Wheeling TravelingMom

Med02 is correct. Ozempic/Wegovy do not need to be refrigerated as long as it doesn't get hotter than 86 degrees. As soon as it hits room temperature you have 56 days to use it. 

Another vote for the Doubletree by Centraal Station. Super easy to get around. Walkable from train and to the cruise terminal if you want and dont have a ton of luggage 

7 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

It sure does, I also can't believe that anyone would take his comments serious. 

 

What he should have said is that they couldn't keep enough lobster onboard, because of the gluttonous way some of the passengers were with regard to the number of lobster tails they would eat....now that would have been funny or would it be serious.

It wasn't at all. He was serious and then proceeded to poll the audience on their lobster eating habits at home. I assure he was QUITE serious that NCL was doing us all a favor but not serving us lobster. Guess you had to be there. 

15 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

Do they also leave fish and shrimp in the sea, where they belong? 🙄

 

I assume the guy was being sarcastic, right? 

Not at all....I almost asked why there was cod all over the ship......

On the Pearl a few weeks ago the Food and Beverage person told us the reason they don't serve lobster anymore is "they prefer to leave it in the sea where it belongs" and "other cruise lines serving 4 ounce rubbery tails are doing a disservice and they refuse to compromise". He also took a poll of the audience to see who eats lobster at home and used that as a point to say people don't eat it at home, they don't need it here. The whole thing was funny. 

45 minutes ago, Ronin23 said:

 

We were on the same cruise and had the complete opposite experience, the staff were wonderful and would have no hesitation cruising with them again.  So to say they will be better off for missing the cruise because of your experience is plain ridiculous.

We all have our own opinions and experience. So happy you had a great cruise. We just didn't happen to have the same experience. Happy Sailing. 

3 hours ago, tikruizer said:

 

Do you remember your cabin # ?

 

9568

2 minutes ago, shadow1972 said:

That's interesting.  I had the exact same experience on the Spirit last summer.  In addition to that, our cabin had this odor of raw sewage every day.  We complained about it and after 3 attempts of fixing it, their solution was to pour deodorizer down our drain every day.  That ship needs to be decommissioned!  We weren't going to cruise with NCL again, but we had a credit with them that we needed to use.

Yeah, I had that smell as well in addition to a filthy room. I walked into it first day with a large brown wet stain on the carpet that the steward attempted to put the stool over to hide, mirrors had hand prints on it all over, sheets were stained in 3 places, couch was stained. Had to deal with them replacing a square of carpet 3 days into the trip as well as re-cleaning everything before we embarked. They never dealt with the couch. Shower door fell off the track. And that was all just the tip of the iceberg with the trip. 

I am so sorry for everyone that is experiencing delays/cancellations. It's awful but as someone who just got off the Pearl on June 22 I can say you may be better off. We had a terrible experience with NCL and won't ever be cruising with them again. So many of the crew members we encountered just had such an attitude that they couldn't care less, it will be interesting to see how they deal with this! 

If you get continental breakfast in the morning will they bring you a pitcher of ice water with it? 

I love Nationwide Luxury Cruise plans. Just used "cancel for any reason" a few weeks ago and they paid promptly and with a very easy process. I would never buy insurance from the cruise line as part of what you are protecting yourself from is them 🙂

One other big space saver on prescriptions and OTC meds. Use pill bags (EZY Dose Disposable Pill Pouches). Look on Amazon for them or any drugstore. 

NOW-there are places/people/reports that you must have all meds in original packaging. I have been using pill bags for decades and have never encountered this. Some people take a picture of the original bottles with them that use these. 

Another solution if you are worried about original packaging...switch to a pharmacy that offers "Pill Pack"--Amazon and CVS do. I am sure there are others. This way all your pills (OTC and prescription that you take daily) come in little pouches that are pharmacy labeled. Then you can choose how you want to pack all the extras like imodium and cough meds. 

Absolutely on the luggage! The right pieces are everything!! 

My fave carryon is Genius Pack G4. It's not great for international though as it is 1 3/4" over in depth for Icelandair but it does still fit in the slider so try at your own risk. You can get it at Container Store with a coupon so don't pay online pricing. For packing cubes I have everything from eBags to Eagle Creek, Amazon Basics and Compass Rose. Depends on what I am trying to fit and how. Toiletry bags you can try the ebags pack it flat or the Emme (I love this one). 

The Ebags Motherlodes are all also great for checking. We have biggest and the next size down for combining and checking as a family. You do have to be extremely careful with weight on those. Those big bags can carry way more than 50 pounds. 

If you need sweaters try Merino Wool ones like the JCrew Tippi - reduces a ton of bulk and keeps you warm. Lots of other brands like Uniqlo. Lululemon has a whole line of travel friendly clothes like On the Fly, same with Athleta. Buy things that pull double duty-my bathing suit cover up is my airplane wrap (Scott E Vest Lucille). A lot of being able to pack lightly is making the investment in travel easy clothes. I am NOT saying to buy all "travel clothes"--that would not be fashionable but there are a TON of fashionable things out there that travel/pack really well. Start investing in those when you shop. 

Oh and everyone with the sandals in the MDR if you want an alternative (don't think you need one though) try foldable ballet flats. Tieks are great for not slipping on the ship but if you don't get those definitely scuff up the bottoms with sand paper so you don't go sliding around the deck. 

I'm doing a 14 day Europe itinerary with just an international carry on. Get something like Style App for your phone to plan your outfits so that everything mixes and matches. Use cubes. Decant toiletries (most of the time you don't even use a full travel size--practice at home what you need). There are websites that teach you how to create capsule wardrobes for any itinerary/any trip. I do plan to take advantage of the $20 bag special to have some laundry done at least once on the trip. It REALLY isn't that hard if you plan things with the right materials and build a true travel capsule wardrobe. Google Travel Fashion Girl for lots of tips. Getting down to a carry on or at least significantly changing your packing makes life so much easier!

Try looking into the site Travel Fashion Girl. Everything you need to know to go carry on, including toiletries. There is a website and facebook group. The group is very helpful for this type of stuff. 🙂 

14 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

It's not a given.  Only time we've requested specific seating was when we had our reservation linked with a couple we'd met on our first DCL cruise, and then we asked for a 6 top, in order to have others at our table.  2 cruises we were a large enough party (5 & 6) to get our own table.  

 

All other cruises, we've been seated with people we didn't know.

 

I think what's happening is more people are asking to be seated at their own table (not shared).

Interesting. We haven't asked since our first DCL but maybe its noted in our preferences somewhere. I don't know. In Nov on the Magic I specifically noted that there were no big tables except for families that were obviously together. The dining rooms were full of 4 tops. Probably everyone requesting I guess. 

I don't believe Disney even does mixed tables anymore--maybe if you request them? The last couple cruises I have only seen individual family tables. I don't even bother to request it anymore as its now a given. 

I am on this cruise in 6 weeks. We were not offered the airfare from our city so we booked by ourselves. Rooms in Amsterdam were pretty pricey from my search. I ended up booking at the Hilton Doubletree right next to Central Station which is also walkable to the pier for about $450. I used points, however, which I also used for airfare. Its a good location for sightseeing but we get in the day before at 4 pm. A lot of flights I looked at from the US arrive later in the afternoon like that so watch that when they say "day before". We could not have safely made a day of flight. 

Sorry to hijack but can anyone confirm this for the Pearl Balconys as well. And silly question? Are there mini fridges in the room to store cream? 

Disney won't have any issues accommodating the pediasure or pouches. As you googled the swim diapers will not be allowed and no diapers in the kids clubs but you CAN go on open days and stay with him. Those times will be in the daily planner (app). It's 2-3 times a cruise. 

One thing I would advise, get to all the shows earlier than you would expect (we go at least 45 mins prior). Sadly the few wheelchair viewing areas always seem to have someone in a scooter blocking them. The cast is great about trying to help special needs families enjoy everything so if you get somewhere and its blocked talk to them and they can sometimes provide an alternative. 

You will have your own table for dining unless you request a group table. The tables are really close together though (inches). There is so much entertainment at dinner to keep his attention...especially in Animators Palette. Perhaps call and request a rotational dining that has Animators for the most nights (AXYAXYA- didn't catch what ship you are on). But an iPad on low won't bother anyone. It is so loud in the restaurants. 

I did Pre-Maiden on Fantasy but it was invited media. Oddly this AM I just booked another Fantasy cruise for 2020 and asked about the dates on the new ships. She was hoping this summer release at least the Fall 2020 new ship itineraries would be announced. 

We booked La Cucina the first night. I have no idea if this was a good plan or not as this will be our first NCL. My reasoning is that we are flying from CO to Amsterdam and will be massively jet lagged. The carbs will likely be a good fit for getting something nice to eat and then crashing in our room to catch up. We have booked all the specialty rests over the 14 day cruise once. 

16 minutes ago, jenf22 said:

Can you cancel, pay the fee, and then rebook at the lower rate?  Would that work out better?  I always watch prices too.  Thankfully I've never had anything go down after final payment.  it would probably drive me crazy to see the lower price 🙂

They are pretty smart. I would lose 25% which is just about the price adjustment 🙂 And looking at higher categories to try to upgrade (pay) into are still out of reach of my stomach and budget. Just hoping at this point it somehow helps with the bidding process (if what I want to go to is offered). This is a 14 day Brittish Isles 

I actually just had this happen. I booked through NCL direct. I am 101 days from sailing and my mini-suite price with all perks I received dropped $1000. I called m PCC and was given an OBC for about 1/4 of that. I had to make a choice as it was only offered once and I couldn't ask again. Sure enough, this am my price would have been $2400 cheaper. I need to stop looking as there is nothing I can do now and I don't need to sour my mood on my cruise. I was happy when I booked and need to stay that way. Although....I would love that $2400!