GoofyCrew

How are you getting to the port?

 

We brought an empty duffel bag with us, just folded in a suitcase, because we flew in and couldn't bring lots of beverages.

 

We arrived in Miami a couple of days early before the holidays, and the hotel gift shop and *all* nearby stores were totally out of Diet Coke :(

 

We had a taxi driver give us a short tour the afternoon before the cruise, and asked him to stop at some place that had Diet Coke, at not-too-expensive prices.

We stopped at a small neighborhood shop off the beaten path.

 

The price was right, and DH filled up the duffel bag, to the astonishment of the shop owner... we cleaned out all of their supplies of Diet Coke.

(It was a very small store, but for some reason the area seemed to have a shortage of some sort. Or maybe Coke makes their deliveries "the next day" in the area??)

 

Then we slapped a luggage tag on it, and dropped it with the porters along with our two large suitcases.

It was delivered later, along with the suitcases.

(We half expected to be called to the naughty room while they confirmed it was unadulterated soda. Perhaps they opened a randomly selected one? We hadn't actually counted until it was too late and we'd consumed "a few".)

 

It was very easy.

 

GeezerCouple

We flew so we brought a collapsible duffel as well. We brought a 24 pack of water and two boxes of Capri Suns for our kids. We left everything in the original packaging, put it into the duffel and put our tag on it. It was picked up curbside at the port along with our two suitcases. Everything arrived to our cabin safely (and unopened) within 2 hours of us boarding.

I experienced post-cruise vertigo for exactly one week when we got off of our first cruise last month. Because I am prone to seasickness, I took Dramamine each day of the cruise and also wore sea bands on a few of the rougher days. For the most part I was fine ON the ship, but once we got off, I couldn't stop swaying. I kept taking Dramamine and wearing the sea bands after the cruise but neither helped with my post-cruise vertigo. I drank a lot of water to make sure I wasn't dehydrated, which I apparently wasn't because that didn't help either.

I would randomly stumble and almost fall. I felt like people were looking at me wondering if I was intoxicated. :S The stairs at home and at work were scary! I couldn't wait for bedtime each night because I was both mentally and physically exhausted from fighting it. The ONLY relief I got during the day was driving/riding in a moving car.

And then all of a sudden, it was gone. THANK GOODNESS! I have heard that it can get worse with each cruise so I am concerned what might happen next time...

We are just off Sun and we were finished in one hour. We did not eat dessert so that might be why we left so early.

If they have a reservation at a specific time, if everyone is there, they take your order for drinks, then choice of food and within a few minutes the chefs begin their cooking.

They are quick and serve you as soon as they have prepared their food.

Ditto here. Just off the Sun, finished in one hour. We even had dessert and we never felt rushed. I think it helped that everyone for our seating time arrived ON TIME. In fact, the hostess thanked us all for being punctually and said that it makes things run much more smoothly.

Oh, and it is DELICIOUS! :D

This sounds strange but it has hands-down been the BEST travel tip that I have ever received:

Bring old socks and undies and dump 'em when they are dirty. It's a great way to thin out the dresser drawers at home (you'd be dumping them soon anyway if they are worn out). It frees you up from either washing them or packing them dirty back into your suitcase. And bonus: more room for souvenirs on your way home! :D

There's a 7-day from Port Canaveral, FL on Spirit Dec 2015 and Jan, Feb 2016. It stops at Nassau, St Thomas, and St Maarten. Spirit also does a 7-day from Port Canaveral to Nassau, STT, and Tortola next Nov through April. In all, there are about 30 NCL sailings in the next two years from southern ports that meet your requirements. Many are west Caribbean but you still have plenty of options. Do you have a membership at that big box store that ends in oh and costs $55 a year. If so, talk to their travel department and tell them what you need.

This was the one I was originally looking at, until I realized that we can't do our family of four in a balcony on the Spirit. The Spirit has the itineraries that most interest me, but I'm not sure how to make it work where we are all healthy, happy and not breaking the bank! A balcony is a must and our kids aren't old enough for an across the hall inside cabin. They may offer adjoining balcony cabins (I haven't checked because, honestly, it won't fit our budget).

Maybe a different ship will shift to these itineraries in the coming years.

And no, no membership because there isn't a Oh-Club around here. ;)

We are from IL and we decided to sail out of NY for Spring Break this year. The deciding factor was airfare. Airfare prices anywhere south during Spring Break were outrageous. I got R/T flights on SWA to NY for a bit under $200. The price of the cruise for our week in March was less expensive than the 7 night cruises going out of Miami too. The cruise is sailing south so the kids and I are thrilled. :D

I feel your pain! A cruise (or any vacation south) that involves airfare the end of March/beginning of April is outrageous. And you have a good point - as long as we are ultimately heading south, we will be thrilled!

I can't speak for sailing out of NY but I imagine that it could be chilly for a day or two. It was chilly on the Sun last month on our last sea day coming back to Tampa, air temps were in the 60s but with the breeze going across the deck, no one was outside!

I mostly wanted to respond about your question regarding the pool: I would be shocked if they heat it. The pool on the Sun last month was FREEZING! The daytime temps were in the 80s, which was great, but the pool never got even tolerable. We are used to swimming in cold water (Lake Michigan is in the 60s most of the summer...) and it was too cold even for us. :eek: We would have thought that, with the air temps being so warm, that it would have warmed up a little. At most times there were only one or two kids in either of the two pools.

Wow, there are a lot of different sailings out of NY. Thanks for mentioning that! I guess I was hung up on leaving out of a southern port!

A few concerns:

Winter. All I keep hearing on the news is how awful NY (and Boston) are this time of year. I'm not sure about flying into/sailing out of there!

Pre/post cruise expense. It is a lot cheaper to stay in FL than it is in NYC.

But I feel MUCH more optimist now about our possible use of the credit! I am even intrigued by the fact that you can sail NORTH out of NYC (in the summer, of course).

Thanks for the feedback! With only one cruise under our belts I guess we still have A LOT to learn.

An itinerary might change in 4 years - and NCL sails two different Western Caribbean routes - Cozumel, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman. We've done both- twice on different ships (Spirit, Jewel, Pearl, and Star) - out of three different ports (New Orleans, Miami, and Houston in two weeks)

 

You might hold onto it for a year and see how you feel and what NCL is offering, then you can always sell it. :o

We just did Costa Maya, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel. They were great, and I wouldn't be opposed it one of those was a repeat, but I would definitely would not want it to be identical. Would love to go to Bahamas and/or Grand Cayman.

I'll give you 50¢ on the dollar for it:D

Haha. Better than nothing!

You can do 7 day to the bahamas from NY on Breakaway (fall/winter months) or Gem (Spring/Summer months).

NY would be OK, but we are from MI so I always think SOUTH. We would cruise in Jan, Feb or March. So maybe a Spring out of NY would be an option. I will check into that more, thank you!

When did you buy it? You have thirty days to get a refund. Also, it is valid for 6 day and above cruises, not 7.

 

http://www.ncl.com/popup/cruise_rewards_terms

40 days ago. :( Darn it, I should have asked sooner. Took a few weeks to settle back in and get sick enough of winter again to start looking for another trip.

Thanks, I thought it was 7 days. Maybe 6 days will have something...going to check it out!

Don't know of any family or friends that cruise NCL, but maybe it is time they start! ;)

I knew of the 4 years but going out 2 years there wasn't anything that really worked. Not real confident that they will add anything 4 years from now, but I suppose it is possible. And, to be honest, I really don't want to wait 4 years to go again. Haha! But...that gets my gears turning...if we took a 4 day Bahamas we could NOT use it on that cruise and save it for another, right? It doesn't necessarily have to be used on your NEXT cruise, does it? Provided that we can squeeze 3 cruises into 4 years... :eek: which could very well blow the vacation budget out of the water! (no pun intended)

I am so frustrated with MYSELF. We put money down, while on our cruise, towards a future cruise last month. Being our first cruise, and we were having a great time, it seemed like a win-win!

Wrong. I got home to start researching what to book next and I quickly realized that, unless we want to go on the EXACT SAME ITINERARY again (Western Caribbean, which sails from FOUR ports - augh) the money we put down is pretty much useless.

Why? Because it has to be a 7 day + cruise (which we knew when we put the money down). We were hoping to use it towards a Bahamas cruise, which I realized when we got home are mostly are 3-4 day cruises. I found one (on the Spirit) that is 7 day, but unfortunately with our family of 4 it will not let me book a balcony, which is a MUST because of seasickness/need fresh air NOW issues.

It isn't NCL's fault other than my disappointment in their lack of variety in itineraries. It is MY fault for biting onto a promo without being able to fully research things first (no internet + vacation anything-sounds-good brain).

Our kids are too young to do the balcony/inside stateroom across the hallway thing, otherwise that would work.

So disappointed, bummed with myself. Venting. Haha. I KNOW it is my fault so please don't state the obvious. I am just looking for other suggestions.

At this point it looks like we might have to eat the $150 and book with a different cruise line (which stinks because we really liked NCL!). Even if I go all the way out until 2017, there is nothing that really works for our family of four to go to a destination that interests us.

Tips left on tables don't mean that people have removed the DSC. A lot of people leave extra on top of the auto charge.

Yes!!! Nothing wrong for rewarding above and beyond!

And no, you really can't get it removed unless there are issues. We probably would have tipped/or tipped more if this mandatory charge wasn't in place. I see why they do it though. For every passenger who would pay more there are two who wouldn't pay anything. Sad but true.

It DID irritate me that our children's mandatory gratuity was the same as ours. A plate of mac and cheese and a juice versus a surf/turf dinner with a couple of glasses of wine do NOT warrant and equal gratuity. That being said, it all washed in the end. We would have tipped more for ours, less for theirs.

I've heard that the Sky is very similar to the Sun in vibe and in layout. We traveled last month on the Sun with our 7 and 11 years and had a great time! There aren't all of the kid-magnet bells and whistles (water slides and characters) but our kids loved it just the same!

We didn't go out to nightlife scene. I am sure there was one, but we never joined in. The craziest it got was the 'sexy legs' contest at the pool one afternoon. I am sure a lot depends on when you travel. We were off-season for all school vacations so there weren't many kids on the ship. Not sure any cruise would be non-party if it was college Spring Break! :eek:

We were pleasantly surprised by the lack of intoxicated people on our cruise. Not knowing what to expect, I too figured that the UDP would pose a problem. We traveled in the off-season so there were a lot of retirees and couples, so I am sure during break times it could be different.

Ironically, the most obnoxious, intoxicated person we met was an older (late 60s?) lady in the Observation Lounge. She was sucking down Long Islands and got quite vocal. And she did NOT have the UDP (easier noticeable because she made a scene paying the waiter).

From everything that I had read prior to our cruise, I expected to have our steward introduce himself, but we never met ours. By process of elimination I think we figured out which guy was ours (the stewards would line the halls with their carts each morning and evening and the same guy was usually in the same area outside of our cabin). Our room was always cleaned, there were towel animals for the kids and the beds were always prepped while we were out to dinner. He even hung up the birthday decorations that I had brought along (he taped them up, along with the cards that I had just tucked into the bookcase thing). So did he do a good job? Yes. Did he go above and beyond? Sort of. Had he introduced himself he probably would have gotten a bigger (hand-delivered) tip. Instead he got a small tip left on the desk. We did not feel that it was OUR place to have to introduce ourselves.

It depends on the maturity level of your children. I've seen legal adults who should still be under the supervision of another adult. ;)

If you believe they are mature enough to find their own way to the muster stations if needed and you trust them to obey your rules and not leave the room after the time you state, not have others in the room, not have alcohol, etc., then go for it, especially if they are directly across the hall and you have a key to their room. ;)

I wonder if the person who searched your bag doesn't read English well enough to have been certain that it wasn't cans of soda....

LOL

A co-worker's husband brings a 30 pack of Busch (YUCK!) on every cruise. He had never had it taken away.

Being first-timers, we were too chicken to try!

We didn't bring one (because I had heard they were taken away) but WOW, I sure wish I had at least tried! What a PIA to try to charge a family of 4 worth of electronics. :S I will DEFINITELY bring one next time and risk confiscation. ;)

Sorry, the Soda Package only includes soda. No virgin mixed drinks and not even any juice.

I highly recommend Chacchoben from Costa Maya. We did that last month and really enjoyed it. We booked directly through NCL and it was extremely organized and information (without being boring...). The bus ride was in an air conditioned Greyhound-style bus. It is a 45 minute ride on a very straight highway. There were several different ruins to see, some of which you could climb at least partial up. There was also a nice jungle walk (we got to see spider monkeys!). We were back to Costa Maya in time for a late lunch and then some shopping.

I admit it. I would totally buy some. :o

 

I would too! LOL Snacks were so hard to come by on the Sun! Plenty of meals but for a bedtime snack I just wanted CHIPS! or GS COOKIES! :D

#26 - Reusing your plate at the buffet (gag...!!!)

#27 - Using your balcony as a clothesline (amusing for others to watch as an article of clothing blows off and gets swallowed by the waves though)

#28 - Playing Ding-Dong-Dash with the elevators

#29 - Wearing nice golf shorts to dinner at the Seven Seas because you have a broken foot in a big medical boot. (Felt so sorry for this older gentleman...I couldn't believe he had to practically argue his way in!)

Even though it wasn't the Chinese restaurant you were looking for, I highly recommend the Teppanyaki (Japanese) if you still want an Asian style meal. It was FABULOUS! I could have eaten there every night of the cruise!