Travelling2Some

We usually go it on our own or sometimes go with a reliable independent company. However, we do take ship sponsored excursions if we are going far from the port or if there are known traffic problems getting back to the port. The "On Your Own" excursions are usually reasonably priced and often make a good compromise. We also consider how difficult it would be to catch up with the ship. Sometimes you would only need to take a train ride and miss dinner. Other times it would be a much bigger deal.

Very true. I am a blessed with ease of air travel living in NY. I do realize that. I will usually take the closest non-stop flight to my final destination in Europe and then take the train rather than connecting via another flight though.

We had a great time anyway. (I've never met a cruise I didn't like.) Just remarking on the duplicity since it has been a long time since NCL has stopped in Nicaragua. Just surprised, not suggesting my life was ruined or anything.

That's good but I find it interesting that they are still pretending they will port in Nicaragua. When we sailed the Bliss Panama Canal a year or so ago I expected them to cancel it when we booked so I didn't care and wasn't "fooled" but many were disappointed when it was announced. After final payment and for our convenience, of course.

I suspect these are the people who are either very well off (which is fine) or trying to borrow money from me (which is not fine).

Nope, not paying enough attention, apparently. But still feeling good about my choices ,lol.

Per NCL: "For international travel, we strive to secure flight itineraries with no more than two connecting flights and minimize layovers that exceed five hours. Connecting flights through other countries may be required. Please note if you are flying to Europe, you may be routed through Canada." Holy crap! I knew there was a reason I book my flights myself. Everybody is picky about some things and not others. I am happy with an inside cabin but I am not EVER taking flights involving two connections and layovers exceeding five hours or being routed through Canada to get to Europe. There are plenty of non-stops to Europe from New York. That is just a hard no.

Wondering if you have tried asking if they can substitute regular pasta? Realize this is highly personal but it is one of those things that would be a negative for me when considering the line. I love pasta but only eat it on special occasions or vacations when it's a real treat so I don't want it messed with.

I told my doctor that what I really like to do is read books, drink things with umbrellas in them and eat fried carbs. She said, "me too" with a smile. She is a frequent cruiser too. BTW, what is with all the whole wheat pasta on Celebrity?

I KNOW. I beg my husband to help me out and split things with me but he is busy eating his broiled fish, salad and veggies. (He actually likes that stuff.) All I can say is that he is blessed with some kind of weird condition that I wish I could catch, lol.

It's a sign! Bacon is good. Bacio who knows what that is. . . Anyway, this is surely water weight from all the salt in cruise food . . . and don't forget that the cruise laundry is known to shrink clothes . . . actually I think it is really the buffet 😞

This is an old thread that has been dragged up but it might be even more relevant now with the airlines making frequent changes in flight times. Lately you even have to be concerned you'll end up on a defective 737 if you let NCL choose your airline.

Itinerary is the most important thing to us and we have had our last 3 cruises on NCL impacted by ports canceled after final payment with bogus excuses given. We prefer NCL and have status with them but feel they have become too unreliable to trust with our more important/expensive travel plans. We do take an occasional cruise out of our homeport just to relax and get out of the NY winter where we don't really care much about the itinerary. But, having been burnt 3 times we no longer trust NCL with our "important" trips. Our two most recent cruises have been on other lines for this reason.

I agree. We have booked the least expensive ship's excursion a time or two just to get off the ship quickly (especially in Santorini). Then we just let the guide know that we are going off on our own for his headcount. The $50 excursion credit can markedly decrease the gap between ship-sponsored and private. I also factor in the distance from port, the reliability of local transport and how difficult it would be to catch up with the ship at the next port should we actually miss the boat. In some places it's only a short train ride within the same country so no big deal. However, if the port is followed by two sea days that is a much bigger risk. All in all, the answer depends on the specific port.

Why am I suddenly picturing a naked man holding an orange squirrel? I am actually the type who would not notice either. I'm always looking at the architecture and making mental notes so I remember the way back. My husband is the people watcher. He would have seen the man and the squirrel but I'd have to tell him where the ship is or the car is parked. Teamwork:)

That's what we used to do - use my husband's office address. Now that we are retired we just put a card inside with our name and phone number. I would never use my home address because my home is NOT empty just because the two of us are away. Other family members are still in the house when we are away and this could put them in danger. We almost always travel carry-on only anyway but you can get gate checked so I still include the cards. I would also never buy expensive brands of checked luggage since I think they are likely to attract thieves. Our big suitcase is straight out of Walmart, lol.

We agree that the port area in Cartagena was unusually nice. We also did an independent small group tour with "Dora the Exporer" who has been highly recommended on CC boards for many years. She was great - informative and personable. She was also very assertive with vendors, shooing away anyone trying to accost us and even jumping out of the van once to unsnarl a local traffic jam. She was a hoot, lol.

Yes it was a different world and we had so much freedom. That famous "generation gap" was very useful;)

We went to a Jefferson Airplane Reunion concert a number of years ago and were chatting with some much younger folks next to us. They remarked, "Well I guess nobody as ever seen Jefferson Airplane before!" When I said that I had they said that it must have been Jefferson Starship. When I said, "no, Airplane, 1968" they were shocked and asked, "How old ARE you? Were you at Woodstock?" Nope, but I was 14 and remember the tickets for Woodstock being on sale. Would have gone had it been known that Woodstock would be WOODSTOCK but I was in enough trouble that week already so I figured I better not aggravate the parental units any further.

As a fellow inside cabin denizen, I agree. We have the beds split when that is the case. Not very romantic but the open space in the middle does make the cabin much more comfortable.

I try things that I "know" I don't like once every couple of years and I've been surprised a time or two. It's usually still a bust but your tastes can change over time and it can be worth experimenting. I have a friend who has never tried a single bite of many common foods. I had to ask her how she can be so sure one of these many things would not turn out to be her favorite food if she never even tries them?

I am really loving your descriptions of the Beyond the Podium offerings and hope they have similar on our cruise. I would like this sort of thing much better than game shows and (oh no!) hairy leg contests. The food porn is great too, lol.

Ahh . . . you are correct that it totally depends on your luggage. We usually cruise in Europe and many of the train stations there make Penn look like a piece of cake, lol. Hence we only bring one carry-on and a backpack which, of course, is no issue on escalators or trains. We are two retired adults so, of course, if you've got kids with you that is not going to work.

First time we ever cruised was because I noticed a brochure at one of the warehouse type stores and I was thinking it would be a good experience for the kids. We wanted to expose them to lots of different things and thought this cruise would just be a one-time thing. We were four to a room (2 connecting inside rooms) on the old NCL Sea and we all had a blast. I guess it helped that we had a lot of experience camping out in one big tent, lol. Anyway the kids (and us) all got hooked on cruising and are have now talked their spouses into it too all these years later. Our newest generation of cruisers can be found in the "splash pad" lol. Interestingly, we have never felt the need to upgrade much (although our kids like to live large). We book OVs and balconies sometimes if the price is right but don't really put much value on them. Half the time we hardly use the balcony for any number of reasons. Last time we had one we had very noisy neighbors, for example. We once miraculously got upgraded to one of the better suites (from an inside!) on a Celebrity ship. Of course it was "better" objectively but not anything we would be willing to pay for even with the "special" dining room and spa inclusions. We usually cruise in Europe and are interested in the ports, not interested in luxury while on a ship. Although I will pay for better hotel rooms/suites on land because we get much more use out of them. (On a ship we are out and about all the time but on land we stay in and relax at night.) I'll also spend on furniture and household things because they are permanent fixtures. We have a lot of antiques, for example. In other words, I'll pay for something I want but it definitely has to be value for money.

Best place to ask this is the Cruise Critic East Coast Departures Board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/ I live in NY but that means I never stay in hotels here.