Alegeeter

Is it really much of a saving?

 

Service charges are $13.50 pp pd = $13.50 x 2 persons x 7 days = $189 for two people (the promotion is limited to the first two).

 

Meals for two at a specialty restaurant cost $25 pp = $25 x 2 persons x 3 meals (the promotion is limited to three meals) = $150.

 

$39 is nothing to sneeze at but is it worth the time to fret about and make all these changes?

 

That's assuming that a couple would book 3 specialty dinners on their own without the free offer. On my upcoming cruise, we chose the SDP because it was the most worth it to us of the five choices offered. However, we'd much prefer the free gratuities because we are perfectly content eating at the complimentary restaurants. So to us, it would be a saving of $189, not $39. Unfortunately, we are passed the penalty period so we cannot make the change.

If I booked a complimentary stateroom through CAS and chose SDP would I be able to change my "choice" even if we are two months from sailing?

So many on here are quick to advise others, with very little knowledge.

 

Cases in point:

1. Mosquitos can not fly to a docked boat...yea right!

 

2. It only stays in your system 2 weeks. Once you get it, and are a female. However it can stay in your male partner much longer and can be passed to you through unprotected intercourse.

 

3. Stay out of the jungle and you will be safe....That neighborhood in Miami is not in a jungle.

This is the only point of yours I disagree with. Yes, Wynwood is not a jungle but it also isn't a beach resort that is tended to around the clock. And you'll see a big increase in spraying in the area. All the cases so far have onset dates before Florida knew about the cases. The true test will be if there are additional cases with onset dates that since the Florida knew about the first case/made recommendations.

 

My advice is scrutinize the CDC web site and the Florida Department of Health web site. They have the correct information.

 

Weigh the risk and rewards. 7 days of fun and frolic over the potential to have a child born with a genetic deformity, such as microensephilitis.

 

today's fLORIDA sTATISTICS:

 

Travel-Related Infections of Zika

 

404 SO 404 PEOPLE GOT IT FROM TRAVELING TO OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE IT IS PREVALENT.

 

 

Non-Travel Related Infections of Zika

 

25 SO 25 PEOPEL CAUGHT IT HERE, EITHER FROM MOSQUITOS OR FROM A SEXUAL PARTNER

 

 

Infections Involving Pregnant Women

 

57 SO 57 PREGANT WOMEN ARE SWEATING IT OUT, AND SOME HAVE ALREADY CHOSEN TO TERMINATE THE PREGANCY

 

LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFEW SEX AFTER BEING THERE OR HAVING A PARTNER WHO HAS BEEN. YOU WILL BE EITHER ABSTAINING OR PRACTICING SAFE SEX FOR UP TO 6 MONTHS.

 

THE ZIKA VIRUS IS NOW IN ALL BUT 4 OF THE 50 STATES, New York HAS MORE CASES THAN FLORIDA.

 

Check out the situation in Puerto Rico and the prognosis.

 

The worse thing you can do is ask those on here what they think, as many of them do not. Do your own research and decision making, and ask your family doctor or nurse. The people on here who say not to worry or just take precautions are not going to be around to comfort you or help if you end up pregnant with the zika virus. Take care of yourself.

 

Number one takeaway from this, as Into Cruising mentioned. Consult your health care professional and do your research. There is a lot of hysteria and scare tactics out there (and on here) mixed in with the truth. We all want to help you but this board may end up confusing you more than you'd expect.

To be the most safe, if you want to start a family within 6 months from your cruise, do not go.

 

However, most touristy areas are great about preventing mosquitoes. They will spray, remove standing water, etc. If you do go, wear DEET bug spray, long sleeves and pants, and consider excursions that go to beach resorts rather than ones that go into neighborhoods or forests where they're less likely to spray.

I'm able to find an oceanview for 4 online. Try calling back and saying you see a room available. Sometimes all it takes is the right employee to put in the extra effort. Don't give up!

 

EDITED TO SAY: Just looked again and they are all sold out! Just yesterday I was looking to change my cabin number and looked online to find at least 15 cabins in my category available to change to. In one night all remaining OV and BA cabins were taken!

 

I too wonder why this sailing is so popular. It was included in the latest CAS offer for complimentary staterooms but I don't think that many people would have booked to warrant all insides, oceanviews, and balconies being sold out 2 months before. I hope it's not a charter!

Oceanview Guarantee rooms aren't eligible for the Feel Free promotion so you wouldn't be able to upgrade to that without losing your perks. In order to keep your UBP and Extra Sail Free you'd need an Obstructed Oceanview Cabin or above. Right now an Obstructed Oceanview is $899 each for the first two guests on our sailing. Look at your invoice and see what you paid for the first two guests. The difference in price will be what you need to pay for the upgrade, most likely.

 

How did you book your cruise? If you booked directly with NCL you can call them back and ask them what the price for an upgrade to an Oceanview cabin would be. If you booked through a travel agency, then you will need to go through them to do this.

 

One interesting thing: there are wonderful Accessibility cabins that are Obstructed Oceanviews that would be MUCH roomier for four of you. I had one once on a sister ship with 4 people and it was great! If one is available you can grab that, but do know that if someone who needs an accessible cabin books you can get moved somewhere else. But they would only move you to a cabin in the same category or above. Worth a shot if the price is right!

If you choose the SDP, maybe you can get 6 nights of specialty dining. 3 nights your son orders of the kid's menu, and three nights you order off the kid's menu and then 'switch' with him after he orders the filet mignon at Cagney's :P

 

(That's a joke folks... but I'm sure someone's tried it before!)

Hello! We'll be on your sailing as well. Come find us on the roll call board!

 

What kind of room do you have for the four of you right now? If you think you might want some extra space I would consider getting a second room now. Once on board you won't be able to purchase an extra room.

 

The rooms are cramped, especially for four people. I would look on the internet for some videos of cabin tours and make a determination on if you think the four of you can manage. Good questions to ask yourselves are, how well would you all live together? Would all four of you be comfortable together in that small of a space (showering, using the bathroom, changing, sleeping, etc.)? How much time do you plan to spend in your cabin? How well do your fathers get along with each other?

 

Then weigh those answers against the cost. If you get a second cabin it may cost more money but you end up having more space (and you could choose a different offer instead of the Sail Free). However, if you're only bringing your fathers because of the Sail Free offer then the point might be moot. And if you get a second cabin for your fathers, then they would get UBP too (the UBP will only be given to the first two people in the cabin).

 

I wouldn't bank on getting an upgrade/upsell call. If it happens, that's great but you should always book what you're happy with and never expect more. If a call does occur it's usually within two weeks of sailing, so there is still quite some time left.

 

It looks like inside cabins are sold out for this 10/15 sailing. My guess is because it's not a routine sailing it is selling faster than most weekly repeat itineraries would. The cheapest room available at the moment is an Oceanview but keep looking for one to become available if there is a cancellation or one becomes available for some reason!

 

Is this a surprise for your fathers? If not, can you bring up the idea to them and see what they think? Daddy knows best, right ;)

How about charges as punishments, specifically for chair hogs. That's a charge I can be happy with.

 

For every hour your chair is left unattended, NCL will charge you $10, for everyone else's convenience :).

So...how long have you worked for the CDC?

 

Would you like some ID?

 

 

I'm going to follow IntoCruising's lead and leave this thread. There is no point in arguing facts and science with people who are resigned to believe what they want.

 

 

To those of you who are doing your research from legitimate sources, especially IntoCruising, thank you. Know the risks but more importantly know how to prevent them. And most of all, enjoy your cruise vacations.

We've had cases in Dallas, which is beyond South Texas. Zika can also be spread by sexual contact (as in at least one Dallas case), so it's not just mosquitos.

 

Yes, you are correct. In New York, we have a handful of sexually transmitted cases and hundreds of travel-associated cases. Perhaps I should have been more clear in my last post but I was only referring to mosquito-transmitted cases as far as widespread outbreak is concerned. This is mostly because sexually-transmitted Zika is easily preventable if people use condoms consistently and correctly.

There hasn't been any cases transmitted by albopictus, largely due to the weather. Under very controlled lab environments it has been transmitted, albeit poorly so widespread transmission is not thought to be an issue in those eastern states (especially with the relatively short viremia in the blood). Cities are preparing for the worst but the concern is not great.

Oh good grief :rolleyes: That is beyond naïve.

 

Aside from the fact that you're disrespectful, you are uninformed about the topic, which can only stir up fear in the community. Take a look at the Chikungunya outbreak in 2012, spread by the same mosquitoes. How far nroth did that virus spread? Talk about being naive.

The travel warning is for a one small, few block stretch north of Miami. If you're worried, just avoid that area!

 

 

And no, it most certainly won't spread across the entire country. It likely won't even spread much more north of Miami within Florida. Florida has Aedes aegyptii mosquitos and most other states do not. Most states have a cousin to the mosquito but those have not had any documented cases of transmission, EVER. Parts of southern Texas and Louisiana may see some transmission but it would hardly go much more north than that at all.

There are no aedes aegyptii mosquitoes (the type of mosquito transmitting Zika) in Bermuda. I don't think you have to worry about Zika spreading there.

I'm in a similar ship ;), looking to book an itinerary where the final payment is 8/1 but it's through CAS so I can't put it on hold because their offices are only Monday-Friday. So I'm interested if anyone knows any information!

Ask me again tomorrow :)

I always want to go to it but I feel like the meet-ups are always at the worst times! They usually overlap with the evening's entertainment/dinner. I wish they were held a bit earlier, like 5 or 6, generally after the ship has left port during a bit of a lull.

 

There is too much going on around 8 :/

We loved watching it from the Waterfront, Aft. You get to see the Freedom tower on the port side and then quickly walk Starboard to catch Lady Liberty. Have everyone BYOB first!

Re: Cagney's being crowded at 10pm.
I dined at Cagney's at around 9 and my waiter when he expected to get off shift that night. He said due to the high demand for reservations since everyone wanted to squeeze in a dinner at Cagney's in 2 nights they were staying open past 2am to accommodate desired reservations.

Kudos to NCL for being accommodating, though I did truly feel badly for the already overworked staff. Hopefully some extra gratuities headed their way.

We had a great time too, also mostly in the casino.

Great casino crowd and crew: lively and friendly.

 

Cagney's and Rock of Ages were both enjoyable. I love getting the taste of vacation.

 

The CTNs are the perfect way to get a break from this crazy city sometimes. I'll miss them.

We have been on over 10 cruises - all of which we have had a balcony and our kids in an inside across the hall. 100% of the time the rooms have been correct - king for me an DH and twins for boys. But from reading all the responses, we appear to have been quite lucky.

 

And as for the rude comment of "are you sure?" please try to recognize that other cultures, particularly the ones from which the majority of room stewards hail, do not "understand" or "recognize" homosexuality...plus, there can be language barriers at times. Just try to let it roll of your back and you and your partner enjoy your vacations!

 

Yes, this is true that other cultures do not "understand" or "recognize" homosexuality. However, Carnival should make it part of staff training to at least be mindful that Carnival passengers do understand, recognize, and embrace it. Crew need to be trained that comments like "are you sure?" can be hurtful and offensive. That is what would offend me if I (a male) sailed with my boyfriend/partner: not that the steward saw that there were two Misters in the room and made twins because he assumed we were just friends but that we were questioned about it after asking him/her nicely to make the bed into a king.

It is unlikely to have been food poisoning if he got sick so soon on Day 2. If anything it could have been Norovirus, but that is still pretty quick to get sick (and if it happened Day 2 it would have spread like wildfire and I think he'd know if many others on the ship were sick as well).

 

Did your friend fly to NYC to leave on the Breakaway? It's more likely he caught Noro on the plane but it's a lot harder to track down people who were on a plane for a few hours compared to a cruise ship for a whole week.

thanks for all the great feedback

 

Alegeeter, I am curious about the NCL casino perks...I am not big into the casinos, but my mother is when she cruises with me...what can you tell me about the casino perks on NCL?

 

 

Mostly, discounted cruises (minimum 20% off and some get comped rooms), free drinks in the casino for everyone who books through the casino, not just those who reach 1500 points). I'm happy to discuss more of the perks. Is there a better place to write to you? Don't want to hijack the thread. I also may not have all the answers but threads on the NCL board are plentiful and informative.

I echo much of what was said here. I've enjoyed cruises on all 3 and they are more alike than different. But the differences are in the details, and to that I give the edge to NCL.

 

Entertainment on NCL, day and night, has always been better than the other two lines in my opinion. I also find the crews to be better (which is saying a lot because Carnival crews are top notch too). NCL also has good casino perks, which is big for me, but Carnival is catching up.

 

I give Carnival the food edge, at least in the main dining rooms/buffet. There are great food options on Carnival and RCL but you often have to fork up more money.

 

Carnival is much bigger rooms than RCL and NCL, but NCL has better bathrooms. They're always so spacious, and I appreciate the shower doors vs. curtain. Why Carnival's newest ships still have shower curtains is beyond me.

 

All lines are great. Go with what you value more, whether it's itinerary, food, price, or even just something new. If you want to try NCL, go for it!