Copper_beeches

I will ** always** take the two bedroom suites when traveling with more than one kid. It's just so, so nice having multiple spaces to be in the cabin, and still have some solitude!! With teens and a preschooler, a break is nice now and then ;)

We stayed at the Embassey Suites, Seacaucus, NJ the night before, $180 a night, included parking and transport to the pier (was $60 for 5 return trip)...

I've never been on Epic, but the B3 is listed as a "higher" category on a mock booking... Though as you thought you remembered, it is $20 cheaper than the BA. On the 3/1 sailing. According to the way they're showing it goes BA, then B6-B1.

B3 is listed as a family balcony, but doesn't appear to be bigger than the BA... Maybe it has a tub?But since the BA is considered a higher category by NCL, if you had a BA guarantee then, technically that's by the rules...

I second the thought of getting there earlier, you don't mention in the post (and I can't view your sig so apologize if you have it listed there) but being from Maine as well, with the month we've had you don't want to risk flights being cancelled or delayed!! If possible I'd fly in the day before, that way you can do your shopping either the night before or morning of and be less stressed.

We also bring a few cases of soda (because the ship will not have Diet Mt a dew or Pepsi Max and that's almost exclusively what we drink...) and a 24 pack of water. We bring a collapsible rolling duffel as well, but we transfer the contents of 2 rolling carry ons to the duffel and pack the water and soda in the carryons to check at the curb... just think it's easier on the porters and stewards to have the drinks be more supported and easier to roll to deliver. When I pack the carry ons to begin with I pack everything in zip lock bags, makes it easy to transfer everything, and the zip locks really come in handy on the trip ( even the little ones, I fit an outfit for my three year old in sandwich bags, and always seem to have a use for all the bags!)

If one pax is platinum (me) and DH isn't, would he be able to pay to go on the platinum one? Has anyone done both or is it sure that the platinum tour covers much less? If that's the case maybe we'd just both do the pay one...

I've heard there's lots of walking, but are there lots of stairs or "fast" paced areas that might cause issues for someone with asthma?

Incorrect, I have a suite booked for August and the adjoining balcony, the passengers in the balcony are 4 (lead passenger), 10, 13 & 15. They get all the same perks I get as their keycards are automatically coded for haven access.

Does this apply only to Haven suites? If Myself and DH have a penthouse and an adjoining balcony booked, and book the kids in the Balcony, the kids would still get suite perks? (Cagneys for breakfast and lunch etc?)

We're booked in a 2 bedroom next so it wouldn't make sense this trip, especially with KSF, but could make a big difference in the future!

Is this on the website anywhere?:confused:

YES! The balcony rooms on the Gem are tight, and we had 2 adults and a three year old... the mini's we walked pasted looked to be quite a bit larger, to the point I was really mad at myself for not booking one... with 4 in the room it would really have made a difference to the quality of time spent in the cabin (which can significant when traveling with littles...)

Before NCL discontinued the shampoos, etc. in the balconies and mini-suites, we had the Elemis products in the bathroom.

 

Personally speaking, 1) They made me itch and 2) I do not like their smell. So glad we bought our own small bottles of "goodies". Use them once and never again, even on other lines. Just my preference and personal opinion. Choice is everyone's to make. Some like the smell.. I don't think it's a flattering smell. Again, JMHO.

 

Safe sails.

ooh, me either! I hated the Elemis stuff in our suite!! It made my sinuses stuff up immediately, the body wash did NOT agree with my skin, and neither did the shampoo or conditioner... I bring all my own stuff except hand soap, I don't like the regular body wash or shampoo because it seems like you have to use twice as much as usual...

I am currently booked on the Gem for 10 days in January 2016. When we cruise we usually book a balcony but this time we booked an Oceanview. It's $800 more for a Balcony and I am having a hard time with the idea of not having a balcony. Considering the first few day and the last few day will be cold, do you think spending $800 more on a balcony is worth it?

We had a balcony on the Gem on the 1/12/15 sailing from NY. The day you board will likely be freezing, but the first sea day was 60, second was 75 and same in reverse the way back... So you really only miss that first afternoon/evening of balcony use… but $800, only you can say if it’s worth it!

Definitely no Diet Mt Dew onboard, and I couldn't find it in Puerto Rico, St Maarten, St Thomas, or Tortola... they told me no one there drinks it so it's a waste for them to stock it... you can bring your own though!

My SIL went on her first Carnival cruise about two weeks ago. She's been on many NCL cruises. She told me the rooms are smaller on Carnival then on NCL. She also said that there was very little closet space and if I were with her there wouldn't have been enough room. She took this trip solo. Maybe it depends on which ship???? She was on the Carnival Breeze in an inside HC room.

 

Harriet

Definitely possible it could depend on the ship, I've only been on the Fantasy and the Pride for Carnival but my ocean view stateroom on the Fantasy was bigger than my balcony room on the Gem... And my Balcony on the Pride was WAY bigger...

Do expect the staterooms to be smaller than Carnival. I prefer NCL food, freestyle, shows and most other things as well, but Carnival definitely has bigger staterooms...

Ditto on the fried calamari day one in the dining room on the Gem too in Jan

I know this is an old thread, but the chocolate/hazelnut Napoleon at LeBistro is one of my favorite deserts on land or sea!!

Definitely call and check. We had two balconies booked last April on the Dawn, and were able to upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite (they don't have a haven on the Dawn but I can't see that it would matter) we did that 30 days out. We did NOT have to pay cancellation fees for canceling the second cabin, but we did have to pay the cost of one balcony at the time we switched then be reimbursed after NCL cancelled the balconies, they couldn't transfer the funds from both cabins to the suite, just one so we had to pay the difference and wait to be reimbursed.

Under three can order off the REGULAR Specialty menu for free, but it could be kind of a waste... Last year on the Dawn my then 2.5 year old did have a LeBistro filet delivered to our suite at no charge (the rest of us had the regular fee) but he's always been an awesome eater, and Daddy finished what he didn't... they're pretty happy to accomodate what you want, in La Cucina he had meatballs (with no pasta), broccoli, carrots and mashed potatos. I avoided the kids menus, just not what he usually eats.

Funny story, in St. Maarten my sister went to buy some gingerale from a shop near the port. It was on a shelf with beer that said $6.99 but above it the shelf with soda said $4.99. They charged her $6.99, and when she said but isn't the soda $4.99, the clerk looked at her kind of like she was trying to get one over and said no, that's beer... My sister didn't want to argue and just figured the $7 was cheaper than 6 sodas on board anyway...

But maybe it's correct that they just didn't identify it as beer... I assume the mistake could go both ways, that clerk was sure that because it said "ale" it was beer... Lol

I wrote a hero card for my last steward on the Gem, Terrance. He greeted me by name from the first night, and never failed to say hello... He was fantastic. No other steward I ever passed failed to say hello either, except for one that never said hi once ( on my hall so I passed him often) I think the OP's experience was way outside of usual...

I didn't read the thread, but we passed the Statue of Liberty at about 6:15 AM on the way back into port, great photo op from the balcony :) ask on your cruise what time they expect to pass though...

So DH and I have the UBP and the three kids all have the soda package.... DH doesn't drink alcohol or smoothies but drinks a lot of soda... The oldest teen doesn't drink any soda, but would drink the virgin smoothies covered by the UBP. Can I make the teen the second passenger and have him have the UBP (obviously not got alcohol)?

I'm thinking that would be no...

My other thought though is unless I give him charging privileges which we usually don't do, I would have to order him smoothies... But since I have the UBP could I do that? Would I need to tell them to charge it so I dont get accused of sharing?

Just funny to think this is even an issue, lol, but curious if anyone knows.

Gem regular balcony had robes in Jan, they weren't in the closet when we boarded but when I asked the steward he said they were just not back from the laundry yet and they were there after turn down service that night.

Thanks, good points all!, I'll just put her on now, couldn't hurt!

We have a 2 bedroom on the Dawn next Feb 2016 booked withe KSF, UDP, UBP and OBC. There's a chance we might add one more person to the cabin, but we won't know until around November... If we add her now it's just the port fees and taxes... If we waited until closer to sailing would we still have that promo since the promos are on the Cabin? Not sure how that works... Anyone know? Is there any harm adding her to the booking now and canceling her later? Not sure which way would better...

Thanks in advance!

We upgraded shortly before we sailed ( like 30 days) I requested foam for the beds, the mini bar to be emptied, and for memory foam pillow. The mini bar was emptied ( we discovered later into a small cupboard on the wall right next to it which was a slight frustration as I specified I wanted it emptied because we were sailing with teens... Who would never touch it, but still...) but not the rest. It didn't matter. As son as we met Mansur, our butler, we made those requests and they were taken care of within the hour...

For what it's worth, we had chocolate covered strawberries as our afternoon treat the first day... No charge.

Not all things are possible, make your needs and wants known, what can be done, will be!

So maybe this is a drastic idea, maybe considered a waste of real estate, or maybe just not feasible for some reason I haven't thought about... But with the outdoor spaces like the boardwalk etc, why can't they have the casino on an upper deck with open air access? It seems like it could be "the" smoking spot, regardless of if the machines are open... Though I'm now thinking probably sea air and the machines wouldn't jive so well... But I just don't get it... It wouldn't be an issue if the ventilation was better. I have no hate for smokers, but I simply can't be around it much before causing myself some serious health implications... It can't be that difficult to install some serious pumped vents outside... The ship generally doesn't have Cason open when in port, so shouldn't be an issue if pumped out the back while underway...

Why not?