MyTMo777

I didn't try to redeem anything from Starbucks, although we treated kids once. We are Canadian, thus I didn't try to redeem gift cards, etc because I figured ours wouldn't work either way. I could be wrong

I'm Canadian too (and American :p), and when I travel in the States, I can redeem my reward points I earned in Canada for Starbucks drinks in the States. Still hearing conflicting information about how it works onboard the Bliss, though. Thanks for taking time to answer me!

Would you happen to know if you can redeem your Starbucks reward stars for free drinks onboard the Bliss?

Not a huge issue, but I started saving up mine for our November cruise, but if they don't take them, I need to use them up or some of them will be expired before I'm back on land!

I can't recall exactly, but I do know that we priced out various brands of rum both on the Dawn and in several ports, and the ports were cheaper. So even if you can't find it on the ship, check the ports.

And Harvest Caye isn't just about the pool - there's a beach! A Caribbean beach! That's where I hung out all day...in the rain. But warm rain :)

I'll vouch for the fact that there was a fully loaded Coke machine past security when embarking in Tampa, AND that there was a security guard hovering nearby who told my husband, as he was about to buy a bottle, "You can't take that on board. You have to drink it here." So yes, they are watching past security, at least sometimes, and they won't let you take it onboard even though it's being sold in their own boarding area. (DH argued with him about it for a while.)

I get what OP is saying, and it is interesting. When I read "open bar," however, I immediately think only of the short cruises to Bermuda or the Bahamas or Cuba, where everyone gets free booze, not just those who choose a beverage package.

I'm always rather boggled by all the UBP posts on here. I'm not a veteran cruises - only been on 3. My upcoming November cruise will be the first one on which we've chosen the UBP as one of our "perks." I had absolutely no problem going onto the NCL website and looking up what the package included and didn't include. I read the part where gratuities would be added to my "free" perk. I understood that if I purchased the UBP I would still pay those same gratuities, plus the cost of the package itself, so yes, I was getting a free beverage package, but I was not getting free gratuities. It wasn't hard. Why are people always asking what's included, what's not, why isn't it really "free," etc.? I also understood that I could pay less for a Sailaway cabin and not have any free perks. I did the math and figured out how much more it would cost to choose my own cabin and then get the UBP as one of my perks.

I'm not exceptionally smart, and I figured it out.

What should you do? Walk out your door and to the door next to yours. Knock on it. When someone answers, smile and be a friendly as possible. In your friendliest voice say, "Hey, we're your neighbours right next door, and we're finding it a little hard to enjoy a quiet breakfast. Could you ask your little ones to not bang on the partition between our balconies, and to maybe keep their voices down a bit?"

If they don't respond well, then involve guest services. Whatever happened to simply talking to your neighbours?

If you change from a "free" perk that has associated gratuities after final payment but before sailing, will they refund your credit card for the unused gratuities, or give it to you as OBC?

Use a travel agent! When I called NCL while trying to book online, I was told that all of the "larger" cabins were not available. I hesitated about what to do, so didn't book on the phone. I called the TA I'd used on previous cruises, and she was able to book us into a BA with an angled balcony - which NCL said was not available. TA's have magic powers.

Rereading your question and realized you were referring to someplace that's not the Waterfront. You can find other places for sure, usually around the pool area on one of the upper decks, or at the front or back of the ship.

It's been 3 years since I was on the Getaway, but I do recall the pool being opened some evenings. As far as watching the water, the Waterfront (I believe that's deck 8?) that goes all the way around the ship has lots of great places to sit back and watch the water go by. And be sure to check out the wake off the back of the ship! We can stand for a long time just watching that.

Have an awesome cruise!!

Waiting for that confirmation about whether or not you can redeem stars. I, too, had read that you could, so I've been saving up my free ones for my November cruise. If I can't, I need to use them before I go because some of them will expire before I get home.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I quite enjoyed your perspective, as well as the perspectives of the others who have replied on here. I've only ever sailed NCL, so I'm always interested in hearing peoples' opinions on how all of the cruise lines compare with each other.

We found most of our Cuban books (in English) in the heart of Old Havana at a book stand there, right outside the museum. My son found a VHS documentary about Che Guevara in Spanish with English subtitles (produced in Mexico) in a convenience store in Havana.

It won't work for everyone, but a trick I learned was decanting moisturizer into contact lens cases. I was able to have 1 week of facial moisturizer in each "eye" and it barely took any space.

That is a good idea. I've tried using tiny little containers that are supposed to be for this very purpose, but they always leak. I can see where contact lens cases would be better.

I also collect Christmas ornaments from my travels. I didn't find one in Cuba, but I often buy key chains that will work, which is what I did there.

Cuban rum is like no other rum from any other Caribbean nation. Definitely bring some back! Make sure you buy cigars from a licensed store, not a street vendor, or they may be confiscated by customs.

We brought back a lovely painting. Not something very unique or collectible - every "artist" in the Cuban tourist areas have the same basic pictures, but it looks great on our living room wall.

Our favourite souvenirs, however, were books and videos produced in Cuba about the Cuban revolution. It was fascinating to hear their version of events that I had heard from a much different perspective growing up in the U.S.

We didn't do that exact excursion, but we were in Ocho Rios on an NCL cruise last January. We did an NCL excursion (bobsledding) and then ventured out on our own to Turtle Beach afterwards. I can't relate to the single female travelling alone, as I was with both DH and a male friend, but we did feel safe (if you don't mind the vendors).

The tour sounds very nice!

Three out of the four cruises we've booked, we've booked after final payment (2 of them were booked 3 weeks before sailing). We never had a problem finding hotels and flights - it's just a matter of what you want to pay. Our TA told us there's (almost) always room on a cruise ship up until the day of sailing, if you're not picky about where you want to sleep. The same is true of hotels. I don't think it matters which you book first, the cruise or the flights/hotel, as long as you're willing to pay more and/or settle for less.

While I envy those who can pack for a 7- to 14-day vacation in a carryon only, I can never do it. I can barely pull it off for a weekend getaway. My problem is that I can never pare down my hair and face products to all fit into tiny containers that all fit into a quart-sized Ziploc bag! If they didn't make me put it in just one Ziploc I could do it. I know...some people are just blessed with good skin and great hair and don't need to bring a bunch of "stuff" for them. But I'm too afraid of what I might look like in 20 years to let go of my skin care regime now!

Can I just say I love your screen name, bbtbear, and your picture!

(I love teddy bears!)

Having looked into jobs with NCL, I am fairly certain that many of their customer service reps work out of their own homes. They aren't in a call centre where there is a manager or supervisor on site. All they can do is message someone about your concern, or perhaps transfer your call.

Does anyone else finding it slightly disconcerting that your photos are uploaded to a website where any stranger can scroll through them? I'm checking out iSnap online right now and viewing pictures of little kids and families from all over the world.

I'll stay away from the kiosks. I can take a selfie on my phone and send it privately to my own Facebook page and friends.

Bring more cash than you think you'll need...better to have it, than not! And better to not have to pay fees to access your own money via ATMS.

 

You can redeposit it when you get home, if you don't need it. We don't go anywhere without at least $1500 in cash...more if we're traveling for more than a week. Typically, we bring most of it home again...

 

You will want cash for the odd tips, and small purchases that pop up.

I would agree with this. There's nothing wrong with bringing "too much" cash. Last cruise we ended up taking out cash at a bank in one port, then later from the ATM in the casino. We found more things to spend it on in port, and then at the end of the cruise we wanted to give our room steward a larger tip than we had originally planned - thus the ATM withdrawal in the casino.

Is it permissible to take a bottle of water when you go ashore? What if you bring a bottle back to ship? I am not thinking of the commercial bottled water but of a personal bottle that I refill.

You can bring back an empty reusable bottle or empty disposable bottle.

I'd definitely make reservations onboard if it is important to you to get in to a specific restaurant. Having said that, my DH doesn't like to be "tied down" to any specific dining time; he likes to go when he feels like it, so we haven't made reservations except once on our anniversary in the past. However, he watches the screens on the ships to see where dining is available, and we've been able to walk right up to Cagney's and get seating - and that was around 7 p.m.

But for our cruise in November I've already made all our dinner reservations. Shhh...don't tell him. He's going to have to just obey me.