amc155

Can I ask you why don't you just get off your plane in FLL and Uber close to POM that day. This way, you are already there and read to go in the morning.

It is cheaper to stay in FLL, plus we only have to pay for transportation from FLL hotel to POM vs FLL to MIA hotel and then another from hotel to POM.

Not sure about OP but when we fly into FLL for a cruise out of POM we usually prefer to stay in the FLL area; easier to get to our hotel after a long and usually late flight and the area is generally more attractive and family friendly than many parts of downtown Miami.

That's what we decided to do. Our flight gets in around 5:30pm, but staying in FLL is cheaper.

I realize it was a while ago, but we cruised March 21, 2015. I booked an excursion in Kona on June 16, 2014, one in Kauai on on June 24, 2014 and Haleakala sunrise on July 16, 2014. These were all pretty much as soon as they were available as I knew exactly what we wanted to do and kept checking daily to make sure I didn't miss out. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!:D

I have used NCL pre-cruise previously and found it works really well. It may not be for everyone, but it was convenient and easiest for us. The rates were also pretty comparable for the hotel vs booking the same one on your own. I called and checked for my next cruise in March and their rates were ridiculously expensive ($169 per person NCL vs. $190 total hotel direct).

If the cost is in your price range I say go for it. Sometimes it is a longer drive to port (ours to PoM was probably 4 times as long as direct) since we picked up people from other hotels, but we got to see some areas we hadn't seen before. I would absolutely do it again if the pricing was comparable.

Thank you all for your replies, they are appreciated and helpful!

What time do you want to get to the ship? Do you have a scheduled check in time? What time do you need to be out of your hotel? :confused:

 

The drive from FLL area hotels to POM takes about 45-60 minutes. We usually prefer to arrive early - about 10:45-11:00 and be on the ship for lunch and a DOD about noon.

 

It's your call - have a great cruise! :cool:

Those are good questions. :D I've always done pre-cruise hotel/transportation through the cruise line because it was comparable, so I've always gotten on ship when they tell me I am. LOL It is ridiculously expensive through them next year though. We do not have a scheduled check in time yet, we aren't cruising until March.

We are cruising NCL, what happens if you get to port before your scheduled time? Do you just have to wait?

It's my husband's first cruise so I'd like to have time to get lunch, a drink and then explore the ship. Thanks!

We are flying into FLL the evening before our cruise and decided to stay there for the night and just head to the port the day of by Uber. What time do you recommend leaving FLL? Cruise leaves at 5pm on a Monday. Thanks!

Thank goodness for Cruise Critic emails highlighting threads. I never would have thought this would be an issue either. My husband is former Air Force and wears camo shorts sometimes. This is good to know!

Weird. Your right. I don't see key west either. Cruise there recently on NCL and I'm 99% sure they did offer excursions there. Though we also didn't do one.

 

 

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Thank you. I just thought it was weird. I'm pretty sure I know what we're doing, but as I said I like to look at what is being offered. They may having something I didn't know you could do and it gives a basis to search for things on my own.

Does NCL offer excursions in Key West? We probably won't do any, I'm thinking we'll just walk around and check things out at our leisure, but I often like to look at excursions offered just to see if there is something we might like to do. When I am on the general excursions page (not MyNCL) I don't even see Key West listed to get an idea of what might be offered. Does this mean they don't offer anything? TIA

I tried searching, but didn't really find any answers. Does anyone know a good company to go deep sea fishing with while in port at Grand Bahama Island or Nassau? Would prefer GBI. TIA

It's too early for 2018 (Try booking October 2017 - based on my experience for July 2017) but on the Reservations site, it appears as though Family Air may have later flights to Anan...

https://secure.alaskamade.com/family/reservations2.html

 

Dave worked with us & we will be picked up at 9:00 instead of the 8:30 & 10:30 listed.

 

I did get penciled in very early (January 2016) in the process, Dave then sent me an e-mail telling me book the excursion once he got the permits in October 2016 - for our July 2017 trip.

Thank you. I have sent them an e-mail as I had seen favorable review for them previously. I appreciate the timeline info you gave as well.

Thank you. I know it's early, but I'm hoping to at least get an idea. Maybe someone else had the same experience or has/will be having the same port time.

Hi all, I tried searching, but couldn't find anything on this. We are planning a July '18 cruise on NCL. Our port time for Ketchikan is 1pm - 8pm. I contacted Island Wings since I had flown with her to the Fjords, but was told they couldn't do the Anan Wildlife Observatory for us because we got into port too late. :( Does anyone know of a company that can go that late? I know I can contact everyone individually, but I thought I would check here to see if anyone could save me all that work! :) Thanks!

I took a cruise on the PoA in March. After final payment the price of our cruise went down $475 per person. We had 3 rooms booked and didn't want to do an upgrade since we wouldn't be guaranteed rooms near each other. They gave us each $475 future cruise credit. Never know unless you ask!

Does anyone know how far ahead NCL makes their excursions available on their site? Saw a few mentioned in this review that I would like to check out.

I don't remember when ours were available, but I booked one last June for my cruise this month. Just over 9 months in advance. I know they weren't all available then and NCL kept adding over the months. Now our cruise shows 102 available.

Thank you both for your replies!

I haven't seen many people talk about doing the USS Bowfin when going to Pearl Harbor. Can anyone tell me approximately how much time touring the USS Bowfin takes? Since tickets for the USS Arizona have to be picked up an hour prior to tour time, is it possible to pick those up and then tour the USS Bowfin before the USS Arizona tour starts?

Is it necessary to buy advanced tickets for the USS Bowfin and Heart of Missouri tours? I am figuring we'll do the Heart of Missour tour after the USS Arizona. Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can give. :)

We are going in March 2015 and booked our flights in May 2014. They've gone up about $700 since then. My advice is to find a price you're comfortable with and book it.

It's not cheap, but http://www.helicopter-tours-kauai.com/ offers tours for 1-3 people so everyone gets a window seat.

We are on Kauai this week before our cruise next Sat. (9/6/14). This morning we did the helicopter tour with Mauna Loa Helicopters. It was awesome. Smaller helicopter -- only seats 3 plus the pilot-- doors off or on per seat. A little more expensive but well worth the price!!

 

 

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Thanks for posting this! I am booked with them in March, but you don't hear a lot about them. I liked that it would only be the two of us in the helicopter, so no chance of getting put in a middle seat. :)

Yes, the cakes and cupcakes are at the coffee bar in the atrium area. I did look in the case. It is very small, and the cakes seem small too. Not sure how they compare to the "Away" ships in size or variety.

Thank you! We are celebrating 40th, 50th and 60th birthdays and thought we might get one one day. :)

Just off the POA yesterday, and just wanted to say our Blue Hawaiian heli tour was the best tour we have ever done. Even better than our flightseeing tour over the ice fields of Juneau, which I thought was impossible. They were completely professional and are organized down to every detail. DH and I got to sit upfront with the pilot. What a thrill!

 

I would definitely recommend the helicopter tour over one done by airplane. IMO, an airplane could never get you into the tight spots we were in.

Off topic for this thread, but punkincc do they have the Cake Boss cakes on POA?

mina, have you tried calling them? I find it odd that they don't have anything after the date in January and if there wasn't anything available when it's 6 months out from our trip I was going to call and see what they say. We don't want to miss it either and if we can't get tickets are going to have to do a tour which we don't especially want to do. :(

Can u please tell me how you did this? I go to the gov site daily to check for our dec cruise and it says can only book 24 hours in advance. Thank you!

I'm not the one you asked, but try putting your date in here to see if they have tickets. The FAQ says you can get tickets 6 months in advance, but the last day it shows tickets available is January 11th.