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18 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

That seems a bit strange. Which excursion? NCL just contracts with local tour companies. I've never heard of an "exclusive" excursion contract.

It is an excursion from Gatum lake on a partial transit Panana Canal cruise.  It is my understanding that is only doable via the cruise line, base on logistics. 

Even in other ports, there are times when the cruise line contracts for the whole tour and the local company is not able to offer it to cruisers directly.

I am just surprised there are not more tours offered in all of the ports on this cruise.  It is not the first Panama Canal cruise of the season, so the contracts should be worked out by now!

Anyone on a Panama Canal cruise in November/December -- are your excursions available to book?

How far in advance do NCL excursions show up in the planner?  I am only seeing 9 excursions listed for my Panama Canal cruise in January.

There is one excursion we want to do that is only available via NCL.  Otherwise, we usually choose independent excursions.  I am just surprised excursions are not available to book yet since they could lose business to independent excursions.

Thanks!

Brad

23 hours ago, Suzyq52 said:

My travel agent got this email about my cabin that I booked when Icon was first released. She got nowhere when she called RC and told me to call Crown and Anchor. All they would give me is $50 OBC. Like she said, they probably want me to cancel since they are now selling the same cabin for twice what we booked. Not happy, but oh well…

Have you tried youtube videos to see the obstruction for yourself,  like the suggestions above, for your cabin?

My cabin does not look too bad.

Thanks all for your insight!   I think looking at YouTube videos is a great idea.  

So far, it looks like the obstruction is minimal and thus not something I need to worry about.

Since my cruise is not till 2026, I don't think any amount of negotiating will get me compensation.  There are other cabins available in my category that do not seem to be affected by the obstruction.  They would just suggest I move to one of those. -- which is probably what I will do if further YouTube inspection has me thinking the obstruction is more than my initial impressions.

Received the following for my very far off Icon cruise:

Did anyone else receive this?   Any idea how many cabins are affected?  The deck plan does not seem to be showing new obstructed view cabins yet, so not sure how I ensure I am not moving to another cabin with the same problem.

Thanks!

Brad

It has been a while since we have been on NCL.  Are TA issued OBC usually refundable or non-refundable?

I have family who says years ago they boarded the excursion boat directly from their Princess ship.

Did it ever work that way or are they misremembering?

Trying to decide on what partial transit of the canal to take in 2025.

I believe all the major cruiselines i.e. Princess, Celebrity, NCL etc. that have partial transits would offer a tour on a smaller boat through the pacific locks.

Would these be the exact same tour i.e. using the same boats and process?  If not, what are the differences?  (I know the cruise lines probably call them different things, but are they different?)

Thanks!

Brad

Any issues with a non-vegetarian ordering some items from the vegetarian menu and some items from the regular menu?  

From what I am seeing, the number choices in the MDR have been reduced this year so having additional options would be helpful.  (Although, it does look like about half the items on the vegetarian menu are already on the regular menu.   Do I have that right?)

3 hours ago, LT4221 said:

Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas, it is an interior room (2 person not 4)

I did not think you could book 3 people into a room that only sleeps 2.. even if one was a child in a pack and play?

For anyone who has taken Uber/Lyft, from the Disney area to the port, how much did it cost?

I am not sure if I trust the on-line estimaters!

11 hours ago, SteerageJoe said:

Here is one I heard of but have not used myself. Hopefully, the website is accurate - they still call it Downtown Disney!

https://portcanaveralconnection.com/disney-transportation-book-now/

Thanks for the suggestion.  Unfortunately, I had seen that one already and saw the very poor reviews.  

How do people get to the port from Disney Springs/Lake Buena Vista area?

Are there any shared shuttle services anyone can recommend that pick up at Disney Spring area hotels?

All of the shared shuttle services I see seem to be from MCO to the port.  Trying to avoid having to return to MCO to get a shuttle/transfer.

And it is just two of us, so a private transfer does not appear to be cost effective.

Thanks!

Brad

On the Odyssey, we were able to reserve Northstar.  The piece of paper offered times on one of the sea days, but they offered me times on either sea day.   Since it was a sea day, it was actually the extended, over the side experience - for no extra charge!   That was a nice bonus we were not expecting for the Key.

We will be Diamond on Royal Caribbean after our next Royal Caribbean cruise.   If we do a side to side, going from a Royal Caribbean ship to a Celebrity ship, will the Loyalty Ambassador on the Celebrity ship be able to grant us Elite status for that cruise before the points hit our Crown and Anchor account?

We are already Select on Celebrity based on our Royal Caribbean status.

Thanks!

Brad

25 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Last week on Odyssey water was in bottles. 

Just to confirm... was this in your room, pre-ordered, or in the bars?

I could see them using different supplies for different things during the same cruise!

For those recently on the Odyssey -- was the pre-purchased water to be delivered to the room in bottles or cans?

I believe it can change ship to ship, sailing to sailing.

(No need to tell me how good the ships water is -- I drink that as well.)

6 hours ago, bookbabe said:

Kimpton is maybe a 5-10 min walk from the Public Beach parking lot.  You can see both locations in Google/Apple Maps and see the route to get there by foot.  Your other option is taxi to the Kimpton and then walk to Public Beach after and grab a shuttle back to the port from there.

If going to Public Beach, do you recommend the shuttles or a taxis?  What would be the difference in cost?

3 hours ago, Nashna said:

We were on the Edge and visited Grand Cayman last week.

Thank you very much for your first-hand account!  Very helpful.

Happy to hear you had a great time!  Thank you for your report.

Glad you enjoyed the Main Dining Room.  Not sure how much you have read about other folks experiences in the MDR since the new menus were launched.   Wondering if the Odyssey has some of the same issues being reported.

• Did you have to finish your first main before they would bring you a second?
• Did the food come out cold and/or felt like it was plated long before they brought it to you?
• Were you able to make simple substitutions like swapping one side dish with another or holding sauces, etc?

Thanks!

Brad

I am interested in folks recent experience going to Public Beach.   This will be our first time to SMB.  Normally, I would prefer a beach club.  But with most of them closed now, I am intrigued by Public Beach.  Folks on here seem to like it.

What was the quality of the beach/sand?  I have heard there is a lot of erosion at the other end of SMB.

What was your experience renting chairs/umbrellas?  Did they set them up for you?  Where they in good shape?

How are the restrooms?

How much is a taxi between Public Beach and the tender docks?

With all the food on the ship, not as concerned with food..  just chairs/umbrellas/restrooms.

Thanks!

Brad

2 hours ago, jamon said:

WE just got off Odyssey of the seas this past Sunday and they do have the new menus each night....We were disappointed with the meal served for meal with an officer for Pinnacles. This is the second time they served strip steak as a choice and rather than Filet  Mignon which was always a choice on previous meals. Certainly a let down...............................

Besides the Meal with an Officer, how was the food on the Odyssey otherwise?   How did you find the food on the new menus?

It looks like CK has not updated tue menus like the MDR, including still having the classics available.   

Anyone have experience with customizations in CK recently?   I hope they still allow them since they appear to have stopped in the MDR.

1 hour ago, SilkySal said:

I would have thought that the new menu would be on Odyssey by now. We board in 2 weeks for our B2B and, as of today, it's still the old menu. However, we booked MTD and the dining section is only showing traditional dining on decks 3 and 4 with no mention of MTD. Hmmmmmm?

I believe it is available on Odyssey.  Check the current sailing for the new menus.

19 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

Assuming the same as Anthem, yes you can eat dinner there subject to space availability.

 

In my experience you have to book in person on the day each day, although if the maitre d’s feeling kind they might let you reserve for the next night while you’re dining.

14 hours ago, bajathree said:

The above is correct...I had no issue dining for dinner in Coastal Kitchen while in a JS aboard Odyssey. I just went to Coastal Kitchen on embarkation day and made reservations.

Can someone confirm that on embarkation day you can make reservations for any available night of the sailing, not just that night?   Also, we are sailing B2B -- any chance we can make reservations for a few nights of the second sailing during the first?

6 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

So demand for CK should be fairly consistent, even on half empty sailings.

I would think how often the folks in suites want to eat in specialty restaurants (or elsewhere) could effect demand one way or another on a specific sailing, right?