Middleager

I suppose this should also apply to CruiseFirst certs, or combo CN/CF certs.

Should be ok with self-disembarkation.

Miami is an important turn-around port and they are used to many ships coming in to offload passengers.  There are lots of taxis, ubers, shuttles, etc. to take people to MIA or FLL.

When travelling, we use Line, Signal (more secure than Whatsapp), Facebook Messenger, etc. to make calls.  If the signal is strong enough we can make video calls.  Depending on where we go, I've used eSIM (Airolo, Maya, etc.  for US, Jordan, Israel, Panama, etc.) or bought physical SIM cards (Taiwan, Egypt, Australia, vietnam, Europe, etc.)     If the price is similar, I prefer physical SIM card because you get the stronger signal vs eSIM which usually get weaker signals.

I have an older Google phone, so when using eSIM I have to choose one provider (eSIM, or original provider in Canada). 

A friend has a newer phone and can have dual SIM, so uses eSIM for data but also receives text on the original Canadian provider's plan.

 

Public Mobile now has a Cad$50/month, with 40G of Canada and US data.  Freedom Mobile also has a similar plan.

I tell my wife to pack little and wear little.

She doesn't listen though.

It doesn't matter where the phone or phone number is from.  If you have data/wifi, you can use your uber app to order.

If you don't use roaming (at high cost), you can buy eSIM or physical SIM for US.  eSIM can be much cheaper.

19 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Roll tightly & squeeze as much air out before stuffing the bag, after doing an itemized inventory count first, as the laundry department needs an accurate number ... in case, claim is made that item(s) were lost.  We began using those ultra-light, elastic plastic shipping bag (Amazon, LL Bean, Land's End, etc.) as liner/insert for NCL's thin paper bag ... leaving duct tapes alone for emergency use.  

 

Our trick to not let things fall out is to use a t-shirt or something similar, fold that & put 1/2 on the bottom side and the other 1/2 on top and cover, effectively sealing the bag/plastic liner.  Room steward/attendant then bring it down in the morning (picked up by 12 noon) and usually return to us, wash & folded by late afternoon or evening of the following day.  S/he has plenty of the bag special "coupons" around and the laundry operations run 24/7 around the clock, more or less.  Alert the steward ahead to collect them in the morning - have yet to hear that the offer is valid for one bag only.  

 

The bag is about 30% smaller these days but we still managed to get a lot into each bag - 2 bags worth (ours done free entirely - 4 in total during our 15 nights) came back in the laundry basket. 

Reminds me of those grocery store, all you can fit bagel days.  Fit as many bagels into a paper bag.

So you take a bagel, sit on it to become wafer thin, put in bag, repeat.  Instead of 6 bagels, you can put 60 bagels in, for the same price.😛

Just kidding.  Haven't done that myself (sit on bagel, etc).

Just to report back.  It does work, for making final payment for a cruise, through a TA.  The $1000 payment shows up on Amex as to NCL.  One day after posting, the $250 credit showed up.

On 6/22/2023 at 1:36 PM, majmaj4 said:

From Haifa, it looks like I can get a quick train to Tel Aviv.  Do you know how far it is from the port to the train station?  Thanks lgKh for the tips on what to do.

 

I didn’t realize Sunday transport was impacted by Shabbat.  I thought it was Friday evening to Saturday evening.

 

Thanks!

Haifa port is right at the train station, Haifa Merkaz Hashmona (Central) railway station.  Well, next to each other.

We have stayed at Hollywood, and Miami hotels.  Whatever was cheaper at the time.

We have rented car, but that's getting expensive lately.  We had uber'ed, and it's not bad, cheaper than taxi.

We've used esim (airolo and others), and they've worked well in US.  Depending on how many G's of data you like and/or you like calling/texting, and how many days, you can spend less than US$15 for 10 days.

1 hour ago, SpainAlien said:

On Dawn in June as we sat down the waiter told us only 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert so maybe they are tightening up on that 

Same with us in Cagney on the Jade in Jan.

On 7/4/2023 at 6:39 PM, janetmojo said:

We are staying in Lisbon for three night between Celebrity Cruises this summer and have booked a private tour for just the two of us for the day in Lisbon if anyone would like to join us (like another couple?)  I hope this is allowed since I can't really figure out what group to post in to see who might be in Lisbon for a cruise during that time. (I know technically this isn't allowed but since we aren't cruising to Lisbon I don't want to post this in a ton of different threads??)

Would help if you let people know what the tour covers, time, and price.   There are many tours for Lisbon and surrounding areas that can visit many different places.

Public transit is relatively inexpensive and convenient, so is uber.  Some many places inside Lisbon can already be covered without taking a tour.

When we were in Jordan late last year (not cruise stop), we did Petra over 2 days, and Wadi Rum 1 day.  The first day at Petra we walked from the main entrance, to the Treasury, Amphitheater, Colonnaded street, Grand Temple, Byzantine Church, some of the Royal Tombs..

Second day went went from Little Petra for the back entrance, to Monastery, to other Royal tombs.  There were lots to see, and each day was >30k steps.  We didn't see all, but at least it was worth the expensive ticket.

For Wadi Rum, there should be a jeep tour for at least 3 hours.  Watch the sunset.  Best to stay one night in a Bedouin tent, watch the stars.  Next morning a camel ride to watch sunrise.

To do both in 1 day (and thinking the Treasury is all of Petra) is like going to the front of the Great Pyramid, take some pics, then think you've visited the Giza pyramid complex.  But at least you can say you've visited the pyramids.

Egypt is much safer than US (so much gun violence everywhere).

We were in Egypt last Nov., for almost two weeks.  It was before we went to Haifa for cruise.  We arranged everything our own.  Stayed in hotels in Hurghada (did scuba diving/snorkeling, day trips..), Nile cruise, and in Cairo.  Hire our guide/driver.  In Aswan we also hired a small boat to take us to Nubian Village.  Yes the vendors can be very enthusiastic or even aggressive, but just be firm in no and walk away.

In Cairo the 3 days we were almost always with our Egyptologist guide.  One day we went to the Giza Pyramids (climbed inside), camel rides, Sphinx, Saqqara (Step pyramid, can go inside, and surrounding tombs), Dahshur (Bent pyramid, climbed inside; and Red pyramid, others), and Memphis.  Oh, we stayed at the Mena House Marriott (good point redemption value) which is right beside the Great Pyramid, makes it convenient.

Uber is very inexpensive in SA.  We've used uber in many places in SA, CT, Joberg, elsewhere.  Most tourists stay at V&A, and it's walking distance to a lot of attractions around there.  But if needing to go a little further, uber is inexpensive and quick.

There are many tour ops in CT, and we had hired several different ones (wine country, Cape of Good Hope, etc.), all good.  We've also taken the HOHO buses (citysightseeing.co.za/en/cape-town/map-cape-town

On 7/4/2023 at 11:09 AM, Arizona Sunshine said:

Just a heads-up about cable cars and funiculars in Cape Town and Cape of Good Hope: there are rolling power blackouts up to six hours a day. This affects operations, and these forms of transportation may not be operating at the time you arrive.

They are NOT affected by loadshedding.  Those are major tourist attractions and have their own backup power, just like in V&A and hospitals.

1 minute ago, rodndonna said:

I meant under a no-promo condition. It appears the answer is no.

If there is no promo, there is no promo.

6 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

Can I ever use a CN and a CF towards the same cruise?

I just answered it:  "or one CN and one CF"  if they allow applying two certs.  I've done that before.

2 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

Thanks. Our NCL cruise is in January 2024 so I guess "wave" season so hoping for the extra CN certificates as well.

 

New to NCL .. could still apply also a "cruiseFirst" certificate as well as the 2 CruiseNext's ?  Still struggling to understand NCL certificate program.

NCL want to sell you CN certs while you are onboard.  CFs are sold when you are not on a cruise.

They sometimes allow double certs, often meaning combination of two CN or two CF, or one CN and one CF.  It doesn't mean one CF plus two CNs.

When we were on the Jade in South Africa cruise in Jan. this year, the offer was we can use two CN certs, and get upgrade within the category.  So we booked an inside, and was upgraded to the best (middle, high floor) inside. 

I had one CN cert, and bought two more.  They applied the one I had, and said the new two I bought will show up in my account when I finish the cruise, and one of those will be applied -- that didn't happen.  I had to make some phone calls to NCL, at first they denied there was such offer (apply two CN certs to inside) but I persisted and they eventually applied a second CN cert.

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

I had a work colleague going big eyes and bought 8 CNs thinking she’d use em all at one when she booked a cabin on next cruise.
 

(perhaps she was a bit sloshed) when she was buying em.

That's an idea.  NCL should set up wine tasting sessions, immediately followed by CN sale pitches.

Get you drunk, sell you more.

Oh, they already do that in the Latitude Cocktail parties.

Would be good for ladies to wear nice looking dresses. 

The current agreement with pilots is in force until Sept. 29, Air Canada said. Since landing on a 10-year collective agreement in 2014, Air Canada pilots have received a two per cent pay hike each year.

..

While strike action is unlikely this summer, passengers can expect the threat of Air Canada pilots walking off the job sometime around the winter holiday season or spring 2024, said John Gradek, a former Air Canada executive who now lectures in aviation management at McGill University.
https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/05/31/with-air-canada-pilots-opening-gate-to-early-contract-talks-can-travellers-expect-a-possible-strike.html

Too bad it doesn't apply to us, for inside room.  Otherwise I'd be all over it.

The first time we did BOGO air with NCL, with 2d deviation, we flew KLM Toronto via Amsterdam, to Rome.  The flight and layover were fine. 

One of the two checked luggage did not arrive.  That was not NCL's doing, but when we got onboard NCL gave us US$200 OBC, and daily free laundry.  NCL said they tried to coordinate with KLM to get the luggage (which did arrive Rome on the 2nd day) to the ship in the next ports, but it never did.