Catchum

If you have a lovely little inside cabin on the Spirit or Jade you will avoid 90% of these problems.

3 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Actually, they are. The fish that are tossed at Pike's Place are not sold according to the guy who works there.  They're just for show. He told me throwing and catching damages the fish.

And the ones thrown into the crowd are bean bag fish!

On sea days you kind of develop a routine. Ours is coffee in bed - I'm sent out to forage for DH and some poor soul inthe IC has to deal with me without makeup or contacts. Out the cabin by 10.30ish, walk 3 or 4 miles on the walking track or deck 7 then lunch, find a quite spot for reading, partake in a beverage or three, listen to some live music before changing for dinner - usually in the buffet maybe loose a few pennies in the casino and enjoy another beverage in a bar before bed. Bliss. If there are enrichment talks in the theatre after 10am we attend and reschedule the rest of our activities. 

If your wife really wants a balcony then she will cough up the extra cash to have one.

1 hour ago, skynight said:

You can carry officially 12 x 12 oz cans of soda per person on embarkation. People also bring on canned soda at ports of call. I don't think there is a canned soda package. All the plans as well as the plus/premier fares are fountain soda. 

The plus package includes cans of soda.

Just back from Iceland (not NCL) look at what time you arrive in port - many times we arrived at 7am which meant that for sail in much of the scenery had passed before we were awake. We had an ocean view picture window which was nice but if your budget is tight I would go for an inside, put the bridge cam on the TV and enjoy the same view as the captain, before heading out onto the open decks. Iceland is very expensive, 8000 ISK is about $60 so check prices carefully.

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

New Winter season voyage, but you have correctly deduced that your second formal/dress-to-impress night will be St Thomas because the Grand Turk is a late departure.  Lobster tails come the second night.

 

There have been reports of offer of surf and turf meal.  Or surf.  Or turf.  Extra tail $10.  That said, I would posit the case for TWO tails free if having only surf because the second tail is in lieu of the steak.

 

I don't enjoy lobster so asked for two steaks - was told yes but there would be a $10 charge so DH got mine.

Only used them in places like Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. Where public transportation is not an option at the port. Spain and Portugal have excellent public transport systems, you don't need a tour operator, exception would be Alhambra which is such a distance I would consider a ships tour.

At the international cafe you can get all kinds of coffee, regular, decaf, soy milk, latte, iced, hot chocolate. As my order is always two americano and my DH has a t shirt proclaiming "death before decafe" I can't comment on the other options. I don't believe there is a coffee package anymore. They cost about $3.50 each or are included in the Princess plus package along with most other drinks, tips, wifi and a bunch of stuff we don't use.

On 1/12/2023 at 5:47 AM, BirdTravels said:

Yeah. We never bother with the in-room coffee maker (on a ship or in a hotel). There is lots of coffee available on the ship. 

On cruise lines where good coffee (the only definition of good is what I like) is available as part of the drinks package, I venture out of our cabin with no make up or contacts, brandishing two thermos cups to forage for coffee for DH. On NCL the coffee maker is a huge plus. Room service and buffet coffee do not meet my requirements. Room service and buffet coffee do not meet my requirements.

On 9/21/2023 at 1:39 AM, BirdTravels said:

None "guarantee" ship return. They will provide you with a pick up time and duration. If they run long and you miss the ship, you're on your own. NCL "should" wait for you if one of their shore excursions is running late. 

I have booked a number of "guaranteed" return to ship independent excursions. If you miss the ship they will get you to the next port. In reality they don't miss the ship.

Also look for don't port don't pay options. There is never a guarantee you will be in a port on the advertised date and you don't want to be out of pocket.

22 hours ago, Girr said:

If in doubt check the daily's - it was clearly stated on the front page of every daily VAT was being imposed.

When we sailed Spain, Portugal and New York, last year we had a $50 vat bill on drinks. There was vaguely worded information on the daily saying tax would be charged according to local regulations when not in international waters. It was not possible to find out when the charges were lifted. We were charged VAT on drinks whilst playing in the casino.

May be looking at protective covers for medallions now - guest services were really surprised that anyone would be charged for milk, actually I think we were charged because I ordered milk for DH rather than double merlot and they thought I was being mean to him. It was so he could take his morning protine drink.

It is the random nature of the charges that amuse me, so far as well as the odd alcoholic drink which should have been included we have been charged for, a glass of milk, a ginger beer, and a hot chocolate. Lester in guest service is my new best friend! He prints my account and removes the bar charges before handing it to me.

On board island princess now. The ships systems updated automatically on 12 September to make all MOBC non refundable. Much confusion amongst staff at guest services. They have now confirmed it will be refundable. As the ship left before 12 September. Previously On round trip from Southampton we have received the money in cash (USD). on the last day. This time they are going to refund our credit card. So any cruise leaving after 12 September MOBC is now non refundable.

6 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

From our past experience they like to charge 2 drinks to one account even if you tell them to charge one to each account.

That doesn't become a problem until you hit 15 drinks on that account and they start billing you for the additional. This then requires you to go to the PSD to have the charge removed each time. 

Our experience too - check you account daily to correct mistakes as they occur, we try to take turns ordering drinks but when two double wines at vines are billed to one account it does make going over the limit a possibility. Usually looking at our accounts I end up looking like a lush and DH a teetotaler, only one of these is actually the case!

Last month at Southampton, we drove to the terminal listed on our documentation, found the wrong ship was parked there, followed the line of traffic which was turning around drove about a mile to the correct terminal. Fortunately CPS was on the ball and dropping off the car was no problem.

If you plan to walk double check where your ship is that morning. We stay at the Moxy which works for us. Rooms are compact so we leave our big cases in the car.

Always make cruise next my first stop on board, DH gets a couple of drinks for us so the line moves fast! Sign up for what ever you are entitled to, also the place to find if you get an extra bag of laundry on a longer cruise.

On 8/27/2023 at 11:10 AM, jean87510 said:

Why not just save the aggravation and buy a specialty coffee every day?  

 Because I have to get dressed to go and pay for something that is not as good as I can make in the cabin. Plus when is one coffee a day a realistic option?

Good (my definition is the only one that counts for me)  coffee is an essential. Bad wine and whisky I can drink but not bad coffee. We have a full sized filer coffee pot in its box which is our travel pot for air b&b stays of two nights or more, single serve filters for one night hotel stays and, travel mugs to get coffee from the buffet on cruises. I will be checking out the empty tea bag idea for our next NCL cruise.

As for luggage I can do carry on, but if we are driving to the port then one regular suitcase and a carry on each is standard. Over the years I have acquired a lot of pretty clothes and bling and I'm not planning on being buried in them.

Norwegian discount the price of the cruise (excluding addons) by 10% for military. A better deal than non refundable obc IMHO. Discount was for DH (vet) and myself. Don't know about ncl shareholder benefit, only have princess shares as they were less than $10.

We have done many winter TAs some had wonderful weather and calm seas, some our deck 4 porthole was frequently underwater. Last time we had beautiful weather on the cruise and it was freezing in Orlando. All of them have been great cruises.

Will be on Island Princess next month and wondered how you find out about the pop up restaurants - I assume they will be on the Platter but do they let you know in advance? Also how are they described? I'm fairly new to princess and don't always get their terminology. 

Do you mean that rather than handing over cash when you cash out at the casino, now the money goes back into your onboard account?