SPacificbound

New to NCL, what is "Vibe"?

Late May is when we cruised to Alaska and the weather was great.

Passport renewal of a still active passport- Check was written on November 27, mailed USPS, new passport received December 9.

If at all possible fly into Hobby, not Bush Intercontinental. Hobby to Galveston cruise port...41 miles Bush to Galveston cruise port....72.8 miles

Between the possible delays caused by fog, traffic congestion in Galveston, it's 70 miles from Galveston cruise port to IAH on freeways that also get congested, traffic congestion near and at IAH due to construction, I would not want an AM flight. Since Jet Blue changed your flight, you should be able to reschedule at no cost.

I appreciate all of the responses! One thing for certain, I have never booked any cabin that did not have a real balcony where the ocean is. For Prima I have, for the first time ever, booked a forward facing suite.

You are correct, longer cruise and small ship!

Thank y'all for your info and comments. We are not into the big ships, hence my choice of booking Miracle instead of the new ship.

Thank you all for helpful comments!

If your luggage will fit through airport scanners it will fit through ship's.

Over the past 10 years we have done a lot of cruising with RCCL, Celebrity and Cunard. We've come to a point that the whole flying to port cities to get to a cruise has gotten to be too much of a hassle. That leaves us with Galveston which is an hour away. I have booked a B2B with RCCL Jewel for November 2024, and somewhat of a consecutive cruise with Carnival Miracle for 11 nights, then directly to NCL Prima for 14 nights January 2025. So tell me about Carnival, and especially about Carnival Miracle. I will appreciate all constructive comments.

Sailing out of NYC is great for being on deck and taking pictures of the skyline, Statue of Liberty etc. I would not book a flight quite that early, due to traffic congestion getting to any of the airports. Remember airlines want you there 2 hours before flight. If you have not been to NYC previously I recommend trying to come a few days early and experience the city.

Thank you to all who responded! Graphic Guy, thank you the Readers Digest edition!!

We have been cruising with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Cunard for 10 years. I decided to mix it up and book NCL Prima cruise out of Galveston for next November. In reading in this sub-forum I've been trying to get a feel for the differences between Royal and NCL. Any Royal and NCL cruisers, I welcome your comments.

We carry drivers license and a copy of passport.

It's going to depend upon the actual dates, but there are cruises from Reykjavik to Cape Liberty.

Cute

I would just show up. You've already paid for double occupancy, you can go to guest services and let them know. They should refund the port fee and taxes for your wife.

Yesterday I called and was able to get a price drop on a Jr Suite.

I hope both of them are over this quickly so you are able to cruise.

I'm going to ramble a little bit here, bear with me. 😃 We had our first post COVID cruises late summer/early Fall 2023, B2B on Celebrity Summit for 24 nights, home 3 weeks and them B2B on RCCL Jewel of the Seas for 22 nights. We anticipated the changes, and honestly everything is more expensive now, groceries, utilities, everything. Full disclosure, we don't eat in the MDR ever, we much prefer the buffet, it's just simpler, and much better for a vegan. Summit Oceanview Café was not up to where it was previously, it was just okay. They seem to have a problem keeping hot food hot, consistently. Other than that service was good, we enjoyed most of the shows, bar staff was good. Cabin attendant was fine with our request of just once in the afternoon. Jewel was great, I wish I had booked all four cruises on Jewel!! The Windjammer manager Dragos was absolutely wonderful. We usually have both lunch and dinner in the Windjammer, and when we would come in, Dragos would see us and come ask me what he could get for me. I adore him! Fantastic service. We will be on Jewel for B2B in November, I hope he is there again. Our Jewel cabin attendant was great, we told him to just get our cabin once in afternoon, when we leave we don't come back until after the show. If we wanted something I just left him a note, and when we came back the request was filled. After the first night I left a note to ask for some padding, when we got back the second night, he had put two really good pads. I was really surprised he did towel animals, really creative ones also. We enjoyed most of the shows. Bar service was good in theater as well as the bars. Royal Caribbean remains our favorite over Celebrity.

I have B2B in November 2024 on Jewel, which I booked at different times, so one was 30% off the other wasn't. Just called and got that one repriced saving $2,500.00. 😃 Yay!!

Exactly!

Number one! If possible arrive in Istanbul a few days early, it is a wonderful city to experience.

The only thing I miss is having more than one bathroom.