Viajera7

I had both BTST and DWTO on the Star last week and DWTO on the Getaway in October. To book these experiences, go to the Cruise Next desk as soon as possible on embarkation day. If you are Sapphire you also get the Wines of the World.They didn’t have it on the Star last week because they said they only had one sea day. They had it on the Getaway in October and the Epic in December.

They had a Spanish channel on the Epic transatlantic from Lisbon last December. They had the Kids version and I saw it.

11 days until Star from Argentina to Brazil.

The gift exchanges that I have attended have been during a Meet & Greet. During my last exchange in December, we put the gifts on a table and when the host called us by table, we went there and picked a gift.

My first cruise was the Tropicale too. I also do land vacations but cruises are more convenient many times because you can see several places per trip without unpacking and packing. Plus you have entertainment too.

My cousin and I were notified 64 days in advance for our Rome flight this spring. We got different airlines because we live in different states. My cousin got Alitalia and Air France. She lives in the East Coast. I got United and Swiss Air. I live in the Midwest.

I stayed on the Epic on a studio cabin for the Christmas week last December (2 months ago). The bartender is there for limited hours in the evening and the only drink you can have after that is the coffee from the machine there. I just made sure that I refilled my tumbler with water everyday.

Yes. When I clicked on the app for my June cruise, it brought up the National Margarita Day offer.

Is this different depending on the ship or there was a change this year? I had a bottle of champagne and a fruit basket on the Valor last year.

I agree that it depends on the ports and ships. I have done it twice with NCL two years in a row (Dec.2021 & Dec. 2022) on the same ship (The Epic). The first year b2b, we didn’t have to disembark in San Juan. We waited in the Le Bistro restaurant and we were cleared there. Easy process. Dec.2022 b2b2b Transatlantic from Lisbon to New York. We were escorted to disembark the ship and escorted to the terminal after immigration to sit and wait until they called our groups. New York to San Juan we went again to the Le Bistro to wait for the officers and clearance. We had to wait a loooong time there because although the officers were there, they couldn’t clear the ship until all the other passengers had disembarked. If I remember correctly, we had about 4,600 passengers and the lines for guest services were long.

I have the Fascination and Destiny placemats framed too. Are the Fun Times no longer a paper? I was just on Celebrity early February and still got paper although used the app too. NCL does have a paper freestyle too but you can also see them on the app. There’s a compact paper version of the Fun Times now which you could get at the coffee shop or guest services

I had been able to do 2 nights pre and 2 nights post cruise using the NCL air program but booking my own hotels which is cheaper.

Thanks for the photo. I will try this burger next time.

Were they placemats? I thought they were posters because of the nature of the paper material not suitable to put things on them unless you laminate them. I also got only one per cruise,

Something else to add to the list: On the last day of the cruise, the waiter would give you a poster of the ship in the MDR. I liked those. I don’t like to use my phone to make reservations for restaurants, to see the menu, to reserve shore excursions on board and to see the daily activities. I like to mark the activities on paper so I have to go to the coffee shop every morning to get the Fun Times because Guest Services usually has a line. Carnival was my first cruise line and the one that hooked me to cruising but I am an equal opportunity cruiser and I compare things. Carnival is charging for popcorn, It is still free on NCL ( back from the Joy about a week ago), the waiter still sweep the bread crumbs before the desert and coffee and the Freestyle Daily is still delivered in your cabin or by the door every night. I still like Carnival. That’s why I still have cruises booked with them in August- September and October-November but this thread is not about that but things that we miss.

After reading this thread, I was beginning to think that the beverage voucher was a Mardi Gras thing because I received it on my October sailing. Now that I see this post, I understand why. The “party” was crowded so it gives you another opportunity to get your drink.

On my Mardi Gras cruise in October, a lady won the $1,000. On theValor in March, I bought 2 cartons and won 2 bingo packages and $20 that I got in the casino. I also won the first bingo and won $100 and free internet for the length of the cruise.On NCL, I got $50 on the Breakaway and a photo on the Joy.

I was on the Joy for the 1/21 to 2/5/23 cruise and it has the dinner with the officers. I have done this in 3 ships the Sky, the Getaway and the Joy. The one at the Joy was my favorite because of the attention to details from the coordinator who did a follow up with chocolates and a card the following day,

Or the old school way. I write all my activities/ information: cruise related, pre and post cruise including flights, hotels, excursions, etc. on a regular calendar and take a picture of it. That way I can take a quick glance without having to take out my travel documents out of the envelope/ folder.

Sometimes there’s no place to sit at the WJ and you have to take your food to your cabin. Especially on the mega ships.

I agree. I was on the Jade for my birthday last year and I had ordered a no sugar added dessert while I was on Cagney’s. The waiters brought it and a cake and sang Happy Birthday. I ate the dessert that I ordered and only tried a little of the birthday cake. They offered to box it but we declined.

Yes. I would have done it after my June cruise but I want to do both. See the Everglades and the National Park.

Thanks for the information. This confirms that I should wait until I can spend more time after a cruise and rent a car to go to the National Park.

Everglades National Park Visitor Center which has a gift shop. I collect National Parks stamps which you get at the visitor center and that’s the reason why I would book this excursion. Otherwise, I would wait for another time and rent a car to go to this park. Thanks for answering.

Do you remember if you had extra time to go to the Visitor’s Center?