2013CruiseBride

I'm still waiting for our refund. I cancelled on April 7th, final payment was due on April 19th. I still haven't received my funds, and now I'm really worried that I won't.

I'm a little disappointed that they are only extending final payment dates for cruises through July. We are cruising in August and while I still am hoping that we'll be able to go, I would much rather not make final payment next month when so much is up in the air.

7 hours ago, mushroom said:

We had suite 9001 and can definitely assure you that you will be spoiled forever!!!  Be sure to take advantage of breakfast in Cagneys. It's such a peaceful and elegant way to start your day.  Also, you will want to have your butler serve dinner in your suite a night or two.  The priority boarding in Miami was very, very nice.  Instead of waiting in a long line, you are escorted to a private area with some snacks and drinks and have a very personalized check in.  Yes...it might be a splurge, but it's also an experience you will forever remember...long after you have forgotten the actual cost. Enjoy!!!

Wow, that's awesome! Thank you so much for the tip on Cagneys! 

7 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Another reason for the "long" cruise time is that they sail straight out from Miami to get into international waters ASAP so they can open the casino.  They then stay in international waters to keep it open legally.

That makes a LOT of sense! I'll be one of those who will want to enjoy the casino ASAP! 😁

On 10/11/2019 at 9:36 PM, Becca11 said:

Oooh, an owner's suite!  I'm jealous!   Are those the suites in the front of the ship with hot tubs on the balconies?  Nice!

 

We were just on the Sky in September.  It's a fun ship.  It's not a huge ship but this plays to your advantage for embarking and disembarking the ship.  We walked off with our luggage on disembarkation day.  It was so easy that we were kind of stunned and looking or waiting for something else? to happen?  Like are we already disembarked?

 

Despite it being a smaller ship,  we didn't do half of the stuff available on our 5 night cruise.  On the last night, while waiting to buy Cruise Next deposits, we met a crew member who had just joined.  His designated job was jewelry specialist.  He gives presentations on duty free jewelry shopping, then accompanies passengers ashore to assist them with their duty free jewelry shopping.  It's a good thing I didn't find out about that service earlier in the cruise.  🙂 

 

It can indeed take from 5pm to 8am to arrive in Key West.  In fact,  on our 5 night cruise, we left Miami at 5pm and arrived at Key West at 3pm the next day.  We departed at 9pm, IIRC.  I guess the captain sails casual or something.  🙂

 

 

The Sky was a fun ship.  We'd sail on her again. 🙂 🙂 

Thanks Becca11!! I just booked it last night and am so excited!! I'm glad to see you liked the Sky! 

We will have room 9001 and I know my husband will be impressed when we get on the ship!! It's a bit of a splurge, but he is so worth it!

Hi!! I'm looking to surprise my hubby for his 50th birthday🎂 next year and I'm very very very close to booking us on the Norwegian Sky 4-day in August out of Miami. 

On the NCL website it shows the itinerary as leaving Miami at 5pm Monday 8/17 and for Tuesday it shows arriving at Key West at 8am and leaving at 3pm.

On another website it had said that it was an overnight stay in Key West. Which one is right?I know I can ask when I call to book the cruise, but was just curious and thought I'd ask here. I can't imagine it takes from 5pm to 8am to reach Key West from Miami.

Also, this will be our first time on NCL, so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! I really want to go all out for his 50th and I'm leaning towards booking us in an Owner's Suite. I'm sooo excited!! TIA! 😊

So what happens if you get there earlier than your scheduled check in time?

I'm with a group if 20 sailing out of Tampa, and we don't all have the same time.

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We will be on the same cruise. Normally, the elegant nights are on Monday and Friday on a Sunday to Sunday cruise. See you on board.

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We have a reputation as natural disaster magnets - none of our friends want to travel with us. :')

I guess I'm really lucky! We booked our wedding in 2013 on the Carnival Paradise. We got married on the ship but while it was in port in Grand Cayman. I knew the risk of missing it because it is a tender port but we got married in May so less risk of hurricanes. I also figured that the hell I had been through with my ex-husband was enough penance for fate to look favorably upon me for my 2nd wedding! Lol.

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Hi all!! We are leaving in a WEEK on the Miracle for a 7-night cruise from Tampa. Can anyone let me know with certainty what the elegant nights are? We are a group of 20 and 4 of us want to book dinner one night in the steakhouse, but we don't want to miss elegant night with the group that we are with.

I know that there will be 2 and that usually they vary, but I was hoping someone who has recently been on this itinerary/ship can give me specific nights.

Any other suggestions you may have about this cruise would be greatly appreciated! :D:D

Does anyone know what nights are usually the elegant/formal nights for a 7-day cruise? We have a group of 20 going and I'm trying to plan a night in the steakhouse for some of us, but I don't want to conflict with elegant nights. Thanks!

Photos are the biggest ripoff on the ship and most of the photographers suck and arent professionals at all. Ive taken better pics with my freakin Samsung phone camera.

I had the most amazing photos of my life taken on Carnival. Granted, I had my wedding aboard the ship, but the photographer was personable, professional and fun! He took candid photos of the wedding and reception and then took us around the ship for more pictures. The next day we sat down with him to go over the photos and decide which to purchase (similar to the OP's photo shoot experience), I was NOT disappointed with either the price or the photos. The price was much less than what I would have paid for a wedding photographer on land, and the quality of his photos were OUTSTANDING. I still use them once in a while as social media profile pictures and everytime I do I get told how amazing they are. I can understand not wanting to pay a large amount for regular vacation photos, but for our wedding it was perfect.

My very first cruise on RCI's Majesty of the Seas, I loved the casino. I probably lost $200 if not more over the 7 day cruise. The very last night of our 7 day cruise I was in the casino before it closed and ended up winning $2,000 on a Keno machine! :cool: So of course for my 2nd cruise, I kept playing and lost more than I won. Let's see if I can change that on my 3rd cruise this May! :confused:

RC's are certificates and not the same as gift cards. You need to read all the restrictions on them.

Wow! It is not going to work for my upcoming RCI cruise! Thanks for that, I just checked the restrictions on the RCI Gift Certs and found this:

• This certificate cannot be used on a previously booked cruise.
  
• This certificate cannot be used for an onboard credit, excursions, etc.
  
• This certificate will not be accepted if it's booked through a travel agent, agencies, or group bookings.
  

Guess I need to just watch for when they have CCL one's available for our cruise next year.

Ok, so I'm not crazy right? I see RCI cards available, but the CCL one's are just once in a while? I don't see them right now. I have an RCI cruise coming up this year, so that will be helpful, but I do have a CCL one coming up next year. This is the first time I saw this post, and just signed up for the rewards program today. TIA

Correct, should there be any venues that serve Starbucks. They seem to be going to Illy.

Thanks so much!! I'm definitely leaning towards getting the Deluxe Drink Package. It keeps looking a better option the more I think about it.:confused:

Oh yes, my Deluxe Drink Package is going to come in handy!! I have a feeling the coconut mojito is going to be my favorite too!

Wow, this post is really making me wish that the 60 days to my next cruise were only 6! I'm taking notes for our weekend cruise in May!!

Yay!! That's so exciting!! I'm at 60 days and need to start planning what to wear. It has been 4 yrs since our last cruise and although we live in Florida, I have NOTHING to wear! :confused::o:p

Interesting, so then can you use your Deluxe Drink Package at a non-Starbucks venue that serves Starbucks coffee? I saw this blurb on the RCI website and thought it meant no Starbucks coffee at all.

*All Beverage Packages exclude any beverages served inside licensed Starbucks® stores.

I didn't bring extra decorations and I felt it turned out perfectly. We were married May 15, 2013 on the Carnival Paradise. If you would like to see my wedding pictures find me on Facebook. Didi Concepcion in Orlando. I have my wedding album as public so anyone can see it. I loved the way everything turned out. The only thing I did was bring a specialized guest book, favors (they were Autism Speaks bracelets) and a photo of my parent's wedding.

While I have only been on 2 cruises so far (with 2 more booked in the next 2 years), they have both been on smaller ships. I saw someone post the other day a sentiment that I agreed with. They said that the larger ships were like floating malls, and that they wanted to be on a cruise not perpetually stuck in a mall. Maybe one day I might try the larger ships, but honestly they kind of scare me.

We actually got married on the Paradise. I'm glad you were able to see them!!

We didn't really bring decorations, just some stuff for 2 tables, which I asked them to set up. One table had my parents wedding picture and a guest 'book' to sign. It was actually a picture of our name and everyone signed it. And the other table had our wedding favors which were Autism Speaks bracelet in honor of my son who has autism. I just made my wedding photos on Facebook public, look up my profile Didi Concepcion and you should be able to go through my photos. I don't have every single photo in there, but all that are in there are the ones that the Carnival photographer took. Later today when I have time, I'll go add more wedding photo pictures in there so you can see them.

Thanks for the review! We are going for our wedding anniversary in May and I can't stop reading reviews. I've got to get my head out of the clouds (or off the beach) and work so I can pay for it! :D