Sailing12Away

Absolutely. James said you've got his info, so keep us posted on any upcoming trips. I'm always game for a last minute adventure when I know fun folks will be around. We'll be back in London next year when the Mets play the Phillies, so can try to possibly meet up for a drink or 3 then.

Sun has just started to come out, right in time for our London eye champagne experience. Told the kids we were headed to a wig museum....

We've got mixed feelings on this ship. Looks lovely, and we like the concepts they were going for - but the execution sucked donkey balls. Combine that with the egregious price we paid, and it's left an overall sour taste in our mouths. I would never book the H4 room ever again. Not even close to being worth it for the money we paid. Even if the hot tub did work - I would never pay more than 12-15K for it, and only if we were headed to warm weather where you can sit out there on the balcony. Lots of square footage, but whoever designed the interior was a blind idiot. So much wasted space, and despite being a large room my sister in the oceanview had more storage and space for little things than we did. Honestly, how hard is it for them to put a shelf into the shower like they have on every single other cabin? Always felt like we were plowing our way through a crowd - not sure if we were just surrounded by idiots who like to stop in the middle of a hallway and be in the way, if I was just overall grumpy with a low level of tolerance (most likely), or if the flow of traffic was just not thought out well. After 10 days still couldn't figure out how to get to the front of the ship on deck 8 without going outside to go back in. Compared to other trips, despite all the Haven things being together in the aft, it felt really disconnected. The private elevator was a great touch, but even then it felt like folks had to make a conscious effort to go to the bar which left it mostly empty. Lots of hiccups, not a bad overall experience, but just not what we were used to on any of our other NCL trips. I'm willing to try Viva at the right price to see Beetlejuice, but would probably just take a club balcony suite and skip Haven. We used the pool once, got help fixing our dinner reservations when the pre-cruise concierge screwed them up, and got off the ship in about 5 mins today when we left. Other than that, we didn't experience any other perks for being Haven guests beyond free room service and daily snacks.

Rain is just starting to come down here in London. Got in a short walk before it came down. My sister's room is ready but ours is not, so lounging in her room for a bit before our 5pm surprise for the kids.

No, $500/person non refundable credit. I had to ask them 3x for the case number so I can follow up when I get home. Don't they will do anything though.

Yes, it seems you do unfortunately.

The great hash brown potato famine continues. I was hoping they restocked in Amsterdam and thought I might be able to get some this morning - nope, general breakfast potatoes instead. Toilets at one bar in Brugges cost 0.50 euro, but were free at the other brewery. My sister & the kids started to walk off a little while ago. We're going to see if the concierge can get us off quicker with just the two of us in a little bit.

Dinner at Food Republic to burn the last of our dining credits. Bottle of Dom to burn the last of our non refundable credits. Up/down/back/forth to get our refundable credits issued. Stupid NCL policy where they can't just put it back to the original form of payment - have to issue cash. Trying to finish last minute double checks of the room and catch our ride into London.

Was able to flag down the 3:30 departure bus as it made the turn around the corner and hop on. So many beers, not nearly enough time. On the way back to the port for the shuttle transfer to the ship.

When in Brugges, beer. Long line to get to the free shuttle to leave the port. Then another line waiting for the cruise express bus (buy tickets ahead of time to skip another long line). ~20 min bus ride into City center, keep walking until you smell the chocolate.

Dinner in Onda last night. My niece skipped dinner, we're all a bit under the weather with a cough. My home covid test came up negative at least. Everyone on the ship is coughing.

Goodbye Amsterdam, lots of river cruise ships here today.

More photos from today.

Canal tour, local beers that are not generic Heineken, waffles, stroopeaffles, and all sorts of other fun sights. Before we left the cabin today a team of 4 engineers came to look at our hot tub. I asked them if they were going to fix it, they confirmed it wasn't broken. "CDC has mandated them to be off until they clear them for use." I asked if they took swab samples to submit to them and they looked at me like I was crazy. Asked what exactly the 4 of them were doing then, and they ignored me and left. Yeah.... Not suspect at all. Photos from the canal tour. They're a dime a dozen when you walk into town.

The great potato famine continues. We were told by the cellar master that Amsterdam is one of their biggest restocking ports. So hopefully they're bringing a giant pallet of them on board. Hubby has been ordering a cheese omelette with a side of bacon and a bagel, and making his own BEC with that. Not quite like home, but close enough.

So the take away message here is that every cruise is different, and even in the same cruise personal opinions may differ. I was literally standing in the water on deck 8 infinity pools and my feet were cold. My BIL and the kids tried to go in them and they were cold. For comparison I stepped into the Haven pool and walked right in up to my neck - not cold at all. So I'm not an idiot, I know the differences between a heated and non heated pool. Today we were walking around in shorts and tshirts, and others on deck 8 had winter puffer coats and winter hats. So it doesn't matter what someone else thinks it's warm or cold, your experience may vary. MDR menu is changing nightly, guess I was in the minority looking forward to the same one rather than FOMO for a one night special that you would miss if you didn't know about. Lovely dinner at Food Republic, had to take the picture of this waiter to write a hero card for him. We split a single meal credit between the two of us and were stuffed. Closed out the Haven bar with new friends, and planning on adventuring in Amsterdam tomorrow for a canal ride at some point. Stars are out in full force, clear sky. Got a lovely photo of the bin dipper, I mean big dipper.

Black glass champagne tasting, lunch at indulge by sharing a table with nice strangers, latitudes wine around the world, then a dip in the Haven pool. Pool is heated and lovely, but cold wind once you get outside. We ran to the sauna, not brave enough to try the cold side until we get further south. I dipped my feet in the infinity pools on deck 8. Chilly at first but I warmed up quick. So I don't think they're heated, but not bad of the wind wasn't so strong. My sister is a bit under the weather with a cold so low key tonight for dinner so she can enjoy Amsterdam tomorrow. Haven't found any blue moon yet, so had a Hoegarden in honor of Marty today.🐀

Depends 100% on the ship and discretion of the concierge. On this ship it was never offered and with this concierge I'm not wasting time to ask. He's nice, but spits out corporate policy ver batem. Finished immigration, looks like they set up a separate line for Haven guests anyway, so not sure why they made us get up at 7am on a freaking sea day. Asked another staff member if food Republic would be open for lunch today. Nope. They have to use the seating in there as overflow for the other restaurants. Grumble grumble, was looking forward to that today. Guess we'll have to go for dinner instead.

Normally that would be an option for us, but we already have 3 bottles in the room that were not using up fast enough. Bought a nice bottle of wine with dinner tonight in the Haven restaurant. Will probably buy a bottle of bubbles at the end of the trip unless I suck it up and ask someone to teach me how to play the coin pusher game. I know how to push the coins obviously, just not sure how any of the casino games work. Like do I just swipe my room card and go? That's a quick way to go through some money if it will work on those games.

Finally able to enjoy the big balcony without any rain and a warm sunny day. Hoping to make it to the infinity pool tomorrow. My nephew found a duck, so that will make my mom happy. She's obsessed with that game of find and seek, we can't stand it. To each their own, but at least she'll stop asking me about them.

So OBC.... Need to visit the concierge for an update on my hot tub credit, but right now we have 1k in refundable from the TA and for the hot tub ~600 of non refundable left. Unlike our Mets season tickets at least NCL is good about using the non refundable first. But even paying for the kids food at each specialty, lots of VR games, and etc we won't come close to using it. TA was maxed at 1k so had to contact them, they claim they'll mail us a check for the missing amount. Looks like the old van winkle is in our future or the chateau Rothschild. Views from the funicular were nice. Stopped in McDonalds for a funky snack, curry dipping sauce FTW.

And more... They just kept getting better for those willing to stay up to 4am. Slept in late today naturally, no official plans other than wanting a ride on the funicular

And more....

More photos of the lights

When we were in Alaska we saw the northern lights off our balcony. Did a tour in Reykjavik to look for them but found nothing. Last night when I got up for a potty break I peaked outside and saw the familiar haze. Took a long exposure photo and there they were. At points they were visible with the naked eye, bright neon green, tall pillars that would come and go. My sister came up to join us and got to see them, so her bucket list for this trip is now complete. Amazing amazing amazing end to the day. They were brightest around 3:30am.