2026 NCL Cruise Critic cruise (proposed)

[JIMESOPUS]

5 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Good heavens! Are you sure that's not a ROUS?

 

Nah, that's the baby looking for Mama, I wonder where the other one is?

[laudergayle]

@JIMESOPUS nice sleuth work 🕵️ 

 

 

 

 

 

[schmoopie17]

@Sugar Magnoliaunless my old eyes deceive me, looks like status quo for the Feb 6 Panama Canal cruise.

[Sugar Magnolia]

20 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

@Sugar Magnoliaunless my old eyes deceive me, looks like status quo for the Feb 6 Panama Canal cruise.

 

As @cruiseny4life so astutely pointed out, the More at Sea flyer which @JIMESOPUS posted appears to have been written for the European sailors. In another part of the cyberspace, I saw the first page of the flyer that stated the upcharge as €149.

 

Assuming the contents of this flyer will also apply to sailors from the US, and since we booked our Feb 6 cruise prior to Oct 1, our Free at Sea packages remain in tact. However, we will have the option to upgrade from Free to More. And, you will receive premium beverages under the More at Sea package for no additional cost. Of course, I understand this might not mean anything to you unless you can order a grass clippings.

 

Let's wait for the official October surprise for clarity.

 

[schmoopie17]

5 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

And, you will receive premium beverages under the More at Sea package for no additional cost. Of course, I understand this might not mean anything to you unless you can order a grass clippings.

 

We're simple folk. We can get tipsy enough on the basic alcohol package without springing for top shelf stuff. If I get off the ship in one of the ports, I'm sure I could find some grass to clip to have someone on the ship make a drink. Oh wait, I assume grass would qualify as agricultural, so would probably get confiscated. Especially if it was that "special" Mexican grass...

[Sugar Magnolia]

10 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

We're simple folk. We can get tipsy enough on the basic alcohol package without springing for top shelf stuff. If I get off the ship in one of the ports, I'm sure I could find some grass to clip to have someone on the ship make a drink. Oh wait, I assume grass would qualify as agricultural, so would probably get confiscated. Especially if it was that "special" Mexican grass...

And is it always greener on the other side? I’m not convinced. 
 

[schmoopie17]

52 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

And is it always greener on the other side? I’m not convinced. 
 

FYI...we made the final payment on our Feb 6 cruise today. Our TA is going out of the country for two weeks and wanted to make sure we got it squared away before she left. No turning back now.

[Sugar Magnolia]

45 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

FYI...we made the final payment on our Feb 6 cruise today. Our TA is going out of the country for two weeks and wanted to make sure we got it squared away before she left. No turning back now.

 

I shall make payment at the last possible moment.

 

I am also going to declare this Feb 6 Panama Cruise as the VIP pre-inaugural #SchmoopieFest. It's very exclusive.

 

Any further thoughts about the Inaugural #SchmoopieFest cruise? I understand you are not enamored with the idea of taking another transatlantic flight.

 

 

Edited September 30 by Sugar Magnolia

[JIMESOPUS]

More on More from our friends on the other side of the pond

 

[schmoopie17]

17 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Any further thoughts about the Inaugural #SchmoopieFest cruise? I understand you are not enamored with the idea of taking another transatlantic flight.

 

Yeah, there will be no more round trip flights to another continent for the Schmoopies. We would entertain a Transatlantic cruise, since that only entails the torture of one long flight...preferably on the front end to get it over with. Also, cruising back (east to west) allows gradually getting re-acclimated to the time zone changes, thus reducing jetlag.

[Sugar Magnolia]

3 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Yeah, there will be no more round trip flights to another continent for the Schmoopies. We would entertain a Transatlantic cruise, since that only entails the torture of one long flight...preferably on the front end to get it over with. Also, cruising back (east to west) allows gradually getting re-acclimated to the time zone changes, thus reducing jetlag.

 

Absolutely agree! I think many of us would be on board for this.

 

[JIMESOPUS]

On 10/1/2024 at 10:18 AM, schmoopie17 said:

Yeah, there will be no more round trip flights to another continent for the Schmoopies. We would entertain a Transatlantic cruise, since that only entails the torture of one long flight...preferably on the front end to get it over with. Also, cruising back (east to west) allows gradually getting re-acclimated to the time zone changes, thus reducing jetlag.

But would you entertain the idea of a TA going east, spending some time in Europe, or even a cruise, then a TA going west?

[cruiseny4life]

On 10/1/2024 at 9:21 AM, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Absolutely agree! I think many of us would be on board for this.

 

Especially if it's scheduled (even better if it stops) in the Azores!

[Sugar Magnolia]

3 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Especially if it's scheduled (even better if it stops) in the Azores!

 

Are you thinking about the BK in Ponta Delgada again? 

 

[mking8288]

1 minute ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Are you thinking about the BK in Ponta Delgada again? 

Hahaha, I know and we walked by that joint without stopping, better local food near-by. 

 

BTW, I'm back as some of you know and trying to catch up.  Our March booking has gone MIA, and I smell something rotten, not just with this More $$$ to See, hopefully is an I.T. glitch and not playing games with charter & repositioning the fleet deployment again.  

[cruiseny4life]

25 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Are you thinking about the BK in Ponta Delgada again? 

 

Those cheesy tots were good! But, we will probably pass BK up next time we float on by.

 

19 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

BTW, I'm back as some of you know and trying to catch up.  Our March booking has gone MIA, and I smell something rotten, not just with this More $$$ to See, hopefully is an I.T. glitch and not playing games with charter & repositioning the fleet deployment again.  

It is the weekend, so gremlins glitches are likely (and hopefully) at work!

Edited 20 hours ago by cruiseny4life

[Sugar Magnolia]

19 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Our March booking has gone MIA,

 

So reservation is missing from your NCL account?

I still see the March sailings on the site.

 

[mking8288]

19 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

So reservation is missing from your NCL account?

I still see the March sailings on the site.

Nevermind just their usual weekend IT funky bug as @cruiseny4life said.  No changes on TA's site & booking (re-priced/saved $$$ prior to Oct 1, whew) look fine using their link ... booking still intact on NCL site and now the itinerary is showing up again searching incognito mode.  Looks safe for now but booking is pretty soft, plenty of inventory across multiple categories (and sub's within) at 6 months out)   With just 1 ship sailing from NYC, expected majority of cabins to be booked for winter getaways but apparently, not - MSC prices dominating with their 7 days itinerary.  Looks like good deals for solo, won't be surprised if prices will drop further.  

 

Under More at $$$, 2 extra SD meals going cost as it's 8 days but drink options don't affect us since we opt out all these years.  Repricing yielded a net increase of $94, LOL.  Dirty Harry won't get extra dollars from us anymore with upgrade to unlimited WiFi with GigSky at sea data.  

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Dirty Harry won't get extra dollars from us anymore with upgrade to unlimited WiFi with GigSky at sea data.  

 

Hope this will work on the Sky TA.

 

 

[debenson0723]

18 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Hope this will work on the Sky TA.

 

 

I don't know nothing about GB...how much are you purchasing for your Sky TA? This might be something I am interested in on the Prima TA.

[Sugar Magnolia]

4 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I don't know nothing about GB...how much are you purchasing for your Sky TA? This might be something I am interested in on the Prima TA.

 

I have not decided which plan to choose.

https://www.gigsky.com

 

[debenson0723]

2 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I have not decided which plan to choose.

https://www.gigsky.com

 

Well keep me posted.  I looked at that website already and it looks like a great deal.  Just not sure how many times I would need to 'top off'. You know I like to be connected. Wouldn't use it in port as much as on the ship.

[mking8288]

FYI only on GS, go to the official website and check/verify that the specific ship is covered, included (I believe the NCL fleet are) - purchase & download the eSim on your device (newer iPhone and Android, factory/carrier-unlocked should support additional eSims - and set up the App to manage the account.  

 

Once the ship has sailed out into int'l water and/or at least 30+ minutes to 1 hour or more from port, and the roaming cellular services is turned ON, you should be able to pick-up the 4G LTE signal (and, it should say GigSky on the top menu bar/home screen while idle)  Be sure roaming is turned on and you should be good to go, make sure your primary sim is OFF, but do not enable Airplane Mode & turn off WiFi.  A "carrier" update might need to be downloaded, install and the device rebooted, then you are good & ready to go online.  Do check your usage on the App every now & then as there is no meter when you "exit" by turning on Airplane mode to stop data traffic.  

 

The first time you do this while at sea, the eSim is fully activated - there isn't a way to check or verify that it will work, or not, until you sail.  To be cautious, you can buy just 1GB to try it first, then top-off with either 3GB or 5GB, and add more if necessary.  Each user is different on how much data is needed for X number of days at sea, this isn't a day pass nor is it unlimited, be careful about streaming but for basic online email, news, weather, messaging and calls using Apps, etc. - I now consider this a good alternative solution to Starlink, especially how bad it is on NCL ships.  It is less congested and faster than, if not the same speed as Starlink at most times.  

 

For our recent NE/C 9 nights cruise, we only brought 2 days worth of Voom day pass plus the 3GB prepaid GS data, since whenever we're docked in ports, our data cost is covered & included, no roaming fees for 4G and 5G.  

 

Drop over to the Liberty thread/post with more questions.  

[schmoopie17]

10 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

But would you entertain the idea of a TA going east, spending some time in Europe, or even a cruise, then a TA going west?

That would be ideal...but would probably have to win the lottery first.

[JIMESOPUS]

33 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

That would be ideal...but would probably have to win the lottery first.

steerage with a beverage package