farjar

15 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

No. Not K-Cups. Hamilton Beach single serve coffee maker. Uses small, round filter. Your room steward will keep that restocked. 

 

Can any cabin request a coffeemaker or only suites, etc.? We're platinum, will that help?  Thanks

14 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

I’ve read a few things, but if anyone has personal experience/opinions I’d love to hear. 
 

5-night Bliss from LA with stops in Cabo and Ensenada. 
 

The weather looks like it will be what it will be. If the temps are colder (50s and 60s) at sea, are the pools and slides warm enough for the adventurous to brave? 
 

Also does anyone have exceptional luck during this time with unseasonably warm weather? 
 

I knew the weather would likely be colder when I booked so we will have a great time either way. Just looking to hear others experiences. Thanks!

Since you are sailing in late January you shouldn't expect the temperatures to go above the mid 60's in the day time and upper 50's at night until you get below Ensenada.  Wind at sea could also lower those temperatures.  The farther south you go the warmer the air and water temperatures will be so pool/slide usage will probably only be near Cabo since the pools aren't heated.  You shouldn't require more that a light/medium jacket if you dress in layers.  

34 minutes ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

Just got off the phone with NCL there is nothing they can do for my upcoming Jan. cruise because I already made final payment, they told me my next booking will have 10% off after I verify my military service.  

Thanks for the info.  You saved me a phone call.  I was going to try for our January cruise too.

16 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you, NCL! Our military family is so excited about this discount.

 

Military Appreciation Program
Booking Window: November 2, 2022 - Capacity Controlled
Applicable sailings: Fleetwide - 3+ night sailings - January 1, 2023 and beyond
 

Offer valid for active members, veterans, spouses and surviving spouses of the following branches of the United States military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force and National Guard. After verifying your eligibility with ID.me, receive 10% off your Norwegian Cruise Line cruise fare for eligible sailings. 

 

Go to https://www.ncl.com/military for more information.

In order to receive this offer you must verify your eligibility with ID.me first.  Recently a theme park near us was giving free tickets to veterans so I was going to apply.  The form required extensive personal information including branch of service, date of service, service number, social security number, etc.  I decided not to complete the application after all.  I understand certain facts are needed for verification but I also hesitate providing that much personal knowledge to a third party website.  I wasn't worth it to me for the theme park tickets but may reconsider when we book our next cruise.

43 minutes ago, Indiansbaseball said:

Just off 8 Day Spirit Cruise. After reading this post before leaving…I was not looking forward to my cruise. Well…the ship was immaculate and my room was clean ! I dreaded my cruise for no reason at all !! 

We did 16 days on the Spirit last month and I couldn't agree more.  Aside from the extremely loud music in some of the venues it couldn't have been better.

Unfortunately there is a difference between people who debark with true "carry ons" and those who debark with multiple pieces of full sized luggage they checked in when boarding the ship.  The latter are the ones who clog the elevators and corridors causing delays for other passengers.  We recently completed a 16 day cruise with just small flight cases and backpacks thanks to the self-serve laundry facilities onboard and the warm weather itinerary.  

21 hours ago, ober134 said:

I agree the lunch time cake buffet is pretty great. Funfetti cheesecake served only on embarkation day is THE BEST dessert of the week.

My favorite is the Key Lime Cheesecake.  Delicious and sugar free.

On 10/29/2022 at 6:07 AM, Sailing12Away said:

 

 

Even if you book online through NCL or on the phone with them, you have 30 days to transfer that reservation over to a TA.

You now only have 14 days from the original booking date to transfer an NCL cruise to a TA.  To do so you fill out a Direct Guest Transfer Request Form available online.

2 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

Congrats newly weds.  44 years here!

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Gotcha 45 years here.

We're at 53 years and still going strong.  I attribute it to my hubby's philosophy "Happy wife, happy life!"😀

We had two cruises booked that were sailing three months apart.  I applied for both OBC's at the same time and were credited with $250 for our 16 day cruise and $100 for our 8 day cruise.  It was nice not  having to submit each cruise separately.  We applied in late April by snail mail and were approved in late May for our Sept. 2022 and Dec. 2022 trips.

Battery operated tea candle light (about $1.00 each) to use as a bathroom nightlight.  Last cruise it was still working after 16 nights.  We prop the bathroom door open and it provides just enough light so you don't trip and can see what you're doing without having to turn on the ceiling light.

Yellow highlighter.  I still like the printed "daily" so I can use it to mark my activities.

Small clipboard, pencils and lots of crossword puzzles, sudokus and jumbles.  The "one a day" on the ship isn't enough.

A pencil with several wraps of duct tape on it for emergencies.

Earplugs and sleep mask.

Travel clock

2 hours ago, hallux said:

Was this on a promo offer or were they booked using NCL Premium Air?  Yes, IT MATTERS.

It was back in 2019 and the promo code says: AIRPROM2.  We paid a total of $99pp to fly from Southern California to Vancouver then home again from Anchorage.  We NEVER could have found anything that reasonable on our own. Oddly the NCL airport transfers cost us $40pp for each airport (total $160) which was almost as much as the total airfare of $198 for both of us.  

The one time we used NCL our original flights were terrible.  I went to the sites for the airlines they were using and came up with an itinerary that was much better including a nonstop flight.  I then called NCL's air desk and asked if we could have those flights.  They agreed and changed for no charge.  This was pre-Covid and the flights were domestic but you might try it.  The worst they can do is say no and the time spent on the phone would be worth it if it saved you several hours in layover time.  

We are not technically inclined AT ALL.  Recently we just paid for a single 24 hour internet connection for $13 half way through our cruise then used their internet cafe to check emails, email our family and surf the internet.  It was enough for us since our phone service provider didn't have an international plan.

On 10/17/2022 at 6:21 AM, beanie315 said:

We just got back on the 6th and did 16 days on the spirit . We loved this ship and never saw a bug . We were on deck 8 .

We were on the same cruise as you and on deck 8 midship in an extended balcony.  Agree, we loved the ship too and never saw a bug either except for a fly in the Lido on one of the port days.  Aside from the terribly loud music and the long debarkation lines it was a wonderful trip.

1 hour ago, mdin said:

Going to jump on this thread instead of starting a new one.

 

I received my first ever upgrade offer. I'm currently in an interior room for a March 2023 sailing on Mardi Gras. The offer is to move to a deck 12 balcony towards the back for $350. Out of curiosity, is that a good deal as far as upgrades go?

It might depend on the length of the cruise.  We paid $420 to go from a guaranteed inside to an extended balcony on our recent 16 day Panama Canal cruise on the Spirit.  We were very glad we did because of the length of the cruise and the uncertainty of a guarantee.  At first they offered us a cabin under one of the bars.  I had previously gone to "The Box Store the Costs" site and knew which cabins in the same category were still available.  I was able to pick one of our choosing not what they wanted to give us. Do some research and see what is above and below their offering before you make a decision.

Our recent 16 day cruise on the Spirit was Sept. 20-Oct. 6.  Here are the movies they showed:

Sept.    Jurassic World Dominion, Elvis, Vivo, Fantastic Beasts-The Secrets of Dumbledore, Mobius,

              The Batman, The Lost City, Dune, Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Oct.       Minions The Rise of Gru, Thor Love and Thunder, Lightyear, The Batman, Jurassic World                            Doninion, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Elvis

Ship: Carnival Spirit

Deck: 7

Cat: 8K  Extended Balcony

Cabin: 7233

Starboard side

Very quiet, non-connecting room with couch and table.  The balcony was larger than normal with 2 chairs and a table and ample leg room so you weren't cramped.  It had an unobstructed view, a big overhang that provided wonderful shade and good wind protection depending on your direction of travel.  As long as the balcony door was double locked there was not whistling wind noise. The location was near the midship elevators so it was an easy 2 deck ride up to dining in the Lido buffet.  Our only complaint is the lack of outlets.  There is only one on the desk so we had to unplug our clock every time we wanted to charge the phones or use the curling iron. I suggest bringing an extension cord or multiplug.  We would book this room again.

On 9/15/2022 at 8:27 AM, blondestickchick said:

Anyone, aside from the Galveston cruiser, have any actual input on the OPs question re: unsupervised testing?  I'm just really curious how this is being handled.  Seems so pointless overall.  

 

I too will be very interested.  We leave soon on a cruise that still requires supervised testing due to its length.  Even though we are fully vaccinated and boosted we have to go through the inconvenience and expense of regular Covid testing.  If non vaccinated cruiser can self test then fully vaccinated and boosted should be able to also regardless of cruise length. Aren't we actually safer passengers to have on board than unvaccinated self-testers. It will be interesting to see reports of illness from people on ships that didn't require full testing compared to ours.  I'll make a point to post after we return if I noticed any indication of people being quarantined.  Perhaps we will have a safer cruise because of it.  We'll see.

Just got another automated phone call from Carnival apologizing for the mistaken information in their previous message.  Fully vaccinated and boosted passengers can take a PCR or RAPID ANTIGEN THREE days before sailing.  Don't know what happened.  Perhaps they thought we were on a cruise going to more restrictive destination.   😡 😡

We received a phone call I believe said the new requirement for our 16 day Spirit cruise Covid testing was now three day for a PCR test and TWO days for a rapid antigen test.  The information went by so quickly I'm not positive that is what I heard and there was no way to replay the automated message.  I called Carnival and the representative said her information still showed three days for a rapid antigen test.  Did I misunderstand?  Did anyone else receive a similar call?  Our rapid test is scheduled for tomorrow which would NOT qualify if the new requirements are true.  I need to know whether to reschedule our appointments.  Thanks.

9 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL never cancel cruises. You may not see the ports expected, but they will operate the cruise. 
 

There was one exception in recent memory where a hurricane parked over Florida, keeping PortMiami closed for several days. Even when there was zero chance of a cruise occurring, NCL didn’t cancel cruises until the night before departure. 

In late October 2005 we did a NCL Dream cruise out of Galveston two days after Hurricane Wilma devastated the Yucatan Peninsula as a category 5 storm.  All our ports of call; Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City and Cancun, were cancelled because of the horrible damage she left behind.  In order to avoid the remnants of the storm we spent a week cruising in a very slow circle in the Gulf of Mexico before returning to Galveston. NCL was able to hastily arrange one stop at Vera Cruz where local school children came to sing to us and vendors set up their wares on the pier in the rain. It ranks as our least ideal cruise but it was still a cruise and we were safe.  Our inconvenience, however,  could not compare with the problems faced by those affected on shore in Wilma's aftermath.

In late October 2005 we did a NCL cruise out of Houston two days after Hurricane Wilma devastated the Yucatan Peninsula as a category 5 storm.  All our ports of call; Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City and Cancun, were cancelled because of the horrible damage she left behind.  In order to avoid the remnants of the storm we spent a week cruising in a very slow circle in the Gulf of Mexico before returning to Houston.  It ranks as our least ideal cruise but it was still a cruise and we were safe.  Our inconvenience, however,  could not compare with the problems faced by those affected on shore in Wilma's aftermath.

9 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Some library photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mom has brought about 15 books that she will be leaving in the library.

Thank you for the pictures.  The library looks nice but the supply of books seems lacking.  We will definitely bring several paperbacks then leave them for others when we are finished also.  We were on the Koningsdam to Alaska in May and the selection of books was one of the best I've seen on a cruise ship.  Too bad it varies so much from ship to ship.

19 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

We both enjoyed our lunch and now we are exploring. My mom is parked in the library checking out some books. I'm gonna check out the gym and look around the ship. I will probably do a photo tour towards the end of the review after I get photos on a port day that I stay on the ship for.

How well stocked is the library? Are there many fiction books? We will be boarding your cruise in Seattle for the 16 day Panama Canal portion and were wondering how many paperbacks to bring.