amygutman

Thank you again for the lovely review and photos...am slightly nervous re: some of the negative reviews but you have taken every bump in stride. You have been a joy and I will metaphorically fist bump you as we hit the gangway in 8 hours or so....:) Warmest, Amy

We live in a suburb of Orlando. There is a thriving Uber business between the airport and the cruise terminal - will take you about an hour (honestly, a lot of that is just getting out of Orlando traffic and the indescribably horrible I4 traffic). There are taxis as well (quite expensive), and plenty of non-NCL shuttles to be pre-booked or booked when you land that leave 24/7 from the airport. Tourism is the backbone of Orlando, so you do have plenty of non-NCL transfer options if you choose. I have heard that the NCL transfers are pretty reliable, but they often are held at the airport waiting for flights to come in. Depending on how early you are trying to get on the ship, this may be a negative. Flying in the day of a cruise is stressful enough - I wish you well on your transfer! Warmest, Amy

We have been having so much fun reading this review (and taking lots of notes). Thank you for taking the time out of your vacation to help make our vacation (13 hours and counting) even better! Warmest, Amy

I'll cross my fingers for you - our 13 yo is very excited to have his "own room" (and hot tub). We love the Haven 2 bed suites and are curious how this compares. I'm loving the OP's photos so far of the YC areas!

Absolutely...I'll take lots of photos and share our thoughts. It's postings like these that give great inspirations re: ships, itineraries (and keep us excited on the countdown to the next days at sea)

We are excited to follow this! Boarding the Meraviglia on March 16th for a quick weekend cruise and eager to find out how much fun you had in the yacht club. We were able to get a YC duplex suite so will be able to indulge in our own hot tub just like your girls! Have a wonderful trip and we can’t wait to see pictures and hear your adventures. warmest, Amy

I actually anticipate #7 - we are on a weird "three-fer" cruise...days 1-4 Port Canaveral to Ocean Cay then back (our leg), then days 5-11 out into the bahamas again and Mexico. You can do Days 1-4, Days 5-11, or the full days 1-11. Based upon reading other postings, I bet the differences between passenger groups will be fascinating and I am certain there will be passengers wh ohave no idea when to board or get back on the ship

Cool...anything but an in-person muster drill (oh yeah...I said it!)

Maybe...you don't take about "The Haven" when in "The Yacht Club" ...😇

Not..."THE TALK".... Oh dear sweet lord. I hope it's not the same one I just gave my 13 yo son about dating. 😁

Thank you - I always find your posts to be very useful, and we appreciate you!

Makes sense...thank you!

🥰While patience is a virtue, I certainly was not virtuous during the wait. Good luck to you!

We were only able to book the Silver Cove Villas 4 weeks ago for an April 26th sailing. In the past (pre-Covid), we were able to book online or with the pre-cruise concierge at / near the 180 day mark. The shore excursion desk + pre-concierge says that in the past 6 months late "releases" of these villas is increasingly common but they are unsure why. This was also confirmed by our TA. Be persistent...I literally was checking the website twice daily and finally they showed up! It's the only "excursion" we really are interested in and jumped on it the second the villas became available to book. Crossing my fingers for you! Warmest, Amy

OK...I loved every minute of this review, but this takes the cake (apparently...literally...takes the cake) 😅 Warmest and Thanks, Amy

Good morning - We are in the YC for a March Meraviglia 3 night sailing. The MSC representative said the 1500 check-in time is not accurate as "you are in the YC so you can board as early as 0930". 0930 seems a bit early to me re: the last sailing's disembarcation. We were thinking 1030-1100 would be more likely. When we did the Seashore out of Miami, we boarded at 1100 and were swept directly to our room. We only live 45 minutes from the port (and hitting Kennedy Space Center the day before the cruise), so the earlier on the ship the better - if we only have 3 nights on the ship I want to make every second count! Can anyone advise please? Warmest, Amy

We are doing a 3 night coming up in a week, and this is lovely to see. Thank you so much! Warmest, Amy

We always print the eticket first pages (with specific cruise info on it, including booking number / cabin), luggage labels (yes...even for carry-ons - trust me on this one), and the summary page of anything pre-booked or that comes with your booking (i.e. shore excursion credit, shows, spa treatments). Having a physical copy is invaluable if at check-in there are questions about the booking, or when you get to your room, if you have a booked meal / excursion / credit not showing for some reason. We have everything in a folder, labelled along with a copy of our travel insurance, our covid certificates (not every port needs them, but good to have ready), and photocopies of passports / licenses / photo ID. This folder is our "Hail Mary Back-Up" in case something is lost / misplaced or questioned. Warmest, Amy

Thank you so much for the lovely review. Your sense of humor comes across like a breath of fresh cruise air! Can't wait to see this ship live in July when we have a "quicky" out of Canaveral. You've provided a great list of things to try on-board. Appreciate you taking the time out from your vacation to entertain and inform. Warmest, Amy

Our ship lists a 11 hour "day" there (hopefully), and historically we spend about 8 hours in the cabana. With our discounts (both from NCL and our TA), it's about 625$. Expensive - yup. It's our only "excursion" for the cruise and we usually find someone nice to share with. The pure luxury of the area - great service, clean toilet, shower, no worries about phones / cash etc (personal safe), not having to rent floaties, and great food make it worth it to us. The beach area is beautify, never crowded and truly relaxing. It's definitely a personal choice though, and a pricey one at that. But we love it...so to us it's worth every penny. Warmest, Amy

Interesting - When we booked for April, the lagoon ("bedrooms") were 400-300$ (I believe 800$ vs 1200$) more than the ocean villas at Silver Cove. We don't need the bedroom or the larger space, we just love the location and service. Honestly...not sure which location we'd choose if offered at same price but did love the ocean villas the last time we were on GSC before the bedroomed-locations were opened. I know daily prices are affected by competition - that is, if more than one ship at the island. It's strange that the pricing for larger vs smaller is inconsistent however. Warmest, Amy

Thank you so much for the report! We are going to be in the DOS with large balcony in Alaska in September and cannot wait - it's a bucket list for us. Was the balcony as awesome as it looks on the YouTube videos online? Warmest, Amy

Thank you so much for this! We’ve been to the Miami yacht club and Haven terminals, but never Port Canaveral YC. This is very very helpful. Luckily, we will taking a hotel shuttle - we live in Orlando, but got a great deal at a Canaveral hotel because we are spending a couple of days at NASA before the cruise. It was way cheaper to park at the hotel with a free shuttle that it would be to park at the cruise terminal. I applaud your wife who will be happily enjoying her drinks package while you are battling MCO traffic. Hopefully she leaves some for you on your way back to the terminal! You’ll need it after I4 traffic 🥰 warmest, Amy

So excited to be following along - we are on the Encore in September (only 224 days away 😁) for our first Alaska cruise. The ship looks lovely so I cannot wait to follow your adventures. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us live vicariously through you and your family. Warmest, Amy