Jcdcruise

Hi, 

Are any still available ?

We leave on Sunday and this would be awesome!

Hi,

Does the Norwegian Dawn have any straws?

Did anyone get an upgrade for the Norwegian Dawn March 3rd sailing?

On 1/16/2019 at 2:42 AM, Stinger-pr said:

It was just after it stopped raining that the other ship that would be accompanying us today, Celebrity’s Reflection had arrived at the dock area at 9:20 (-ish) a.m., turned around and was backing up into her berth just a few hundred feet from the terminal on across from us.

 

 

At this point we decide to just go for it and head to shore so we could be at the terminal before the Reflection was properly moored. We were at the gangway around 9:30am and a noticed there were no “gangway photographers”. Hmm… That’s different from Carnival. We then noticed two things:

 

1- The photo ops were being done behind a prop railing with EVERYONE behind you. They couldn’t even position themselves using the ship as their background, as boringly white as it is?

 

2- Dispelling doubts some people may have, there were shuttles taking passengers from the ship to the terminal.

 

 

 

There were two large-ish buses doing the loop but instead of having one going while the other was coming, they were both picking up at the same time, which defaulted in some waiting time between trips. Some people decided to walk all the way but we decided to wait it out.

 

Once at the terminal we took some pictures of the new Welcome to Barbados sign. It was about time they replaces the old ones since they were already beat to hell and worn out.

 

 

We continued on to the terminal which is really not much to write home about. I has the usual trinkets and souvenirs shops, along with the usual jewelry staples and a duty free store. We had hoped to find an open WIFI hotspot but contrary to other trips, there were none we could find. The only “open” ones required us to register and validate with emails and we’re not into putting any kind of info down, even when using a VPN service we pay for on our cell phones.

 

 

 

 

Once you exit the terminal you see the meeting point for the big tour buses to your left and some more shops to the right as well as the walkway towards the taxi stands. We marched on and made our way outside towards the taxi dispatch area where we ran into DW’s co-worker who along with her husband and friends, were waiting to get a tour of the island. After exchanging plans for a few minutes, we were on our way to our destination. We decided to walk past all the taxis and simply make our way on foot to The Boatyard.

 

 

Word to the wise: Make sure to take a pic of this rates and make sure the taxi drivers stick to it. For example, The Boatyard is in Carlisle Bay and according to the posted rate, it should be $4 per person US one way to Carlisle Bay but we have NEVER been quoted less than $5 for the trip. The last time we were here the driver told us that "those were old rates" and the sign needed to be updated. Apparently, two years later, it still needs replacing since it was the same as it was last time. This would be my 4th time on the island and DW’s 2nd. Not once had we had an experience with taxis that can be described even close to good. Even though there’s a “dispatch” area, a lot of the drivers are very pushy. All taxis inside the terminal are shared whether you like it or not. If you want a private taxi you have two options: to basically buy-out all other remaining seats or walk outside the terminal and grab one there. Sometimes the drivers wait around for the last one or two passengers while you bake in the sun on a hot van. Last year we waited over 30 minutes and we were basically taken to another van when all passengers got tired of waiting and sweating and got off the van. When another driver saw this, he said he’d take us. Our original driver didn’t even look twice when he saw us leaving with another driver.

 

This is the taxi dispatch area. They simply ask you were you are going and they point you to a driver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How long was the walk from the Cruise Terminal to the Boatyard ? We are thinking of walking it and just want to make sure its possible and we won't get lost. We will be going on the Dawn in a few weeks!

We put in a bid and are currently waiting for the results. We are trying to move from an inside cabin to a balcony cabin. 

So we already prepaid our gratuities and we were wondering if we would have to pay more money for gratuities if we got upgraded.

We just put in our bid for an upgrade from inside to balcony! We still have so much waiting to do but we are already crossing our fingers!

When did you get your answer if your bid was accepted or declined ?

How far out do they usually send out the email about bidding?

28 minutes ago, Katie H said:

We spend very little on board.  We never pay for specialty restaurants - just use our free Platinum Plus meals.   No gambling, no excursions.  We do take the drink package as a perk.  We have been invited to bid on every cruise except one and that one was booked with a TA who does not participate.  I have bid twice - both in the poor range - and got the upgrade both times - from inside to balcony.  Sailing on Breakaway tomorrow in our newly upgraded balcony 😁.

How much did you spend on your upgrade if you don't mind me asking we are planning on doing the same and we are 89 day out. Also, if you do not want to tell me could you tell me what the minimum was?

We are first time cruisers as well and we bought these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PMYX7H/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 they fit the NCL luggage tags and they seem very durable. I got them just for the extra protection and it will be easier to just put it on my luggage and I will be able to reuse it in the future.

6 minutes ago, Cwipes said:

May I ask if you booked a guaranteed cabin?

 Yes, inside cabin and we are hoping that we will have the chance to bid on a balcony. Also, we paid in full and prepaid our gratuities and booked 3 excursions.

24 minutes ago, Cwipes said:

So my new hypothesis on upgrades:

 

NCL takes in to account all your previous cruise history's spending habits while on board.

 

The more that you spent on such things as excursions, dining, at the casino or even in the gift shop, then then greater the chance of you being sent an upgrade offer because in theory you should spend at least that much or the same this time around.

 

I can see from their perspective that at least your chances are better you will spend vs someone's cruise history that shows little to no spending at all.

 

What do you think?

I am a first time cruiser and hoping I will be able to bid. How do you think they decide that for us?

We are 90 days out and when I do a mock booking online there is still 35 balcony cabins available. Do you think we have a good shot to be offered to do a bidding from an inside cabin to a balcony ? 

11 minutes ago, Nola26 said:

I bid from an inside to a Balcony last Thanksgiving, but each cruise is it's own opportunity, so bidding isn't a sure thing. You can watch prices to see if the upgrade cabin price difference falls into your budget range. Otherwise bid when you get the chance and be prepared to stay put or be surprised with the upgrade.

 

My winning bid was quickly accepted. However, my bid to go from inside to Oceanview on my upcoming Christmas cruise hasn't been accepted and may not be. I'm fine to stay with the inside, but was willing to move to an Oceanview since I've never had that type of cabin.

Would you be able to tell me the price range that the bidding was for the balcony room that they accepted ? Also, goodluck with your bid and I hope it all goes well!

Thank you so much for all advice!! Does anyone know if I can uber into the Pan American pier from my Airnb? Also, has anyone done bidding for this ship? We booked an inside cabin and are hoping we can bid for a higher cabin.

We are staying at an Airnb in Miramar and our cruise port is Pan American West. We were wondering if Uber was allowed in that cruise terminal and if it is not can you please give us other options.

Thanks!

We are going on a southern Caribbean cruise the first week of March on the dawn! We were wondering if anyone else has done this cruise and if they have any tips or advice that they could give us. Also, what type of crowd should we expect on this cruise?

This is our first cruise so any information you tell us we will value!

Thank you!

We still have 93 days till our cruise and we are hoping we have the chance to upgrade when the time comes. We are going on the Dawn on 3/3 and the port we leave from is San Juan. We were wondering what the chance of upgrading from an inside room to a balcony on that cruise is and how much it would roughly be? Also, if anyone has done this cruise and has done an upgrade like this please let us know!

Thanks !