Jaclyn1945

Do you think the time in Dubrovnik was shortened because of the time change in Europe on Sunday? I'm also on the Nov. 3 sailing, and keep wondering if our stop in Kotor will be impacted. 

We might be on the same cruise! I already booked a taxi tour, and it's 160 Euro for 4 hours, so about perfect as long as they don't increase the price for last min. 

Getting super excited for this trip coming up, but curious on feedback from those of you who have gone before this time of year on what type of attire is best to pack. Venice/Kotor seem to be a little chilly, high in the 50s/low 60s F, but Mykonos and Santorini seem to be in the high 60s/low 70s hopefully. I'm thinking we'll need a good mix of winter/fall clothing, but wanted to see if anyone had any tips. TIA!

I ended up booking this tour....looking forward to it!

https://santoriniexperts.com/first-impressions-santorini

That's exactly what we were thinking of doing, but not sure if the boats would be running to Oia that time of  year. Looked and Santorini doesn't have a tourist office that I can find at least to ask some of these questions, will see what else I can find. 

Thanks for the responses! I guess another question is how important do you think Oia is to a trip to Santorini this time of year? I am looking at just staying in Fira, but my travel mates are thinking it would be sad for us to miss out on Oia. 

I am going on the NCL Star and will be in Santorini on November 6. Our cruise gets in at 2pm, and our wish is to go to Oia to get a spot at a restaurant for some wine and dinner to watch the sunset and then wander back toward Fira before going back down to the ship. My concern is that we're on the outside of the tourist season, and I'm worried that we'll go over to Oia and everything will be closed. We already tried to get a reservation at one place that said they would not be open.

1. Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants that have a few of the sunset that would take a reservation for Nov. 6th?

2. Are the local buses only running every hour at this time of year? Are there taxi services?

3. I had read that there was an option to take a water taxi from the port to the base of Oia that included a motorbus ticket to the top. Is that true and if so will it be in operation on Nov. 6?

Thanks so much for any responses!!

I did a similar itinerary and would advise an overnight if you cannot locate a later flight. 10:40am would be cutting it way too close especially if the airport is a significant distance from the cruise terminal. I wanted to fly home the day my cruise ended in Civitavecchia (6am)and I ended up regretting the decision as I had NCL booked me a flight that left at 11:50am from FCO. Because I had an NCL flight and transfer, I was able to get off the ship at 7am and the shuttle left closer to 7:30am so my nerves were on edge the entire morning worrying about missing my flight. I ended up catching it as the shuttle ride only took an hour (I was told 1.5 hours) but I would not wish that anxiety on anyone. Allow yourself at least 6 hours between arrival time at port and flight time. Book NCL airport transfer to get priority off the ship.

Thank you for the review! Looking at doing this cruise this November and this gets me very excited. For flights back, would you say that a 10:40am flight would be do able? That's the latest I can find without having to do an overnight layover somewhere. 

Hey everyone!

I appreciate all the kind words over on Facebook, on the blog, and here on CC regarding the cruise report being written. I've had a couple of requests for the daily planners that we received each night on our cruise; even though I'm including them by day in the report, some people are traveling soon and were hoping to see the rest of them.

Here you go...hope this helps!

Freestyle Dailies:

 

• Day 1
  
• Day 2
  
• Day 3
  
• Day 4
  
• Day 5
  
• Day 6
  
• Day 7
  

Entourage schedule

Splash Academy Schedule (Dolphins...ages 10-12)

Disembarkation Guide

Thank you so much!!!

Thanks for your review! Just for reference, what time did you get to the port to get boarding group 5?

EMBARKATION DAY!!

 

The line for checking in moved quickly, and we had our cards in our hand within ten minutes. We made our way to the holding lobby and were handing our boarding number…group 5. Well, I guess we weren’t getting Vibe passes for the cruise – good thing we weren’t trying to get them, right? The lobby was filling up, but we were still easily able to find several spots to sit. While waiting, I headed to the part of the lobby as close to the ship as possible and was able to connect to the ship’s wifi. I wasn’t able to access our account via Norwegian’s iConcierge app yet, as it appeared that they were still closing out the last cruise’s guests. After a few tries, though, I was able to log in, and I immediately made a dining reservation on the app for Cagney’s on our anniversary (Wednesday). After more research and talking to friends, we decided to do Cagney’s instead of La Cucina. I wasn’t able to cancel the La Cucina reservation on the app, but I knew that I was able to do it at Headliners after we boarded. I also wanted to modify the anniversary cake over to Cagney’s for that night, as it was initially set up for La Cucina.

I have a question about the Balmoral Stingray and Beach Day in Nassau, NCL offers it for $99 pp, but if you go directly through their website it's only $60 pp. I emailed them on their website but haven't heard anything back. Does anyone know how they manage transportation to the island when you book direct? Do we need to take a taxi somewhere or do they pick up near the pier? I haven't been able to find any information about this so anything would be greatly appreciated!! :*

I'm wondering about this as well. We're looking at doing the Sting Rays on Balmoral, but the few reviews I've found are not great/mixed.

So I've read that if you have the SDP you get a 25% discount at Food Republic. Is that true, and if so I'm assuming you still get your three dining nights on top fo that.

Other than shorter bar lines and a smaller group, is there any other major benefit to vibe vs h2o? Traveling Nov 25th with my parents (dad is super impatient) and sister. It's m dad's birthday trip as well.

We were just on the Escape last week. We did not get Vibe passes but I never experienced the problems getting a drink that I have heard from many people. We were always able to get loungers in Spice H20.

 

The funny thing was, I looked into Vibe several times during both sea days and it was empty so I don't know why everyone bought up the passes and then didn't use them.

Thanks for the pics and info. On the Jade in May. We are in a balcony cabin also, doesn't look like you have a coffee maker in yours. Do you know if they removed them from the cabins? Enjoy your cruise!

I was on this trip as well, they do have coffee makers. Ours was in the shelves by the front door.

It looks like it started towards Great Stirrup Cay but then turned around and is now going to Freeport too....

I've only booked through TAs to take advantage of on board credits. Is there a reason outside of bidding on rooms to book directly through NCL?

You will get an email after your booked. As long as you are booking directly with NCL. Some travel agents participate but it doesn't seem like many.

 

You will need to be originally booked in a balcony or higher to be offered haven for bidding.

 

 

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Does anyone know if the pools (both or one) on the Jade are adult only? I would assume they have some adult only hot tubs as well...

Anyone have any idea on if the deck plans will be updated before the April 9th cruise? I'm so curious to see what's changing with the restaurants and spinnaker lounge

This might be something that isn't as big of a deal as I though it would be, but I have only sailed the Getaway, and one of my favorite things about it were the evening events at Spice H20. I went with my friend on that one and I'm planning another with my mom. I loved the Waterfront bars and Spice the best I think. That being said, after reading this thread I'm leaning more towards the Pearl vs. Epic. Just thought I would see if anyone had opinions on this?

Just off the Pearl last Friday and February is the date we were given. The sooner, the better as the poor girl is tired (although it was kind of cool to see the old-school Cagney's chairs and the round, velvety banquettes in Le Bistro!).

 

Tracy

I'm looking at maybe taking the Pearl in April through Jamaica. The one thing I seem to notice is that this ship doesn't have as many of the outdoor spaces that the Getaway has. For example the big area on the back of the boat seems to be inside instead of outside. Not sure if you were in the Caribbean, but what are your thoughts on this?

I understand the food is not free at Margaritville, but can you use the drink package and just have a drink at the bar?

 

Can anyone recommend a shuttle from Miami port to Miami airport after the cruise. I saw that you can book a transfer on board with NCL but it tells me that the flight must be after noon, our flight is at 11.30.

Lyft and Uber are only about $15 from the port to MIA. I was just on the getaway a few weeks ago and it was super easy for them to pick us up outside of the port.

We did have drinks at Margaritavilla as well with our UBP.

I have a few questions about the Getaway.

1. How much does the arrival time matter? We booked late so the only thing available was 12:30. It says they'll ask you to return at your designated time, but from other things I've read they really don't care.

2. They have water stations throughout the ship right? I have the UBP and just realized that this doesn't include water. I was just going to pack a water bottle to fill up on my own.

3. Do they have any free fitness classes on the ship or only the ones you have to pay for through the fitness center?

Thank so much, 5 days away and I can't wait!