Arwenmark

when I was sailing Royal Caribbean out of San Jaun I bought the transfers and RC had to rent an accessible vehicle to transport me and my party to the ship, same thing on return.

Since the cruise line offers transfers to Able bodied they MUST provide it for disabled.

NOT that they will ever tell you that.

How early do they let people on the cruise? And since this is my 1st cruise ever, can anyone give tips as to what time is best to board as to avoid long lines & crowds? Of course, we want to enjoy as much of the boat as possible, but we also don't wanna spend 2 hours standing in line at the terminal waiting to board. Thanks for the help!

Welcome aboard, since it is the first cruise good time to learn the lingo. it is a ship in that a boat is something that can sit ON a ship. The front 1/3 of the ship is FORWARD the back 1/3 is AFT and in between 1/3 is MIDSHIPS. your Left when you are facing Forward is PORT your Right facing forward is STARBOARD. One more thing the pointy bit Forward is the Bow and the flat bit all the way AFT is called the STERN, cabins facing backward so you see where you have been are Stern, not aft cabins.

As to boarding question, you can arrive around 11 or so but must be on board no later than 90 min. before sail away. That by the way only applies to embarcation day not to when you must be back on board in ports which is 30 min. prior to sailing.

If you board early you may not be able to go to your cabin right away normally the cabins are available by about 1 to 1:30. you can however go to the buffet or as I prefer, ONE of the main dining rooms will be open for lunch,IF IT IS AFTER 12:30 though you may be told otherwise.

Hope you have a nice trip.

That is correct for the cruiseline but when the cruise ship returns to port, all luggage is processed (at least in FLL and Port of Miami) by the TSA. So if you plan on locking your luggage when returning from your cruise then you must also use zip ties or TSA locks.

This is why I broke down flying and cruiseline. and are you saying that TSA processes the luggage as it is taken off the ship? I have never heard of that, what about all the people carrying their bags off?

Drug sniffing by dogs yes but not luggage screening etc.

Obviously if you return to port and then go to the airport to return home then your bags will be screened at the airport and the same airport rules would apply as if you were flying to port.

I am scheduled to cruise in April on the Star, this will be my first cruise with NCL but my 5th cruise all together. My question is how many cruisers actually lock up their luggage before embarking? I never have and haven't lost anything but I was just wondering if we should? Or if the cruise lines prefer you not to?

There are two separate issues here, If you fly and want to lock your luggage you must use zip ties or TSA locks.

As far as the cruiseline is concerned they do not care if you lock it or not, they will NOT open it in any case, they scan it and if they suspect anything they hold it and CALLYOU to come and open it. So you can certainly lock it if you wish and it is always a good idea to lock it if you can.

IF?? someone other than Pearl would tell me WTH it is, instead of going off on rants about something that had nothing to do with the question, I could make an educated decision on whether or not I want to do Elevator Roulette. Right now it seems like 'Russian Roulette' to even ask a question on these boards !!

I am sorry your thread went off topic though I am not sure it did in truth, but in MY first post I said that I did not know what it was either but anything that involves games with the elevators causes me grave concern. The posts that followed about kids commandeering elevators for WHATEVER and that it was HARMLESS fun show that I was right to be concerned.

Not a bunch here I'd want to cruise with. Not a sense of humor among them. I thought it was inventive. Have spent 33 yrs working w/ convicts and the world would be a better place if more kids occupied themselves w/ what amounts to victimless and imaginative pursuits.

 

So you had to wait for another elevator. Were you on deadline? You're on VACATION.. roll w/ the punches..

Did you even bother to read the problems WC guests have with elevators on cruiseships?

On land you might have to make it to one or two floors to do something on vacaiton, on a ship stuff is all over the place and it is nearly impossible to get the elevators where you and chair or scooter can fit. and I find using the stairs with my scooter or chair, is a bit painful!

You may work with convicts but your "humorous'" idea is not harmless nor would it be teaching youth how NOT to be convicts in fact just the opposite, shows them that it is great fun to inconvenience or harm others. And yeah There are people on this thread I would not want to sail with either.

Does this mean that the babies are splashing in each other's feces laden water?

 

DON

Yes it does.

2 teens got bored on HAL and they hijacked the future cruise consultant's desk and a couple of chairs and loaded them into the elevator then rode up and down and as folks tried to board, the boys asked them if they had reservations. Sounds like a relatively innocent and amusing way to pass an afternoon.

Oh my god, you are kidding right? INNOCENT

Have noticed some references to "Elevator Roulette" on these boards where they say it's a gas!! Our roll-calls have done the standard 'cabin/poker crawl', and the 'slot-pull' along with the M&G's, but have never heard of this one. Nobody has explained it, so - anybody got any insight??

Any other get-together things CC members can do to get acquainted would also be appreciated. We normally have a pretty active roll-call, so always fun to get together.

Doug

I don't know what this is but it strikes FEAR into me to hear it. I am a Wheelchair user and it is HELL to try to get an elevator on a ship, either they go right by or they are full or you are waiting and AB people rush in front of you to get on.

Also some ships have a bank of elevators that go to the dining room level but ONLY ONE out of the bank that goes to the accessible level, and so if you can an elevator you have a one in four chance of that one being the one that stops and then there is almost ZERO chance it will have space on it IF it is the one that stops.

PLEASE PEOPLE don't do any GAMES that involve using the elevators.

So after reading many of the threads on this forum, I moved our cabin from mid-ship on the Caribe deck to the last cabin on the port side, just before the aft cabins (they were taken). People seemed to like these end cabins very well.

 

Thanks to everyone for writing in with their opinions!!

Just remember that cabins that are aft but not on the STERN do not have the view of the wake etc.

No it is NOT worth it to buy the protection plan from the cruiseline, nor from a TA. but YES it is very important to buy travel insurance. Try a place like insuremytrip.com which offers comparison and purchase of many different companies and policy types.

Remember not only are you insuring your own trip expenses and health, evacuation, etc. but if you have any family members at home that something might happen too. you need to be concerned about the pre existing condition clauses of most policy's and get your insurance within the prescribed time line to be covered.

So if your mom at home has a heart attack while you are on the cruise, and you want to get home, you are covered etc.

Tips are intended for people who do a job well. I do not have a problem with tipping when that bag arrives at my room. I do NOT tip beforehand - that smacks of bribery and corruption at worse and an assumption that the bag handler would somehow damage/lose your luggage at best.

What you obviously don't understand is that the person who takes your bags at the car and puts it into the luggage loader carts Is the one you tip and you are tipping him for that and that only.

The person who delivers the bag to your door is an NCL employee not a Dock employee, and you will likely never see them to tip them anyway, granted THEY are doing more than the guy at the street but that is still who you tip and is the guy determining how your bag gets handled at that point. and yes tipping Stevadores is bribery.

The going rate is $2 a bag in most cruiseports.

I agree it is MUCH too soon after any surgery, but saying the cruiseline can only handled sea sickness and handing out asprin does them a dis-service. They can handle some mid to major emergencies when needed. But they are certainly not a hospital AND everything the do, do costs three times as much and must be paid before you leave the ship.

Don't cruise 3 wks after surgery.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I have been looking for whether the Star had an Emerald suite, I figured it might and wanted to know if it did and which it was. Since it is one of my names.

Anyone have them for the Jade?

I am going to Alaska on the Star on April 25th.:D When I recieved my welcome aboard booklet I read that NCL is now requireing each Passenger take only 2 pieces of Luggage :mad:and they can only be 50 pounds each. I had my TA call NCL to comferm and to find out what were the regulations concerning the amount of our carry-ons. My TA talked to a NCL Supervisor and she said that NCL wants to reglate the Luggage to comply with the Airlines. :confused:Then she went on to say that you will only be allowed 1 carry-on 18 by 24. No cases of water and ect.You of course be allowed Purses and Cameras. I did not find out when or where they will check the weight of the Luggage or will they charge us and bill it to our OBC:cool:

There has been extensive discussion of this over the past couple weeks on here. NCL can implement what rules they like IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. they have imposed enough restrictions and cutbacks on cruisers already and some things just are not going to happen, for one thing unless they change the way they accept baggage and how they do things at every single terminal they use, there is NO WAY for them to enforce this period.

The feed back if they try will "blow them out of the water" so to speak.

Now many people travel light and have no problem with these "rules" and if you are flying you are going to self regulate anyway or pay a fortune to get your bags checked in.

But many people do not fly and there is no reason whatsoever that the airline rules should apply to a cruise ship they are not the same animal at all.

But I suppose this is as good a time as any to vigorously oppose such stupidity on NCL's part and write YET another letter to them.

Honestly the idiot that came up with this rule should be fired.

Don't forget in addition to having ONE TINY bathroom and nothing to sit on but the beds, lower beds at that, and NO where to change clothes you will also have suitcases for four people. most ships you keep that IN your cabin they do not USUALLY store them for you.

Now some of you could go to the Gym and shower there?

GaryCarla, so the $250 OBC that we were "given" for this upcoming cruise CAN be used towards tips?

 

Not that I don't believe you, but can anyone else confirm this? I don't want to not use the OBC with the intention of it going toward the tips, and be surpirsed on the last morning of the cruise with an unused OBC, and a bill for the tips.

Yup the change was in January I believe and they OBC's from whatever source can be used for anything that goes on your OB account, including tips.

Garycarla,

 

NCL will charge me in canadian funds (12% exchange rate) on my credit card, which is cheaper than charging my onboard account directly in US funds then transfer to my credit card in the current exchange rate of more or less 22%. Let say I want to buy 1000$ USD in onboard credit certificates , it would cost me 1120$ in canadian funds on my credit card.

 

The other scenario, I have 1000$ USD charge on my onboard account and pay that account with my credit card with an exchange rate of 22% (today's rate), it will cost me about 1270$ in canadian funds.

 

So that is a savings of 150$ right there. That is why I want to buy certificates. And with our poor canadian dollar, I am trying to save as much as I can.

 

Missguy

A question, do you have any idea what it would cost you to get US dollar denominated travelers checks? I can get Travelers checks free at my bank here, what ever denomination I need. That might be a way to go as well. you would then sign them over when you check in at the pier.

Hm, From what I have heard it sounds like they [these parties] resemble "Girls Gone Wild" videos.

For sake of investment purposes and insurance, did you have to get them appraised? I raised my home insurance when I spent a sum of $ on my new art, but I'm still not quite sure if I need to get them appraised (since the value goes up yearly). Any advice?

Yes I did get them appraised and do every two or three years.

Also to the other poster, Park West does still have land auctions I have attended several in th Boston area.

I bought three Tarkay's on my last NCL cruise along with another Tomasz Rut which is my favorite.

My First Rut Giglee I bought for $1875 I beleive several years ago, is now appraised at $5700. At least for replacement purposes.

On this last NCL cruise I spent about 5K on pieces I think. I like Park West and have had good luck with them, for a while NCL had someone else and they STUNK.

I have not cruised Princess in years now, but do have one coming up next year.

To the OP, assume you can be seen if your curtains are open, also some ships have adult only sunbathing decks some are topless some are top and bottomless. Of course if you care if you are seen that doesn't help much either.

Info from Mayo Clinic website:

Definition

Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause an intestinal flu-like illness. They're a major cause of outbreaks of infection in closed and crowded environments, such as hospitals, nursing homes and cruise ships.

Typically, people with norovirus infection develop diarrhea and abdominal pain and begin to vomit within 24 to 48 hours of exposure. Signs and symptoms last one to five days, and most people recover completely without treatment. However, in some people — especially infants, older adults and people with underlying disease — vomiting and diarrhea can be severely dehydrating and require medical attention.

Noroviruses spread primarily through consumption of food or water contaminated by fecal matter or through close contact with infected people. The infection is highly contagious, and food handlers who contaminate food prior to consumption are a common means of transmission.

Noroviruses are named after the "Norwalk virus," which caused an outbreak of illness in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1968. Norovirus infection is the most common nonbacterial cause of gastroenteritis, a condition involving inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

An estimated 23 million cases of norovirus infection occur in the United States each year. Noroviruses are hardy and difficult to eradicate, although certain precautions can help prevent the virus from spreading.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of norovirus infection vary, but generally involve abdominal cramps and nausea, followed by vomiting and watery diarrhea. Either vomiting or diarrhea can be present alone.

The incubation period for norovirus infection is usually 24 to 48 hours after first exposure to the virus, and signs and symptoms usually last one to five days. The most common norovirus-induced illness is gastroenteritis, involving inflammation or infection of the stomach and intestinal tract.

Signs and symptoms of norovirus infection include:

Nausea

Abdominal pain

Abdominal cramps

Watery or loose diarrhea

Weight loss

Malaise

Low-grade fever

Some people with norovirus infection may show no signs or symptoms. However, they may continue to shed the virus in their feces for several days up to several weeks following infection, potentially infecting other people.

At least this makes it clear what Noro is.

Most people that bring NV aboard start out as a little cold or so they think. Its impossible, and not right to regulate people even on a cruiseship, you have just as much chance catching NV when going to a hotel, or anywhere else. When you put yourself in large groups its a chance we all take imo.

? Noro virus starts out as it goes on with gut crushing pain and constant vomiting and diarrheah it bears no resemblance to a cold.

I HAVE had it in the past and was hospitalized for it. My son, [on the opposite coast from me folks!] had it last week and again had to be hospitalized. in both cases they ran the lab tests to verify what it was.

By the way, neither of these times had anything to do with Cruising or any travel.

The questionnaire is quite common before boarding a Princess ship.

It may be common now but it has not been in the past, my last cruise was two years ago, which was Princess and including that one I have never been asked to fill out such a form.

I understand why they do it now and probably should have sooner but as someone else said. I cannot believe that if someone has been sick like that, that they are going to admit to it, and be refused passage and lose all they paid for the cruise can you?