pattycake1939

Thanks to everyone for clarifying this for me. I had seen something online about Norwegian dropping the pre test but wasn't sure if it was true.  That could change too, I'm afraid. I feel like LocoLoco1 said, that it would be a nightmare to spend the time and money only to get turned away. Also, because of all the trouble with the airlines.......UGH!  Guess it may be a road trip...but then there's gas prices....double UGH!....Oh well, maybe next year, if I'm still around.  I am 83 and came to cruising late in life but love it. So many places yet to see!

Stay well everyone..........Patty

Hi everyone......I miss my cruising so much!  I was booked on #22 in 2020 and have done nothing much since.  We are vaccinated and twice boosted, but because of the pre testing we have hesitated to get back out there. We come a day or two ahead, fly from New England and do not rent a car, so don't know how to get tested. Plus, I have this nightmare of paying for flights, hotels, cabs, etc, only to be turned away at the last minute. I thought I saw something about Norwegian no longer needing pre test but not sure if it was true.  Does anyone have any info?  Thanks..........Patty

Hi all........I am happy to report that I finally got my refund that I requested on April 13th  for the April 30th cruise that was cancelled by NCL.   Last week my credit card company told me it was all in my account and they sent me a check which I received yesterday.  Got it all back, too, so I am thrilled.  I miss our cruises so much like all of you and I hope that we can all sail again sometime.  Good luck to all out there who are waiting........Patti

Glad I keep reading posts on cruise critic. I applied for the refund this morning, the wording says everyone on the reservation, and as I had made all arrangements on my credit card for DD and me, I just did one. Now I see others have done one for each person, so I went back and did one with her name too. I hope that means I will get all that I put in......it was a birthday cruise for her(she is a nurse). Now I just hope that someday in the future we will all be able to sail again. She is my travel companion and cruising has been our happy place for a long time. All of you out there please stay safe and well until we can dance on deck at sailaway again......Patti

I also tried early this morning , had the same problem. I was using an address given to me by a rep on the phone Friday night. Now, we know how this works......everything and I mean everything has to be exact or they refuse you. I just tried the address given in the letter and I had a couple of hyphens missing in peace-of-mind. Tried that, still refused. I had put the date in as 4/30/2020.......should have been 04/30/2020....gee, what a dummy I am. Finally got to submit and got an email acknowledging receipt....printed it.....all 2 lines of it. Will be processed in 90 days....I hope. Good luck to everyone out there trying to navigate the refund. I only hope we get it........Patti

Hi again...............to all of you who have taken the time to respond, I thank you so much. I have been trying to figure this out and just knew that the place to ask was Cruise Critic. There are so many knowledgeable people out there that can speak from experience and help each other. I will try to call them and see what can be done. Please stay safe out there until we can travel again..........Patti

Hi all..........I had a cruise booked with NCL on Apr.30th that has been cancelled. I am waiting until the 13th as they requested to fill in the form for a refund as none of us are sure when we can cruise with safety again. My hotel called me themselves and cancelled 2 weeks ago (Miami Hampton Inn) which I really appreciated as that was one more thing I didn't have to deal with. My airline, however....American.... is another story. I have been monitoring the flights on our dates and have not cancelled as yet because I was waiting to see what the cruise lines did first. Yesterday, the site I use posted no flights available, today also, so I searched out our reservation and they dropped all but one non-stop for my dates and moved us to that one.....no email....no notification.......just sneaky silence on their part. Even if the cruise was still on it wouldn't have worked, early morning return before the ship would have docked!  I am still not calling them until I deal with the cruise next week, but I can't believe they did it this way. I am still hoping since they cancelled my flight I will get a refund, but this sure puts them on my " don't fly list" with Spirit, so I do not want a credit. I am 81 and may not want to fly again, who knows?  I am sure so sad about our beautiful cruises though, they are my happy place, as they are for so many of us.  I just was wondering if anyone else had their airline pull a fast one like this on them.    Thanks in advance for any info and please stay safe and well out there............Patti

Yes, we are on the Norwegian Pearl from 4/30 to 5/11/20 and it sounds like the same transfer, and nothing like they advertise at all. We were going to just take a taxi to the old city but folks say they bug you to take a longer tour with them and I really hate to argue with people. That, and the fact that we are there on a Sunday and weird times to boot, I wasn't sure what to do. Thank you so much for this information. I just may cancel that catamaran, as I'd much rather be on our own time table and maybe some of the vendors will sleep late. LOL! My limited Spanish includes "no, gracias", so I hope that will be enough. We have traveled to many countries and I do understand people need to make a living, but it's so hard because you can't buy from everyone who needs help and I always feel bad. I really appreciate your answer, not many cruises go to this port, so I wasn't sure if I would hear anything, but as usual, cruise critic folks come through..........Happy sails..........Patti

Hi.......We sailed on Adventure and it is a wonderful ship, lots to see and do. We have also sailed Allure of the Seas, which is Oasis class and it was my favorite cruise to date. Those ships are just amazing, huge but never felt crowded and the entertainment , in my opinion, is the best of any and we have been on. 21 with 22 coming up in May. We have never repeated a ship either.....I like variety and trying new ships and cruise lines. Like everything else, I have my favorites but want each cruise to be a new experience. Sometimes we choose for itinerary and sometimes for the ship.  Try something different and happy sails always............Patti

Hi all................Just figuring out my plans and excursions and realize that our stop in Cartagena ( one big reason for booking this cruise) is from 6am to 2pm on a Sunday. I have booked the ferry shuttle with the cruise line to get to the old city and now I'm thinking it may be closed up and nothing to see or do there. Because our time is so short, I didn't want a tour, but just to explore on our own and get back to the ship on time. We have been to most of the other ports at least once, and spent a land tour of 10 days in Panama, so that will be another sea day for us. Has anyone out there been there on Sunday?  .........Thanks...............Patti

Thanks so much for all replies.......exactly what I needed to know.   Cruise  Critic and it's members rock!..Patti

Thanks to all. I guess it will be Coxen Hole, hopefully docked. So if ship time arrival is 10am, local time would be 1 hour earlier, so 9am. Maybe I can make the excursion I want after all. It's so hard to make plans. I am from the east coast, so Central America would be earlier...........thanks again......Patti

Hi all......I just posted this in Roatan Honduras forum and thought I should put it here too. Trying to figure out excursions and we don't dock until 10am. I'd really like to book with Rony's tours but not sure if the timing will work...............Thanks.......Patti

We are on the Pearl on the Apr. 30th cruise and stop in Roatan on Thursday 5/7/20. I am trying to set up my excursions and noticed that we do not arrive until 10am. I would like to book with Rony's but not sure if he picks up where we will be, or if the tour is available at the time we need. If anyone knows, please post......Thanks

We did the Med. last year on Norwegian Epic, first time in Europe and probably last, so we wanted to see as much as possible in the time we had.  Italy Tours EU was the best. We did 2 tours with them and I wish we had done all 3 in Italy. We did the Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast with a view of Positano and lunch break and wander time in Sorrento  and also Best of Florence and Pisa. Both tours were very good, very long days though.  For Rome, we went with another company. The tickets for the Colosseum and Vatican were extra, I don't think they are included in any of the tours. and not sure if you are guaranteed to get in. We went to both but the lines were horrendous and the wait times long, especially the colosseum, and we were there in early May. Still glad we did it all, though. Good luck with your planning and .........Happy sails...................Patti

I checked the ships in port schedule for that day and there is a Holland ship arriving at 9 am in Martinique on the same day. Thank you for the suggestion, though. I also sent an email to the contact but received no reply, so maybe they are no longer in business but did not take the web page down. I wish that Princess would arrive in ports at early times.......a lot of their stops are on different schedules than other cruise lines which makes it harder to book anything but their tours. I guess we will just do something on our own in this port.....only booked this cruise for the different places it stops...............Thanks for the reply, only one to date......   Happy sails..........Patti

Thanks to everyone who answered.....I always get good advice here. I have already booked the cruise and have been watching the fares and they have not been budging at all.  I do know the flight I want and the airline so I'm going to check the Princess price, too. May just bite the bullet and book, 'cause I wouldn't fly Spirit even with a free ticket! Been there once and swore never again.  Thanks again and happy sails to all................Patti

Hi all.............We have never booked cruise air as I like to go the day before. For anyone out there, could you please tell me how it works?  Can you say which flight you are interested in, do they assign seats or can you pick them, and I wonder if it is possible to go the day before. We are cruising in March for the first time and coming from New England, so I am concerned about weather. I wanted this cruise because it goes to several islands we have not been to, and Princess is not in the Caribbean in May, except for the Caribbean Princess which we have done before. I have been watching prices and they seem really high but it's probably because it's "high" season down there. Anyone who has booked flights with Princess.....please let me know how you liked it.      Thanks so much..............Patti

Hi all......I'd like to know if anyone has heard of Travelers Palms excursions?  I found their website and they have a tour that I am interested in but our ship (Crown Princess) does not arrive until 10:30 and it looks like the tour starts at 9, so impossible. This was to St. Pierre, supposed to be like Pompeii and then some time at a beach.We are not interested in the rum factories or food tours that are offered by the ship and others. If anyone knows how to book a later tour to these places, please post. Never been to Martinique and almost no cruises go there so not much info.  Thanks so much.................Patti

Hi.....we also used them for 2 tours....Pompeii, Amalfi Coast and Pisa and Florence. Good tours both and much better value than the ship. I would use them again......Patti

It was your first cruise, that's why. Once you do more, you start making comparisons and thinking "ugh, for the money, this other one is better." And then you have people that are in that "1st cruise" mood every time they sail. Just different personalities. Hopefully you are the latter :)

I totally agree......I must be in that "1st cruise" mood category, because each trip is exciting and even on a few ships I wasn't crazy about, I found something to like and enjoy...maybe just the ports but each cruise has been worth it for the experience.....Patty

I agree with Kayla....we were on Epic Western Med. at the beginning of May and it is a great ship. I thought the meals were good and the crew couldn't have been nicer. We had the 3 meal package so we went to Cagney's twice and Moderno once, and also ate at both main dining rooms and O'Sheehans...and buffet for breakfast every day and a couple of lunches...all very good. I would have liked at least one more sea day to enjoy the ship but we went for the ports and the days were very long and exhausting in Italy especially. We loved Cannes, went to Antibes with a tour and then explored in Cannes, so I wouldn't skip anything, as I may not get there again. The ship layout is quite different from others....but the whole point for me is to see "different" and that's why we travel. This was not my first cruise but my 19th, and we try to never repeat a ship, and have tried several cruise lines as well. The shows on Epic are great and there were so many different activities all the time. If you are a traveler who likes to explore and doesn't need everything just so, you will have a great time.

We did Alaska on Coral Princess 3 years ago, one way from Vancouver Ca to Whittier, and really didn't use ship facilities that much..........the cruise itself is port intensive and I knew it would be the only time I would get there, so I wanted to see as much as possible. I think we just ate, saw a show or two and dropped into bed each night. Ours went to Glacier Bay and College Fjord in addition to Ketchikan , Juneau, and Skagway. We flew to Vancouver and spent 3 days there before the cruise.......beautiful city....then the cruise...then flew to Seattle from Anchorage and stayed 3 days there before flying home......another beautiful city. Living on the east coast, I wanted to combine that trip and it worked out perfectly for us. Alaska is amazing and for me that trip was all about the ports. Happy planning......Patti

Hi again Sidekick......I feel so bad for your girlfriend, there is no more miserable feeling in the world than constant motion sickness. I was scared to take my 1st cruise because of it. I just got off my 19th so have learned a few things. I second the opinion of Allure of the Seas...my favorite cruise to date. Any RC Oasis class would be good. Time of year is very important too, as is the area cruising. For the Caribbean I like the southern route best. We just got off the Norwegian Epic from Barcelona for our 1st Med. cruise and felt no motion at all. Hope you give it another try. If you are from Europe, the Epic or RC Symphony would be great choices. Good luck..Patti

On the large new ships of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, we never felt any motion at all. It was like being on dry land. The new stabilizers work very well and the size of the ship makes a big difference, I have found. The only time I have had problems was on older small ships and we don't sail those anymore. It just wasn't worth it. You will see a huge difference on one of the major cruise lines.