calmpets

I think an email to Maya Chan would answer your question as to whether it is possible for 4 ships to dock, or whether one will need to tender. I am sure they will know from experience because it would add to your transportation time coming and going.

Good idea, I will definitely do that!

I plan to book in August 2018 for a visit in March 2019. Hopefully that will be far enough out to ensure space.

So I did some more research, and there are four ships slated to be in Costa Maya on the same day as me; Allure of the Seas, NCL Breakaway, Rotterdam, and I'll be on the NCL Pearl. That being the case, and since we only need to make the deposit at time of booking, we went ahead and booked it now for March 2019. Can't wait to check it out!

I tried to search but didn't see anything about this.

 

My question is that if we choose to stay on board (we don't want to get off at Roatan, heard horrible things) can we go to guest services and get the port taxes and fees refunded to us for that port since we didn't actually get off the ship and visit the location?

If you are concerned with safety, might I suggest looking at taking an excursion to Maya Key? It is a private island, and they pick you up right from the dock and bring you over via boat, so you are never really in Roatan proper. It has a little bit of everything on the island: beach, pool, buffet lunch, animal sanctuary, excellent snorkeling, etc. You also don't have to stay for a specific length of time, as the boat runs regularly all day back and forth to the dock. I've been there a few times and always love it.

I will be there March 8, 2019. I looked up the port traffic on cruisecal dot com, and all four ships are slated to be there at the same time. Two arrive at 7am, and two arrive at 8am.

I just discovered that the day I am slated to be in Costa Maya on the NCL Pearl, there are three other ships scheduled: NCL Breakaway, Allure of the Sea, and the Rotterdam. Can four ships actually dock in Costa Maya, especially when two are megaships? I can't recall ever seeing more than two ships there at a time on any of my visits, and my online search was inconclusive.

Add note: With SO MANY cruises going to western and many ships stopping in Costa Maya, I'd booked Maya Chan sooner than later. First time reading so many sold-out stories. Once you've been there, you'll know why.

I plan to book in August 2018 for a visit in March 2019. Hopefully that will be far enough out to ensure space.

It is only 120 minutes of free phone service.

Ah, thanks for the heads up. It just says "free phone call package", and I assumed it was unlimited. My bad! In any case, does anyone know what the out of pocket cost is for stateroom calls?

I've noticed that most cruises more than 7 nights long now offer the distinctive voyage promo, which includes unlimited phone calls from your room. Does anyone know what the rate is for in-room phone calls if you don't have the promo? Just curious if it's become cheaper than using cellular at sea. Thanks in advance for any info!

Maybe a private hire of the Cozumel Bar Hop?

I came here to recommend the Bar Hop too - they do bachelorette parties all the time! You would not have the beach though, as only one of the stops has a beach you can swim at. But I think the fun factor would offset the loss of the beach time. It would cost you a bit more than doing an all-inclusive resort, but it's well worth it, and you don't have to worry about managing your time, since the Bar Hop people take care of all that for you.

You only make the deposit in advance. The group I am sailing with next month made our reservations 10 months out. We will receive a final invoice approximately 30 days prior to our visit.

That's great to know, thanks! Their website says payment in full is due prior to arrival, so I assumed they required the whole thing at the time of booking.

I was booked on one of the NCL Gem Canada cruises that was cancelled for October 2018. As a token, if you booked another sailing they would give you either $25 or $50 OBC. My party had two other sailings already booked, but NCL refused to apply the credit to an existing reservation. It just added insult to injury. I totally agree with you that they should honor the original promo, since they changed the itinerary completely, but unless you yell loudly and repeatedly, or manage to get the media involved, they are not likely to do anything for you. Corporate has been considerably less concerned about positive customer relations over the past year or two, IMHO. The ship experience is always great for me, though, so I'm trying to get past my crappy interactions with corporate.

And just to note that Sunday, NCL gave the couple a full refund, and a free cruise.

I just came here to say this. Here is a link to the follow-up article. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/28/norwegian-cruise-line-changes-course-offers-couple-apology-refund-and-dream-trip/JfHQCLMLSi9ZqjNug1EovI/story.html?p1=Article_Recommended_ReadMore_Pos1

I could have seen NCL giving them a nominal credit toward a future cruise, mainly due to the way shoreside handled things. The couple was at fault for their lack of proper documentation, but it wasn't handled as well as it could have been. That said, to give them a full refund PLUS a free cruise is outrageous!

Not a gambler so couldn’t help, asking for a friend who has gambled on NCL before but not registered anywhere.

 

Would he do it on ship first day or could do via web ahead of time

There is no way to get the card in advance. My experience, most recently on a March 2017 cruise on the NCL Jade, was that you have to sign up for a Casinos at Sea card once onboard, and then if you have points from a previous sailing on another NCL ship, let them know and they will pull the info. It takes a day or so to verify prior sailings, but it will carry over any leftover points you may have.

I don’t think that Falmouth is in the Parish that Montego Bay is in

It's not, but to be honest, they are only a few towns away from each other, so I don't blame people for their concern.

We were there 2 weeks ago and booked about a month in advance. There were 3 ships in port, but it was not crowded at Maya Chan. There were 2 of us and maybe 20 total at the resort. We left at 3:00 and were the last ones there.

I guess it varies depending on the time of year. Some of my family tried a couple of weeks ago to book a party of 4 for this March, and they were told it was sold out. Thanks for the feedback though.

I will be traveling with a party of 13 total in March of 2019, and am interested in going to Maya Chan. I am reasonably certain the majority, if not all, of my party will want to go there, but I'm not sure enough to prepay everyone a year in advance. How far out should I expect to book to ensure we are able to get in?

I am trying to decide if the UBP is worth it for me as one of my free promos ( although I would be spending the $199 fee) I would probably have only one alcoholic drink per day (the drink of the day) but would easily have one or two non alcoholic frozen drinks per day. Plus soda with every meal and maybe one or two between meals . Can anyone tell me approximately how much a soda is and how much a non alcoholic frozen drink might be? Thank you for your help 😊Also, is that $199 in lieu of tipping the bartender with each drink?

As far as I know, the fee would be $124.60, not $199. You are paying the gratuity on the beverage package, which is 20% of $89 per day, times seven days. Perhaps you are including both the beverage package and dining package gratuities to come up with $199? And yes, that would be in lieu of tipping the bartender with each drink.

I posted about this a few days ago. Here is the link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2580128

i sent a tweet to Norwegian on twitter. They replied stating that their system shows the ship returning back to NYC and that is a glitch with their website

That would be great if it's just a glitch. Fingers crossed!

Well, my PCC wasn't able to get a firm answer, nor was his supervisor. It was suggested to wait before doing anything, as they will offer some OBC if they cancel the sailing, but if we cancel first we just get our deposit back. It definitely looks like they are playing with ship placements though, and not in our favor! :mad:

It may well have something to do with the DAWN and the GEM swapping places (Boston & New York).

That would be great if that's all it is. But I thought they weren't swapping till 2019?

This itinerary is no longer showing up as bookable, and the info on my reservation is now showing a Quebec to NYC itinerary, instead of the roundtrip from NYC that I booked. Anyone have any info on this yet?

I am looking for feedback from anyone who has done one of the guided distillery tours. I've read a lot of reviews stating that you can go through the place on your own in about 15 minutes, but I am specifically interested in doing one of the guided tours instead. Thanks in advance for any info you can give me!

Wizpharm2 - I am really enjoying your review! I have been wondering how 28 passengers on a cruise ship would be handled logistically, and have found your posts very interesting. Enjoy your sailing!

I simply fail to understand those who cannot accept that there may be people unable to fly. I can think of a number of medical conditions with which flying is unbearably painful or simply dangerous. And that doesn't begin to tap into the various psychosis that may preclude flying.

I posted a link to this info earlier in the thread, but I am not sure the link came through. In any case, here is the official list of reasons you should not fly, per the CDC. There is almost nothing on this list that is okay to cruise with, but not okay to fly with, unless you have developed symptoms of one of these issues during the cruise.

• 
  
  • Will be taking a baby less than 48 hours (2 days) old
    
  • Have passed 36 weeks of pregnancy (or 32 weeks if you are carrying twins, triplets, etc.)
    
  • Have recently had any type of surgery, especially stomach, brain, eye, or orthopedic (bone and joint) surgery. Check with your doctor to see when it is safe for you to travel.
    
  • Have had a recent stomach, eye, or head injury. Check with your doctor to see when it is safe for you to travel.
    
  • Have had a recent heart attack or stroke
    
  • Are suffering from:
    
    • Chest pain
      
    • Any disease that you can easily spread to other people (For a listing of infectious diseases, how they are spread, and how long someone is contagious, see Understand How Infectious Diseases Are Spread.)
      
    • Swelling of the brain caused by bleeding, injury, or infection
      
    • Severe sinus, ear, or nose infections
      
    • Severe chronic respiratory diseases, breathlessness at rest, or a collapsed lung
      
    • Sickle cell disease
      
    • Psychotic illness except when fully controlled
      

     

    [*]Have a fever of 100° F (38° C) or greater AND one or more of the following:

    • Obvious signs of illness (e.g., severe headache, weakness, skin and eyes turning yellow)
      
    • Skin rash
      
    • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
      
    • Persistent, severe cough
      
    • Confusion, especially if it has just started
      
    • Bruising or bleeding (without previous injury)
      
    • Diarrhea that does not go away
      
    • Vomiting that does not go away (other than motion sickness
      

     

   

That being the case, the overwhelming majority of people "stuck" on Barbados, are likely to be people who just don't like flying, not people with actual maladies preventing it. I am guessing that is why you are seeing such limited sympathy for them.