rimmit

Looks like Norwegian Pearl is heading back to port early due to many crew affected. Due to arrive 1/6.  Wonder how many it took for NCL to be willing to pull the plug on a whole cruise.  This is huge as it could be the start of cancellations again.

Wonder what the threshold would be for RCI, if they even have a threshold as it sounds like they are running the ships no matter what.

Of note, we finished a Galapagos Expedition with my family 12/27.  Only 88 pax on the boat.  All vaxxed, all pretested, some multiple times due to timing of getting onto the ship.  All wore masks except when eating and drinking.  Only on ship from 12/23-12/27.

Of the 15 people we became friends with 9 out of 16 got off the boat and tested positive on the prescreen back to the US at airport.  Most asymptomatic.  My son who is 11 and me included were asymptomatic.  My daughter who is 6 and my wife were negative.  Of the 9, one 40 year old male almost required admission to the hospital.  2 had some v/d.  One congestion cough.  Rest no sxs.  

We are currently almost done with our isolation at a hotel in Ecuador.  Point is that no matter the protocols, Omicron is ravaging through every ship, large and small.  Protocols are nearly worthless at this point with only a small ability to mitigate due to the insane transmissibility.

I have definitely had some cruises to Bermuda where it felt like a roller coaster.  I have been on a lot of cruises and expeditions, including crossing the Tasman Sea and the Drake Passage.  While not as bad as the Drake, I have had some bad luck, and definitely had some nearly Tasman Sea level rocking going on the Grandeur before.  Also had some very calm seas as well.  Just luck of the draw. 

Just now, amcb said:

We will be boarding on Monday and I will definitely report back!

That would be hugely appreciated!!!

59 minutes ago, sparkygirlfamily said:

I understand that there is disappointment for those who were counting on drop off child care.  I personally made the decision that even if Splash Academy was open that we would be skipping Splash this cruise.  The quarantine of passengers on Breakaway due COVID exposure in Entourage among the teens onboard over Halloween from NYC to Bermuda (before breakaway COVID in New Orleans) resulting in families moving cabins and being isolated for their entire cruise opened the discussion with my daughter and is what I suspect prompted the shift of plans for Splash Academy.  Splash was on target to open up until that halloween cruise.  We've been having the discussion with my daughter a) I'm not sure that Splash will open b) if it does open she will wear a mask c) it it does open I'm not sure the risk outweighs the benefit on a once in a lifetime cruise.  Just because NCL is saying 100% vaccinated so you can be free to enjoy your cruise doesn't negate the layered public health mitigation measures of which vaccination is only one component.  

Definitely a risk to use the kids club in this day and age, that’s for certain.

From my experience on these long cruises , TAs and Repos,  the number of kids is literally near zero.  On the Breakaway on a Northern Atlantic TA my 2 kids were 2 out of 6 kids that were elligible to go to Splash and this was PRECOVID.  Post covid I cant even imagine the numbers now.  On other TAs and repos I have never seen more than 20 kids EVER.    The counselors literally stalk you the moment you board the boat to see if your kids want to come to the kids clubs.  The handful of kids on the ship always get pulled to stage as a volunteer for the variety acts in the theater so thats nice for them.

I suspect that there will be nearly zero as well on the Star, so that will definitely help you mitigate the risk of using Splash in the current climate if its open if you choose to.  Splash tends to be 1 on 1 babysitting on these longer cruises during the school year and the counselors and kids get pretty attached.  We’ve even run into the counselors when they’ve hopped to other ships before and they still remember my kids (for better or worse. Most likely worse.  Lol).

7 hours ago, goodtoglow said:

I'm in Canada... we were pretty delayed in approving the vaccine for kids, its only been 2 weeks that kids have been able to receive it and in BC we only started immunizing the kids 10 days ago (my son received his the first day possible). They are spacing the shots out by 8 weeks. If public health will allow my soon to get his at 7 weeks 2 days he will be fully immunized for the cruise. I'm also pondering taking him across the border to Bellingham if thats feasible/acceptable. What is the dose interval for the kids in the States?

I'm also at the point where I may cancel the cruise if Canada makes us quarantine upon returning... announcement coming tomorrow apparently 😞

In the US the first dates kids could grt vaccinated was Nov 3.  2nd shot Nov 24. So last Wed was the first day kids could be considered fully vaccinated, and this Sat./Sun the first wave of ships with fully vaxxed kids except for the rare Thurs/fri departure.

Hopefully the parents on the ships right now will start giving some trip reports as to what to expect with fully vaxxed kids.

2 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Here's a thought...

Perhaps NCL has been unable to staff enough experienced/qualified "child care givers!"

I dont think anyone is questioning why they arent open as it is likely lack of staffing in that they didnt bring them back.  The question is why continue to confirm that it will be open if they dont have staff???   I think thats the aggravation.

7 minutes ago, SliderNc said:

Can you provide the statement where they said they could go to kids clubs?  I'm feeling like it is an assumed thing that if they are allowed onboard that those areas would be open and I'm sure they are not.  I've looked over their site and can't find anything that says this.  This is the problem that everyone in this thread is talking about.  Lack of communication.

 

NCL policy of 100% vaccinated passengers probably drove them to keep the smaller kids facilities closed until they could sail.  Now that they could sail, they are determining the need based on the capacity of those age ranges for each cruise.  I have no doubt they will open in time as more kids 5-12 are vaccinated and cruise with their families and NCL sees the numbers grow.  My guess is that most ships will have theirs open come Spring Break time.

 

There was no specific statement but I had no less than 3 conversations with NCL reps prior to booking.

 And continued to confirm on about a bi weekly basis.  They had a very definitive response each time.

Thankfully, 4 days before Final Payment I contacted them one last time and they changed their tune.  I came on here and various posts seem to confirm their abrupt change.  It felt very bait and switch and had I not called one last time I would have been blindsided as well.

Again, I think it ‘s the fact we feel deceived.  Had they been less definitive in their response, I dont think anyone would be upset,  but they were VERY assuring that the kids club would be open for drop off EVERY time I contacted them, and it seems the same for other parents as well.  
 

This is not a case of parents not doing their research.  This is a case of NCL just doing a 180.

8 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Understood but early November is now different from mid December 

I think the aggravation here amongst parents (myself included) was that when we booked they stated that when kids were on board that they would “definitely” be open.  
 

The response was not “Well,  we just arent sure.  They may or may not with how things are going.”  It was a very definitive “The ship will be functioning as normal regarding the kids club.  When kids are allowed on board the kids club will be open with no restrictions.”

It was a very definitive response with zero room to waffle.  Given RCI and CCL have opened their kids clubs and those kids arent even vaccinated, it standed to reason given the “definitive” response by NCL reps that it would be open.  Since Late October when kids could get the vaccine, when I asked there hasnt been any significant change since then except Omicron, but that really hasn effected cruise operations outside of the Jade.

So from everyones perspective, NCL was selling a product in which nothing has really changed from when they were selling it,  but just flat didnt deliver said product despite advertising it, continuing to advertise it, and giving zero indications that it is was not going to be there.

Everyone understands that sailing during a pandemic is a crapshoot,  but this does not appear to be a “shifting pandemic” related change.  It was simply a “We said we were gonna offer this, but sorry we’re not” situation.

Just checking in to see if anyone is on the Harmkny with vaxed kids.  If so any info regarding AO would be helpful.

19 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

Technically, Splash Academy is not closed. It doesn't have drop-offs available.

 

From my understanding they were using the teen club for the all age family events.  I did not see that Splash Academy was offering any programing whatsoever.  

Where did you see that?  Are you onboard right now?  Could you please elaborate on what Splash Academy is doing as I and many would like to know what programming they are offering as from my current understanding there were just some “feel free play” events taking place in the teen club at this time a couple times a day,  but no formal “Splash Academy” programming.  The “feel free play” seemed not organized from what it sounded like and more like “lets put out some board games and let the kids play in the teen club” kind of a thing.

I would recommend a ship that holds 100 or less that way you can spend more time at the sites and less people at the sites as well.  

I have been on Quark and One Ocean for expeditions and my parents have used Lindblad/natgeo several times.  They all offer typically an AM and PM landing.  Keeping in mind that Antartica weather is crazy unpredictable and you end up missing a large number of your stops.

As they like to remind you, “This is an expedition, not a cruise.” And the name of the game in Antartica is FLEXIBILITY.  I honestly couldnt even tell you how many landings/ whole days of landings I’ve missed.  It definitely hurts when you miss one as the cost of the expedition’s is so high, but that’s just the way the weather it that far south sadly.

I’ve been on a cruise around the horn before, and also to Antarctica on an expedition and also a separate expedition to South Georgia.  

BA and Punta will be pretty warm, but once you get farther south while the temps can be 40s and 50s the wind is brutal at times, and weather in this region can change in a split second especially as you get to Ushuaia and then leave and approach Antarctica.

It can be beautiful sunny one moment and warm enough to tempt you to take off your coat, and 5 minutes later its a total whiteout with 40mph winds.  When the wind gets high they shut down and rope off the outer decks.

Crossing the Drake can be hit or miss as well regarding how rough it is.  I have never done it on a cruise ship, only small expedition vessels, including an ice breaker with no stabilizers.  I was hoping that the larger ship would help mitigate some of the pain of crossing the Drake as there was definitely a two day time span when I thought I had made the worst mistake of my life by going.  

Sounds like you’ve got a great plan and you’ll have a great time no doubt.  We debated still doing it, but the negatives (not actually going to the peninsula and just two outer islands, missing Falkland, and no kids club) were just too many for us to justify pulling them out of school for two weeks.  Not going to the peninsula and falkland was already disappointing but the kids club was the final straw for us.  We were originally booked in 2020 on X for their Antarctica cruise, then their 2021 that also got cancelled and now this one.  X along with HAL and PCL all actually go to the peninsula for a drive by.  I dont understand why NCL doesnt.

Our kids are super high energy, and we’ve done many repo and TA cruises with them at all ages so I have a good feel for what it takes to keep them occupied on a ship this size.  I could definitely keep my 11 year old son reasonably entertained with a ton of screen time, but my 6 year old daughter really needs a kids club with some interaction.  She loves going and its her highlight.

54 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 Based on the timing, this weekend would be the first cruises fully vaccinated 5-11 yr olds would even be on board, so you'll have to report back on if things are handled differently (I fear they won't be).

 

Also just because you book your hours doesn't mean they can't go other sessions, too. Just you'd be a walk-in as space permits.

I am not on this cruise.  I am asking as I know its the first cruise with fully vaxxed kids and curious if there were any changes.

i know there is drop off availability.  I was simply asking what peoples experiences have been regarding that.  As in was it commonly available or could you never use the drop off as it was always full.

Given this upcoming sailing is the first cruise with fully vaccinated kids, I was wondering how the kids clubs were handling that?

Also wanted to hear people’s experience with booking their 12 hours or whatever the number of hours they give you.  Do you book in 3 hour blocks?   When do they open up extra slots for reservations.  How difficult is dropping in for a session?   Is the late night party hour available?  If so dors the late night party time require reservations as well.  Is there any adventure time dining still (kids dinner). My assumption for the the kids dinner is no, but curious.

does anyone have recent scans id the adventure ocean dailies?

Any info regarding the current state of adventure ocean woukd be helpful.

8 minutes ago, Shayhooper said:

We are on the Escape with our 12 year old daughter and the concierge said they didn’t anticipate how many children under 12 were going to be on board so they are going to plan activities for kids 12 and under. It won’t be drop in like Splash Academy but it will staff organized events. This is in addition to the family time hours that someone up to thread mentioned. I hope this will work because my daughter is having trouble finding and connecting with some peers. 

Well this is promising….  Maybe they will ramp up the kids clubs faster if they see the demand is there.  Please keep all of us apprised to how things are going and what they are doing.   Thanks!

To the parents out there that have been using the kids club, have you been able to get any hours above the 1.5 hour on embarkation and 2.5 hour on subsuquent days or has it been conpletely booked to the max the whole time?  Can you split the time, like 1 hour and 1.5 hours in separate session.  If you were able get walk in first come first serve availabilty what was your success rate with that?

Any infor regarding the current operation of the kids club would be helpful.  Thanks!

This is highly disappointing.  When we booked this I along with many other posters were assured “everything is open and operating as normal.”  We are booked on the Star roundtrip Buenos Aires departing Feb 13-Feb 27 and final payment is due on the 15th and we have a 6 and 11 year old.

I contacted NCL as well and they state there is currently no timeline for reopening the kids club.  I wonder if the Breakaway has given them second thoughts on reopening the kids club??

There are A LOT of sea days and outside of BA and Punta del Este the ports are cold, so burning my kids energy off without an indoor pool is gonna be tough.  We will almost assuredly have to cancel as I dont think I can keep them entertained on a ship that long without a kids club for some variety.  

If the policy changes we may rebook, albeit we lose the airfare deal which would be unfortunate, but I cant make finaly payment in 4 days without knowing there is a kids club.

I would go the land trip option.  We’ve drug our kids, now 6 years old and 10,  all over the world since they were 3 months old, including countless cruises (TAs, northern europe, med, australia, etc.), road trips, and land trips so I am not new to dragging kids through everything concept.  We did a multi city europe trip when they were 3 and 7 years old through Paris, Prague, Budapest and Moscow and while we love cruising,  found this easily to be one of the most memorable trips we took.

It’s just nice to have a trip on your on pace, especially in these European cities where there is so much to see and not worry about getting to the ship.  Also given the undertainty, its just a pain to keep cancelling and rebooking things over and over.  

Just given the level of uncertainty I think a land option would be highly enjoyable.   There is obviously no kids club on land, but there is definitely more unique and interesting experiences.  Plus all the inevitable hiccups that turn into memories down the road.  My 3 year old ended up in the ED in Paris.   Thankfully,  european healthcare is much cheaper than the US.  Paid $54 USD for the visit that would have been several hundred in the US.

In short,  given the undertainty I would go with plan B.  Its a great option, albeit not a cruise, but one that will create just as many if not more memories. 

Hello,

I am hopeful that the Star will actually sail and the SA itine will take place.

i am debating taking the air, and definitely have done my fair share of crazy air itins to save a couple hundred dollars.

I have searched the topic and it is obviously highly variable as to what flights you get and wanted to get a poll from people as to what the most likely scenario would be and also what NCL is likely to book.

Does NCL every use third party “hacker” itins?  Like itins with whole airport changes?  Do they ever book the “hacker”

itins that use foreign carriers that may have a cheaper flight for the same flight if offerred by AA or Delta in a code share scenario?

My family is flying out of a small airport, with really only AA or Delta as an option.  Delta is a one stop via ATL to EZE (Buenose Aires).  AA is a two stop with code share with LATAM and an airport change in NYC.  Using just AA it is a $300 dollar diff per person, not using the code share.  There is a 45 minute layover and it has two stops vs one.  
 

I guess ultimately does it seem like there is a person booking these flights that at least does some basic weighing of the feasibility of making connections and logistics or do they just for the cheapest possible option.  
 

I am ok with whatever (we once drove 10 hours to NYC for a flight deal on the SAME day leaving at 8 am to make a 10pm flight) so I will do crazy things for flight deals, but just need an idea as to what NCL tendencies are.  A 45 min. Layover can be tight as everyone is aware and it might not be worth it to NCL to save $300/person if they all miss the flight and are on the hook as the flights were booked with them or they may not care and go for the cheapesr option.

thanks for the feedback.

I have tried to search for answers to this on the X website, blogs, and on CC and seem to be missing findjnf anything.  Is Camp at sea (kids club) open?  If so what are the protocols?   Do they only have so many sessions a cruise?  RCI only allows X number of sessions per cruise.  Do you have to prebook the kids club?  
 

anyone that has been on X since restarting any info would be appreciated.  Thanks.

4 hours ago, big al said:

Hi guys- I have noticed on my last RCI cruise on the Anthem ( Sept 2019) that the Diamond Lounge had spilled over to the Music Hall due to so many Diamond Class members now..what's happening on the most recent Oasis Of The Seas cruises before the pandemic? They also would hold it in the Blaze Comedy Lounge sometimes...thanks..

 

Big Al

It spilled over to deck 3 in blaze across from the comedy club like you said.  Also the 3 drink vouchers like always.

We did a 12 night souther Caribbean on the Grandeur with a 2 and 7 year old.  No issues.  It was fine.

The only thing is the nursery on the grandeur is closed during the midday, but that won’t be an issue for you because you have grandparents.  We did it with an inside cabin for 4, and during nap time one of us would just read a kindle or watch the iPad while the little one slept.

Prior to Covid we’d do the grandeur at least once per year.

The nursery is open for open play midday while the nursery is closed for actual child care.  Only annoying thing is food options on the grandeur aren’t the greatest for little kids, but you can always scrounge up something so it’s not a big issue.  Have a great time!  Our family loves the Grandeur and will miss it when she moves to Barbados.  Not so excited about enchantment.  Didn’t really enjoy her as much the last time we were on her.

The DL on Grandeur is nice because it is right next to schooner in the aft where it carved out a piece of the lounge.  Overflow was so easy as it just expanded into the nearby lounge.  Enchantments DL is TINY with no views except of the ceiling....

7 hours ago, drsel said:

I am most interested in entertainment activities and shows

RCI and NCL have the best entertainment,  but it can be very ship dependent.   The Oasis and Anthem class ships in the RCI fleet have a wide variety but the smaller vision and radiance and smaller class ships have very limited entertainment.

Activities wise, RCI, NCL and CCL all have a large quantity of activities and it is highly ship dependent, so ultimately, you will need to do some research regarding the individual ship you would be booming.  The entertainment on X, HAL, And Princess are not bad, it’s just that the more family focused lines have a wider variety of entertainment and activities.  

Been on all on that list except costa and MSC.

It would take a post a mile long to encompass all the differences and similarities between the lines.  Could you be maybe a little more specific as to what you are specifically looking for and what is important to you?