vadersprincess12

Has anyone done this O'ahu Explorer Cruisetour with Norwegian? Wondering if it was a good representation of Hawaii. Please share your experience. TIA.

If you are driving in be prepared to pay out the nose for parking ~ $45 per night in NY.

And they make more money because you get charged tax on drinks that are bought in port.

We had so many issues with a cruise that was booked in 2020 just before COVID with about 9-10 (not kidding) cancellations and changes. We finally cruised in 2022 for that cruise. NCL kept changing their policy on refunds (we were told if THEY cancel you twice you can get a full refund but that didn't happen). Given all of the aggravation we went through we are not letting them hold any of our money upfront. I'd rather pay the fare when I book than use their certificates because they could change the rules at any time without regard for the customers.

Wow ~ several people talk about walking out. Absolutely loved the movie but I guess it's not always the same. We were on the Anthem of the Seas about a year ago and they were doing Cats which ran on Broadway for years and years ~ we walked out after about 30 minutes. Just couldn't get into it; it was so boring.

It just shows the 6/11 sailing so hopefully if you have a future date, you'll be able to see the show.

Thanks ~ we love the show so I hope there will be something replacing this one.

Just did our check-in for the Joy on June 11 and found out that "Footloose" will not be showing on this particular sailing. That sucks, we were really looking forward to seeing the show. Footloose DETAILS Ready to cut loose? Then kick off your Sunday shoes – or whatever shoes you’re wearing. Experience the rockin’ hits and dynamic new musical renditions of Footloose, exclusively at sea on Norwegian Joy. Based on the fan favorite movie, you will be stirring in your seat to this heart-warming story of a young Chicago teen who moves to a small Midwestern town only to learn the town has banned dancing. Footloose will not be showing on 6/11/23 sailing.

DH and I just sailed on the Norwegian Prima for the May 7 sailing to Bermuda. We sailed as with the Casinos at Sea program. EMBARKATION: We have sailed out of NY many times so we know the routine. The line for security moved nicely; it took a little longer at the actual check-in area but it wasn’t anything unusual. Because we were sailing with Casinos at Sea we were able to board immediately. We had to wait about 2 hours for the cabins to be open so we decided to go to the main dining room (Hudson’s) for lunch. Crew member Carla Facundo was our server and she was absolutely wonderful; very friendly and made us feel welcome. LUGGAGE: It took hours for our luggage to arrive and apparently one of the NCL tags that we affixed to our bags was missing and there was a green hand-written tag on that bag. We have never had that happen before. CABIN: We had an inside stateroom and we were quite happy. It was very spacious and easy to maneuver around in. Especially liked that we could actually easily walk on the sides of the bed. The bathroom was a very nice size as well. The desk area is a bit small, but there was plenty of storage. One thing I totally hated was the hangers! They were the type where the frame is permanently attached to the rod and you have to feed the top of the hanger into a little hole to hang things up. What a pain!!!!! Our cabin steward Renante was very nice and kept our cabin spotless. FOOD: We don’t usually eat at the upcharge restaurants because previous experience has shown us personally that it’s not worth it. Food was really just so so on this cruise. We only ate at the main dining room twice; on embarkation day and one other night. The main menus were never posted on the app so we had to go to the restaurant each day to see what was being served. We prefer simple, well-prepared meals and nothing on the main dining room menus really appealed to us. We ate at the buffet, The Local, and Indulge. Buffet selections were okay. The salad bar area was very limited. We did enjoy the different shrimp varieties they had one night. When they had carved beef it was really red and undercooked for us. One surprise was they had peanut brittle a couple of the days on the dessert bar. Their “rice krispie” treats were more like rice and white chocolate and just too rich. We didn’t care for their soft serve ice cream at all. And as on most ships, the buffet always had lines and was crowded. We enjoyed several selections at The Local including breakfast a couple of mornings but we found that the wings were not as good as they were at O’Sheehan’s on the Dawn. The best thing on their menu is the carrot cake! We also like the atmosphere at O’Sheehan’s better than The Local. Indulge had some nice selections especially at Q Texas Smokehouse. Thankfully they had a small station with 4 hand-dipped ice cream flavors per day so at least we were able to enjoy that since we didn’t like the soft-serve. WEATHER/POOL: It was nice each day, but breezy and not really hot. The main pool was not opened until the second day in Bermuda as they were doing maintenance. For us it was too cool to be in the pool anyway so no great loss for us. VENUES/ENTERTAINMENT: This ship is beautiful and the layout is easy to follow. Most of the shopping was in open hallways along one side of the ship which is different from most ships. The theater is multi-functional and the seats can “disappear” in the back wall for other functions. The only date/time we were able to get for the Donna Summer musical was at 10:00 p.m. on the last night so we didn’t go since we had to be up early for debark. We did get into The Price is Right live by waiting in the queue and that was a fun show to participate in. We saw two comedians and they were both really good. Syd Norman’s Pour House always seemed to be packed with people standing out the doors so that was a bust. We were there only once and that was for 70’s trivia which we won and were surprised that there was no little trinket of any kind for winning. They didn’t have too many trivia opportunities which is something we love. There was a duo called Purple Sundaze and they were pretty good doing a wide variety of music. The Observation Area was a really nice place to relax and just take in the view but on several days part of it was closed for private functions. There is a variety of seating accommodations and an area where they served finger sandwiches and desserts through the day which was nice. Deck 8 was really nice! You could walk all the way around. Again, a variety of seating choices including some sunbeds in very shallow water pools. We were surprised that there were no railings at the infinity pools; it really could have been dangerous for kids being there. There were telescopes at different locations around the deck so you could scan the horizon. BERMUDA: We have been before but were never able to get to St. Georges. A nice surprise was that NCL has a complimentary shuttle to the island. Unfortunately as soon as we got there it started storming and raining so hard, so we just stayed on the shuttle back to the ship. Maybe next time! We walked around the main area at King’s Wharf and went to the Museum and Dolphin Quest to watch some of the interactions there. MISCELLANEOUS: We were surprised by the gratuity charge at $20 per person, per day ($25 in the Haven). That’s the highest gratuity charge we have ever paid and they cut back cabin service to once per day. We have been surprised (on this and other recent cruises) by the number of school aged children that are sailing while school is in session. Seems like the days of mostly adults during the “school year” are over. The casino is not our favorite; the machines are way too tight. If they want us to spend money it would be nice to win more than a few dollars on a bonus on the slots. We frequent our local land-based casinos and of course those on other ships and have had better outcomes. The Casinos at Sea program offers “free drinks” as well, but the servers were few and far between on this ship. Parking is now $45 per night in NY (recently went up) but the information provided on the NCL tv says $30 per night as of some date in 2008. They really need to update that! When we sailed a few months ago it was $40 and this time the parking attendant said it was just raised for the first time in over 20 years so not sure what’s up with NCL’s information. DEBARKATION: We did self-assist. Surprisingly we didn’t have to wait (deck 14 to deck 6) for the elevator, joined the line and were off the ship by 7:30 a.m.

Not sure how to link a thread so I copied the review I recently did on the Celebration for for you. DH and I just got off the Carnival Celebration's April 23 sailing. There were pluses and minuses about this cruise. EMBARKATION Embarkation was very smooth. Everything seemed to be very organized. They did have a drug dog inspecting all the bags. The ship itself is beautiful and the layout isn’t too difficult to navigate. The hallways in the cabin areas are wider than most ships which was nice. CABIN We booked an oceanview cabin on deck 4. It was very spacious with the exception of the bathroom. I think this was one of the smallest cruise ship bathrooms ever! DH would say “I turn around and run into myself”. Our cabin steward Kariyasa was very friendly and kept our cabin very clean and stocked. There was a small built-in bench in front of the window which was great ~ I could sit and read and look at the ocean. Our safe didn’t work when we first boarded and it was a simple and quick fix by maintenance replacing the battery. DINING We don’t usually book specialty dining and didn’t on this cruise as well. What was a nice surprise is that Chibang (Asian and Mexican), Cucina del Capitano, and the Pig and Anchor (at lunch) were included options, as was Big Chicken. I’m not a huge fan of Asian food but we tried Chibang and I loved it so much we went back again. I had the Mandarin Honey Crunch Salad and the Sweet and Sour Shrimp both times! DH had the Kung Pao Chicken and Hakka Noodles and really enjoyed those. The food at Pig and Anchor during lunch was fantastic. We enjoyed the brisket and the pulled pork. Their mac and cheese was just like Mom’s. Cucina del Capitano was okay. DH is Italian so we are used to real Italian cooking. He ordered Nonna’s meatballs as his appetizer ~ he got one, count ‘em ONE, golf ball sized meatball!!!!! He ordered penne with sauce and his serving looked like a child’s size serving, while I ordered the Chicken Parm and it was huge. Big Chicken was really delicious; the fries are thin and crispy and the chicken strips were very crunchy, flavorful, and tender. Guy’s Burgers is fantastic as usual. Main dining varied depending on the night. We had “Your Time” dining and if we went right when they opened the service was quick and efficient, but if we went even 20 minutes later the service seemed to drag. It took forever just to get drinks served. For the most part we enjoyed our choices. The choices on the Lido buffet seemed more limited than usual. The stations were small and spaced out. They did offer two flavors of gelato each day which were included so that was a nice touch. We had trouble in the morning with the coffee machines constantly being out of coffee which was a bummer. And they are still serving bacon only every other day. On the plus side, the ambience of the seating area was very nice. ENTERTAINMENT The casino is nicely laid out and the non-smoking area is actually larger than the smoking area. While there is nothing specific separating them, we didn’t get the smoky smell we usually get on the smaller ships coming over into the non-smoking area. They had a nice variety of machines, but they were very tight. Seemed like there were lots of “jackpot” winners on the first night but after that it was very limited. It was always crowded. I’m not sure what to think of their “Center Stage” area. It’s open to everything around it and as some others have said the viewing areas are limited. Not sure why they chose to have Playlist Productions shows in this area. The noise from the surrounding areas especially when they have photographers set up nearby can be annoying. We saw the show Celestial Strings. The violin players were fabulous. Once the Playlist Productions cast joined the show, while their voices were great and it seemed like a step up from the talent on other Carnival ships, the actual “show” part of it lacked something. I think it’s because of the very limited area in which they have to work. Very little of the show takes place on the actual (small) stage area ~ most of it was on the level below the stage where people actually sat. We went to the Most Magnificent Circus show there but left after 30 minutes. During that time there was plenty of “circus” music but the cast pretty much just pranced around and posed in different areas. They rolled one member of the cast in a large banner and rolled out another (like magic) and they put a cast member in a basket and put swords through it, but it was so slow and just dragged so we decided to leave. Both shows seemed to lack creativity; personally I feel it was because of the limited area in which to perform. There was one Playlist Production show in the theater ~ Amor Cubano. It was a show of Latin song and dance and was a very nice production. The only other shows we saw in the theater were two comedians. Speaking of comedians ~ most of them were really funny. We saw numerous shows between the theater, the Punchliner, and the Limelight lounge. There were 5 different comedians during the course of the cruise. There were other musicians throughout the ship during the cruise but we didn’t see them. PORTS OF CALL This was our first visit to Amber Cove. While it was a very nice area, most of the seating was in the sun with no umbrellas. If you wanted to sit in an area with umbrellas they wanted to charge you $70 or $80 for two chairs with the umbrella. So sick of the nickel and dime-ing all the time. There was a “swim-up” bar even though the pool was not “swimmable”. It was not very deep but it was refreshing. The “lazy river” was actually just an area where people would walk around in the circular area ~ no tubes to relax in. I did try the zip line ~ it was $28 for as many rides as you want, but being in my 60’s I only rode once for the experience. It was fun, but I don’t think I could take the harness for more than that one ride. We have been to Puerto Rico before and enjoyed just walking around on our own. We visited Castillo San Cristobal on our first visit so we walked to Castillo San Felipe del Morro on this trip. We stopped for drinks in a local bar and enjoyed the sights along the cobblestone streets. In St. Thomas, we took an island tour. What an adventure! The roads are very curvy and steep. We got to visit numerous sites along the way with a narrated history by our driver. We stopped at the “Mountain Top”, where they serve their World Famous Banana Daiquiris. The view from the top is spectacular. OTHER We found the photographers to be annoying. Personally we don’t like having photos taken while we are eating dinner. Also, there were so many areas on the ship where they were set up that sometimes it was hard to navigate your way around. Public bathrooms were few and far between, and they were difficult to find, especially when the photographers were set up in front of them. The Serenity adult area was very large and you could always find a chair, but for some reason the pool was no bigger than the pool on the small ships; it was always too crowded. I also found the pools (the tiny amount of time I spent there) to be too cold. On other cruises it would be a chill getting into the pool, but you would adjust to the temperature. Not so much on this ship. Never got to ride the Bolt because we couldn’t get a reservation. The most annoying part of the entire trip ~ the elevators!!!!!! There was a bank of 6 aft, 8 mid-ship, and 8 forward. No matter the time of day there was always an unusually long wait. People would get in an “up” elevator just be on it so they could then go down, and vice versa. We have never waited so long for an elevator as we did on this ship. We have upcoming trips on the NCL Prima and the Carnival Horizon. We will see how they go ~ at this point in time, we seem to like the smaller and mid-size ships better.

I received emails yesterday and today. Must be an IT error.

If you are booked before November please tell us about your experience!

Frankly, I’m not totally sure since it’s a new cabin category. I took the offer that we were offered because I thought it would be nice to try the “patio” type balcony. Someone on CC said they will be doing a review soon so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that. And I’ll do a review after our cruise later this year.

Lunch at Pig and Anchor is served outside along the deck. It’s open on embarkation day. It was open a couple of other days too; check the Carnival Hub App to be sure. It’s a set menu and they plate it as you ask for what you want. Make sure to try it, it’s great.

DH and I just got off the Carnival Celebration's April 23 sailing. There were pluses and minuses about this cruise. EMBARKATION Embarkation was very smooth. Everything seemed to be very organized. They did have a drug dog inspecting all the bags. The ship itself is beautiful and the layout isn’t too difficult to navigate. The hallways in the cabin areas are wider than most ships which was nice. CABIN We booked an oceanview cabin on deck 4. It was very spacious with the exception of the bathroom. I think this was one of the smallest cruise ship bathrooms ever! DH would say “I turn around and run into myself”. Our cabin steward Kariyasa was very friendly and kept our cabin very clean and stocked. There was a small built-in bench in front of the window which was great ~ I could sit and read and look at the ocean. Our safe didn’t work when we first boarded and it was a simple and quick fix by maintenance replacing the battery. DINING We don’t usually book specialty dining and didn’t on this cruise as well. What was a nice surprise is that Chibang (Asian and Mexican), Cucina del Capitano, and the Pig and Anchor (at lunch) were included options, as was Big Chicken. I’m not a huge fan of Asian food but we tried Chibang and I loved it so much we went back again. I had the Mandarin Honey Crunch Salad and the Sweet and Sour Shrimp both times! DH had the Kung Pao Chicken and Hakka Noodles and really enjoyed those. The food at Pig and Anchor during lunch was fantastic. We enjoyed the brisket and the pulled pork. Their mac and cheese was just like Mom’s. Cucina del Capitano was okay. DH is Italian so we are used to real Italian cooking. He ordered Nonna’s meatballs as his appetizer ~ he got one, count ‘em ONE, golf ball sized meatball!!!!! He ordered penne with sauce and his serving looked like a child’s size serving, while I ordered the Chicken Parm and it was huge. Big Chicken was really delicious; the fries are thin and crispy and the chicken strips were very crunchy, flavorful, and tender. Guy’s Burgers is fantastic as usual. Main dining varied depending on the night. We had “Your Time” dining and if we went right when they opened the service was quick and efficient, but if we went even 20 minutes later the service seemed to drag. It took forever just to get drinks served. For the most part we enjoyed our choices. The choices on the Lido buffet seemed more limited than usual. The stations were small and spaced out. They did offer two flavors of gelato each day which were included so that was a nice touch. We had trouble in the morning with the coffee machines constantly being out of coffee which was a bummer. And they are still serving bacon only every other day. On the plus side, the ambience of the seating area was very nice. ENTERTAINMENT The casino is nicely laid out and the non-smoking area is actually larger than the smoking area. While there is nothing specific separating them, we didn’t get the smoky smell we usually get on the smaller ships coming over into the non-smoking area. They had a nice variety of machines, but they were very tight. Seemed like there were lots of “jackpot” winners on the first night but after that it was very limited. It was always crowded. I’m not sure what to think of their “Center Stage” area. It’s open to everything around it and as some others have said the viewing areas are limited. Not sure why they chose to have Playlist Productions shows in this area. The noise from the surrounding areas especially when they have photographers set up nearby can be annoying. We saw the show Celestial Strings. The violin players were fabulous. Once the Playlist Productions cast joined the show, while their voices were great and it seemed like a step up from the talent on other Carnival ships, the actual “show” part of it lacked something. I think it’s because of the very limited area in which they have to work. Very little of the show takes place on the actual (small) stage area ~ most of it was on the level below the stage where people actually sat. We went to the Most Magnificent Circus show there but left after 30 minutes. During that time there was plenty of “circus” music but the cast pretty much just pranced around and posed in different areas. They rolled one member of the cast in a large banner and rolled out another (like magic) and they put a cast member in a basket and put swords through it, but it was so slow and just dragged so we decided to leave. Both shows seemed to lack creativity; personally I feel it was because of the limited area in which to perform. There was one Playlist Production show in the theater ~ Amor Cubano. It was a show of Latin song and dance and was a very nice production. The only other shows we saw in the theater were two comedians. Speaking of comedians ~ most of them were really funny. We saw numerous shows between the theater, the Punchliner, and the Limelight lounge. There were 5 different comedians during the course of the cruise. There were other musicians throughout the ship during the cruise but we didn’t see them. PORTS OF CALL This was our first visit to Amber Cove. While it was a very nice area, most of the seating was in the sun with no umbrellas. If you wanted to sit in an area with umbrellas they wanted to charge you $70 or $80 for two chairs with the umbrella. So sick of the nickel and dime-ing all the time. There was a “swim-up” bar even though the pool was not “swimmable”. It was not very deep but it was refreshing. The “lazy river” was actually just an area where people would walk around in the circular area ~ no tubes to relax in. I did try the zip line ~ it was $28 for as many rides as you want, but being in my 60’s I only rode once for the experience. It was fun, but I don’t think I could take the harness for more than that one ride. We have been to Puerto Rico before and enjoyed just walking around on our own. We visited Castillo San Cristobal on our first visit so we walked to Castillo San Felipe del Morro on this trip. We stopped for drinks in a local bar and enjoyed the sights along the cobblestone streets. In St. Thomas, we took an island tour. What an adventure! The roads are very curvy and steep. We got to visit numerous sites along the way with a narrated history by our driver. We stopped at the “Mountain Top”, where they serve their World Famous Banana Daiquiris. The view from the top is spectacular. OTHER We found the photographers to be annoying. Personally we don’t like having photos taken while we are eating dinner. Also, there were so many areas on the ship where they were set up that sometimes it was hard to navigate your way around. Public bathrooms were few and far between, and they were difficult to find, especially when the photographers were set up in front of them. The Serenity adult area was very large and you could always find a chair, but for some reason the pool was no bigger than the pool on the small ships; it was always too crowded. I also found the pools (the tiny amount of time I spent there) to be too cold. On other cruises it would be a chill getting into the pool, but you would adjust to the temperature. Not so much on this ship. Never got to ride the Bolt because we couldn’t get a reservation. The most annoying part of the entire trip ~ the elevators!!!!!! There was a bank of 6 aft, 8 mid-ship, and 8 forward. No matter the time of day there was always an unusually long wait. People would get in an “up” elevator just be on it so they could then go down, and vice versa. We have never waited so long for an elevator as we did on this ship. We have upcoming trips on the NCL Prima and the Carnival Horizon. We will see how they go ~ at this point in time, we seem to like the smaller and mid-size ships better. Any questions ~ GO!

Going to stay tuned to this page for the reviews that are coming up. We just got an upgrade offer from a low deck balcony to a Terrazza Cabana for $214. We have never sailed this type of cabin with a patio along the walking area but figured we'd go in for the experience.

We get our Casinos at Sea offers directly from our land based casinos. But beware as others have posted ~ there is a $20 per person, per day administrative fee on all CAS offers. We also get offers from Carnival and have never paid that additional fee. I hate that NCL advertises "free at sea" because it's never truly free. I will say though, that even with the fee, it's still quite a bit less than booking directly with NCL and for us usually at least half the cost.

So, if we do an excursion at the end of our cruise so that we can kill some time before going to the airport, what do we do with our luggage? We have never done this before. TIA.

So glad to hear this. We have our first Cove balcony booked later this year. Several years ago on a cruise with my BFF we saw a sea turtle from deck 8 so I can imagine what it would look like from deck 2. So excited!!!!!

Hello Everyone ~ looking for information about using Uber from the Port of Miami to the airport. Are Uber drivers permitted into the cruise terminal to pick up passengers? Any idea what the cost would be? TIA!

I called Carnival Casino number that was on the information under My Deals and asked which code my cruises were booked under and what was included. Now, when I book one of the deals I simply take a picture of that particular deal as I book so I have it on hand.

Hi ~ looking for information about how taxi service is at MIA with later arriving flights. Our flight will land at 9:40 so after baggage claims we probably won't get to ground transportation until 10:30. For those with experience, are there ample taxis available late? Thanks

Thanks!

Thanks! Prices are just nuts, but as everyone says, it's Miami.

Hi Everyone ~ we will be flying into MIA for a cruise in April. Our flight gets in late so we were looking at the hotel at the airport but the reviews we are reading don't look very nice. Has anyone recently stayed that could offer some information. TIA.