mpk

23 hours ago, njkate said:

Redeployments? Dry dock? I doubt all of those sailings are charters

hmmm   happened to me once with Epic last year 8 months before sailing for a 'fleet deployment'.   It was a hassle unwinding flights, hotels, etc.

I'm a new Platinum, but will avoid if this becomes a habit  🙃

21 hours ago, Cruiseforus0214 said:

I probably should have been clearer on the room steward. She did not come to the room for 2 whole days. I knew they weren't cleaning twice anymore, which honestly I'm cool with we're pretty neat people. But not coming at all to either our or the kids room was unexpected. I'll know if we're not in the Haven's I have to just request more towels. Thanks for pointing that out!

Sorry you had to deal with that.  One day?  I suppose it could happen, I've never experienced that on NCL, Princess, Celebrity, Royal.   But twice?  Wow.

One tip- pool towels would work in a pinch, if you don't want to complain or "get someone in trouble" 😃

On 3/27/2024 at 12:35 PM, dpavid said:

What is there time to do in town now that the window is so short if you don't book an excursion? Arrive at 7 am but nothing in the town opens until 10 am. The last shuttle back is at 11 am. Walk Creek Street? That's about it. What a waste hanging out in their tourist trap.

On your sailing, is the time in port longer?  The daily that tokidoki showed sounds like it was a short stop that time, hopefully it will be longer for you.

On 9/13/2023 at 9:30 PM, Hlitner said:

If that is your only criteria than you might want to check out rentacar.fr.  It helps if you can read French.  Not our favorite agency, but they are the only one with a location at the port (unless it is on a Sunday, Holiday, etc).

 

Hank

I'm thinking about using them.  What didn't you like?

On 12/23/2023 at 2:06 PM, klfrodo said:

I can only give my experience.

This past fall we did a cruise out of Southampton. We flew into London and spent a week in a nice little flat in Westminster right next to St. James Park.

For my wife and I, Paris has never been on our bucket list. But, being from the US, and Paris being a 2 hour train ride away, we felt it would be foolish not to at least do a drive by. That's what we did.

We got up early one morning, took the tube up to St. Pancras, jumped on the Eurostar and when to Paris for about 36 hours. I was able to purchase my Metro tickets for the Paris subway on the train in the cafe. Jumped on the metro, checked into the hotel, then hit a few of the touristy attractions.

Had a great overall visit. Probably will never go to Paris again but have some great pics and some great memories.

I have thought about doing this to avoid the high Heathrow fees for the return flight 🙂

On 3/16/2023 at 8:47 PM, complawyer said:

we did the same on a back to back. hired a cab from venice airport to our hotel, stayed a few days, arranged a shuttle to drive us to trieste. the hotel had an ncl desk. we put in our names and a bus arrived the next morning to take us to the pier. we have done it both ways. ncl bus is great and super convenient if youre flying in the day of departure 

Were you able to find out ahead of time that the hotel had a NCL desk?

Here's a new one that is not on the list.   Any ideas about this one?

   FS00I         Phonetically,   Frank Sam zero zero Idaho

On 7/19/2023 at 12:31 PM, Stockjock said:

Thanks for the photo. I did actually book one of these cabins, but now that I’m looking at the picture, it might be worse than I thought. To me, it looks like it’s worse than the one on Divina but maybe it’s not, I don’t know. I will have to take another look at Divina.

How did it turn out?   Did you end up sailing with one of these obstructed cabins?  If so, the larger overhang in the back or less overhang front ones?

On 1/7/2019 at 11:06 AM, The Wood Duck said:

Did Rent a Car offer higher mileage limits? The show 100km free and a charge per km after that. WE would likely drive 250 to 300 km visiting the Canadian landing sites.

On 1/7/2019 at 12:12 PM, lamchops said:

We had unlimited mileage.

I know these are old replies, but the thread recently became active again.

I just checked Rent A Car France, and it is 100km included.  You can purchase packages of miles ahead of time, 500km is E$60 additional charge.  This is about 50% cheaper than paying additional per km.

There were no unlimited km options offered.

On 1/22/2024 at 8:11 PM, amachad8792 said:

Gosh I didn’t think about that !! But it won’t matter , we have decided not to rent a car either . We have pre booked a taxi that will take us to Tierra Del Fuego & wait while we visit the sites and take a few short hikes. It’s about the same cost  as the car rental

Which taxi service are you using?

On 1/13/2024 at 4:18 PM, Mercruiser said:

I've been using US $5 notes for meal tips. The servers seem quite happy to have US currency. We went to a steak house last night. I paid the bill on a Visa CC. But the server suggested the tip in cash. I said it would have to be in USD. He said "that is even better".

What's the normal tip percentage in Argentina?  I read in a couple of places that it is 10%, has that been your experience?

On 11/3/2023 at 6:54 AM, PerfectlyPerth said:

Seasickness is in a persons equilibrium & inner ear. Once a seasick person - always a seasick person - as my uncle was told when he joined the navy.

I'm not so sure...?

I once had mighty sea legs.  On one especially bad cruise, the hallways were empty of cruisers and crew.  Barf bags were posted all over.   No effect on me, I walked around and enjoyed watching the swimming pools heave water over the sides.

Fast forward a decade or so...   the last cruise over Christmas/New Years, it was a rocky ride due to high winds and all I wanted to do was sleep.  I didn't turn green or throw up, but definitely in a different place sea legs wise.

On 1/5/2023 at 9:12 AM, KLM3164 said:

We discovered the wildlife area when we were heading back to the ship and it was a treat! We hadn’t seen any monkeys on our sailing and Cartagena was our last port stop. We finally got our fill of monkeys in the wildlife area. So much fun to watch.

On 1/11/2023 at 12:33 PM, sonomaphil said:

A new friend we made on our excursion in Costa Rica.

Any mosquitoes on this cruise?  🙂 

On 3/12/2023 at 8:11 PM, Turtles06 said:

I'll start by saying that we bring binoculars (or, more recently, a monocular) whenever we cruise.

What brand/model monocular do you use?   There are many on that ginormous website, but critical reviews say the lens size and magnification is nowhere near as advertised.

On 8/11/2023 at 9:23 AM, cruiserss said:

I've been to Cartegena twice.  There were plenty of cabs at the port.  The first time, the cab driver stayed with us all day, took us to the fort, and the walled city, and back to the port.  The second time, we just went to the walled city and walked around on our own. I never felt that it was unsafe. 

This sounds pretty interesting.

For the 1st time, do you recall the price for keeping the taxi the entire day?

For the 2nd time, if I understand correctly, you walked from the port to the walled city?

On 8/22/2023 at 10:47 AM, Ashland said:

We easily (Oct 2022) took a taxi from the port to just outside the entrance to the Walled City and did the same when we returned. Easy to do.

Do you recall if the taxi accepted credit cards?  Also, no attempted scamming on the taxi fare, right 🙂 

On 3/7/2023 at 8:59 AM, JennKach said:

Ironically the guide had mentioned several times that Cartagena is very safe for tourists.  Just be aware and protect your items while touring.   

Wow.  Usually tour groups are left alone, because the tour guide (as a local) can detect the crooks.

But in this case, the actual tour guide was actually targeted too....  That takes it to another level.

On 7/31/2023 at 3:13 PM, MamaFej said:

At this point, I'm hoping they won't start charging extra for using the tenders. 

I can see it now....

As always, tenders to shore are complimentary 1

     1 - there will be a charge for tenders back to the ship

On 7/17/2023 at 4:00 PM, Cruising Lynne said:

Wearing your Ambassador name tag could just mean that you really enjoy cruising on NCL. It shows crew that you interact with, that you enjoy cruising with them and appreciate them and their ships. Not necessarily a brag. Newer cruisers could see the tag and be able to ask you about being an Ambassador, and may ask for cruising advice. It could just be a conversation starter.

I think you're right.  The same reason why people wear cruise logoed merchandise.

Although....  on the other hand....  we recently "met" someone who cruises a lot.  This fellow sat one table over and barged in on our conversation.  He quickly turned it towards his frequent cruising exploits.  He even invited questions, in a braggy 'ask me if you must, you lowly peasant' tone of voice.  We played along, and let him "wear the taller hat" as the old saying goes.

Oh- I didn't notice any name tags  😃

3 hours ago, Agent999 said:

Yes. They are rare, but they are out there. NCL gives name tags resembling. crew name tags to select VIP guests as a way to acknowledge their loyalty. These people are considered to be "brand ambassadors".

3 hours ago, sandycruzr said:

 but guests were complaining about one name tag wearing guest because they thought he was an employee acting badly! 

Doesn't sound like a good idea on NCL's part to do this...

2 hours ago, VitaminSea53 said:

I always try to seek out a GROUP rate.  Have saved as much as 50% and they are always refundable.  (PS I am not Canadian - if that makes a difference)

The only way to do that is with a travel agent, right?  Celebrity itself would not sell a cruise with a group rate I think

4 hours ago, omahabob said:

 

Due to the staffing shortage. Yes, that's making an assumption, but I think a fair one. I've seen absolutely nothing to indicate NCL just decided to do more with less, and get rid of employees. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But unless they've been living under a rock, everyone knows just about every industry out there is short staffed. Norwegian did announce a 9% staffing cut back in December, but that was for shoreside employees, not shipboard. They also reduced staffing for SOME cabin classes by consolidating steward and junior steward positions. This was a restructuring done as a direct response to staffing shortages, not an elimination of people. It was made possible by eliminating the turndown service and going to once daily cleanings for many staterooms. So, they are not trying to do the same job with less people, as simply saying 'they reduced staff' makes it sound.

We just sailed a 12-day in May.  We told our steward that we are low maintenance on day 1.  He really started to believe it after a couple of days, as all we wanted were towel swaps once in awhile.  We earned some trust.

On disembark day on our way off the ship, he confided to us that they now service more the cabins as before, but only once a day.  It wasn't an even swap, because the second service is usually minimal- minor tidying up, maybe a towel animal (remember those? lol).  A bunch of first service is a lot of work.  Bathroom stuff, linens, etc.

So, yeah, they are a bit over worked.  We tip above and beyond, but I really think he valued the low maintenance more than the extra gratuity.

On 7/3/2023 at 10:18 AM, RocketMan275 said:

You're partially correct.  A true marketing specialist will tell you the quickest way to make a sale is to convince you that you're getting something for free.

You mean like calling something "Free Excursions" when it is free for only a couple of token excursions?  😀

On 2/27/2023 at 1:50 PM, CILCIANRQTS said:

Just because the cruise lines pay lots of attorneys to draft an airtight contract, it’s called a contract of adhesion, meaning you have no say in the terms and cannot modify it in any way.

Thanks for this, I learned something today.  I always wondered about the lengthy multi page stuff one has to sign at the doctor's office.  The legal concept of "contracts of adhesion" is very interesting.

1 hour ago, allinwonderland said:

I had this issue recently where I didn't realize Celebrity had such a short window in which you could transfer to a TA (other lines will let you do it whenever).

I'm a junior cruiser compared to most here, but every line that I've done transfers on has a window.  NCL's window, for example, is only 14 days!  😀