brookie848

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Was that with dialysis at sea? We've been trying to finagle a family trip for hubby's large extended family, but it's tough between his uncle's dialysis needs, cousin's autism at sea needs, our preference in where we go/when we go.... The only trips I've seen DaS offer were through RCC, so curious to hear they're able to do it on NCL ships as well.

Nope. Just arranged for it ourselves. He did peritoneal, so the first time it was arranged he didn't need a machine (all manual). The second cruise we planned on bringing the machine with us, but we ended up canceling when he got his transplant.

If your family member is doing peritoneal, then it can be arranged with the ship. We had Baxter deliver the supplies to the ship, which were waiting for the cabin for us when we arrived. The only thing we didn't have was a heating pad (not allowed on ships), but my husband just let the liquid get warm by placing them in the windows.

I'm not sure Dialysis at Sea sails with NCL.

Not on the Epic, but we have stayed in a forward-facing DOS on the Dawn that had no balcony. We had great views from the master bedroom and decent views from the living room.

It was the right price for us (it was less than a 2-bedroom suite, plus it came with a few extra perks). My husband did appreciate the forward views from the MBR because he would sit there and look out the windows while he did dialysis on board (that was an interesting trip!).

For us, though, I would prefer a balcony.

4 minutes ago, dhanakorn said:

I never have problem wear shorts to MDR for breakfast or lunch. 

 

The "official" rule is you have to wear pants for dinner in MDR. But the during my previous cruise on Sky in March, I was surprised that shorts were allowed in MDR during dinner since it's a Caribbean cruise. I confirmed this exception with maître d'. And many guys did wear shorts during dinner on this cruise. Other specialty restaurants (except Le Bistro) also allowed wearing shorts for dinner on this cruise.

No. This is not true. It is ship-dependent. I'm looking at the dailies from my Viva cruise. The only place where long pants are required in Le Bistro. Even Hudson's (the more fancy MDR) doesn't require long pants at dinner.

You aren't allowed to wear tank tops or baseball caps on the Viva.

5 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Shorts are fine for breakfast and lunch.  You should be fine for those meals.

Just, long pants and collared shirts for dinner!

But only in the "fancy" MDR. The other dining room you will be fine in shorts. My husband never bothers wearing anything other than shorts for dinner unless we decide to go to one of the restaurants that required longer pants and those vary by ship.

We've sailed in 17010 three times.

We like this cabin because it is the last 2-bedroom port side and it is obvious where your cabin is located by the break in the hallway (it makes sense when you are there). My husband also likes this cabin because it is right across from the Haven private gym.

3 hours ago, STEVE-O said:

Like many others, just got a no update-update from Royal Caribbean.

 

It says work is ongoing and another update should be issued by May 2nd! We'll, we're on a plane to Vancouver on the 1st!

Urrr......

I know it hurts the cruise line, but in situations like this, they should give people on the next cruise the opportunity to cancel and re-book. Even if they just offer FCC that would be better than the uncertainty of traveling for maybe no purpose.

Cabin category would be nice as well so we don't have to go searching the deck plans. The cabins have names (courtyard villa, deluxe owners suite, 2-bedroom family villa).

2 hours ago, Fogfog said:

@mking8288

 

"Second day in a row, more NCL "spam" emails about safety videos on Youtube, just click & let the 90seconds run its course, jump to another tab/browser page and resume.  Maybe they are tracking as to see whether the email was opened or not using AI and placing "cookies" (no, nope, not the edible kinds) when they pushed them to 1,700+ email addresses (# of cabins and/or email addresses, probably more as it's "individually" addressed)  "

 

I had wondered about tracking

We have watched it on the app

We have watched it on the email and we got another..

SOOOOO why the spam? Will we have to watch it on the pier. The email says "to speed up embarkation etc"

 

Honestly- survival of the fittest. 

If someone does watch/doesn't pay attention/doesn't follow directions...it's a Darwin thing.

🏴‍☠️We can just climb over them

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.

3 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

It looks like part of researching future cruises will be going to all port websites and seeing if the particular ship we are looking at is actually scheduled to be there.

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.

On 4/21/2024 at 9:59 AM, schmoopie17 said:

I'm pretty much always logged into NCL's site. I keep checking existing reservations to see if new excursions get added, watch the countdown calendar, etc. Plus I'm too lazy to have to look up my password if I log out. I also do fake bookings/searches all the time (okay, maybe not all the time...but you get the point) and I have never gotten a call. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

 

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!

On 4/16/2024 at 4:36 PM, JIMESOPUS said:

@Travelicious, Holiday Inn in Southampton will allow you to check in early since you are an awards member. In case there isn't anything open they will hold your luggage, also no washcloths at the hotel, so bring your disposable flannels.

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!

7 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Our experience in NY was same as cruisen.  No different than any other trip through that port other than less in person now days.

 

You didn't say where you flying to, but last trip to LHR it was also agent less for US citizens.  Stand in long line that moves well, go inside gated spot, scan passport, on your way.

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.

41 minutes ago, JIMESOPUS said:

On our last TA, customs/immigration was done aboard the ship in St Thomas, once we got to Miami we went through facial recognition terminals. 

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.

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

The new kids menu looks like ...ick...We don't have young Kids anymore, but really?

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.

42 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I must be a rebel.  I just grab my desert plate along with a fork and head for my cabin.  I don't ask.  Haven't had anyone stop me (so far).

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...

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Has anyone tried to take dessert to go lately? We asked repeatedly (not rudely, just often) and were denied each time. Seems like a hard line on no dessert to go unless it’s for a Haven/Suites guest.

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.