JSar

Thanks! Yeah, easier said than done. She did go on one of my previous cruises with me. In fact - she and I sailed on the same ship in the Adriatic a little over a year ago. This is just her age and her own general anxiety - nothing I do will change it. And overall - I know she will have fun. But I also know... bringing the right clothes for the situation will help keep her anxiety in check. And yes - we have been living in AZ and my son ran into a schoolmate of his at the Statue of Liberty... so definitely a small world. And while she would LOVE to be able to do a little drinking... she is still underage in the US. It was funny - last summer we sailed on the Adriatic. And in Europe, they have been serving her alcohol when I am present since she was 16 in many of the countries I took her to. And she was already 18, legal drinking age in Europe.. but NCL still followed US laws despite only sailing in Europe. I know they are probably legally required to follow US laws - but I find it odd. My son and I just skipped the unlimited drinks package, no sense in us drinking when she is a month and a half too young to join us!

Like I said before.. I wouldn't. My son wouldn't. But my 20 year old daughter? She hasn't outgrown the "needing approval and to fit in" stage you see frequently in adolescent teens and young adults. My daughter actually worries about whether or not we will run into someone she knows on the ship. Yes - that ship that sails from a port that is over 2200 miles from our home to destinations much further away than that. And she is already stressed about being seen in a bathing suite while on the cruise with total strangers when she is "fat" (she may not be a toothpick, but she is still VERY skinny). And I can hear her now if we are a minority of those dressed casually... "WHY DIDN"T YOU TELL ME PEOPLE WOULD BE DRESSED UP FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER?" Yep - I wouldn't care at all... but she most definitely would.

Well, I figure - we will eat at the MDR as planned... but we could always get a second dinner at the buffet (or at least... 2nd desert!). Thanks for sharing photos! And your comment about shorts makes me laugh because I was talking to my son about maybe dressing up for the Christmas Dinner and he said "Why? We celebrate Christmas in our underwear at home!". Not true... but we ARE pretty casual.

Yep... I know, that is pretty obvious when you look at the map. Too bad! I think our budget has been pushed to the limits with all of our shore excursions and spa treatments, so I don't think I want to do a day use hotel. I am not to worried about the extra time at the airport. Like I said - we will hang out on the ship as long as we can, and then take our time catching the shuttle. It really is stupid that the shore excursions that to to the airport say they aren't good for people flying out before 6pm. It really makes no sense. They start at 9 and are 4 hours - that puts you at the airport by 2pm or so... no reason why I can't take that shore excursion for a flight at around 5:30. But the warnings on the shore excursion say otherwise... I am actually planning to ask about it on the ship and switch if they think it is feasible.

Wrong reply....

I haven't cruised from/to Miami yet (but will in December). Personally... I like the simplicity of booking airport transfer with the cruise line. I make sure I am not in a hurry though. Just one more thing I can have completely paid in advance and just follow the instructions to get to the shuttles. I was hoping there would be a good "shore excursion" that takes you to the airport instead... but even though it starts something like 9 am and is said to be only 4 hours and as such, should arrive at the airport around 1pm... it says it isn't for people with flights earlier than 6pm. I don't get that one. Seems like it should be good for people who's flights are after 3:30 or 4. And... didn't look to be that interesting. My flight is something like 5:40pm... I will probably try to hang out on the ship until I can't anymore and then catch the NCL shuttle. Too bad we can't just be tourists in and area adjacent to the ship in Miami... I would have loved that if the location gave easy city access (walking I mean).

@grouchomarx @cruiseny4life @complawyerYeah.... I was only asking because someone talked about Christmas and New Years in particular. I just wanted to be prepared if a huge percentage of people dressed up for the holidays. The rest of the time we would dress more comfortably but appropriate for general restaurant dining. Nothing fancy.... but not too underdressed either.

Normally I don't care, but my kids might if we are practically the only ones "under dressed" on the holidays! If it is a nice mix of casual, business casual, dressy, and formal... they will be fine. But if we are casual and almost everyone is dressy/formal... might put my daughter into a tailspin.

OK... regarding Christmas and New Year's... will we feel out of place if we choose NOT to dress up? Or will there be enough of a mix of casual vs fancy to go either way? I will be on a cruise for both this year. In the Caribbean. Wasn't planning to bring any fancy clothes for a beach/cruise holiday

Thank you! I should be fine then. I live behind a high school and often go to sleep with the band rehearsals and football games going on... sounds like those are MUCH louder than the theater noise. I also read some reviews for some nearby rooms on the Gem which said noise wasn't really an issue. I would think my room will be fine since it is nearer the front of the ship, so kind of towards the backstage wings. Sound is amplified forward from the stage into the audience, not back stage. I will still bring some earplugs just in case! I can't complain too much though, this in an upgrade from the room I was originally going to get, and I specifically asked to be away from the stairs. I did NOT want to be relegated to deck 5... and there were no options for suites below and above other than deck 5 for this particular stateroom type/category.

Perfect timing for your post.... I am wondering the same thing. I will have a room just over the stage area on the Gem. I would think that early in the day it wouldn't be TOO noisy. I mean... if they are holding people for shore excursions then yes, it will be used early in the morning. But that isn't anywhere near as loud as the shows can be. But unlike you... I am an early riser and don't stay up particularly late... so I am wondering about the late evening shows. By 10 pm I know I will be falling asleep! Yes... even on a cruise. But at home I wake up at 3am, so sleeping until 6 IS sleeping in for me! The rest of the day I won't spend much time in the cabin either.

I don't know what the issue is with you not being able to sign up for shore excursions so close to the cruise. Are there just limited options? Did they fill up too fast? Some other issue? I obviously can't answer those questions for you. BUT... just so you know, I do not believe that is a NORM for NCL. I have already been on a couple cruises with them and have 2 more booked. For my December 2024 cruise, I booked before Thanksgiving 2023. I started making reservations almost immediately. For my March 2026 cruise... I can't remember what month I booked, but it was probably around March 2024. At that time (TWO YEARS before the cruise)... there were VERY few shore excursions listed. Shortly after that, most of the ports added a bunch of excursions. Of my 4 ports, I already have excursions reserved for 3 of them. The 4th has a lot listed, but I am not excited for the ones I see, so waiting to see if more pop up. And yes... as the months have progressed, I do see some new ones popping up intermittently. Again.. that cruise is still 18 months in the future. I can't comment on the flights. I like to search for my own cheap tickets. I have never found that I want to pay for someone else to book flights. Same with hotel... I saved a ton of money by finding my own cheaper hotel. Hope the rest of your NCL experience is better!

If you have the ATT cruise plan, you have unlimited phone and text. It is just your data that is limited. With that... you can turn your phone on in airplane mode if you WANT to... and then you can't make or receive calls/texts/data. But if you want to leave you phone/texting on.. you can just turn off your cellular data when not in use to avoid being charged a fortune for using too much data. If just your cellular data is off, you can still send and receive texts But monitor that data usage to make sure you don't go over by too much. If you do NOT have the ATT cruise plan, then definitely put your phone on airplane mode so you can block all phone, texts, AND cellular data use when you are not using your phone. What I do is I turn it off long enough to see if I connect to the "cellular at sea" or a land tower. If I connect to a land tower.. I will leave it on and use my phone. But as soon as I am done, I turn it back to airplane mode. If you are travelling outside the US though... make sure you have the international plan added so you don't get charged a fortune for international roaming when connecting to an international land tower. I think the international plan just increased to $12/day but you only get billed for a max of 10 days in a month. So... the international plan costs up to $120/month to use. And if they haven't changed it... for additional lines on the same account and used the same days.. that second phone's fee is half of that. So... let's say my daughter and I are travelling and we use our phones daily. I will get charged $12/day and she will get charged $6/day up to the 10 days worth of charges. (for the cruise plan I think it is the flat fee for each phone). Anyhow... I rarely was about to connect to "cellular at sea" so data wasn't an issue... I just didn't have ANY service most of the time.

Same for me for 2 different ships on 2 different continents. And 3 different phones...

Yes, I read the OP's post. Yes, I know the OP was referring to ATT's cruise plan. Yes, the cruise plan connects using the ship tower. Yes... I have payed for and ATTEMPTED to use the cruise plan on 2 different ships, on 2 different continents. As I said before... IT DIDN'T WORK. Not well enough to justify the extra cost. When could I use my phone/internet? When I was DOCKED or CLOSE TO LAND - close enough to reach a land tower. When could I NOT use my phone? Most of the time when I was on the ship. It never once worked in my room. It rarely worked on some of the upper outside decks. It was not easier because it rarely worked. It was NOT worth the extra cost. Will not use it again. But... to the OP.. where are you sailing? If internationally - make sure you have international coverage added to your phone! That DOES work. I have never had an issue with using the international plan when near international ports. The cruise ship plan? Rarely worked for me. I will keep my phone on airplane mode anytime I am not at port or checking to see if I can get a cell signal from a LAND tower.

And where in the OP did the OP say they were even ON the Prima? Again... NEVER SAID I WAS ON THE PRIMA. BTW... I would only know what a ship used to Tender if I actually tendered on the ship. And why they HECK would I know whether or not a boat is certified to tender? I am just going on a cruise... I leave will leave it to them to know what boats are certified and which are not for tendering. I have other things to worry about, like whether or not I packed my sunscreen (I am on vacation, not working for NCL). What, are you the post reply police?

ATT is MUCH Cheaper.. but I must say.... I didn't have ATT service on the ship unless we were close to land (and in the case of the Alaskan cruise... next to land that actually had people nearby) or if I was in certain areas of the ship to access my ATT through the ships cell tower. I NEVER had cell reception in my room without being close to land. And to connect while away from land, I had to be near the upper deck open areas like the pool or the outdoor dining areas. I just relied on doing my calls and internet when close to land. Even with the lower cost, it is always a waste of money in my experience. Not sure how reliable and accessible the ships internet is... haven't used it. I will have the "free at sea" internet package this time though - but I will only use my regular International Plan for phone and data when near land/on land. (but of course will have to turn off cellular data while at sea to avoid accidental roaming charges)

I didn't say I was on the Prima, but how would YOU Know whether or not I was? I have never declared each and every cruise I have ever been on. But for the record, no I wasn't. And I never said or implied I was. And did the OP even mention being on the Prima? Other ships DO go to those ports, I know I did on another ship! I also didn't say the ships lifeboats are are certified to be used at tenders - I have no clue whether they are CERTIFIED or not. WHAT I DID SAY IS... SO FAR on MY NCL experience, they have used their lifeboats as tenders on the cruises I have tendered on. Which is true. I have tendered several times, and each time, the boats used for tendering were the same boats that they have on ship to be used as lifeboats. I could even see where they were removed from where they are stored on the ship to be used as the tender boat, and once I even watched as they reloaded them back into their emergency lifeboat storage spots. Point is... You didn't need to quote me and correct anything I said... nothing I have said from MY experience is false. And I did say I DOCKED (and did not tender) in both ports the OP mentioned (Split and Dubrobnik). And yes, I DID Dock at both of those ports. I just shared MY experience on MY NCL cruises. And I stated it as such. Are the lifeboats CERTIFIED to be tenders? Again... no clue. But that IS what they have used for tendering on MY NCL cruises. But as I stated... I also READ that they use bigger tendering boats on their private islands. So I am going to ASSUME that I will be tendering on a bigger boat on my next cruise for Great Stirrup Cay...

It simply means they don't know if they will get to dock or if they have to tender for the port... might be first come first serve or something like that... just plan as if it is a tender and then you can be pleasantly surprised if you get to dock and not have to worry about the tendering process. But it is my understanding that sometimes... even if you were scheduled to dock.. there could be a last minute change of plans. And SO FAR on my NCL experience... they use their lifeboats as tenders. I did read that they have bigger tenders for their private islands though. Their lifeboats hold more people than I realized... but they get pretty stuffy inside them so keep that in mind. And personally... I think I would do NCL excursions for ports that MIGHT tender to be safe you will make it on time. Save the private shore excursions for ports where tendering is unlikely. If you have an NCL shore excursion... you get priority tendering. I docked in both ports on my cruise.

Well... so far.... I have always been able to eat where I want and when I want. Never waited 30 minutes to order OR to be seated. And not everyone finds the MDR to serve "completely mediocre" food. If I don't like what one dining room is serving, I go elsewhere - even the buffet. I haven't had to do a lot of advanced planning. Even when I do... I have done plenty of last-minute mealtime/location adjustments. But for me... flexibility and NOT SITTING WITH THE SAME STRANGERS all the time for meals is extremely important. There may be other cruise lines out there that do better, but my experiences on NCL have actually exceeded my expectations as I never thought I would enjoy cruising as much as I do. And I don't know about everyone else.... but I always REALLY care about WHERE I am going. I don't just go to hang out on a beach. I mean sure... that is great too... but I am there for the cultural experience and seeing more than just a beach.

Yes... you don't get the points until each cruise is completed.

I don't really care for O'Sheehans myself. I will go there for a change in menu, but so far it is my least favorite restaurant. Breakfast is OK... I do like Orchid Garden for a change of menu though

I haven't done a lot of cruises.... just a couple... so I don't have much of anything to compare. That said... I am so grateful I picked NCL for their "freestyle dining" alone.... I would go insane having assigned dining times and/or shared tables with the same people the entire cruise. I was comparing post cruise notes with a friend, and the stories she shared confirmed that I made the right choice! And while you could always find SOMETHING to complain about regarding food no matter where you go.... I have enjoyed a majority of the meals on NCL. If I don't like what the MDR is serving... there is always something on the buffet I will eat.

LMAO... why would I waste my time reading the entire thread.... and if people want to get worked up over $10 measly dollars in claim it is about something else like customer service... then be my guest! No... I didn't miss the point... I just have a VERY different view than you on all of this.... I thought you were going to move along and let things be.... time to unfollow this thread...

I won't guess whether this nonsense is true or not.... people due like to sue over stupid stuff all the time, nothing surprises me anymore. That said - arbitrator services aren't free. They need to get paid by SOMEONE. And I don't know what lawyer would take on a case over something so stupid and work for a percentage of whatever might be won in a case so stupid... so one would have to assume the person making the case is paying for arbitration. That is... if the story is true.