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Thank you both!!

Hi Folks,  I'm cruising this May out of Civitavecchia, wanting to pre-book my transport and I'm good on finding a company, but I cannot for the life of me remember how to plan what time to arrive at the cruise terminal.  We don't yet have the ability to check-in and potentially select our time to board. No clue what we've done in the past.. I may have been more willing to roll with the punches since we were cruising domestically and I knew I'd figure it out.  Should I wait until 21 days out to finalize this detail or can someone give me a good rule of thumb to square this detail away? If I wait, will I have trouble booking a car only 3 weeks out? 

I know we depart at 5pm, all guests must be onboard by 3pm.  It's an hour and a half drive, so call it 2 hours for the transit.. which makes me think I absolutely must be in a car by 1pm.  I was thinking 11am just to give us a nice buffer?

I'm really sorry for what you are going through. However, the picture I've left captioned below is NOT a real picture. Link with facts here.

Please, if you are not being affected by hurricane Harvey like we are do not spread rumors. There have been no shooting of rescue workers. Everyone is helping each other like we have never seem before. Our neighborhood is under mandatory evacuation so we went to our daughters house. If her house floods at least we are with her & our 3 grandchildren. The pictures below are real pictures.

 

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This is available on the escape and it will be listed in the daily. I never did see it available online. We sailed in march. The price was $5/day and allowed only messaging on Facebook. Fb messanger, no pics. You can't see anything on regular fb although my fb news feed did refresh at odd times throughout the cruise. The social media chat allows access to Snapchat and allowed me to send a pic in that was but I could not send or receive pics through fb messanger. You can also use apps like whats app for texting as well. I expected more in terms of Facebook but for me it was an easy way to message family back home. My IMessages did not work although the Internet desk told me it should work. I did not purchase I concerige (that's not spelled right lol) for texting but I did use the free version to check my account and look at the daily schedule. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info, this is much different than many of the articles I've read on this program. I imagine a lot of people who read those same articles are pretty disappointed when they find out what the program really entails. I think NCL missed the boat on this one.

Only allowing people to use the chat functionality of these social media sites pretty much defeats the purpose IMO. I want to be able to post pictures to Instagram, snapchat, and Facebook and stay up to date on what's going on.. not message people. (n) I think I'll just buy the smallest internet package to check in on my dogs via email while away and try to find free wifi in port.

Thank you both!!

Hello, quick question regarding NCL excursion bookings. I had been looking at a specific excursion for my upcoming cruise. Today, I went on the site and it's no longer there. Can some of you NCL experts advise, does this mean it's full or is it not being offered any longer?

When I've cruised other lines, typically the excursion stays listed on the site but it is marked as "sold out" or that you can join the wait-list.

Thanks in advance!

Many times, I've seen weight limits for activities on cruises- but I've never actually seen them enforced. Even on excursions where weight seems like it would matter - zip lining/horseback riding/etc..

It's not like there is a scale to step on before going out. Since it sounds like you've done quite a bit of snorkeling I'd chalk the fine print up to an insurance/liability thing, book the excursion, and go enjoy myself.

Of the two itineraries you shared, personally I'd pick the one with stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. As for shops in those two ports.. It's been awhile since I've dove GC, but when I did, I dove with Sunset House which was fine. In Cozumel, I dove with a few until I found Aldora, and it's love - I will only dive with them from now on.

Edited to Add: I booked these privately (not through cruise ships).

Didn't take the time to read all four pages to see if they had been mentioned already, but I'm a fan of the Makeup Eraser Cloth. I have no idea how it works, but it does a pretty nice job with no chemicals/products required. You just wet a section of the cloth with warm water, and wipe your face. I start with my cheeks/forehead/nose/chin/etc.. and do my eyes last. It's awesome when traveling, and to be honest, I use it at home too because I'm usually lazy about wanting to take my makeup off.

Guest, you were SO right! I tried to get on a tour with free radical, but they were already booked for a group on a Royal Caribbean ship and said they can't mix groups from different ships (different docks, and arrival times). They recommended Upachaya, who has stellar reviews on trip advisor. I contacted the owner, Barb, and asked if she could provide a lobster lunch for us, rather than the regular lunch of rice and beans. No problem! For an additional $15 pp she's doing the lobster for us, and promised to have Dr Pepper for my sister and iced tea for my mom and me. at a total price of $95, it's a bargain! So looking forward to this, as Upachaya is an eco resort known for their botanical gardens. We will do the pontoon snorkel, they also have a kayak snorkel. YAY! third time's the charm for booking our snorkel on Roatan!

It's been awhile, but I snorkeled with Upachaya and had a really nice experience. I think you are going to have a wonderful day! Lunch was great -- with Lobster, I'm sure it will be even better.

My first drink is always a Miami Vice!

66 for me, cant wait!

Your posted prompted me to do research, and we're both right :) It's Mr. Sancho's Beach Club at the Palancar Beach Resort. It's a nice place with a good beach and good food.

 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Ah good to know! I had no idea :) You learn something new every day!

I know this isn't strictly a cruise attire question, but I'm guessing that maybe some of you are familiar with fashions other than cruise wear! My friend is beginning to look for a dress for her son's formal wedding next September. The mother of the bride is wearing a long, pale pink dress with some beading on the bodice. Ideas?

Tell her to check out Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor. Both have excellent dress selections online. Nordstrom offers free shipping, and returns are super easy. These two stores are my go to dresses.

Because of the larger tanks, Aldora also has a longer surface interval, which they usually take at a super nice hotel beach, with food service. Don't trust my memory but I think it's the Palancar Beach Hotel. Depending upon your wife's plans, you could probably arrange to have her meet you there for the SI, and have the best of both worlds.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Every time I've dove with Aldora, our surface interval was at Mr.Sancho's beach club. Might be a nice place for OP's wife to spend the day- they have quite a bit to do there.

I will say, on my last cruise to Coz I dove with Aldora, I was on a boat with others who had later departure times.. I had to be very pushy about getting back to the dock in time- we cut it much closer than I would have liked. So if you go this route just be aware of that, have your own watch, and don't be afraid to speak up.

Edited: I had the show wrong! Nevermind what I had previously said.

I third Aldora.. I will only dive with them in Coz! I would suggest making a reservation.

You might also consider itineraries that also include Grand Cayman, the diving there is nice as well.

Thanks for the quick, and thorough response!

Burn the Floor is currently not on the Escape and the Oh What a Night is only able to be reserved once on board, similar to the comedy shows. The Oh What a Night is usually in the large theater once per week (Fri @ 9:30) and 4 other nights in the supper club at 6:00 and on the first night at 10:00.

Super dumb question here, but I'm a NCL newbie-- how do you reserve on board? Is that something you can do from your room, do you have to go to guest services, an app?

Thanks in advance!!

Question about the promo changing 12/1- with that do they typically change the ships/rooms that the 3rd/4th sail free promo works with?

We were going to rush and book tomorrow- but it might be nice not to rush.

I have been diving all over the Caribbean and US and have never been asked to furnish my dive log. They just want verbal confirmation of your last dive and your dive card.

Thank you all for the very helpful and quick input, I appreciate it! :)

Hi all!

I'm wondering if any of you have insight on how we can quickly get off the ship after the cruise?

I called Carnival and they said the earliest people can get off is 8am - which I feel like is later that I remember disembarkation starting but my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Is it better to keep your luggage and take it off yourself? Will carnival work with us on this? Thoughts- we are flying standby and the earlier flights look really really good. I can't really remember how it worked the last few times I've cruised- because we were never in a hurry.

Many thanks, in advance, for your help and insight!

I usually book my excursions 1-2 months before the cruise. A lot can happen in 11 months, you might consider just researching now, and then as it gets closer booking.