Peachypooh

Yes...thanks for remembering. February is a good month and also right after school starts in Sept. When we cruised Alaska in September there were only a handful of children.

This suggestion is only a matter of etiquette. If you rent a moped stick to main roads and don't go cruising through private neighborhoods to "see the sights" especially if you are there on a weekend. The people of Bermuda (of which I am not one) deserve peace and quiet on the weekends.

Thank you so much for the information!

There is a cruise on the Pearl in Nov. 2023 that looks like fun. A thread popped up that mentioned the Pearl is going into dry dock that month? I really don't want to be on the last cruise before dry dock or the first one after because I know that in some cases (not all) they sometimes do work on the sailings the before and after cruise drydocks. Has anyone been on the Pearl recently and do you know anything about the dry dock? Thanks.

We went on a cruise that disembarked on Dec. 23, two days before Christmas. We got to enjoy all the decorations and festive atmosphere at a price at least 1/3 less than the Christmas cruise right after ours. Even though it wasn't Christmas I seem to remember at one of the ports "Santa"riding around in a boat and waving to us and a Salvation Army bell ringer at the dock in Puerto Rico with music playing on a radio and him singing Feliz Navidad to which he danced around while he sang. Great fun.

Glacier Bay was the only time they had something like that and I have been on numerous NCL ships to numerous places.

Depending upon the cabin the butler does have duties that he has to perform even if you don't want the extra service. The room stewards are swamped with work and can't replenish the coffee and tea, stock the liquor bottles for the cabins that get free liquor etc. They also remove any dirty dishes in the room that the room steward didn't. We have always tipped our butler. If he is not asked for anything besides the basics he is asked to do by the cruise line he gets a modest tip. If we ask him for things like special food in the afternoon or one time we had a party he gets a larger tip. Having a butler is part of being in certain cabins. Everything of course is your choice.

I re-wear clothes also. Usually I am able to send anything that needs it to the laundry but if not I usually have at least a couple of things I can hand wash and then hang up to dry.

We have been on cruises with lots of children and also on cruises with lots of seniors including those on scooters.It is scary to see children running down the hall towards you in a "race" and also to see a scooter being driven by someone unused to it and have them run over your foot or bump into you. To answer the original question I have never had children run around like crazy and bump into me on the Pearl. And I have been on the Pearl numerous times. I have however had that experience on the Encore.

A family member has a nut allergy including having a reaction if they touch a surface that had nuts on it. We have cruised both NCL and RCCL with them and never had a problem. However I do realize that some people have more severe reactions.

We sailed on the Encore in the very most forward starboard two bedroom Haven Suite in 2019. We have also sailed on RCCL's Liberty of the Seas mid ship owner's suite. The RCCL Suite had the smoothest ride.Itinerary is important. We went to Bermuda on RCCL out of Bayonne and to the Caribbean on the Encore. Our Encore cabin had a lot of vibration for some reason.

This was awhile ago. At the time you could rent two person scooters. I weighed 145 and my husband 155 so basically 300 pounds between us. We couldn't make it up the hills, he had to pull over and I would walk up the hills. LOL That said he had a hard time getting used to driving on the left. I don't think we would do it again.

I talked to someone who looked official and he indicated that there was no Haven area in the Manhattan terminal and he had never heard of it. We just wandered around and found it LOL.

I can only speak to the Haven process. Unless things have changed you pass through security along with everyone else. Then there is a separate waiting area (room) where they check you in and offer you snacks and beverages. Then as the room fills up you are escorted to a separate waiting area and board first.

It is OK. However we were in the Haven waiting area. Even then we were amused when pigeons were walking into the Haven check in area probably looking for crumbs dropped by people eating the free food. They have enough bathrooms at least but little else. It is sort of like a big warehouse like Costco but without the Costco items for sale LOL

The best steak I ever had on NCL was in LaCucina (don't know if the ship you are sailing on has this as an option). The t bone steak was excellent and covered by our free loyalty meals.I like Cagneys but I usually get something like shrimp and bacon wrapped asparagus as their steaks have been hit or miss.

I only wear sneakers on the ship as a safety precaution and I have on numerous occasions worn sneakers in the specialty restaurants even with dress clothes (I color coordinate). Don't know what the official policy is but that has been my experience. Nobody has said anything to me.

I give extra cash in the restaurants...at least $5-$10 per person. However I hand it directly to the server. Never knew if they get to keep it or share so I will let them deal with that.FWIW my cabin steward thanked me once for giving him his end of cruise tip when he was in the room and not in the hallway. He says that the other workers get sad if he gets something and they don't from their cabins. P.S. In the restaurant I hand it to them in a" Grandma handshake". AKA discreetly in handshake.

What everyone said so far is true. We do get a small cabana because we travel with family and need a home base. Between the shore ex credit and my sapphire status it is somewhat affordable. If it was just my husband and me we wouldn't go to the expense.

We are going on the Getaway and we have a several hour port stop at Bermuda as our last stop. We do not plan on getting off the ship. Do we still need the travel authorization form and the extra covid test for this? Our Bermuda stop will be day 8 since our embarkation covid test. Thank you.

Alaska is pretty easy to do by yourself depending on the ports. In Juneau we rented a car and drove the the Mendenhall Glacier (where you can hike) and then drove over to Douglas Island for a pizza and then after dropping off the car went on the tramway. The walk to and from the rental place gave us a bit of exercise and let us see the city. Depending on the port stops you don't really need the ship excursions. If it is the same as pre-covid even the Skagway railway ride can be booked online by yourself. Enjoy your trip.

I sailed in 9004 on the Pearl (a sister ship) and frequently saw my room steward going in and out of that area. It could be a closet but also a door to the crew stairways.

We basically asked him not to bring us anything to eat unless we asked. And we never did. We did appreciate him re-stocking the tea and coffee. Even at that by the end of the cruise we couldn't even look at food.....

Thank you for taking the time to reply and also for clarifying the sidewalks along Bowery Bay Boulevard. It will be helpful the next time we have to make that walk.

Yes I am capable. I should have been more clear. Sometimes there are street barriers and other such things that make walking especially with a suitcase hard. I thought I could walk once from the Marine Air terminal at LGA to the rental car place but thought the better of it when I saw the lack of continuous sidewalks