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Traveling Fools

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  • Location
    Amelia Island, FL, USA
  • Interests
    Travel, Genealogy
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Celebrity, NCL
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Exotic Destinations

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  1. Ritz Carlton. Very nice hotel...defiantly 5 star. It is relatively easy to get around in Santiago. It is almost European. Museums are closed on Mondays.
  2. I asked my TA this very question yesterday. She told me to book it directly with O, either on-line, by phone, or on board.
  3. That is good to know! We leave the 15th on a 21 day cruise and about choked at the $69.95 listed price pp to upgrade.
  4. Here is what happened to me on a Jan 7-14, 2024 cruise on the Epic. DW and I booked a DOS and adjoining suite in the Haven. We also paid for all onboard expenses. Cost us beaucoup bucks. We were celebrating DD's, GD's, & GS's birthdays. Both our suites came with 2-specialty dinning dinners for 2. To supplement our specialty dinning packages, I purchased an 2 additional specialty dinners for 2. Whereas the grandkids (11 & 14), aren't big eaters and will in most instances will order off the kid's menu, I did not purchase extra dinning packages for them. And it is a good thing I didn't! Unbeknownst to me, NCL's policy (as stated on their T&C for dinning packages) does not permit transfer of those meals. I was not a happy camper to be told this by both the hostess and restaurant manager of the Le Bistro. I was told they couldn't be transferred to anyone not booked in our suite . Le Bistro's manger was put out by our request to speak to us and rudely delivered the news and told us we needed to address the issue with the concierge. This happened the night of DD's actual birthday. The next morning (the day before disembarkation) I brought the issue up with the concierge. He told me he would look into the matter, I told him that given our 10 year history of sailing exclusively in suites or the Haven, and given the money I had forked out for the cruise, I had faith in him and the hotel manager to find an agreeable solution. Through the course of the last day on board, the concierge did an admirable job of avoiding me....even when he saw me. The morning we disembarked I asked him what solution had been reached. Unfortunately, he told me corporate policy prevented anything to been done. In all it cost me close to $500. Not a huge amount relative to what all I spent, but enough to disappoint me with the lack of loyalty by NCL to me and my family and make me question our future loyalty to NCL. A letter to Katty Bird resulted in a blah blah response with an offer of $300 in OBC, "if we ever booked with NCL again". That's all it would have taken for the hotel manage and concierge to have done onboard to satisfy us. And, we would have left the ship happy that the onboard staff did something. Bottomline, while never is a long, long time, DW and I have reevaluated our continued loyalty to NCL and have decided to take our money elsewhere.
  5. Until January of this year NCL has been our go-to line. We have only sailed in suites or the Haven. Our Jan 7th cruise aboard Epic has changed our thinking about booking NCL. On this cruise DW and I booked the deluxe owner's suite and adjoining suite that was occupied by our DD, SIL , GD, and GS. It was a combination belated holiday and birthday cruise. Birthdays celebrated were GS's (Dec 27th), GD's (Jan 3rd), and DD's (Jan 12th). DW and I paid for the suites and all onboard expenses. Our room steward had 30 years on the job with NCL and was essentially retired on the job. It was bad enough that, without saying anything about him, our butler took the initiative to pick up some of the slack. With one exception the crew we interacted with were professional and cordial, sometimes even friendly. The one exception involved the restaurant manager at the Le Bistro, she was put out that we had asked to speak to her about an issue and rudely told us to speak to the concierge. Except when sitting at the Haven's main bar or using the ATM, service throughout the ship was SLOW. Even in the Haven restaurant. We heard unsubstantiated comments the ship's service staff was shorthanded. In a word beef in both Cagney's and the Haven restaurant sucked! A collection of things , including the situation at Le Bistro and how it was mishandled both onboard and later at corporate, has made DW and I question our continued loyalty to NCL.
  6. Our Daughter and Son-in-Law have been great about letting us take our granddaughter (14) and grandson (11) on both extended cross country RV trips and 7-15 day/night cruises. Our granddaughter being the oldest began cruising just shy of 2-years old on a San Diego to Miami Celebrity cruise. SIL's mother has also taken them on cruises..all on Disney. As they grow older, they are shying away from 6-8 week cross country RV trips. There are too many other things they find more interesting to do and friends to hangout with. Most of our cruises with them have been booked in NCL's Haven. You know those ships with the slides and climbing walls. The novelty of those amenities wore off after their first cruise on a ship that had them. DGD has always been a fan of organized onboard youth clubs. Because he has been to young to be in the same age group as his sister, DGS has wanted nothing to do with the ship's organized youth activities. That is until this last cruise. He tried it out and found he really had fun. Here is what they like about cruising: Dressing Up: They both like dressing up for dinner. On our last cruise with them in January of this year, DGS told us he likes dressing up for dinner on cruises because it is something different from everyday shoreside life. Shore Excursions: Because they get involved with the planning of shore excursions, they are stake holders in what we do and enjoy them more than they would being told what they were going to do. They both like history and enjoy visiting ruins with a guide that can stroke their interest levels. On Board Entertainment: Both of them like attending the different types of shows featured on board. It is something they both look forward to experiencing on a cruise. Interaction With Both Kids their Age and With Adults: It goes without saying they seek out kids their own age to hang out with. Many times they are kids from different backgrounds and countries. DGS will climb into a hot tub filled with adults and engage them in conversation. It isn't unusual to be told he is one of the most interesting kids they have ever met. Because internet can be a hit or miss thing at sea, they do not spend much time with their face glued to their phones or playing internet required games. It is one of those sacrifices they willing make to cruise.
  7. Taken from: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/news-announcements/yf-vax-booster Yellow Fever Vaccine Booster Doses In February 2015, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved a new recommendation that a single dose of yellow fever vaccine provides long-lasting protection and is adequate for most travelers. The updated recommendations also identify specific groups of travelers who should receive additional doses and others for whom additional doses may be considered. The official ACIP recommendations were published on June 19, 2015 (see http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6423a5.htm). All current ACIP yellow fever vaccine recommendations can be found on the ACIP website at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/index.html. Although ACIP no longer recommends booster doses of yellow fever vaccine for most travelers, clinicians and travelers should review the entry requirements for destination countries because changes to the International Health Regulations (IHR) have not yet been fully implemented. In 2014, the World Health Organization adopted the recommendation to remove the 10-year booster dose requirement from the IHR as of June 2016. Once this change is instituted, a completed International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis will be valid for the lifetime of the vaccinee. Some countries have already adopted this change, which is noted under the yellow fever vaccine requirements on each country’s destination page. However, it is uncertain when and if all countries with yellow fever vaccination requirements will adopt this change. Page last reviewed: July 21, 2015 Content source: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) Division of Global Migration Health (DGMH) Bottomline, exercise discretion.
  8. Also chiming in as a man who experienced complications from prostrate surgery and requires man pads. If I don't take them, there are none available on board and in some countries very hard to find. I learned about that when I left home with a basic load and needed some in Copenhagen and Quebec. I use them to pad that bottle of Veuve we take on each voyage. So, Yes...I can relate....P.S. As one who has also experienced a rectal resection to treat colon cancer, the Dr. told me I could relate to women who have given birth. 😁
  9. Just an FYI, you can now visit your primary care physician who can now write scripts for travel related vaccines and meds that can be filled/administered by CVS, Walgreens, etc. Found that out at my last wellness check up with my Dr. and told him we were traveling to Brazil and the Amazon.
  10. Yellow Fever vax is now a one and done...it no longer expires.
  11. Responses like that will be a major factor in determining our future loyalty to NCL.
  12. Sometime issues addressed while on the voyage do not get addressed. We just sent a letter regarding an unresolved issue to: Katty Byrd Senior Vice President, Guest Services, Norwegian Cruise Line NCL Corporation Ltd. 7665 Corporate Center Drive Miami, Florida 33126 I will wait for a written response from NCL before generating a post regarding that issue.
  13. Consider booking with Paul Gauguin. They are considered a local company and do not seem to experience the difficulty maintaining their published itineraries other lines with larger ships have. Passengers who have previously sailed with them with whom I have had face to face conversations with all raved about them.
  14. Thank-you Croooser. On Jan 17th we returned from an NCL cruise DW and I took our daughter, husband, and 2 children on. We booked suites in the Haven. In the past, we have been big fans of NCL and the Haven. But, this last cruise with NCL was a bit of a disappointment. Enough so that DW and I are are reconsidering our relationship with NCL. We have also been big fans of X and have a Greek intensive booked with them this Sept to celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. The only reason for booking with X is they were the only line whose itinerary was what we wanted and matched our anniversary date. Since returning from our Azamara cruise, DW and I have discussed how we rather enjoyed the size of the ship and ,with one exception, the friendly, unpretentiousness of our shipmates. We also liked the food. We have concluded to lean toward Azamara when considering future cruises.
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