scapel

On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 10:09 AM, graphicguy said:

That works.

 

I use an online TA who I use that offers me OBC, perks and the lowest fare if I book through their site.  If I need to have one of their Agents book it for me (like helping me choose a cabin) then they charge a little more, maybe don’t offer as much OBC, etc....but, they offer that sort of assistance, too.

 

Personally, I like the control of looking at what I want, chasing down a cabin I like (and any associated deals that accompany that cabin), finding the right itinerary, the right ship, the right  fare, etc.  But, that’s just me.

 

The downside?  If I choose a bad cabin, on an undesirable part of the ship, that’s on me.  No one to blame but myself.  But, I’ve got a pretty good feel for cabin types and where they’re located on the ship....whether they’d be to my liking.  At the end of the day, every time I book, I get the price, perks, location, type, itinerary, etc that I had a hand in from beginning to end.

 

When/if there are “snafus”, my online TA has been very good at getting everything taken care of for me, however.

I know what you mean about cabin choice. I had always liked Aft cabins, but the Voyage of the Seas aft cabin turned out to be a terrible choice.

I met a lady in the hall amidships on the port side that said she booked her cabin about one year ahead of time so she was close to the washing machines. She would certainly not appreciate being upgraded away from the washing machines. 

Cabin 7005

Ship: Journey

Date: October 2015

Choose Again: yes-Liked it better than 6088

Noise: None

Balcony Size: Table and chairs and lounge

Choose Again: Yes--My cabin of preference.

Cabin /Stateroom 6088

Ship: Quest

Date Jan 2014

Choose Again- Y

Noise- none

Balcony Size: Room for table and chairs

Choose Again- Yes

10 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

It all depends what you are looking for. We have previously spent 10 days in Cuba and couldn't wait to get back. The countryside, the paladors, the farms, the schools and retirement homes we visited all made a lasting impression. The old cars not so much since none of them are original, most powered by Toyota or Lada powerplants. 

Alas, going back is not in the cards. 

I just spent one cruise overnight and one day, so didn't get to see the country side. There certainly should be a way for the politicians to get together and put money aside and just do the right thing and let Americans visit.

4 hours ago, SRF said:

 

There are 6 sides to a die.  You give 4 things to be marked.  What about the other two sides?

 

My wife has the dice. Good question. I would think make it C and another "dot", but I don't have the dice to check. It is a fun game. Went to Google--· Each player receives three chips. Players take it in turn to roll the six-sided dice, each of which is marked with "L", "C", "R" on one side, and a single dot on the three remaining sides.

On 6/6/2019 at 11:14 AM, ECCruise said:

Here is the actual wording.  Doesn't reference the "same category" on different sailing issue. I thought the original wording was strange.  Not likely we would be able to substitute this crossing for our 26 day Cape Town to Dubai sailing. 😏

And, I've already asked.  The $500 OBC referenced is NONrefundable, which is fairly useless to us since we already have OBC.

 

Dear Travel Partner,

We're writing to inform you of some important changes to your client's itinerary 16-Night Westward Journey Voyage scheduled to depart Barcelona, Spain on Azamara Journey, November 5, 2019.

The United States government declared that effective immediately, educational and recreational (or people-to-people) travel to Cuba is no longer permitted. This new regulation prohibits travel from the U.S. to Cuba by cruise ship. As a result, this change requires us to immediately replace all Cuban ports.

We know this is disappointing, we are disappointed as well. We know how much time and effort goes into planning your cruise and we never like when circumstances impact your vacation. Regrettably, this decision is outside of our control.

This redeployment has allowed us to add some of our favorite ports of call in the region to the itinerary. Your clients will now enjoy a stop in Malaga, Spain, as well as, a call on Madeira, Portugal. Additionally, we have added an overnight in Hamilton, Bermuda. With this change we did need to remove the previously scheduled call in Key West, Florida. The details are clearly shown in the charts below.

Naturally, any shore excursions purchased for Cuba through Azamara, will be refunded or credited for new shore excursions in a new alternative port of call.

We invite your clients to select one of the compensation alternatives described below:

• Remain on the sailing, in the same category booked, and your clients will receive a $500 onboard credit per standard stateroom or a $1,000 onboard credit for suites.
• If they choose to cancel, a full refund for amounts paid will be processed to the original form of payment however, they will not receive the other incentives described above. We will reimburse with proper receipts, up to $500 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes. Protected commission only on bookings paid in full.

Please take some time to consider their options and review their personal calendar. We ask that your clients inform us of their decision no later than July 12th, 2019. All reservations that are not changed by the specified close date will be ineligible for the compensation offered.

In the meantime, should you have any questions about this voyage, please call us at your convenience.

For Individual Reservations: 1-877-222-2526; press menu option 1, then menu option 1, again

For Group Reservations: 1-800-556-8208; press menu option 1

Thank you for your understanding. We take great pride in bringing every Azamara guest unforgettable experiences both onboard our ships and within our destinations. We can assure you that your clients' Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

We look forward to welcoming your clients onboard.

 

Sincerely, Azamara

Click here to view the itinerary in your browser.

We were on the Cruise Jan 2018 to Havana and the Panama Canal. The only thing interesting for us was seeing all the 1950's cars that had to be redone because of Castro. The removal of Cuba from the cruise circuit will only hurt Cuba. There were silly rules when we went, but we enjoyed the Tropicana Cabaret Show I would prefer to go back to Malaga, Spain and ride back to Mijos rather than go to Cuba. The Cuban people were nice, but there was not much to see but old buildings and where Castro gave his speeches. Lots of History, but one can read about that. Glad I went but wouldn't go back.

On 6/13/2019 at 10:53 AM, marinaro44 said:

My issue is not with someone who "wins" by playing within the rules.  My issue is with the rules.  Winners should enjoy their prize.

How would handle an  upgrade that you did not know about and did not want but found when you checked in that you had been  upgraded to the owners cabin on the stern. I had specifically obtained the forwarded viewing cabin and wanted to stay there.

On 8/20/2018 at 10:50 AM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

It was suggested that it might be a good idea to have a ‘sticky’ thread which had tips for cruisers new to Azamara, so here goes.

 

White Night - Azamara Cruises normally include a ‘White Night’. This is an on-deck party, with a buffet served from the Patio area. Most people wear white clothing (though this is not required).

 

Speciality Restaurants- good idea to make your bookings as soon as you board. There is sometimes a bookings table in the terminal building and always one inside the entrance to Windows buffet.

 

Dining Packages - the speciality restaurants are $30pp, but you can buy dining packages at a ‘bargain’ price - for example 3 meals for $70pp.

 

Cocktails - the list of included cocktails is only intended as an example of the available cocktails, you can ask for any cocktail to be made with the included spirits.

 

Breakfast drinks - you can ask for a Bloody Mary and/or a Mimosa (Buck’s Fizz) for breakfast and you can have a smoothie made to your own tastes. If you like ginger ask for an ‘Energiser’ at breakfast - it’s a small smoothie which has ginger in it and is (unsurprisingly) very energising!

 

Stateroom fridge - the sodas in the fridge are included, the alcoholic drinks are not. You can ask your stateroom attendant to get you the sodas you like to keep in your fridge.

 

Bringing alcohol on board - you can bring alcohol on board to drink in your stateroom. If you want to drink it in a public room there is a $10 corkage charge.

 

Please add your own tips, so we can get a really good information thread for all those going on their first Azamara cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Great Job you are doing here. I hope you get some perks. I remember the first time I had that Owners suite on Journey and I ordered a cocktail to be brought to the cabin. Drinks that are complimentary are not complimentary if delivered to the cabin.

On a cruise in Mexico I found some Sangrita  (not Sangria-Spanish wine) which is a chaser for a shot of tequila. They were serving shots of Tequila ashore for about one dollar, but I had purchased the bottle of Sangrita, so when I got back to the ship I ordered a shot of Tequila to be delivered. I was charged full price for the Tequila which was about $7. I used 1/2 of the shot and saved the second 1/2 which my thrifty wife threw away since she thought it was just dirty water. So I passed up a shot of tequila ashore for $1 and paid $7 for one in my cabin to chase with the recently purchased Sangrita. I could have swapped out the scotch in the cabin for tequila, but didn't think about it until after.

Here is a short story on the Panama Canal- Cuba trip-- As I have had the Owners suite before I booked a forward viewing cabin for this trip, but when I went to check in they informed me that I had been bumped up to the owners suite, which I did not want and was never asked about being upgraded. I started complaining and asking for a higher up to correct this unauthorized action. My wife told me to be quiet and accept the upgrade. What we men do for our wives is sometime heroic. I shut up. It is nice to be in a forward viewing cabin eating breakfast as you sail into a port. 

We sail this Sunday on NCL Bliss to Alaska and have a forward viewing cabin. I'll let  you know how the NCL Bliss is. This will be our first experience with NCL and cruise # 52 I think.

Try another cruise line. Azamara has some wonderful Greek Isle cruise that usually start or end at Piraeus. Out of Athens you should have a minimum of two or preferable 3 days so one day you could go and visit the ancient city of Corinth and see the Corinth Canal unless of course  you have sailed through it. You should be aware that sometimes a captain will alter the ships schedule after you have paid and boarded and sailed. We skipped a Greek port once because of an influx of refugees on our scheduled visiting date. On a cruise you have to be prepared for undesirable occurrences. Hopefully you never have an accident or get sick on a cruise, but these are personal things that you should have insurance to protect your monetary investment. 

18 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

I get tired of the "don't book this cruise line because I had a bad experience" posts.  maybe I'm lucky or just easy going but I haven't had a bad cruise with any cruise line.  I keep feeling that I'm in line for one of these "bad cruises" but I doubt it. 

 

I went on my last cruise with someone who I thought was just like the typical negative poster.  Seems there wasn't anything up to her standards and she complained about everything it seemed, mostly it was the dining rooms though.  It was her first ever cruise but all she talks about was how she had a great time despite all the complaining she did.

 

I mean I have some inconvenient experiences but nothing I would go and warn someone to never cruise over.  Last cruise I tried to go to the noodle bar and they told me I needed a reservation for that night even when I tried to make a reservation and the system said I didn't need one.  Then I made a reservation for a few nights later which they lost or forgot about but sat the family anyway.  Last night of the cruise I came down with a cold so I stayed in the room.  I ordered room service which never came.  my wife just grabbed me some food from the buffet.  No big deal to me.  The negatives don't outweigh the positives and I look forward to my next cruise.

I would cruise with you anytime. Funny Story: My wife had a cousin that had a cruise on her bucket list. She was in a wheelchair and on oxygen all the time. We sailed out of Galveston and her husband had permission to bring on about 12 bottles of Oxygen to carry on the chair. She used an oxygen generator in the cabin. I wasn't sure how we would get her motorized chair off the ship so I had told the husband to bring a mechanical w.c. In Grand Caymon I went down to see how the tender would work and the tender had a two story and she was able to roll the wheelchair on the tender. 

When we checked in in Galveston the cousin's husband (good ole country boy) had a 2-inch pocket knife on him as all country boys would have. Security took it away from him, but even helped him bring the 12 "bombs" aboard. Oxygen bottles can be rigged. Rules are Rules and just because we had prior authorization for the oxygen bottles didn't mean we had authorization for the pocket knife. They couldn't afford the Imogen portable oxygen generators.

On 6/13/2019 at 4:50 AM, Charlesw1968 said:

I spent an extreme amount of money to give my family the vacation of a lifetime. We had the Owner's Suite on the Joy in May   I saved for over a year and a half to get this cruise and was completely disappointed.  NCL could care less about my horrible experience.  Everything from horrible food to overcrowded and even the a/c which has to be constantly turned back own ( because it automatically shuts its self off after being on for an hour).  All I can say is stay away from this cruise line.  I have had much better experiences on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.    Cruise at your own risk.  You have been warned

I have been on 51 cruises and don't think I have ever been robbed, except when a $20,000 Rolex was stolen while on a private tour in BA Argentina. Celebrity had nothing to do with that.  I forgot the watch was a piece of jewelry. Had used it as a watch for 20 years.

I am not sure what an extreme amount of money is. I once took 5 of my 7 children with there spouses on a cruise for a week and including  air fare I think I spent $45,000 for a week. It was the cruise of a life time. I think D.Trump would not call that an extreme amount of money. 

I have jumped ship once, hit another ship on another cruise, been bumped up a class that I did no want and was going to make a scene since the bump up was done without my permission and I wanted the forward viewing cabin, not the stern which I had already had. My wife told me to shut up and quick making a scene. Listen to the wife or no one will be happy.

I have helped a personal friend of JW Marriott when he broke his arm on a cruise in 1975. Have eaten at the captain's table many times and remember wonderful experiences. 

I am so sorry that the OP feels he was robbed. I  hate to hear of people not having a good time on a cruise since I always seem to have. We only jumped Ship because my wife and a friend wanted to in Vera Cruse Mexico. Ship was an old converted steamer and the cruise was for the crippled children hospital benefit. 

On 6/13/2019 at 4:50 AM, Charlesw1968 said:

I spent an extreme amount of money to give my family the vacation of a lifetime. We had the Owner's Suite on the Joy in May   I saved for over a year and a half to get this cruise and was completely disappointed.  NCL could care less about my horrible experience.  Everything from horrible food to overcrowded and even the a/c which has to be constantly turned back own ( because it automatically shuts its self off after being on for an hour).  All I can say is stay away from this cruise line.  I have had much better experiences on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.    Cruise at your own risk.  You have been warned

I say you should rent the Penthouse on the Millennium

6 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

 

Without knowing the context, I suspect it is Left-Center-Right.  This is a dice game I've heard of being played at a meet and greet, arranged by roll call members.  Each person usually starts with $3 and depending on what is rolled you do something with the money.  Eventually one person wins the entire pot (which is sometimes given as a donation, like on Carnival to St. Jude).

 

Yes, that is  it. Everyone starts with 3 chips or $3 Dollars. One rolls three die. They then follow the dice instructions. If there is a "L" they pass one chip to the person on the left. If there is a "C" they  put one chip (Dollar) in the center.  If the die is marked with an "R", they pass one chip to the person on the right.When it is  your turn to roll you roll only the number of dice that you have chips for. If you have only one chip, yoe roll only one dice. and follow the instruction. You may be out of chips, but a person on your right may roll a "L" and pass  you a chip so next time your turn comes around, you can roll one die if you have one chip. If you have accumulate more than 3 chips, you only roll three die. If you are out of chips, you don't roll, but the person on  your tight might roll an "L" and pass  you a chip so next time it comes around you can roll one die.

If   you have only 2 die,  you roll only two die.

The die are marked with an "L", a "C" an "R" and a dot. If you  have three die and roll and get all three Dots you don't put any chips and just pass the dice. If you roll three die and get three "L"'s you past three chips to your left and so forth.

The "C" center pot builds up and the one that still has chips at the end and everyone else is out winds the pot in the center.

Kind of fun and only one winner.

I think I have it correct.

I don't always sail with NCL so I use my personal TA no matter what. Trying to get through to the right person to solve whatever person is a chore, so I let the TA do all the work. She just has done such a great job over the past 20 years, that I hope she continues to thrive. 

I suggest one keep trying until they find a good all around cruise travel agent and stick to that one.

Score them by how soon they fix any problems. How easy to reach and get back to you. Efficiency. Be sure she gets as good a deal as any other you can find by yourself. The TA can usually tell you why your new found deal may not be as good as it seems.

On 4/3/2019 at 10:43 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

9706 has a limited forward-facing view from the bedroom window. The bow of the ship blocks most of the forward view....(similar to 9706 on Escape)

 

 

Thanks for the info. I suspected it would be limited. If I get a peep-hole it will be welcomed/

22. BARBECUE ON MULTANOVISKY IN ANTARCTICA 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpPioIDKDpE

23. ANTARCTIC EXPEDITON 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IKEZEnvcs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IKEZEnvcs&index=23&t=180s&list=PL7BD0156994A61402

2009  ANTARCTICA

ANTARCTICA EXPEDITION I had wanted to go to Antarctica before and almost got it scheduled when one of the ships sank when it hit an iceberg and my wife talked me out of it. A few years went by and time helps cure things and she said I could go so I got it scheduled.

This was a wonderful experience. I left Monroe, La on Nov. 22, 2009 and arrived in Punta Arenas on Nov. 23 some 29 hours later. I returned from PUNTA ARENAS on Dec. 3 arriving in Monroe on Dec 4 some 30 hours later. I list it as an Expedition rather than a cruise since it was hard and I could not make it all the way to the top of some of the climbs to penguin rookeries because I just gave out. There were plenty of penguins all around that I did not have to go to the top.

The ship was the PROFESSOR MULTANOVSKIY built in 1982 for Russian oceanographic and polar studies. It was converted to a tourism ship and it is not a luxury cruiser but is comfortable. It is 249 ft long, 42 ft wide and draft of 15ft. It has two side by side engines with over 3076 total hp and a single screw, a bow thruster and can run on one or two engines. Its cruising speed is 10 knots. It has passive stabilizers only. It is not classified as an Ice Breaker, but has an Ice re-enforced hull.

The night before departure in Punta Arenas we were fitted for boots and given instructions on how to get in and out of the Zodiacs. We were suppose to have breakfast at 8 AM, but got a wake up call at 6:30 AM and told to hustle since we had a weather window to take off from Punta Arenas to land at KING GEORGE ISLAND before weather moved in.

The ships passenger capacity was 49 and had 32 crew, but we only had 25 passengers on this trip so the BAE 146 plane from Punta Arenas to King George Island had plenty of room and the ship was not crowded. We used only one of the two dining rooms for meals.

Of the 25 passengers there were only three of us from the US and we wished each other Happy Thanksgiving. Other countries represented were Holland, England, Australia, Israel, Spain, Russia, Germany, Italy, Chile and Argentina.

We did two landings daily, weather permitting and we had beautiful weather except for the gale across the Bransfield Strait and fog at Deception Island which would have been beautiful if the weather would have been nice. We had one day when at Neko Island the chop was too bad to launch Zodiacs so we just moved to another bay.

Saw thousands of penguins, skuas, giant petrols, many minke whales and orca whales. One orca got just under the bow and I have a picture of it under the water swimming. Saw several Weddell seals and a Leopard Seal. The little Snow Petrols were very curious and would actually come up and bite on your gloves. Penguins kept their distance and we kept distance. If we saw any seals on land with us we definitely kept our distance, since seals can be aggressive.

We visited KING GEORGE ISLAND, ARDLEY ISLAND, MIKKELSON HARBOUR, HERRERA CHANNEL TO PORT LOCKROY, LEMAIRE CHANNEL TO PETERMAN ISLAND (THE SOUTHERN MOST EXTENSION OF OUR TRIP), PARADISE BAY, DANKO ISLAND, BROWN LANDING (Antarctica Peninsula proper), DECEPTION BAY back to King George Island. 
On the way back we got into a full gale across the Bransfield Strait that gave a rough ride. The crew used the term “the ship will move tonight”. The roll threw one man out of a chair when the ship rolled to 30 deg crossing the Bransfield Strait. My bunk was cross ways or I would have probably been thrown out. I just slid from head to foot as she rolled. Scopace tablets worked to prevent seasickness.

We got back to Maxwell Bay at the Fildes Peninsula of King George Island on time (Dec. 1, 2009) but we could not get out because the runway was covered with 15cm of ice. We spent an extra night on the ship and got out the next day. Antarctica XXI was superb in changing all flight connections. BTW the satellite phone worked very well from the ship, but cost was about $5/min.

To fill the morning while we waited on the plane the Antarctica XXI people arranged a visit to the KING SEJONG KOREAN scientific station and they seemed very happy to have us visit. I have video from the ship of their snow plow cleaning a place for us to walk from the dock to a building.

On two occasions we did a Zodiac cruise only where the three Zodiacs went out and by radio communication one would report wild life sightings and we would creep up on them. The scenery was magnificent. I have never seen so many beautiful icebergs. One day at breakfast while we were anchored we heard and felt a thump. Either we had drifted into an iceberg while at anchor or the iceberg drifted into us. No big deal, we just use the single screw and bow thruster to work away from it.

As I said it was a hard trip taking 29 hours to get to Punta Arenas, Chile the departure point and 30 hours to get back from Punta Arenas. The flight across the Drake Passage of 600 miles was better than crossing it by ship in a Drake Rake.

I found that having automatic dimming prescription glasses was not an asset. They got so dark I couldn’t see where I was going and I would suggest one use regular prescription glasses with snow goggles over them for light protection. The brighter and colder it got, the darker my glasses got until I was almost blind. I didn't realize that cold also dimmed the glasses.

I was never really cold because I followed directions and dressed properly. I had a waterproof bag for my cameras and it saved me once when we hit a wave in the Zodiac and everyone got sprayed, but it happened only once. I could have just put the camera under my down jacket to protect it.

Skin protection for the face is a must because it can take only a few hours and your face is burned.

I found my best dress was two pairs of socks, silk longs, blue jeans and rain suit pants which gave excellent wind protection and maintained dryness on the wet pontoons that we sat on in the Zodiacs. The last layer of waterproof goes outside the boots. Insulated hunting type pants (waterproof) also worked well over the silks or thermals. A down jacket with hood and baseball cap took care of the top with under garments and warm shirt. The baseball cap kept the hood from falling over my eyes and helped keep sprinkles off of the glasses. Glove liners were best and I used outside gloves attached to the coat with the little clippie things. One had to take off the outer gloves to manipulate the cameras with the glove liners and the clip things kept you from loosing the outer glove. On a recommendation from another article I used inserts in the boots and I think it helped a great deal. The baseball cap should have a safety tie to catch it if the wind blows it off. There is a lot of wind in Antarctica.

The ship was maintained at 70 deg F and we could open the porthole if we got too hot. The temperature was only about 0 C but when the wind blew it would drop to chill factor of -15C. Water temperature was around 0.5 Deg. C. so we tried very hard not to fall in and no one did. I was the oldest passenger on this trip and probably the slowest when we went ashore, but was just too happy to let the youngsters pass me up. I had a wonderful time.

==================================================================================

Sorry if this took up too much space, but out of the 52 cruises I have taken this was the most memorable. I'm 81 now and in too poor health to do it again, but I would others the chance to experience this trip. My wife was not interested in going.

NG Endurance--"Wow" what a way to go to Antarctica. I bet they have a pretty cool loading platform for getting into Zodiacs.

On ‎4‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 12:16 PM, graphicguy said:

 

Big. Box refers to large discount stores that sell large quantities of toilet paper, as an example.

 

We aren’t allowed to mention travel agent sites or names here at CC.

Thanks for that clarification. MY TA has been able to upgrade my cabin for me when I wanted forward viewing cabins. I would not have the time or knowhow to find these cabins if they came available. She just found me one on NCL. When I say upgrade, I am talking about her finding me a cabin that I didn't know was available. I just pay the extra cost and extra insurance. I am not referring to free upgrades.

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 12:28 AM, bonvoyagie said:

I started with NCL back before they started doing their own booking - either online or via PCCs. You had to use the brick and mortar TAs. I had a friend who was a TA and we started with him. He also loved to cruise and gave us great tips on what to expect on our first cruise. He is now approaching retirement but still has a small agency. While he does no better on price than online - he has arranged flights, hotels, transfers etc. and has taken the headache out of several of our cruises. With him, if I have an issue I do not have to spend hours on the phone with the call center at NCL - he has a more direct line and gets correct answers.

 

I don't care for the PCCs they seem to come and go and from what I have heard on CC - hit or miss as to how well they are working for you ( and not them).

 

Large TAs can and do book large blocks of rooms on which they get a discount - some of them pass the savings on to you, Others just pocket the difference.

 

Now that I have a few cruises under my belt - I do the research and let my TA make the booking. I usually arrange my own air, hotels, etc. If he decides to gift me OBC it is because of business I have referred to him.

 

I have not tried any of the big box TAs and probably never will.

What is a "big box" TA?

On ‎7‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 11:04 AM, S.S.Oceanlover said:

 

Were the TA's charging you a booking fee or something?

 

In 27 years of cruising I've never seen a TA that was more money.:confused:

 

Bill

Bill,

I have been cruising since 1975 but only 51 cruises. I always use my TA. If I see an advertisement that seems to be cheaper than what she is offering me I communicate with her. Usually she can explain it to my satisfaction. When you have been satisfied for this many years, I just continue and hope she stays in good health.

On ‎3‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 9:59 AM, scapel said:

I have had forward viewing cabins on other ships. I would book a Forward viewing Haven cabin. Probably need to book early to get one.

My TA found 9706 which may have a limited forward view.

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 1:53 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

The concierge has the ability to "oversell" a sold out restaurant (like overselling an airplane). However, once the restaurant is full (totally oversold), even the concierge can not get you a table. Just because you are in the Haven, don't think that you will always get a reservations any time you want, especially "the afternoon just before dinner time",,, especially if it is popular like Cagney's and Teppanyaki. 

 

If you are in the Haven, always use the concierge to book your reservations. Do not "do it yourself" with a TV,  interactive screens around the ship, atrium, or calling restaurant reservations.  

I have had forward viewing cabins on other ships. I would book a Forward viewing Haven cabin. Probably need to book early to get one.

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2014 at 8:32 PM, jordans mom said:

Special thanks to Mysticks1 on the Celebrity Cruises forum for this idea. I would like to begin to assemble one for NCL

 

To the moderators, I would appreciate if we could make this a "sticky" at the top of the page for all to see.

 

Twice a month - I will try to post a PDF for all the ships and cabin information compiled here.

 

Please, refrain from posting cabin questions here so this can purely be an informative thread, especially for those that are first time cruisers or seasoned cruisers looking for a great cabin.

 

The template is as follows:

 

Ship -

Deck -

Stateroom # -

Stateroom Category –

Starboard or Port Side -

 

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) –

 

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? -

 

 

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. –

 

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? -

 

Was wind a problem? -

 

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? -

 

Any specific problems with this cabin? -

 

Any other comments? -

Hello Jordons mom,

I will be on my first NCL cruise in June2019. In 1997 the only cabin left on the ship to the Fjords of Norway was a stern cabin and we were pleasantly surprised. Since then we have always tried for a stern cabin. We will have one on the Bliss and I will try to remember to report on it. Soot has never been a problem on any stern cabin we have had except maybe in 1975 on an old ship. I don't think any NCL ship should have any soot problem.

After 51 cruises we have learned to always bring wax ear plugs because unavoidable noise can sometimes be a problem. The only drawback to the stern cabins are how far they are to walk to.

For Alaskan cruises  bring clothes pins if you have a veranda to pin the drapes together since it is daylight into the night. If you like a dark room sometimes the drapes don't seal out the light well. I would expect NCL Bliss to have a way to prevent this without us using our clothes pins.  This will be our 6th Alaskan trip.

I think this is a great thread and I hope I can contribute after our next cruise. Yes, we will have a stern cabin. On all the other stern cabins we have had, mostly on Celebrity Ships, the verandas are larger than the port and starboard ones. I  will measure it.

If you think this post is not on topic, you can delete it or ask me to delete it. I just was trying to contribute something. Oh, I forgot one can't delete their own post anymore on Cruise Critic.

23. ANTARCTIC EXPEDITON 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IKEZEnvcs

A great trip that avoided Drake by flying to King George Island.

2009-ANTARCTICA 38.doc