JesusuUK

Does NCL offer any perks to passengers who book a future cruise while on board?

We did this once on a Disney cruise and received 10% off the next cruise.

Thanks!

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NCL Dawn - January '23

Disney Dream - January '22

NCL Sky - September '17

Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

We're sailing on the Dawn in January and are trying  to book a cabana for the day at GSC. It's not offered on the website. So I called NCL to see if they were sold out. I was told that the cabanas were not sold out. But they're not offered to guests sailing on the Dawn. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm guessing there will be more than one ship there on that day and the Dawn is the lesser priority of the two. That doesn't make sense to me. But I can't figure out another reason why that would be.

Any insight? Thanks!

Bill

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NCL Dawn - January '23

Disney Dream - January '22

NCL Sky - September '17

Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

How crowded is it? None of your pictures appear to show many passengers. Does it feel cramped at all?

Thank you for all of this! We're on the Sky in three weeks and am loving all of this! Enjoy your day!

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NCL Sky - September '17

Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

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Carnival Fantasy - March '99

Where did you see this? We'll be on the Fantasy this weekend, as well. I (thus far) have not packed anything festive.

bill

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Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

This is our 2nd cruise with an under 3 child. We had to pay full price for our child on both cruises. Where is it stated that children under three pay half?

Thanks for the super-detailed review!

rwandmw, are you sailing on the 15th? If so, we'll see you on the seas. We're counting down the house!

Bill

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Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

That's so weird. So, the only way to get a day pass it to call an 800 number and order a gift for myself? That seems so archaic.

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Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

If we want a day pass to visit the spas, can we reserve them online? Or is that something we have to do once on the ship?

To those that have been already, was it worth it?

13 days and counting!

bill

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Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

I just got off the Magic and didn't see any inappropriately dressed folks.

But my corneas still sting from being on the Carnival Fantasy 14 years ago!

There is no comparison.

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Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

I think you'll find plenty to do. After our recent four day cruise on the Magic, I felt like we did all we could with our daughter. What I felt like we could have used more of, was adult time in the adult parts of the ship. There's plenty of places to relax and enjoy without being bothered by kids.

Ummm... I don't understand. We're allowed to bring liquid on the ship. ALL liquid has to be in your carry on, is that what you mean? Like dd can't hold her sippy cup but has to put it in my bag?

Yeah, I guess should have been more clear. I was referring to the bottle my baby was currently drinking. We had no problem with our sealed liquids.

This review isn't really broken down day by day. I just used bullet points to jog my memory. If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to answer.

Embarkation:

Smooth sailing. We got there about 20 minutes early. They let us into the line right away and were on the ship in less than 30 minutes. You are not allowed to bring any liquid through security (not even your baby's bottle!). Be forewarned; it's really no different than going through TSA at the airport.

Service:

Staff was a delight, throughout the cruise. Daniel and Kino in O'Gills, Eda at Promenade and Angel at Castaway Bar all stood stood out to us.

I will say that we were very bothered by treatment in Keys. All that I read on the After Hours area was kids were not allowed after 9:00 PM. Apparently, this rule does not apply to Keys (though the website says differently). We were immediately asked to leave. Oddly enough, there were kids running all over Quiet Cove on a daily basis. So the rules only seem to be enforced when convenient. We would have never gone to Keys had the rules been made clear. We made a specific point to go one night before 9:00. It's been over 20 years since I was asked to leave a bar and I found it terribly embarrassing and insulting.

Room:

We were in room 8578 (a deluxe family ocean view with verandah). Glenn was our steward and he did a wonderful job. Room is nicest and largest I've ever had sailing. Even with a pack n play in the room, we never felt cramped. We did have a minor issue with our safe. It decided that passcode or not, it was not going to open for us. That said, I was quite surprised at how quickly and efficiently cruise personnel were in our cabin and getting the safe open.

Nursery:

The girls in the nursery were so very sweet. We were pretty nervous to leave our daughter with strangers. We were prepared to get a call that she wouldn't stop crying and that we'd have to come get her. On the contrary, she loved it there. And the girls loved Vivienne. We stopped by to say goodbye on our last day of the cruise (our daughter's birthday) and they gave us a cute pic they took of her and a handmade birthday card. Can't emphasize enough how pleased we were the nursery.

Dining:

Suttipong (Ping Pong) and Aris are our servers. Sorin is maitre d'. All have been friendly and wonderful. Animator's Palette was a fantastic first night's dinner. The show was great and Mickey's appearance made our daughter the happiest we've seen her. Goosebump inducing! We were told by some that Carioca's is least interesting restaurant. So that's what we chose to miss on the cruise (dining at Palo, instead). Lumiere's was wonderful. We had our last night's dinner there, as well as numerous breakfasts and lunches. It made me realize that we didn't just get lucky with Suttipong and Aris. All of the wait staff was just as wonderful as our servers. They all took turns trying to make our daughter smile (pretty sure Ralph was the only one to succeed).

Palo:

The service and quality of food in Palo was every bit as good as I was hoping it would be. The only disappointment I had with it (and I really have no suggestions of how to fix this) is that they boast about the "sweeping 270-degree panoramic oceans views" so much that I was excited about it. Of course, once you get there, you quickly realize that you have sweeping 270-degree panoramic reflections of the restaurant in all of the windows. It's probably beautiful for lunch; or maybe even a twilight dinner. But if you go there after the sun goes down, don't expect to see anything but your mirror image.

Castaway Cay:

I was prepared to hate this because my least favorite cruise stop ever was to Labadee (Royal Caribbean's private stop in Haiti). But this was worlds ahead of that. This felt like we were somewhere inside of Disney World. The whole island had an inviting feel to it; and that was tough considering it poured while we were there. We spent the morning there with our baby (until we get rained out). Then, we went back in the late afternoon to the adult side (while our daughter was in the nursery). This was amazing. Not only is a secured area, but since it rained so much that day, most people had gone back to the ship. We were the only two people at the bar and there were only two other couples on the beach. It really felt like we were in a Corona commercial.

Key West:

I don't have much to contribute here, except for a criticism of the staff. We love Key West and go there every chance we get. We were thrilled to spend even a few hours there. What baffles me, though, is how poor of a job the staff does of telling you where to get off the ship. We tried four different places before we finally found the Deck 1 Aft exit. And we were not alone. The hallways were riddled with confused, frustrated cruisers trying to find an exit. This could not have just been my cruise. This must happen on a regular basis. So how hard would it be to put signs up near all of the elevators that simply says "Head to Deck 1 Aft (only accessible by Aft stairs and elevators) to exit ship"? This seems like such an easy solution. But there were no signs (and there was practically no staff). Maybe they were all roaming around KW already.

Debarkation:

Also a breeze. We had breakfast in Lumiere's and were able to walk off the ship as soon as we were done eating. This was, by a wide margin, the easiest and most relaxed debarkation I'd ever experienced. They have that down pat!

I know it seems like there is a lot I've complained about. But they were all little things that only lasted instants. The majority of the trip was fantastic. We often joked that we were going on this cruise because it was what our 1 year-old wanted for her birthday. We weren't sure how much of it she would even get being so young. What we found out was that she loved it! She cried (out of excitement) when she saw Mickey Mouse. When we posed for pics with Mickey and Pluto, she wouldn't look at the camera because she would not take her eyes off of the characters. Her favorite doll at home (now) is a Mickey doll we got on the ship. We were so pleased that we booked our next adventure with Lavern, before we even got off the ship. We're going to do the 7-night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy. Next November will be my sixth cruise, but it will be my first as a return customer with any cruise line. You got us, Disney. We're hooked.

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Disney Fantasy - November '14

Disney Magic - November '13

Coral Princess - August '09

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - May '08

Holland America Oosterdam - March '06

Carnival Fantasy - March '99

This is a lot of fun. We are doing the same itinerary next week, with an infant. Your review couldn't be more timely and helpful. Can't wait to read Day 2.

Thanks!

Thanks for the replies, gang. It's very much appreciated.

We are doing 11/20 sailing on the Magic. It's a four-night cruise to Castaway Cay and Key West.

The 2nd night of the cruise, my wife and I are dining at Palo.

What I'm curious about is what restaurant we're going to miss, because we'll be at Palo, instead of the scheduled restaurant of the night.

I'm not even sure what time we eat. All I can find on my reservation is "Dining: MAIN"

Any tips? Thanks, in advance.

bill

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Carnival Fantasy - Bahamas 03/99

Holland America Oosterdam - Mexican Riviera 03/06

RC Mariner of the Seas - Western Caribbean 05/08

Coral Princess - Alaska 08/09

Disney Magic - Bahamas 11/13