Roharmi

Not sure if this has been covered but Buckingham Palace is open for tours for about two months a year. My wife and I are going on a British Isles cruise next month and I booked this as a surprise for her after we return to London. Just wanted to throw this out there in case anyone else is going to be there and is looking for something like this.

https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/event/royal-day-out#/

You're welcome. Have a great trip.

Lol that has been on various signatures since 2008. I think you're the first one that read it.

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Q1: Yes there is. I believe it is Deck 18. It is the only area you can get in without an access card. They have regular lounge chairs along the port and starboard sides but if you keep going forward there is an area with much nicer loungers available to all. Very quiet since most don't go there (at least that was my experience).

Q2: O'Sheehans is open 24 hours. I was also able to get coffee by the pool area between the pool and the buffet. I'm not sure what the hours are there but I was there pretty early each day with starbucks mug in hand.

Q3: If you can, pre-book any reservations early. I also downloaded the iconcierge app. Great for booking tenders/events but horrible for reviewing your schedule for the day. I kept forgetting things because it wasn't on the app. Avoid the elevators at all costs when you embark. If you can, use the stairs. When you disembark use the porters at the port. They grabbed our luggage and took us past every line (which were long) straight to our bus for the air port. That was the best $10 or $20 I ever spent and well worth every penny.

Have fun, Can't wait for our next one.

If you go to Cozumel there is an excursion for a Mexican cooking class. We did it and had a lot of fun. After lunch you also have the use of the beach club.

lol it makes her feel so much better that it's my fault for turning down the $198 offer. Maybe I will get picked on the next one. Glad you made it off in GSC. We still had a good time on the ship

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I think we had the same waiter in O'Sheehans. We watched three couples come in after us and get their orders well before us. This was the only bad experience that we had with waitstaff.

I never saw any staff hassle a smoker for not gambling so I can only assume they don't care much. I did on many occasions see them shooing people away from the taste overlook. At least they made the effort.

For me the ship was way to dark, it already has a darker decor and the soft lighting makes it worse. They need to invest in some brighter lighting.

My only real complaint on the cruise was the horrible lack of planning on NCL's part for GSC. Two tenders for a ship with over 4500 people on it?!? We sat in the theater and I was amazed at the line. I asked one of the staff why there was such a holdup and that was when I learned of the tender situation. We grabbed our stuff and just went to the pool.I am a really laid back person but that set me off. I paid a lot of money for this trip and couldn't even get off the ship.

I also do not like the bathroom situation on the wavy rooms. I had to go visit the balcony when my wife was in there and vice versa.

The inside cabins (at least those I saw on deck 13) had a much better layout and a private bath. I've already booked one for the next cruise. Every time we get a balcony we barely use it. No need to spend extra for something that doesn't get used much.

Best line from the cruise......

They have John Wayne toilet paper here.

John Wayne?

Yes, its rough, gritty and it don't take sh*t off no one.

Overall my wife and I really enjoyed the trip and Norwegian. She was even picked for Deal or No Deal and of course blamed me for her stellar $1 win after she turned down $198. :-P

There is no harm in reserving the shows. If you don't show up they will go to somebody in stand-by. I just got off the Epic and all of it sells out quickly so having the reservation is a good thing.

Specialty dinning is much the same. The slots really book up once you're on board. I would definitely make the reservations now. You can always change them once on board. We saw the newlywed game and it was pretty funny. You can't go wrong with that one.

Ditto

It reads as if everyone is only counting the 18% gratuity which works out to $1.25 per beer. But you also have to figure in the $6.95 x 5 that Detroitlions mentioned. If one bucket is $41 it takes less than 3 buckets to cover the $99 (for tips) that you owe for the UBP. I would absolutely buy the UBP and just go one beer at a time.

First time I've heard of live poker on a cruise ship. I'm hoping that it is for real and will be bringing extra $$$ just in case.

From their site

Casino

Find Lady Luck in our Casinos at Sea at your favorite slot machines and table games, including live poker! Adding to the excitement is our Players Club that rewards you with everything from spa treatments to complimentary cruises.

Great trip report. You are making me want to do another Alaska trip. If you go again and do the rental car in skagway be sure to lookup Reid Falls. it is right outside of town back behind the train yard. Last time we were there the bus tours were passing us like crazy and nobody stopped at Reid Falls/Cemetery. It was a great walk through that old place which rewards you in the back with a small but beautiful falls area.

I highly recommend renting a car to anyone that wants to make that trek to Emerald Lake.

You can also get a passport stamp in Carcross.

Great review, I'm really looking forward to our trip in a couple of weeks. Thanks to the videos we will take a second look at the excursions.

I'm sorry to hear about your husband. I too am a cancer patient and have discovered dandelion root tea. I've done a bit of research and found that the university of Windsor is even doing a study with promising results so far. I started drinking it in June and have seen my markers plummet and shrinkage of all tumors. One to the point that it is not measurable. I just wanted to pass it along as an option to try.

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Some of my favorites......

On the train from Seattle to Vancouver. I was very lucky on this one.

Sunset in Alaska

Amsterdam

Parliament through a bus window

The American Cemetery in France

Last but not least the colosseum

Hi everyone [emoji4] DH and I are cruising to the western Caribbean for the first time. We have cruised to the eastern Caribbean a few times. This will be our first time on the epic. We are very excited, but we are having difficulties deciding where to go on our point of calls. Our first stop is Cozumel and we are trying to decide between Mister Sanchos or Nachi Cocom. Then we're going to Ocho Rios and we were thinking we'd check out Irie Blue hole. Next port is George Town and we thought we'd just go to seven mile beach and go parasailing. The last port is Great Stirrup Cay and we're just planning on lounging on the beach. If anyone here could give us any input or opinions of their favorite places to go on these ports of calls it would be greatly appreciated [emoji4]

 

 

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Hi Tcup24,

We are also taking the Epic. If you are sailing on the 18th of next month look up our roll call. One of the members is organizing a private tour to the Blue hole in Ocho Rios. We decided to join in on that since we didn't have anything special planned for Jamaica.

In Cozumel we are taking the Tulum ruins tour. It is a long day but we wanted a chance to see some bigger ruins and ended up with that one. Since it is going to the mainland we decided to pay the NCL price and take the tour through them. That way they are responsible if something happens that affects our return.

Good to know. I think I will be better served by headphones and my music on the balcony.

My cruise cant get here soon enough. All this talk of fall off the bone ribs and inch think prime rib is killing me. :-)

It was great meeting you and Joe. Christine and I had a blast hanging out with you guys. Doing the roll call made this cruise that much more enjoyable and I highly suggest that everyone participate in them.

I have a new desire to do more cruises and hopefully we can meet up with you guys again in the future.

You captured some things that we didn't get to do so I'm sure there will be a third trip to Alaska in our future. ;)