Tantsee

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend a Relief Band.  I debated for a long time because of the cost, and finally decided to buy one for our last cruise. Yes, I could feel it tingling on my wrist which means it’s “working”, but it did absolutely nothing for my motion sickness. I gave it a good, honest try, and then went back to meclizine.  It works for me 99% of the time, but still is not ideal. I take 25mg before bed each night, and could still sleep the whole next day, which is why I hoped that the Relief Band would work. Apparently it does work for some people though. Just not me.  

13 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Not quite understanding the terror around traveling through NYC,

He wasn’t like that when he was younger.  There is a pretty significant age difference between the two of us, and I have to respect the changes in his perception of reality as he ages.  We live in the Phoenix area and he avoids the downtown area like the plague just the same!  😏

Thank you all so much for your advice.  Sadly, my husband just couldn’t handle the thought of this particular cruise, so I cancelled it rather than further upsetting him.  After NCL canceling our cruise that we should have been on this week, and now having to cancel the April one, I am really bummed.  Back to the drawing board!  Thanks again for all of your suggestions. 

I was in such a hurry to rebook our cancelled cruise that I didn’t even realize that the one I chose is not a round trip.  It starts in Tampa and ends in NYC.  We’ve never sailed to or from NYC.  I read a few threads in the East Coast Departures forum and got the feeling there is more than one port in NYC.  If that is correct, which port does NCL use?  Is it always the same?  Which airport is the closest (or most desirable for other reasons).  I am absolutely sick that I made this mistake, but this is the only cruise that fits our schedule.  My husband is older and is terrified of going to NY (too big, too many people, fear of the unknown, etc.), and now I’m feeling a little intimidated myself.  I need some help to make this as smooth as possible for him, or he will insist that we cancel altogether.  Just to clarify, we won’t be doing any sightseeing (sadly).  That was my compromise.  We will only spend one night near the port or airport, and fly home the following morning.  I will be grateful for any tips or advice.  

We are on the same cruise 1/18/22. Keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t cancel.  I don’t really care which ports we visit — I just want to cruise!  🤞

4 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

But you know, they will move you to

q-station in case.....

Darn!  You just busted my happy little bubble. I forgot about that part.  Oh, well… I’ll just try my best to follow the rules, stay as safe as possible, and enjoy the cruise.  😁🌴

We got cold feet and cancelled our 1/2/22 cruise on the Dawn just before final payment.   It seemed like the hysteria was dying down a little, so we decided to rebook.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the room we wanted, so we ended up booking basically the same cruise, but for 1/18/22 instead.  Now that the pandemic is ramping back up, I have to admit we are both a little concerned, but still looking forward to the cruise.  We are in our favorite Deluxe Owner’s Suite, so if a quarantine happens or we’re stuck at sea, I’m fine with that!   😎

If you get the “free” beverage package, what is the add-on cost for the premium package?  

6 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

I like the beverage card so all my drinks at NOT on my sign and sail statement and I have to keep ALL drink receipts. With the beverage card I throw away the old receipt after checking the new receipt and keep the new receipt until the next drink. 

Good to know.  That would be helpful.  Thank you!

Is there any advantage to buying a beverage card, other than having your drinks prepaid?  I’m just trying to decide whether or not it makes sense for us to buy one.  It would require carrying around two cards (key card and beverage card) instead of just the key card.  Am I missing an obvious (or not so obvious) benefit to having one?

I booked a room at Embassy Suites just last week for post-cruise.  When finalizing my reservation, I was presented with a few upgrade options, one of which was early check-in (I believe it was stated to be 9 am - noon).  If a room is available for early check-in , I will be charged an additional $25.  If not, there will be no charge.  

On 10/16/2019 at 9:51 AM, Jareds_mommytoo said:

Do they still offer the package for the day on the island if so how and when do you order it? Can i pre order it?

If money is no object, you can rent a cabana and then get the butler service add-on which includes unlimited drinks (probably with some restrictions).  I am unaware of any other one-day drink package.  

11 hours ago, Homosassa said:

We were on the Starward in 1978 during the onboard renovation of the ship. The ship had already been renovated to delete the car decks (it was a ferry at first) to include passenger cabins and a two story movie theater.  

 

At the time of our cruise, the ship carried about 800 passengers.  The onboard construction while we were on our cruise was to again work on those former car decks to cram in more cabins and change the movie theater to additional cabins. Your cabin was probably down in those old car decks.

Very interesting!  Thank you for sharing, as I didn’t know.  

NCL’s M/S Starward In 1986.  We were really stretching our pennies to take our first cruise.  If I recall correctly, it was $1200 including air and pre-cruise hotel.  That was for an inside cabin in the belly of the ship.  Lol. We even had to take the stairs to get down the final flight to our deck, because the elevator didn’t go down that far (at least in that location?).  I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t work these days!  It seemed like we were in the basement.  Yet, we always remember that cruise with fondness. 

I’m looking for recent reviews of the Hacienda Tayutic shore excursion.  HAL has several reviews, but the newest was about a year and a half ago.  Has anyone been there recently?  Did you feel that the content was worth the 4-hour round trip bus ride?  Yes, I realize that “worth” is very subjective.  I’m just interested in personal opinions. 

I wasn’t able to print my docs from my iPad either.  I guess now I know why!  😕

I see you already got your answer, but for further assurance, I just ran across this on HAL’s FAQ:

Q — I have opted for a guarantee stateroom. When will my Express Docs show a stateroom number? 
A — Guarantee staterooms may be assigned at any time prior to travel and up until embarkation day. Express Docs will show a stateroom number if it has been assigned but will otherwise show \"To be assigned\". If you have printed your Express Docs prior to the stateroom assignment, you may wish to check back prior to departure to see if a stateroom has been assigned. Otherwise, there will be staff available at the pier to advise you of your stateroom number as you fill out your luggage tags.

Was the robe new, or used (i.e. from rotating inventory)?  It doesn’t help to solve the mystery, I’m just curious.  We actually ordered HAL monogrammed robes many years ago and love them.  They are so soft and warm, but relatively light-weight.  

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will probably end up taking the safest route and booking two nights.

Has anyone done this NCL tour? Its 3 hours, 59.00 per person. Not so much into the "party" part but it seems to have a lot of the cities highlights. Any info would be great.

I have the same question! Anyone???

We did a back-to-back Mexican Riviera cruise several years ago during a hurricane. The first week, one of the ports (Puerto Vallarta?) was cancelled in order to outrun the hurricane. It wasn't replaced with another port, so they refunded our port charges for that port (don't expect anything else -- just a small refund for the port charges, not any compensation for actually missing the port, as some people seem to feel entitled to). The second week, we had just started heading back south toward Mexico and the captain made an announcement that we were turning around and sailing northbound. Instead of the Mexican Riviera itinerary, we visited San Francisco, San Diego and Catalina (?). We actually enjoyed that week more than the first, but some passengers were extremely unhappy. Some passengers were from California and not interested in those ports, and some had flown clear across the world for a once-in-a-lifetime Mexican Riviera cruise. I could certainly empathize with them, but I'm not sure what they expected the captain to do. You just have to be prepared to enjoy the cruise, no matter where you end up. The captain will do his best to keep passengers safe in any weather.

Last year, we sailed in the Caribbean during Hurricane Irma. That itinerary was COMPLETELY changed. They adjusted the port charges and credited our onboard account for the difference. Even though we were in the general vicinity of the hurricane that completely devastated many of the islands, we had smooth sailing the entire time.

Enjoy your cruise!

Why don't you just call the hotels you are interested in and ask them?:)

I'm really looking for personal experiences. Sometimes that says a lot more than what an agent might tell you over the phone. ;)

We will be arriving at MIA around 8:00 a.m. the day prior to our cruise. This is obviously long before the standard check-in time, but we will be exhausted after flying all night. Just wondering if anyone has been successful with any of the Miami hotels allowing you to check in THAT early (if a room is available). Did you experience one that was especially accommodating, or conversely, unwavering in their 3 - 4 p.m. check-in time? Your experience will help me make a decision on where to book. I am considering all options -- maybe even booking 2 nights if absolutely necessary.

Thank you again, everyone, for your replies. We had the DOS on another Star cruise and loved it! GeezerCouple, I believe it is exactly the same as the Dawn and you are right -- the view can't be beat! We really didn't even miss the balcony. Granted, a balcony would be nice for a Panama Canal cruise, but the wall-to-wall windows will make up for it. Sadly, after 30+ cruises, this will likely be our last. We decided to stick with what we know we like (the DOS) and use the money we save by not upgrading to do more fun things. Husband is relieved with this decision and I am OK with it. I truly appreciate everyone's input. It really helped us to come to a conclusion that makes us both happy.

Thank you both for your replies. All of your comments are very compelling, unfortunately for both sides equally. lol

My husband is almost 80 years old and just wants a quiet, peaceful view from the comfort of our room, which we clearly have with the DOS. He is certain now that he is right (that we should keep our DOS), based on the view being "blocked by the ship's structure", etc., whereas I am convinced that I am right (to bid on the GV) because of having the huge upper deck to ourselves, and not losing our spot when we want to go inside for a minute. Decisions, decisions...