complawyer

its a great way to get about 30 minutes of naptime. i usually had no problems with the muster, but we just got off the jewel on feb 4th. the muster took over half an hour, and because we had round sailing from panama, after the english, they repeated the entire process in spanish. im not complaining about that, but i could barely keep my eyes open.

i go to the ncl website, check what's available, decide what i want to do/where i want to go, cabin # and then i call casinos at sea to book. i also go on aarp travel/expedia to check flights. when i see the airlines available to travel, i go on their sites to book. finally, i will go to booking or hotels. com to decide what hotels i want to book. google is a great help in finding out how far the port is from the hotel and vice versa. if you dont want to get to the departure city early, there is also a website with shuttle info from the airport to pier and vice versa, or pier to hotel by now, i'm sure you got the point that i like to do all the paper/ground work by myself. i used a pcc for about 3-4 years until she drove me crazy. one day out of shear frustration, i called CAS andfound out i had great offers my PCC never even mentioned. that was the last time i used her services. im not knocking her, i just get better deals through CAS

we usually do $5 for the driver and $10 for the guide. if youre unsure, wait a little while before leaving the bus and see what other passengers are doing. many times we hire a cab rather than take a cruise shore excursion. since the driver spends a few hours with us and takes us exactly where we want to go we usually tip between 20-30

we're sapphire and just got off the jewel on the 4th. no notice of dinner with an officer (although i definitely would have taken a pass on this one) and cruise next did offer the wine tasting, but not being a wine drinker, i figured it would be wasted on me, so we passed on that also. oh, and chiefmate jrk, nice to hear rom you again!

most likely, especially if you slip your cabin steward a $20

just got of the jewel (daylight transit thru panama canal) in all the times we have cruised with any of the allotted dinner packages, we have never been denied anything ordered. side dishes, appetizers or main course. this has included cagney's, le bistro and la cucina. it's also nice to get the latitude package that gives you a free bottle of wine at cagneys and le bistro

yes, its ok for an adult. the sofa opens up for a more comfortable bed. my friend often travels with my wife and i. we get the 2 bedroom (were on the jade 2 bedroom last april) and shes perfectly happy with the 2nd bedroom. remember, that the 3rd person sleeping in the 2nd bedroom, gets all the perks that come with a suite. so, in actuality, all she was using the 2nd room for was sleeping. we all shared the main part of the cabin equally.

so tell me, honestly, have you never asked for a doggie bag, when you found that you were either full prior to the end of your meal, or the main course was just to big to finish. i'd rather see people take food from any of the ship board restaurants, then see the food go to waste. our last cruise was on the gem, and the few times we ate in the buffet, it killed me to see how much was put out, and how much wasnt even touched

so just buy a bottle of what you want the day before you are scheduled to leave, and wrap as indicated. if you wrap the bottle securely, it is really no problem. and remember, there are probably no total wine and more shops if youre cruising from foreign ports.

just wrap it and pack it very carefully. we've brought wine home on numerous occasions, just wrapped really tightly under a bunch of clothes and you should have no problems. just remember to pack it in your checked luggage.

while never having sailed on the joy, after reading numerous posts on this ship, it appears more trouble than it's worth. it better have an A1+++ itinerary to justify its shorthcomings. did you book a regular suite and not the club balcony?

in that case, enjoy, as long as you can still walk. if you go to the sushi bar, or the chinese restaurant, you may want to try a cold undistilled saki. i believe its called nigiri. i usually order it on the rocks

wolft927. it has been our experience that any ship that offers both "haven suites" and cabins referred to as "suites"(not the club balcony suites) are entitled to and offered the same perks and amenities as any haven guest except access to the haven bar , pool, sundeck and haven restaurant. that is essentially the difference between a haven suite and a suite (other than the actual difference in price) the rooms look almost identical, the cabin choices are almost identical, the difference in price is the access to the "haven specially designated areas" for the savings of a few $1000 , i can forgo the pool and bar. we are still offered breakfast at modernos and lunch at cagney's . we get the same priority check in as any haven guest. the above has been our personal experiences when not booking a haven

like2cruise: just a couple of quick questions, how long was your cruise, and if you just had 1 of every drink you mentioned, how many days on the cruise were you either sober (lol). no offense meant, i just want to make sure the cruise critic censor police realize this was a tease comment.

we leave on the jewel this thursday!

since the bliss is a much much newer ship, it should probably be your 1st choice. we were on the bliss last july for a 7 day alaska cruise and it was a beautiful vessel. plus the lounge is amazing with great views and extremely spacious. terrific place to have a drink, some hors d'oeurves and just kick back and chill.

laudergayle, sorry darling, maybe in 2024. jewel jan 26 thru feb 4th panama canal , dawn b2b london to copenhagen, copenhagen to stockholm july 27 thru aug 15, dawn dec 13th thur 22nd dubai to mumbai. but will try and keep the champagne on ice for you two lol!

cheifmate jrk i look forward with great anticipation to one day us being shipmates, and of course the 1st round is on me!

i'm old, cranky and somewhat of a curmudgeon and set in my ways. give me a chivas on the rocks with a twist, an ice cold heineken and/or a glass of champagne and im good to go. i always comment, if by chance someone on my cruise wants to find me, im the one with the heineken in one hand and the glass of champagne in the other. of course the choice of mojitos in sugarcane is nothing to sneeze at either

i concede im probably in the minority, but again, after 20 cruises, all on ncl, i have as yet not found anything going on in the atrium that i want to see (and certainly not wish to stand for). while hopefully i wont get blasted on this post for coming across as a snob, except for most of the theater shows, i find a great many of the "lounge" acts to be 2nd rate at best, and awful at worst. we were on the star in aug/sept, and the singer at the bar outside of le bistro sounded more like a cat with its tail caught under a rocking chair. it was painful to even listen to, thank god for double strength manhattans. while all these people are "professional" entertainers, sometimes the best venue for them are on cruise ships. again, the opinions expressed herein, are strictly my own. also, i dont book a cruise with the quality of the entertainment as a criteria. and I will also concede that on most of the cruises i have taken, but for the theater, i dont even go to the other shows.

dear bowlinmoe! sorry, but yours is the 1st comment ive read that seems to indicate there is an atrium problem. the daily's usually indicate what's happening and where. if you really think there's a problem. get to the atrium a little earlier. in 20 cruises on ncl, i havent even bothered to sit(or stand) for anything going on in the atrium. there are a number of other places on the ship where you can sit, have a drink and enjoy (or not) the entertainment provided

one of the best and most comprehensive comments on tipping ive read on this sight so far (including my own) well said cruisinzmel

ive said previously in many other posts, the ability to be escorted off the ship by the concierge, is in and of itself, worth the price of admission!

if you havent already done so, youd be surprised what a handshake to the maitre'd will accomplish.

you tip the concierge because he's the go to guy if there's a problem, or you want some thing special done. his ability to get us off the ship with a minimal muss fuss or bother is in itself worth it (imho).