MeHeartCruising

Great! Good luck on your bid.

Just to be sure you're aware... I'm pretty certain the bid amount is PER PERSON based on Double Occupancy. So a $250 bid, will actually be charged as $500 to your credit card. This would be more than the $460 you originally discussed. You probably saw this when bidding, but I didn't want you to be surprised. I don't know how they deal with the 3rd person. But I don't think it impacts the bid price. I could be wrong.

Plan on NOT having a working restroom on the bus. If you do, it's a bonus.

I have the Escape discount coupon and have never had anything to do with the military discount. I don't see how there is a linkage between the two. I am Platinum Latitudes.

I also have it in my account. Looks like they are probably testing or starting a new way of trying to drive up sales for underselling ships/dates. Not a bad idea.

Wow! Quite the find. The statues look to be in great condition. Thanks for sharing the link.

They discontinued them during Covid (to control the spread). They have not re-instated them so far.

Regarding your transportation question, what is YOUR definition of "best way"? I prefer to use the Tube train (London's subway system) to get from Heathrow into London center city. There are a couple different ways using the Tube. I also prefer to take a regular train from central London to Southampton and then a taxi from the rail station to the ship. This will definitely be the least expensive way. But these may not match up to your definition of "best way". FYI, this topic is often addressed on the British Isles/Western Europe forum found here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

Admittedly, this is a 10 year old experience, so do with it what you will. My assessment is that the B2B process can differ between ships because there is a person in charge of it on the ship. And if that person wants to do things their own way, they can do that, within some corporate guidelines. I did a B2B with Royal Caribbean with Rome as the turnaround port. A day or 2 before the end of the first cruise, a letter was left in my cabin instructing me to meet at 9:00 am in one of the lounges. The letter also included my new SeaPass card for the second cruise. We would collectively be processed "off" the ship using our old cards after all the other passengers disembarked. If we wished to come back on the ship immediately, they would immediately use our new cards to process us "on" the ship again. If we wished to proceed into Civitavecchia and do something that day, we were free to do so after being processed "off". We were given a separate "through passenger" pass that we could show to the checkin personnel later in the day. This would let us bypass checkin and proceed directly to the gangway. This all worked fine with a couple exceptions. First, not everyone had been given their second cards in the advance envelope. So the employee had to go track them down once this was discovered. Also, They would not let us off the ship until all other passengers were verified off the ship. And the passengers just kept straggling along. Our group was held in a small room down near the gangway. The person in charge, kept coming into the room every 20-30 minutes to apologize that this was taking so long, but there was nothing she could do. There was confusion for a good 15 minutes about whether the ship was "empty" or not. They still showed one passenger as being on the ship. Eventually, they resolved this somehow. But it wasn't until 10:30 before they took our group to the gangway where they processed our cards "off" and then we either got processed back "on" or were left to do as we pleased. I had planned on trying to go into Rome for a few hours on the train. But instead just walked around Civitavecchia for a while before rebounding the ship a few hours later. Personally, I would not count on being off the ship "early". It may happen, but it may not. I also think you would want to be back on the ship at least 2 hours before sailing time.

I agree they are here to stay. They can always lower the price of those cabins. Or use them as Guarantee cabins. To me it’s just another obstructed view cabin. I’m sure they are closed down at night, so the noise would not be a bother. During the day, the noise would not bother me either. I’m rarely in my cabin.

I agree. They track these vouchers and their usage in the computer system when you check in for a meal. Use them or lose them.

On the NCL website, using the search function to find your cruise, you can click on the "More Filters" link and change it from 2 to 1 Passengers. Once you do that, the "Solo Cruiser Discount" filter option will unlock and you can select it. This does not mean a zero solo supplement, however. But it is some form of discount. And the discount amount will vary based on the cruise. It's not the same across all cruises and it doesn't apply to all cruises.

I believe that I was successful in getting a live agent to mark my account for "Do not send". But, obviously, you have to get through to a live agent to do this. I do not get the mailings. However, my best friend travels with me and NCL has always had his profile intermingled with mine and I get his mailings (to his name) at my home address. Worst case, I would edit your online account and put in a fake address somewhere in another state. I would think this would eventually update the marketing database. It's in the Update Profile section. And if you're never planning on cruising with them again, who cares if the address is incorrect. How about using NCL's own Florida address as your mailing address. 🙂

I have not stopped in Greenock, so I can't offer comment. I will say that my stop in Invergordon was the most enjoyable one I had while on my recent British Isles cruise. However, my stop in Edinburgh was cancelled due to services for the the death of the Queen. For Invergordon, I booked an excursion through a company named Thistle Tours that visited the Culloden Battlefield, Inverness (for lunch), Loch Ness, Urquart Castle (very cool), and a few other stops. It was a full day and very interesting. I even lucked out and was put in a private car tour with only 2 other people and the guide, even though I didn't pay for such a small group. Invergordon is the gateway to the Highlands and the Highlands are a beautiful part of Scotland and I would definitely look for a full-day tour that meets your interests if possible.

I've "left early" on a few ship excursions through the years. I've always told the guide in clear language and made sure they understand what I was doing and they never had an issue with it. I was never stopped from doing this. I've done this on NCL and on Royal Caribbean excursions. Just make sure that they understand what you are doing. You don't want them counting and re-counting and waiting and holding up others from a timely move to the next location or back to the ship. Also, I would guess this might not ALWAYS be acceptable to some tour guides and/or the companies they work for (these are 3rd party companies hired by the cruise lines). You will need to ask and be prepared if they say no. They may have reasons to not do it that weren't in place with my situation.

I don’t think I would call vi now dot com (assuming that’s the website you are referring to) as an “official” website for anything. To me, it looks like a nicely running commercial (for profit) website. It doesn’t appear to affiliated with the actual ports in any way. It also says the last port schedule posted update was almost 3 months ago. I would not give too much validity to its contents. It may be accurate, but I would continue to look for more confirmation before being concerned.

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

Well, Cobh can be as simple as walking off the ship and taking a leisurely walk around town and perhaps visit the Titanic Experience and Heritage Center museums. It’s a nice town for that. I wouldn’t stay on the ship, but you take it nice and easy.

NCL's price for their insurance packages is based upon the base cruise fare price that you pay. So when you booked originally, if your cruise fare was $899 for one person, the price of Standard Insurance is $99. If you bid $200 for an upgrade, you've now pushed your fare up to $1099. The price of Standard Insurance for that fare is $119. So in addition to paying the $200 for the upgrade, they will also add $20 to cover the price of Standard Insurance at $1099. I don't know of a reason why your tips (or Daily Service Charge (DSC)) would change unless you moved into a suite, where those charges are indeed higher.

I suspect the OP is referring to tours/excursions to the islands in the middle of the caldera -- although their description is not detailed enough to differentiate this location from the rest of the island. Royal Caribbean describes this experience as "Explore the volcanic history and geology of Santorini, site of an immense eruption 3,500 years ago. Trek the rocky landscape of Nea Kameni, an island in the center of the Santorini caldera, to see its smoking craters. Then soak in the soothing hot springs of Palea Kameni." In the past, I have seen excursions offered that visit here. But I haven't looked recently to see if they still exist, since the trip doesn't really interest me given what else there is to do on the island.

The flights to Europe from the US are generally done overnight. The return flight is usually done during the day. Of course, I would opt for the most comfortable seats that you can afford. If you can't go business or first class, then look for an airline that has Premium Economy seats. American, Delta, Virgin, etc. all have these now. They are similar to business class seats when you are on a domestic US flight. Much better than regular economy seats. If you can't afford better seats both ways, I would try to find better seats for the overnight leg of the trip so that you might increase your chances of sleeping some. It's not so important to sleep on the way home, so worse seats can be tolerated.

I did a partial transit on the cruise ship and the rest of it on a small boat excursion. I loved it. To be right down in water was very cool. Just be reminded that there can be a lot of idle time doing the full transit. We sat for 30-45 minutes or more multiple times as locks opened and closed and while we waited for other boats to load/unload into the locks with us. On the small boat, there wasn’t much to do except sit and watch it happen. Or sit and watch nothing happen. For a long time. But I still enjoyed it and would do it again given the opportunity.

I believe the OP is on the Jewel, which departs Panama City on Dec. 3, but passes thru the canal on Dec. 4th. OP, the passing thru the canal takes almost all day. I would expect you will spend the day looking at the view from ALL the places you mention. I walked around a lot during the process. If your ship opens up the front area, be sure to check it out for a while.

Thank you euro cruiser. This is exactly the type of response I was hoping for. I've already been to Herculaneum. But I'll take note of the other suggestions and put them on my research list for my Plan B.

Are you referring to this benefit? "Priority Restaurant & Entertainment Seating* (subject to availability)" Using the link provided in the earlier post above, which directs you to a second link, this would be defined as... Early Pre-booking Access for Entertainment, Dining, Onboard Activities – Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond & Ambassador Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond, and Ambassador members are eligible for early pre-booking access for onboard activities, dining, and entertainment. Platinum, Sapphire, and Diamond members that are booked in standard or Club Balcony staterooms are eligible to pre-book dining, onboard activities, and entertainment beginning at 125 days prior to embarkation day. Platinum, Sapphire, and Diamond members that are booked in suites or the Haven are eligible to pre-book dining, onboard activities, and entertainment beginning at 130 days prior to embarkation day. Ambassadors booked in any stateroom category are eligible for early pre-booking access for onboard activities, dining, and entertainment at 130 days prior to embarkation day. All pre-booking is subject to availability. NCL reserves the right to turn off pre-booking features at any time.