JustAllie

My friends and I sailed from Baltimore to Bermuda on the Norwegian Sun this past Thanksgiving. I never thought it would be my last opportunity to sail under the Francis Scott Key Bridge. My heart goes out to the people who died or were injured, and to their families and friends. I think the impact on commercial shipping will be much greater than to cruising. It wasn't a big cruise port, so hopefully the ships that were sailing to/from Baltimore can dock somewhere else for a while as the cruise lines relocate those ships for future sailings.

Yeah, that sounds like it was a real issue! On my last cruise my friend got a letter in her cabin about not storing scooters in the hallway and how to call for assistance in storing them elsewhere. I'm sure that both the number of people with scooters and the enforcement of any restrictions on where they can be stored varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing. I've seen scooters that fold up in a way that would allow them to fit inside even a smaller cabin. But those are pretty rare! And I'm sure many people figure out a way to store them in regular non-accessible cabins, depending on the layout.

My disabled friend has used a scooter on many cruises, and she has always gotten an accessible cabin in order to ensure there is room to bring the scooter into the cabin. We have looked at other cabins (e.g. Haven upgrades), and it's often hard to imagine how the scooter could get through the door and into the cabin without blocking the way for anyone else to come in. Storing the scooter in the hallway is not allowed because it blocks access for other people (including disabled people and stewards with laundry carts). You can call the front desk and have someone come up and take your scooter somewhere for storage -- but then you have to call them to bring it back when you need it again. The best thing to do is to book an accessible cabin. Yes, this limits the cruises you can go on because you need to find one with an accessible cabin that's still available. 😞

Now that I think about it, we had 4 adult friends in a mini-suite (now "club balcony") on the NCL Star for my very first cruise back in 2005. We were all in our 30s and willing to work things out, and the mini-suites on the Star are roomier than on some of the newer ships. But it is doable depending on the flexibility of the travelers!

Plus, does anyone snore or is anyone a light sleeper?

If you go to the NCL website, click into your account, and look at the Latitudes Rewards section, under Tier Benefits it says about the Platinum dining benefit that the dinner for two and the dinner for two with a bottle of wine are each per stateroom and not per Platinum member. Dinner for Two with a Bottle of Wine6 (per stateroom) Dinner for Two6 (per stateroom) For both it says in the footnotes: 6 Benefit is available on sailings 5 days or longer, and entitles each guest to one appetizer, one entrée and one dessert of choice. Entrée items up to $35 are covered. For items over this amount, an upcharge will be added to your onboard account. No restaurant substitutions. Names vary by ship. Restaurants not available on all ships. On Norwegian Bliss, Moderno is replaced by Los Lobos or Q. On Norwegian Joy, Moderno is replaced by Food Republic or Q. In Food Republic, the benefit entitles each guest to a total food value of $35 per guest. On Norwegian Encore, Moderno or La Cucina is replaced by Los Lobos or Q.

Again, it varies from ship to ship and maybe from restaurant to restaurant how they actually implement what they perceive the rules to be.

My friends and I have found that the rules about where and how you can use your Platinum dining vouchers differs a bit from ship to ship. On our recent cruise on the NCL Sun, we found out after we had made our reservations that one of the coupons could be used at Cagney's or Le Bistro only, and the other one could NOT be used at either Cagney's or Le Bistro. Our backup choice (Teppanyaki) was fully booked by the time we figured that out. After some inquiries we found out the second coupon could be used at the sushi restaurant (which was not listed on the coupon), so we used our 2nd coupon there. There was certainly plenty of food with 4 people each able to order up to 4 items!! Anyway I do suggest asking at the dining reservations desk to make sure you understand where you can use the coupons on the specific ship your are sailing.

I just talked to my PCC yesterday, and he said that if we booked a future cruise onboard, he would in fact get credit for it. He was actually encouraging us to book onboard our next cruise (which is in a few weeks). Yes, he did also mention the within-category upgrade we'd get onboard as well.

But it's really only 3 days (Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday), because they leave so early on Friday. That's still a long time in one port! I'd jump at that.

I don't know how NCL handles things now, but a couple of times in the past, I got a lot of perks for being the person who put in all the effort to arrange the Meet & Mingle and organize most of the Roll Call activities. Priority boarding, concierge services, breakfast with the suite guests even though I only had a balcony cabin, etc. I certainly didn't expect or ask for any of those benefits, but they were offered to me and my cabin-mate and I did enjoy them. I suspect a lot of those perks are going away, and I certainly wouldn't put in all the effort just to get those perks. When I've done the organizing, it's because I wanted to get to know other cruisers. I enjoy organizing things and helping people.

My friends who tried to work remotely during our cruise to the UK & Norway earlier this year struggled with the internet connection. Part of the issue may have been the steep Norwegian fjords blocking the satellite signal, or part of it may have been the slow satellite internet in general. We had pretty good luck with the local cellular signal when we were in port, but obviously that's not available once you sail away from port. I would not rely on being able to use video or streaming of any kind even if you upgrade to the highest premium package with streaming. Have a backup plan for dialing in via voice only or just working offline and not trying to attend meetings. I was lucky in that my employer does not allow me to work outside of the U.S. due to security issues with VPN etc. That gave me an out and allowed me to enjoy my vacation! 🙂

The service charges are per person, so it won't change them regardless of whether you share a cabin or split up. Happy cruising, whatever you decide!

The one time we got an upgrade to a cabin with a butler, I remember requesting M&Ms, gummy bears, and potato chips. That worked pretty well, but we still got canapés and sandwiches which we didn't really need. Not to say we didn't eat them anyway, but.... 😉 Potato chips are surprisingly difficult to find on NCL cruise ships, so if you can get them it's a real bonus. But see if can convince the butler not to leave them next to a moist sandwich for hours -- which will make them soggy.

I went to Norway a few years ago and our ship used the "SeaWalk" floating dock in Geiranger. It was very cool to watch it connect to the ship. I'd recommend taking some time in the morning to not just watch the scenery while entering the fjord, but also watch the docking process with the floating pier. Once it's fully connected, the disembarkation process is pretty smooth.

I thought sail away rates did not include Free at Sea offers?

Among the recurrent issues with guarantee cabins and upgrade bids are (1) the desire of people traveling together to remain near their friends & family and (2) the importance of an accessible cabin to people with disabilities. There is no way to nudge and certainly not ensure that the cabins you book under guarantee or upgrade programs will be anywhere near your traveling companions. And for those who are disabled, there's no way to ask for an upgrade if and only if an accessible cabin is available in that category. They really need a more sophisticated booking system to allow nuances like this. It's not easy, I'm sure, but it's not rocket science.

FYI according to NCL, the service charges are already included with the specialty dining vouchers provided to guests with Latitudes tiers of Platinum and above. We have always had exceptional service at the specialty restaurants and tipped some on top of that. But the service charge is included in the vouchers. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-do-specialty-dinner-benefits-cover Emphasis added below. This benefit offers two dinners for two at a specialty restaurant for Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond, and Ambassador guests. Each stateroom will receive a voucher in their Welcome Back card on embarkation day for: • Dinner for Two with a Bottle of Wine • Dinner for Two Service charges are included in this benefit. Guest to present voucher to their server before ordering. Benefit entitles each guest to an appetizer, one entrée, and a dessert of your choice. Upcharges apply on certain premium menu items. Bottle of Wine offered in all venues offering Complimentary Wine list, Palomar not included. In à la carte restaurants, coupon can be redeemed for 4 menu items per person (Sushi, Wasabi, Nama, Teppanyaki, Hasuki, Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar or Raw Bar). Dinner coupons are non-transferable. Solo guests cannot claim two dinners. Coupons cannot be used for the same venue twice. 2 guests maximum. Dining options vary by ship. BTW I agree that the language about solo guests is confusing. Everything I've heard indicates that they can bring a 2nd person and use their voucher for 2 in that way, but they can't dine alone on two times on a single coupon.

A good set of layers worked well for me on my Alaska cruise last year, including the coldest day. Thin long-sleeved base layer Zippered warm fleece jacket Down vest Raincoat Plus: gloves, scarf, wool hat, and brimmed hat in case of sun or rain. I made do without rain pants or completely waterproof shoes, but some excursions might benefit from those items. Definitely expect rain on almost any day, and expect to be cold when you are near glaciers or on a small boat.

The best lobster I had on an NCL cruise was at a café in port when we stopped in Bar Harbor, Maine. I ordered a Lobster Cobb Salad. 😋 It wasn't free or even cheap, but it was amazing.

I remember that O'Sheehan's often had BBQ ribs one night on each cruise. I'm sad that it's so rare to see those offers lately, but I guess it varies ship to ship and possibly cruise to cruise, depending on expected demand, staff availability, etc.

Huh, that's interesting. The only notices I saw about daily specials mentioned them being in the Garden Café. So I thought maybe I was missing the signs for the specials in O'Sheehan's.

You can see info about each of the dining venues, including which ones are specialty and which are complimentary, here: https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/star/whats-on-board/dining Ginza is the only complimentary venue that has a sample menu posted on that site. The menus at most places rotate every day, with the exception of O'Sheehans, where the only thing that seems to change is the soup of the day. Topsiders has good burgers, sausages, and other grilled food. And they also have a great ice cream bar, so check it out! The Topsiders ice cream bar is dipped (hard) ice cream in a variety of flavors and toppings, while the ice cream in the buffet is soft-serve.

I've definitely seen some people at wine tastings pour out the tasting of a wine they really didn't like. I've also seen the person presenting the wines carefully swirl, sniff, and taste the wine and then pour it out. That person is there to host and present the wines, not to get tipsy. I rarely find a wine so unpalatable that I will pour it out, but it has probably happened a couple of times over the years. Usually it's the really sweet wines that I reject.

I forgot to mention that on my most recent cruise, from Southampton to Tromsø on the Star, there was quite a large group at the Meet & Greet. People mostly seemed interested in organizing private excursions, which was not something I had seen at M&G events before. But this cruise had a lot of experienced cruisers and I'm sure that played a role.