roger001

In settings, turn "data" off or turn "data off while roaming". Leave voice on while roaming. While at sea, Text, .05c for each received, and .50c for each sent (SMS only) and works through the voice feature. If you make a call while at sea, cellular at sea rates apply, which are $2.50 per minute. If you answer your phone while at sea or listen to voice mail, the $2.50 will be charged. The ship's cabin phone rates have been dropped to $1.99 a minute recently which makes it cheaper than your cell phone. While in a port, non domestic charges apply, different for each port, which your Global plan might address.

Unless Tracy's has recently opened one in Skagway, they are only in Juneau. I think King Crab Legs are priced even beyond the ability of the specialty restaurants to serve them. And I've never seen them in the MDRs.

I guess I am mostly interested while on the ship. Obviously you to use your common sense on and off the ship, but are there ever situations that have really made you feel unsafe?

Nope. Never feel more comfortable and relaxed than I do on a cruise ship.

Just guessing, but I would think a chartered concert cruise would be like a trip to Bonnaroo, a Bonnaroo that floats. Would be fun but it would be all about the music. Everything would be focused on it. A normal cruise is more like visiting an all inclusive resort that floats (keeping in mind that drinks and some things are not included). Normal cruise, relaxation and gentle fun. Concert cruise, action fun, fun, fun.

Upgrades are few and far between. They are only offered if there is a logistical reason on that ship, for that cruise, for NCL to do so. As others have said, most are just a same type cabin with a reassignment to what could be considered a better location, or on rare occasion to the next level up of cabin type. Only at the last minute, if suites remain unsold, would you then possibly get a call offering you a suite at a discounted price. A person really needs to be happy with what they originally purchase and not hold their breath hoping for a free or reduced price upgrade. But....a very few will occasionally get the offer and when they do, it will be posted on here.........

Thank you, I had this questions as well. My other question -

Is there decaf coffee provided?

Yes. Packets of both. Many persons, self included, take some 4 cup filters and our own preferred brand of coffee. And let me correct myself on my previous post. I previously said it was a 2 cup coffee maker. It is actually what Mr. Coffee and the rest describe as a 4 cup coffee maker (although in reality, they only make 2 reasonable sized cups).

It should be a 2 cup Mr. Coffee drip basket type, like most hotel/motels have. Hotel type coffee packets are provided. If for some reason your room doesn't have one, ask your room steward and he/she should be able to get you one.

I'll confirm the importance of trip insurance, not that it is in doubt. My sister and friend were an hour from heading down to the POM to board the Getaway yesterday, when friend had symptoms of a heart attack, and they headed to the nearest hospital instead. Friend is still in hospital this morning with my sister standing by. The Getaway is long gone. They are very disappointed of course...but had trip insurance to cover the cruise cancellation. Friend is feeling much better physically, but tests still being run. Trip insurance....don't leave home without it. You never know.

If you liked the Jewel, the Pearl is equally good...and the Sun, smaller, but also very, very nice. Glad you enjoyed it.

Where should assignment of responsibility begin and end? With NCL, the parents, other guests who are present in an accident like this??? At what point should the perceived chance of injury or death be recognized and addressed ? How tall should balcony railings around a cabin balcony be? Should they be totally enclosed? Should the promenade deck be totally enclosed? How tall or of what design is good be good enough? Should 24 hour guards or staff be stationed around the promenade deck? Should parents who let their unsupervised small children enter the adult designed pool be removed from the ship when observed letting this occur? If NCL tells you that an issue has possible safety considerations to recognize and you let an accident occur, will you then sue NCL because they did not insure complete safety?

Really sorry it happened. But, traveling in the US northeast during the winter is always risky. We've watched one winter storm after another go through there week after week. Flights have been delayed or canceled repeatedly. It's no one's fault but mother nature. And we must plan accordingly. As others have mentioned, travel the day before. There's just too much risk otherwise. And...travel insurance is a must for us...always. Thanks for the reminder though. I too would be very disappointed, but would not be able to point a finger of blame at anyone except my planning.

No Alaskan King Crab legs even on specialty restaurants?

I don't remember ever seeing it. I'm guessing that King Crab is too expensive for even the specialty restaurants to offer.

If you'd like some Alaskan King Crab, while stopped in Juneau do go to Tracy's Crab Shack. It is on the waterfront right down town. They serve crab legs, crab bisque and crab cakes. Excellent. King crab is expensive, but Tracy's is about half the price of the other restaurants in town, and Tracy's is where the locals go. It's just a walk up outdoor place. You can search the web site on Google if you wish.

Tendering occurs in Cozumel occasionally, depending on how many ships are in port that day. You'll normally dock there however.

No, but you can pack your own. I did this for years. The easter bunny always found us, no matter which ship we were on :D AND he hid eggs, too!

Same here. Our only Easter cruise, the Easter bunny had found our cabin when I awoke Easter morning.

Puerto Chiapas is a very nice port area that has been developed by the community to offer a pleasant cruise ship stop, considering it it otherwise located pretty far from the nearest town. The port has a small central shopping area, a restaurant, and even a pool. The locals are very nice. Busses will be waiting to shuttle you to the nearest town if you wish. That is about 15 miles I believe. Not a lot in Puerto Chiapas, but what they do offer is very nice. I admire their efforts.

We've never had MDR service anywhere near that slow. I do consider dining in the MDR a "relaxed, no hurry" atmosphere, which, if we choose to dine in there, is what we want. However....politely address issues if needed at the time. First, if in a hurry, tell you server that you will need to be hurried for this meal and that he/she can bring out your food quickly. If sometime the server just disappears and you can't find them to request their attention, just walk up to the desk and politely ask if you could see the matre d for a moment. Explain that you may have been forgotten and could he/she check into it please. But..again...we've never had this problem.

As others have said, being offered an upgrade is extremely rare. We've never been offered one. Book what you want and will enjoy (a balcony is a must for us). Then if prices suddenly drop considerably as the cruise approaches (and they are just as likely to increase instead), then call and see if you can get an upgrade. I sure wouldn't book an inside if I didn't really want one based on a thought that you will be upgraded out of it.

Where can you buy the luggage tag sleeves for the NCL tags?

And you can get them one here with the Cruise Critic logo if you wish.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/store/product.cfm?ID=46

I just went ahead and bought a few luggage tag holders that the NCL tags fit in. No more packing tape or staplers.

It is served the first night in the main dining rooms (free). The lobsters are fairly small, but you can ask for more. It is a surf and turf meal. My wife doesn't like steak and asks the server to leave that off but add another lobster.

Just doesn't work for us. We're picky about which ship, cruise, cabin....all of which might not be available if we wait. Also, price drops are not guaranteed. In fact, it seems price increases are more common. To me, the only way that can work, or would work for us, would be if we lived just a short distance from a port and could drive on very short notice.

The ship is only scanning for obviously dangerous items such as weapons, items that might be a fire hazard, and of course alcohol. The ship restrictions are nothing at all like that of an airport TSA set of restrictions.

Unless it's a group booking, the cruise price will be the same. It will be the price posted at that moment on NCL's web site. For us, the advantage of booking through a TA is that I do ask for some OBC to be given us through her company. It's not much, but every bit helps. We do this. I do all my own research, find the cruise we want, find the cabin that we want, and if the price is what I like, I call my TA with all this info. She then calls NCL and books it for us. I also buy travel insurance that her company offers. I then monitor the cruise proce as final payment approaches. If it goes down, I notify my TA and she gets NCL to adjust it or re book at the new lower price. If after final payment, I may, may ask my TA to see if NCL will upgrade our room category if appropriate. I realize I do most of the TA's work for her, but I enjoy that and it makes the cruise more exciting for us to anticipate. If you do try a TA, first insure that that there will be no fees, cancellation, changes, etc charged you by the TA. For them, it should be nothing more than commission from NCL. Nothing from you.

And I might add, whatever questions you have regarding cabin selection, ship, particular cruise, just ask on here. You will quickly become more specifically knowledgeable about cruise selection than most TAs.

How is the ship's water just as good as bottled water? Like a poster above said, I drink enough water to drown a fish so good quality water means a lot to me! I would strongly prefer not to bring a case of water with me if I don't have to.

I'm not a water purification expert. However, the ships' purification and distillation process is known to create extremely pure water. I believe everyone agrees it is crystal clear, without any taste or odor. The info sheet from the Pearl says that the fresh water is produced on board through the process of evaporation and reverse osmosis. It says that they can produce 396,300 gals of fresh water a day.