mojomorris

We are NCL Platinum (so what - nobody cares)

BUT we really ENJOY sea days, prefer a vegetarian eating regimen

and like to dine in the MDR when we want and not on a fixed schedule.

NCL offers us what we want in choice of itineraries at a price point we can

afford and service that often borders on exceptional.

What's not to like?

As far as the UDP or whatever it is called, we can always

count on the returning passengers' party AND the frequent cruisers'

party to satisfy our alcohol cravings. And if necessary, I'll spend a

few bucks and we'll have the "drink of the day" without breaking the bank.

PS On the last NCL cruise, we opted for the shore excursion and WI-FI

credit/packages rather than the UDP and dining packages.

We were looking forward to this island/port on our last NCL cruise but had to settle for Belize City.

It's not that Belize City is horrible or anything like that BUT we just don't like the tendering process.

Grand Cayman is a "stay on the ship day"also because of tendering...it's not enjoyable for us since I have some mobility issues.

I'm not sure when we'll be cruising NCL again BUT I look forward to a new destination with no tendering.

On the last RC cruise we took, we arrived at the terminal ~2:00 - there were no lines and there was no one to "check" the wine

in our carry ons. I guess they figured the bulk of the people had already been processed

so someone told us "don't worry about it...just board".

Had we known ahead of time, we could have taken much more booze on board. It really is all about timing..........

This link should help you understand it a bit.

https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/home/press_releases/2013/20131220.asp

Texas pretty much signed a contract to get rid of cruise ships by doing this.

Cruise lines such as Princess got out quickly once this started.

I think NCL honestly tried but over all it just does not work and makes

for a lot of upset passengers.

AH!! Now I see why Princess has nothing listed for Houston.

Nothing like State Regs that cut off the nose to spite the face.

Check out all the new itins.

 

https://www.ncl.com/press-releases/norwegian-cruise-line’s-norwegian-jewel-set-call-australia-home-fall-2017

Mucho gratias for that info....

We've been chomping at the bit to use our future cruise credit $$....

We did a 9 day Canada/New England last Sep.

People had posted previously that we should get the fresh caught

lobster at the ports of call as opposed to the frozen variety on the ship.

A lobster roll in every port was a good piece of advice....

1. Packed too many clothes

2. Paid too much for the cruises

3. Picked the wrong cabins

4. Flew down the day OF the cruise

5. Had no idea how old the ships were or how decks configured

6. Never knew about Freestyle or My Time Dining

7. Thought every passenger on a cruise ship was American and all crew members spoke English

8. Took the wrong shore excursions

9. Thought that excursions could only be done thru the ship

10. Never thought about using clothes pins to hold the shower curtain down

11. Had no idea I could learn so much from all you folks out there on these forums

THANK YOU, ALL!!!!

The last time we were there and actually got off the ship we went to Hard Rock Cafe to have a beer,

get a souvenir glass and look at the memorabilia.

I believe they change the displays every so often. If it's still there, it was a short walk from the pier.

There are some T-shirt shops with good prices and quality shirts a few blocks away from the pier area.

Remember, stuff tends to be cheaper the farther away you go from the pier congestion.

get cancelled and die a horrible death.

Thanks to these boards I was able to find out about the

Rhapsody repo being cancelled.... I was never notified of it by RC.

After some frantic calls to our TA, I was able to book an E1 on the

Serenade for the March 27th 11 day cruise…seems most of the “better” cabins

had been picked over by the time I got there.

Interestingly, our TA was able to secure $300 OBC.

That helps with the sting of the cancellation AND luckily

I hadn't booked flights yet. WHEW!!

Stuff happens BUT it's still aggravating...

What's an "Open Jaw" sailing?

Open jaw = One way cruise or flight

Stupid name...they should just call it "one way.....not round trip"

get cancelled and die a horrible death.

Thanks to these boards I was able to find out about the

Rhapsody repo being cancelled.... I was never notified of it by RC.

After some frantic calls to our TA, I was able to book an E1 on the

Serenade for the March 27th 11 day cruise…seems most of the “better”

cabins had been picked over.

Interestingly, our TA was able to secure $300 OBC.

That helps with the sting of the cancellation AND luckily

I hadn't booked flights yet. WHEW!!

"child or adult has massive diarrhea in the pool,"

YIKES...that sounds like a scene in a bad Adam Sandler movie....:eek:

I am on this same cruise. (April 2017 Repo) I was apprehensive also. We have never been on such a small/older ship before....but everyone here seems to love the Rhapsody, which reassures me. We are really looking forward to this itinerary more than anything. :)

We are on the same Repo....Rhapsody is scheduled for dry-dock in Dec 2016

so we should be enjoying the finished product without the "post dry-dock blues".....

Since we really enjoy the smaller ships plus relaxing/reading on sea days,

we never worry about being bored on 10+ day cruises..

Please help me decide which cruise I should choose.

I'm worried that we will encounter hoards of rowdy partying college students on the 5 night sailing so thinking maybe I should change to the 11 night cruise on Serenade OTS leaving on 13th Feb.

..........

Maybe I'm being over concerned about Spring break but having read many horror stories I'm worried.

If you're concerned, that alone may set you up for "bad" expectations.

We did a Spring Break cruise once and while it wasn't a disaster,

it could have been more enjoyable and we'll never book again during Spring Break.

Go with your gut feelings...and have some peace of mind... IMHO

We just got off the last cruise also. They are taking away the Blue Lagoon. Not sure what they are replacing it with as it was the 24hr restaurant.

We were on the 10 day last cruise also...Assistant CD said Blue Lagoon would become O'Sheehans...

New to NCL.

How comfortable are the couches in the balcony rooms?

Thank you!

Off the Dawn (last week)...

Couches are fine to sit on.....I wouldn't want to sleep on one for a 7 day cruise...

We set our carry-on luggage on it for easy access to Rx &

personal items since bathroom has very little shelving space.

Just off the Dawn (last week) ...shore exc credit applied on last sea day...

also we booked city tour of New Orleans but later found out embark/debark

ports not covered in the shore exc promo. Oopsy!!!

Next time I'll read the "fine print" more closely.

Otherwise, cruise was great time w/ great weather....

...That said, our next cruise will be an aft balcony - curious to see if it is worth the hype.

We booked an aft balcony on Brilliance just to see what the hype was (also).

And since we booked really early, the price was great even though

it was the same as a "regular" Port/Starboard D1 balcony.

The view, room space AND balcony were fabulous!

The only "problem" is that those sell out quickly and you have to

be quick to snag one.

Check the reviews , though, so you don't get one where soot from the

stacks could rain down on you.

We booked one on the Freedom with the BOGOHO + free gratuities

offer and consider ourselves fortunate.

We are on Rhapsody @ the end of April for the repo from TPA to NJ.

HOPEFULLY by then the dust will have settled (literally), the bugs have been

worked out and the cruise actually happens!

So looking forward to 6 pleasant days at sea and the ABC islands.

The website that has cruise deck plans (nod nod wink wink)

has this for Rhapsody.

"Next drydock Dec 2016."

I/we use internet basically to check the weather for ports of call before we book shore excursions.

Since many shore excursions operate rain or shine, it is real downer when you pre-book shore excursions

and the weather is lousy when you get there.

Seems like so much blah blah blah posted here.

Geez Louise...pre-tip if you want but DON'T remove tips at the end of the cruise UNLESS you received lousy service. (IMO)

We allocate "X" dollars for tips and usually give a bit out at the beginning to see if it might make a difference. "Meh" type service means we just do the "mandatory" fee/tip/service charge. Friendly attentive service gets more $$ personally handed out at the end of the cruise.

AND on future cruises I'll be looking for "that guy" handing out $100 bills....:)

Also following, we want to book the repositioning cruise on the Dawn, April 2017.

YES...agreed!!!

We booked a diff cruise for Apr '17 as a backup plan

BUT

we'd prefer the Dawn repo...

It doesn't seem like a big deal or change to me..but then again I'm running Chrome on Vista Home Basic OS so I'm just happy to get ANYTHING useful and usable. Are you folks using "advanced search" on the CCL home page?

I've always used that and it gives me what I want...but then again I'm retired and have time to fritter away doing research on our next cruise(s).

Sometimes I start out by using the CC "Find a Cruise" option on the CC home page and use "Departure port", "Popular ports","Cruise Line" and "From Date...To Date" filters for openers and then go the actual cruise line website for more info.

I guess there's always more than one way to cook a turkey..

Did you book the cruise online or are you using a TA?

Makes a difference as to "Who you gonna call?"...'cause it

ain't gonna be Ghostbusters. (No offense meant.)