deefer

Is there somewhere to park the twizy @ kings warf if you want to keep it for more than one day?

We stayed in 9732 and it was by far the best Penthouse Suite aft cabin. The balcony curves around and though you can only stand on the aft side of the ship there is plenty of room on the aft balcony portion. We loved this aft penthouse balcony. We even saw whales!

We recently booked this cabin for our Panama Canal cruise. Although the balconies on the 10th floor are larger - we purposely chose this cabin for the wrap around section to give us a side view when going through the canal.

I have since read on another thread that the side view is partially obstructed by window washing equipment. Was this true for your cruise?

Now I’m thinking maybe I should move to the 10th floor?? There are still cabins available on the 10th floor.

Your thoughts would be invaluable!

Update on theft of cameras/headphones

In an earlier post I shared our experience of having items stolen out of our carry on bag at the airport in China.

We took out trip insurance with a company called TinLeg that covered our entire 25 day trip (not just the 11 day cruise).

We phoned TinLeg within 2 days of returning to see if we could recover anything for the cost of the items stolen. The water camera was about 4 years old, the digital camera 2 yrs old, the headphones 5 years old & the iPod even older. We had no receipts.

Even without receipts TinLeg reimbursed us $300. Just took a few phone calls/emails. Although not enough to cover replacement, it did take a little of the sting out of that experience.

We were quite impressed with TinLeg. Honestly we were expecting nothing. So if you ever find yourself in the same boat (no pun intended!) give your insurance company a call and remember to pull your memory card out of your camera at the end of your trip so you don’t lose those priceless photos!!!

We are bringing the Jewel back from Vancouver to Singapore in September. We are docking overnight in Hong Kong. Did The Jewel dock at Kai Tak Runway Park? If so how did you travel about? It would appear there is a bus to the nearest train station or a short ferry ride to then catch another ferry. Any assistance appreciated. Thanks Sue

We disembarked in HK and booked a private tour for the entire time we were in HK. The tour guide picked us up a the port so have no experience with taxi’s.

Our cruise did dock at Kai Tak port if that’s any help.

Just a lil update from my cruise. Hong Kong to Tokyo March 21.

Thanks so much for a taking a pic of us leaving port. Amazing!

We had a fabulous cruise. I really don’t think it could have been much better. Every single thing was great: the ship, ports, weather. It was a trip of a life time.

 

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What a great photo of you and your family!

Your very welcome for that sail away photo. Just dumb luck that our hotel room had that view and that I noticed!

We have purposefully booked 12530 twice.

The previous poster is right - the balcony is smaller BUT the square footage of the room is bigger.

What you don’t have in balcony is now in the room. I’ll attach some photos so you can see what I mean - I believe in the other family suites the balcony is the length of the room - in this room (and room 12030) it’s only 1/2 the length - the other half is indoor space.

If you spend hours on the balcony (or need a trundle bed) then this room is not for you. But as we spend at most 1 hour a day on the balcony - this room works great for us.

I believe the ship has been in dry dock since we last sailed, so I’m guessing the decor will be different.

No matter which cabin you end up in you will have a blast!

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Okay, trying tapatalk

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The little icon of the “mountain” that I have used to post pictures has disappeared. Is there something I can do to make it reappear???

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Going on the Jewel to AK.. so much info here that I can't find it!

 

1- Purchase internet ahead of time? Or on boat same price.

I believe if you purchase the internet ahead of time you save the one time $3.95 set up fee. Otherwise prices are identical.

If you're on the Escape and you get caught in the rain, would you order a pina colada? [emoji16] (yes, I'm growing bored while waiting for my cruise).

 

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Only if you are not into yoga.....and if you have half a brain!

Thanks for the chuckle!:')

it is best if you ask the vendor what they prefer. generally, smaller bills is always better

Completely agree with checking with the vendor.

In Bangkok they preferred large bills. Apparently the larger the bill the better the exchange rate. I am guessing that this is an exception, but you never know

You have the option of all the free at sea perks when in a suite - but you have to add the ones that have a “service fee” - and that’’s all that will be added to your fare when you check it. Not the full cost of the SDP or UBP.

How do you purchase a spa pass? I do not see it online, is it call in only? And how much is it?

They are available on line 90 days before you sail (100 days before if you are in a suite).

The price varies by ship and by length of cruise. It seems to average about 200pp/week for the bigger cruise ships (which have the nicer spa areas). It’s about $150pp/week on the jewel class ships. You save $20pp if you purchase it before you board.

If you are within 90 days of sailing and cannot see it on line under the “spa” section - phone NCL and see if they can book it for you. I know the website acts up at times.

We used visacentral - it’s not cheap - but due to time restrictions we could not get to a Chinese embassy so it was worth it for us.

We sailed with NCL and if you clicked the link to visacentral from their website you received a discounted rate.

I’m not sure who you are cruising with - but check out their website, they may have something similar.

To avoid the crowds it’s either the haven or the thermal spa. If the haven is sold out (or cost prohibitive) I would absolutely go with the thermal spa.

You also have the option of getting a regular cabin and just purchasing the thermal spa pass ahead of time.

Price it out and see which is cheaper - a spa mini suite or a regular minisuite with the purchase of a spa pass.

If you go with a non spa room, my only advice would be to purchase that thermal spa pass 90 days out to ensure you get one. I have seen them sell out on several sailings.

Enjoy your cruise!

Has anyone been able to get 2 cabins, on the same sailing, with both husband and wife earning a comp? We want to take our young adult kids with us on our next cruise. Is it possible to book a cabin with one of us in each cabin?

Yes, to Alaska on the Jewel , husband comped an oceanview and I got a minisuite.

Testing to see if I can post more than one picture

And here is number 2

Ok, looks like it worked

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It is important, especially when bidding for an upgrade or booking a guarantee, that you completely understand the applicable terms and conditions beforehand. Working with a good, informed PCC or Travel Agent goes a long way to avoiding situations caused by a lack of information.

 

When it comes to the Norwegian Dawn, all of the Oceanview Cabins are found on decks 4, 5, 6, and 8. The deck is NOT what determines which cabin is "better" than another.

 

Each cabin is assigned a 2 digit cabin category code. The first digit indicates the Meta-Grouping (in this case "O" for "Oceanview"), and the second digit indicates the preference within the Meta. The second digit can be a letter or a number, numbers are considered to be "better" than letters. Thus "Z" would be the lowest, and "1" would be the best.

 

On the Dawn, there are eight different classes of Oceanview Cabins. From "best" to "worst", they are:

 

• O1
  
• OA
  
• OB
  
• OF
  
• OG
  
• OK
  
• OX
  

This is the list that determines cabin ranking, NOT which deck the cabin is on.

 

All of the obstructed cabins are in the "OK" category (I know, ironic, right?). The oceanview cabins on Deck 4 on the Dawn are either "OF" or "OG", both of which rank better than an "OK" cabin and thus are an upgrade.

 

 

 

When a specific deck or location are important, you should always book the specific cabin in which you will be happy. When you play the bid and/or the guarantee game, you are rolling the dice and need to be prepared to accept whatever you get.

I’m always learning something new on these boards. Even though we have yet to book a guarantee I thank you for this tutorial!

Just like with cows. Wait till he's asleep on his feet, then run up and give him a quick shove.

Now that’s funny🤣

I believe most of the junks stop “cursing” around 5p when you run out of daylight so that would limit you to a half day cruise......Having said that, a half day cruise on a crowded junk in Halong Bay is better than no cruise at all!

Oops! A typo that is too late to edit .... I meant “cruising” not “cursing”.

Unibok ..... have an excellent time no matter what you decide to do!

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I have a cruise scheduled on the Jewel for Jan 2019. If I don't see better reviews I will cancel and stay with Royal. :mad: The only reason I'm on NCL is I/we have $4000+ each in credits from the disasterous NCL Star in Jan 2017.

So we were on the Jewel the week before - Singapore to HK. Our experience was excellent. I posted a live review. That does not mean that the OP did not have miserable time.

Everyone has different expectations, does different excursions & comes in contact with different crew members - I’m sure that for every great experience you can find someone on board who thinks the cruise was horrible.

For the $4000 credit I would give it one more try.

Deefer, thank you so much for the review of your time in Ha Long Bay, and for making the time and effort to post your pics. I will be sailing there in February 2019, and hope very much to experience something similar to your excursion.

 

If all goes as planned, we will be there only from noon to about 8:00 pm. Do you have a sense of whether that is enough time for such an excursion?

I believe most of the junks stop “cursing” around 5p when you run out of daylight so that would limit you to a half day cruise.

The junk we were on does do 1/2 day cruises - I’m not sure if you could charter it for a 1/2 day - but even if you joined a group (wether through your roll call or not) what I like is that there would only be 12 of you on this junk. I heard others on the ship complaining there were 40 people on their junks and they felt crowded.

Having said that, a half day cruise on a crowded junk in Halong Bay is better than no cruise at all!

I figured out that if I send the post, then edit it I can add sometimes add another picture - I’m not sure what changed - but I had no issues before.

We also were rowed around a fishing village and went to a pearl farm. I have no pictures as I left my ipad on the junk.

I actually did a live review on the NCL Forum of the entire cruise - I’m sorry I don’t know how to provide a link using my ipad but if you want to see more pictures/details. of our excursion at Halong Bay just click on my name to find the “threads that were started by deefer”.

The only thing I would have done differently is not use the car service through indochina junk - taxi from the pier where we docked to our junk would have been about $6, we paid $30.

Otherwise, would highly recommend this junk for a full day tour.

The sunset as we are returning.....around 5p.

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I forgot to add that drinks are not included in the price. Happy to answer any questions you may have!

When we went to the cave we were the only one’s on the island ... how cool is that

There were quite a few uneven stairs to walk up and get to the cave.

On this Island there is also a beach area that you could lounge around on and this is where you could kayak. As it was a little cool and overcast that day we passed on participating in these two things. That’s the joy of only being 2 - easier to agree.

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This was the dining for 2 set up (upper deck)

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And some of the food