SunshineGal2022

On the Dollar Tree website, the largest cubes they have is 11x 10.5 x 10.5.

is the storage space shorter than 12 inches?  I watched a few room videos and it looks smaller than that to me.  It also looks like an awkward place to try to get a cube in and out from.  

Dollar Tree says they also have 10x10x10, 11x11x8, and 9x9x8 cubes.

worst case, if you get the largest ones and they don’t fit in the closet, they may slide under your bed with the suitcase.

you could bring a few of each size and surely some may fit.  

3 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Yeah, being 15 mins from JFK (1000% dependent upon traffic) has its advantages sometimes. We haven't had a truly bad flight from NCL yet. Worst was a return from Miami that left at 6pm. We went to an animal sanctuary that allowed us to store our luggage in their office while we played with lemurs and sloths for a few hours to kill time. 

Do you remember the name of the sanctuary?  I would LOVE to go here!  Did you rent a car for the afternoon or Uber??

Thank you Bird.  That’s the level of instructions I prefer too.  My anxiety will be so much less now.  

Thank you for all your posts and photos!  The ship is absolutely beautiful. 

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

For those aspiring artists, there were two sessions of Canvas by U offered on this cruise. The cruise staff will provide all of the supplies and guide you create a masterpiece in 1 hour. The sessions were offered at 10 am on both sea days and it helps if you bring a mimosa or two to the class. Both sessions sold out on embarkation day (sign up at the theater box office). 

 

Did they show you what the painting will be before you signed up? 

9 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I really wish they would bring back those blind taste tests.  I couldn't distinguish a coke from a pepsi if my life depended on it.  And (boom) I doubt 90% of the posters here could either.

I am allergic to Coke and Diet Coke. Pepsi will bother me once in a while, but nothing like Coke. 

Dr.Pepper is my go to, followed by root beer.  I am not thrilled neither is a choice.  Why can't they install Freestyle machines and have more choices for soda?  (Sigh)

I will hope there is a port that sells Dr.Pepper that I can buy and bring on board. 

9 hours ago, sandpiper35 said:

With reference to the Escape during a 10 day caribbean cruise last month: The only meal that was consistently good was breakfast at the Garden Cafe. Most MDR meals were bad to very bad and in some cases inedible. Beef was comercial grade at best. Specialty restaurants were hit and miss but definitely not worth the added charges. O’She…..  bar was good. The wings and sandwiches were very good. Service was very good at all venues. Staff tried very hard to please but the kitchen fell short. Seems that NCL has had to make difficult choices on the food quality to survive the pandemic. In my opinion it will backfire. Have one more NCL booked to redeem my future cruise coupons but after that, will try other cruise lines to compare service and food choices. 

Which specialty restaurants did you like? 

I know in a recent thread, someone mentioned prime rib being served at the lunch buffet when they arrived on board.

Truthfully this was the only thing which peaked my interest in heading to the buffet for lunch instead of a MDR. I am now assuming that the prime rib for lunch was quite unusual.  And that others have come to expect it to be served at the buffet dinner in the first night.  
 

I would be disappointed too.  Almost any prime rib is better than no prime rib, and to expect it and not get it, I would be sad.  I think I would console myself with ice cream or a chocolate dessert.

What about a Family Suite with a Master Bedroom and large Balcony?  You still get a butler and concierge service, a large bathroom, and 2 bedrooms.

They probably moved her off the package as soon as you sent in the paperwork.

from what I have seen, mocktails are about $6.50+ 20% gratuity. 

Congratulations!  Make sure you get her sea bands early.  They can also help in the first few months with the morning sickness. 

1 minute ago, rnfulk said:

There is a “library”, but the selection is small. I would bring your own books. 

If we finish the books we bring, can we donate them to the ship library?  Or is there another place where people offer up supplies or items they do not want to carry home? 

1 hour ago, burntwaffle said:

Hm, okay, well, I guess I'll just need to go talk with Guest Services and hope they can help me.

 

Thanks, everyone!

You could also have your mom call now, see if you can get a helpful NCL rep that can switch the order of the guests in the cabin.  

I read a post (I think Ms.Bird's post) where she was able to have them switch the order before they left.

I don't think all the phone reps could handle such a thing, but maybe you would find one that could!  It can't hurt and you may not need to talk to Guest Services on Saturday.

I hope you post about your trip :)

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Harvest Caye: you can rent a kayak on the lagoon side of the island and paddle along the mangrove looking for manatee. 
 

Does the manatee tour include kayak rentals?

Are the kayak rentals an all day thing or is it for an hour or two? 

I would talk to a different Guest Services rep and ask about the credits. 

No money changed hands when you canceled the old exercursion and booked the new one, right?  It was all done on your ship account? 

On 12/4/2022 at 7:58 AM, Travelexpert35 said:

I’m sure the flights were cancelled into Charlottetown, your first port, due to Hurricane Fiona. The island was a mess. You wouldn’t have been able to get there. I’m sure Halifax flights were cancelled as well. I wonder where the ship docked due to the storm and what revisions were made to their itinerary. There may be posts on CC about this. You could mention all of this in your claim as well.

I have friends who live on PEI.  Their power was out for a week.  The hurricane devastated that island.  I am sure the ship was redirected out to sea and rocked heavily in the waves.  

2 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

No husband just my mother (grandma to kids). Kids are in college so technically adults I guess! As the person who funds and pays for all the travel I am not sleeping in a double sofa bed with anyone! I’m just going to hope that this amazing itinerary is offered once I am no longer paying for kids (have said when they graduate college and have real jobs they are on their own). 

I will not sleep in sofa beds either, not when there is a better bed in the same room!  

What about getting a balcony for you and your mom and have the college kids share an inside room?  You could always put down a deposit and if the price doesn't drop enough by your final payment, cancel the trip.  I am sure it will drop a few times before your trip though.  

12 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

Would love to piggyback on this question.  We are also potentially looking at a cruise on Viva.  My main concern is the sleeping arrangements.  Due to the cost of the cruise and all related travel we would need to book only 1 cabin.  We have always booked  a regular balcony on Carnival with the king bed and then a drop down bunk and sofa for separate sleeping for the "kids" (boy and girl).  The balcony description states a double sofabed.  Is this one bed that 2 people share?  Is there any configuration for more sleeping places? We definitely can't afford 2 cabins or Haven.  Thank you.

The cheapest balcony rooms on the Viva for 4:

AFT facing Balcony (Bv Category)

Size: 186 sq. ft. Balcony: 102 sq. ft.

Occupancy: 2 to 4 guests

Amenities: Two lower beds that convert to to a queen-size bed some staterooms also have a double sofa bed aft-facing balcony sitting area spacious bathroom with shower vanity/desk combination floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors flat-screen TV telephone and safe.

---

Family Balcony Stateroom, B4 Category

Size: 186 sq. ft. Balcony: 45 sq. ft.

Occupancy: Up to 4 guests

Amenities: Two lower beds that convert to to a queen-size bed a double sofa bed balcony sitting area spacious bathroom with shower vanity/desk combination floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors flat-screen TV telephone and safe.

----

There are a few suite level rooms that also sleep 4, but they seem to have the same configuration.  Most likely the children would get the twin beds (the queen pulled apart) and you and your husband would get the sofa bed (if you two wanted to have one bed). There doesn't seem to be pullman beds on this ship.  A double bed is slightly smaller than a full size bed. 

I think you would need to talk to Guest Services when you check in on Saturday and see what they can do. 

5 hours ago, zzdoug said:

How does that work? I'm currently 5 months out. Can I call them and schedule my flights now?

You need to call them and request a deviation.  Once the 75 day mark has passed, NCL will book your flights to arrive the morning of your cruise and that will be that. 

For me, flying across the country on the BOGO NCL flights + paying one night of a hotel is still cheaper than booking flight tickets on my own.  It also gives me some breathing room in case something happens to the flight they book me on.  Staying 2 nights at the hotel gives me even more breathing room, but it almost negates the savings at that point.  I am still debating this mentally (and hoping ticket prices drop so I could book my own flights). 

2 hours ago, complawyer said:

traveling man. dept of water and power, monitors the meters and know exactly your monthly water and energy usage. if you over use, you get fined. if  you really over use, you're in deep doo doo

 

also, i guess i have a screwed up sense of direction

 

still LOL

We don’t have traveling water men in my section of Southern CA.  We have been on smart water meters for about 10 years now.  We have a monthly water budget that is based on household size + square footage of your outside yard (lot size - house footprint).  You can tell them you have a bigger household size to increase your water budget, but there is an additional sewer charge that is calculated on household size, so lying will not help decrease your bill.  

One thing I look forward to when I travel is taking a shower that is longer than 5 minutes.  

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I honestly thought (was hoping? 🤣) that this was another thread about bringing bottled-bubbles on the ship to blow off of the balcony.  That was a really fun thread....

Now I need to read this thread 

I was actually wondering about doing this 😂

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Just a data point, we boarded the Prima yesterday. By 11:45 all of the comedy shows were sold out and it was getting hard to get a good dinner time in some specialty restaurants. 

Thank you, Ms.Bird.  

I was all set to be happy arriving later BUT I would like to book shows.  I will aim for an early check in time and I will be prepared to wait in line for hours. 

On 12/2/2022 at 1:20 PM, phillygwm said:

It cannot.  However, Premium Plus and Internet components can be added separately.  The extra meals, and excursion credits would not be included.

 

It would be nice if it could, because OBC could be used to pay for it but, alas...

Thank you.  This is the first I realized that adding FAS+ was only a pre-cruise option. 

I haven't decided if I want it, but since we were upgrading the drink package, and I would like more Internet, and the extra dining appeals to me, I was leaning towards upgrading to this anyway. 

On 12/2/2022 at 7:23 PM, uneamie said:

Our final payment is coming up Jan 2 for our May 7th cruise on Prima. It's been quite awhile since we've done this and I forget all the things we should be considering BEFORE we make that final payment. Is there anything we should be aware of?  Thanks! 

You might want to see if any of your credit cards cover travel insurance or trip interruptions.  I would use that card to book. 

On 11/28/2022 at 11:49 AM, palpieha said:

Here are the full details from NCL:

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-clothes-should-i-pack

Thanks. Wearing slacks or jeans for the nicer dining rooms means my son needs to pack nice shoes in addition to his worn tennis shoes, water shoes, and slides.