disneylover89

Following along, have a wonderful cruise, you deserve it!

21 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

We do not take any of the NCL transfers from/to airport anywhere. 
 

In Miami the taxis have fixed fare to airport from port so it makes more sense to use cabs if there are 2 or more people in the party. 

We do not do NCL air anywhere either as we prefer to fly into port city 2 or 3 days prior to cruise and book hotel somewhere and then take taxi from hotel to ship on cruise day. At our own (and quicker) pace!

 

I’ve usually found good air deals which didn’t even bust our budgets. 
 

 

There is no longer a fixed fare from Port to Airport, I read they stopped this late last year

Thank you for the heads up.  We usually take the cruise transfers from port to airport and will now make alternate plans, I have read about this problem more than once. 

When we cruised last year on the Encore there was no mention of activity cards, nor did I see anyone with one.  I can't recall if anyone got a prize at the trivia events, but I did get a t-shirt when I participated in the Male vs Female competition. 

22 hours ago, gracebest said:

When are you going?  We also have a NCL excursion early June.  

We are late June, please report back how you liked the excursion.

I do not think that NCL will ever go back to 2 times a day service and personally I do not need it BUT I do hope they give their stewards less cabins to clean so rooms are done earlier than the 4pm-6pm time I have been reading about.  We always go back to our room about 3pm and relax and I would like to have my room taken care of by then so I am not woken up and/or disturbed and need to leave my room so it can be serviced.  They should at the very least give the option of morning or afternoon service like Carnival does instead of going in order down the hall way and the end of the hall always has late service and the beginning has early service.  I have 2 cabins and 1 cabin needs to have the beds separated into 2 bed and I dread having to try to deal with having the beds separated on day one when no one will be servicing our cabin at night.

13 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

Not correct ....

 

Jan 2023: 4 out of 6 (NCL: 3 out of 5)

Feb 2023: 1 out of 4 (NCL: 0 out of 3)

so far March 2023: 1 out of 6 (NCL: 0 out of 3)

 

The GEM is coming in tomorrow! Definitely!

 

 

It should have read NCL has not docked in Bermuda for 2 months. The last time NCL docked in Bermuda was January 18th. IF it docks tomorrow, it will have been a full 2 months and 7 straight cruises that NCL has not docked in Bermuda. 

3 hours ago, johnrich said:

MCT stands for Manhattan Cruise Terminal. 

Thank you! Google did not help me on this one. 

On 3/19/2023 at 5:53 PM, bluesea777 said:

Weather related, that’s all. Rough seas surrounding Bermuda that is surrounded with reefs, and high winds that make entry and docking difficult. 
 

‘WC ’ means Weather cancelled. 
 

 

3 months and every single cruise has not been able to dock there because of weather?! I find that a little unrealistic. 

3 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

That’s what I thought, but it clearly states on the web site that it’s a perk.

It reads continental breakfast menu but the word "complimentary" is not there

11 hours ago, johnrich said:

We used NCL air promo and although the inbound flight would be great if we departed at a normal time (4 or 5 PM), our cruise doesn’t leave from NYC (MCT) until 11 PM. We currently have the NCL transfers. If our flight arrives at 8:30 AM will they even have the buses there that early? Customer service is telling people that boarding will begin at noon, however I know several months ago the Bliss had an 11 PM departure from NYC and several days before sailing everyone received emails saying checkin wouldn’t begin until 4:00 PM.  Another factor is that the Prima is also departing from NYC (MCT) but at 4:00 so I think it will be a mad house if they allow us to check-in anytime before around 2:00. 
We also need to find something to do for the day as well as a place to store our luggage. We plan to do a tour of NYC (specifically Ground Zero and Time Square) on disembarkation day since we have an evening flight but not sure about our arrival day. Any advice or tips would be appreciated. TIA. 

What do you mean by MCT? If you mean time zone (which would be MST) NYC is on ET

8 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

On my first cruise I never actually spotted where the life jacket was stored in my cabin until I was packing which would have been far more useful info than anything in the Munster drill.  Turned out it was under the bed in the storage basket the steward used for the throw pillows. 

Wow! 

I love not having the in-person muster drill but I do check to make sure there are 2 adult life jackets in both our cabins and I make my family go to the location of their life boats so we know where to actually go in an emergency. I can be a bit of a nervous nelly when it comes to my family's safety, they make fun of me but I don't care, lol. 

Why were you asked for your vaccination card?  As of November 22, vaccine requirements and covid testing were dropped. 

23 hours ago, Ms411 said:

 

Unfortunately, most recent review of Honeymoon Beach is not good, because management is trying to limit where guests who are not spending on amenities can sit and enjoy their personal refreshments.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147413-d184538-r881544416-Honeymoon_Beach-Caneel_Bay_St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

 

Most of the visitors who hike in with their own chairs and refreshments are land visitors, so if the review is accurate, management's actions may not effect day visitors.

 

As far as "the law" goes, it is my understanding that it only requires that there be access and that public property stops at high water mark. The beach above the high water mark and concessions are probably on "private" property which currently is not part of NPS. 

 

It has been a very complicated situation for over a year, sigh.

Wow! I will have to follow this closely, we have a NCL excursion booked here

I am along for the ride and looking forward to another of your great reviews!  I will miss your dad though, he always cracks me up. 

55 minutes ago, jargey3000 said:

me, again..

Spending 2 nights at Hampton Inn Brickell, pre-cruise.

Just looking for any recs for moderately-priced restaurants (for dinner) close by (wife is partial to fish...sea bass, maybe)

and any guide to shopping mall, or dept. stores nearby..

OH...and of course...where to pick up some "vino" nearby 😉 Thanks.

There is a Publix a few blocks away that sells wine. Concierge can give you directions.  We always ate at Perricone's but they moved a few blocks further than they were and have not read any reviews here yet if they are still good, but they had great Italian food. 

1 hour ago, jargey3000 said:

Is it "chaotic"- to get a taxi???

From what I remember, there is a taxi stand of taxi's lined up and a person assigning taxis based on number of people and luggage. 

Thank you for the replies! 

I am not a fan of metered taxi's. Our first cruise out of Miami we took a taxi from the hotel to the port and the driver took the extra-long way and the fare came out to 3 times the amount it should have been.  Is it easy to get an Uber/Lyft from the port?

Is there a fixed rate for taxis that go from the Miami Port to MIA? If so, how much?  Do you recommend taking a taxi or using Uber/Lyft to get to the airport from the port?  

Thank you for this thread!!  We always stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites and have dinner at Perricone's, now that Perricone's has moved to its new location, is the food still as good as it was before?

I would call to purchase the dining package for her, you will have to pay right away vs at final payment.

Did NCL book the Miami Airport Hotel for you?  I do not recommend that hotel at all.

On 3/3/2023 at 8:10 AM, Ms411 said:

Recent reviews (2023) of Honeymoon Beach (Caneel) on St John.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147413-d184538-r877106441-Honeymoon_Beach-Caneel_Bay_St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

Thank you!!!

19 hours ago, dcipjr said:

 

Well, not really, right? 

 

People expect their cabins to be serviced sometime between 8 and noon, right? Previously they had 8 to service within 4 hours, then those same 8 to service during a 4 hour span at night.

 

Now they have 8 hours to do 16 cabins—but passengers will surely complain if it's 4 PM and their cabins haven't been serviced yet. So the pressure is there, even if the workload is the same.

 

Which it's probably not, right? Since you'd have to make every bed in the morning shift and not necessarily every evening shift, since not everyone naps, the morning service would have been more work.

 

I get where the stewards are coming from. If this change actually gave them a break, I'd like it. Since they were already busy, and now it's worse, I don't like it.

But before they got gratuities for 8 cabins and now, they get gratuities for 16 cabins.  Yes, it is a little hairier for them to get the work done and they work a few more hours but they should be getting double the gratuities now to make up for it. Many of us work 8-10 hour days with only a 1/2 hour-1 hour lunch break. 

On 3/1/2023 at 4:26 PM, jimsig said:

IIRC I believe there is an option when you do the online check in as to how you want your bed.  

I know Carnival asks when you do online check in but unless something has changed since July, NCL does not ask.  Hopefully it gets added on to their check in since we probably will not see the steward the first day.