PattyWinters503

On a recent cruise on NCL I was docked at Progresso.  After our lovely excursion, I shopped at the port area and came across a store named Black Diamonds.  There I purchased 4 pieces of Jewlery that were sold as genuine gemstones and genuine gold.  They were even stamped as such.  The certificates of authenticity were to be emailed to me.  As per what they told me was their policy.  I gave them my email etc.  never recieved them. Brought them home and had them appraised only to find out they were glass and silver. I contacted my credit card company to no avail. I paid a lot of money for these items.  I have been in touch with the cruise port who assured me I would be refunded.  Well it is now 8months later and I have not been refunded.  And my credit card company cannot do anything about it at all. They have tried to work with the bank and have gotten no where.  
As a seasoned cruiser I should have seen that what I purchased wasn’t written on the receipt and therefore I screwed up.  I just want to warn anyone to NOT shop at the port as they scammed me and others.  The shop was fined according to the port manager but I have no resolution.  

Let me start with I should have known better with that said I was under the impression that the Jewlery stores in the port itself would be legit.  I purchased an emerald ring and some chocolate diamonds Jewlery.
With limited time to get back to the ship they would send me the certificates of authenticity. The Jewlery was stamped 14k gold.   Came home and had them appraised and they are glass and silver.  

the name of the store was Black Diamonds.  It is in the port itself.  
fighting with credit card company now but so far no luck since I don’t have the certificates of authenticity.  
never had this happen before to me.  
so disappointed! 

On 12/13/2022 at 9:52 AM, zqvol said:

Getting to Jost from St. Thomas can be done but it is not easy you have to have passport and clear customs and immigration both ways. In addition it is a pretty long ride. The ferries don't go to White Bay on Jost but into "town" so you would then have to walk over the hill or get a cab to Soggy Dollar.

 

Your best bet would be to charter a boat from Tortola and go that way.

Where can I find a boat to charter ? 

We were there in October. The pool wasn’t open. The shops were and a few bars.  
dis get totally ripped off by their Jewlery store called Black Diamonds.   So buyer beware.  Trying to work it out with my credit card company now.  

On 6/4/2022 at 7:48 PM, MMMCruiser said:

 

I've read about doing this, but I have to ask what happened after you left the tour?  As in, how did you get back to the ship?  Did you stay in Oia or take a bus to Fira and take the cable car down?

What tour company did you use?  Thank you.  Arriving Aug 15

On 8/24/2021 at 11:36 AM, 4 cruisers said:

Totally agree!!!!!!!!!  It was an awful experience. 

In all of your posts all you have done is complain and question truth with what you have “heard”.   You insisted information that was correct isn’t correct which it was. You have said multiple times what a disaster it was for ALL yet you seem to not acknowledge those of us that had no issues.   
NCL is a wonderful job on their first post pandemic sailing.  For us it was perfection especially for their first cruise out! 
sorry you are so negative 

On 8/19/2021 at 9:18 PM, 4 cruisers said:

 

 

On top of it…we were supposedly at 60%!!!  Trying not

to be negative but NCL let us down BIG TIME😕

Ummm.  We were at 50%.  Whoever wrote 4000 was incorrect 100%.  
 

also we did have our tests at the Marriott which is what you quoted me as incorrect information.  
I feel that should you have put in a bit more research you would not feel so let down.  My party and I had an amazing trip! 

On 8/16/2021 at 10:43 PM, Old & Retired said:

The 8 bucks is insignificant.  Just twisting the knife.  The major issue is 4000-5000 people stranded 7 miles from town and having to stand around and wait, possibly hours, for a 20 minute bus ride into town.  Then wait and take a 20 minute bus ride back from town.  This will cut down on the actual port time by hours.  If you don't think that is a big deal then so be it.  Lots of us do.

There were only 2400 on board

On 8/16/2021 at 2:09 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Disaster?  Nightmare?  Really folks??

Yes. There were many complainers on this trip which my only complaint 

44 minutes ago, minnievanmommie said:

No trouble.  Just went the regular route and all was set up just nicely.  

Btw.  I love the bliss.  Zdravko is the GM at the moment and he is awesome in keeping a ship tightly run! 

2 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

Thank you! I emailed last night and they've already replied. That's faster than I've ever gotten a response! 

Everyone is very excited to be back to cruising! 

On 8/16/2021 at 7:27 PM, snorklinbarb said:

What a great event you planned and the officers certainly did go all out, aided by a very enthusiastic group of servers and bar staff.  Actually looks like a wonderful party!

 

Lots of familiar faces - thanks for putting up the photos and videos!

 

Congrats to your daughter on her accomplishment!

 

What's up next on the cruising agenda?!

November escape

december gem

april getawat

august escape again!  
 

can’t wait! 

16 hours ago, zerooveride said:

Curious, did your group do a Slot Pull? If yes, how did you make out? Make any money? 

We did do a slot pull it was a 30 dollar but in.  Sadly we walked away with only 13 bucks each but we had such a good time.  
I gave away some little prizes. The casino gave us some bottles of wine to give out also.  It was a blast! 

19 hours ago, Shellbelle28 said:

@minnievanmommie HI there! Looks like your meet and mingle was fantastic! I am organizing one for the first post-shutdown sailing of the Bliss (Mexican Riviera, 10/24-31). I was wondering if you had any issues getting into touch with the ship events coordinator since crewing the ship was underway while planning? Any tips to share? 

No trouble.  Just went the regular route and all was set up just nicely.  

Since aug 7 they have since updated the experience

honestly

I was tested and on board within a hour. So not everyone had this experience  

4 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

Everything stays the same.  They just transfer your data to a new screen name.

Thank you for that information 

as soon as I recover from my jet lag and time change difference I may look into it. Although most know me by minnievanmommie on cruises.  Lol

9 hours ago, Yo Adrienne said:

Your pics are wonderful...!  Thank you SO much for sharing...! 🤩

 

Which excursion were you on for your pics of the glacier...? 

We were in the Tracy Arm excursion very cool! 

3 hours ago, Whitefacekat said:

Thanks for sharing. Deepak looks Great. He will be sorely missed for the Escape trips.

Silas is the best isn't he. ! 

Now  I need to get on the Encore to see both of them.

Steph 

 

I love Silas but I also love Alvin and Jacky!   
Deepak is the best but so is kivanc and Zdravko and Roland.   I think we are all in good hands! 

One of the wonderful things about cruise critic is the ability to meet people and greet them!  Over the decades I have run many meet and greets.  
This  was by far the most fun and energetic and upbeat meet and greet ever!   The crew and officers were sooooo excited to be back at sea.  We even made up some swag for them to show them our appreciation. We had a poster made and we all signed it for the crew!  We had a lovely gift exchange as well! 

 Great trip and great meet and greet!
NCL provided their BEST hors d’oeuvres , flights of beer snd cocktails and the DJ!  
Thank you Cruise Critic and NCL!!

8 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

Did you take an NCL excursion at Icy Straight?  I'm curious about meeting locations if you have any first-hand knowledge.  Sometimes excursions meet on the ship, and sometimes somewhere on land.  On my sailing in a few weeks we're in port 1-9PM.  I have a 4PM whale cruise.  With this new Wilderness Landing dock I'm just wondering if I ventured over to Adventure Landing for the first couple hours if I'd have to go back to Wilderness Landing (and possibly back onboard) to meet for the excursion.  Or maybe it's a matter of meeting the excursion over at Adventure Landing.  Or maybe the excursion will use the same dock at Wilderness Landing.

 

What was your experience like at Icy Straight?  Thanks!

We went on the whale watching excursion.   It was lovely.   Met right outside the ship and went right on board!   Excellent trip and saw a lot of whales.  They dropped us off in the shopping area.  We walked around there snd took the trail back.   There was a free wifi in the area of the camp fire and Resturant.  Then we took the gondola back to the ship and got ready for dinner. It was lovely!   

Just now, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

BIG Congratulations to Rebecca! 

 

You have graduated to maxicruisemommie :).... seriously, the memories I made with my mother often carry me. You are doing great things!!

Thank you.  
now if I can figure out how to change my screen name.  Haha

Just now, Tucsoncruisers said:

Great pictures, looks like you had a great time!

Love the Crab feed in Ketchikan, been there many times, looks like you were in the room for float plane guests.

Thanks for sharing 

 I was in a room with the same people from my tour?   It was fun!

Just now, snorklinbarb said:

The smiles say it all.  What a wonderful mother/daughter experience!

Great to see the photos of GM Deepak and Regional VP Hotel Operations Klaus Lugmaier!!

 

You both look very elegant!

 

We had an incredible time!   Deepak and Klaus are wonderful people!   
I have sailed with Deepak on the escape multiple times.  It was wonderful seeing him again!

Just now, BermudaBound2014 said:

Lovely photos- i was blessed to travel with my mom for 28 years in a row. You are making incredible memories. Priceless. What is Rebecca celebrating?

 

ps- I have the entire set of Samantha brown luggage in the same color 🙂

I love samantha brown luggage!

and obviously I also like colorful luggage I can always pick it right out.  Lol

My daughter graduated with her masters degree in may!   Very proud of her!   
obviously I am no longer a minnievanmommie lol.  But she will always be my baby girl. 

How amazing it was to finally be free and safe at sea again with NCL!  Their first trip out of the USA in well over 500 days was fabulous! 
The ships was clean and spotless. The crew was thrilled to have us back on board and couldn’t do enough for us!  The excursions was so much fun!  The food was incredible! The views were amazing! After 7 or so Covid cancelled cruises this was perfection! Thank you NCL for keeping us safe and giving us an amazing cruise!