thatjoeguy

53 minutes ago, Heymarco said:

As a parent of a child who can’t get a vaccine yet, we don’t feel valued. What they are actually saying is that it’s all about $ and children are no longer our future. If they really cares about children, why not let them on a cruise ship like the other lines where Covid numbers have been so much better than anything on land? Or should parents just keep them in the basement for 2+ years? It really doesn’t make sense.

I don't think parents need to keep their kids in the basement for two years 🙄 but I don't think it's a terrible hardship to hold off on a cruise for another few months until the kids are fully vaxed. Kids 5 and up are eligible now, so you can plan a Christmas cruise for them, and most health officials are predicting the vaccine to be approved for younger kids by the end of the year, which makes a February cruise a real possibility. As a parent of a 5 and a 3, I'm more then ready for them to both be vaccinated, but I wouldn't take the unnecessary risk of putting them on a ship without it. 

2 hours ago, Heymarco said:

No surprise here, NCL clearly indicated that they no longer value kids as customers earlier this summer (evident even pre-Covid, just more evident now). Disney, Royal, and Carnival are much better choices for those that wish to cruise with children. Parents, please take notice.

I think requiring vaccines is a great way to show you value kids. I’m looking forward to taking ours once they’re fully vaxed, in the correct manner. 

58 minutes ago, eplanet said:

 

It also says explicitly that you shouldn’t get your second shot early, so there we are. 

This is awesome! Excited for the kiddos to get vaccinated so we can sail safe!

Categories B6 and M6 are the large balcony suites. They roughly triple the depth (and overall size) of your balcony. We had one on the Escape and it was amazing. They come with two lounge chairs with a side table as well as a dining table and 2(?) normal chairs. (We had plans to have one on the Encore when we last sailed, but their connecting rooms in the M6 category are 4-2 instead of 4-3, so it didn't work out for our group.)

The rooms are a roughly 50-50 split for bed by the door or balcony.

Per the Shore Ex agent, if all the spots are sold out pre-cruise, my only solution is to be put on the wait-list when I get on board. My understanding is that the whole saving spots for on board booking was only true of the restaurants. My hope is that, since people with the credit don't have to pay in advance, people are just "holding" reservations until they decide what they really want to do. 

I'm also a bit worried about the timing. Our kayak time is from 8:15 to 10:15, with all aboard at 11:59. With the drive time, things should go fine (and give us about 40 minutes to spare) but I'm not sure I really want to chance it. However, I guess since the ship excursion is going at the same time, the only delay we would have to worry about is if our transport breaks down on the way back...

A group of us are sailing out on the Encore on February 9. Four of us were very interested in doing the bioluminescent bay kayaking, but by the time we got around to making a reservation, there were only two spots available on the ship tour. (It seems like only a very small amount of spots were available in the first place.) Has anyone had an experience, either positive or negative, on more spots opening while waitlisted on the ship? 
At this point, I am also looking into private reservation for the kayaking from San Juan. So far, it’s turning out to be a bit more expensive than booking through the cruise line, especially since we are planning private transport since we are a little worried about the time constraints. Has anyone used a transportation company there that has been good and reliable, and not terribly expensive? I’ve also posted this in the Puerto Rico section.

We are cruising in to San Juan for a 6 PM to midnight stop in a few weeks. Four members of our group went to the bioluminescent kayaking, but unfortunately the trip through the cruise line is sold out. Due to distance/time constraints, we are a little worried about taking one of the tours from San Juan, and are just looking into booking the kayaking and transfer separately. Can anyone recommend a good transport company for four from the port to the bay and back?

Food Republic is amazing. We are thrilled that we can now use the SDP there. (Previously on the Escape, we just always paid out of pocket.) Looking forward to that again soon, as well as the other new ones on the Encore soon!

7 hours ago, Single Cruiser said:

I nearly forgot when I did the speedway tour earlier in the week didn’t post laser tag rules 

 

 

Any ideas what the laser tag hours are? Is the space open when games aren't going on? I was wondering if it would be a spot to let the kids run around and burn off some energy in February.

Correct 

Thanks! I've always had good luck with it as well.

Sailing with some friends and family. Anyone else aboard?

Eat at Food Republic. 

See HatM. 

FR is amazing.  Even though it is outside the dining plan, we always make sure to go several times on our cruises. Everything there is a la carte, so even if she can’t find much, you can grab snacks there and go eat somewhere else later.  That said, I’m pretty sure there were gluten-free things on the menu. 

When I spoke to someone about it (again) she stated something that amounted to “all could sleep at least three on the Escape, but things are different on the Encore.” I will be curious to see what the rooms look like when the ship finally sails.

7 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

I know that it seems crazy but those staterooms without a symbol actually sleep 3. There seems to be an issue with the booking engine but based on Bliss, the connecting staterooms sleep 3 or 4. 

 

For example 8724/8726 on Bliss and Encore are connecting and even though 8726 doesn't have a triangle, it sleeps 3. The video below is Bliss 8726 (ignore the description) and it sleeps 3 and shows the connecting door and sofa-bed

7 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 Were you ever able to successfully book 3 into that room?  When I called and spoke to someone there (I know all the problems that come with that, regarding getting different answers every time) they told me that only two could be booked into those rooms. 

27 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

How about connecting M6s?

There are many unless they are already taken.

We wanted to do that. Sadly, on the Encore, the majority are 4-2, not the 4-3 we would need. There is only one pair of 4-4 (and no 4-3s) and it’s booked. 😔

We (me, husband, and two kiddos who will be age 3 and 1) are currently booked in a large balcony mini suite on the Encore in February. My brother, his wife, and their will-be-1-year-old are planning to come as well, so we are contemplating “downgrading” to a connecting mini suite. Should we give up the giant balcony in exchange for only needing to keep one adult in the rooms at night?

Skip the car seats. They’ll just end up taking up space in the room. 

Just curious - what at are you doing for sleeping arrangements? We were in a mini suite with one crib, and there was barely any room. I can’t imagine trying to fit two...

Get to port earlyish, connect to the ship’s WiFi before boarding, and reserve using the app. It may not fully work until all other passengers are off. 

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

 

I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would pay Haven or suite prices on any NCL cruise when you can get a much nicer experience for less money on one of the luxury lines.

 We sale on NCL because we like the range of food and entertainment options, which is not something you get on the smaller luxury lines. 

I have never found group cruises to be any cheaper than booking direct. Maybe I am missing something.

The only real benefit we saw was the ability to price lock a block of cabins. It wasn't helpful for me (boo) but was nice for the members of the group who booked later.

I think it's the result of the new generation of mega-ships. When the larger ships were not too functionally different than the medium sized ships, then there is no real need. Like the difference between a 40kt vs 80kt ships is decent, but not too dramatic. So in that era, there was no need for different classes on one ship, both groups don't benefit. You just build a different ship/line/branding for different classes. But with these new mega ships, people like the increased activites, more things for kids, better entertainment, etc. But there's not enough passengers to make a luxury class mega-ship, so now we are back to multiple classes.

The smaller NCL ships still have suites, though, which is a very similar thing. A normal balcony room doesn't get a butler or lunch at Cagney's, but the suites do. The main difference in the larger ships is just an increased area for the "first class" guests, no?

Also, the cruise lines' poor recognition of solo travelers in fee schedules, are telling solo travelers that they don't rate, because they don't bring in the ++++ spending. Yes, there is a slow increase in making allowances for solos, and NCL offers more acceptance than most, but across the board, solo travelers are seen as 'steerage', denied sales promotions and charged up to double the rates (sometimes triple the sales rates) in order to be allowed to cruise. I have no problem in paying up for the room portion of fees, it is all the other mark ups and restrictions that are smacks in the face and clearly send the message that the largest growing travel niche market isn't for 'them'.

Between the studio rooms (and their associated studio lounge, only accessible to those in the studios) and the singles mixers, it seems like NCL is doing well to single folks. Hotels charge double occupancy for all their rooms - I don't know of any hotel chains that have "single rooms" the way the newer NCL ships do.