MyTMo777

Fun question! I would consider the toiletries & stationary to be fair game. Trying to remember what else is in the cabins. Notepads, pens...fair game. Interesting to hear what other people say.

Thank you for your review! We're heading out on the Bliss Nov. 3. No kids, and the only ports that are the same for us are Ensenada and Mazatlan (which you didn't get to go to). But I enjoyed reading your reviews of the restaurants and shows and such.

Speaking up is the key. I hear people complain about chair hogs, but the practice will keep happening unless we all speak up either to the hogs or to the crew - and keep speaking until the crew takes action.

I'm bringing my physical gold card, which I never use at home - I just use the app. But without internet onboard, I doubt I'll be able to connect with the app.

Ours is late night drinks in the atrium lounge, listening to whoever is playing - and sometimes playing cards there too :)

In Cozumel this past February, we booked a glass bottom boat + snorkel tour through the cruise ship. It was great - we went to a local resort where we did the glass bottomed boats first, then snorkelled over some of the same spots for a better view. We then had time at the resort to relax on the beach. Only downside is that a good snorkelling beach is often rocky, which was the case there. Not the best for a beach day if you like swimming in the waves. But if you just want to lay in the sun, it was great.

Thank you, everyone!

I loved Dominica! We were there in 2013. It was my favourite port because it's not so touristy. It felt authentic to the way people live there. We did a tour (through NCL) that took us to a look out, then to 2 waterfalls. We hiked a short ways to each of them and got to swim in one of them. We loved chatting with our tour guide and learning about her and her fiancé and their life on the island. Then we wandered around the town and visited some of the shops where the locals shop. I was friendly with everyone and they were friendly with me. I loved that it wasn't perfectly clean and "fake" and touristy. I didn't feel unsafe because the town is right at the pier, and there were people everywhere. What was anyone actually going to do to us? Sounds like I'd like Martinique too :D

Two questions:

1. Am I correct in interpreting GTY to be "guarantee?"

2. Assuming #1 is correct, what is the difference between a Sailaway cabin and a GTY cabin?

I haven't stayed in one myself, but I'm part of a very active roll call for an upcoming cruise on the Bliss, where there is a large contingent of singles who are already "meeting" each other online. Some of them met on previous cruises and planned this one together; others are new to the group. And the majority of them are "older," as in 40+.

Might as well start a separate thread for all our whining rather than clogging up the roll call with it. Ensenada doesn't sound too thrilling. We were there 30 years ago by car just for one night. It was interesting just because we'd never been to Mexico before. But reading about it as a port here on CC, it sure sounds dull and boring. I did see something about kayaking, so maybe that's a possibility.

Oh well...spa day perhaps.

I agree that a day trip to Whistler, or just the first night there but not the second night, is a safer bet than driving back from Whistler the day of the cruise. That road gets closed for accidents all the time, sometimes for hours. I wouldn't risk it. But the drive is beautiful, and much better if you can pull off and look at the viewpoints rather than riding a bus.

Public transit from YVR downtown is via the Skytrain, and it's very easy to find and straightforward to get there. But with luggage for 4 I might opt for a cab instead. Just depends how well you travel with luggage for 4.

We're staying at the Vagabond Inn in San Pedro. Others on this forum recommended it, and there's quite a few of us from our roll call who are staying there.

We've been to Cuba, and the best sandwiches we got were from a street vendor. I don't know what passes for Cuban sandwich in the US, but in Cuba it was pulled pork and/or ham, pickles, mustard and cheese. We had them at the resort and at a Cuban cafe that we went to on a tour, but none was as good as the ones we bought in downtown Havana from a street vendor.

So while we're on this topic....most things I read say don't bring your passport into port; leave it in your safe. They say don't bring more cash or credit cards than you'll need (which is often none). So if you do get left behind, how do you get to the next port?

We've often hung out at the bar and either ordered nothing or just asked for water. Maybe not right at the bar, like on a bar stool in front of the bar tender, but in the lounge areas around the bars where you can hear the music and be part of the fun and action. I find that no one treats me weirdly if I don't act weirdly about it. I just confidently say, "No thanks," with a smile when the wait staff come by to ask if I want anything. I've always felt relaxed and accepted.

After two cruises and a trip to Cuba without a prescription snorkel mask, I bought one at a local dive shop in Edmonton before our cruise last January. What a huge difference!! I did the same as you - took my prescription in from my optometrist and then chose lenses in the store that were closest to my prescription. The upcost was very minimal. I was SO HAPPY with the results! I absolutely loved snorkelling on our last cruise, and can't wait to go again in November. Being able to see made all the difference in the world.

There are numerous threads on CruiseCritic regarding tips/gratuities/service charges on NCL. In a nutshell, you must pay the daily service charge (DSC) with your booking. If you want to adjust the amount or cancel it entirely, you can do so onboard the ship. However...the DSC is not the same as a "tip." It is shared among the staff, both those you see (room steward, wait staff, bartenders) and those you don't see (laundry staff, kitchen staff). You are free to tip your room steward additionally (and I would say that most people do, usually on the last evening on board) or to add a tip to your tab at the bar (although there is always a gratuity already added to the cost of the drink, which is clearly printed on the receipt you sign). If you buy a drink package or select it as one of your free perks, there is an additional "gratuity" charged to your credit card at the time you purchase the package or add it to your cruise as a perk.

Hope that makes sense.

What's the difference between Sailaway and GTY (which I understand to be an abbreviation for "guarantee" - is that right?)?

Unless things have changed in the past 9 months or so, everyone does not automatically receive an upgrade bid offer. On our sailing in January, some people on our roll call got upgrade bid offers, and some did not. Those who did not were not booked through a TA who had opted out of the program.

Offers to bid on an upgrade are entirely random. Some people receive them and some don't. If you've booked with a travel agent, check to see if they have opted out of the program or not. Some of them have, in which case you won't have a chance of receiving a bid offer.

Bid offers are sent by email and also show up in your messages on myncl.com. They are sent after final payment is due and they know what availability they have. They will give you usually 3 or so options to upgrade to specific categories of rooms, and they will tell you what the minimum bid is. Be aware: the minimum bid they show is per person, not per cabin. Once you place a bid, you can adjust it up or down or withdraw it completely. But once your bid is accepted, you MUST take it - you cannot stay in your currently booked room or decline it.

When you bid you will be able to see if your bid is in the low probability range, mid range, or high probability range of being accepted. However, there have been multiple reports on here of people placing low bids and winning them.

Bid results can start coming in as soon as the bidding process opens, or as late as 48 hours before travel.

I'm a little unclear on the "perks" issue, but my understanding from what I've read on here is that if you booked your room with some of their "free perks" options, those do not transfer with you to your new cabin won by your bid. Someone else can probably address that better.

I've been on 3 NCL cruises since 2013, with another booked for November of this year. I've never seen sales on excursions. You'll hear plenty of people encouraging you to book excursions as soon as possible because the best ones sell out, but we've booked all of our excursions so far within 3 weeks of sailing or on board, and we've never missed out on one we really wanted.

As for when they post them, it tends to vary a lot. They are still changing ports and therefore changing excursion offerings for our November cruise.

I agree that b & w is fine for printing. As for attaching, I don't attach mine until we arrive at the port. The porters always have staplers and they attach them for me. I just have them ready in my hand when we hop out of the cab so it can all be done quickly.

The Puget Sound and San Juan islands are beautiful! I grew up just north of Seattle and traveled to many of them over the years. It's been many years since I've been back that way, so I'm not much help for specific excursions or "must see" places. My fondest memories are of simply beach combing and wandering the many quaint little towns you'll find on each island. If you have the opportunity to visit one of the WW2 forts in the area, those are interesting.

Just a reminder to me to not place too much emphasis on the ports and/or excursions on any cruise. I'll be happier if I think about that in advance and remember that anything can get canceled at any time. Life's an adventure - there's always something else to explore, and sometimes the most memorable, meaningful or fun moments come when our original plans fall through.