I'm booked!!!... Joy's first sailing from Jamaica!

[All-ready2cruise]

Congrats @hoopslover for getting a cruise booked so quickly.  Sounds like you've done your homework too and thanks for sharing.

 

Have a great cruise. 😉

[kelib]

3 minutes ago, hoopslover said:

We just booked this cruise yesterday with air and deviation from NCL for August 21.  We live in CA and are fully vaccinated.

 

The questions about Jamaica were asked and I did research about their entry and exit requirements and this is what I read.  I am flying in early from the west coast as the flight will undoubtedly be a red eye and I want a day before the cruise to make sure there are no problems. Our flight from San Jose roundtrip through NCL was $899 plus deviation fee of $25 to come in a day early.  NCL did not have hotels for pre-cruise only post-cruise. We booked the S Hotel between the airport and the cruise port.   If you are booked at a hotel in their north or south called Resilient Corridors you do not have to quarantine.  The quarantine is only for travel until June 30, 2021.  We will have to see what happens after that date, but there is time for travelers or NCL to make adjustments.

 

According to my two conversations with NCL we will tested for covid upon arrival on the ship and before disembarkation which will allow us to fly home to the U.S.  We will receive notifications about flights and other requirements closer to sailing time and I will share when further information is sent to me.

 

Nobody will be allowed to leave the ship in port without being on an excursion.  They are working on those now and there should be updates soon as far as what if anything is available.

 

The above information is what I received yesterday.  I understand that sometimes you receive different information from different people at NCL but this was done by two phone calls from me to NCL and the information was the same both times.

 

We are excited to cruise again...if it happens.

 

 

That’s great that you got that information from them. It’s good information to have before booking and making decisions especially for coming in early.
 

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

That looks like a great itinerary.

 

Thanks. I don't remember if I previously posted the POC's on this cruise but here they are (again?);

 

Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten & Antigua.

 

The only one that I have been to previously is Barbados.

[graphicguy]

Couldn't get to the first NCL cruise out of Jamaica, but snagged the one going out 9/28/21.  Pretty jazzed!

 

Looking forward to your report Syd!

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Couldn't get to the first NCL cruise out of Jamaica, but snagged the one going out 9/28/21.  Pretty jazzed!

 

Looking forward to your report Syd!

 

It's like a breath of fresh air seeing "jazzed" folks post about booking (aka "snagging") cruises again...cruises that will actually sail. Sure beats the heck out of posts about cruises being cancelled, again and again and again...

[sid_9169]

I went ahead and made my hotel reservation just now, and indeed it was a bit more pricey than expected... The S Hotel is rated "#1" on Tripadvisor, so I booked their Ocean View Deluxe Double, and the total for 1 night came to $331.64... This includes $72 worth of "taxes and fees"... More than I normally pay for a nice hotel in Miami, but this is a "special occasion"... I've also started my Online Check-In on NCL, just to make things seem real!...

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by sid_9169

[All-ready2cruise]

The nice thing is, @sid_9169 you get breakfast & dinner included. Most of the hotels I book may include brekky but not dinner.  Good job getting a good deal. 

 

I'm looking at Sept. and the prices are slightly higher but again still looks nice. 

[Calnev1]

23 hours ago, hoopslover said:

We just booked this cruise yesterday with air and deviation from NCL for August 21.  We live in CA and are fully vaccinated.

 

The questions about Jamaica were asked and I did research about their entry and exit requirements and this is what I read.  I am flying in early from the west coast as the flight will undoubtedly be a red eye and I want a day before the cruise to make sure there are no problems. Our flight from San Jose roundtrip through NCL was $899 plus deviation fee of $25 to come in a day early.  NCL did not have hotels for pre-cruise only post-cruise. We booked the S Hotel between the airport and the cruise port.   If you are booked at a hotel in their north or south called Resilient Corridors you do not have to quarantine.  The quarantine is only for travel until June 30, 2021.  We will have to see what happens after that date, but there is time for travelers or NCL to make adjustments.

 

According to my two conversations with NCL we will tested for covid upon arrival on the ship and before disembarkation which will allow us to fly home to the U.S.  We will receive notifications about flights and other requirements closer to sailing time and I will share when further information is sent to me.

 

Nobody will be allowed to leave the ship in port without being on an excursion.  They are working on those now and there should be updates soon as far as what if anything is available.

 

The above information is what I received yesterday.  I understand that sometimes you receive different information from different people at NCL but this was done by two phone calls from me to NCL and the information was the same both times.

 

We are excited to cruise again...if it happens.

 

 

Thanks for the info Hoopslover!

[sid_9169]

I logged into NCL, and realized that dining reservations had opened up, so I booked a couple right away... Le Bistro and La Cucina... 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by sid_9169

[hoopslover]

28 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I logged into NCL, and realized that dining reservations had opened up, so I booked a couple right away... Le Bistro and La Cucina... 

 

 

Ours are not available yet but thanks for the reminder.  Hope they let us off for some excursions.

[Seany527]

32 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I logged into NCL, and realized that dining reservations had opened up, so I booked a couple right away... Le Bistro and La Cucina... 

 

 

How about excursions? Do you have any available to book yet? I see people are posting about different excursion options but they are not listed for me. 

[sid_9169]

26 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

How about excursions? Do you have any available to book yet? I see people are posting about different excursion options but they are not listed for me. 

Everything BUT excursions is available to book as of now...

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by sid_9169

[Summerstravel]

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I logged into NCL, and realized that dining reservations had opened up, so I booked a couple right away... Le Bistro and La Cucina... 

 

 

I booked the September 11 cruise and I noticed we don't have any shore excursions listed yet. Do you have any listed yet for your cruise? 

Sid do you have a link you can send me on your other reviews please? I would love to see them. 

btw I had my first covid 19 vaccine shot on Thursday not really any side effects. (just a little soreness in the arm) second one May 6th.  I will keep my vaccine card with my passport for safe keeping. 

Tracie

[Von & John]

Sid  --  BOGO Cocktails & Pre-Set Dinner...
Hope you enjoy both 🙂

It's all becoming real!

 

7 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I went ahead and made my hotel reservation just now, and indeed it was a bit more pricey than expected... The S Hotel is rated "#1" on Tripadvisor, so I booked their Ocean View Deluxe Double...

 

 

[coastcat]

7 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I logged into NCL, and realized that dining reservations had opened up, so I booked a couple right away... Le Bistro and La Cucina... 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up! Check-in complete, Ocean Blue & Le Bistro booked. Hotel booked a few days ago (also the S Hotel Jamaica, although I went for the cheaper city-view room).

 

Flights can wait until we see if airlines add more to their schedules. NCL wants to charge me $899 roundtrip from Seattle on whatever random itinerary they slap together on the cheap but somehow I wasn't tempted by that offer.

 

Now I just need to figure out where the heck I've stashed all my travel gear. 

[Noworkforme23]

11 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I went ahead and made my hotel reservation just now, and indeed it was a bit more pricey than expected... The S Hotel is rated "#1" on Tripadvisor, so I booked their Ocean View Deluxe Double, and the total for 1 night came to $331.64... This includes $72 worth of "taxes and fees"... More than I normally pay for a nice hotel in Miami, but this is a "special occasion"... I've also started my Online Check-In on NCL, just to make things seem real!...

 

 

Not a bad price for an ocean view room in Jamaica and what a great way to start off a cruise that we all will be taking with you in spirit. Can’t wait!!!!!!

Edited April 11, 2021 by Noworkforme23

[Langham1865]

On 4/6/2021 at 4:24 PM, sid_9169 said:

Tune in right here in August, and you'll be along for the ride first hand... Live Review will be incoming...

i've been missing a Sid review

 

[Jim and Monika]

Looking forward to another great play by play.

This will be different as the game has changed and could change many times before sailing.

[sid_9169]

Well, that escalated quickly... My flights are booked, and the only thing left is to get vaccinated, sometime between now and August... 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by sid_9169

[graphicguy]

On 4/8/2021 at 10:00 AM, coastcat said:

Flying in the day before because connections from Seattle are awful. That might improve as airlines add flights, but I’m seeing a lot of 1-stop flights with 8-12 hour layovers. Yeah, I’ll wait to book airfare. 
 

Hotel prices are all over the place. Plenty of cheap & cheerful options. I went more luxe, booking the S Hotel Jamaica. 

I just booked that same hotel.  I think all in, it was $266, and that included breakfast and dinner.  At least from the pics, it looks like a nice place.  Not sure how far it is from the cruise port or the airport, though.

[All-ready2cruise]

10 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Not sure how far it is from the cruise port or the airport, though.

Looks like it's about 3 miles. 

Approx. 11 minute drive down the cost to cruise terminal. 

Edited April 11, 2021 by All-ready2cruise

[graphicguy]

7 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Looks like it's about 3 miles. 

Approx. 11 minute drive down the cost to cruise terminal. 

Thanks.....I should have looked that up myself!

[All-ready2cruise]

You're welcome.  I'm always researching something anyway. 

[sid_9169]

28 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I just booked that same hotel.  I think all in, it was $266, and that included breakfast and dinner.  At least from the pics, it looks like a nice place.  Not sure how far it is from the cruise port or the airport, though.

If you look on the map, the airport appears to be furthest North, with the hotel about halfway between the airport and cruise ship port... This will be my first time in Montego Bay, so a first for me...

[HeyJut]

Congrats Sid. Will certainly be following.