kirsten1526

Sounds amazing!! We will be on the Epic (sounds a lot like your itinerary) Dec 12 (embark in Haifa and debark in Venice). Hope you enjoy!!! Look forward to your impressions of the Getaway (and the Dawn)!

Are you on the Getaway or Epic later this year?

Oh forgot this… I think it’s quite a long drive and there are road closures along the way. Granted cars can drive faster than coaches. our tour guide offered a best case scenario of 75 minute drive each way

We had plans to do St Lucia and Imolfoze. Due to late embarkation and face to face immigration we had to choose one as we wouldn’t make our wetlands tour at the time we booked. I’m actually happy with our choice of the game reserve as we did see so many rhinos, elephants, birds, warthogs, giraffes, birds, etc. and lots of baby animals. I think if you are coming from Cape Town you might not have the immigration issues? Though you might have them elsewhere. Just be prepared for delays and be flexible and you’ll be fine. While we did see the lions at Addo, we had to use binoculars and it was still difficult to see them. As Ken said, there were unlucky people on both NCL excursions and privates. They did the immigration and some debarkations by NCL excursion number and also by Cabin level (deck 12 first all the way to Deck 4 last). I know people skipped the queue as they went before their group was called and I think that exacerbated all of the issues. but maybe NCL also learned more about what to expect at the ports. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the port issues with the concierge and hotel/restaurant powers that be on the ship and their advice was to avoid booking first time itineraries. 🤷🏼‍♀️

We took privates aside from Fujairah. I heard some unlucky NCL ones were delayed so poorly because of our embarkation issues that the excursion teams were constantly getting refunds. Richards Bay was a nightmare. My group was the very first off the ship thanks to the concierge team and we were off at 12:15 (port embarkation was scheduled for 11am). Others in suites that had booked NCL excursions had to wait hours for the entire group number before leaving. Some poor people going to St Lucia had 30 minutes on the boat only. It’s really been hit or miss but I’m thankful to take private. I do know of people who has Covid on board- the concierge was recovering Day 1 of sailing. The captain had it our first few days. Waiters had to wear masks if exposed and continued to wear them if positive. I know at least one passenger had it at some point as one of my tour guides told us she was in communication with someone from the ship trying to book a tour. There were also a lot of coughing people on the ship, especially toward the end, and suddenly more passengers wore masks. hope that info helps

😂 2 things difficult to believe about this… 1. being married 13 years classified us as newlyweds 2. can’t believe we won!!

Thank you for sharing all these details!!! Any news about vaccination status and Madagascar?

If you go on a larger NCL ship, the productions in the theatre are amazing!!! The breakaway class has a special cirque venue and the shows there likewise thrill! I think the smaller ships (especially the low capacity sailings) may not be as good as Princess. I love their 5 Skies!! You won't have any lectures on NCL. Just the type of passenger. Though, I love the games. Somehow, my husband and I have been voted to play in the past 3 Newlywed, Not so Newlywed Games and Perfect Couple. We won 2 of 3. Let's see the Dec 2 cruise if we are again voted in 😉

Oh wow! That's like summer in Scotland. I would just love it!! Can't wait to join you in the next leg. TIA for the info on capacity 🙂

Oh wow!! The ship is quite under capacity! Do you know how many passengers on the next leg?

You can call every time until your final payment deadline but then after that it is a 1x deal- you can choose upgrade or credit and/or voucher (depending on a few things).

In Port Elizabeth we are using Alan Tours. Don't know where else they go as we are booked into Addo Elephant Park.

Hi everyone! Has anyone been to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) before? It was brought to my attention by a guide in the region that this port might close at 6pm. Though, we are supposed to dock there overnight (NCL Jade in Dec 2022) and depart at 5am next day. Would be helpful as I'm trying to arrange a night safari. Thank you in advance for your help on this matter!! Best, Kirsten