DCGuy64

I would imagine that, given you're in the Haven, you can get on one of the earliest tenders. We were there in November 2023 and there were 3 other ships. The lines wouldn't have been as long, but the seas were choppy that morning, so all but one of the NCL-sponsored excursions were cancelled. That meant having to tender (and wait in line) with all of those people. (We had a private excursion booked.) Unfortunately, the line was then about 2 hours long and we were very late for our tour. But we still had an incredible time. I know we wouldn't have been late but for the snafu with the NCL excursions, though. I considered walking up the hill but my wife wouldn't have been able to.

Get up early, would be my advice. Tendering isn't so much the issue, because it's a short trip from the ship to the shore. The issue is getting up that steep hill once you arrive. The earlier you go, the better. To the best of my knowledge, the Haven status does you no good once on land. Also check what other ships are there the same day as you, and plan accordingly. If you haven't been to Santorini before, I would say it's definitely worth the wait. It can be a bit of a madhouse due to so many tourists visiting at once. Next time we go, we'll fly and rent a villa.

Right? Pretty sure no one ever died from sleeping on a hard bed. Maybe a sore back, but death? Yeah, no.

Who are these people you've spoken with and what's the source of their information? We did a transatlantic cruise on the Epic in December 2022 and nothing was closed.

All of that is true. And it's pretty much based on the time-tested truth of gullibility, the same reason people click on spam content and send millions to non-existent royalty in far-off countries. Not sure what the solution is. I have theories, but they'd violate the rules of this forum.

When _I_ use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean--neither more nor less.' LOL

I'm also sorry the steak wasn't up to snuff at Moderno. I ate there back in November on the Breakaway and it was delicious, especially the filet mignon. Tender as can be. Moderno is probably my 2nd favorite restaurant on NCL, after La Cucina.

Looks like the Norwegian Epic doesn't get in until 1 pm, and there will already be 3 other ships docked there. My hope for the OP is that most of those passengers will already be up in town and the line isn't too long for @SouthernUSAGal. Santorini is really gorgeous, especially Oia at sunset. The photos I took there were worth every second waiting in line, without a doubt.

Yes, I had read about that trick on here. Unfortunately, the seas were rough the morning we arrived, so all but one of the ship-sponsored excursions were cancelled, which meant all of those disgruntled passengers were tendered to shore along with the rest of us. You can imagine how long the lines were. I have no doubt that, had those people gone on their excursions as planned, we would not have stood in line for as long as we did. Sounds great, I imagine the weather will be lovely. Take my advice and check out the port schedule for that day. When we were in Santorini, there were 2 other ships there. When a friend of mine went there last July, there were SIX large ships. The line for the cable cars will likely be at least 2 hours. Make sure you get there as early as possible and/or plan to walk up. I highly recommend learning a few expressions in Greek. Why? Because if you have to use the bathroom while waiting in that long line, there are a few restaurants located adjacent to the line. They sometimes won't let you use the bathroom unless you're a paying customer, unless you charm them with a "good morning, how are you? Is there a toilet I can use?"

Oh wow, that's never happened to us. I'm sorry that happened to you. 😢

No, that's not correct. The sushi bar is a different restaurant. Orchid Garden is a complimentary sit-down restaurant, but it does have chairs at a bar that's right in front of where the food is cooked. We did the same thing at Shanghai on the Breakaway last November. Of course taste is subjective, which we all know, but we thought the food at those two places was great.

There were other tour groups visiting the same sites as we, so I doubt you'll have any trouble finding a guide who will take you there. Have a great trip!

If it's busy, you may have to put your name on a waiting list and get a pager. So while not a reservation, per se, it may be that you'd have to come back later. We LOVED Orchid Garden while on the Gem and ate dinner there twice. Our favorite part was sitting at the bar and watching the chefs prepare our food right before our very eyes.

I love the laundry service on NCL, that's one of the nicest perks about sailing in a Club Balcony suite. One thing I *don't* like about it is that you have no control over how it gets washed. When we were on Oceania last year, they had a self-service launderette, which was complimentary. I was able to sort delicate items from other ones, so the things that needed to be done in cold and tumbled dry low, were done that way as opposed to everything lumped in together. Having said that, I can't remember anything on NCL coming back discolored or shrunken, but it was still nice having a bit more control over the water and drying temperatures.

Hello. Yes, we did book this one through NCL. The name of the tour was Prehistoric Temples and Views. Our guide's name was Charles, and he was excellent. Very informative and friendly, nice sense of humor, and had tons of details to share. Maybe you can find him by looking on TripAdvisor or Viator, in case NCL isn't showing that one. Have you been to Italy before? Do you speak Italian? And what time of the year is your cruise? Last November was my 27th or 28th time to Italy, I've lost count. And I speak Italian fluently. I mention those details as a way of saying that for me, I tend to avoid the more touristy places (at least, ones I haven't been to before, like St Peter's in Rome, the Uffizi galleries in Florence, etc.). Those places are definitely worth visiting, don't get me wrong. But I've seen them plenty of times. I highly recommend Italytours.eu. We did a couple of tours with them last November (specifically the Amalfi coast one). You will get a lot more out of your time in Italy if you know some Italian, especially in smaller towns. When we went to Corfu in 2021 on a cruise, we visited a liqueur distillery and had a great time, as well as going to a restaurant for a touristy, but decent, Greek lunch. We visited Santorini and Mykonos last year, as well. Both highly recommended, they are just beautiful and unique. Santorini can be quite the cluster due to the massive numbers of people who stop there, and the fact there's only one way up (a steep mountain). If you're in decent shape, WALK! The cable cars are quick, but you can easily spend 2 hours waiting in line. You can walk up in 1/2 an hour. But the view from Oia is worth every second in line, trust me. Ask any other questions you like!

Yikes. We were on the Epic in December 2022 and our laundry came out perfect! A tale of two ships, as it were.

How is the food? I checked out the website for Mr. Sancho's and it looks pretty good. Seems a decent value, too, for all-inclusive food and beverages. I like how the site says "all you can eat" but "all you care to drink" (not all you CAN drink, LOL).

We did a very similar itinerary last November on the Breakaway. When is your cruise, BTW? We ended up having to skip Athens and Livorno due to bad weather, so just keep in mind that rough seas might come into play (there were lines of furious passengers at Guest Services). We did an excellent excursion in Malta that featured ancient ruins, which my wife is a huge fan of. I can't comment on the other ports, since either we missed them or we had privately-booked excursions instead. Have a great cruise!

No worries. I wasn't sure my OWN comment made sense, LOL. 😁 EDIT for the OP: Teppanyaki is a Japanese-type restaurant where the chef does a little show with fried rice, egg, and various meats like steak or chicken. They do serve you a little salad and miso soup and a dessert. @schmoopie17 is correct that it isn't all-you-can-eat, but it is a flat-rate restaurant. Hope that helps!

Yes, both are covered. Essentially, the "all you can eat" concept at Moderno and Teppanyaki (slightly different concept but still a flat-rate) means you'd normally pay $50 or whatever it is, and you can use the SDP (Specialty dining package) on that and on places like La Cucina, Le Bistro, and Cagney's that are a-la-carte. Those typically include an appetizer, salad or soup, entree and dessert. Since you're new to NCL, you might not be aware that they have started limiting folks to just one of each category (so you can't get 2 entrees at Cagney's, for instance), but experience tells me you can get multiple appetizers and desserts. My wife is vegetarian so she can get multiple app's, an entree, sides, etc. with no problem.

I read that some computer manufacturers started telling users to hit the "L" key because of the number of calls asking where the "any key" was. I mean, just wow. 😆

Yikes! Wishing you both a speedy recovery, @scubacruiserx2!

Wow, our only experience with Starlink was last November on the Breakaway. Ship was jam packed but our speeds were off the charts.

Exactly. I work at an FI, the days of < 3% interest are long gone!

Wow, that seafood looks scrumptious, esp the scallops. Yum, yum!