MDgal76

It arrives in San Juan in the evening and is there until midnight. We have family in PR so they were going to meet us there.

My husband and I were on the Getaway in August without kids, and I hated the lido deck! It was so small! Food is definitely subjective because we loved everything we had. Even the buffet. But like you said with no free options aside from the water slides it just makes me wonder if he’s going to have fun or am I going spend a boat load on the paid activities.

I haven't  heard too much about NCL kids clubs for his age group. But I know many people that love  carnivals.

8 hours ago, VPMJ said:

If the NCL site is showing the itinerary already, then the flight has probably been ticketed and cannot be changed at all. I called NCL today about our August flight because I had not seen any info. Had to wait 1hr & 20 minutes for them to tell me that it was ticketed already (last week) and that they could not make any changes (was going to see about a deviation post cruise). Anyway,  I requested they send me the flight info and they did it immediately. The seats for the return flight are not together, so I called American and they will hopefully get us seated together within 24 hours since we are traveling with children. I have to check back tomorrow. 

 

Long story short, if your itinerary is already showing an airline, call the airline. Good luck!

I don’t have an issue with a connecting flight, my mom does but that’s on her. We are on separate reservations so whatever she does doesn’t affect me. I was more curious about the schedule and what people have seen. I’d be more annoyed by a flight that departs 12 hours after my ships arrival than a connecting flight. Guess we shall wait and see. I’ve got months to go so I don’t expect to see anything anytime soon. Regardless, I’ll be on vacation so as long as they get me to the ship that’s all that I really care about! 

No, we have separate reservations. I flew to FLL for my last cruise on the Getaway out of MIa. You are right it was def cheaper.  We ended up renting a car in FLL since we got in a day ahead. It was super easy to just drive to MIA from FLL. 

14 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I am an older teen, and I'm the closest you will get to the tween age here. NCL Encore hasn't debuted yet, so no one here can offer any information on that. However, if I had to choose between the two, it would be the NCL Encore, hands down. I have been on the Horizon, and have been on the Breakaway (cousin-class ship). Breakaway was amazing, and so was Horizon! Both are tied for my favorite ship, I have sailed on so far! Even though Horizon will have more free amenities, including Skyride, Sky Course, and water slides, NCL has, arguably better water slides, which are also free. Even though your child will be 12, for future consideration, I heard that Entourage, for 13-17-year-olds, will host free laser tag on some nights. Considering that Encore has the better itinerary, I would choose that. 

9 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

And if they put you on a real late flight, you can possibly get on an earlier flight using the airlines standby process.  Obviously no guarantees, but worth a shot.  But like you said, it won't be a problem finding your own flights between DC and Miami (I'm also from MD)

Exactly! 

2 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

If you really feel so strongly about this it might be better if you just book on your own. No one is going to guarantee you your flight times will be to your exact liking. And obviously NCL is going to pick out the least expensive fares available. Thus the timing may not be perfect. 

What are you talking about? I never said I had an issue. I was simply asking the question to see what others experience has been. Obviously if I have an issue with it I will book my own flight. That’s just common sense. I already said I’m flying in a day early to avoid cutting it close during the winter and if I have a super late return flight then I’ll just book my own return. Too easy. 

12 hours ago, zqvol said:

The real key to problems is whether or not you have to connect and how far you are going. OP appears to be in MD, so if cruising out of FL or the Gulf Coast there is probably one connection in either ATL or CLT. If she leaves from one of the DC area airports she may get a non stop to FL or the Gulf Coast. If she were going cross country she might have a second connection and those are teh times that problems arise.

I will be flying from DCA or BWI and plan on paying the $25 pp to fly in a day early. My cruise is in Jan and I wouldn’t risk traveling the same day in the winter.  In a FB group I am in there is someone traveling to Seattle for her Alaska cruise and they have her flying home 12 hours after her cruise returns. And although there are earlier flights NCL won’t put her on one. So I was curious if others have run into similar situations. I am traveling with my mom and stepdad as well and they are flying from NYC to Miami. I know if they end up with a connection they’ll just end up booking their own. There are too many non stop flights from NYC to MIA to have to connect. 

Thanks for such a good response. I did forget about the slides. I have to admit I’m excited about seeing Encore! It looks like it’s going to be an amazing ship.  

We are currently booked on NCL Encore Jan 2020 this will be my son’s first cruise and my third. Once on carnival and once on NCL. They have removed all of the free kids activities on the Encore. No more ropes course and no climbing wall. Race track, laser tag and VR are all fee based activities. We had planned on doing those anyway but would like some free stuff too! I am considering canceling the Encore and going on the Horizon. RC isn’t an option because of the days we can travel. For those that have sailed both which tween area is better for a 12 year old? The Horizon is a 6 day to ocho ríos, Grand cayman and Cozumel (I’ve been to 2/3) the Encore is a 7 day to San Juan,  St Thomas and Tortola (better itinerary). 

Has anyone successfully used the free air promo without any hiccups? I have the free air for my Encore trip Jan 2020 but I’ve been reading horror stories from those that had horrible flights booked (schedule wise) or simply did not have a smooth process. I did the take all so if I end up booking my own air I won’t lose anything but am interested to hear if anyone had success. 

Great review! Enjoyed reading it as we are doing same itinerary in February. I have a question. You said you did self carry off the ship. Was 9AM the earliest you could have gotten off? We're also going to self carry off the ship but looking to be able to get off earlier than that in hopes of making an earlier flight. Thanks!

I believe the earliest was 0745, we just weren’t in a rush and took our time.

Great review! Enjoyed reading it as we are doing same itinerary in February. I have a question. You said you did self carry off the ship. Was 9AM the earliest you could have gotten off? We're also going to self carry off the ship but looking to be able to get off earlier than that in hopes of making an earlier flight. Thanks!

I believe the earliest was 0745, we just weren’t in a rush and took our time.

I have a ton! But I posted them to FB! I’ll try and figure out how to get them on here when I get home from work :)

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Hello everyone,

 

 

 

 

 

A bit of a novice question perhaps - but I want to make sure I don't look silly once I'm on the ship or spend time in line(s) unprepared!

 

 

 

 

 

With my cruise fare, I have $250 OBC, UDP (3 meals), and UBP. I intend to make the $300 cash deposit rather than use a credit card at check-in.

 

 

 

 

 

Upon boarding, I'd also like to grab a beverage and book my spa / specialty dining reservations. My question being - is there a specific order I should do all of this in?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other words, is my account "frozen" to charges prior to depositing my $300 cash, even with a $250 OBC? I'd imagine my first stop upon boarding the ship should be to the Guest Services desk; however I understand from some YouTube videos this may not necessarily be open to accept my deposit straight away.

 

 

 

 

 

Advice and guidance is most welcome! This is my second cruise - and first solo cruise - and I am so thrilled to be returning to NCL!

We just got off of the Getaway last Sunday and we used cash. A soon soon we got on the ship we went to Guest services and put down cash. Super easy and done in 5 minutes. Then we went and grabbed a drink! We made our specialty dinner reservations before we left so we didn’t have to do that once we were on board. But even if you do you can do it easily once on at the desk or from one of the touch screens around the ship. Too easy!

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I’ve been back from my Western Caribbean Getaway cruise fora few days now and am finally able to take a few minutes out to share mythoughts. A little about us. I am 41 hubs is 42, we traveled without kids. Thiswas my second cruise, first was in 2009 on the Carnival Conquest, and myhusband’s first cruise. So this would be my first experience with NCL. We had the UBP and ended up with 4 specialty dinning courtesy of our booking site. I will try to remember what we did each day although I may have them mixed up! I need a vacation from my vacation!

We flew into FLL on Saturday, rented a car and drove down to Miami. Easy drive and it was nice having a car to get around during the day. We rented from Alamo and it was super easy and reasonably priced! We spent the night at the Cambria Hotel near the airport. Nice clean hotel, friendly staff and they offer a shuttle service around town (within 3 miles). We went to a local place “Café Juan” for Cuban food at the recommendation of the hotel staff. We really enjoyed our lunch! For dinner we went down to South Beach but didn’t stay long as my husband’s patience with the traffic was running low! We ended up eating at a Mexican place not too far from Ocean drive. It was less than memorable!

We went back to Café Juan for breakfast on embarkation day! $5.50breakfast with café con leche! Could not beat it. We returned the car to the Alamo at MIA airport and they offer a free shuttle to the port. We had a 10:30-11 report time, we got there close to 11 and we were on the ship by noon or so. First stop was the mojito bar which is where most of our drinks came from the entire cruise! It was great! We explored a bit and our room was ready fairly early (Can’t remember the exact time). We had a balcony room 11748 and our room and location were great, we had a GTY balcony and ended up with a good room! Although next time I’ll go a little further aft! Our room steward was such a nice kid. I call him a kid but he was 27 and from Bosnia. My husband got to talking to him about his family and the genocide going on in his country. We are both Veterans (he is still a reservist) so we were able to really understand what he went through as we both have friends who deployed to Bosnia!We took care of him very well at the end of our cruise and felt good doing it!

We had 6pm reservations at Cagney’s, so I was pleased when we got our luggage before 5. Cagney’s was one of, if not the best meal of the trip and without question the best service. Highly recommend. And next time we’ll do Cagney 's more than once and skip others! We went to Howl at the moon that evening and pretty much shut it down, followed it with some dancing at Bliss with some newly made friends! The next morning the count was UBP 1 husband 0! He had a terrible hangover that would last all day! He put on a brave face and made the best of it. Although he learned to pace himself and we ended up missing the CC M&G.

Day 2 sea day. Breakfast at savor was pleasant. Then we did more exploring and vegging out! I spent most of the week at H20 since the lido was always packed and nowhere to sit near water! Not sure why people do Vibe when H20 was quiet and has the water feature and hot tubs. But whatever,personal preference I guess.

We had dinner at Tropicana that night! A little loud for hubby’s hangover…LOL! The food was just OK. Nothing special and our waiter left much to be desired. This would be the last time we ate dinner in the main dining room. We had lunch at Savor once and they brought me the wrong thing food. Which was corrected once I pointed out I ordered pasta not a frittata. We went to see Burn the Floor that evening, whichI really enjoyed, hubby thought it was ok.

Day 3 Costa Maya, up early to get to our non NCL excursion.We went to the ruins and had a traditional Mayan lunch at a local Mayan family’shome! Totally amazing!!!! Our guide was awesome. The food was awesome, everythingabout this excursion was perfect. Not sure if I can post the name here but ifanybody wants the name let me.

We had reservations for la Cucina that evening. Food was very good. We were definitely full by the end. Unlike Cagney’s you could have multiple appetizers, salads, one entreeand multiple desserts. Cagney’s was one of each. Service was also good.

Day 4 Harvest Caye, cloudy, gloomy and we decided to not get off of the ship. We aren’t lay on the beach types and I knew there really wasn’ttoo much else. Quite a few people had the same idea and stayed on the ship. We hung around H20, did the water slides and had a pretty relaxing day. I honestly do not remember what we did for dinner this night but I think it was Garden Café.

Day 5 Roatan. We had an excursion with a 15-year-old that own his own company (again I don’t know what CC allows me to post). Very personalized excursion. We did zip lining at Victor Bodden, monkey and Sloths, chocolate factory, rum factory and island tour. Great day! That evening was Moderno. We had some crazy waves this evening! The ship was rocking and the hostess checking people in was not very efficient.We finally got seated in an area that was empty so we assumed out waiter would be right over. A couple sat down behind us about 5 minutes later and our waiter appeared shortly after and went right to them as we still sat there! We were alittle annoyed at this point! But maybe he didn’t see us (me trying to think positively). We have been to Brazilian Steak houses before so we knew how it worked. My husband went right up to the salad bar while we waited for our waiter. Once the waiter appeared service got a little better. We finished dinner stuffed beyond belief! We called it an early night since the rocking wasa little much with full tummies!

Day 6 Cozumel, so let me start out by saying we were originallygoing to go to Mr. Sancho’s. We had wanted to do the amazing secret river butwhen I checked with NCL prior to the cruise it was sold out. And while I wastempted do it through an external provider I chickened out since it was such along excursion and far. When we got onthe ship and checked with the excursion desk they had a few slots for the amazing secret river so we decided to book it! Although my husband was not happy withthe no cameras/go-pro rules. This rule was not the same with the private excursion! Or at least that is what the website said! The excursion itself was amazing! Our guide was awesome. And we were split up into a smaller group whichmade it more personable. My issue with this place is that they say no camera but yet have a photographer go with you, so that they can take pictures that you have to buy for a lot of $$$$$! This is my issue with the Dolphin swims which is why as much as I want to do it I won’t because of the cost of pictures! It was obvious it was a racket to make money! We did however, begrudgingly pay $25 for one picture, I mean how often are we going to be in an undergroundriver! The tour was followed by a really good lunch provided by the park. Overalla great experience minus the picture thing!

We had dinner at Shanghai noodle (complimentary) and reallyenjoyed it. We had been trying to eat there all week and it was always super packed with a long wait. We finally got there a few minutes before it opened and gotright in. We saw Million Dollar Quartet that evening and it was amazing!Favorite show of the cruise! Must see!

Day 7 another lazy day. Didn’t do too much during the day.We had reservation for Le Bistro this evening. And we wrapped up the cruise with another great meal! Service and food was excellent. We went back to Howl at the Moon (3rd time during the week) and ended the night with another great time.

Debarkation day went smoothly. We did self-carry and were off the ship before 9. We took the free Alamo shuttle to MIA airport and rented another car. We had a late flight so we drove down to Key Largo for the daybefore driving to FLL for our flight.

Final thoughts: I wasn’t sure what to expect on this cruise as I had heard/read mixed reviews about NCL nickeling and diming you. Honestly, I didn’t see that. I think it’s because we had so many specialty dinning reservations included and the UBP. AlthoughI will say that I wish they would still allow water to be brought on. We endedup buying 6 liters for $15. And I wish they included specialty coffee with theUBP the way carnival does. We love our coffee and spent money there daily. Our bar staff at mojitos was awesome and we tipped them extra along with our Cagney’s waitress and room Steward. Some of the other staff was not as pleasant. One waiter in H20 acted as if getting me a drink was so much effort. And it wasn’t only me as I could see he was like this with everyone. But I didn’t let those few ruin my cruise!

Cagney’s and Le Bistro were excellent. La Cucina and Moderno were ok. Next time we’ll try out Teppanyaki and Ocean Blue.

H20 was located next to the teen club and all I could think was dear God was I like that as a teen…LOL! But overall no major issues withkids running crazy! Saw a few walking in groups but they weren’t causing any trouble despite what some would have you believe.

The Glow party Friday night was awesome!! Howl at the moon was amazing every night we went! I highly recommend it!

Overall we have a great cruise! My husband who had never been on a cruise and didn’t want to go on a cruise made us get cruise nextdeposits!! So that in itself means it was a successful cruise! As for the Ship……I am so conflicted! The buffet was great with decent food that at times wasreally good! Never had an issue finding a seat! Just day one but that was expected! I hated that they did everything in the Atrium! What a horrible spot! Then there’s the pool area!!! Who designed this thing???? Way too small for the size of ship. We spent zero time there! If asked if I would sail the Getawayagain I would say yes, but maybe not as a first choice!

Next cruise we are planning is 2019 Bliss to Alaska (hopingfor a better layout)! Then Royal, newer Carnival ships and Disney, but with thecost, we’ll go on Disney when my youngest can remember everything he did every second of the day! I don’t feel loyal to a cruise line just to cruising!

Unless the excursion is picking you up at the pier, you are unlikely to make an excursion at 8:30. The ONLY time I have ever been at a port earlier than what was said on the cruise lines web site was at Grand Cayman, and the ship stayed on Miami time the whole trip, and GC doesn't observe DST.

That’s what I thought! Decided to scrap the excursion and go to Mr Sanchos. Didn’t feel like risking it!

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Thanks all! It really is confusing! I just assumed the time on my vacation summary was the time I arrived (local) but then the 0830 local excursion time left no time for delays!

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It has been my experience on NCL that the ship changes it's time to local time. I know that it can vary but this has been my experience.

But is the time listed on my vacation summary (on the NCL website) local time? The excursion I’m looking at leaves at 0830 and according to the vacation summary we get in at 0800. Doesn’t seem like enough time to get off of the ship and take cab to the ferry. The excursion company said we actually get in at 7 local. So of course I’m totally confused and will probably just call NCL to un-confuse myself...lol!

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Are the times listed on my vacation summary ship time or local time? I am trying to book a non NCL excursion and was told I arrive at 0700 local time but my vacation summary says 8 am.

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No directly through NCL. But through a TA which we cant speak of here! PM me if you want info. I received a nice OBC when I purchased around memorial day.

I believe you can only use OBC "onboard" and not for pre-purchase prior to sailing.

Thought that might be the case. Thank you!

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Can I use my OBC to pay for my internet package? I tried to do it online and am not given the option. Thx!

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So we just got our room. BA 11748. Not bad.

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Booked an inside GTY (ID GTY, not a sail away) on the Getaway about a month ago, sailing in 2 weeks. Inside room was assigned about 48 hours after booking.

 

Called and upgraded last week (not bidding, paid full price) to a BD GTY (again, not a sail away cabin) and it was assigned within 2 hours. I received a great non-connecting BA on deck 11.

Ours is a BD GTY as well, not sail away. I’m thinking we might get something assigned two weeks before we sail. But realistically I have no clue :D

We sail in 43 days and have a GTY balcony assigned. I know they can assign it anytime after final payment up to and including cruise day. I’m just curious if there is an “average” time frame. We aren’t to worried about where we are assigned I’m just curious and according to my husband impatient....lol!

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Carnival is not a luxury cruise, but they have never claimed to be. They are the "Fun Ships." We have sailed Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian, and they are all pretty much on par. We have never sailed Princess, but after talking to two different family members who have, we don't plan to.

 

Like any vacation, it is what you make it. Go into it thinking you will have a good time, and you will. Board the ship looking for problems, and you will find them.

I don't want to hijack this post but as someone who has sailed with all three of the major lines, how do they compare? I am scheduled to sail on the Dream with my husband (1st cruise) and my mom and step-dad in Aug. I have only been on one other cruise, and that was the Conquest in 2009.

My mom wanted to try out cruising to see if they liked it before the Aug cruise, and sailed on the NCL breakaway out of NY, the week of Thanksgiving. They loved it and had a great time. I am worried that the Dream wont match up to what they experienced on NCL. I did tell her that the Dream is older than the Breakaway and wont be as nice. I also told her that Carnival had more of a fun, party, laid back feel. Any advice or perspective on the differences?