MrsTocko

Ok- I will start off by admitting that I have NOT searched through the forum for this topic.  Sometimes that can be like going down a rabbit hole in landing in wonderland...anywho...someone on the NCL board, at one point painstakingly compiled a list of the drinks that can be found onboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship.  This beautiful list contains the Name and listing on the ingredients in the drink.  I downloaded it, went through it with my DH, we picked the drinks we would like to try and I carry it with me when we cruise, so if we want to try something new, we already have an idea of things we might like.

So here is my question(s):

We have cruised exclusively on NCL for the last 7 years, just based on price/itinerary...will my current drink "cheat sheet" work on Carnival? (are the names and base recipe going to be the same or close to the same)

If NOT, or if not sure, does anyone know if such a compilation exists that is based on the drinks found in your typical Carnival Cruise line bar? if so, where can I find it?

I am officially in Prep mode for my Thanksgiving Cruise.  I believe that we will be cruising again then, and I can't wait...

TIA

My husband and I watched from our balcony on our honeymoon.  We were waiting for 4...not on an excursion, just exploring on their own.   We were supposed to leave at 3 or 4pm.  they showed at 4:30ish.  We saw them from the the pier entrance (we were the only ship left in port at this point).  They didn't even hurry their walking steps...the crew had done everything they could do, while they waited and the officers were getting ready to pull the gangway when the wayward passengers showed up.  I think that is the only thing that saved them.  The officer followed them up the gangway and it was stowed immediately. so they were very lucky.

This was my husbands first cruise. He decided then and there that it was much less stressful to be on board watching than it would be to be watched...so, if all aboard is 3pm, you can bet that we are on board by 1:30 at the latest.  He doesn't like to do excursions that cut it too close coming back to the ship. Doesn't mind (i do though) paying the extra to book through the cruise line, for that added protection of "what if".  All that makes it so much easier to book book and cruise.

even during the excursion itself (or tour of any kind), if we have a 45 minute stop.  WE had a 30 minute stop.  we are usually the first ones back.  10 minute picture stop...5 if at all.  get off the bus take 2 or 3 pictures and on board again.  We MAY miss some of the stop, BUT we have learned to not...dilly dally.  get our souvenirs, get our photos...take a look around, decide if we want to stand in line with the 30 other people on the bus, to get that rum sample or are there other things that are more important?

our vacation is the adventure, and being a pier runner is not an aspect he and I do not need to add...

we assume it is irresponsibility, and poor planning on their part if they have to run the pier to make the ship.  while we are waiting for them I think about how are they going to get home, how embarrassed they must be, do they have what they need to GET home, what about the clothes and things they left in their room, will they try to meet the ship at the next port, where they traveling with just ID and birth certificate or do they have actual passport, did they leave it locked in thee safe or that it with them ashore (we always take with us), what CAUSED them to be late, did someone have some kind of emergency that prevented them from coming back on time (have they been sitting in an ER or filing a police report for some unknown reason)...the list goes on.  Then when i see them running down the pier, i know they have at least a thought about the thousands of people waiting on them to show up, and i cheer them on "Run Forrest Run!".  the ones though that are sauntering up without a care in the world...and it irks me and makes me feel less than charitable. Then i wonder what would it take to make them run...

So we wont ever be a pier runner, but we will watch for them, cheer them on and curse them for making us all wait, or watch them on youtube and laugh at the overboard dramatics of the consequences of their decisions....

Man - November can't come soon enough! Come on america, get it together, stay home, and lets get back to cruising....

1 hour ago, Love2CruiseMore said:

One more vote for the Sun!  Thank you for your thoughts on the balcony.  Do you think Port or Starboard matters much?

as far as cruising the bay. I don’t think it matters..going north will be open sea on port and land in the distance going south...reverse it for starboard.

we do a “balcony” photo each cruise...what that means is DH stays on pier,  I run up to room with most everything, drop on bed then step out on balcony for DH to take photo.  Silly yes, tradition at this point...we have stayed port on all ncl cruises and have been lucky to get the photo because it seems they are docking starboard...we also like to watch for pier runners.  Which side we dock I thing is purely coincidental (I hope so anyway) I don’t know that it’s not at any rate. Our next ncl is port again...

not helpful I know

And our best friends are going!!!
 

made my day. Now I’m starting to get excited and I haven’t booked yet, and we don’t cruise until thanksgiving 

I have done Alaska on both the sun and the bliss...both are beautiful, and IMHO a balcony is a must.  Cruising the glaciers with the balcony you have the unique advantage of not fighting for space on deck or in the observation lounge.  You can turn your tv to the ship channel and hear the rangers...from our balcony we have seen seals, bears, eagles, humpbacks and orcas..all while cruising the bays.  Out at sea whales and dolphins.

between the sun (ncl’s smallest passenger capacity ship in their fleet) and the bliss, I think we would choose the sun again...we are not big on crowds and gobs of people.  We tend to like the more medium size ships.

either ship you choose will be fantastic.  Alaska is beautiful and is one of our favorites, so much so that we do an Alaska cruise then someplace else and back to Alaska. We have to force ourselves to not do Alaska every time.. soak in your surroundings and enjoy

We thought about San Pedro, but the timing was off.  DH works for the School District, so now vacations are mostly dictated by school holidays.  but that is ok - he is happy in his work...that is a big, very big thing.

Thankfully, this will be a good move for DH and I.  An adjustment for sure. But the long term makes it easier. We uprooted our life to move in with my FIL, after MIL was hit and killed by an SUV, while out doing her morning walk.  We will be put on the deed to the house, that my DH grew up in, and his grandfather built.

My DH is adjusting to living with his dad again, and dad is adjusting to realizing that his son is 50, not 10...as the lone female, im overrun with men.  DH is exactly like his dad...

So DH and I went from just us in the evening, to a 3rd person constantly there.  We have purged 90-95% of our belongings, keeping clothes, photos and personal momentos. So while moving in, we have also been purging what we can in the house we moved into.  We dont need 2 or more of all the kitchen appliances, (4 blenders?). You get the idea...

This cruise that I found for us to take this year...just DH and I, and possibly our best friends...

The one wish I forgot to mention?  that we had enough $$$ to cruise whenever we are ready...though that may mean living on a ship, because we are always ready!

So - we (DH and I) are officially obsessed. with cruising.  could have worse obsessions i guess.

I'm sitting here, no cruise booked until July 2021...after a pretty, horrible year, we need a break...so we found one, that as soon as we close escrow from selling our house (part of that fall story), we are booking it.  On a different Line, because I couldn't see spending almost the cost of the cruise in airfare to fly to Orlando.  So we will be cruising thanksgiving week on Carnival, because they leave out of our home port of San Diego. No flying needed.

So I'm sitting here wishing that it was November and I was 2 days from getting on the cruise, and wishing that NCL had a home port of San Diego (because I think I am more partial to NCL, at this point, but not sure because I haven't cruised with CCL in 7 years..), and wishing that we didn't sell our house, and that we hadn't lost 5 family members in the last 18 months, and wishing i was sitting pool side with a drink in my hand.

Hoping though that our best friends are going to join us...i think it is a strong possibility...which would be amazing...

thanks for the space to share non cruise specific, but cruise related wishes...

53 minutes ago, dmdiver said:

When we gifted our adult kids with a family cruise, we made tickets with all the details on them.  It was Christmas, so we put them in their stockings along with luggage tags.

3 hours ago, RogueMonk said:

Hello. I booked a surprise cruise in May to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. We have already taken our "annual" cruise, so there's no way my wife will suspect. I would like to surprise her in some special way, but I know that real last minute would stress her out. She needs a week or two to plan herself.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to share the surprise? Thanks.

To go off the idea above about christmas...you have 2 occasions that you could do something...St. Patrick's day...have a "pot o gold" for her to find the treasure...

or have an easter egg hunt...get those plastic eggs (they should be in stores now)  and have a little slip of paper inside that says she won a cruise for 2....all the other eggs will be empty.  some how mark the "winning" egg...

or do a scavenger hunt...maybe a date night, enlist helpers...i think most people will want to help with such a great surprise.

1 year for my husband...bought him tickets to a concert before christmas, but I held them until Valentines day...collaborated on a poem, that had song titles in it and gave it to him then....concert was on his birthday...so I did 2 gifts in 1....

Agree..perception is key. All my free perks are built into the price on ncl.  They are not on cal. So when I want them I have to pay.. they average out to about the same amount. But the perception is that I’m getting something for free.  Trying to get status on both, about the same level on both...used to be every couple years that I would cruise...getting to be once per year.  So glad my DH loves to cruise as much as I do.  Makes it so much easier..we are trying to do different ports...

thank you all again for the quick responses

Ok. Thanks..pretty much figured that..ncl fare is typically “higher” but when you figure the cost of the cheers package they run about the same. May try to 

Leverage that we will be cruising the week before my birthday. 

will definitely prepurchase it.  We are looking at a five day. Out of home port. DH doesn’t care about going into Cabo and neither do I, so staying on the ship.  Will take advantage of the pool and emptier ship...I know we are limited on number per day, but that won’t be an issue either.

Hello all.

i started my cruise addiction on the elation 18 years ago...and last cruised the line 7 years ago on the miracle, with my own miracle for our honeymoon.  It was his first cruise and we did Alaska.

we have been cruising NCL since.  Nothing against Carnival, it was just the price/itinerary options that drive the decisions.   We are now looking at another carnival cruise again for the price/itinerary.

ncl offers perks and promotions for most offered cruises. Things like the drinking package.Cheers on ccl

my questions..is this ever an option or deal on ccl?  In my mock booking I haven’t been able to select it.  So I’m wondering if anyone has ever had that as an option or bonus or perk?

(we signed up for vacation club, and got the cruise free...yes we are paying to upgrade to the balcony and our cabin choice..just wondering if I might be able to get a little extra thrown in?)

TIA

Gail

Thank you for starting a new thread.  We don't sail until July of 2021, so I know that most everything i read between now and then will most likely change, but that's ok.  I like following along, and learning about the different senior staff.  We MAY take the Sun out of Orlando in Nov for a quick 3-day, but haven't decided yet.  if we do, we will stay and celebrate thanksgiving with my brother. 

Have a great year cruising everyone!

On 7/18/2018 at 7:11 AM, pghflyer said:

I will make this short...in May we took a family cruise, where my in-laws purchased cruisenext certificates. My mil recently passed.  My fil would like to get a refund if possible.  If not he will transfer, but he, at the moment, has no intention of cruising without her.  I told him we can wait, and that he has time to decide what to do with them.  Just thought I would try to find out if anyone has had any success in obtaining a refund in this situation?

 

TIA

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 2:15 PM, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Unfortunately the CC board rules don't allow information for PCC's and TA recommendations.

That is too bad.  I know a lot is like interviewing and you just have to get the feel for someone., but it would be great to know where to start.

3 hours ago, NikkiDee-Canada said:

We've been dealing with a PCC who has been awesome! Anytime we call and leave a message, he calls back promptly (often within minutes) and has all of our info up on the screen and ready to go. Booking our latest cruise took maybe 5-7 minutes, tops? When we called to make a change (adding the free airfare), our PCC was on vacation, but left contact info for a few colleagues. Again, they called back immediately, and we had everything set up within minutes, and a confirmation email immediately, with everything correct on the first go.

 

They aren't all perfect. We had one a couple of years ago that was a nightmare situation that bordered on (actually, fully entered into) full-on harassment to an absolutely bonkers degree. Not even kidding. It was almost comical in its oddness. But for the most part, we've had an awesome experience!

Would you care to share your PCC? 

We need one.  One that will look out for us, and let us know when the itineraries come out for when we are looking.  We are planning our 10-year anniversary cruise in 2022. We know WHERE, and WHEN...I just don't want to "miss the boat" (you see what I did there? I crack myself up sometimes!) for booking and booking the best deal. One that can also help me get to the next tier quickly, and has all my preferences that can pull it up at any point.  One that my husband could call and surprise me with a cruise, and all the preferences will be there in our file...(who am I kidding? I will still have to plan it...), but one that wont take me an hour on the phone to go through everything....

The one that booked me last cruise was fantastic, but cant accept outside calls.  So didn't answer when I tried calling to get help because I had been unsuccessful with everyone else, and no voicemail, and thought I was a robo-caller.  She passed my info along to have someone call me back in February I think...it is now end of august and still waiting.  Not complaining, I am just explaining where I am at in the finding a good one quest.

Anyone know the officer, concierge and butler currently on the Bliss?  Asking for a friend...

5 hours ago, crusingalong said:

GOOD DAY FELLOW CRUISERS!!  Any Information on Captain, Officers or Crew for Norwegian BLISS sailing APRIL 28, 2019??

I've never cruised without knowing, guess I'll find Out!!😎

crusingalong (Bill & Ruth)

Please post what you find out.  We are sailing May 12

30 days out from boarding our cruise on the Bliss.  Looking forward to finding out who the officers and directors are.  Any Ideas?

We have a forward facing angled on the Bliss (Deck 14, cabin 14158)...Deck 15 above, there is NOTHING in the space directly above us. We are also the "first" angled from the front of the ship on the deck.  Hoping I picked well.  This is our first angled.  Booked my in-laws in the same cabin directly across in cabin 14758. Other family is in the room next to them, so at least they will know the neighbors, and I can almost guarantee that the balcony will NOT get opened between them...(my FIL asked he what he did to me to get the other family to book next to him...nothing, I just didn't want them next to US)

Will let you know what we think of the cabin/balcony and the wind.

Just now, donovanrs28 said:

 

 

Unsure, it's possible the employee posted now and picture could be older...I'll dig deeper.

No worries from my view point.  It is exciting to see the progress though.  At the moment I have no plans on her (unless I win that 7-day Mexican Riviera...), But knowing that she is headed this way, soon, it is entirely possible I guess.  I'm sure some stuff is much easier to load in in dry dock than other, and vice versa....Thank you for the pictures.  I always find it fascinating seeing things being put together, and trying to figure out how it is all done.

Just now, Corycor said:

Does that mean she’s floating again? 

Was thinking that too.

Also keep in mind that if you do call to change your name, they will most likely ask for a copy of your marriage license showing the name change.  But I agree with everyone else that if your passport (or ID) your reservation, leave it.  My passport was expiring i think 5 days after we got married, so I waited to renew until I had my marriage license and everything in order. 

When I got married, it was suggested to me to leave my maiden name on some form of government issued ID.  Makes things alot easier. I had just received my new DL with my maiden and married name, when my mom passed, and it saved alot of headache as far as proving WHO I was.  She had me listed as beneficiary, but hadn't yet updated HER stuff to my married name, because it was so soon after we got married. Also, any cc in my maiden name, I didnt have to replace (for a fee of course), because my name was still showing.  

Only telling you as an example of why it is a good idea.  My passport is my married name, and my DL is maiden and married.

Good Luck, Have Fun and Congratulations!

Oh fantastic!  Our roll call has been quiet. Much more active in other places..send me an email (mrstocko@gmail.com)and I will be sure you are all set...I’m getting lanyards made too. $2 each. I ordered today, but I got extras, so I can definitely put you down for 2 if you want.  Just let me know.

23 minutes ago, ddlb said:

I need help regarding a day in Seattle after our cruise as we are not flying out till the next day.

I am new to this whole thing so anyone who responds will be deeply appreciated.

We want to do as much as possible in Seattle for our one day visit.

Not sure exactly how to do this.

I think we could uber to a hotel after the ship docs.

Or we could pay to have NCL transfer us to the airport if we booked a hotel that offered free transportation from/to airport

And I'm hoping to find a hotel that has excursions offered that include pickup and return

So if you have spent the day in Seattle and booked a hotel and did excursions as mentioned I would appreciate your advice!

Thanks in advance - we are two elderly ladies if that makes a difference.

assuming you haven't been to Seattle before.  The pier is very near Pike Place Market (famous for fish throwing among im sure other things)  Will be crowded, but if you are right there, it is the thing to do.  There is also the space needle.  Pioneer Square has a whole underground tunnel system that Seattle was built on top of.  The Excursion offered by the cruise line will drop you and your luggage off at the airport, so your idea of booking a hotel that offers free airport rides MAY be a good one.  I am just not sure of all the logistics of trying to do that.  That will take some research on your part.  When we were there the last time, flew in on Sunday for Monday cruise departure, we did Pike Place, walked past the space needle, took in a baseball game (that is a GREAT ballpark). Basically tried to do everything we could figuring that was our only time there.  We had the transfer back to airport when we got back from cruise. Seattle has a great light rail system, so if you are also able to book a hotel close to a station, that will also help you get to as many places as you can.

We fly in Saturday morning for our Sunday departure this time around as well.  We will try and do the underground system, and maybe the Great Wheel - Ginormous Ferris Wheel on the waterfront.  Should be a great picture.  In-laws want to do dinner at Ivar's also on the waterfront, right next to the Ferry landing.

Hope this helps you.  Which sailing are you on?