brookie848

This is what I learned from watching the safety video a million times: If there is an emergency, a SMILING crew member will hand you a life jacket. So if the crew member isn't smiling if something goes horribly wrong, does that mean I get to complain to NCL and ask for a refund?

I find it interesting that they are canceling Tortola. From what I've read, NCL (and Disney) helped pay for/develop the port area, so you think they would want to stop there. I will say, though, that most of the cruises I've been on that stop at Tortola has been a waste or just not what it could have been. The crappy 6:00-1:00 (or 7:00-2:00 port times) are not awesome. We were really pleased that we actually had a whole day there on our last cruise.

But you can't trust those, either. You should have seen the chaos on the Roll Call (and other site) of our last cruise. We were on the Viva out of San Juan. Our week was a diversion of the ship's normal itinerary. It obviously told you that when you booked the cruise (you got the warning window). The only issue was that several port schedules did not show the Viva in that port that day (and the times were all wrong). I think Antigua and Tortola showed the Viva coming in on the "regular" schedule that week, but that's not what was actually happening. People were trying to book excursions for the wrong day and at the wrong times. People were insisting that the port schedules were correct. They most certainly were not. I knew the port schedules were wrong. NCL and the cruise mapping websites matched each other and I trusted them more than what the local port was saying. Of course, what NCL provided to us when we booked our trip was our actual port schedule. I'm not a fan of NCL changing things for "no" or "stupid" reasons -- especially after final payment. I know it is in their contract that they can do so, but it just feels icky. But just don't 100% trust what the port sites tell you. Sometimes they don't have a clue.

This is us. We have a great relationship with our PCC and he knows that when we're ready to book, we'll call him. I look at cruises all the time -- for us, for family, for friends. I do get those annoying "Finish booking your cruise" emails, but never any calls. Our PCC tells us he sees us looking, but knows that we'll book with him when we're ready. He also knows that I'm the researcher in the family!

Are no washcloths a British thing? It's been years since I've been there. We're staying two nights in Southampton before our Encore TA later this year.

We're also booked on a February Viva cruise (end of the month). I just checked and it is showing as available (both cabanas and the regular passes). Get off the app and go on a computer. The app is decent, but it doesn't show everything. I've had this issue before booking things. I can't do it on the app, but have zero issues on an actual computer.

Just wow with the logistics of all of this! Where are you staying in Southampton? We just booked the Encore TA and I'm looking at hotels for a couple of nights before we embark. Enjoy your trip!

We do plan on flying into LHR. Our next decision will be which NY airport we decide to fly out of -- this will my first trip overseas since moving to NY. It seems like we should give ourselves a little extra time, but we will hope for the best.

Our last port before Miami is the Azores, so Miami is definitely going to be where we go through the process.

We're planning our first transatlantic and trying to figure out the timing of our flight home. We're docking in Miami (on a Sunday). I'm assuming customs is a bit more rigorous in situations like this. We're in the Haven, so we'll have priority, but how much time should we allow? For reference, we've easily walked off with our luggage on "regular" cruises and made flights at FLL before noon with no issues. Thanks!

Compared to other ships I've been on (Escape, Epic, Viva), I am not a fan of the Getaway's Haven. I find the lounge/restaurant area to be too small and there is no roof over the Courtyard. However, it is the Haven and still great. It just wouldn't be the first Haven I'd choose.

You say the itineraries are similar, but are the times in port similar? Does one have more tender ports than the other? We've been on the Dawn and the Viva. If it was a port-heavy itinerary, I'd be happy with either. The Dawn has Los Lobos, but none of the other newer restaurants. It does have a wine bar. The other "negative" thing is that the casino is smokey and you have to walk through it sometimes or go up/down a floor. We also liked that the shows on the Dawn were different each night and no reservations were needed.

Maybe The DougOut or some variation of that screen name?

Maybe The DougOut or some variation of that screen name?

Next cruise.

My nephews is a pretty picky eater and he would not like this menu at all. Plus, add in the fact that he has a mild dairy allergy so he really shouldn't be eating cheese and he would be really out of luck. He is a hot dog and chicken finger kid. But he likes steak, so maybe he'd be okay with the steak on the classic side of the MDR menu.

Our awesome waiter in Onda basically told us this. He said we weren't allowed, but they wouldn't stop you. So if you want to grab and run...go for it! For us, though, it wasn't dessert -- it was the leftover pizza. We weren't quite rebellious enough to grab the pizza pan and abscond with it. Maybe next time...

We were denied to-go until we told them we were in a suite. And then they still have the night butler come get it and it magically appears at some point. This is even in the Haven restaurant -- we had cake that we weren't going to finish and they wouldn't let us take it on our own one floor down. I understand the policy, but I just feel badly that I'm making a butler do a task that I could easily do myself. And I feel badly for the people who would responsibly deal with their dishes that aren't allowed to take dessert back to their cabin.

Nope. We were two points away from Sapphire on our last cruise and didn't even consider asking/trying to get status. We completed the cruise and will enjoy any Sapphire benefits we want to use on our next one.

We got off the Viva on March 3. We did self walk-off really early and there were busses of new employees unloading and being put through security. I know it was our room steward's last week and our butler was due to be off the ship as well -- either that week or the week after. So you probably do have a good many "fresh" crew members. Our itinerary was different than yours (days/times in ports), but we had two ports where we weren't due in until 10:00. Both of those days we were docked (and cleared) by 8:30. Enjoy your cruise!

There were three of us. We skipped the tableside guac and got the skillet queso with pumpkin seeds instead (definitely a different taste). Our friend also got the house salad that she said was awesome. For entrees, we did the chicken tacos, mole enchiladas and grilled fish. Sides were the red rice, refried beans, sweet plantains and the elote (which they cut off the cob). So...much...food. So much. For dessert, we split the churros, which weren't our favorite, but at that point, it didn't matter. Enjoy your cruise!

We ate at Los Lobos on the Viva a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. So...much...food. I honestly would have been happy just eating chips and my entree. And then more chips.

Can I ask what catamaran VV uses for the trip to Jost Van Dyke? I'm just wondering if it is the same one NCL uses (Rebel Yell).

I'm also on this cruise. If you looked at it before it was booked, it was clearly marked that it was NOT following the normal Viva itinerary. We are in ports different days/times than other Viva cruises.

Our cruise buddy sailed Disney at the beginning of February and she does not have kids. She was not impressed. She texted me all week. She missed the drink package. And she didn't understand the group of adults dressed as Minions at breakfast. No...they were not employees.