cruzbound

Hi all I saw this thread when I was in the South Pacific area trying to find information on excursions we are going to Nee Caledonia in December 2024 for a one day stop. NCL hasn’t told us anything about insurance needed to visit there. They have sent us information on Visas we need but no mention on insurance. I don’t normally buy insurance at all when we travel but for this trip I am thinking we should just because of the cost, etc. With that said where should I even start to get the right coverage? Thanks

We took our first NCL cruise this past September 2023 on the Spirit from Hawaii to the French Polynesia. We really enjoyed it a ton. The food in the main dining room and Cagneys was excellent. Crew was great. The adult pool area was so wonderful at the back of the ship. We are going to the South Pacific in December but unfortunately for us it is not the Spirit. Wish it was in the Spirit. We are goin on the Sun. No adult pool. Bummer. Hope it is almost as good as our Spirit experience. Enjoy!

Hi, We are coming to Kauai via cruise ship (NCL) and booked an excursion (not through the ship) and I am trying to figure out how to get to it. They do not provide transportation. It is the river tubing with Kaua'i Backcountry Adventures. They are located on Kuhio Highway in Lihue. Can anyone provide me with recommendations on how we should get there? If possible I prefer to have some form of transportation booked before we arrive on the island but we can just go with the flow when we get there (if taxi is the best way). We are on the island overnight so we don't have to rush back to the ship that day, so not sure if renting a car is a better way to go but then I need suggestions on how and where to do this. I appreciate any help. Thanks, cruzbound

Our cruise is on September 15-27, 2023. Thanks for the insight.

Hi All, So we got the email for the potential bidding for a room upgrade. Has anyone done this? Was your bid accepted? If so, how was the upgraded room? I know there is no choice in what room you are upgraded to - front, aft, middle - so I am kind of nervous about maybe doing a bid because we have never been in a room in the front of the ship. We always get aft or middle area rooms (less movement). Has anyone been in a front room and what was it like? Do the waves hit it hard and you feel it? We are going on the Spirit to Hawaii and the French Polynesian. We have an inside cabin and I was thinking about trying to bid for a balcony (we are first-time cruisers with NCL - we have cruised over 25 times with RCCL, so we get a balcony on there for a really good price so we don't have to do any bidding when they send theirs out). Thanks, cruzbound

Thanks georgiacat. So NCL assigned you a check-in time, you did not get to pick? Does anyone know if that is how all their cruise ships work? We are going to do some scuba diving the day we embark and was just curious if they assign times and we can't make it on that time and come later, it is not a problem, right? Thanks!

Hi All, So we made the final payment on our cruise - our other two couples backed out but we are going so we can form our own opinion on NCL and also we love the itinerary. A few more questions - what time do they let you start getting on the ship? I know they told me that the latest is 5 PM but of course, we don't want to get onboard that late. Also, once you are checked-in in onboard what time do the actual staterooms open up? Sorry for the 20 questions, I only know how RCCL works (check-in usually starts at 10:30 am and they open the staterooms up at 1 PM). Thanks, cruzbound

Thanks all for the information. We have always sailed on RCCL (20-plus sailings with them). The couple we are cruising with on NCL, have good friends that went on POA and did not speak highly of it and they were RCCL cruisers so that is the reason for my posting. This has nothing to do with opinions, just a quick question - will NCL customize, so to speak, the meals? I do not do vegetables (so would they leave them off the plate?) and I only like certain kinds of potatoes (so if they have potatoes I don't like, could I get mashed potatoes in their place?). cruzbound

Hi All, We are scheduled to cruise NCL for the first time and we have started hearing not-so-good stories about some of the NCL ships, etc. I need your opinions, honest either good or bad, on NCL ships, food, entertainment, etc. Just so you know were are scheduled to be on Spirit but I would like thoughts on this one and others (particularly Pride of America as this is where we heard more of the bad opinions). We are going to be on sea days for 5 days straight on Spirit - will we get bored or are there enough things to keep us busy and if so, what do they have? Thanks, cruzbound

Hi jbcallender and all, So say the shows are only once a night at 8 PM on Spirit for our cruise, what time should we make our dinner reservations at to be able to catch the shows? I don't know how long it takes on NCL for dinner. There will be 4 or 6 of us at the table. I know on RC we normally do the 8 PM dinner time and are done by 9:30 PM (at the latest, this last cruise we did, we were done early than that a lot of the nights). Thanks, cruzbound

Hi, So hubby could wear a tropical shirt and nice shorts for dinner and he won't stick out or be underdressed? Thanks, cruzbound

Hi all Thanks for all the helpful information. I have another questions. I have been told that NCL is very informal for dinners. With that said do they have any official “formal” nights? Trying to see if the hubby needs t bring his suit or not. cruzbound

Thanks BirdTravels - very informative.

Thanks all for the answers on the drink package. They don't have a problem getting two drinks at a time - I just remember how it works on RC so I wanted to ask.

Hi All, I have a few questions regarding the drink package. So our friends got it on their reservation and we have four sea days in a row. I am sure they will be hanging at the pool with us most of the time (we don't drink) and I know of with Royal Caribbean people can get buckets of beer (like 6 at a time). Does NCL allow this on the drink package? Or do they allow one of them to go up and get two drinks (one for the wife or husband)? Do they only allow you to get drinks every so often - like once an hour, etc.? We have been on RC so much I know how their system works but never on NCL so I don't know their system and what to tell our friends. Any information would be helpful. I also have questions about leaving and returning to the ship on port days. So say the itinerary states we arrive at 8 AM - what is the normal time people can get off the ship? Say the leave time states 5 PM - what time do they say you need to be back on board? Can any tell me about their tendering process? We are tendering at one of the French Polynesian stops and we will have to get on the first tender - how do we make this possible? If we are in a port overnight - the next day, will we be able to get off the ship at any time (like even at 6 AM in the morning)? I am trying to plan excursions (on my own) and want to make sure there would be no hold-up on the second day we are in port as I would think that we would have gone through the custom check or whatever it is when we arrived the day before and nothing else would need to be done. We are going on NC Spirit - can anyone tell me what the shows on that ship are like? What are the timings for the shows - do they offer shows only once or twice a night? Sorry for all the questions but the website does not get this specific to answer these questions. So I am looking for you experienced NCL cruisers for insight. Thanks, cruzbound