Cruiser42

Thanks for all the info!

I also had a question about Diamond Plus.  If I remember correctly, pre-Covid, RCCL was loading 5 drink tickets per day on your card (it felt like a way to keep people out of the Diamond Lounge, or at least not lingering there too long).

Does anyone else remember/know this?  We sail again Oct 1 - CANNOT WAIT!

Thanks - stay safe!

Lisa

This has been great info, thanks to all who have posted!

Its very hard to say no to a "free" cruise - when all you pay are port charges and taxes.  My husband, mother and I will sail the Panama Canal next April for next to nothing on Carnival.  They offer us free cruises multiple times a week!

I want to return to NCL and RCCL  - and we ARE.  But again, its hard to say no to suites, drinks and cruises.  I wish NCL especially would join the crowd!

Enjoy your cruises and be safe!

Lisa

To the OP:

Thank you SO much for the detailed report of the Haven experience.  It was wonderful!

I cruised Haven once, years ago, on the Jewel (I hope I'm remembering that right),  when they were very new.  It was about 2k more.  The following years, it was WAY more.  Then, I was cruising with my mom and my aunt, every March.  We had a blast, but my aunt commented that she missed the crowds.  (what????  Not me).  Anyway, we never did it again.

Fast forward, I'm now married, and my husband had never cruised until he met me.  I've taken him on 3 RCCL cruises (I gamble and they are nearly free - very hard to pass up).  I wanted him to have the NCL experience - and the planets must have been in alignment, because with promotions, a previous credit and divine intervention, I booked the H6 Aft facing Haven suite on the Breakaway for about 3k.  I'm so excited!  He will lose his mind.  (we had a JR Suite on RCCL and he was so impressed!)

I, too, extend my cruise experience by reading these posts, looking at our itinerary, booking shore excursions,  making dining reservations, etc.  So I understand completely.  LOVED the idea of preprinting your breakfast requests!  That is so clever.  I'm stealing that one.......

I'm hoping that post pandemic our cruising experience is the same or better.  We are certainly changed.  We cruise in December (2021), and I cannot wait!

Thanks again - I hope you and your lovely wife are well, and have many cruises planned!  Be well - 

Lisa

I am curious too - about the casino in general. Any replies from serious casino goers very appreciated !

(I am in the casino each night)

Ref the airfare - you must have purchased, confirmed flights. Not intended itineraries, confirmed flights -

Yes, - all of the people going are in my immediate family, and I cannot answer about children because there aren't any for us - sorry!

This was my first experience with this sort of thing, and I guess I just found it much more involved than I expected it to be. I did not like giving up my passport. For example, it was way more time consuming and difficult than getting my passport. I found the detailed minutiae complex for something as simple as a tourist visa on a 3 day visit as part of a cruise. I feel that something like that should have a lesser detailed procedure than applying for a visa that is now valid for 10 years. In any event, its done, and I got them ! We got our passports back Friday 1/20.

And yes, I understand the difference between consular services and the embassy and would never have gone to the embassy. It can be confusing however, if you don't know the difference. I just did not find it to be an easy task, and I think to be safe people should try and do this early, rather than later. Maybe my experience was not the norm.

I thought this was tough, and on reflection, would have gladly paid $70 each to have a service do this for us.

I found the website difficult to navigate. More than once it froze up and I had to start all over. There was also a LOT of conflicting information on the website (for example: "There are NO consular services in Washington DC. Go to the Consulate for your state" Mine is Washington, DC). There were more.

It took 2 hours to input four travelers. I thought I had it all right but did not understand that I needed to have confirmed airline flights. That was not clear to me. I did miss that I needed copies of everyone else's drivers' license (luckily I had them on my phone and found a great printshop nearby).

I'm not a rocket scientist, but I'm not stupid, either. I found this process difficult and time consuming.

I will say the gentleman who assisted me at the consulate was charming and very sweet.

I hope its worth it !!!! I can't wait to see Brazil !!!

I have a huge favor to ask a cruiser who has 5 minutes at the port in Curacao. I bought a necklace at the jeweler who is the very first tent you come to when you get off the ship. I LOVED my necklace, and it is missing! I have no idea what happened to it, I don't lose jewelry - but I moved and I haven't seen it since. I have spent about 45 hours looking for it.

If someone is willing, I would like to ask the proprietor of the jewelry stand to email me so that I may replace my necklace. It is high luster pearl, and it looks like spiky coral. The woman who made it was there that day, and made me a pair of earrings to match.

It took me a while to remember (and confirm using photographs) that I did, in fact, buy my necklace in Curacao.

In any event, my email address is cruiser42@cox.net, and I am grateful if someone could drop by and ask them to email me about this necklace.

Thanks to all cruisers!

Happy holidays and happy cruising !

Lisa

Thanks!!!!!

I love those snails!!!! And cruise ships are the only place I eat them.....

It is on the 10th floor, port side, near elevators close to cabin 1058. The current concierge is Diego Tripaldi, and he is wonderful!

Thank you so much for your detailed review!

I am on this thread trying to decide if we should book this ship in late October (after she relocates to Port Canaveral).

Thanks a lot !!! This really helped!

Hello, all!

I have only sailed Carnival one time, and to be honest, it wasn't my favorite. We typically sail NCL and RCCL, but to be honest, their itineraries have not changed and we are tired of the same old ports. We are considering a 7 day out of Port Canaveral in late October.

So my question is really two fold - since I am a gambler, I'd like to know how you find the casinos. Do you win enough to keep you going or are you feeding tables and machines for 6 nights ?

Secondly, I guess, how is the Magic? Is it a fun, well laid out ship, with good entertainment and food ?

Thanks! We are excited to see new ports and try Carnival again! Any insight is welcome. Thank you!!

VA Cruisers

Hello Wanda,

 

IMO i think it's a great deal. Day passes don't usually include massages. Usually it is an additional cost. If you are going with children this would be great as the Splash Water park is a great family activity.

On the down side the food and drink is limited. Rendezvous offers a day pass to cruise ship passengers from 10am-6pm for $65.00 per person but only couples. It includes unlimted eats and drinks and use of the facilities.Sandals resorts offer the same at $100 per person, only couples. Ti Kaye Resort which is about a 30 minute boat ride from the cruse port offers theirs at $123 per person to include the return boat trip, lunch, use of beach facilities, and snorkel equipment. Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the useful info, Dragon -- we are three. is your best guess that they would charge us for four ??? The Rendezvous sounds great, but I' not paying for an imaginary fourth. :-0

We just got off the NCL Star in Tampa 11/15. We had a fantastic cruise ! The food was next level delicious, the service impeccable, the staff cheerful, accommodating and wonderful. (only complaint was bad food/slow service in La Cucina - everything else was fab!).

MDR/Versailles was amazing. The selection, service, presentation, temperature, taste was consistently fantastic. Le Bistro was also very very good. We never experienced any issues with staff, and the ship was beautiful and well maintained. We loved this cruise and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I submitted my review about 10 minutes ago, so it should be out soon.

This was a great cruise!!!!!

Lisa

Please disregard everything you have read on CC and go in with an open mind. Come back and report your experience. Cruising on Jan 3rd and I am close to not coming back to cc as the only people that post are the 1% that had bad experiences.... Have a great time and give us an honest brief review!!

;)

EXCELLENT advice ! We just got off the Star and it was one of our best cruises ever!!!!! The food in the MDR/Versailles was fantastic ! The only bad experience we had was in La Cucina. Food and service both bad. Everything else was wonderful !!!!! Staff was excellent ! Happy, smiling, helpful - everything you've come to expect. Was the pool bar service slow? cant help you, I never go to the pool. Everywhere else on the ship the service was great! We had one of our best cruises ever (and I was so worried after reading reviews here - I'll never worry again). I just submitted my review so it should be out soon. LOVED LOVED LOVED IT !!!!!!!!!!!

We'll be on the STAR in a week, and the people who were on it last week were not happy ! Extraordinarily long lines, surly, overworked staff, no blenders at the bars (???). So I'm praying to the cruise gods that some type of miraculous change has occurred on the NCL Star and that we will have a great cruise!

We'll be sailing on the Star in a year. I know a lot can change in a year, especially with NCL, but these reviews leave me with two thoughts about my cruise.

 

First, the positive. After being a bit disappointed that 16+ day cruises don't get Freestyle Choice, I'm now glad the UDP/UBP aren't included. Perhaps fewer lines, better service and a staff less overwhelmed.

 

And the negative, we're on one of a series of repositioning cruises, so these issues could apply. The Star will make multiple one-time cruises after sailing the Baltic for the summer. My leg is from Istanbul to Dubai, and then it sails on to Asia.

 

Does anyone have an idea of when/if the staff will change?

I believe you have time to switch to a different ship/itinerary - which I would def do if I could - however, we sail in 7 days. This is not good and I am fearful! I have a relative who will be joining us (first time on a 7-day cruise) who is not patient and not quiet about bad service. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.........

Other than this, NCL is our favorite line, and this wont make me change that. The Star is older than we normally sail, but typically the crew makes up for it. Hopefully they are feeling better, and have some help! Understaffing is never good - for the consumer or the workers.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Before my cruise I found uploaded daillies for the Dawn and they were super helpful to get a feel for what was in store.

 

Here's a link to a Dropbox folder with scans of all seven Freestyle Daily(s) from our New Orleans Western Caribbean RT on 1-18-2015.

 

I hope this is helpful for anyone about to sail on the Dawn.

Thank you SO much for doing this !!!!!!!

Hey Rick - what is your favorite OS on the Jewel ? We like Port side cabins, but will switch if there's a real reason to. I was looking at 1058 or 1060. Saw another poster say 1062 and 1064 were noisy from above.

Any info is GREATLY appreciated ! Thanks !!! Lisa :)

We take GS's on the Radiace, and OS's on the Jewel and Serenade, as the cabin configuration is different.

Rick

I cruise with my Mom and my Aunt. We always meet in the cabin an hour and a half before dinner (whenever that is) and we have a cocktail on the balcony, then take it inside and have cocktails while we are getting dressed for dinner. I love every single thing about cruising (okay, I'm not thrilled with the muster drill OR having to put my luggage out the night beofre) - but the ritual of the drink whilst getting ready for dinner will stay with me forever.

Thanks for asking! Great thread!!

2 weeks + 6 days till the 07 cruise

needing it now