caitlynambrai

Also excited to see the dailies and hear about the activities on the ship! Thank you!

I'd also love to hear about entertainment- I know one of the shows ended in October but I don't know if it was replaced with anything else.

When I was religiously reading the CC chat boards for my 2021 transatlantic, I read that a small child choked on something they took off of one of the decorated doors and this led to the door decorating ban by NCL. I can't find the original posts, but that it what I recall.

I'm taking the family on the NCL star for 16 days over Xmas and New Year's and there will be a lot of sea days. I'm planning to take some games and activities for the family, but I saw that board games can be checked out at guest services (I watched a video of the Star's library that showed a sign which directed people to guest services to check out games). Does anyone happen to know what sorts of board games they will have?

No upgrade yet, but the prices for the cabin I want went below my bid, so I went and lowered my bid. I'm closely monitoring how many of these cabins are left in hopes that I can simply upgrade if it looks like they will sell out. 

In late 2021, we were placed with United from Tampa to Newark to Rome. My BIL was placed on Delta from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta to Rome. 

@YVRteacher Have you happened to hear what show, if any, will be replacing What the World Needs Now? It will no longer be offered on the Star after October 11, 2023. 

42 minutes ago, GALSews said:

Are you on the Dec. 22-Jan 7 cruise? If so, we'll also be on board - with a little apprehension after reading about Yvonne's tribulations. 

 

Yes! Bringing my spouse, 4 kids ages 14-24, and my in-laws. 
See you there!!

3 hours ago, djasinsk said:

 

So basically you have people for whom English language is second or third.  Western food is not their normal diet.  
 

So it’s most likely it’s a communication and training issue. Your waiter didn’t know what “grilled cheese” was, and communicated to the line cook what he or she thought you meant and it went horribly wrong. 
. 
 

 

 I agree with you, 100%. We were on an RCL Alaska cruise earlier this summer and I kept noticing that some food seemed to be lost in translation. For example, in the buffet at breakfast, there was "avocado toast" which was actually guacamole on non-toasted, sliced baguette. I can't recall the other examples I noticed, but it helped me realize just how different the home diets of the employees are from the diets of many cruise passengers. 

Meanwhile, I was eating AMAZING Indian food for breakfast on that same cruise, including a bread called puri, which I loved and intend to ask for on my cruise on the Star this December. 

We’re doing a 16 day South American cruise in Dec/Jan this year. I’m eager to hear about your experience!!

 I priced out flights via NCL from Miami to Buenos Aires in December and was quoted $2000 per person. I was able to book tickets for less than $800 on my own (which, admittedly, took some cyber sleuthing and using an app that tracked prices and sent me a notification when the prices dropped). But we're a family of 6 and this saved us a TON of money over NCL, even with the 2nd person flying free. Even if I hadn't put so much effort into finding the best deal, I was seeing prices around $1500, which still would have saved me money for my party of 6. 

We used NCL for our flights out to Rome in 2021 and it worked out very well for us. No glitches in the flights, we were all seated together, and I saved money over booking on my own. I've read some scary stories about NCL arranged flights (and RC, too) and I'd only be tempted if the cost savings were significant. 

Just now, island lady said:

 

It's a Diamond Plus perk.  Will be listed on your welcome paper from C&A when you enter your cabin. 

Ahhhh, I misunderstood. Thank you for clarifying.

Where do they sell the BOGO onboard? We got UDP on our last cruise but the BOGO sounds really appealing because our next cruise is Alaska and we are in ports until later in the evening so I feel like UDP would go to waste.

I’m sailing with RCL for the first time. I haven’t done anything with paper for my July 23rd cruise- I’ve uploaded selfies, vaccine records, etc. And I’m glad we’re testing at 2 days out, instead of three. It’s a hassle but it’s safer. 
NCL cancelled the July 5th cruise for the NCL Sun  on July 4th- some things just suck and it doesn’t matter which cruise line  you’re with. When you’re dealing with unexpected issues, it takes some time to come up with a plan. If you need perfection, now might not be the time to cruise. 

I know the drug sniffing dogs USED to sniff for marijuana products at the Miami port because one of my friends got busted at disembarkation like 15 years ago. Who knows what's being sniffed for now, 

The problem with CBD products is that they are NOT regulated. There have been investigative articles showing that some products have MUCH lower CDB than they promise on the package and some have THC when they say they don't. You really don't know what you're getting unless there is 3rd party verification. 

For the nerve pain, if it flares up in one position and gets better in other positions, have you tried propping your leg with pillows or tried sleeping in a reclined, but not flat on your back, position? I imagine it would take some experimentation to find a position that doesn't exacerbate the burning (if that position does, indeed, exist).

20 hours ago, gpatters71 said:

I’m a first time cruiser on Royal Caribbean. I’ve been reading your posts about the drink package. Can I order a bottle of wine and have it delivered to my cabin? Not sure how to do this. Thank you.

Don't forget that RC allows you to bring on 2 bottles of wine per stateroom. Don't forget your corkscrew!

34 minutes ago, Nicky Mouse said:

By all means!

 

I normally punch a home in my cards and wear on a lanyard. Have never been on a big ship until last week with the Encore. Since I couldn’t punch hole in card, found Amazon things to still attach card to lanyard but allow for doors and bar swipes. Also made friends of bartenders handing out extracts of clip thingys that they loved. So, plann8ng to be on Epic for b2b starting Nov 11 and wanted to confirm that I should bring clip thingys. 
 

edit: I bought three diff versions of card lanyard clips things. On the Encore the insert into slot for lights to work thing precluded one of them so I learned things. 

Dude, please link to the clip thingies.

We were able to upgrade our seats - we were placed on United Airlines for our trip from Tampa to Rome, with a stop in Newark. We are very happy with the departure and arrival times. 

12 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

 

If we're traveling in a group, we've long given up on trying to please everyone. We figure out what we want to do and when we want to do it, and just share the info. If anyone wants to join us they're always welcome. If they don't, well they're all adults and can use Google Maps and Seamless just as easy as I can. 

What is Seamless? Is it an app?

6 hours ago, dogdoc2002 said:

My wife and I are booked on the POA next December (2022). We have only sailed on NCL once before, our first ever cruise, and was on the POA that time as well (2006). We've sailed several times on Princess since that time. Princess periodically has gift card sales, which I try to take advantage of when we have upcoming cruises. Does NCL ever do this? Or even sell gift cards at all for that matter (I didn't see them when I looked on Amazon and Target's websites)

Thanks

I have also looked around for discounted gift cards, but wasn’t able to locate any. My credit card will allow me to apply some points to gift cards, but not for NCL. 

@mking8288 can travel routers work on a cruise? 

8 hours ago, NW Pacific said:

Have question, understand you need to test negative  prior to getting to Pier for NCL to "supposedly" helping you out .  Before they added this on, I truly believe I read months ago, that if you tested positive at the pier your cruise fare would be refunded, obviously fully vaccinated. No extras just cruise refund.  Tried to get confirmation of this tonight, on-line chat, answer NO refund if not tested negative 72 hrs. before cruise.  For those of you in "the know" has this been a change?  I'm only talking about getting cruise fare for a fully vaccinated person, who may get a positive at the Pier.  Are we  just shi  out of luck with getting an NCL refund?  obviously would not go without travel insurance, but not even sure yet about COVID coverage at the Pier for a positive test.  If possible would test before cruise, but that could be a big maybe getting the right test at right time in a small community.

There are home tests that you use while a proctor is watching you from your computer or phone. It’s called BinaxNow RX (don’t get the BinaxNow OTC) and you can order them online in packs of 2

https://store.optum.com/shop/products/abbott-binaxNOW-COVID-19-ag-at-home-test-kit-2-pack/

Or packs of 6

https://www.emed.com/products/covid-at-home-testkit-six-pack?hsLang=en
 

It a good idea to have more than 1 per person, in case you mess up the first test. 
 

You can find videos of how to use it on YouTube. There are several cruisers who made videos about these tests.

1 hour ago, steph1964 said:

I was wondering about the Epic. And yes, I wasn't sure since there are so few teens on the ships now.

 

I’m bringing my teens on the Epic Nov 20 TA cruise- I’m not sure how many other kids there will be.

2 hours ago, steph1964 said:

So we are 30 days out from our cruise, and I am having second thoughts on our room. We currently have a front-facing 2br suite (16001) which has an enclosed balcony. I'm wondering if we would enjoy an open balcony better? I originally chose 16001 because I believe the rooms are a little larger than the other 2BR suites. And if we decide to switch rooms, should I chose one on port or starboard? We are beginning/ending our cruise in Civitavecchia.

Also, there are videos of 16001, albeit from before the recent refurbishment.

2 hours ago, steph1964 said:

So we are 30 days out from our cruise, and I am having second thoughts on our room. We currently have a front-facing 2br suite (16001) which has an enclosed balcony. I'm wondering if we would enjoy an open balcony better? I originally chose 16001 because I believe the rooms are a little larger than the other 2BR suites. And if we decide to switch rooms, should I chose one on port or starboard? We are beginning/ending our cruise in Civitavecchia.

I think 16001 and 17001 are bigger than the suites to either side of them, as well as the rest of the Haven 2bedrooms.

We are a party of 5, so jumped on 16001 when it became available. It will be nice to have a little extra room, especially because we’re going to be living in it for two weeks.

37 minutes ago, rmandmm said:

I’m wondering if you guys with upcoming sailings have been receiving communications like normal pre-cruise? I’m in the 80-ish days to sailing and haven’t heard anything from concierge and still can’t book dining online (was hoping to be able to do so through concierge letter). So maybe my expectations are too high? Or are you all experiencing delays as well? I’ve only been on NCL before on Dawn (suite only) so I want to make sure I’m understanding what to expect for Haven around day 90. I feel like I understand because I’ve read this whole thread multiple times, but I haven’t received anything so just making sure. I REALLY need this vacation, lol!

65 days out and they haven't reached out to us, yet. I did contact them to ask a few questions and they told me I could do dining reservations through them, if I wanted. I haven't done so, yet, because I'm still trying to figure out our itinerary for each port.