kuku77254

Flying in doesn't matter much but departing, FLL is much easier. If it's a weekend, FLL can get quite crowded but the chaos at MIA is much worse.

If you only have a wifi not cellular watch that connects to your phone by Bluetooth, then it shouldn't matter. If the phone is in airplane mode, you're fine.

Actually, only breathing 6/7 times per minute would indicate a health issue so it's not a positive response.

I charge in evening while I'm taking a shower and getting ready for bed. Only takes about an hour or so to charge fully.

I don't know how other smartwatches report data so I wanted to compare apples to apples, so to speak.

Something must affect either the watch or me (and others apparently). I don't believe it's the motion or hum because it does get the sleep correct which definitely relies on motion to calculate sleep.

Mine were similar, 6-7 per min versus 13-14 per min any non cruise night. No alcohol. Not taking any medication different than home. And it's not the relaxation either🤣 traveling with a busy boy. And it is consistent all 7 nights on the cruise and then returns to normal first night home. And I live at sea level so no altitude difference either (although, that doesn't make a difference). I'm glad I'm not the only one but very curious as to why. Any doctors want to weigh in?

This is only for those that sleep with an Apple watch. Has anyone noticed their respiration rate while sleeping on the ship quite different than typically at home? I noticed on a cruise last year it was substantially different and I recently cruised again and same thing. I can't find anything on the internet mentioning this so I was curious if there was anyone else?

Trying to decide if I should buy a photo package pre cruise. I usually like to get a few of the professional photos so I wouldn't buy more than the 10 digital package. Does anyone know how much that package is once onboard? Or how much a single digital is onboard? Current package is 20% off. This is for Oasis if ship makes a difference. thanks

Yes, I've watched the videos, doesn't really answer my question. Are they fun? Is it something you do one time and been there done it or something you do multiple times? Is it scary? And the water slides on Oasis?

I can only find some old mentions about this suite. I know it's not on most ships so probably why but has anyone been in one recently? I read early reviews about noise from above but I wanted to see if anyone had recently traveled in that suite that can give any opinion/review of it. TIA

Does anyone know if the pool for Coco Cay Beach Club is heated? Ocean is still too cold for me in March.

But does that apply to Haven deposits? I know they are different to general deposits.

I can't to seem to find this info on the NCL website. If I put a deposit down on a Haven cabin, if I want to switch to a different sailing, can it be transferred or do I lose my deposit? If I apply next certificates for deposit - does the same apply for those? TIA

The more expensive one is the streaming package, the other is unlimited internet but not a speed for streaming.

Now that I've sailed, I can answer my own questions if it helps anyone else. I upgraded my internet package because it was cheaper than doing a cruise plan with my carrier (ATT) and I wanted to be able to use data. I was on Breakaway and the wifi worked very well, better than a previous cruise on Encore. FaceTime didn't work well for me, even just audio but I used wifi calling and it was as clear as at home.

16, no question

I've used these boards for planning my trips and they were very helpful. I'm adding a sort of review/comparison for anyone that might find some part of it useful in their planning. I will preface this by saying I like nice vacations with really nice accommodations. I prefer spending money on experiences versus stuff for my son and I. The Haven is a ridiculous amount of money, in my opinion, but I wouldn't cruise without it on NCL so I spend. My 9 year old and I did the Encore out of Miami last spring break and decided last minute to do the Breakaway out of New Orleans this break. Encore was about 50% capacity with full Haven and Breakaway was maxed out everywhere. Terminals - no comparison, NCL has its own new terminal in Miami and Haven has it's own security/check-in and lounge designed for Haven. New Orleans is more like a bus terminal and when you're escorted to the Haven waiting area, it's a little more like the detention room. Small, windowless room, packed with chairs and a few offerings. Not a big deal since you are not in there very long but just noting for those expecting a "Haven" experience there. We flew in that morning so arrived early so lines were short. Cabin - On the Encore, we had a bid upgrade to a Haven 2 bedroom Family Villa which was awesome. My son loved having his own room and bathroom (and I loved that too :)). The cabin was very nice, clean with tons of storage so you didn't have a bunch of stuff out. The bathroom was spacious. The bathroom was closer to the balcony, which I prefer because it makes the bedroom dark when the sun comes up early in the morning. On the Breakaway, we probably had the worst cabin in the Haven (Courtyard) but that's what happens when you book late and get the last cabin available. It was on deck 15 and at the very end of the hallway. This room has a big column that other courtyard rooms do not have and not a full window wall like the others. What we liked the least was the distance to the Haven Lounge. On the Encore, we had an awesome location and this was too far for a quick pop in. The cabin was very worn and the sofa and chair were heavily stained. It was small but had sufficient storage. We knew we had gotten lucky the year before with the upgrade. Butler/Steward - Both were very good. Our butler was very nice and made an effort to make our trip enjoyable. She told us that she works 8 months straight without one day off. That is outrageous if true. They should be able to rotate staff so that they have at least a day some time. After she told us this, we felt bad ordering room service, but we did order breakfast. On the Encore, our butler told us to just get it ourselves since it wasn't a hot breakfast. The Haven Lounge - the Breakaway Haven lounge cannot compare to the dedicated space on the Encore. And since the Encore had the lounge separate from the bar/concierge area, there were more offerings throughout the day. On the Breakaway, there is a table set up in the Courtyard with MM's, peanuts, cookies and poundcake like bread. It was the same everyday of trip. The Encore had different things and always had savory items as well as sweet which I appreciated. Also, as others have mentioned, it is weird that there are tables and chairs in the Courtyard of the Breakaway for the Haven dining room. It was fine if you were eating but awkward if you were swimming or in the hot tub while others were trying to have a nice meal. We didn't use the courtyard like we did on the Encore because of that. Encore Courtyard had more of a spa feel and was very relaxing, even with kids. Concierge - People on the boards have said great things about Omar. I didn't have that experience. I walked by his desk many times and he never looked at me or spoke to me. The assistant concierge, Cindy, however was great and very helpful and went beyond to do something special for my son. Outside of the Haven - it felt like the pool areas were bigger and more of them on the Breakaway than the Encore. On Encore at half capacity, the outdoor pool deck was jam packed with no chance of finding a chair. I couldn't imagine where another 2000 people were going to fit on our Breakaway trip. Happily, it didn't feel as packed as it did on the Encore. It was crowded but not as crowded. There is more deck to spread out on on the Breakaway. Arcade - My son likes the arcade and we have fun playing together. It isn't something we really do at home. If anyone is considering the arcade pass, if you have a kid who will want to play a little, I recommend it. The first day we bought the pass ($175) but it took awhile to hit the account so when I checked the account that evening, we had spent over $200 in the approximately 1 1/2 hours we played during that day. So, it was definitely worth it for the trip. You can swipe twice in a row without issue so it is easy to share between two people. You can only play certain machines (those that don't generate tickets) which is about half of the ones in the arcade. We played A LOT of air hockey. There were kids in there constantly swiping their card on the ticket machines trying to win things. I'm sure there were a few very surprised parents when they saw their bill. The arcade had essentially the same games on both ships. On Encore it was interior on low deck, Breakaway was on 16 with windows so you could at least see daylight so Breakaway wins this one. Food - I know most people think the Haven Restaurant is fabulous, I'm not a fan. I think it is mediocre at best. But we didn't go on this cruise for the food. We knew what to expect. We went to Teppanyaki for the "show." Food was okay, the steak was too tough for my son to chew. The filet was much better when that was offered. We also ate at Wasabi because my son loves sushi. We used the package so we were able to try a lot. Some was not great but we did find a few things that were really good. We went back another night a la carte and just got those item we liked. I don't usually eat ice cream but definitely splurged on the soft serve and had way too many peanut mm's. I would say the food on the two ships was about the same. Entertainment - Six was fabulous, Broadway quality. We saw it multiple times. It is a shame NCL wants to reduce the big shows. I guess they have kept Six because it is easy to stage. We went to Howl at the Moon as well, which was fun and they say kid friendly until 11p but I think that depends on the kid. My son plays piano and wanted to go for that reason. Ropes Course/Slides - I was scared on the ropes, but it was fun. We went several times, never really any lines. We did the slides on a port day and no lines then. Lines seemed longer on the Encore with fewer people but Breakaway has more slides so that probably helps. On Encore, they had the race track which we didn't do and laser tag which really liked but difficult to get reservations. Ports - our snorkeling trip at Harvest Cay was cancelled so we were kind of bummed about that but you can't control the weather. The beach wasn't great there, very rocky and hurt to walk on and the water wasn't beautiful like everywhere else we went. Went to Channakab in Cozumel and did a private trip in Roatan. We had fun in all of the ports. We had done Eastern Caribbean on Encore and I probably prefer those islands but the snorkeling was amazing where we went this trip. Smoke - I don't know if it is still true but smoking was not allowed on Encore when we went last year. And we never noticed it on any of the decks. I hate cigarette smoke and on the Breakaway it was very present. It wafts throughout the center of the ship from the casino and the smoking section is in the middle of the pool deck so smoke is everywhere. It is "contained" by a few slats of acrylic spaced apart. I have no idea why they put it right there. We would go across deck 16 to avoid it. I don't care if you smoke but if it impacts my kid, I do. Encore wins on this one. Overall, we had a great time and any of the negatives I'm pointing out are to inform, it didn't keep us from enjoying our trip. I probably would not go on the Breakaway again but I would consider the Encore. Just MHO. Happy to answer any question or elaborate.

It took 11 days for an email response from the concierge but when they responded they said they had made all of my requests. I think they may respond quicker if your cruise is closer to departing. Or they are really slow to respond.

On different threads there are statements that allude to Splash Academy being very limited with so many kids are board this time of year. Has anyone had personal experience in the last two weeks? Are they doing any reservations for it? I want to temper expectations if it's going to be difficult to just get in the club. TIA

We used NCL hotel/transfer last year in Miami. There is a bus from the hotel and it was scheduled at 11am. We didn’t want to wait that late so we just took an Uber the few miles to the Port. We took NCL transfer back to airport as well. Wouldn’t do that again either.

Was the kids club always too crowded to get in? You have to be there before they open? I hadn’t heard that before.

On a sold out spring break cruise next week, what’s the chances of a Haven cabin canceling. I know no one can actually answer this but just entertaining wishful thoughts.

I’ve always gotten a cruise cellular plan because I do need to communicate back home despite the vacation. I purchased the premium streaming Wi-Fi, or whatever it’s called and I’d like to skip purchasing my carrier cruise plan. If I put the phone in airplane mode and have Wi-Fi on, will I still receive all text messages (from outside ship) or just iMessages? If anyone has personal experience with this. I’ve gotten mixed messages from carrier.