GlamorousGirl

I skipped it on the last cruise and regretted it. I didn't feel free to order what I wanted when I wanted it, and it did impact the enjoyability of my cruise. More importantly than that, I was stressing out about how much of a bill I was going to be hit with at the end paying a-la-carte. Even though I rarely drink enough to "cover" the cost of drink packages, I realize now that they are worth it for the convenience, freedom, and peace of mind of knowing I will not have to worry about surprise charges at the end of the trip.

We are sailing in mid-December, and there are still NO excursions for 2 of the 5 ports. I am one of those people who is afraid to do tours independent of the cruise line because I don't want to risk missing the boat, but I also don't like staying on the ship when it is in port, so we are at a loss wondering what to do if nothing is scheduled. I am hoping the port itself is interesting or there are interesting things to see within walking distance so we don't have to worry about missing the boat. I was discouraged to read the other post about excursions not being scheduled for some ports.

The ports with no excursions listed are St. Croix and Antigua. Does anyone know if anything worthwhile seeing is within walking distance? Is it highly unlikely that anything will be scheduled at this point this close to sailing? Thanks for the help.

The idea is fine, but don’t have any expectations that you’ll attract many to participate. Contrary to the predictable bashing in your post, as with anything brought up here on CC, we like speciality dining, are satisfied with the product, and have no desire to go back to the good old days. And we also feel no indignation of paying what amounts to a few bucks to dine at these venues via the perk provided.

 

 

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I have to agree with this. My husband and I almost never "go out" at home unless it's a special occasion, because we'd rather save our money for travel, and splurging when we do travel. So we really enjoy being able to "go out" to a variety of different restaurants while we are cruising. He refuses to pay for it but I am willing to pay for both for the chance to make up for having to "dine at the same place every night" at home. I have been satisfied with the meals in main dining rooms on our cruises, but I like having some variety in atmosphere. I paid for the 3 specialty dining package on the next cruise.

It is the cruise ships fault for going to a country whose people openly discriminates against, punishes with jail time and in some cases murder people just because of their sexuality. It's a little more then just not liking Jamaica when it comes to the LGBT community. How would you feel about visiting a country that you know your are not welcome in? For those of you interested, I have attached a link to an article about Jamaica and its stance on homosexuality.

https://www.thecaribbeancurrent.com/homosexuality-in-jamaica-and-the-caribbean/

As I said before, no matter what ports they changed their itinerary to they were not going to be able to please everyone. I am sure there are people who would object to any of the other islands and have good reason for doing so too, and who would object to anyone saying your reason was more important and NCL should make an exception for you and not them. But that does not mean that the new ports booked must be agreeable to everyone. In the contract, we are stuck agreeing to have our itineraries changed whether we want to go to the new destinations or not, and regardless of the reason we may or may not want to go there. That's why they recommend travel insurance, so we have an "out" of our contractual obligation.

I just sailed on Triumph and there was no fridge in the room at all. We had to use an ice bucket for drinks, which didn't suit our needs very well. I was shocked there was no fridge.

I like the concept of the distinction but since there are so many that want to violate the rules and dare CCL to call them on it (which for the most part they don't - on casual evening they even allow men in sweaty baseball caps and tank tops which is just gross!) when I sail with Carnival I have seriously lowered my expectations. We dress within the code for elegant, which is still causal to us.

 

 

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I am as appalled as you. The dress code is clearly posted outside the dining room, yet people completely ignore it and it is not enforced. This was extremely disappointing to us. As for formal night, I don't get to dress up much at home -we save our money for travel instead of going out at home - so I love having a reason to dress up for a change. No formal night would be a huge drawback that would make me reconsider booking on a ship.

I reserved this on Triumph in September. They didn't get enough people and cancelled it. I went to the excursion desk and they booked me on the Plus excursion for no extra charge since my excursion cancelled. I don't think the activities on the Plus would have been worth the higher cost. It gives you a cenote swim that I thought was boring and visit to Mayan village where we were served good food but I don't think it justified the high price. As for Tulum, it is spectacular!!! I would call it an absolute must-see. It took over an hour to get to by ferry and bus, but the tour guide kept the bus ride interesting. I highly recommend the excursion.

I have a Southern Caribbean 7-day out of San Juan Dec. 15. St. Thomas and St. Maarten ports were changed to St. Croix and Antigua. Barbados, St. Kitts, and Martinique were not changed, nor was San Juan as embarkation port.

While I sympathize with your plight, I don't think it's reasonable to dispute the charges with the credit card company, because you had to have agreed to terms including a change of itinerary due to an act of God (hurricane) the cruise has no control over. They had no choice, it's not their fault, and you accepted the stipulation. It's also not the cruise ships fault you don't like Jamaica. There is no way they were going to please everyone with their itinerary change. Like others have said, get insurance next time, and this time see if the Captain can marry you on the ship or there is some port (including embarkation port) that will work for you. Then you can make the Jamaica port day a "sea day" for you and stay on the ship.

Bring a travel size clothing freshener spray. It will help you re-wear things and have them still smell fresh. There's going to be some tops that can't be worn again though no matter what if you go on excursions and it's really hot. Shorts I can get away with wearing several times.

Those disinfectant wipes to wipe down your cabin with.... I packed those for the last time. I find the embarkation process exhausting and aggravating and I am never in the mood for cleaning after that - and I still do not get sick. I also can't seem to find time to read a book, either. I'm always too busy on the ship - and when I'm not I want to enjoy the view not read. Waiting in line to get on the ship is a better argument for bringing a book - but I found it too much hassle trying to read, juggle carry ons, and make sure my sun hat didn't blow off! So the book was a waste. Finally, I don't need "6 swimsuits" or even 3 for that matter. One to wear if one is wet is fine. I enjoy the beaches but those crowded public pools.... not so much.

As for "must bring" items I brought because of those lists and found I couldn't live without them: magnetic hooks and clips (great for lanyards, excursion tickets, ship newsletters!) a travel alarm clock, sunscreen, towel clips (great for hanging up wet clothes, not just securing your towel to a chair!), a camera, and money (never bring enough of that!)

My St. Maarten stop was changed to Antigua on the Norwegian Dawn Dec. 15th. No excursions have been posted yet. I wonder if they will be later or I need to make independent sightseeing arrangements. I don't know how close the town is to port and am nervous about traveling further without the "booked through the cruise line" guarantee that the ship won't leave without us. Waiting in limbo until I see if they post anything.

One of our stops was changed to St. Croix because of the hurricane. We sail in December. They have not posted any excursions and I wonder if they will later or I need to plan independent sightseeing? Is the town walkable from the ship?

I would always give them a Credit Card so I can spend what I want and not have to worry about the cash "running out". I do however often pay before the final day in cash if the debt is small enough. Whatever you do DON'T use a Debit Card.

This is exactly why I prefer to use cash! By default you need to be disciplined with your spending! And I'm sure there's people out there that either are able to be careful enough with their credit card that it's not a problem (I'd have to stress over it!) or have enough money that it doesn't matter (again, I'm not in that "boat" pardon the pun!) I would be super stressed all vacation if I knew a credit or debit card was racking up charges that would result in a huge bill at the end.

Remember early boarding time doesn't mean early boarding... Pending on the port and the time you get there you could be in the first line of the first slot or the last.

 

We just upgraded to a suite on our next cruise so there are a lot of the same perks if not better but we kept our FTTF for... Early access to the Cabin, Luggage and Line at GS. We almost never use the line either but it's great to have if you need something quick or have a question.

 

Can't go wrong either way really!

This! I bought it for our next Carnival cruise because last time it took forever to get on the ship, even though we had the earliest time slot, and our luggage got to the cabin in the evening later than I would have liked. We are saving ourselves from going through either of these problems next time. Not to mention we will be able to get rid of our carry ons in the cabin instead of lugging them around for a couple of hours.

I always have more booked to look forward to, but it's still depressing coming home from any trip. I try to keep myself as distracted as possible until the next trip, and keep the days until my upcoming trips marked on a dry erase board in my office ABOVE my work to-do list! I am always a little cheered up by that.

I received emails about both of my upcoming Carnival cruises saying I could "upgrade" my interior stateroom.... to another interior stateroom... for $10 or less each. Is this a gimmick to get more money, or is it a legitimate upgrade? The category will be the same so I am confused. I was already booked in the middle of the ship where the staterooms cost more, so it's not a shift from front or back to middle. Should I take it? Thanks for the help.

If it were an option, I would have chosen 1 sea day. I enjoy the ports, and frankly if I didn't feel like going to port I could always take a "sea day" by not getting off the ship. I do prefer to have one sea day after embarkation day though because of how exhausting and hectic it is.

I just received an itinerary change for the Nov. 12 sailing of the Dawn. Still going out of San Juan. Now going to Antigua and St. Croix rather than St Maarten and St. Thomas.

Our Dec. 10 cruise swapped the same ports.

We are ready for you guys in Puerto Rico. We just dont know if the islands around will be ready. It was very very very strong the force of Irma when it hit those islands. We are embracing them and hoping we can help them get back on their feet. They do need our support!

 

 

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Thank you for posting. We are sailing on Norwegian Dawn out of San Juan in early December. Looks like we will be good to go with 2 of the stops out of 5 (St. Maarten and St. Thomas) changed.

Thanks for posting. Hopefully it works the same with land based casino comps - was wondering if we had a shot.

I am sailing out of San Juan in early December. There is a USA Today article that says officials in the area say the port will be fully operational long before either of our cruises, and the airport as well. There is a festival coming up critical to their tourist industry and they expect to have the resources to prepare for that. As for hotels, I don't know. I have 2 Hilton brand bookings flanking my cruise. I can only speculate that the major international brands, with greater resources and wealth, like Sheraton and Hilton will be the first ones to open. The "mom and pop" places are likely to have a lot more trouble recovering. So I am not cancelling my reservation or changing my flight and hoping for the best.

Thank you for posting this. The cruise line is making us wait for more information, and articles like this at least allow us to make an educated speculation on what will happen with our cruise instead of just sitting on our hands impatiently waiting for more information. This pretty much confirms what I was already suspecting - that my December cruise out of San Juan will depart as planned but that the St. Maarten and St. Thomas stops will likely be changed. I haven't the slightest idea what they may change them to. The article says Western Caribbean stops are being substituted on Norwegian, but since we are Southeast Caribbean with 3 other unaffected stops I doubt that will happen in this case. I guess I will have to wait to find out what happens with that.

I am glad this article debunked some of the speculation that San Juan will be closed for "many months" and "into 2018" that I have read on these boards. Disappointed that what I've read about St. Maarten is true though. It was at the top of my wishlist for a visit and it would have been my first time. I hope the people there are able to recover faster than predicted after this tragedy.

Very disappointed to see Grand Turk closed. We don't have any sailings going there until April of next year, but I am disappointed for everyone who was planning to go there in the near future - it's an especially great port of call that I hope everyone gets to visit at some point. Again, I hope the people of Grand Turk can get back on their feet more quickly than predicted.

I just checked to see if my cruise was still on there - and it is. December 7 day out of San Juan. The ports of call have not changed, but based on the email I got from them a few days ago they are working on adjusting the itinerary.

2, 1, 3, 4. Nassau is not exotic enough for my taste. I also enjoy practicing my foreign languages on cruises.