RunBikeCruiseDC

1 hour ago, 4 cruisers said:

We just cancelled on Tuesday (husband tested positive) for our April 23rd cruise.  I filled out forms and sent all info (hopefully) to the insurance company NCL uses.  Anyone have experience in this?  Can't rebook until we get refund or credit.  This waiting game is really frustrating!  NCL wants full payment for new bookings if they are within 120 days of sailing.  Wondering when I will expect the insurance to receive give us cruise credit or $?

 

We're in a similar situation for our 4/26 cruise.  We have insurance through an outside vendor.  Waiting for my husbands PCR test results before we cancel anything.  From the NCL site, it looks like we can get FCC which is fine.  Hope we can put towards the other cruise we have booked or maybe try to get on a May sailing.  I will be recovered by the sailing but it's unknown if I will test negative but the hubs getting sick made the situation impossible.  Just checked on him, he's has a fever over 100.4, I just had a low grade fever for a short time and never took a fever reducer...

3 hours ago, deweytrader said:

How disapointing!  Maybe you can hop on a May sailing and add 2 days to Vaca?  Good deals out there...

Yes, we are looking at optional dates in May.  We have a wedding in NYC on 5/21 so the 5/22 sailing may be good.  We are waiting to hear about closing date for the home we are building so it's so hard to plan around that time - many are getting closing dates 4-6 weeks out.    May 8th is also a date we are looking at but I would think mothers day would be booked??  

We cancelled our bids today.   😞.  I tested positive for covid (PCR confirmed later) due to "bad allergy" type symptoms now my husband tested positive via a rapid test, now following up with a PCR.   He had to test daily since he was scheduled to be in office this week and he let them know of my Dx.   I was far enough along I would have been considered recovered by next week so there was a glimmer of hope that is now dashed a bit more.  Fingers crossed his PCR is negative and I can test negative by Sunday/Monday...🤞

In all honesty, we probably would have never known we had covid after the negative test we took over the weekend.  Our cars are yellow with pollen so we just  wrote it off as a bad allergy season.   We decided we better follow up so we're not surprised when we test 2 days prior to boarding.

There are always "drinks of the day" at reduced prices that will save some $$$.    Mmmm,  Rebellious Fish!!!  Also, there may be some shows that include wine/beer with dinner in the Supper Club (or whatever it's called).  We did "Wine Lovers, the Musical"  on a sea day, enjoyed it and sampled some wines that I ended up really liking!

59 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

When we were on the Joy it was last February as in two months ago.  I also believe the Haven is always filled at capacity due to the up grade bids.

 

I think we are on the same Bermuda cruise--see you in the Vibe!

Next week (leave Tue 5/26)?  See you then!  Good to know - we will plan for Vibe.   We'll use out OBC then. 

2 hours ago, vacation44 said:

We were on the Joy and the sun deck was very crowded everyday.   There are a lot of very uncomfortable loungers that need to be replaced with the normal Haven loungers.     I just do not think there are enough comfortable loungers for that size Haven (Joy is the largest in the fleet I believe).  And we also thought the bar service was lacking.   

We're on the Joy next.  I heard somebody else mention that as it was also spring break and they got overflow from the Escape being repaired.  We're on her next week - past spring break and easter so hoping it's not as crowded.  But maybe we will go ahead to try to get into Vibe.   Its only a 5 night with an overnight in Bermuda so that will be a different experience.  

As everybody get's to know each other,  the Vibe beach club gets a bit more lively.  We start looking forward to meeting up for drinks after getting back in from excursions and that last evening of the sailing .  Early in the cruise and earlier in the day is pretty relaxed...

We love Vibe!    There is no pool, only hot tub.  But always a great bunch of friendly people and plenty of chairs available.  Best bartenders. It has been a challenge getting passes, and that's the first thing to do when you get on the ship.  On many ships - it's at the customer service desk or where the comedy club/howl at the moon is.  My husband and I usually split up then text each other when we know the secret location. 😉 

Like you, we are hoping to upgrade to the Haven on our next sailing and are trying to budget the extra $$$ for Vibe as we may not need it as much depending on the occupancy of the ship.  Wish we could be armed with that info going in.

16 hours ago, janice2348 said:

I believe you can get a replacement card from wherever you got vaccinated.  I know Walmart does this. I would try and get it if you can just in case your phone won’t work in the terminal.  

I went the other day, they would only provide details for my booster shot that I got through them.  I'll try to call my county health department  where I got the primary series.  

3 minutes ago, g5und said:

I went mid-way up the 'poor' range.  We only booked the cruise 2 weeks ago and got a very good deal on our original booking so didn't expect it to go through.  All in all I'm very happy with the overall price paid (less than half of the published Haven rate on the website) if that helps?

 

Thanks - that's very helpful.  We are top end of "poor" for the Aft haven suites,  almost in fair range.    Our bids are still pending for Tuesday on the Joy.   I keep stalking the bid page and this topic.

6 hours ago, g5und said:

So a quick update after my status changed to ‘not eligible for upgrade’ where I assumed I didn’t get it.  I woke this morning to a ‘you’ve been upgraded’ email 😄. Gone from a balcony cabin to a haven 2 bed villa for a sailing this Sunday. So happy! 😁

Awesome!  Just curious how much you bid (minimum?  just over minimum?).  We bid minimum on the 2 bedroom villas and I see they are still available on our cruise that leave Tuesday.  We have "poor" to "good" bids out there.  Haven Aft is our dream and we put the most on those bids but we are in the poor range.

Woot!!  Just got Bermuda TA emails reminding us to upload our test before our trip next Tuesday!

"Corner" balconies would be Haven Aft balconies on the Breakaway+ ships.

I have lost my vaccination card, have a photo of it prior to the booster.  Also have the PDF and Google Wallet version with a QR code.  Hope that works for me!  I probably should put my husbands in my phone, too .

I haven't been on Encore, the Escape is our favorite ship.  I was on the Bliss and did not enjoy  the smaller outdoor spaces due to the observation deck, go karts and laser tag.   

18 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

It depends on whether you are using a Free at Sea dining credit or a Latitudes dining coupon.  The Latitudes coupon specifies one app, one main, and one dessert.  The waiters usually allow multiple apps when using the FaS.

Shanghai Noodle Bar is included, it was great!  

On the Getaway - Ocean Blue and Le Bistro (I'm a seafood person).  Cagney's is also good.  Moderna has been hit or miss.  Tropicana Room (or Manhattan Room on other ships) is our favorite included MDR.  We like O'Sheehans/The Local for snacks AND this ship still shows Shanghai Noodle Bar!  

Thank you!  We're on the Joy sailing out to NYC on 4/26 - bidding on Haven cabins.  

11 hours ago, tedbearz said:

Exactly. I've been to Sojo and Spa Castle a few times. But wanted to see anything similar or part of a resort.

Ohh - I want to try Spa Castle - they are opening up a location near me called Balian Springs!!!

Where are you located?  Check Korean Spas with bade pools and such.

The service fee is $9.95 per meal (not item or # of people).  We tend to at least have one breakfast on the balcony per cruise  - omelettes and such.  Yummy and worth doing for a special occasion.

16 hours ago, Katarae said:

I am trying to decide if I should bid on a club balcony suite (from regular balcony) or catch them closer with a sale and see if I can upgrade next to nothing. Its a $50 poor bid right now, but I am in a room next to my friends, so I would down if we both bid. We both want to stay next to each other. I have no clue how to upgrade without paying too much. Few days ago a Club Balcony looked less than what I paid. We sail May 15th for Alaska on the Encore.

We are going back and forth with the same - should we bid on a Club Balcony?  We like the cabins but we have a balcony on deck 9 - mid to forward near the stairs.  We booked that cabin because we know we spend a lot of time on deck 8/Waterfront/District Brew House, no wait for elevators being close to the stairs.  So we put a bid on Haven suites only as we figure Haven access may make it worth being further away from deck 8 - LoL!   Fingers crossed we get a Aft-Haven on a lower deck! 

Planning our 4th cruise there - always plenty to do.  We get a good variety of beach, forts/historical stuff, nature preserves and local food/drink.  This is our favorite as there's always something new to do...

We haven't used a PCC in a while, we loved the guy we used to have (Jake? Jason?) but he's no longer with them.  Our two upcoming cruises we booked ourselves but we may need to call as we are thinking of booking a trip with the in-laws - need to determine what would work better for us - a family suite or 2 cabins? 

Ask your health department for a letter for international travel, just in case.  Airlines are accepting letters with proof of the original infection (your childs first positive test within the 90 day time frame).   I would think cruise lines would have similar polices but have not seen it documented anywhere.

If your child had omicron, it seems to clear faster (I'm a contact tracer).   We're getting many patients that get tested after 5 days so they can return to work (even though that's not recommended) according to the new guidelines.