sailingships

Sometimes there will be a wait list for shorex that are sold out and NCL staff will try to get another bus etc. Check when you go onboard. 

On 3/31/2024 at 9:01 PM, roddy good boy said:

Could you explain further. What do you mean by carrying something to stand on. And, what is the flooring? I’m going in Sept. 2024. Thanks! 

The flooring is not clean. There go your nice white socks etc.

On 3/22/2024 at 11:28 AM, Helen1981 said:

Hi everyone, we are taking a one week Mediterranean cruise in the summer with a stop in Istanbul. We are doing the 8 1/2 hour day trip which includes the blue mosque and Hagia Sophia. From what I have read the knees and elbows need to be covered to enter these sites,

I think its shoulders. Women also need to cover their hair. A sun hat is acceptable. At the Sophia theres a big lobby where you take off your shoes before you go into the sanctuary.  For the shoe thingy theres nowhere to sit down so carry something to stand on. They give you a bag to put your shoes in and then you place them in a cubbyhole We got 2 of them We took our socks off too and used wet ones later to wipe our feet. The floor is not friendly to socks

You have about at least an hour of travel from Orlando to Port C on a weekend day with everyone else heading for the beaches. You might consider changing that flight to earlier or even the day before. By the time you get off the plane and get your luggage you would be late for the meeting time with the NCL rep at 10am. (Terminal B, Level one by Hertz) The busses start rolling at 11am.

3 hours ago, purplecow15 said:

Has anyone used NCL transfers from Civitavecchia cruise port to FCO? Our cruise in September docks at 6:30 am. When is the first transfer likely to be? Also, I can't find the cost of transfers without flight information which I don't have yet.TIA

NCL charges $75 for the transfer from Civitavecchia to FCO (Rome airport) Your flight must be at least 6 hours after the ship docks. At least after 12 Noon.

36 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I am Diamond on both CCL and NCL but find NCL a better fit for us.  

So am I and I thought I really miss the unlimited laundry on CCL. However there ways to get around that problem. As a veteran, I get treated better on NCL than on CCL. Plus we get the vouchers for free dinners at the specialty restaurants etc. After nearly 40 cruises with CCL and many with NCL overall I've been treated better and had a more enjoyable experience with NCL, and spent much less for the cruise.  I still cruise with CCL if friends are going but about one a year. Last year we took 12 cruises only one of them with CCL. This year only one also.

Carnival treats the passenger as though the are already the higher status when they first go onto the ship if they are going to change to that higher level during the cruise.

IOW If the passenger will be changing to Platinum during the cruise all the Platinum goodies are gifted from the first day: free bags of laundry, the number depending on the length of the cruise, a gift, a free drink, the elite party, the special Elite line at Guest Services etc. For a cruise of 12+ days there are 5 bags of laundry.

This doesnt apply if the passenger will move up the last day of the cruise as it is not a full day.

6 hours ago, Blueberry89 said:

We did the TA last year on the Epic from New York to Barcelona.  We had great weather and I found I didn’t bring enough shorts! Especially for the European ports. It was last two weeks of April, first week of May. We sat by the pool most days as the sun was shining and it was warm enough to lounge at least. 

We were on that same cruise and spent most of the days on our balcony in swimsuits, tanning.  

On 3/22/2024 at 9:45 AM, graphicguy said:

That said, the only Carnival cruise that vaguely interests me is the Venezia, which is a refurbished Costa ship (I think, not sure).  Pics make it look nice and totally different from Carnival's other ships.

For those who were on the Gem TA in December that was the Venezia that berthed next to us on the Monday we were in NYC

On 3/21/2024 at 1:42 PM, cruiseDH22 said:

Wifey and I have done 4 or 5 NCL cruises.  We are interested in a Carnival Cruise to Bahamas or Caribbean out of NY later this year.

 

What will we expect, not having experienced Carnival before.  What will we miss, and what can we expect in general?

 

I will probably post this on the Carnival forum as well, but looking for some expert insight and thought I will start here.

 

(Once you NCL you never consider anything else?)

NCL V Carnival The buffet is about the same as NCL. Buffet area is open all night for coffee and pizza. There's laundry rooms on every other deck for about $3 per wash and $3 for about 20 minutes drying time. Plus an iron and ironing board. Upper-level Lats called VIFP cruisers get free unlimited laundry. Theres a steak house for about $45 and the newer ships have a Teppanyaki and maybe an Italian restaurant but no Le Bistro nor Moderno.  The MDRs have set times with the same table usually 6pm and 8.15PM and an eat any time but you have to stay in whatever category you choose the whole cruise, unless you ask nicely. For TAs the early time is usually 5.30pm Theres usually 2 'Elegant nights where they frown on caps and shorts. The first night is lobster the 2nd usually Prime Rib. Gold (25 days) on up get a free drink. Theres usually a free party for the upper-levels but thats been scaled back to very little. When you first embark you can take a .75 ML bottle of wine onboard with no charge.  There is a way to take more than one but thats classified. For TAs and foreign countries you can bring back stronger stuff from the ports onto the ship no charge. but not in the Caribbean etc. Most of the ships have a big screen on the deck for movies etc Big games like the Super Bowl are shown there also. 

8 hours ago, MajSteve said:

Quick Question: What time does the Buffet on the Epic open for service? Thanks!

It depends on whether you're in a port or it's a sea day.

Have you asked NCL ?

On 11/11/2022 at 6:09 PM, Lucky Dude 2101 said:

From what I’ve seen, there is no behind the scenes offered any more.. 

Depends on the ship and cruise. The Gem had BTS in December.

On 9/20/2022 at 9:22 AM, spanishguy1970 said:

nope, remember, they have to clean the ship and staterooms, boarding usually starts at 11 am.

Actually it starts after every single one of the passengers from the prior cruise have left the ship. That does not include B2B passengers.  

It varies ship to ship and cruise to cruise. We've already booked our shorex for a Christmas cruise on the Gem. It also depends on where you are going.

Theres been discussions in the past about just when we can use two CruiseNext certificates. We just received an Email that NCL has just started DoubleUp again. I dont know how long the promotion will last though.

They have Cholera. The Dawn is quarantined off the coast of Mauritius. They should have been in Port Lewis today.

Have you called NCL ? There was that problem with the cell phones etc for several hours this morning. I had something added to a cruise and instead of receiving the updated info Email, it arrived hours later after my cell phone was working again.

5 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Dinner only. I was on a TA from Rome to NY in December and it wasn’t open at lunch for any of the days. It’s a great spot though to play games and was set up with coffee and I think pastries sometimes as well during the day and a stack of board games.

Actually it was

1 hour ago, GrammieCruising said:

Is the ORCHID GARDEN open for lunch daily? Dinner daily? Open every day or just occasionally. THANK YOU.

It was open for lunch for the Med and the TA cruises in Nov/Dec but usually its not open for cruises in the US.

4 hours ago, jannflo said:

Are there any solo cruisers sailing on this April 7th cruise?  I just signed up and trying to

get my feet wet, well you know what I mean.  Have traveled solo on a couple cruises 

but never on the Epic.  Hope to meet a lot of people that ill become Friends.

  James from Louisiana

There should be a big group of solos that will meet in the Cavern Club about 5pm and go to the MDRs together about 6pm. They might meet in the Studio Lounge on Deck 11 the first night but if theres too many for that room they will move. The meeting place/times will be listed in the Daily.

If you have the LAT coupons thats a good opportunity to make a friend to take to dinner with you and they should take you. Double the dinners.

Book online We booked our meals for a Sept cruise weeks ago. You dont have to wait for 120 days etc to book meals or excursions for some cruises. Some have those listed early. Just check your cruise in your account to see if you have access yet.

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

It should not even be a question about which credit cards the TA accepts. The charge should go straight to the cruise line, and they take all major credit cards. At the point the agent said, American Express would not be accepted, you should have run away from that transaction, unfortunately, an expensive lesson.

I agree with you but I meant if the TA accepted any cc at all. Yes, they should have accepted all, especially a biggy. 

15 hours ago, BIGBANG22 said:

Yes, i zelled him the money FROM my bank because he said his agency did not accept Amercan express. Zelle is pretty much equal to cash,  

Thank you for clearing that up. I was wondering what Zell was. I guess its like a money transfer. Did the Zell have the name of Carnival on it or the name of the TA ? Do you have any receipts etc.?  Your bank should have a record of the purchase of the Zell. I'm sorry this has happened to you. 

I wonder if he ever told you which credit cards he did accept? If any. A reputable company would have accepted AmEx.

6 hours ago, KarenRB said:

Unrelated to this, with my Verizon plan, I have cell service in Mexico for $5/day.  Hope this isn't too Luddite a question.  Do I physically have to be off the ship or is it just necessary to turn roaming off?

Probably not. You may not have service in some areas of the ship. If you have a balcony you should be good to go. An inside, go up on deck or to a quiet area of the Garden Cafe or somewhere your cell phone will work. The usual rule is up to 12 miles out to sea. 

Dont forget if you visit an American port, San Juan, St Thomas, St Croix, you dont need an Intl plan on those days. It's just like being in another state.