Peachypooh

For the women who only wear skirts or dresses bring along some long underwear. I bring along some lightweight ones to wear under my dresses and it was just as good as wearing pants. However I did not go out on the water on a small boat or a glacier which I am thinking it would not be good enough.

I haven't been to every single Caribbean island but the majority of them. Hawaii topography is a very different experience. I have been to Hawaii four times all four times staying on just one of the islands not a cruise.Once just Kauai, once just Oahu, and twice just Maui. We really felt that we were able to experience most of what the islands offer. We shopped around for airfare and all four times flew first class never paying more than $1,000 pp from the east coast. (before the pandemic) However I think those days are over. I did interact with some cruise ship passengers mostly on Kauai and their time was so limited but I guess if you want to get a sampling to see which one you want to come back to it would be worthwhile. It's your choice but in my limited experience Hawaii is not the same as the Caribbean.

I found that the dress code on my Alaska cruise in September was very relaxed. They expected that people would head outside after dinner and didn't want to change their clothes soI saw nobody turned away in clean presentable casual pants and sweater or jacket. This was on the Pearl a few years ago.

Book for 4 show up with 6. I booked for 6 and showed up with 7 no problem

On our very first cruise on Homelines (out of business) we had our very own lounger with our name on it. (everybody did) No charge

I have had only one really bad cruise with NCL and I am sapphire and yes, it was a bad cruise that almost everyone on the ship I met complained about. HOWEVER all the issues I encountered I knew were going to be an issue ahead of time and I went anyway because family picked the cruise based on their schedules so that's on me. President's week out of NYC. LOL Planning a cruise for either the first week of December or first week in September which we have always had no trouble with.

We always fly first class and we are an average Joe and Jane. My husband has orthopedic problems where a larger seat is important for him not to be in pain and I don't like the closed in feeling of sitting in the back. So we wait for a sale and then buy tickets. I have bought first class tickets for only $150 more per ticket than regular coach. Totally worth checking each day because the fares fluctuate.

We have been on 11 cruises most of them in the Haven. Only the last one did I meet a couple who tried to act as if they are better than me (we were both in the Haven) trying to determine if I was "worth their time" by asking if I had a private jet. Then they called me fat ( I could stand to lose 20 pounds) It was bizarre. So not like the typical NCL cruiser. I just walked away and pointed them out to my son-in-law who wanted to confront them. LOL I just said no we are not at a ballgame we don't want to make a scene at the Haven bar. LOL

We said yes to a shore house vacation (4 adults 2 children)and by the time it was over our share was $4500 for a three day weekend. We will never do that again.

Welcome to cruise critic. You will find lots of "regular Joe's" in the Haven (including us). If you decide to get a regular cabin for less money it will be possible to be with your family but it is a bit logistically more difficult. We just did a sailing with people in mixed types of cabins and it wasn't ideal but doable. I agree with what graphicguy said. You won't have a good time if you are fretting over the money spent and feel the Butler and Concierge are not your style. You said you are going to Bermuda? Think of your ship as a very fancy bus to take you there. You will be docked most of the time and the amenities on the ship will be less important. Also except for a very few exceptions most people won't notice you being escorted ahead of them since the concierge uses the service elevators. Good luck with your decision. When I decide to go "frugal" with family vacations while the others aren't I put aside the money I would have spent otherwise and put it in my grandchildren's college fund.

I never use one anymore but years ago I got a call from mine from a past cruise that asked me if I was a member of a certain organization for old people (not sure if I can mention the name). I said no and she said that they are running a special $500 off for members. So since I hadn't yet booked I joined the organization for around $50 and got the $500 when I booked. She was one of the good ones I think.

If you are going to Cartagena bathrooms can be an issue. The bus had one but it was locked and across from the fort the bodega was kind enough to let me use theirs but it cost $1.00 and had no toilet seat or paper LOL. The gold museum had one but the doors were off the hinges so we women took turns holding the door in front of the opening so people could have some privacy. That said the people were lovely and we enjoyed our time there.

Did you take a flight home and if yes were they there when you checked in at the airport? We had our bags gone through and stuff missing twice traveling by air. We did self assist walk off.

Personally I think traveling with a big group is a coordination nightmare. Unless the group is family or friends from childhood it is also a recipe for hurt feelings. Everyone has to be on the same page. One person pressured the whole group to go on a walking tour of a port when two wanted to rent bicycles. The two who didn't get to rent bicycles were mad the whole rest of the trip.

You are right. I have sailed on the Pearl, Gem and Jade multiple times but not the Jewel.

We like the Gem class ships where we can get a forward facing balcony and see the stars at night.

Nothing.....

OK this is my second reply. I read through your expectations. I have cruised on four different cruise lines and it is safe to say that none of them met those criteria. I have talked with people who went on very high end cruise lines and none of them met that criteria. The closest I ever got to that was on a land based vacation at a high end resort. There are too many moving parts on a cruise ship for everything to be perfect. I do however agree that if asking a question that person should get it right and not just guess.

I didn't read through your list...my expectations are simple. A quiet room, a working toilet, decent food, no over crowding. On the Getaway in February the only one they met was decent food LOL

I have sailed on other lines but on NCL I have sailed on the Pearl (multiple times), Gem, Jade (twice) Encore and most recently the Getaway. The crew has always been hardworking and kind. I was always able to find food to my liking. The only problems I have run into were ridiculous overcrowding on the Getaway (it was President's week) and kids taking over the Haven on the Encore. The overcrowding was NCL's fault. They should have known that while technically they could fit that many people on the ship it would make it awful for the guests. Kids taking over the Haven on the Encore is different. Their parents paid for the Haven and the kids were entitled to be there but none of the crew told the kids to stop doing disruptive things. Like going into the Horizon lounge and playing hide and seek and catapulting themselves over the couches. I will still sail NCL but I am going to pick a week to sail a little more carefully.

We stayed at the Marriott Waterfront right across the street from the pier. It probably will be over $300 but if you factor in no taxi ride to the ship that would offset the cost a bit.

We went to the Island Pub on Douglas Island, Juneau. We had rented a car so no big tourist crowds from the ship as it wasn't offered as an excursion or walkable. The food was fantastic and the service friendly.

Neosporin on shore excursions. People were always cutting themselves and borrowing ours.

Cutting the line is wrong. I have been guilty of seeming to take more than my fair share when traveling with my grandchildren. The options are take a plate and put 6 pieces of pizza on it or have them stand there with me with their own plates and fill them which would hold up people even more. Sometimes sending one person to get food makes the line move faster and the same amount of food would have been taken.

When traveling outside the US please be aware that safety features do differ. For example no guardrails on the stone bridges at Xcaret. I too hurt myself on Curacao using a day pass to a local resort. The dock had steps but no white strip at the edge to mark them so I tripped and scraped up my arm pretty badly. I always travel with a first aid kit so I was able to patch myself up.