CruisingSince1982

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Have you heard anything too suggest that they are?

 

I've not heard anything myself this year. The only recent data point that I have is that we weren't charged any tax anywhere on our Lisbon to Rome itinerary recently.

 

Also, remember that what happened this week doesn't mean that the same will happen next week, or even on a different ship at the same time.

Yes, someone posted a picture of the signs at the bars stating VAT would be added for ports and waters in France and Spain, but it was a cruise originating from Barcelona. Just wondering if the reverse route, originating from Italy, would incur the same charges. 

More confusion on this issue, since folks sailing from Italy have not received notice of this. Is NCL back to adding the 10% VAT to the free at sea drink and meals while in spanish waters? I knew they were doing it on cruises departing from Barcelona, but are they now also doing it on sailings departing from Italy? While taxes being adding to drinks while in port is not new, a VAT being applied to a meal that is already paid for is, so just curious if this is happening again. Thanks!

On 5/3/2024 at 12:37 AM, time391 said:

I hope someone on here can assist

 

A family member, who we gave money for the Cruise, through the Casino at Sea program with NCL booked a Western Mediterranean cruise several months ago and it's past the deadline for refund.

 

However, unbeknownst to us, the family member has an issue with their US passport and cannot travel to Europe for the Cruise. We are booked to leave Barcelona on May 26th 2024.

 

At the moment, the other 3 members of the cruise's names are already logged into NCL website and our passport documentation is fine, can we still board the ship without the Casino at Sea family member, who had originally received the free cruise certificate?

 

I am wondering if anyone else has ever encountered something like this, since it's an odd situation. We paid for the cruise ourselves, but we took advantage of our family member's Casino benefit to receive the free Balcony room. We know that there will be losses now from Hotel and airline tickets for the one member who cannot travel to Europe, but we do not want to cancel the entire trip on account of one person's documentation issues. We do not mind losing some money from a lack of refund, but we're hoping not to lose the entire $10K with excursions.

 

Thank you for any help in advanced

Yes, you can board. DO NOT cancel that passenger that is having an issue. There is no rule that everyone must board together. Get there when you get there and board. The missing passenger will eventually be a no show. If you cancel that passenger, you will have an issue. EDITED - just realized it was CAS. I did not catch that, sorry. Best you can do is to call CAS and ask, but I don't think they will let you board. 😞

On 5/30/2022 at 10:57 AM, edinburgher said:

We took the bus to Trogir on our second visit.  Very small and probably quite pretty but we had to almost push our way through the crowds of visitors from cruise tours and land tours which had descended in large numbers.  We never really got the chance to see it properly. That was a  morning.  Maybe quieter in the afternoons or early evenings?.

OTOH Split has so much to offer that we were not stuck for choice even on our third visit.  In addition to the usual Palace etc,do explore the back streets which are lovely to walk through, have a drink somewhere on the promenade,and also go further along to the Veli Varos area (used to be the fishermens neighbourhood back in the day)at the end of the promenade,  and justt before it takes a left to the old harbour. Cross the road and enter the narrow streets (I think there was a little church there)and just continue walking uphill. You can happily meander uphil through the narrow streets to reach the viewpoint part way up Marjan Hill.  From there you can continue uphill to the summit.  There are also steps up to the viewpoint, but it is a more gradual and easier walk through the neighbourhood.  There was a lot of gentrification going onin Veli Varos  with some really pretty properties. We found an online description and map of Veli Varos which we followed.  The views from the viewpoint are wonderfiul, but we didn't climb any higher than that.  There is a cafe at the viewpoint..

I know this is an older post, but did you have any issue using a credit card in Split? 

Has anyone used ItalyTours . EU for Mt Etna and Taormina in Sicily? Just wondering how many people they cram into a van. Thanks! 

Don't leave us hanging!

I pre-booked and paid for massages for day 1 on our cruise. Did that price include the gratuity? I'm assuming it did, but there is not a breakdown on the invoice. 

24 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

With the balcony door closed and sealed, noise from Spice H2O isn't a problem. If you try to hear something, you can but any sound/bass that you hear won't be any more disruptive than the other sounds that you hear on a moving ship.

 

Going down to deck 10 would also put you closer to the sound caused by the ship's propellers. With the door sealed, it isn't an issue and some people enjoy the sound but going down to deck 10 won't be silent, either.

Thank you very much! 

On 3/27/2022 at 5:55 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

The size order for depth is 9, 12, 15, 14, 11, 10, 13 from deepest to least deep.

 

There are also differences in balcony width as well as differences in bed location (near balcony vs. near closet) for the stateroom. 

 

For a good combination of view, balcony depth, and avoiding noise from Spice H2O, I recommend deck 12. From there, decide on bed location. My preference is bed near balcony but some prefer the opposite. My first choices on deck 12 are 12308/12908. 

 

@Two Wheels Only - I realize this is an older post, but I was wondering if you had any noise issues from Spice, being on Deck 12? That's my first deck choice, but I was thinking of dropping down to Deck 10 because of potential noise. We do tend to go to sleep on the earlier side. Thank you! 

3 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

To answer your question.  I like the NCL Joy vibe because it is both sides of the ship.  I usually stay in the Haven and to take the Vibe as an option.  Then I did my first and ONLY Solo cruise and had a Club Suite.  I took the Vibe for that cruise.  

 

The Vibe like many topics have those that love it and those that don't.  I LOVE the Vibe.  They have a bar, they treat everyone like rock stars and love the frozen fruit. I also stayed in a Cabana on the Breakaway in the Vibe.  Nice but not close to as nice as the Joy.  My opinion ONLY.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

We are actually thinking of taking your suggestion for our next caribbean cruise and doing "Haven Lite" 🙂 

In your opinion, which ship has the best Vibe area? Are they all pretty similar?

On 1/26/2024 at 4:42 PM, smokeykat said:

How did you book the NCL transfer? Are you using NCL air? How much was it per person?

No, we are not using NCL air. I went online and booked it. I guess you could call them as well. It was $38, I believe. 

On 3/23/2024 at 6:06 PM, dhanakorn said:

On the Sky now. $34 for laundry special. But the new bag is much bigger than the bag when it was $30. You can look at the Daily for relative size comparison. The bag is also made stronger, not very thin paper anymore. 
 

What is the surcharge to have it back next day, as opposed to 48 hours? 

On 3/21/2024 at 2:54 PM, mswein said:

Here's the company that we're using:  

 

https://www.vqtravels.com/

 

The cost for a private car for that trip is approximately $450.  The company gets excellent online reviews.

Thank you! 

Can someone please recommend a reliable transportation company to get us from Marco Polo Airport to our hotel in Trieste? I am not interested in the train, and the bus schedule does not meet our needs. Private transportation recommendations, please. Thanks 

Anyone? 😔

Is it true that Starlink went "live" today on the Escape? Someone is posting that info in another forum. Thanks

On 3/5/2024 at 10:15 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 

As far as I know, they are basically identical. The entrance door to the courtyard splits the area between those 2 staterooms but the door is closer to 17712. The door doesn't slam so that shouldn't be an issue. 

Thank you, I appreciate it! 

Is there any real difference between these 2 cabins? I know one is by the entrance to the lounge, and the other a little more forward. Any preference between the 2? I'm assuming the balcony sizes are the same? Thanks!

What time doe the Haven restaurant open in the morning on a Mediterranean cruise? Some of these ports have arrivals times of 6am! Thank you 🙂 

On 2/14/2024 at 2:51 PM, Candy Apple 12 said:

 

I was on the Escape last week, and the Haven restaurant was not open early for our Tortola port of call. My butler said the night butler could bring anything to the room which was on the continental breakfast menu, but none of the hot foods from the Haven restaurant because it wasn’t open. I eat gluten free, so there’s not much on the continental breakfast menu that I can eat. I had picked up a few boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios from the regular (not Haven) breakfast buffet a few days earlier when my traveling companions wanted to try it out, so I asked for a few cartons of milk to keep in the fridge. My traveling companions ate some almond croissants left over from the day before. The butler brought 6-8 every morning—way too many for the two of them to eat!

 

You should have been able to get a hot breakfast with room service, whether the haven restaurant was open or not. If a regular cabin can get that, I would never expect not to have the same in the Haven. 

30 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

I didn't do the NCL, but seems Viking offered similar.  Even on the boat the  excursion desk had little clue to the exact schedule.  Upon badgering 🙂  the produced a hypothetical they would show us for the eventual Excursion we did take in Florence.    Than when we got on it we discovered they were doing it in reverse!.

 

I don't have a good recommendation for how to balance a ship excursion with pre-bought tickets to a museum or other.      I do know there are a bunch of second hand resellers.  We used that for the Academia on one day.  Was a small premium but they had limited tickets and their agent was standing right outside the entrance and each allotted time hour had what looked like between 5-10 customers.    Sadly for the Ufizzi we didn't have that option and had to wait about 30' in the no preserved line.   

 

Good luck

They took you to wine tasting in the morning?! Our excursion leaves at 7am. I hope they don't do that to us. They do specifically say we are going to Florence first. I guess time will tell! 

18 hours ago, complawyer said:

hopefully this will adequately answer your question(s) 1 neither haven/ nor suite guests get comped dinners in specialty restaurants. Only those dinners included in your initial booking, those included in you specific latitudes award program, it  has been our experience, that if you are a haven guest and the ship has a designated haven complex  you will be taken to the exclusive haven restaurant. if there is no designated haven complex, or you have booked a suite category cabin (not club balcony suite) you will be taken to cagneys for lunch.  haven and or suite guests on ncl ships without the designated haven complex, are offered breakfast every morning in moderno, and lunch in cagney's 

 

dinner for all sailing is "catch as catch can"

Not necessarily true. There have been instances where Haven guests were comped on night one in a specialty, but it usually is a low demand restaurant. Such as Q. It all depends on how busy the Haven restaurant is on night 1. 

Has anyone used this company for transportation from Venice to Trieste? The reviews are excellent, but there are not many of them. I just want to make sure that we will actually be picked up and not left stranded at the airport on Venice.  Thank you

Has anyone done this excursion through NCL? Shore excursions is useless in trying to answer a simple question, and it is so frustrating! If anyone has done this, approximately what time did you leave Florence to go to the wine tasting? We have timed entry tickets to the Galleria already, and I am trying to make sure I can make this work before spending money on the tour. It leaves the ship at 7am. Thank you!