Sparkygirl

NCL Dawn owners suite (forward facing wall of windows) there are four, the two center ones sleep 6 with two bedrooms but are not advertised as that. We loved it with our 3, 11 and 13 year old kids.

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NCL escape we just signed up & boarding time is 4-4:30, that is really a late boarding time, can you show up earlier or will they not let you board till your time?

You should be able to board early, if I remember correctly from looking at the freestyle dailies the muster drill is at the same time, if boarding after the drill you will need to attend the make up the next day.

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The Oct 7th NCL Dawn to Bermuda could be interesting. Matthew will be a strong storm passing just south of Cape Cod on the 7th or 8th.

That's my thoughts on our October 8th NYC to Halifax!

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I am sure you will like Jovo. He is a very nice man and had two children as well

 

 

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Thank you! Yes, Jovo is awesome! We sailed with him on Getaway earlier this year. Although, in my 5 year olds eyes no one compares to Ms. Sonja. I love knowing that it will be a stress free week as both have been absolutely wonderful about my daughter's allergies and were amazing to work with in the past.

On the Dawn we did not attend the MD due to the medical needs of my daughter. A crew member did knock on our door during the muster drill asking to take us down to the drill, we let the crew member know that the access officer had told us to stay in our cabin during the drill and to attend the make up the next day.

How was the touro synagogue? It is on my list of national park sites

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She's on vacation now

 

 

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Thanks! We haven't told our little one that Ms. Sonja would be hotel director so hopefully can avoid a melt down. I was hopeful when the access desk told us that Sonja was hotel director that little miss would see her favorite person again. She does deserve her vacation time!

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I think Jovo will be HD as of 9/10/16

 

 

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Any idea where Sonja may be going if Jovo will be hotel director? My 5 year old is hoping to see Ms. Sonja again. We are sailing the Gem on 10/8/16.

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Really? Wow, I thought for sure she would be able to stay with him if he was not able to check in with us. Oh well it is what it is.. :D Thanks for the info...

You can definitely stay with him, there is nothing saying that you HAVE to board with the escort, etc.

Thank you so much for your message. I am so sorry to hear about your MIL's passing. I keep thinking that we must appreciate each chance we get with her as you just never know how much longer she has. She is still in good health but all it takes is one fall (God forbid) :(

 

Both of my parents are gone and my MIL is the only living grandparent our two daughters have.

 

 

 

We do not need anything "for free" My MIL has plenty of money. The suites show sold out and I don't know if she would want a giant room for just her anyhow.

 

I am just trying to figure how I can not look like the worst DIL in the world. I just told my husband this morning about how we have a suite and these perks that come with it. (I do all the travel booking so he did not even know). He says to me "Well you and the girls can board early and go to Cagney's for lunch and I will stay with my mom and board with her and go to the buffet, etc." CAN YOU IMAGINE ME BOARDING BEFORE MY MIL?? What kind of self-centered loser DIL would I be to get on board with her 2 grand daughters and go eat lunch without her??? I was just asking if there was a way she could be with us without having to sleep on our couch, share a bathroom with our teen daughters or have me sleep on the couch (with my bad back). I know my MIL, and she likes to have her own room and space to relax and get away when she gets tired.

 

She lives down in San Diego and usually spends Thanksgiving with my SIL so I didn't even think about it when I booked.

 

 

 

Is there a way we can just pay for the early boarding for her and lunch Cagney's, early tenders, etc?? She doesn't need the free drinks or free specialty restaurants, she has plenty of money to pay for those things.

 

 

 

I know we can forfeit all of our suite perks but that kind of stinks as this is our first big Suite experience. My daughters and I have been so excited about everything that comes with a suite.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the ideas.

 

 

 

Sue

 

:)

Send an email to the shore side concierge, explain the situation and ask for certain things. They can say no or yes but you tried and asked.

We were granted permission for my step daughter, her mom and stepdad to board with us when we were in a suite and they were not. We were also allowed to have all of us together for embarkation day lunch only.

DH and Kids mom each paid for one of their shared children in their room. We then had our daughter as well so we needed a suite that would sleep 5 so all 3 kids could spend the night with us. Butler was awesome and brought food for stepchild not booked in our room, etc.

Really look at realistically what does she want to be included in versus not and then make those requests.

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Not the answer you want but an family oceanview O1 or O2 oceanview would be a better fit on Escape, much more floor space and a sofa/second bed.

 

 

 

O1 (sideways):

 

 

 

 

O2: forward facing, extra spacious, xx700 stateroom numbers, one on each deck only.

 

 

 

With a price drop you might want to consider those.

The family ocean views are actually designed to sleep 5, the couch pulls out to a full size bed and would sleep your little ones without having to pull down the bunk from the ceiling while still leaving a bed for you and your wife.

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Any other info on Gem changes in the near future? :confused: (Sailing 10/1):)

We are also interested in this info, sailing 10/8

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Yes, Lars has been assigned to a new ship when he returns from vacation. Not sure which ship or when and things could change. They serve a little like being in the military- you serve on one ship for a period of time and then move to another. He has been on The Gem for awhile now so it is probably time for a new assignment.

 

Yes, he is very fun and a very kind gentleman.

For those who aren't aware "vacation" is actually an break between contracts. When folks return from Vacation they have signed on to a new contract which dictates which ship they will be going to.

We travel and visit US National Parks for our 5 year old to complete the junior ranger programs (she has earned 30 in the past 6 months since she started earning them) in researching for our October cruise there appears to be a similar program by Parks Canada. What is the best way to visit Parks Canada sites in Halifax and St. John? Rental car, taxi, bus tour? Any recommendations on what sites are near these two cities and good for a 5 year old, her parents and grandparents.

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Just an interesting side note; In this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2304280 a post by Sparkygirl where, I believe, she explained how she got four adults into a suite and all the kids in a room was deleted, evidenced by my out of place quote in post #47. I think it was in this thread that explained how to do this http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2304687 that has been deleted.

There is a key difference in the thread that was deleted (which is odd) that in the booking situation we explored it was four adults in a suite and three children in a connecting balcony or mini-suite to accommodate a blended family. The arrangement of children without an adult 21 years or older in a cabin is only allowable in connecting rooms. We ended up actually sailing in 2 cabins, 1 suite and 1 mini. My stepdaughter was allowed to join us (Dad, stepmom, brother and half-sister who were booked in suite that slept 6 to accommodate having both stepchildren every other night) for suite only dinning although she was booked in her mom's mini-suite with the approval on the onboard concierge.

In the OP's case they may be able to have their child booked in the non suite join them at the discretion of the onboard concierge for suite dinning. Sleeping arrangements can't be changed if there isn't the bed space hence why we booked a cabin for 6 when our max number was 5.

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Thank you! I spoke with the special needs desk and they said to steer clear of the buffet for fear of cross contamination. We can eat in the dining rooms, that's not a problem- they also told me to just remind every person we come in contact with at the restuarants that my daughter has a food allergy.

Thankfully, my daughters allergy is not airborne so anyone eating near her wouldn't pose a threat, as long as she doesn't actually ingest it- we are good!

You do not need to steer clear of the buffet, steer clear of the self serving line, meet the food and beverage manager and one of the assistant maître d at the evening restaurants. My daughter made friends with the main dinning room maître d he worked mornings in the buffet, my daughter would tell him what she wanted and he would get it from the back kitchen free of cross contamination and brought to our table in the buffet.

NCL is amazing with food allergies. My 5 year old has sailed 5 cruises with life threatening latex, banana, avocado, kiwi and chestnut allergy. I always know which table is ours at the restaurants because the box of gloves is sitting on it.

NCL also changes their programming and decorations to not use balloons while my daughter us onboard.

Have a great vacation!

 

At the buffet (where we ate lunch and breakfast every day), we would have a chef walk us down the line and point out what to avoid. When in doubt, ask. As others have said, the risk of cross contamination is very high on the buffet, because of other passengers scooping out food with the spoon from the next dish, etc.

 

Also, get to know the assistant Maitre D at a couple of the restaurants, they also serve as area heads for the buffet. We would then look for the name of the same person who worked with us at dinner the night before and sit in their area of the buffet. It was great because for example my daughter wanted pancakes which were being served next to a banana caramel sauce (she is 5 years old allergic to latex, banana, avocado, kiwi and chestnut). She stopped him as he walked by and asked for pancakes that weren't on the buffet line. He went and got fresh ones for her without the cross contamination issues. This was on the getaway during spring break it was incredibly crowded.

This info is correct as of 3 weeks ago

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Does anyone have pictures of this suite? Room numbers 7592, 7594, 7092, 7094 looking for bedding configurations for an extended family group of 7.

Thanks!

WHAT??? Tony Winkler has always been HD!!

 

 

 

Harriet

This happened on the Dawn last year as well Sonja was hotel director and Adolf was food and beverage director and the two switched for a few weeks, it is part of a cross training swap that occurs between various department heads.

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Serenade, also, has the child life vests in the pool area on a rack. And yet, there are children in the pool without.

I choose not to use a life vest with my 5 year old child in a swimming pool, please don't assume that is a lack of parenting on my part. My 5 year old is a competitive swimmer and we are always close by while she can swim 600 yards at a time, salt water and ships movements are different in a pool onboard a ship then at home. I had well meaning folks twice during our cruise comment on my daughters size and age while using the pool, I'd wished they had taken a couple minutes and watched her swim. We use life jackets or a snorkel vest when snorkeling or at the beach.

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Email the access desk directly, ask for their form and fill out the low vision sections and return it to the access desk. Include the need for seating accommodations at shows such as cirque.

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We sailed in connecting cabins, we kept the top bunk down in our cabin for our 5 year old to nap in the afternoon, the teenagers next door had the top bunk put away each day. Just tell your room steward which you would prefer.

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Looks like it is a no go still. Something to do with the amount of passengers in each lifeboat? So they can't have 4 people in those particular balconies or mini-suites that are showing available. :(

 

It makes sense. But part of me thinks we are getting the run around too. Transferring from one person to another, all saying no though.

If you want everyone in 1 room and are still willing to pay for 2 rooms. Move only 2 into the balcony that will sleep 4. Then keep original muster station but you know have sleeping a accommodations for 4.

When we sail we book cabin that sleeps 5 but only book 4 as second stepchild is booked in mom's room but has a bed to stay every other night with us. Muster station remains with mom\cabin assigned.

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Not yet! Boarding Sunday!

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