grozzy1

Are empty or full water bottles allowed back on the ship after a port day? I still need to decide on what I'm doing for my cruise but it would be a big pain if they get confiscated.

Bon Voyage!

I wish they'd hurry up while the sun's still out

The first question you need to ask yourself is what's at stake if I miss my flight? Also there is no guarantee you will dock on time. Last Friday for instance any cruise ship would have been delayed.

Although you probably would make it, my philosophy is to expect the unexpected

A few questions-

Did you have insurance?

Were you flying on the date of departure?

Who actually had your luggage?

Regardless of the debate on NCLs responsibilities, better planning could have helped avoid trouble.

For a newbie I would add:

Go on a pre-sail orientation tour

Enquire about a BTS tour

19 minutes ago, NSWP said:

No mask lol. Where are the Mask Police? lol.

Considering the ship is supposed to be COVID free, and the nearest crew are 15-20m away I'd say the risk was negligible. The observation was more crowded and mask free

Doing an interview for ACA

11 hours ago, casofilia said:

 Norwegian Dawn, Spirit and Star with embarkation dates through and including September 30, 2021

 

Does anyone know when the Spirit was due to start cruising in Europe, please?   I feel it was supposed to be before September 30.

 

During October they are due to be there and then they are due to leave Athens on the 7th November to go to Australia and New Zealand via 4 ports in INDIA!!!

 

Final payment would be about 7th July for this Athens departure.

 

1) Will NCL or passengers want to visit India?

2) Will the Australian and New Zealand governments allow the Spirit to visit?   Especially if it has visited India?

3) When will (should) NCL make a decision regarding the visit of the Spirit to Australia and new Zealand?

I'm  booked on the Spirit on its first cruise from Sydney. I'm still optimistic if the authorities cooperate Australian and NZ passengers can travel.

I'd  be more concerned about the preceding cruise from Singapore I think. As an educated guess it may be cancelled for passengers so the crew can spend time in a bubble and prove the ship is covid free

The first things I did on my NCL cruise-

Lunch in MDR

enquire about behind the scenes tour

Take free orientation tour.

After that I got a drink and seat at Great Outdoors and waited for sailing

As well as the cruise going ahead, you've also got to think if you can travel to embarkation port. If you need to travel interstate or international I would be reluctant.

If you haven't outlaid too much I'd lean towards cutting my losses.

I found Waikiki Beach underwhelming. Probably because we're spoilt for beaches in Australia, but it's just a narrow strip of sand with hardly any surf.

They get sent to Lost Property, and if they are unclaimed get auctioned off to the highest bidder. 😀

I'm booked on the NCL spirit Christmas 2021 NZ cruise. I would be surprised if at least a NZ/AUS bubble hasn't opened by then.

I've booked a trans Tasman cruise for Christmas/ NYE 2021. I am optimistic, but I  know there's no guarantees. It may even be restricted to Aus and NZ citizens.

I won't pay any more than the deposit until there's more certainty about the situation. Hopefully that's mid next year.

On the Jewel I had cabin 11070, a midship minisuite. Directly above was just outside the entrance to the buffet . Noise was never a problem for me

 

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Just as a matter of interest- it was rumored on our sailing, the one prior to this sailing that over 500 schoolies were getting onboard for this cruise. Is that true?

 

 

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There doesn't appear to be any "schoolies" onboard. I don't know about NCL but other lines are very strict and don't allow unaccompanied school leavers at this time of year. They have learnt their lesson from years past.

 

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Tuesday day 3

Today was the first port, Burnie Tasmania. No need to tender we went straight in to the dock. Burnie is a small town, the main port on the north west coast. It's mainly industry was wood pulp but that shut down and they're trying to reinvent themselves.

My chosen tour was Gunn's Plains caves and wildlife. First stop was a tour of the caves. Not too big but in great condition. Be aware that it does involve plenty of stairs and ducking your head.

Second half was just over an hour at Wings wildlife park. Highlight was the feeding of the Tasmanian devils. When they say don't lean over the fence they mean it. We then had time to browse the other animals.

Getting back to the ship there was about 2 hours free to explore Burnie.

Access to and from the dock had to be via a shuttle bus with 3 stops in town. The queues to get back on the bus started getting long but fortunately everyone seemed to make it back.

 

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The benefits of attending M&G

 

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Day 2 Monday

I've discovered that Great Outdoors is a great place for some brekkie. You can get your food indoors our outside and finding a table is not a problem.

First up for the day was a port and excursion presentation in the theatre. There wasn't much I didn't know, but it would have been real informational to non Australians.

Meet and greet was in Les Bistro. A month ago it looked as if there wasn't enough interest but there was some late additions to make it possible. Thanks to the organisers.

Lunch was the poolside BBQ. The food was nice but finding a seat was bit of a battle.

Bingo in the afternoon was a fun way to waste money. I won a whole $1 on an instant ticket.

I decided on an early dinner at O'Sheehans. The fish and chips and apple pie were typical pub food. Straight out of a packet but they fill you up.

To finish the day, entertainment was Burn the Floor. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Which brings me to my peeve of the day. When people arrive early at the theatre why do they have to sit next to the aisle? Are they incapable of moving to the centre of the row, or just inconsiderate?

 

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Muster was quick and painless in O'Sheehans then a quick power walk enabled me to grab a prime spot for sailaway at Great Outdoors. About a third was roped off for a private function and as a result it got quite crowded. I only briefly introduced myself to the roll call because I didn't want to lose my seat.

Departure was a bit later than expected so as soon as we got to the heads I had to go down for an appointment with Teppenyaki. The food and entertainment were great. No-one went hungry.

The night's entertainment was Illumination. Two performing an acrobatic type show. They were good but I was struggling to stay awake due to getting up so early.

 

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Hey Grozzy. Hope you are enjoying your cruise.

Could you please give me your opinion on the taste of the coffee that is supplied for the coffee maker.

Is it packaged in individual sachets, or in a jar?

Thanks. [emoji106]

 

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There are sachets of coffee provided, but I don't drink it so no opinion on its quality.

 

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Boarding was painless. My documentation only said that boarding started at 12. At 10 am I left the hotel and checked my bag. A lady there said they expected check-in to start around 11. After I had some morning tea I came back at 11. Went straight in and up the escalator. Despite being sorted into lines of varying status and my lack of DYKHIA it was straight to a desk. After getting my details and card it was up another level into a holding area.

After 5-10 min security was opened and I went through and boarded at 11:30. First stop was the excursions desk to enquire about the behind the scenes tour. It costs $79 (I think) and should be on the last sea day. Details will be sent to my cabin later.

Next was lunch at Tsar's. Nothing exciting, but the service was quick. Rooms were announced ready at 1:30 and I'm currently chilling out on my balcony.

 

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Day 1 Sunday

Got up early to watch the Jewel arrive

 

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