Cindyscruising

I have never seen that offered on NCL other than a small display in the gift shops ..I always bring my own to have just in case it’s needed

The Gem is my favorite ship and we never experienced any of this problem

22 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I think it has been posted before that the concierge and asst concierge pool their tips together as they should.  Its fine the concierge delegates duties since he/she has way too many passengers to deal with alone.  They work in concert with eachother since they work at the same desk.  So tipping the asst concierge is actually tipping the concierge.

I agree with David that I have always understood the concierge pools tips with their assistant 

On ‎9‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 9:08 AM, tomk3212 said:

My local Wells Fargo here in MD has Euros & British pounds on hand at all times for exchange.  Rate runs a day or two behind the current market but no extra fees as casofilia correctly points out above, courtesy of NCL at the reception desk onboard.   In all fairness to NCL they are NOT in the currency exchange business; they do it as a courtesy for their pax so you will be charged for this service, like any other service offered onboard...sigh 😑

 

You'll need Euros at some of the local markets & such that don't take credit cards; we found this out in Croatia/Dubrovnik/Split during our Greek Isles cruise out of Venice back in '15.  Cash IS king, as correctly pointed out above...

 

Word of advice based on personal experience: Take TWO credit cards (one as backup) and make sure you tell the banks that issue them that you'll be traveling with them & the dates of your cruise.  They usually have a place on their website where you can enter the dates & countries you'll be visiting.  Otherwise you run the risk of having your card refused; we had this happen to our daughter once on a cruise where we "loaned" her one of our credit cards; lesson learned!

 

Hope you have a great cruise!  The Greek Isles cruise(s) are fantastic!!  Wear good walking footwear!

I definitely will be getting my Euro's here in advance to have with me after reading all the super tips and suggestions from everyone.

 Thanks Tomk for the heads up about the small markets/shop  not taking credit cards and the reminder to bring a second backup credit card just in case and to call and notify them of my travel ahead of time

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

We found that AAA has one of the better rates with minimum fees. 

I am a member of AAA and will contact them today and inquire! Great idea thanks!

Wow so many fabulous helpful tips!  Thank you all so much

Hi I have an upcoming Greek Isles Cruise ( departing and arriving Venice). Will be using NCL air promo ( from JFK) and arriving into Venice early morning the day of cruise departure so I will not be staying overnight in Venice.

I am thinking I will need some Euro's during the cruise shore excursions for items such as souvenirs, food, glass of wine etc as I am sure I will be coming across some places that don't accept credit cards. For those of you who have done a Europe cruise did you exchange cash for Euro's here in the US prior to your trip ( I am guessing many of the large banks can do this for me?)  or did you do the currency exchange someplace in a port?

Thank you very much!

Cindy

Thank you hope you had a wonderful cruise and nice weather 

Thanks!

Oh super one less thing to pack! Gotta keep my bag under 50 lbs 

Thank you very much 

Hello hoping someone who recently traveled on the Star can help..I read a few reviews where people noted almost all the plugs on the Star were European and if you are from USA to bring along adapters..I see on Amazon it says available is several types ...“C” is for “most” of Europe and then there is E/F and G...I will definitely want to charge my phone and iPad so any suggestions which type of electrical outlet adapters I should buy? Thanks very much!

Hello I know it wasn’t your question but as you mentioned you are traveling with another couple I just wanted to be sure you were aware in the 2 bedroom suites the second bedroom is significantly smaller than the first and has no windows 

On 9/4/2019 at 5:24 PM, peanders said:

We will be sharing a 2 bedroom suite with another couple, we are platinum plus the other couple are platinum. Am I correct that there will only be one dinner for two in Cagneys or Le Bistro and one dinner for two in La Cucina or Moderno?

29 minutes ago, valleyvillage said:

Thanks, Bird! I posted my worry about the Pier 66 porters on another thread, wondering how far we'll have to drag our suitcases to them. Mobility issues here. And do folks usually tip them there? We always do at other piers. And final question, am I hijacking my own thread? LOL! Thanks again.

That's disappointing about the Haven restaurant being closed, I know on other ships the outdoor dining is lovely. We traveled out of Seattle Pier 66 and as soon as our car service pulled up to let us out the porters came right over to assist and we tipped them right there. Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks to all for the helpful answers!

20 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Unless, of course, for some strange reason, OP booked two different tix for the ride home.

Thank you so much for the helpful information! Both segments of flights ( Venice- Frankfurt and Frankfurt to JFK) all on the same ticket ( Lufthansa airline)

Hopefully someone who has traveled internationally from Europe can help me..

We have upcoming returning flights booked from Venice to JFK with a somewhat tight connection in Frankfurt ..Do we go through customs in Venice and will we be able to check the luggage from Venice straight through to JFK?

I want to be sure we won’t have to claim luggage in Frankfurt

( connecting city) and recheck it to JFK

Thanks!

Thanks for posting - lots of helpful info 

Thank you so much Pauline! I had been researching on my ipad ( just on the NCL site and not logged into myNCL account) and that drop down box doesn't pop up -

I just logged in to myNCL and I see the drop down menu with the languages! Appreciate your help

Wishing you a fantastic cruise!

Hello, I will be posting this in the Europe/Greece boards as well but thought perhaps another NCL cruiser might know the answer to my question.

Taking Greek Isles Cruise on the Star this fall and am researching shore excursions through NCL. I see a few excursions that I am interested in for Corfu and Santorini that don't show American flag (English)  listed where is says "Available languages for excursion" in the description. ( shows 2-3 various European flags but not American flag). I just figured the excursion was not available in English however upon reading the reviews I see many postings from US travelers who gave positive reviews and no mention of English not being spoken by guide so now I am confused.

In Santorini the excursions I was looking at are: Oia Coastal town and Greek Style Celebration. In Corfu the excursions I was looking at are: Timeless Village and Scenic Drive and Achilleion Palace and Corfu Town.

Does anyone know if the Greek Isles shore excursions are all available in English even when English is not listed in the "Languages available" description? Thanks in advance

6 minutes ago, FSCHAUER said:

Cabin Stewards and Butlers
Among staffers, you'll likely interact with your cabin attendant the most during the course of your cruise. While the automatic service charges will cover their basic gratuities, it's generally considered good form to tip them a bit extra for a job well done, especially if you have made any special requests. Should you choose to, for a seven-night cruise, consider slipping them $15 to $20 at the start of the cruise to ensure special attention to your stateroom and give them another $15 to $20 at the cruise's end -- this works out to about an additional $2 to $3 per person, per day, for the duration of the cruise, though you can obviously make it less or more depending on the level of interaction and satisfaction.

Likewise, if you are in a suite, or aboard a luxury sailing, you may have a butler assigned to your room, in lieu of a cabin steward. Since they typically have more duties to meet (bringing trays of tea or hors d'oeuvres, keeping your preferred beverages in stock, shining shoes, etc.), a good guideline, if you've satisfactorily utilized their services, is a supplementary tip of $3 to $5 per night, per person -- the total of which ($42 to $70 for two, for a seven-night cruise) might also best be split and distributed at both the cruise's onset and conclusion.

Where is this a quote from?

We have used Larry's Limo and Car Service numerous times and highly recommend them. The drivers are fantastic at communicating and letting you know exactly where they are so even in hectic busy airports/cruiseports you will be able to meet right up with them easily. We were lucky to have Oscar as our driver a few times and he is phenomenal

I am guessing you are arriving into Port on a Saturday or Sunday? Due to the high number of ships arriving into both FLL and MIA on weekends;  the TSA lines at FLL  get extremely long on Saturdays and Sundays compared with weekday departures.

The last 4 times I flew out of FLL on a weekend the TSA line snaked all the way into and all through  the rental car building and one of the TSA agents told me it happens each weekend due to the high number of cruise passengers flying out

Hi Bruce, Great question, I am happy to clarify what I  meant!

I am fortunate to be located in an area of New England that I am able to fly out of several airports CT/Boston/NYC depending who is offering the best deal. I do tons of research and price comparison before booking and I definitely compare prices with all the airlines including Southwest and check into flying into both MIA and FLL. For me I have always found flying into FLL cheaper no matter what time of year- perhaps its just coincidental!!

After checking with all the major carriers it seems Southwest ends up being the lowest and I book with them

When I travel to South Florida ( from New England) the airfare is ALWAYS less expensive going into FLL rather than MIA. I like the airport better as well. I have used Larrys Limo/Car service for transportation between FLL and Port of Miami and it was almost equivalent in price to using an Uber but much superior service. I travel on Southwest almost exclusively as I find their prices to be the lowest and the service the most reliable