travelnut1

Off to check it out thank you!

We are in Tortola from 8am to 5pm on the NCL getaway. I'm going to book the NCL Virgin Gorda baths snorkel excursion but it doesn't leave until 11am. Is there a beach nearby where we can go? Or something else to do? We are not big shoppers, we are go-go-goers who will want something to see or do. Any suggestions for us?

Thank you :)

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Finally figured out photos!

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January 3nd 2015

Day One-Actually the day before as we flew from Sacramento to LA on Southwest for only $62 a person which was much cheaper than renting a car and driving down. I really felt like we were the gong show as we were traveling with DH’s mother, aunt and aunt’s friend, 2 boys ages 10 & 13 and 14 bags plus cary on’s…eek! The aunt and her friend might as well have been extra children as that is what they acted like. We took the crack of dawn flight and arrived in LA around 8:30am. It took us another hour to get the bags and all the “children” rounded up and to the super shuttle stand. We waited about 20 minutes for our shuttle to load us up and drive us to the Doubletree in San Pedro. I did enjoy not stressing about making the boat and we decided we will always fly in the day before a cruise.

I am a gold member with Hilton due to business travel so we only had to wait about an hour for our rooms even though we arrived so early. The upgraded both rooms for us to the HHonors floor. Yes this hotel needs some renovation. But it was very clean and the staff was fantastic! We also really enjoyed the waterfront setting. We decided to eat a second breakfast and the aunt; friend and mom went to bed. We took the boys out to ride their skateboards for about an hour to burn off some energy. It was a beautiful day and there are nice walking/jogging trails in front of and across the street. The only thing marring our day was when we walked out the back of the hotel and turned left I did not see any signing prohibiting skateboards. The boys were not riding faster than I could walk or doing any tricks. This older lady with a huge dog started yelling at me and the kids calling us names. Apparently if you walk to the right there are signs saying no skateboards. We obey the rules but it really annoyed me that she thought she could speak to me and the boys like that. As soon as we discovered this we walked across the street to the other trails which had no restrictions.

We had a pretty lazy afternoon and an early night due to such an early morning. We ate dinner at the hotel. It was good (not great) and priced a little high in my opinion. . The hotel was a little crazy because a different cruise line had a Noro outbreak and passengers had been told to wait until evening to go to the dock to board. I cannot for the life of me remember which ship.

I didn’t take any photos this day L But the rest of the trip will have many if I can figure out how to resize them :P

January 4th 2015

Day 2:

We were up bright and early due to excitement. We had breakfast and packed up. I had arranged for the 11:30am shuttle the night before. We managed to grab a slightly earlier one and headed off to board our first cruise. We were dropped at the dock and porters quickly came over to help with our bags. MIL has a degenerative spine issue so I had arranged for a wheelchair for her. However Aunt and her friend which do have some issues grabbed them themselves and just left the rest of us sitting there with the bags. They are both very capable of the walking and standing the time it took us to check in. Since one of our sons was booked in Aunts room and I had no idea how this all worked I had to have my 10 year old run to catch up with them. Once he did they left him behind while they went through the handicap security. Thankfully he is well traveled but it really pissed me off. (We moved him to MIL room after we boarded the ship). We made it through security and check in and finally got back to our son to find out that neither Aunt or friend had a credit card for the trip..even though I told them 10+ times that they needed one. I was so annoyed at that point we took the kids and MIL and left them behind to figure it out themselves..Ok Rant OVER.

We boarded the ship and went straight to our rooms 10660, 10662 and 10666. The rooms were all ready and our baggage even started arriving. DH’s bag was the last to show up but even it arrived before we sailed. I was slightly shocked at the room sizes at first but they really do have everything you need to live comfortably for weeks at a time. DS10 room key did not have the soda package sticker so I went to straighten that out. Afterwards we headed to the Red Lion Pub ordered a bucket of beer and watched the football game for a while. We went to sign the kids up for kids club and there were no other children there. I did expect this as school was in session. There ended up being around 50 kids ages 0-17 on board and most from other countries. We headed back to our balcony to relax and wait to sail away.

DH called me out to see another ship sail away but we were actually sailing away. We enjoyed the view.

We enjoyed watching these security boats escort us in and out of port

We watched the sun set and then headed to dinner at Versailles

We all ate together; dinner took 2.5 hours which was too long for us. Afterwards DS10 wanted to go to the kids club so we took him but there were no other kids there. He wanted to stay anyway so we dropped him off. DS13 promptly disappeared into the teen club and was only seen rarely for the rest of the cruise. He was the youngest teen on board but had no problem fitting into the older group. He is very social so I could see this being a problem for a shy teen. DH and I set off to explore the rest of the ship until the 9pm show time. I was surprised at how well done each evening entertainment was with the exception of the crew dancers and singers. Tonight was a little taste of several performances. Ian was our cruise director and he warmed up the crowd. I really started looking forward to his “Joke of the Day”. We went to bed shortly after as we were tired.

Day 3 coming soon..

Thank you, I am taking out $1500 so $5-$10 is not a big deal for that amount :). I had more available on my credit card but just had $900+ vet charges for my elderly cat who we lost anyway :(. Still worth every penny to do what we could for him after 16 years of love. Thank you to everyone who replied, I appreciate your help.

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Thank you-I appreciate the help we did pre-pay the gratuities

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I will be receiving a deposit to my bank account 1 day into my cruise (actually the Friday before we leave but I doubt it credits till Monday and we leave Sunday). I thought this would be here earlier so please disregard my other post. Is there a way to withdraw it on board? It would need to be accessed by using my debit card which I have read is a big no no and I will be providing the cruise line with a credit card but it only has a $1000 limit. I will need more than that for the excursions/spending we have planned. If so I would like to withdraw cash and make a payment at the pursers. Or can I make a payment with my debit card without it becoming "on file"? Is this doable or do I need to make other plans.

Thank you,

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It is a credit card-thank you for your help

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If I have already pre-paid Auto Tips, Excursions and a bar set up how much of a hold will they want for a 15 day cruise? Is the amount held then used to pay what is purchased or do they want the hold and then still have to pay twice temporarily?

Thank you :)

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Thank you :)

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Thank you!

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Exactly what I needed to know thank you,

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Just curious if I have already pre-paid auto tips, excursions and a room bar set up what amount will be "held" on my card? If they hold it can it then be used to pay off any charges up to that amount? Or do they hold it and then also want to be paid?

Thank you,

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First time cruiser....we are arriving in Miami and booked this excursion. How will this work with disembarking, Customs, luggage ect..?

Thank you!!

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Oops

We are on the 1.4.15 NCL Star Panama Canal cruise leaving from LA and are traveling with family with some issues. I didn't realize that passengers might have to stand for long periods of time to check in to a cruise (first time cruisers). Please let me know what you suggest I do to make this easier for them.

MIL-age 67 has a degenerative spine disorder. She can get around fine (steps, walking ect) but standing in line for two hours she will be in pain.

DH's Aunt-age 63 has a hip that is going to be replaced next year.

Aunts best friend age 65- on oxygen-with balance issues. She plans to stay on the ship for most ports.

They will be traveling with us-two adults in their early 40's and our two boys ages 13 & 10. We will be helping them however we can. Thank you for any advice.

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Great review Oakman! Very helpful for our cruise in 7 days :)

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A big thank you to everyone who responded :). I don't want to be the pack mule lol, though I am concerned the kids who have never been out of the country won't be very vigilant with their stuff. Might be a good life lesson I guess. I'm thinking of just bringing one backpack. Anyone have feedback on taking a DSLR into these ports/excursions?

Thank you!

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So what do you bring with you? Don't want to pack too much...plus I am concerned about theft...what do you do with your bag while in the water ect...Do you bring snacks since some tours don't include food? Both boys are currently in an eat everything in sight always hungry phase. What did you pack that you didn't need or what didn't you pack that you wish you had? Here are our ports of call and planned excursions. My user name should be camera nut so lots of photo questions...

Cabo San Lucas-Chileno Bay Snorkle

This one is only a few hours so not as concerned about food-but do you suggest my DSLR or just a go-pro?

Puerto Vallarta-Las Caletas

This excursion includes food and drink (ya!) but once again should I bring my big camera? Is there anything to do with it should DH and I both go in the water? I am guessing no :( But the possibility of whale sightings on the boat ride out and what is supposedly a beautiful island make me want too.

Huatulco-Ocean Discovery Snorkeling

Another short excursion (3 hours). Think I will just pack the go pro on this one..thoughts?

Puerto Chiapas-

Considering not getting off the boat...

Cartagena Colombia-Segway tour with just our oldest. Would like to take my big camera (have used it on a Segway tour before). But am I inviting theft?

Puntarenas Costa Rica-Gio Tours 6 in 1 Tour

This is a long excursion, 7 plus hours. It does include lunch but I am thinking snacks would be needed. Definitely taking the big camera on this one.

Ochos Rios Jamaica-Dolphin Swim

Another short excursion and since I am not participating I plan on the big camera.

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Thank you NM Lady!

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First time cruiser with a strange question :). We are leaving 1.4.15 on the Star Panama Canal cruise and I like to hang all my nice clothes-but I am not packing them hung up for space reasons. Will my steward bring me more or should I just pack some? You know your obsessed when you start thinking of things like this!

Thanks!

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You don't want baggy, it should be tight enough to take some work to get into. Can you go back to the store you bought it at and have them help you with a correct fit. If they won't help find a different store who will. That wetsuit needs to be returned anyway.

More great info! I am feeling much more confident that our boys will have a good time. Thank you!

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