Heronymous

One minor details, if I'm not mistaken, the window shades/curtains need to remained closed/shut at night while at sea, as lights reflected off the sloping/angled windows - supposed to cause possible "interference" with navigational functions up on the bridge ... third handed info, unverified till someone actually sailed in one of those can attest to it.

 

 

 

Daylight hours, it's not a problem - not much, if anything to see out in darkness. That's my understanding.

When I sailed on the Gem in a front facing room there was a sign in the room that indeed said to keep the curtains closed at night as the lights interfere with the bridge's visibility.

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Curious to hear what you experienced with the "not really a 14 day cruise" thing as we're taking the exact same B2B on the Escape next week. I'm curious if we have to get off and back on as I've been told two totally different answers by NCL... And have read conflicting accounts on here as well. What was your experience?

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If you're late for your boarding time, you fly to the next port....

 

I think you meant late for designated check-in time? 😁 if you arrive after your check-in time, you are allowed to check in upon arrival, don't have to wait until the end.

LOL yes, that's what I meant. Thanks :)

-Keith

What happens if you're late for your boarding time? We originally selected 9:30am to try and secure vibe passes, but since we upgraded to a haven we no longer have the need for vibe passes or to arrive early. I'd ask my PCC but she hasn't returned any of my calls or emails, and when I finally got to the point where I called and asked for a supervisor to complain they told me I have to wait for someone to call me back next week.

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So based on some replies on a previous post of mine, I decided to purchase a GoPro to capture my wedding at sea since DSLRs are just not made for that. Since the audio on a GoPro is not so great, I was looking into alternatives; either an external mic or a separate audio recorder. I was watching a YouTube video where someone recorded a wedding and used a zoom h4 4 track recorder to capture the audio and it worked very well for them. Since $280 for the H4 seems like a little overkill for what will probably be a one time use... I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for an alternative that might suit the purpose? I found a Tascam DR-05 recorder for $120, anyone know if that would suffice?

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By any chance does anyone have pics of the H3 Owner's Suite closet? We're curious about how things are laid out so we can pack some organizers to help if it makes sense. (Love the ones we saw in JW's video)

-Keith

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Lol yea the haven pools are small, I remember in the Gem it had a jet you could turn on that sprayed a strong stream of water at you creating a current so you could effectively swim against it and remain in place. I liked the fact that it was fresh water and not salt water too. Anyone know if the Escape haven pool is fresh water or salt?

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I already had a PCC and spoke to him about the cruise we're about to take in a few weeks, but didn't book it yet. I went online and was browsing the site for an hour looking at options when my phone rang. It was a different PCC calling and said to me "thank you for visiting our website tonight, I'm your personal cruise consultant. How can I help you book a cruise this evening?"

I was a little spooked by it to be honest... I told him I wasn't ready to book yet, and hung up. I reached out to my PCC the next day and informed him of what happened, he told me that people's accounts when inactive for a certain amount of days become fair game for other PCCs to cold call and try to take over, so he was attempting to do just that. I stuck with my original PCC since he was the one who helped me out previously. Unfortunately he left NCL and now I'm stuck with someone who is unresponsive now that she booked our cruise and has our money.

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When I was on the Gem in the owners suite, I think it was 9504, we had that sound coming through the front facing balcony on one night where there was a bad storm. Even though that balcony has two doors, one being a bulkhead door, wind and water got through enough to flood our bedroom overnight. When we woke up we stepped down into water and man did it stink by the end of the day; it wasn't rain but sea water that was crashing onto the balcony while the ship porpoised back and forth. That was some night... The drawers in the room kept opening and closing on their own and man did I get seasick..

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I left NY on the GEM February 28, 2009. The day we left, NY had two feet of snow dumped on it and there was a cold front that dipped so low, it was actually warmer in Miami than it was in the Bahamas. Miami was 78, Bahamas was 75. It was way too cold to go in the water, I tried. In Nassau it was so windy and cold, it was too cold to stand on the beach.. It was in the 60s and felt like it was 45 in the morning. The natives did say they've never experienced weather like that before and it isn't normal, but that's the chance you take sailing in March.

-Keith

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Back in 2009 when I was on the GEM, the haven courtyard hot tub was open 24 hours except for one night where they closed it at midnight to drain and refill it. Seems like that isn't the case anymore, very disappointing to me. I'd happily pay extra for access to a 24 hour hot tub somewhere to relax after a long day since I have back issues. I may consider a spa mini suite on my next cruise but it's not quite the same.

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That sucks, so the haven's closes earlier than the main pool deck. I had a feeling the woman in the upsell department was just telling me what I wanted to hear about it being 24 hours, this confirms it. Oh well!

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Anyone? :)

My DW are embarking on our first NCL cruise at the end of September and are very much looking forward to it.

 

I have to say though that there are so many negative comments on CC about the cruise line and it is starting to do my head in.

 

The negativity will have no bearing on our excitement and we intend to enjoy ourselves irrespective of drinks packages, Pepsi only, water price etc etc etc.

 

What I want to know is do people have anything good to say about NCL? It would make a refreshing change to see some positivity here for a change. Perhaps you can tell me your top things about NCL; I am sure it can't be that difficult.

 

All you cruisers with the weight of the world on your shoulders are not allowed to play [emoji16]

I've only been on two cruises, my third is in two weeks... All NCL... I did have some issues with them in the beginning with absolutely rude and disrespectful customer service, and an issue with my current PCC not returning calls or emails, other than that I have no complaints. A lot of people complain about what they used to offer and how they offer less but charge more... For me, I really don't care. Sure I'm annoyed that they're deceptive in how they offer "free" promotions which actually cost a significant amount of money in surcharges and taxes... But in the end, it costs what it costs and its up to each individual to decide if it's worth paying for what they get.

With that aside, I absolutely love the cruise line and their ships. I went on two cruises and had an absolutely amazing time. They assisted me in making my proposal to my fiancé something truly special and something to remember forever... And despite some of the negative feelings I've had, and my PCC refusing to call me back now that she has my money.... I'm still returning for a 3rd cruise this month and I'll be back to NCL again.

Unfortunately bad customer service people can exist at any company, and any cruise line. I'm not going to base my decision on cruising with NCL based on a few not so great things. The good definitely outweighs the bad. The entertainment has been great, the food is great as long as you're careful with what you pick, and I think the fare is pretty decently priced as well. A lot of people don't like change... I think those are the ones who have the biggest problem with NCL, not to say they do not have valid arguments with their dislike... I'm just not as concerned about lobster on the menu or bringing water onboard as others are.

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Well done!! Talk about a memory to last forever. Did you get to watch it replay on the TV too? :cool:

You know, I don't think they played it on the tv! We looked for it but didn't see it. We did upload a copy of it to YouTube if interested at

-Keith

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Yes and no.

 

 

 

NCL's ability to enforce the terms of their contract applies only insofar as a court allows them to do so. If the contract is viewed as being overly "stacked" in favor of a corporation, there is a potential that someone can bring a suit and that a court will rule to nullify that provision of the contract.

 

 

 

I work in the insurance industry. I've seen plenty of cases where courts simply say that an exclusion in a contract that was approved by regulators is "not in the public interest" and interpret the contract as providing coverage that was clearly not intended to be provided. Consumer advocates are all over the arbitration clause issue right now, as those provisions are generally viewed as very unfriendly to consumers. NCL can argue that it was in the cruise contract all it wants, but if a court really has a bee in its bonnet about consumer fairness, they might find themselves out of luck.

This is true, many contracts have consumers waive their rights but certain rights can't be legally waived. Just because you signed a contract waving your rights doesn't mean a particular provision is legally binding. A court may agree and allow you to seek remedy, or it may not. The only way to tell is to try, but be prepared that you may get shut down right away.

What I do when presented with situations like that is call the local bar association and get a referral to a local attorney who specializes in the matter. They often provide a free phone consultation, but usually have an extremely discounted consultation such as $30 for a half hour. You present the facts, they present the options. Up to you to decide what to do next.

-Keith

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Last summer I went on a cruise on the Getaway with my then girlfriend and her family. She didn't know it but I was going to propose to her on the cruise. She had been dropping hints, asking "when are you going to propose already?", and even asked me if I was going to propose to her on our cruise. I told her I have absolutely no money for a ring, especially after booking our upcoming cruise... And told her to get the idea of me proposing to her on the cruise out of her head because she's going to be very disappointed. I pretended to be stressed and angry about it, told it it can't happen until next year.... Little did she know I already had the ring hidden in my apartment.

We went on the cruise and I spoke to the assistant cruise director and asked him for help on a creative way to propose to her in front of everyone... He came up with the idea to play the perfect couple game show in the atrium, and after the series of challenges that we all have to do he'll make up a fake challenge, blindfold my girlfriend, and let me pop the question.

The game show was the 6th day of our cruise so at this point any sliver of hope she had that I was going to propose to her despite what I said was gone, she was resigned to the fact that it just wasn't going to happen any time soon.... So the night of the game show we grab a ticket for the drawing for a chance to play the game show, I tell her that there's no way we're going to get picked since there's so many people lined up to play, and sit down... Our number gets called, I act surprised, and we go up and play and have an amazing time... Although I was freaking out because I had her ring hidden in a box inside my sock.. And one of the challenges required her to take a lemon and shove it up one pant leg, slide it up my leg, across my crotch, and back down the other leg.... I thought for sure she was going to feel the ring box and it would be all over... But I quickly thought of a plan and made her go up the other leg hoping that gravity would make the lemon fall down the leg with the ring hidden in it so she wouldn't have to touch it...

The plan worked and she never felt the ring! So we get to the last challenge, they call us up and blindfold Samantha. They started to play "Beautiful in my eyes" by Joshua Kadison, popped up a graphic on the video wall "Samantha, will you marry me?", and removed her blindfold. The look of shock and surprise on her face was priceless, she was so ecstatic and crying uncontrollably.. She didn't see this coming at all and was overwhelmed, and the audience LOVED it! Everyone went crazy, standing ovation... it was such an amazing moment... I'm so grateful NCL helped me with it (thanks Omar!!) and gave us something to remember.

We're actually getting married in a few weeks on the Escape in the atrium, kind of an homage to the proposal on the Getaway.

-Keith

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Thanks for all of the replies, it's good information.

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So I've been reading this book from Tony Northrup which I love so far, on of his suggestions is to leave the backpack and lens cover at home and just walk around with the camera at your side and ready to pop a pic at a moments notice, of course using a hood as protection.

Since I'll be in the Caribbean, on a ship, and on a beach, I'm wondering exactly what type of conditions are tolerable to expose a consumer unit like the Nikon D7200 to? I've seen the camera referred to as "weather resistant". What exactly does that mean? If it's drizzling or there's light spray, is it safe to use and be exposed to the elements?

I'm also concerned about the event of a typical out-of-nowhere downpour, no bag equals no protection and I assume they aren't capable of handling that type of weather.

Any thoughts?

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I actually had a set of cards mailed to me from NCL years ago, still haven't opened them..

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If you haven't done so, do some testing with the TG4. I've been quite pleased with its output even at 8x10. Certainly enough for a midsize photo book, but you're not going to make poster size prints and examine them up close.

 

It's no DSLR by any means, but when you have good light the 16MP sensor does a good job given all the compromises built into the camera to make it rugged and waterproof. As to noise and DR, since it has RAW you have more flexibility to process out noise and recover DR than you might with a JPEG only camera.

Whoops, I was incorrect, I have the TG-860

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Hopefully I'm not too late to the party in saying this: I highly recommend the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables. It's one of the rechargeable chemistries that can deliver power to the flash faster than alkaline non-rechargeables, and the chemistry is fairly excellent at holding a charge while sitting on the shelf. More expensive than alkaline in the very beginning, but well worth the startup cost for them and a charger once you get going (and better for the environment).

Hah, I picked up the AA batteries from Costco today but I'm glad you mentioned the enerloop batteries, I have seen them before and didn't realize they'd be suitable in the flash. I may pick up their starter kit and use those instead, but keep the regular alkaline batteries I bought just in case.... I purchase the Vivitar power grip for the camera which lets me use AAA batteries in a pinch.

I also received the Nikkor 35mm f1.8G lens today, it's pretty sharp!

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Did you also get your luggage tags for your sailing. We will be in the Haven in October and want to know if they still send out special tags.

 

Thanks.

I just received a letter yesterday containing luggage tags, but you can download and print them out too.

I am leaving next week on the Breakaway in the Haven. I have heard about the pillow menu where you can choose the type of pillows you want. Just where do I find this menu. Received a letter from NCL but says nothing about this.

 

 

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They emailed a letter to me last week for my 8/20 cruise, I posted a copy in the post below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2383261&highlight=haven+amenities

-Keith

Sailing tomorrow on a 6 day western caribbean on the escape...heading to Roatan, Belize & cozumel...checked out the news and saw theres a 60% chance of a storm developing in the next few days in the WESTERN CARIBBEAN!

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php?basin=atlc&fdays=5

 

 

 

How does NCL handle these situations?

 

 

 

Was so looking forward to snorkeling and our private tour with Ronys tours in Roatan and Cave tubing in Belize..worried these wont happen now.:eek:

Last August we were on the 8/20 sailing of the Getaway, and a hurricane (Danny I think?) was heading to St. Thomas, so they sailed out of its path and went to Ocho Rios and Cozumel instead of St. Thomas and Tortola. I was very excited about the change, but there were just as many disappointed people.

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