottles of liquor (3 for OS and DOS; 6 for GV).

We were just on the Star and have taken 11 cruises on Norwegian all in suites. We have only had one time when we were bothered by cigarette smoke and it was in a forward OS and it was the cabin below. We could not figure out how the smoke made it into our cabin, but it was intermittent and we dealt with it.

Food is very subjective, but we have found the MDR food to be pretty good. We eat in the MDR about 60% of the time and the rest in specialty restaurants. Basically, I think if you look for it you will see the places where the carpeting is a little worn or the upholstery has a stain, but if you keep your eyes on the ocean and focus on having fun, I think you'll love the Star.

Each cruise line has different pros and cons. Your experience will be different on Norwegian than Cunard and Celebrity. I hope you like the Suite Life; we do!

People have had varying degrees of success in getting the corkage reversed. For us, it took quite a bit of persistence. Because we were in a suite we finally succeeded when we got the concierge to help us, otherwise none of the bar people were willing or able to help us. It seems to be one of those situations where if you talk to the right person at the right time you can get the refund.

Are there any updates on the Pearl since March? Any info on the concierge?

You will get many answers here, some helpful and some not so much. :cool:

Here are some off the top of my head:

Daily Service charge, photos, bingo, Chef's Table, specialty coffees, pastries from Carlo's bakery, corkage (if you bring bottles of wine with you).

Please remember those with COPD/emphysema in your article.

How can I get oxygen on board? Do I have to bring tanks? Do ships allow oxygen tanks on board?

I can't walk very far. Can I get a wheelchair for embarkation and disembarkation only?

I can't stand for very long, do I have to attend the Muster Drill on deck?

6 cruises with Carnival and thinking of taking one on NCL for Thanksgiving...anything I should know?

 

Casino?

Food?

What's Not Free on NCL?

Cabins

Food? Very subjective. DH and I are happy most of the evenings in the MDR's. The specialty fee restaurants IMHO are worth the extra money.

What's Not Free on NCL? Specialty restaurants, excursions, sodas, alcohol, specialty coffee drinks, Carlo's bakery items, photos, video games, internet minutes

Cabins - I can't compare because I haven't been on Carnival. The only thing to remember is that the minisuites on NCL are not true suites and do not get the suite priviledges.

For the last few weeks I have been attempting to pack light for a 5 night itinerary between LA and Vancouver. At least when I cruise to the Caribbean, I know it will be hot and I pack accordingly...but the Pacific Northwest...not a clue.

 

I feel like I have been doing the hokey pokey of packing...I put the jacket in...I take the jacket out!!!

 

If someone reading this, who has cruised this itinerary can put me out of my misery please. Is it warm enough on the sea days for a swimsuit, do I need a jacket for the evenings or will a light sweater do?

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Dansu

I assume your cruise is coming up in the next couple of weeks. Los Angeles may be very warm, especially for someone from Ontario, Canada. With that said, the weather can vary throughout the itinerary from 80+F down to 50F. The nice thing is that you don't have to go outside to go to dinner, so a light sweater will likely be warm enough for going to dinner on the ship. I hope I didn't confuse you more. :confused:

Hey Guys..

Its been a while....Thanks for the Star update, we'll be on her in May for the Baltic Capitals cruise. Fingers crossed..;). Hope Hugo will still be there..

Hi Rich and Loretta! It sounded like they are planning to keep the rest of the schedule on track. I hope it works out for you both. I didn't talk to Hugo about his contract timing, so I can't help you there. Take care.

Congratulations on Platinum! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

We were on the same cruise and can echo the frustration and disappointment with the specialty dining reservations. In the 10 previous cruises on Norwegian we have never had a problem getting a reservation for a specialty restaurant once we were on board, often the day of the evening we wanted the reservation. We might have to shift 15-30 minutes from what our ideal time might be, but that's no big deal. Granted, we sail in suites and the concierge used to have a table or two up his sleeves, but usually there were empty tables around us anyway. Definitely not so this last cruise. Embarkation day by 1 pm the only reservations available were after 9 pm. or not at all. It really showed me the impact the UDP is having on the specialty dining.

I'm trying to understand the difference between the SE, SF and SG cabins and which ones they are exactly. Is it the same size and configuration for all of them?

Please help me figure out which is which (I am terrible with the diagrams of the decks). Is this correct?

SB/OS - 1003, 1203

SE/PH - 0065,0265,9076, 9276, 8077, 8277

SF/PH - 8002, 8001, 8201, 8202

SG/PH - 9001, 9002, 9003, 9201, 9202, 9203, 8001, 8002, 8201, 8202

What category are 8003 and 8203?

Thank you!

I'm off the Star today. I confirm what zootnarf said, that Hugo, the Hotel Director, said they needed to fix an azipod. The second officer on the bridge tour confirmed that in passing. They are onloading contractors today and heading straight to Freetown to drydock and fix the azipod before crossing the Atlantic. Hugo confirmed that the PC cruise was cancelled, but didn't say anything about the TA being cancelled or delayed.

The only thing I would say anecdotally is that our top cruising speed seemed to be around 19 knots instead of 20 or 21 knots as I have seen before on occasion.

He also said that they would be completing some of the rehab work that didn't get finished three weeks ago due to the port slowdown on the West Coast, for example, the furniture for O'Sheehans was a mix and match of old and new. Otherwise, the Star looked good.

Hi We are on the Jewel, in The Haven. 2 bedroom family. Do the showers offer shampoo, conditioner and soap or do we bring our own?

THanks

You will have small individual bottles of Elemis shampoo, conditioner and body lotion and a shower cap and loofa. I think I remember small bars of hand soap, so I think there are bars for the shower as well. Each will be replaced as they are used.

There are many reasons Norwegian will lower prices on a particular ship or itinerary. With that said, the Star is one of the older ships in comparison with the new Breakaway class, Epic and Jewel class, so people who want the new ships with all the bells and whistles, the older ships can get a better deal.

The last time we were on the Star we could see she looked a little shabby. She has been refurbished since then, and then again this month. The thing is that even when they take the ship to dry dock it doesn't mean everything is replaced, so there may be some worn areas even after the dry dock. With that said, the times we have been on the Star she is easy to get around on and the crew has always been very good. The experience on the Epic and Breakaway class ships will be different because they offer entertainment and dining not available on the Star. If that is important to you then you might think twice about the Star.

Norwegian docks there on their PC cruises. The last time we stopped there one of the people on our Roll Call organized a tour with Adelino Olea. If you google his name and Huatulco you'll be able to find his contact info here: http://www.tomzap.com/huatulco.html. I enjoyed his tour and thought I would take a tour with him again.

Some of your questions will get more expanded answers in the Mexican Riviera section under Ports of Call and West Coast Departures section under North American Homeports on the main page. Also, it sounds like you are doing a Panama Canal cruise that hits the Mexican Riviera on the way north, if you are on the Jewel. Without looking, it would seem that that itinerary may have some different ports than the usual Star MR cruise.

Cabo is a great port for walking around, shopping, getting some food or drinks and booking an excursion at the marina where the tender drops you off. I have not gotten off the ship in Mazatlan, so I can't comment.

LAX is the airport; Los Angeles Harbor or San Pedro is the port. I'm not sure to which you are referring so I'll guess the harbor, then go to the airport. The harbor has two main terminals. Embarkation is fairly simple; disembarkation can be a long process with long lines on or off the ship,depending on how CBP does it that day and how many agents they have on hand. LAX is a zoo most of the time. Allow for two hours from curb to boarding. Traffic between harbor and LAX varies on day and time of day. Allow extra time on weekdays.

The Jewel is a nice ship with a lovely staff. It does not have the size or bells and whistles of the new ships, but I much prefer the Jewel class ships of Norwegian.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post. It gives some insight into a teen's experience on Norwegian.

We got upsold into the Owner's Suite on the Pearl for a 4-day Pacific Coastal. We haven't been able to non-suite ever since. Congrats and enjoy it!

IMHO, the reasons for a busy roll call and a quiet/dead roll call can vary from Roll Call to Roll Call. Sometimes it is the people who post often who can keep the ball rolling. Sometimes it is because you have been on an itinerary so many times you aren't really interested in talking about it or coming off as a know it all. In reading the OP's post, it occurred to me that many of us are so plugged in to tweets, blogs, and Facebook that the novelty of posting thoughts is much less attractive.

Demonyte, thanks for the answer. I figured there was a way, but wanted to know for sure.

We are cruising with our son's family in separate cabins. Are we able to transfer credit from our onboard account to their onboard account while on the ship? Does it make a difference if they have a different credit card on for their cabin? I am talking about onboard credit I have paid for myself, not the OBC given by NCL.

We'll be sailing on the Gem out of NY in May. I know that we can bring wine on by paying a corkage fee of $15/bottle. I also know that you pay this at the dock after you clear security but before you actually check in, so my question is whether there's a way to use OBC to pay the corkage fee, or whether you must pay by other means (like cash or credit card) since you haven't actually checked in yet. Would love to be able to use some OBC for this, but not sure we can.

 

Thanks for any info!

The corkage fee goes on your onboard account. After security, but before you actually register, there is a table with crew members that count your bottles and write up a chit with your cabin number which you then sign, just as if you were on the ship. I don't have an answer as whether OBC can be used for that or not.