TardisDance

I am on the NCL Star cruise right now.  We met the shore excursions manager at the cruisecritic meeting and have been talking to him throughout the cruise.  He basically told us that we'd have to file a complaint; there's nothing they can do onboard about refunding 2 days of gratuities.  Here's the link: https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/case-submission

We went to Guest Services initially and they told us they can't and basically we'd have to waive our entire service charges, etc.- we said that's a different charge, she said they are packaged together.  We don't want to stiff the staff!  We just want to pay for 10 days of a beverage package when we are only receiving 8 days.

@VMax1700thanks so much for the link.  I had been trying to find the schedule, so this super helpful.  I am thinking 11 am may be a safer bet and it works out so we could grab some lunch somewhere after.  We want also want to visit Dublin Castle, take a picture in front of the Temple Bar (not to drink or eat since it's huge tourist trap), and maybe stop at the Guinness Storefront - I'm still not sure about going on the tour or not. 

I am sailing on the NCL Star and the ship is tendering into Dun Laoghaire at 7 am.  Realistically, how quickly could we get off the ship, take the DART train and make it to Dublin for a tour of the Book of Kells?  We are arriving on a Sunday and we are platinum members so we’ll have priority tender.  I want to reserve ahead of time, but I’m uncertain of which time to pick.  

I’ve read that they aren’t strictly enforcing the ticket times, but I’d like to try to keep it close to actual time as much as possible.

I avoid the back of the ship.  I was booked in an angled cabin on deck 9 in 9278 and we could feel the cabin vibrate from the music from Spice H2O from deck 16.  I stick to mid ship or forward now on the Breakaway. 

@willoL thanks!  I’m actually really intrigued by the Wicklow Mountains tour out of Dublin from this company.   I have no interest in the Book of Kells and I’ve seen a ton of breweries so Guinness sounds so boring. 

My husband and I just booked a cruise for next May 2023 on NCL Star that visits several ports in Ireland.  NCL doesn’t have any excursions yet, but I typically book private tours anyway to avoid the crowds.  I have been struggling to find companies that do cruise tailored tours to Waterford, Dingle, and Killybegs.  I know it’s a bit early, but I am also trying to convince other family members to join us on this cruise 🙂

Can anyone recommend things to do near by or tour companies?   Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Thanks @SummmerInKefalonia.  I am really hoping to do this cruise this year if the world situation improves.  I would love your insight on things to do in Kefalonia if you have the time.  

Just curious, does it make a huge difference temperature wise to do a Greek Isles cruise in September vs. October?  Our anniversary is in early September, but if the temperatures are better in October, we’ll cruise then.  We aren’t beach people at all, so water temperature isn’t a concern, but we also don’t want rain.  I’m getting really tempted by itinerary 1, but I’m not sure what time of year to book.

I’m starting to really consider itinerary #1 again after reading the comments.  I’m mostly turned off to the day with 2 port stops - that seems exhausting, plus we aren’t early risers on vacations - it’s only 6:30 am to 12:30 pm in Kusadasi.  By the time our brains are fully functioning, it’s time to leave. Almost a wasted stop.

Edit:  Now I see that Kusadasi is on both itineraries.  I guess it’s good that there’s 2 stops that day actually.  It’s just seems silly to be there so early and then leave by Noon.

CruiseFan94 does make an excellent point.  I too am worried about the Russia situation.  I don’t plan on even booking this until mask mandates are gone, that’s the first requirement.  If that doesn’t happen, we’ll wait until next year.  We were thinking mid-late September to celebrate our anniversary, but October would be okay too - I was worried about rainy season, but it seems like that is non-existent?

I am hoping to cruise with my husband in the Fall in Sept/Oct if the stars align and mask mandates go away (we went to Alaska last Sept. and long flights with N-95 masks cross country was awful . .we are from Upstate, NY).  We've never been on a Med cruise before and are considering the Greek Isles.  I am thinking September or even October to beat the heat.  We are not beach people and do enjoy Nature/historical places. 

We are looking at the Jade cruises.  In particular, there's 2 itineraries that are a toss up:

Itinerary 1:

Sunday - Depart Athens (Pirareus, Greece) 5 pm

Monday - Kusadasi, Turkey - 6:30 am to 12:30 pm then Patmos, Greece - 6:30 pm to 11:59 pm

Tuesday - Rhodes, Greece - 8 am to 6 pm

Wednesday - Mykonos, Greece - 7 am to 4 pm (tender)

Thursday - Argostoli, Kefalonia, Greece - 10 am to 6 pm

Friday - Corfu, Greece - 7 am to 3 pm

Saturday - Santorini, Greece - 12:30 pm - 9:30 pm (tender)

Sunday - Athens (Pirareus, Greece) Disembark - 6 am 

Itinerary 2:

Sunday - Depart Athens (Pirareus, Greece) 5pm 

Monday - Kusadasi, Turkey - 6:30 am to 12:30 pm 

Tuesday - Istanbul, Turkey - 7 am to 6 pm

Wednesday - Volos, Greece - 12 pm to 9 pm 

Thursday - Mykonos, Greece  - 8 am to 7 pm (tender)

Friday - Rhodes, Greece - 7 am to 6 pm

Saturday - Santorini, Greece - 8:00 am to 9:30 pm (tender)

Sunday - Athens (Pirareus, Greece) Disembark - 6 am 

We've only been to Europe once to see the Norway Fjords out of Southampton back in 2019 - This was one of our favorite trips ever but we do want to see new things.   Please note, we are in our late 30's and would be traveling just by ourselves (we have no kids).   I am leaning towards the Itinerary 2 because of the stop in Istanbul, but am I missing out on better sites with itinerary?  Is there anything else I should consider?  Please note, we are also platinum members, so we'd have priority tender for either sailing.  

Thanks in advance for any insight and tips! 

13 minutes ago, illinigirl87 said:

Just wondering what time did you arrive in Icy Strait Point yesterday? I know the 9/11 departure still shows a 1 pm arrival on 9/13 but they have been arriving late.

We have a whale watch with a local vendor and they said around 2:30 this past Monday which is the earliest arrival lately.  The vendor keeps updating and adjusting the time for our 9/15 arrival.  It’s sounds pretty hectic for the vendors.  I’m glad I didn’t schedule specialty dining since it’s going to be a late day potentially.

I will add, please review your travel insurance carefully.  Mandatory quarantine isn’t necessary considered a medical expense by travel insurances.  NCL’s own travel insurance does, but some consider it a trip delay.  It’s very tricky to interpret, but I would highly recommend taking the test so you are covered just in case. 

The other option is to buy a private transfer.  I can't name the company since I haven't used them yet, but there's one that shuttles people every 15 minutes from 7 to 11 a.m.  They appear to use mini buses.  They have a 72 hour cancellation policy.

Well at least they aren't charging for the bus anymore.  I think in prior reviews it was $8 per person round trip? That's one positive I'm taking from this. 

Madras . . .my husband once ordered a michelob ultra in o’sheenan’s and the bartender thought he said madras.  It’s now my go to drink.

Thanks for your reports!  My check-in opened up today for the Sept. 11th sailing and I’ve been debating on the time.  It sounds like it may make sense to do a later check-in time if we want to be able to go to our cabin right away to drop off carryons.   I was worried about how long the testing would take but it doesn’t sound bad at all.  I’m going to stick with a 12:00-12:30 pm check-in I think.

Mine just posted on my vacation summary as 2x $50 onboard credits.  No email though.  I have Schwab for my brokerage account and printed a copy of all my account holdings and redacted everything except the NCLH share info.  I guess it was good enough.  

Thanks Bird for the room service menu!  

I was actually thinking about it for the Ketchikan day.  I posted about my concerns about my private tour and the local tour vendor agreed about bumping up times - she said that Ward Cove has been a total disaster and can’t understand NCL’s decision on this.  She said that the traffic is a nightmare and saw this with this week’s sailing.  It sounds like private operators can’t go there and they don’t want to anyway because of the traffic situation. 

Bird, do you mind posting the room service menus? Or it the same stuff as always?

No email as of yet.  All I sent was a PDF that's a screenshot of my holdings plus the form. I only just bought the shares this week so I don't have a statement at this point and by the time I have it, it's too late.  I'm 29 days out. 

Thanks Bird for the info on the Ketchikan shuttle.  I am going on a private tour in September and a left them a voicemail about bumping up the time slightly.  I scheduled it at 9:45 so I'm probably fine, but I'd rather not have the hassle especially if things are running behind.

I've been checking my vacation summary, nothing yet.  In the email I sent, I requested an amenity invoice.  The only thing I received was an auto reply with a case number and that I would receive a response within 24 hours. 

I have about a month until my sailing so good thing I submitted it this week then.  I saw that it has be more than 15 days before the sailing and that's probably the reasoning behind it. 

Just curious if anyone is waiting on their shareholder credit?  I submitted Tuesday morning and haven't received a response as of yet.  I'll give it more time but wondering if anyone else is experiencing a back-up.