SofaSogood

Hi folks! My partner and I are going on our first cruise in August, as our honeymoon. I've been obsessed with the forums (mainly the NCL boards), but haven't come across these questions being answered yet: 1. When we check in at midnight, 3 weeks before we travel, does that mean midnight our time or is it American eg and we have to think about 5am British time etc? 2. What kind of plugs do the ships have? Eg. do we need to take European adapters for our chargers? Many thanks, Saffy 🙂

For our honeymoon, my husband and I have chosen our 9-day cruise which has 8 ports and 1 day at sea, so that we have the option of visiting lots of different places, as opposed to staying in one or two places for a week or two and not getting to see much else other than a beach or pool and the local town. There are 2-3 days where we won't be doing an excursion, because too many can become costly, so we will stay on the ship when there isn't much to do in the port.

Fantastic tips, thank you. 🙂 When we check in at midnight, 3 weeks before we travel, does that mean midnight our time (British Summer Time) or is it American eg and we have to think about 5am British time etc? What kind of plugs do the ships have? Eg. do we need to take European adapters for our chargers? I totally understand about someone having to be organised in the group. The only time my partner has been interested was when I told him we have to book the excursions because the one I wanted to go on had sold out and I didn't want to miss out on any more. I like your point about paying a bit more for the drinks package (we upgraded), so that we don't have to worry about our budget whilst enjoying our honeymoon. We are going on NCL.

Just to confirm, is this only UK ports? We're on the Getaway in August. Do we just need to wait until we leave Southampton before we can be served alcohol? Then we'll be heading to Rotterdam, Bruges, France, Spain and then finishing in Lisbon.

Ok great, thank you. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be one of each for one person and then be charged for the second person. Husband is also a fussy eater, so I doubt he'll be going for appetizers and salads etc. I think we'll be just fine. 🙂

Hi guys, Sorry, I'm still new to this and have never cruised before so I'm trying to make sure I understand everything before we set sail in August. We have the upgraded FAS package so I believe we get 3 of the specialty dining meals, as we're just in a oceanview room. When you're saying 1 salad, 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 2 sides and 1 dessert... that's per person, in each specialty restaurant we choose, right?

Sorry to jump in with a question here; Am I right in thinking we get ~3/6 bottles of the water when we arrive on the ship? Also, we do have water bottles which we'll bring aboard to fill up at the stations, but do we also get free extra bottles, as we've got the free at sea plus package and paid the extra to upgrade... or do we have to pay for any extra ones [which we wouldn't do as we have the refillable ones]?

Can I bring water or soda on board? Effective for sailings July 15, 2016 and beyond, guests are prohibited from bringing any beverages -- including liquor, beer and non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda and juices -- on board either as carry-on or checked luggage, with the exception of purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers for use in conjunction with medical devices or for the reconstitution of infant formula; and fully sealed and/or corked wine bottles for personal consumption onboard that is subject to screening and a corkage fee (for guests 21 years of age or older). Open beverages of any kind must be consumed or discarded at the security check-point, on embarkation day and at any port of call. This revised policy brings the company in line with other best practise travel security protocols and reduces the need for individual time consuming screening and package inspection of large volumes of beverages. Can I still bring wine on board?Yes, guests may bring sealed bottles of wine on board for personal consumption. They will be checked prior to embarkation and a corkage fee applied at that time of $15.00 USD for a 750 ml Bottle or $30.00 USD for a 1,500 ml Magnum bottle. Box wines are not allowed on board.Corkage Fee is not applicable to guest with beverage package.Why can I bring wine but not other beverages?As very few guests bring wine onboard, the team is able to easily and quickly screen these items.

I think I've seen someone mention on here somewhere that it's $3 for a can. If I find it, I'll copy it across here.

Is that mainly US-based cruises that would be effected by that? Ours is Rotterdam, France, Spain and ending in Portugal.

Aha, sweet. I appreciate the thought. 🙂

Hi Complawyer, We're UK based, so leaving Southampton and doing "London" to Lisbon; 8th - 17th August on the NCL Getaway. 🙂 We might stay in Lisbon an extra night to see more of the sights, but not decided on that yet. Hotels are at peak season so it depends if we can find a decent AirB&B for a good price.

Perfect, thank you both for clarifying. 🙂 We've got the Free at Sea Plus and upgraded, so we have the full beverages + starbucks coffees etc, 3 x specialty dining nights, unlimited wifi & the extra $50 off the excursions. We're going for our honeymoon, so going all out and making the most of what we can get, as we probably won't be able to afford another cruise. 😄

Sorry to jump onto this question. The Ts&Cs say: "20% gratuity and beverage service charge will be added to all package purchases." We've pre-paid the daily service charges, but is the 20% charge added on top of this for any food we order or is this included in the daily service charges?