cruiser2015

2 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

pun intended? or was that just a happy accident?

 

either way, i see what you did there and i appreciate it.

Sometimes you just get a fizzy feeling.   😮

21 hours ago, Damascus43 said:

I did go for the FAS specialty as the gratuity is what I would tip in a normal restaurant. Thanks everybody for all the good advice. 

About that soda package - if you do the math, it takes 3 per day to cover the cost.

If you driink 3 or more per day, buy it., If not pay as you go @ $4.20 a pop included the gratuity.

On 1/10/2024 at 12:42 PM, benel204 said:

I just checked and the fare for our room Balcony Club category dropped by $200; too late for us to adjust as we are within "paid in full" window.  Not much to do about it.....

You get one shot at this after final payment:

You can request a future cruise credit from NCL for the amount of the decrease.

It's not a huge amount, but if you think you might book another trip (I forget how long it's good for, but it's possibly up to a year), then you can pick up that $200 on the next one.

2 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Hi neighbor. If we're catching an early flight before the Belt is a nightmare we're from the front door of our house to the gate of the plane in about 40 mins using Uber/Lyft. Faster if we're not having a mile long hike at terminal 4.

 

We get spoiled with the flight options over here, have very rarely had to endure a 'bad' flight time.

Greetings, neighbor.

That's might quick - to the gate. Got friends at TSA?

Four weeks ago we had an 8:15 to LAX from terminal 4.Took a local taxi and got there about 6 (5:30 departure). Easy check in but still had to wait a bit at security, on the pre-check line.

For the return from MIA, the gate was so far out, I wondered why we needed a plane at all.

2 hours ago, hallux said:

Yeah, BWI then on to ALB...

Oh - those guys.

20 minutes ago, hallux said:

My options were to book a flight at 1:30 for $300+ and they home at midnight, still needing to take Monday off from work, of book a hotel for $200 and fly home on Monday using points and get home around 6 pm

Sounds like a wise choice.

I'm guessing that you are making a connecting flight somewhere.

I have the advantage of being a 20 minute drive from JFK.

14 minutes ago, UKstages said:

absolutely true, but if you visit at 11 pm or 2 am or 5 am, you’re likely to find the desk unattended, with a lone representative somewhere in the back office. that person will eventually, but reluctantly, assist you. my experience has been, however, that those who work during these quiet periods are often the least knowledgeable reps. they can handle most rudimentary requests. for anything at all unusual, or that requires some sort of supervisor approval, they will ask you to come back after 9 am.

Fair enough.

But I never tried those times.

Right after (an early) dinner seems quiet.

Also, after breakfast on a sea day.

As long as it is not an urgent matter, just check out the line when passing by the area.

9 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I have seen the guest services line, never stood in it, and every single time it was multiple people deep. I'd avoid going there each day. Purchasing onboard credit prior to your cruise with the gift cards sounds like a better idea. That way you don't have to stand in line.

Guest Services is open 24/7.

If you go at the "right" time, there is little to no line.

During boarding and the evening before disembarkation are not the right times.   😧

17 hours ago, frugalsc said:

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm good with this approach just as long as I can the cash back if I don't use up all my OBC, which sounds like I can. Now that I know what OBCs are, how do I purchase them?

 

Yes, you will get your leftover money back.

Just be aware that if you do prepay funds (make deposits in advance) and don't spend them all, you must retrieve your excess payment or they will not allow you to disembark. You must got to Guest Services on the day before cruise ends to avoid that..

2 hours ago, slavigne5577 said:

How does the embarkation work for NCL? Do they assign times or is it a free for all?

When you get to the 21 day prior point, you may do your online check in, which includes selecting a time for the check in at the pier. You choose whatever (available) slot appeals to you. If you arrive later, it does not matter. If you arrive earlier, you probably can get on the line at that earlier time without a problem as well.

As an example, I departed from LA last month. Assigned time was 11. Got there about 10:45. Got on the long line; took about 45 minutes to get through and was able to board immediately afterward.

When we arrived at the terminal, there were sections of seated folks waiting to be called for boarding after they had (earlier) checked in. When we finished check in, they were all gone.

Choose your poison - arrive early and then wait (unless you have some sort of priority boarding access) or come later and probably spend less time in the terminal.

30 minutes ago, hallux said:

@cruiser2015 I'm in no rush to get off, my flight isn't until 7am Monday.  Yes, I'm well aware of your delays getting off the ship, I was at the terminal at 9 am

Ooh, that's a lot of slack time.

Enjoy the nicer weather for an extra day!

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

The same can be said about our experience getting off the Sky in Miami last Spring.  It took us more than 90 minutes from the time we stepped onto the gangway until we cleared customs and immigration checks and were able to catch a taxi.  Most of that time was spent standing in one spot just after entering the terminal.  The line then started moving ever so slowly.  Just like @Sailing12Away we have Global Entry cards, but it made no difference at the Miami Cruise Terminal.  All roads lead to Rome, and everyone gets to wait in line.  After about the 80th minute in line, we had advanced far enough to see the point where the line split into four or five lines, one for each of the agents checking passports.  The truly frustrating thing was that as we got closer, we could see that one of the lines had signage indicating that it was an "express lane" for Global Entry passengers.  We moved to that line, but when we got to the agent, he said that Global Entry status makes no difference at the Port of Miami.  In short, expect a LONG wait at disembarkation in Miami if your cruise stops in Panama.  Ours was a round trip from Miami. I can only imagine the delays on a cruise from the West Coast to Miami with a stop in Panama.

Interesting point in that once we got to the baggage/customs area, the line moved fairly quickly through the agents. I think there were 4 or 5.

I heard through someone else that was aboard that police had been called to the customs area; speculation was that that is what put the long hold on exiting from the ship.

23 minutes ago, hallux said:

Same experience this week. And thanks for keeping the ship in top shape for us!

I knew you were coming, so I went around and polished everything in sight.

BTW, they do a really great job on cleaning the ship.

Disembarkation in Miami turned into a fiasco.

They called our group 45 minutes early - then we totally stalled on deck 7 because "customs is backed up".

Ended up LATE getting off and missed our flight @ 11:20 - arrived at MIA 15 minutes before.

After being told our only option was a light to Atlanta later that day and connection to NY (agent via text), I waited on a long line for a Delta agent in the terminal and got on a 1:45 nonstop.

A save under the circumstances - but a period of great aggravation until I got those boarding passes.

Hope LA is kinder to you, though I think I read something negative on that end as well for the same reasons.

Just off the Bliss last week through the Panama Canal.

We were told to take passports with us on Panama shore excursions.

No one asked for them at all.

However, there were officials at the terminal, not doing anything in particular, that might decide to check the docs at times. Anyway, in case of some sort of emergency while ashore could be another reason to have it with you.

This was not a requirement at all in Colombia.

On 2/5/2024 at 4:32 PM, Wanderfully said:

Thank you all for your help!  MoulinVert, thank you also for describing what to look for in documents. I'll check the ID. Me site. We're using a new TA as ours retired and last time, for a Princess cruise, we just took the DD214 to the TA.

Olden times lol.

Just off of the Bliss last week - first time with the military discount.

You link into the verification from the NCL website.

Once you are approved, which takes just a few minutes of answering questions (no docs required), when you log into the NCL site, your discount appears automatically as soon as you pull up a cruise.

I had a bit of a fight between NCL and my TA - but that was caused by requesting the discount after the final payment (found out about the discount on this board after my payment. Technically, this was after the allowed time to get the discount, but NCL approved it as we were still nearly 4 months out. It took a few calls, but I got $600 off!

27 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Socks and such are putting mesh bags like at home and the mesh bags are tagged. 

Secret revealed.

Thanks.

1 hour ago, diverdon48371 said:

I am going to be on the epic the 18th, and I'm looking for a description of the electric outlet in a inside cabin. I am looking to buy a multi plug adapter (non surge protector) that plugs into the outlet(no cord)

 In one of the comment  of the adapter I was looking at, they said it did not work on ncl

 I wad wondering if there was something special about their outlets.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Don

All NCL ships (and most ships of all major cruise lines) have standard U.S. outlets and current available.

4 hours ago, FBegg said:

Hi everyone!

Does anyone know if SIGLO the band has returned to the Bliss?   They were not onboard in Nov 2023, sure missed them.

Thank you.

Not there last week.

2 hours ago, benel204 said:

Thanks for that perspective.  As I mentioned earlier, we were not able to participate in the upgrade bid because our TA does not, so we went ahead and paid for the difference between what we'd already paid in full for CB and the Haven suite we are now confirmed. 

 

I'm just wondering though, if the fares for higher category Haven suites drop, can we can pay the difference again between our current (lowest category Haven) to a higher Haven category? Not sure how many times NCL allows passengers to do a cabin switch (to higher category) assuming we are willing to pay the difference. Right now there are still plenty of Haven cabins available (97 days from sailing). 

All cruise lines love to sell you more expensive cabins. Unlikely you will have any problem with that. But, if by some miracle the more expensive cabin is less than your current booking, then that's a no to your request after final payment.

1 hour ago, drumming cruisers said:

We are booked on Bliss in February. Original booking was a balcony, travel protection for 2 of us was $90. Called NCL and upgraded to Haven 2 bedroom.

Travel protection went up to $798. Does that seem correct?

 

Thanks for all your info!

 

 

 

Sounds like their was a change in the type of protection for the upgrade, aside from the higher cruise price.

On 1/28/2024 at 6:04 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Of course it did.  They just hid them where you haven't found them (yet). 🤣

I read about those tags on this board.

Just off the Bliss - sent in 7 each of undershirts, undershorts & pairs of socks.

Each shirt had a tag under the back top seam.

Zero tags on all the other 21 pieces.

Ooh - a real tag mystery!

5 hours ago, hallux said:

I hope so as well, as I board that ship on Saturday when they get off the ship!!

Thanks so much.

A couple of tips:

Watch out for the weather from mid Caribbean to Cartagena. Gale force winds up to 50 mph. Pools closed. Lot's of rockin' & rollin" - and not from one of the bands. Captain said it was this region close to the equator, so you may hit it too. A few bumps a couple of nights ago, but otherwise very smooth sailing.

Beatles Experience is fabulous. When thy appear in the main theater, get there early.

When they are in the Cavern Club - good luck. They open the doors maybe an hour before show time; if you're not already on that line before then, there are no seats. Club is very small. Might be standing room in the back. There are also a few seats/tables out on deck with 2 video monitors with the performance. We did that one night. Okay, but not great. Shows run 45 minutes.

Gelato shop on deck 8 - yum. Cupcakes at attached bake shop - also yum (at least the chocolate one I ate).

Breakfast - cinnamon raison French toast is delish. Pancakes - meh.

Frosted cinnamon buns are addictive - make the cinnamon rolls look bad.

If you're hungry after boarding, try Taste or Savor.

Calm; table service; no worries of finding a spot (buffet or observation lounge); no worries about you carry ons while you eat.

6 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Thanks for the response.  If you like cheesecake…get the OMG Butterscotch Cheesecake…it’s soooo good.

Oops...not a cheesecake fan.

Thanks anyway.

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

It makes sense that the hybrid menus are likely the new menus for 2024 forward.  I noticed that NCL typically introduces their changes (food, entertainment, service) in mid-January each year.

 

What did you think of the new menus?  Choice, quality, taste?

Just picked up tonight's (#14) menu.

It's nearly identical to the old one. They only changed the type of fish.

Note that I only tracked the mains, not appetizers/salads.

So, they did not entirely scrap things wholesale.

Prime rib, unless I missed it, was gone from MDR's.

They did feature it at last night's buffet, but we ended up in the MDR.

As for my opinion on the changes, It's hard to say. Nothing jumps out regarding the changes.

Overall quality of the food has been fairly good.

As for specialties, we've done Cagney's (excellent filet) and Teppenyaki (good food and great show, which includes audience sing-along).

Doing Cagney's again tomorrow.

As for the layer cake that I've read raves about on CC - I liked it, but did not think it was (as "advertised") spectacular. Also, absurdly large portion (think Cheesecake Factory). I did not finish mine and I LOVE cake.

23 minutes ago, bedfordmom said:

Where do folks see 16 day menus. On the site that I use I only see the 7 day.  Its useful to know ahead of time as there are days that there is absolutely nothing that I would choose so would book the specialty.   Other days I like a couple of things.  There is one menu item mixed grille (no judgement there) that I enjoy so I try not to book a specialty on what I believe is that day though that could change.

I managed to cull 13 of the 15 nights on this Panama itinerary through postings on this board for the Bliss. This was from the last one a few weeks ago and from one last season.

Along with some of the other sources (showing the first 7 NCL menus), they were all in sync - same menus on the respective nights (for those with more than one source).

But, as stated when I opened this thread, the Bliss veered off of the track before the end of the first week. The fact that some menus are now "hybrids" - mixed mains from the old menus combined with some others - indicates a new series of menus may have been released.

Of course, this is speculation for now.

From what I've read on this board, individual ships may decide to mix up the sequence of the 21 different menus put out by corporate, they do not create their own combinations of selections on their own.

Bottom line, you can use the previous menus to guide your choices - but don't be surprised if it does not work out the way you planned.