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EmeraldCoastCruisers

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    Living on a cruise ship?

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    We are planning on retiring in 4-5 years at 55-56. While I love cruising, I also love land vacations. Our plans are to sell off everything, downsize to a smaller new home in FL, and purchase a slightly used Class A 35' Motorhome. Using FL as our base camp then we will cruise, RV, or fly whenever and wherever the mood strikes us and our health allows us. We love to travel. Our oldest has already moved 16 hours away and I can't see the youngest sticking around MI once she gets her college degrees. I will happily travel to wherever they land to visit with them for a while. I can see DH's family and what's left of mine easily coming down to FL to visit us and with today's technology it is not hard to keep in face to face contact with those you love. We have found that out this past year with DS. I face time/messager him a couple times a week on Facebook. I just don't think I could limit myself to cruising only though and living on a ship full-time. There is still too much out there in just the USA alone that I want to see and do and I am looking forward to visiting Grandkids someday.

     

     

    We had a 40ft. Class A MH and lived in it for 3 months during a move. We are definitely not full-timers with that size RV so I know we could never live on a cruise ship! We like room so we will keep our house and travel.

     

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

    Harvest Caye Cabanas

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Thanks to everyone for all the great responses. I have a few questions...

     

    Do the ships dock or are there tenders? I'll be on one of the big ones, the getaway, if that makes a difference. We were on the first ship that went to the Island (NCL Dawn, November 2016) and there are no tenders as it's a large dock the ship pulls in to. I'm expecting the same for a larger ship too, but don't know for sure.

     

    My folks are at the age where they are starting to have some mobility issues. The walk was quite LONG so mobility can be an issue if they aren't with wheel chairs. I didn't see a bike taxi like in other ports. I'm not sure if that's changed. It was SO NEW they were still ironing out the kinks in this port.

     

    Are there any options to get to the cabana/villa check in? Like in some ports they have the 2 person bicycle rickshaw thingys. It sounds like they have a golf cart shuttle that takes you from check in to the villa but I'm not clear on how much walking is involved before you get to the check in. I can't answer anything related to the cabana. We live at the beach (on Emerald seas) so this was not important to us.

     

    I have heard rumors that you can take a shuttle from the villa to other parts of the island. Like if my folks wanted to do some shopping or go to the nature preserve. If that is true, do they pick you up and take you back too? Not sure about this either as we just walked around.

     

    How does one get to the top of the zip line light house tower? Stairs? Zip line wasn't working for us yet so can't answer this either.

     

    Can you preorder food? Like have some beers and snacks in the villa before you arrive? Not sure!

     

    Can you book more than one villa per stateroom? Looks like I may need to book 3 villas. Yikes. Not sure!

     

    I assume one can go freely from villa to villa if you have a wrist band. ???

     

    Is there cell signal on the island? Don't get me wrong, disconnecting is my favorite part of cruising but I have my folks on my plan with international roaming and we use it to keep in touch in ports of call. We used to use walkie-talkies in port which 3/4 of this message board hated...so its an improvement. :-) I believe there is, but not 100% certain. I can tell you many were walking around with their cell phones. I completely shut down on cruises myself.

     

    Villas aside, did the pool and other non-villa areas seem crowded? It doesn't seem like it from what I've seen. I was recently in Amber Cove in the DR and the pool and area around it was packed to the gills, worse than on ship. The pool area was quite large with ample space for walking, sitting and relaxing and swimming! The beach to us was not the prettiest. But again, we live on the Emerald Coast with soft white sandy beaches.

     

    Thanks in advance for any assistance!

     

    EDIT: Damn, I just noticed all our signatures got nuked when they changed to the new forum software. Mildly annoying.

     

    I placed answers to as many questions as possible in RED. ;)

    Harvest Caye Cabanas

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Several different concierge agents have said that UBP is honored at Harvest Caye. I guess time will tell!

     

    It is NOT! Or wasn't when we were there. We were the FIRST Ship that was brought to HC and we had the beverage package on the ship. It was not offered on the Island.

    Big decision to make!!

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Go for it. Cuts your drive in half and you'll save on hotel fees. And you get an extra day on an upgraded ship. Have a great time!

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

     

     

     

    Ditto this! I hate the longer drives and would rather be on the ship!!!

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

    NCL Pearl Aft Question

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    We will be in 10668 on the Pearl in 33 days!

     

    That's awesome! PHOTOS PLEASE!!!! You can come back and let me know if it was a great cabin! :)

     

    We are on the Pearl in November this year also, but not an Aft Balcony! The only available was on the 8th floor and I didn't want that one. I booked a Balcony Gty last cruise and was quite happy and doing that again this time. Or at least until it gets closer and I see how prices are doing.

     

    Enjoy your cruise! Can't wait to hear about your room!

    NCL Pearl Aft Question

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Here are a couple videos found on youtube for you.

     

    Aft facing mini suite 11156 on sister ship NCL Jewel. Couch is larger, there is curtain you can pull between bed and couch, bathroom has tub/shower combination instead of just shower. Stateroom is nice, balcony is decent size. No suite perks for mini suites. Mini Suites 11650 and 11654 are handicap/disabled staterooms.

     

    This is deck 10 aft facing balcony 10668 on the Pearl. Prime real estate - - check out the wonderful balcony. It's twin 10168 is available. ONLY the deck 10 aft facing balconies are this size. The others are regular size balconies. If one of the two aft facing balconies on deck 10 were available I would take one even though the aft facing minis are currently priced lower.

    (copy and paste into browser, can't make it clickable :()

    Friendly warning .... DO NOT book deck 8 aft facing balcony staterooms 8134 or 8634 on the Pearl unless you party all night or are deaf and are not bothered by bass vibration. They are located directly above Bliss lounge.

     

    Thank you for this! I was hoping it was because of the larger balcony! 10668 is not available, because it's OURS! We had booked that and then saw the Mini Suite was less priced and was just curious. I could care less about a larger couch or bathtub so this is perfect! Kind of humorous though, the extra size balcony is that much more! But then, supply and demand comes to play.

    NCL Pearl Aft Question

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Just checked ... that is crazy. The mini is on deck 11 and under the food buffet, but I don't know if that would stop me from getting the mini over the AFB on a lower deck given the larger room size. I don't know if people can look down from the restaurant onto your balcony. Nonetheless, that is a great rate for a 10 day cruise ... in my opinion

     

     

    That's why we were curious. If the balcony was possibly smaller. It's really hard to find some of this out!

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

    NCL Pearl Aft Question

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Can you share the date of the cruise? I just want to mock book it to recreate the scenario. Thanks

     

    10-Day Eastern (sometimes shown as Southern) Caribbean out of Tampa on 2/7/2019 - YES, 2019! Booking early for our 40th wedding anniversary! Have an AFT regular booked (B1), but my TA and I couldn't figure out why the Aft Mini Suite (M1) was cheaper. Only thing we could determine was the size of the balcony or the noise from the Garden Cafe?????:o

    Jose & Patty

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Hi....We sailed on the Dawn Boston/Bermuda cruise 4 years ago. There was a duet, Jose & Patty I believe, who played in the Atrium lounge. We really enjoyed them. I know entertainment on ships move around and it has been 4 years...anyone know if they are still with Norwegian and the Dawn? We are on the June 9 Boston/Bermuda and would be very happy if they were still there!

     

    We LOVED Jose and Patty! Missed many of the "other" shoes because we enjoyed listening to them!!!

    Pricing of Haven rooms the month before departure

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Your TA is exactly in line with NCL's current marketing policy. This paragraph taken directly from NCL's 2015 annual report shows that they are no longer looking to fill ships with last minute deals.

     

     

     

    DRIVING HIGHER DEMAND TO DELIVER HIGHER YIELDS

     

    Essential to driving higher per diems, which in turn drive higher yields, was building on the initiatives

     

    implemented to promote organic growth. To drive higher yields in the Norwegian brand, we introduced

     

    many of the Oceania Cruises and Regent brands’ proven and successful go-to-market strategies. This

     

    meant supplanting Norwegian’s discount-to-fill approach of revenue management, whereby price

     

    discounts were offered closer to sailing in order to ensure full ships, with a market-to-fill strategy.

     

    This strategy maintains pricing integrity by (i) offering the best price early in the booking cycle and (ii) offering value added promotions when necessary to avoid compromising on price. Clear benefits of this initiative are already evidenced in an extended booking curve, allowing us to enter 2016 with an extremely advantageous booked position and significantly more revenue on the books than ever before.

     

     

    Good to know since we recently booked an Aft Balcony nearly 2 years out! It's for our 40th Anniversary so wanted to splurge a bit! Have no desire to spend $6K each for a Haven Suite! Couldn't really afford, nor justify that cost. [emoji51]

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

    Pricing of Haven rooms the month before departure

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Traveling with a group and had decided on the 5/13 Escape sailing more than 6 months ago. There has only been minimum fluctuation (+/- $100.) for all classes of cabins for the entire time I've been watching it. Living in South Florida, we have been last minute bargain bookers for several years. Unfortunately, these last minute bargains seem to have disappeared; the consensus is a combination of the drink package being included for most who want it AND the Upgrade Advantage Program.

     

     

    I was told by our travel agent the last minute bargain deals were a thing of the past. Mostly due to the loyal cruise customers who book in advance complaining (for good reason I know) and the options available to them now for upgrades. Would love to hear thoughts on this.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

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