BigGuru

My concern is not with NCL following applicable law or that they have a disclaimer somewhere on their website, its that they provide information which people rely on, which was not correct at the time that NCL provided it.  For example, as of today, NCL is still selling "On Your Own" tours for Rome, Florence, and Capri for cruises this fall.  Yet, these are not consistent with the current regulations.  So, either: (1) NCL is hoping the regulations will change before the excursion is set, in which case  the consumer is none the wiser; (2) NCL knows that the excursions will likely not go forward, but is willing to take in payment, hold the cash, and then try to make amends with the customer later; or (3) NCL has no idea what it is doing.  Any of those circumstances are not reassuring and do not speak well of NCL's customer service. 

Yes, those on Cruise Critic are generally the type of person that can work around that by reading every post, getting state department updates, jumping on Westlaw to research binding maritime law precedents and spending their time going through Italian regulations.   However, that does not excuse bad communications from NCL

NCL updated their FAQ and website to state the mask requirement on European cruises as well as the restriction on cruise only tours in Italy only after many people had booked and made their final payment.  Similarly, NCL is still selling "On Your Own" and "Hop On, Hop Off" excursions in Italy, when it is very likely, if not guaranteed, that these will not go forward. 

If you, like most of the people on CC, constantly check these things, at least you know and can make a decision based on the Peace of Mind policy if you are more than 15 days out or go on your trip knowing of the restrictions.   However, in my mind this does not excuse NCL from providing incorrect information, whether this was intentional or negligence, when their marketing approach is to sell a "free and flexible" experience.   

Thanks!

The link above is for the Canadian NCL site, any confirmation that this is the same for U.S. consumers?  I couldn't find on the U.S. NCL site.

Wow. :o In 1998 my girlfriend and I went; she treated me and I am sure she paid about $44.00 each, plus tip. We got a little jar of jam to take home though. :D:D:D

$44 in 1998 is about the same as about $68 today, so the price has gone up by more than inflation by about $10.

We booked an entry ticket with tour on the official site and were able to pick the time. You still need to go through security, but it seemed to help with getting through the other lines. Good luck!

I stayed at the Triton in 2016 and found it to be a fun and safe hotel. I walked from the hotel to Union Square, into Chinatown (right across the street) and even down to the Ferry Building without even the hint of an incident. Triton also has the Cafe La Presse downstairs which is a good french style bistro for breakfast and lunch and there is a Starbucks and a wine bar within 100 yards of the entrance. San Francisco does have more than its fair share of homeless, but there honestly weren't that many by the Triton when I was there. Certainly Fisherman's Wharf is more upscale, but price can be a big issue in San Francisco.

I have stayed on the edge of the Tenderloin in the past (I travel to SF quite often) and agree it is an area to avoid. However, the Triton is far enough away from the Tenderloin that it should not be an issue. I recommend the Triton to others and gave it a positive review on TripAdivisor. Hope this helps from someone who has stayed there in the past!

I usually DYI in wine country using Uber and/or Lyft, but sometimes use Cellar Pass to make tasting room reservations. Cellar Pass also seems to have relationships with a bunch of tour companies that you can browse through. Just a thought on how to get started. I'm sure others on here have had first hand experience with tour companies.

There is no entrance on Harmon to I15, so you would end up crossing 15, make a right on Jerry Lewis and then make another right to take Dean Martin down to Tropicana. This works if you are staying at City Center (Aria, Vdara). Otherwise, I would say use Flamingo. Most of the traffic that time of day on Flamingo is going east, so hopefully you will be all right.

I'm not sure where you are staying in Las Vegas, but if you are staying downtown or off the strip (Red Rock Resort, Suncoast, JW Marriott) leaving early (before 730) will eliminate any risk of traffic in Vegas. If you are staying on the Strip, your risk of traffic heading south is low even if you leave later. Early morning on I-15 is usually clear through the Cajon Pass once you get south of St Rose Parkway in Las Vegas. As the others have mentioned, have a passenger keep an eye on traffic reports once you get through the pass. A route that looks longer on paper may end up saving you a lot of time if there is an accident or something similar.

You should be ok then. I have flown into Long Beach Airport and LAX on Saturday mornings around 9/10 and always gotten to the parks before noon. If you get lucky with the opening hours on Saturday (10 or 12) you should have a fun day.

I agree with the others, the next day is the best way to go. Even if you were to get to Napa without much traffic (unlikely) you wouldn't have much time to enjoy multiple wineries before 4 pm. That being said, if you have no other time to go (e.g. other plans dictate that you go to Napa the night you arrive) there are some ways to still enjoy the trip:

- Most of the wineries in downtown Napa and Downtown Yountville stay open later. You don't get the full vineyard experience, but they do offer good wines in a nice environment

- Some examples in Napa are Vintner's Collective (open until 7:00), Mark Herold (open until 6:00), St Clair Brown (open until 8). Some are open even later Vermeil Wines (open until 10 with full NFL Decor) and JaM (open until 10)

- In Yountville: Jessup, Handwritten Wines, Silver Trident and Cornerstone are all open until 6. Girard Winery and Priest Ranch are open until 7. You could combine one or two of these with a great dinner in one of the best (if not the best) dining destinations in the world.

- There are a couple of wineries outside of Napa and Yountville that stay open later. My go to in this case is Alpha Omega, which is open until 6.

Hope this helps!

I haven't gone from the port but have done both rental car and Uber to/from Disneyland to Long Beach Airport. In my experience the cost came out to be the same depending on how much the hotel charges for parking. I would also check your hotel's policy for parking before and after check out. Some of the hotels by Disneyland have VERY strict policies on getting out of the parking lot. If you don't plan to do anything other than visit Disneyland and sleep at the hotel, I would lean towards Uber unless the hotel has a liberal policy towards parking.

Universal Studios is pretty far from both Disneyland and Long Beach. Disneyland is in Orange County and Universal Studios is north of downtown L.A. Driving from either, especially in LA traffic, is not something you want to have to deal. I have never used an Uber for this route, but would expect it to be very pricey. My recommendation would be rent a car and stay at a hotel closer to Universal.

I was in Stockholm for several days this summer, so this is more general advice than specific to NCL. As previously mentioned, the Abba Museum and Vasa Museum are in walking distance to each other and it is an easy walk. We spent more time in Vasa than we expected, the exhibits were good. That being said if you set limits on your time you should be fine. I would recommend buying Vasa tickets in advance online. We also bought tickets for the HOHO bus but did not have a great experience there. I would say primarily as a sightseeing tour it is ok. However, if you are planning to use it primarily as transportation, it is not worth it and is too inconsistent. Finally, while I know it is not for everyone, we used Uber with great success in Stockholm.

We did a private tour with TJ from the Silhouette and it was a great experience. Highly recommend them. Most of the major tour companies in St Petersburg have good reviews and a loyal following, so it seems hard to go wrong with the major players.

We have departed from both ports with NCL. If I were booking again I would choose Rome for a few reasons. First, because Barcelona is the main embarkation port, the port was a lot less crowded in Rome and we were able to embark quickly. Second, as a port of call Rome can be exhausting. It takes 90+ minutes from the ship to the city and you are constantly looking at your watch. Embarking from Rome allows more time to enjoy the city if you are able to go in advance or stay after your cruise. By comparison, Barcelona is a relatively easy port of call to manage, and you can easily make a few of the major stops in a day. For these reasons, I would go with Rome.

One other point that has not been mentioned is that when you embark at Rome, most of the fellow cruise passengers change in Barcelona. We had the odd experience of having a very mellow and quite group from Rome to Barcelona and then a rowdy group from Barcelona to Rome. It was just luck of the draw, but each group of cruiserers brings their own personality.

I did this tour with family several years ago and enjoyed it. The first part is a tour through town followed by free time. Our group split on how to spend free time between climbing the castle/ seeing the village/ or going to the special exhibit in town (I think it was Princess Grace at the time). I elected to climb the castle. You could probably do more than one thing if you were really judicious with your time, but you may feel spread a little thin.