Sand and Seas

After reading about these shuttles here, we used them from port to MIA just a few days ago. As you say, very easy to find. Leaving Norwegian's terminal, we went towards the taxi line and the shuttles were just across the lane. Our shuttle held 11 passengers so it was quickly filled and we were on our way.

We just returned from a 11 day cruise. There were 12 one-liter water boxes in our cabin for one CAS (Ruby) player. I don't know what they will do for two Pearl and above. We also had four small 1/2 liter waters due to our Latitudes status. About a week into the cruise, the casino host asked if we needed more water but we did not. Based on your play, the host on board may send you wine, chocolates or water during cruise.

We are looking forward to the new Thai restaurant. And, it sounds like Indulge Food Hall is going from seven mini-venues to ten on the Aqua. One of those is vegetarian, but I wonder what the others will be? Perhaps they can offer some of the Food Republic choices or Shanghai's Dim-Sum/Potstickers🤞 We love Indulge on Prima and ate many times. One of the ships officers chatted with us during dinner and said they are looking for ways to add the popular food hall concept to other ships. Wonderful variety of small plates like grilled pineapple (like Moderno's) and fresh made Fresno chili Naan bread. The Q had good ribs at dinner or pulled pork sandwiches at lunch. Great Tapas like we have enjoyed on other ships. Really something for everyone to enjoy and I'm guessing less food waste than the buffet.

We loved our CBS on Prima. These cabins are the last four or five at the Aft and seem to have extra floor space due to the curvature of the ship's structure for that area. The balcony was decent sized with two comfy chairs and an interesting view. It is a decent walk to the elevators, but we needed the walk for exercise😎

I just got two CASNext certificates four days ago. My certificates still show the Terms & Conditions that say you must book & complete sailing within one year. I would love if they do not expire, but I haven't seen anything that would suggest such a change. My certificates also say you can use two if it meets criteria for DoubleUp, and three if it meets criteria during a TripleUp promo. It specifically says you can't use with CruiseNext. Again, it would be great if T&Cs are changing for CASNext, but I wasn't told anything different.

No Sugarcane on Prima either.

Thai sounds great. Thanks for sharing link. Also like the idea of expanding Indulge to ten specialties. Prima officer was telling us they are trying to add more Indulge food halls but hard to fit on the older ships.

Welcome to Cruisecritic! We love the Joy. Glad you enjoyed your cruise 😎

Indulge Food hall ( Prima) has a nice selection of Indian food with some tasty vegetarian selections. The dinner menu also has fresh made Naan 😋

Yes. Ruby player and one guest have UB on your keycard for drinks anywhere on board. It's the basic FAS drink package but you are not charged the 20 percent fee.

Call CAS before sailing and ask them to send you an updated Amenities confirmation for your reservation. Ours showed BEVPK1 at zero cost for Unlimited Open Bar Package. When we checked in at Port our cards were already printed with UB.

Currently on the Prima. They delivered a plate of cookies to our cabin yesterday. We didn't see any in the observation lounge but we have only been there once during afternoon snack time.

For Prima, I believe it was the Improv club across from Syd Norman's. I saw a lot of backpacks and small bags there as we boarded. There was an employee checking them in.

Perfect! I bet your server loved that soluion😊

Sounds confusing. I would rather they just post it on the menu so the server doesn't have to explain. I like a crabcake and lobster tail. Will they have to call that an upcharge? Doesn't make sense to me.

For us, the new Ruby benefits are an improvement. Others may wish for Premium Plus but comped FAS to use shipwide meets our needs.

@BirdTravels, Hope you have a wonderful cruise! Encore is one of our favorites. Thanks for sharing with us all😎

@cygnets, thanks for posting about your upgrades on your summary page. I'm Ruby, but nothing showing on my summary page for my 3 booked cruises. As changes to program were still being made yesterday (per agent I spoke with), I would suggest you keep an eye on that summary page. It could take awhile for them to sort out the Tier promos.

Mine just shows 'Casino-Value'. I've been Ruby for quite awhile. This last year I was over double 'Ruby' points. Maybe it means "you COULD get to Elite if you just pushed it a bit more"

I totally agree! And since they seem to be tweaking the benefits day by day, who knows what the final language will look like. I am glad that I (and many others) had called CAS to express our displeasure with the changed benefits listed in the first brochure that some received. I hope they are still listening and working on what is fair based on Tier levels.

There are some additional reports on that other site now. One of them says he spoke with a CAS exec who was currently onboard their sailing. He said Elite will now get 'Complimentary' upgrade to Premium Plus for guests 1 & 2. It read like you would NOT have to pay the basic FAS fees. I hope that is true as Elite has definitely earned it. I feel fairly confident about the change for Ruby as I talked with a CAS agent who was reading an update that had been sent to them. Please let us know if CAS gives you further information for Elite. Who knows what they might change in the next 24-48 hours before we see it on the website.

I've never seen my status online. Suggest you call CAS. Any agent should be able to tell you.

They are tweaking the program again. I just talked to CAS (in Arizona) and they got a change today. He verified that Ruby will not have to pay 20% fee and will receive FAS drink package all over the ship. Elite has changed too, but he didn't explain that to me. (Someone on the other site said Elite could get FAS free, or pay for FAS and get PremPlus) I wonder if anything else will change by April 1st🤔

Some wonderful cruiser created this spreadsheet for Breakaway and Getaway cabins. I found it from CruiseCritic years ago: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10YW7fMQarer30UCHKqKJ_zLDmbyMTczCTtYf2XRflh8/pub?single=true&gid=0

Just heard from a friend that over on that other site, someone is reporting that they have again tweaked the drink FAS for Ruby/Elite. I know many of us have been contacting CAS to question why we would need to pay for FAS in order to get the 'free upgrade' to PPlus. Paying for the FAS fees in order to get PPlus would not be a good deal for someone like me. So....I just called CAS (Arizona) and was told they just got an update about it. I'm not sure what it will be for Elite, but as Ruby, I was told today I should get FAS regular package all over the ship without paying for the 20% per day fees. (The other site was reporting Elite would get FAS free, but if they pay for FAS it will upgrade to PPlus.) Since I mainly want it for my Diet Cokes, this works for me. Maybe a Mango meltdown or two😉 Apparently, as suggested before, if enough of us call CAS to express our feelings it DOES make a difference. Can't wait to see what is actually posted on April 1st.