CruisnDeb

1 hour ago, dream2cruise said:

It is boarding day!!  We made it to our hotel in Jacksonville yesterday afternoon with only minor delays looking for open gas stations along I-95.  We enjoyed dinner and two flights of beer at Bottlenose Brewing in Jacksonville.  My husband and I split the smash burger and the grown-up grilled cheese.

I wish this place was near Port Canaveral. Looks like you had a nice meal there. 

1 hour ago, MonsterJoe said:

I read last night that this week's cruise was delayed back to port because of the hurricane and the itinerary before yours is going to be reduced to a 2 day!  Hope everything goes smoothly for yours!

 I truly feel bad for the people who got the short cruise reduced by an extra day. Mother Nature happens but it still stinks. 

4 minutes ago, UKstages said:

you can actually book a cruise for next week, provided you purchased the certificate at least 120 days prior.  it's a common misunderstanding... most people think the booking date has to be 120 days out. it does not. it's the purchase date of the virtual certificate. 

Ahhhh I just went back and reread the terms and conditions.  Easy to misunderstand that.  Thanks for this!  Might be worthwhile to purchase one today since they are worth $250 🙂 

2 minutes ago, Bobby Winds said:

I’m sorry but what is Cruise Next ?

Basically same thing but can only be bought onboard.  CruiseFirst can only be bought online.

In addition to what Middleager has said, they can only be used as a deposit when first booking your cruise and can't be added later and can only be used when booking at least 120 days before the cruise.  

@dream2cruise you may or may not know this, but they have changed where you get your keycards now.  You will go straight to your cabin to get them from your door.  You are also allowed to drop off any carry-ons and put secure items in the safe.

I've heard that people who are have completed online check-in with all information filled in (Fast Track) are now getting a different line labeled Fast Track.  I'd love to know if you see a separate line for this when checking in.  Would also like to know what your check-in time is and what the crowd is like when you get there.

14 minutes ago, dream2cruise said:

 

We are not gamblers, but I have seen a lot of people getting comped casino rates and wonder how much money we would have to risk.  Also, flashing lights and the noise of the games negatively impact me quite a bit in terms of headaches.  That is one of the reasons we may not go back to the two shows, Rock City and Total Divas, that we saw last time.

My husband can't take all the flashing lights and noise either.

I believe that Rock City and Total Divas were both on the Seascape, but I will definitely go to see them on this ship.

On 9/21/2024 at 7:47 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

I always read the reviews but take what I read with a grain of salt. It’s good to go in with eyes wide open but most anything will be exactly what you make it!  

Totally agree with this.  I like to read the reviews and when people "gripe" about their cruise, I look for the why as this will usually give you a good indication if this issue will bother you or not.  If they don't give details as to why the experience was less than good, I just ignore and move on.

I'm looking forward to reading a non-yacht club experience 🙂. 

I cruise on this ship next month.  Just curious what deck you are on?  We will be on deck 5 (oceanview) just off of the atrium and I'm wondering what the noise level is like in that area.  I was on the Seascape last October and felt like the atrium was pretty noisy but we were up on deck 10 fwd for that cruise.  I also will not have wifi or the drinks package (I booked on a comped casino rate and adding the drink and wifi on at time of booking for the cheaper rate was not an option) but I do get free drinks in the casino. 

I would love to hear all about your experience and all the things you enjoy about the ship and anything you don't and why.  Obviously you must have liked the Seashore to cruise on it again 🙂

Enjoy your cruise and I can't wait to read your post cruise experience.

26 minutes ago, HenGypsy said:

For us the $50 credit was not applied until we asked for it 2 days after the excursion. True, it wasn't a problem to get the credit+discount once we asked.

Were these excursions booked onboard or online before the cruise?

5 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

When was the last time you tried this? It was not working on the Joy in June of this year. It looks like the iphone loophole has been closed.

I did it in February on the Encore. 

13 minutes ago, lumpkin8 said:

And I forgot this question:

 

5)  My boarding pass has this printed on it, in green: FAST TRACK 

     Does anyone know what this means?

 

It just means you have completed all the online check-in items and you are ready to go.  No special line or boarding.

8 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Same poster, exact same question. And the answers are the same. Pay $10 for the app texting (not sure how well that works), use the phone in your cabin or even just say 'hey, meet you in X at X time'. 

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The “recent post” is from the same OP. He obviously didn’t like the answers on the other thread. 

lol. Wish I had noticed that before—my answer would have been dripping with sarcasm.

Recent post asking pretty much the same question. You will find answers here:  

iPhones are able to use iMessage with the free ship wifi without using your minutes.  Our family all have iPhones and we were able to text each other on the ship as well as others who weren't.  Just make sure you logout so you aren't using up your minutes.

@Stockjock had a couple of posts about this very issue and some things he had to go through to get it resolved.  Sometimes it's an issue with a middle name or initial--all information must be exactly the same, so if you have a middle name on the reservation, there must be a middle name on the voyager account.  Look for his posts, they were very detailed.

@steviem1 when I cruised on the Pride of America, I got our car rentals on all the islands through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals.  The biggest benefit for DHCR is you don't pay until you pick your car up (or at least that was the policy back when we rented)--so if you miss a port or change your mind, you won't be out any money.  Prices were reasonable and we really enjoyed the freedom of going where we wanted to go and take side trips on a whim.

I was curious, so I did a quick look at your Maui date and it looks like a large van (up to 15 passengers) will run around $540 for the day.  The large van is the only size that will fit your group.  If you rent 2 compact SUV's (up to 5 passengers) it runs under $100 for each vehicle.  If you have 2 people willing to drive, I think 2 SUV's will be much friendlier to your wallets.

17 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

Rotating menu in the Haven Restaurant.

This needs to happen in the MDR too.  I almost don't want to take another NCL cruise because the menu is the same on EVERY ship.

8 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

That’s very helpful! Thanks for the screenshot. Looks like a car rental may be the best choice.

You're welcome. 

Also, I asked on another social media site about MSC offering shuttle transportation to the airports after the cruise (I need transportation to SFB) and was told it's been offered in the past to MCO only.  When I was on Meraviglia in June, they did offer a discounted rate of $25 per person to the local airports--I believe it was around $43 if you purchased it before that.  You would need to go to the excursions desk once onboard to ask--this transportation option was NOT listed in my excursions online before the cruise.

@momof3cruisers I am currently booked on the Seashore and the only post-cruise excursion I see is the Kennedy Space Center.  It is listed at $112 per person and under additional notes it states that it is only available to book if your flight is after 6:30 pm.

15 hours ago, promgirl said:

Does anyone know which of the 7 dinner menus are used for a 4 night Bahamas itinerary, specifically Seashore in the next few months?

Don't know if you're looking for something more recent, but here is a review from for a 4 night sailing on Seashore from March.  It's a full review that includes a lot of information including the menus.  

11 minutes ago, GPPhilly said:

 

I just booked a European cruise by combining 2 certificates(1 mine 1 my partners) and the only thing we have to pay for were the 2 extra nights since the certificates are capped at 10 nights.  We were extremely happy with the room and extra fee.  

@GPPhilly I didn't know about the combining of offers until recently.  Can you tell me what offers you both had, and what you got by combining them?  I'm very curious.

@expectthebest I'm sailing on the Joy next year and was wondering what mojito you favored?  How was the jalapeno cucumber one?  I love a spicy margarita so I'm kind of curious about this mojito.

When they email the certificate to you, they include this link to FAQs and upgrade fees that is very helpful. 
 

https://mcusercontent.com/3a0eebe09961d63bca8688ab8/files/ce94de62-1f6a-bd34-a6d2-ef8233dbc630/Ceritificate_FAQ_and_Upgrade_Fees_USA.02.pdf