Auralee

I am currently driving back to port from this excursion. The bus used is perfect for the drive to and from the park.. beautiful new large air conditioned bus. However, it was the same bus used for the drive through!!! The pictures shown for our excursion displayed open air trolley type vehicle but this was not used. The windows on the bus were tinted and grimy and did not offer great visibility. The walking part of the zoo was rough gravel… nothing but at bathrooms and restaurant was paved making it impossible to use a wheelchair and would be difficult if not impossible with a stroller. Time provided to walk around the safari was only 1 hour. 2 ~ 3 hours would have been more suitable as there was also a boat ride to see monkeys on islands and as we wanted to spend time looking at animals 1 hour did not provide us adequate time to see them all. It would also have been nice to have time for souvenirs/ice cream ect.  
 

The guide was informative, helpful and friendly. But for a level 1 activity tour the unpaved paths and long walk in the heat was rough. The large bus for the drive through was also a big disappointment.

Plus side, there were many animals to see. Many however were in small cages, there were a few that were in open air habitats such as the cats (jaguar, ocelot, puma, ect ) crocodiles, alligator , and otters which were easier to photograph without cages. 

9 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Same here, I’m hoping this isn’t going to be a one-and-done. After having sailed and loved both Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises this cruise will be an interesting departure.

 

I’ve also done the specialty restaurants on both of those cruise lines and they were very good, and in anticipation of having a similar experience I’m booking a 7-meal specialty dining package (for a total of 9 with the FAS offer), with four of those evenings being spent at La Cucina. The one thing I do like about Norwegian Jade is the variety of dining options.

 

Not sure I’d ever consider Carnival or MSC, although if a good deal pops up on MSC Meraviglia out of NYC I may have to reconsider. Might even check out the Norwegian Breakway if this cruise pans out.  Just wish NCL had better beverage packages. 😉

 

😁

I would happily sail with MSC again. Just wish they had west coast offerings! (Had hoped they’d do Panama Canal too lol). They were very fun. 

2 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

There are a LOT more items on the OceanNow Delivery than a hot dog. 🤣 And they’ll deliver to a LOT more places on the ship than a hot tub.

 

And, of course, we all travel and cruise for different reasons, with different expectations, and different needs. Like, for instance, I don’t need a Butler, I don’t need a suite, and I certainly don’t need a dining room table in my cabin.
 

My needs and wants are different than yours. That’s why I specifically said that when comparing the two packages for my Panama Canal cruise, and for these two specific itineraries for my vacation, my per diem came out to be nearly identical. There are a lot of aspects and really nice things that I take for granted that are part of the Princess Premier package which I’ll do without on NCL. In the long run it really doesn’t make my price any ‘cheaper’ if it’s giving me a lot fewer options of the things that are important to me. That is, unless I buy the extra packages and upgrades to equal what I am used to getting on Princess Cruises.  
 

The main reason I’m looking at NCL and the Norwegian Jade is for the itinerary, and that it checks off a lot of final Bucket List items. If Princess Cruises were offering this exact same itinerary, don’t think I wouldn’t be sailing with them again. That’s probably why I’ve never cruised NCL up to this point. For me, Princess Cruises is the better cruise line.

 

And there are a lot of reasons people order room service. Maybe they just want to spend the evening alone in their cabin, or they’re not feeling up to confronting the crowds, or maybe just want a light snack that they can enjoy on their balcony after a rough day. Room services is 24 /7 even though a lot of the venues on most ships are not. And in my several decades of cruising I’ve never had a bad experience with room service. The food has always been good. The food is always been delivered promptly. And the food has always been completely satisfying. No Butler needed. 
 

😁

23 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

just make sure not to fill your Yeti tumblers directly from the spouts of the machines.  Use the tiny plastic glasses to fill you Yeti ( you will get scolded if someone sees you filling you Yeti directly from spout)

 

Thanks for this advice!

Our situation is much like yours. 
 

we love the medallion on princess— being able to find your party in real time was amazing (we could track our son on the ship and know where he was and we could find each other easily!) also this allows you to order your drink or w/e and when they have it ready they just bring it to you w/e you are.. trivia ended and you want to get in line for the popular comedy - go get in line! They will see you moved!

this is our first time trying Norwegian. It looked reasonably comparable at the onset.. and we chose it because it still had accessible cabin available. This was important. Sadly Princess accessible cabins were booked up by time I had my vacation time approved and we wanted the canal for my 50th . 
 

We are trying to discover which cruise line is our favorite, by trying them. So far Carnival has been the worst for us. MSC was nice - changes to the drink card program with them has changed, but we loved the vibe onboard and had no issues with boat/ embarkation like I’ve experienced with Carnival. Willing to cruise them again. (Carnival I’ve cruised the most with - 3 times.. 2 of the 3 times had issues which effected the enjoyment of our trip so I feel I have given them a real chance to impress me and I’m not). - however right price and on a boat is better than not.
princess - medallion is sooo amazing . 

I am hoping I will find things to love about Norwegian! This is the first cruise we will try a specialty restaurant so I am looking forward to that. I hope the vibe is fun - but a lot of folks on here post about lack of fun themes and such.. so I am unsure what to expect till I go and find out if Norwegian is our “Jam”. 

6 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

also try mixing iced tea with the other flavored juices in the buffet.  I mix ice tea with the strawberry kiwi juice, and a pop of lemonade.  Makes a wonderful raspberry flavored iced tea.  And of course you can make your own Arnold Palmer ( Ice tea and lemonade).

Ohh great idea! I think also with the money we are saving by not buying the package we are going to buy us some big “yeti” tumblers as the drink glasses in buffet are minuscule! 

6 minutes ago, zqvol said:

And it cost you a lot more

No Princess has a milkshake/pop non-alcoholic package which you can have drinks delivered anywhere included and way way cheaper than the NCL drink package. 

8 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

LOTS of great questions I didn’t even consider! Had the specialty coffee package on my last Princess and Royal Caribbean cruises and there were always several places to grab a fancy coffee. On NCL at least restaurants will be able to follow up a meal with a tasty coffee-styled beverage? Don’t really do Frappuccino, but with the only place cracking out those iced-delights in the atrium it does put a limitation on my desire to stand in a long line. 
 

😁

Ok called Norwegian and it’s confirmed - only way to get the icy Starbucks drinks is to stand in line yourself at the atrium coffee bar. We cancelled our packages and will just use hot chocolate or coffee with ice cream. And buy as we go if we want something special. — sad. Really limited beverage options for non- drinkers trying to avoid pop! 

6 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

The servers run back and forth to the pool bar right there, they don’t have time to go to the atrium to get specialty coffees. It’s bar service.

I’m more interested in the non-alcoholic/ non-pop ice drinks/ refreshers - I really don’t care for coffee even. Just want a cold drink by the pool like everyone else. 

7 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

this is how I sort of cheat on the specialty coffees.  I go to the buffet, get a glass 1/2 filled with regular coffee.  I then go to the soft service ice cream station, add the soft serve into the coffee glass.  Then go back to the coffee station and top off with just a bit more coffee.  Obviously that is not a specialty mocha frappo non-whipped whatever, but it is still a tasty mix.  Maybe add hot chocolate to the mix.

Or just hot chocolate and soft serve.. this might be our alternative!

8 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

If the gratuities were $700, how long was the cruise? 

19 days

On 2/27/2024 at 6:31 AM, BirdTravels said:

 

With a beverage package can you order the drinks from servers by the pool?

Yes. You can order drinks from any waiter or bartender anywhere on the ship. 

 

Can you get Starbucks refreshers if that is your package from same servers?

Starbucks is its own store normally located in the Atrium of the ship. You would have to order any Starbucks-specific drinks there. 

 

How about at specialty restaurants and mdr?

Yes. You can order drinks from any waiter or bartender anywhere on the ship. 

 

If we have the Starbucks package can we order those drinks in the restaurants? Package rules does say can be used in restaurants - but want to confirm it’s more than just simple coffee… we want the package for the ice/cold frappes ect. And want to drink at meals - hopfully without having to stand in line at the “coffee shop”.

Most restaurants "proudly serve Starbuck products". So, they will have a coffee machine to make espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes. Your package would cover the cost of those coffees. It is a coffee machine. No frappes, etc You would have to go and stand in line at the Starbucks store to get that. 

 

 

 

Thank you. We are going to have to re-think this package. (We have fas~ but opted out of the alcoholic drink package as we don’t drink and 700$ each just for the gratuities wasn’t worth it!! ) Approx 300$ each for the Starbucks drink package was a bit more reasonable and sounded fun to try the drinks.. but with limited mobility the idea of standing in line each time seems unreasonable since others with a drink package can just ask any server for a drink!!

I’m new to NCL. sailing on Sun soon. With a beverage package can you order the drinks from servers by the pool? Can you get Starbucks refreshers if that is your package from same servers? How about at specialty restaurants and mdr? If we have the Starbucks package can we order those drinks in the restaurants? Package rules does say can be used in restaurants - but want to confirm it’s more than just simple coffee… we want the package for the ice/cold frappes ect. And want to drink at meals - hopfully without having to stand in line at the “coffee shop”. 
 

thanks! 

 

We did this kinda with carnival. (We dropped most of our luggage but opted to stay for the night as if you wanted to disembark in Victoria it was EARLY. I had hoped we could disembark later in the day since the ship was in Victoria til 11pm or something but they wanted us off as soon as we docked. ) We ended up dropping our luggage at home and returned to the ship with one carryon to relax and it made a light trip back the next day. (Food in mdr and the last shows made it worth the ferry to me - and my kiddo loves riding skytrain). 

On 1/20/2024 at 6:28 AM, kokopelli-az said:

It would help to know what ports you will be stopping at.   People on this board who have been to any of those ports may be able to chime in as to a specific port. 

Sorry! Yes! Cartagena, colon, punterenas, puerto quetzal, san Juan del sur, zihuanetejo,manzanilla, Cabo san Lucas. 
 

any advice for mobility, excursion for low mobility, would it be worth it to have scooter? Rollator? Or many seats? How far do we walk to get to transportation? 
 

thanks!!

Did you go?

We take our cpap machines. The last cruise we were on the night before disembarkation it stopped in our home town and we got off the ship and dropped all our luggage with family who met us at the port. Thinking this would make the next day easier traveling home. We also left our cpap with family thinking it was just one night…. Bad choice! We were exhausted from lack of sleep the next day due to no cpap! (Humidity and air really helps for a restful sleep!!) - any time we managed to fall asleep we’d wake the other with our snoring - was bad. 
 

so ya- use the cpap if you regularity use it. 

I have been trying to scour the forums for just this type of information! 
 

I find that the information in the regular sections for ports don’t address mobility concerns.. it would be amazing to have the ports reviewed with various accessibility concerns reviewed. 
 

I am booked on the sun for the Panama Canal. We have secured an accessible stateroom as both my husband and I have limited mobility. We are considering the best mobility aid options. We can walk but not too far without pain and standing is agonizing.
 

We have picked up some portable stools for now.. but I would prefer to rent scooter(s).. but I’d hate to rent one/two and not be able to use it for any ports..  I am having a heck of a time just finding out if the ports have accessible ports to anything? Like how far from port to get to tourist areas? 

I’d love to just roll off the ship and drive the scooter to some straw markets.. check out local architecture.. hit a beach. I don’t know how to pre-book or find out if there is any accessible taxis ect. 

There are 3-5 in our party so excursions add up fast to the point a private tour (with 5 of us) May work for our pace better and be similar price. all things I’d love to find out ahead of time.

On 4/24/2014 at 7:04 PM, skoeper said:

We've been on countless cruises and have yet to be able to find an accessible one for someone who can't hear. I'm not Deaf (born deaf), but have lost 95% of my hearing due to measles. I read lips, wear hearing aids (which only give me environmental sounds but not speech) and have a great command of the English language. But I can't enjoy the shows or the talks. Does anyone have any recommendations based on your experience or knowledge? I'd REALLY love to enjoy the shows 🙂

I was on a carnival cruise last year and there was a deaf passenger and they had a sign language interpreter for the shows. Omg the comedy show was 100000% funnier with a sign language interpreter! (Esp for the later mature shows omg!!!) wish all comedy shows had a sign language interpreter!!!

I am pretty sure the interpreter was arranged by the cruise line ahead of time by being informed? So I’d reach out as soon as you book to see what accommodations are available to you. 
 

Did you do this? Or any of the other beach excursions?? (Interested for here and other ports you’ve mentioned). 
 

we are going to be a group of 5..(3 for sure).. looking to snorkel /enjoy water often as we are limited mobility and walking city tours in the heat doesn’t sound as appealing. 

Would love to hear your outcomes! Sounds like I’m on similar itinerary in April and trying to evaluate if renting a scooter would be usable at the ports.. or not. Worried about lengthy walks. Have picked up some light stools as back up plan. 

Still would love to hear if anyone did this ? 

Wish there were responses for this one. 

I think you missed the "in" in the question :).  (There are several Costa Rica Ports). 

Hi ! 

Still looking for beach advice 😃 Would love to snorkel! -- Have a large group (5 of us) so a 1 fare taxi prob be a better option than most excursions pp. 

7 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

The specialty restaurants do not serve lunch.  One of the specialty restaurants serves breakfast for those in full suites.  On the Sapphire, suite breakfast is served in Sabatini's.

 

I have never seen any "pop-up" salad bars.

Thanks!! Appreciate the inside info!