fiftyguy

4 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

What were the bullet points? 

 

Have you travelled before with NCL when a passport book was mandatory? 

Yes, I’ve traveled with a passport. This was an email, from NCL, suggesting I use a third party to get me a quick passport renewal or new one if I’d never had one. The company was called Visa Central. I haven’t rec’d this in the past and was wondering if it was a new arrangement NCL has with this company. No big deal just surprised.

Sorry, please ignore. I tried to copy and paste an email and it didn’t work.

Hi
Has anyone recd this for a recent trip needing a passport? I recd this as an email from NCL today. I’ve never recd this before.

Hi

Since you’re in a suite can you tell me who the concierge is for your trip and whether he/she will be doing the Canada trips in September/October? 

Much appreciated.

The ships webcam shows them at sea.

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

 

going back to Portland. 

this time on NCL.

 

anything different in the lobster roll from becky's diner over highroller?

 

I like the rustic diner feel at Becky’s. Either one is a good choice. I’m sure there are other places with good LR. It is Maine.

Becky’s Diner is on my list when we stop in Portland in early October. I’ve seen some very good reviews.

4 hours ago, tartanexile81 said:

We did Oli's Trolley last year and it was an excellent day. We had a really knowledgeable guide who couldn't have been more helpful.  It is a gentle stroll from the tender point and we had no trouble getting off the ship. We did the 2.5 hour Acacia National Park tour and it was long enough for us.  When we asked him, the tour operator recommended the restaurant opposite for lunch and it was fantastic. It was the West End Cafe. It is busy but don't be put off as we didn't have to wait long at all. I had lobster (of course) and it was head and shoulders better than any lobster I have ever tasted. I then walked up the hill beside the restaurant and came to the common which was nice to look around then waked back down through the shopping street. We didn't have good weather but still enjoyed the day. 

Thank you for the review of Oli’s Trolleys. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the tour. I also have West End Cafe on my radar for lunch while in BH.

High Roller and Becky’s Diner are good choices for Lobster Rolls. Becky’s is about a 20 minute walk from port. HR is a little closer.

1 hour ago, steve333 said:

Can anyone advise me how far the departure point for Arcadia national park is with Pli’s trolleys from the cruise tender port in Bar harbor(is it walkable and if so how long please),thanks for any help,Steve.

My wife and I are doing Olie’s Trolley in September. We chose the 2 1/2 hr trip. My understanding is the meet up spot is right where the tenders dock. We’re really looking forward to this trip. We’ve always gone to warm weather ports.

I like to book directly so I can deal with NCL directly if I have questions or issues. It doesn’t have to do with a good PCC or not. My experience with a PCC has been mixed. I guess I’m a control freak and like to manage my reservation myself.

Have a great cruise whichever way you decide to go.

7 minutes ago, crdtrnr said:

It's been a few years (6) since I cruised with NCL...Back then, on a TA, they had a wine package you could purchase on board..

.x # bottles for x $..

Do they still have this?

 

Yes, it’s called Viva Vino. There are 3 levels of wine choices. I don’t have current list and some say it can vary from ship to ship. You can usually find a desk in the atrium on the first day.

54 minutes ago, hladygirl said:

If you are looking at a true aft facing balcony then go with deck 10. Balcony is deeper and you won’t have noise issues. If you go for a side view balcony deck 11 has 4 category BA balconies. The balcony is deeper than the regular ones, has overhang to protect some from the sun and rain and they are right next to the stairs and elevators. Very convenient location midship. We had one for our 14 night cruise on the Dawn last fall and loved it.

Agree with aft balcony comment. The added plus is the wonderful smell from the bakery. It does have to be deck 10 for most spacious balcony. 8 and 9 are not as deep and 8 can be noisy.

11 hours ago, rwallner said:

Our Cruise to Alaska is 43 days away.  We called last night to make dinner reservations and we requested window seating.    They said they couldn't do that.  They made the dinner reservation but couldn't set up the seating that is done on the ship.  Seems kind of weird to me.  Is that normal or did we get a guy on the phone who could care less.   He seemed pretty detached from assisting us.  Pretty much any question we asked was, ask when you get on the ship.

 

 

I actually find it easier to work with concierge once on board. I make reservations through the concierge desk but work out specific requests once I get on the ship. 

Enjoy your trip.

3 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

How did you find out it was traveling empty to your port?  Not challenging the information, just wondering how you knew.  Thanks!

Same as hammermw the Gem was ending its winter run in NY and was repositioning for its summer in Boston. The Gem did one Carribean run (our cruise) before it started its weekly Bermuda run through the summer. The Gem finished a NY cruise on a Thursday and then sailed up to Boston on Friday to start our cruise. 

Hi

I can only speak for our situation. We sailed the Gem, out of Boston, back in the spring of this year. The Gem finished a cruise in NY and then sailed up empty to Boston. In our case we boarded the ship around noon (normal time for cruises out of Boston). Since we were in a suite we were taken directly to Cagneys for lunch and then we could go to our cabin after lunch (around 1). We thought, since the ship was empty, we could go directly to our cabin but that wasn't the case. Your experience may differ.

Thank you both for the info, tips and pictures. We’ll be late September so hopefully no snow.

I’ll be on the NCL Gem in September for a trip to Canada. One of the stops is Saguenay. Would anyone know whether port or starboard is best for seeing the Fjords as the ship sails in?

thank you.

Hi

I had a similar experience as others who responded. I submitted a claim 4/15 and my resolution came on 7/3. NCL paid 100% of my claim. 

I did call every two to three weeks to get an update and to let CS know I was tracking the claim.

We’ve stayed in the 2 BR suites on both the Dawn and Gem. We go for the 2BR suite most forward on either side. We had no issues with noise from above and foot traffic in the hallways is minimal. 

Happy you enjoyed your cruise.

I’ve always had pretty good luck with my special requests. I know the butler has my requests (seen notes from pre-concierge desk) but the first day is hectic (for them) so I give them a day to do set up.

We usually ask for extra coffee and cream since we use a lot of both. We have specific requests for snacks which have always been honored. We ask for freshened ice bucket three times a day. There have been other requests but the only one we can’t seem to change is the designated snack of the day. We don’t like many of them and hate to see wasted food. They still show up.

Very nice suites. You’ll have very large balconies which will be great for the sail in to Bermuda.

your butler should be able to get some great snacks for your 6 yr old - m & m’s, gummy bears, chocolate chip cookies etc. You might want to ask for a pitcher of juice.

As far as snacks for yourself you can ask for anything and the butler will get it if he/she can. We ask for BLT’s, cheese/cracker plates, fruit plates etc.

If you’re tired and don’t want to go out you can have dinner in your room. Give your butler a couple of hours notice as a courtesy. Same would apply for breakfast if you want an early start while in Bermuda. 

I would base tips on how much you use the butler, concierge. I tend to tip butler more since we use them more often. I would give what you can afford. You’ll hear about per person/per day amounts, but do what your comfortable giving. If you don’t want to give cash you can add tips to your ship account by going to guest services. You’ll need to have the full names of your butler and concierge.

You’ll love having breakfast (and lunch) in Moderno’s which is only for suite passengers.

Have a great time. 

Oh, that’s so sad. I met him as well and liked them both.

By the way we used Thrifty Rental and signed up for their Blue Chip program. This made picking our rental easier. The program is free.