FreestyleNovice

Were there waffles on board Prima? I found a NCL photo of a plate of waffles among other plates.. NCL_Food Hall_BluePlate_SpaghettiAndMeatballs, NCL_Food Hall_BluePlate_FishTacos, some more BluePlates (which are not on actual blue plates ) and NCL_Food,-Hall_LuigesWaffle And some venues: Toucan Cafe The Blue Pearl icecream bar Manta Ray's bar and grill But those may be or sound like venues on the NCL islands perhaps? A Flighthouse logo in Topgun style also appeared at the same time. But that's offtopic..

NCL pumping up the vibe for your upcoming cruise for sure

Busy with life!

Hi all, currently exploring some booking options and as title says (..and I am almost certain but can't find any acknowledgement) that the with the Amplification of Explorer it was at the expense of the Kids pool Aventures area? Can anyone acknowledge this? Thanks in advance!

This @Turtles06, you will be fine. Schiphol's performance is back to normal these days (up till now, fingers crossed ). As @MAVIP posted, reserve a free time slot for security for the convenience of it. Through the app or at https://www.schiphol.nl/en/page/timeslots/ There's not a car company to recommend, it's basically all the same with the taxis in Amsterdam, it would only be a pre booked taxi with the average Joe as a driver. Sufficient enough for the 15 minutes to the airport if you ask me. Not worth spending more to have a luxury black car service. The train is really easy, the down side is the tram (if, that early?) for the few stops to the Centraal Station or the early morning stroll along the cruise terminal and water side, which can be nice for what it's worth. The train station at Schiphol is directly underneath the airport Plaza and the indoor walk up to the check in/security at the terminal might even be less stressful than the curb side taxi drop and squeeze into the same terminal building. But it's all the same in the end, no big differences. Walk off with the first groups at 7am-8am, you will find yourself checking in and at Schiphol security before 9am and at 10am you will be at your gate with plenty of time to kill. Enjoy your cruise!

Sounds like security went through your belongings. A roll of (souvenir) magnets might have triggered airport security scanning checked luggage, their heavy density shows on the screen of the x-ray/whatever ray they use nowadays. The souvenir shapes might even add to the complexity of the dense object on their computer screens. But your luggage would at least have a sticker or a note inside I presume. I can't imagine people on a British Isles cruise going through other's luggage in the corridor on the last evening in hope of getting some toothpaste..

Somewhere online.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/7387/?stay=1 I guess Royal called shotgun on the mugs.

Schiphol is better organized this year (at least spring did not made the worldwide headlines..) but I will go @Raisinette, tram might not run that early on that part so walk to the station enjoying the fresh air before a long flight home, take one of the 5-5:30 trains. The early morning trains (not the Nachtnet/hourly Night train except the last one) will have a lot of airport workers going in for their early shifts. Get a healthy breakfast at the La Place restaurant(s) at Plaza before you check in. Can't go wrong with the train option. The current advised arrival time for intercontinental flights is 3-4 hours before departure. Normally that is 3 hours and 2 hours for intra-Europe. @CruiserBruce's advice is also an option, after sightseeing retreat to the airport and settle in for a good night's rest, might save you an hour of sleep. There's indoor connected Sheraton, an Hilton further away and a funky CitizenM (covered outdoor walkway). And there's lodging inside the terminal, can't get any closer to your gate and which you can check in the night before your flight. I guess it is all about what your plans are for Amsterdam after disembarking?

Yep! Depending on the concert (I assume) you will probably see fellow fans pretty soon and the walk to the Ziggo Dome after the train/metro is pretty obvious after that

Not a steal but also not uncommon, hence the third party booking tool you mentioned. Train is about 20 Euros per person (included a 2-3 Euro surcharge for the 37 minute Intercity Direct) which is roughly 21-22 USD. My rule of thumb for R'dam - A'dam and vv is 1-2 pax; public transport to the Central Stations and definitely train. Elderly/lots of luggage/unfamiliar with Amsterdam/foreign travel/first time/honeymooners/whatsoever and groups starting at 3-4 and up to 7-8 pax; taxi (sedan and up to 9 (driver included) in a van). Really large groups of 9 and more: rent a (mini) coach. Enjoy The Netherlands!

No direct busses, that's right. Train or tram plus metro is the way to go. The Bijlmer ArenA railway station is a short walk and the main public transport hub for the Ziggo Dome, (and the ArenA stadium, AFAS Live venue), just walk down the Johan Cruijf Boulevard towards the Ziggo Dome. From CS you can take the 54 Metro towards Gein. And CS is some 10 minutes from the Anne Frank House area. Use https://9292.nl/en for all your public transport planning for The Netherlands, that planner has all the Dutch OV (openbaar vervoer) companies. Depending on your needs you might want to look into a multiple day pass to cover all your transport; The Dutch Railways has a good overview of the current passes under the Tourism header at https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/losse-kaartjes-toeslagen They are the Amsterdam Travel Ticket, Amsterdam region travel ticket or the Holland Travel Ticket. With such a pass you can also cover your return to Schiphol, with the 4 hour advice given you should manage getting there with public transport, especially with carry on only . The public transport network is pretty dense and from Amsterdam it gives you enough alternative routes. The A10 ringway and A4 can be pretty congested during rush hour, chances between car and OV delays are pretty 50/50.

The walk from Amsterdam Centraal is slightly further than the final Elandgracht bus stop of the 397 towards your hotel. Walking from CS is more crowded, straight towards the Dam/Royal Palace, along with the flow. And take a right after the Palace. The price of a single train ticket is about 5 Euro. The Schiphol train station is underneath the Plaza level after Arrivals, the bus station is right outside in front of Schiphol Plaza. Base your choice on any other needs for transport (public transport day pass, multiple day pass, all which may be of use for your to and from Schiphol leg). But.. If you enjoyed the walk the previous time and managed the bus with luggage I would take the bus again. The difference are very small, a few Euros, a few minutes, faster versus some quick sightseeing along the way.

@Ine meant the menu/navigation of the touch screen ticket machine, default it's Dutch. Payment is one of the last steps, if you manage to get there through all the Dutch options than you probably won't need an English payment screen anyway.

Perhaps a scoop, perhaps not, I dusted off my NCL-interweb-O-sleuth-machine and found this: official NCL Starbucks ship mugs, more practical than the pins for most of us I guess. I haven't set foot on a NCL ship in years (a moment of silence please...) so please don't flame me if this was already posted.

Shelborne South Beach, cabana through I think https://www.resortpass.com/ in March 2022. The amenities of the cabana suited our family, we had an evening flight back home to Europe and had (despite the blasting pool music in the afternoon LOL) a good spot relax a bit, take our telemed Covid tests, stroll down South Beach and to freshen up and leave for MIA. There was a food credit, bottled water, private bathroom, couch, wifi and power outlets. It could have been a bit more laid back if the pool music wasn't so loud but when in Rome.. In that time we could have settled with anything, looked at a hotel cabana with a water park to just a day room in a hotel, availability was still low and South Beach was a first for some with us. Worked out well.

The Budget/Avis location at 2520 Miami Rd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 as posted above, perfect shuttle service.

Points, cabin location/size and the embarkation lunch. Pre-Covid an invitation to a helipad sailaway was a thing at the discretion of the Concierge/whoevers discretion. Might not hurt to mention the awesomeness of a helipad sailaway when you have a chat with the Concierge.

It seems I still get the same pricing/offers on my TA's website with the US and NL residency. Not sure how it will work out when completing the booking.. I still hope and like to thinks this is for legal reasons and not to discourage or even prevent international customers from booking overseas, in reality how small is that group and perhaps X would even lose on it with those folks not taking a cruise but alternative vacations instead. It does not fit a business in need or search for revenue after a global pandemic. I for example certainly won't book with a Dutch agency with their ridiculous pricing unless it's competitive or a special sailing, gave up on them years ago. I embrace the "buy local" but there is nothing local to the actual product from an online only travel agency in The Netherlands. They use the same booking engine, they have no representation on shore, you deal with the same check in staff/crew/ship and with a different timezone they probably will be asleep when you need any last minute assistance on the dock. No thanks to contributing to their high(er) margins for that. End of rant..

This was my first thought.. Agree, local pricing here in The Netherlands is much higher and I could care less about the EU rights in our current position. The EU protection might be useful to others though! This is where the international discussion of this thread gets interesting; we have always gave our NL address when booking with our online USA travel agent. I guess I will be doing mock bookings the next hour to see if "we" still get the benefits (OBC, lower pricing) of an USA contract, but with NL residency. Perhaps our favourite website won't even let us make a booking when we reach the residence/address part? Will report back!

@fstuff1, research Sky Lagoon. We went there last summer, Blue Lagoon is overrated say some folks. Sky Lagoon is located in Reykjavik, just a short cab/car drive (or even public transport?) away if you stick to the city before heading to the airport. Lots of car rental agencies on the industrial zone(s) near the airport, with airport shuttles. If you manage to find a city venue you could be all set. Enjoy Iceland, I certainly did!

There is an open/municipal car park lot nearby: https://goo.gl/maps/6isjMY9FkiyTVvZ96

Also seems to be a tender port of call.

Fjord tours? https://www.glaciertour.no/tours?from-location=Vik Flam is 1.5h by car from Vik, three hours back and forth (and if there is an excursion of group thing, a bus will be even more travel time) might be a bit too much but it is a possibility.

It closes late and is perfect to unwind and relax after the golden circle! Sun set and drinks in the water! We did the Golden Circle, the Diamond Circle and the complete Ring Road last summer and spent our last evening at the Skylagoon, we booked the Ritual (or something in those words) as extra. Premium locker rooms and a cold mist shower, steam room etc. Fun to do!