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I was so nervous about noise when we did the deck 6 aft wrap, but it was not a problem at all. Any time I can get any aft wrap it is worth it.

I booked the aft wrap on Upper Deck right above Victoria Lounge for our upcoming trip. I am super nervous about the noise, but I figured it was worth it to get the aft wrap. I'll be sure to write a review when we get back from our trip, but that won't be for another 5 - 6 weeks yet.

I'd love to hear from anyone else.

My favorite place to live in that area to see the cruise ships is Davis Island in downtown Tampa. You can see the ships from your house many times. Lovely island and location and prices not too bad for some homes.

In Grand Cayman, it's not necessary to do an excursion. Take a bus from just outside the port gate to the left for about $1 - 2 pp to the beach. When you get back from the beach, go back to the ship for lunch, then go back and walk around the town area for an hour or two.

In Cozumel there are lots of shops at the port. We took at taxi to a beach (gosh I can't remember the name of it). It was about $15 each way with 4 of us in the taxi. At the private beach we just had to buy one item and then got free chairs for the day.

In Jamaica, I would splurge on a ship hosted excursion.

You'll get lots of varying opinions though; these are just my thoughts. Check out the destination boards too.

Thanks for the great replies. I think I have figured it out now. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you.

Hi All,

Lots of experience cruising, but never on NCL. Thinking of booking an Aft Penthouse on the NCL Dawn. I'm really confused about how freestyle dining works on the Dawn for Penthouse Suite guests. Please help me understand? As much detail as possible, please. I tried finding the info on the NCL website and by searching threads but somehow it seems overwhelming.

So in a suite . . .

1. We get get free sodas? Can we carry on soda too?

2. We get guaranteed restaurant choices and arrange these with concierge or by calling a special number in advance?

3. We can dine in our room from main dining room or specialty restaurants? What is the fee for this as a suite passenger?

4. How many restaurants are there to choose from? How do we know which ones to choose? Do they publish the main dining room menus in advance so you know which one to book for which day?

5. What restaurants charge a fee for suite guests and which ones are included?

6. What is with the Carney's that I keep hear mentioned?

7. I saw in one thread that you have to pay for pizza to be delivered. Is this the case for a suite too? Is there anywhere to get pizza or ice cream without paying?

8. Any British foods at all on the Dawn such as English sausages or bacon with breakfast?

I'm waiting until Wed to book, as I think there is some sort of Dawn sale coming up. Anything else you think I should know before booking?

Thank you for any advice it is very much appreciated.

This was all really helpful information.

In reality, it doesn't really matter, does it? We are on vacation and will be spending a nice 7 days together.

Thanks again for all of the replies.

Hi All,

I've been looking everywhere for an answer to this question but can't find it. We are traveling on the Legend in 3 days! Yeah!

We have 2 cabins. One where both passengers are Platinum status and the other one (mine) where I am gold and my mom has never sailed before. Our reservations were booked together and are linked.

My sister (platinum) seems to think that if we all arrive together in Tampa, all 4 of us can go in the special platinum line and all 4 of us check in together and board with the platinum group. I thought that we would need to go in two separate lines. Anyone else experienced this and what happened? How did you handle it?

I know my sister will have access to her cabin right as she boards, right? I tried to get FTTF but it was sold out. We can all just drop our carryons in her cabin too, right?

What about with tenders in the ports and disembarkation?

Thanks for any help or advice.

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That was exactly what it was! When I changed the default to Reader and not Acrobat, it worked like a charm.

Thank you so much. Gotta love Cruise Critic advice.

Thanks all - maybe their page is down,

I cleared history, cookies, cache.

I tried Chrome, Explorer, Firefox.

I reinstalled Adobe PDF reader.

I booted a few times.

Still same error message.

I'll try again tomorrow. I had this same problem 2 years ago with Carnival and it worked when I cleared the history, but not this time.

We cruise in 41 days.

I have cruised and printed docs many times before and not had a problem.

All online check in (passport, contact info, credit card # etc) is in there.

The luggage tags print fine.

But the general overview and boarding pass just pops up an error screen each time it tries to print.

I have tried Firefox and Explorer browsers and am not on an Apple computer.

Any ideas?

Thinking of booking Carnival's Altun Ha ruins and River excursion. Nervous about a couple of things before we book:

1. Has anyone taken this and cut it close on time making it back to the last tender? Is it 100% true (or just an old timers cruising rumor) that if you miss the last tender and are on a Carnival sponsored excursion that they will definitely wait for you?

2. Any bathrooms at any of the stops or do you have to hold it for most of the day?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

I booked the Embassy Suites for my upcoming cruise. Got suitcase on wheels (duffle style) and am very active. Do you think it's possible to walk from the hotel to the port? Or do they offer a shuttle?

If you took a taxi, how much was it?

Thanks

I suffer horribly from sea sickness. Have tried all sorts of things. Now that I have my remedy, I don't even think about it any more.

The patch made my vision super blurry.

My remedy:

1. Take 1 Bonine 1 hour before boarding.

2. Then take 1 Bonine every night before dinner. Yes, it makes me drowsy but kicks in then about 10 p.m. when I am ready to go to bed anyway.

3. Eat a carb snack before bed (crackers, bread, etc).

4. Don't let your stomach get too empty - always have it lined with something.

5. Balcony cabin where you can get fresh air when you need it. The breeze works wonders.

6. If it's really bad (like in the Atlantic) wear the pressure points wrist bands.

Thanks for the responses. That's what I needed. Gotta love cruise critic!

Today, I am looking to book Carnival Legend in 2 Balcony rooms Deck 5 aft. I have seen conflicting info about the Aft balconies having obstructed views.

Can anyone please tell me if 5248 and surrounding aft balcony cabins have obstructed views?

Thank you so much

Does anyone know of a shuttle from The Villages to Tampa?

Thanks for the info so far. We don't need a hotel as my parents live in Central Florida and we will stay with them before but not after.

Keep any more info coming please.

Hi All

I tried looking in the Florida Departure thread for info, but I couldn't find exactly what I need help with.

We are driving to Port Everglades for Dec 23 Noordam. We have sailed out of FLL a few times, but this is our first time driving.

Question - What terminal does Noordam usually leave from? Looks like there are 3 other ships in port on those days. What is parking like at the port itself? Do we need to prebook? It looks like it is $15 per day.

Do we drop off luggage and pay a porter then go park? Do we walk from the parking back to terminal or take a shuttle? How is the shuttle?

We hope to be one of first off (we are in Neptune Suite) on return day as we have to get on the road for a long drive home. How is it getting back to car at end of cruise?

So what is the deal with the Park and Go/Fly option that HAL pushes through a link when you do docs?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Okay, so now I'm REALLY nervous about our upcoming cruise. We are on Noordam Dec 23 and were thrilled to get an Aft Wrap. We had planned on spending all our time on the balcony. After reading these reports about smokers, I am regretting paying over $7,000 for something we may not enjoy using.

So if anyone is reading this who is on the Dec 23 Noordam in an aft balcony, please I beg you from the bottom of my heart, please please please go to the designated smoking area up on deck. Please please please don't ruin it for those of us who don't smoke.

I just read the capers from January. Thank you for posting the link to those.

I have a couple of Splendor questions.

1. Is there a chocolate buffet one day?

2. For the adult only serenity deck, do you have to have membership to the Spa rooms?

Thanks

We did luggage express on Sunday as we got off the Victory.

As of last week, 2 p.m. was the cut off time.

I have mixed feelings about it.

Cost - $20 per person plus the cost of the baggage charge by the airline.

Boarding pass and luggage tags were delivered to our room.

PROBLEM - If you have a connecting flight, it is possible (maybe probable) that you will only get the boarding pass for the flight out of SJU NOT for the connecting flight. So, what's the advantage if you have to check in to get the connecting boarding pass anyway?

ADVANTAGE - You don't have to carry your suitcases into the airport and check them thru USDA and then stand in line to check them in.

PROBLEM - You do still have to carry them through Customs and Immigration at port pier then down the pier to recheck in with a "man with a truck." Another problem for us was that the sticker said only SJU-ORD - once again no connecting flight info on the sticker. We were thus nervous handing our luggage over with no connecting flight or final destination proof. The man with the truck assured us he would put new stickers on at the airport. He was true to his word and we got our luggage, but we were still nervous.

Yes, your carryons do need scanning by USDA. So you have to stand in line to get those done anyway.

There were 4 of us, so we are not sure if $80 was worth it. We still had to get our connecting boarding passes, we still had to do the USDA line for our carryones, and we still had to carry the bags down the pier. My husband says it was worth it cuz we didn't have to carry the suitcases into the terminal, but a porter would've been only about $20, right?

Is the daily list of things going on that day called Capers? If so, does anyone have recent copies they can upload of Victory Southern Caribbean? Or maybe there is a thread already with this that someone knows about?

I am interested to find out if there are any evening outdoor movies?

Thanks