funredhead

Thanks so much for your help! I appreciate everyone's responses.

I'm making reservations for my upcoming getaway cruise in February. I'm wondering which nights they have Howl at the moon? I want to geek million dollar quartet on a non-Howl night.

Thanks so much for your help!

We booked a similar tour that was approximately 5 hours with island marketing. Th ship excursion was near us all day. It is a long ride to the park and quite a bit to see once you are there. I would recommend the 5 hours. And, if it matters, I would recommend the island marketing tour. Have a safe trip.

Thanks very much for the info.

Does anyone know which port the NCL getaway will dock?

Wondering if the divider on the balcony can be opened between rooms in this category? We are staying next door to friends next year.

We have been to all of the NCL excursions to the ruins. They are all really an amazing experience. My recommendation is lamani with the boat one way and the bus the other. The boat ride is as much of an experience as the ruins. They will take you down the river where the old Tarzan movies were filmed. So much wildlife and you will really see Belize. The ruins themselves are impressive.

I think it's a good idea to take a ship excursion. You'll be pretty far afield. And, knowing the ship will be there is worth a bit more $.

If you can afford both the time and expense of doing 2 "major" (read expensive) excursions on your trip I would also highly highly recommend Chaccobben in Costa maya. Here you will have the opportunity to climb the pyramids. This site is much more rustic.

Whichever you choose, take lots of sunscreen. It's a long, hot, amazing day! Have a wonderful time.

We booked the Patouche 50' sailing catamaran for our day in Tortola. (2/17). We had an incredible day!

Before booking, I did a lot of research here and on trip advisor. I called Joe and he answered all of my questions and he was extremely quick to respond to emails as well.

We met his cab driver at the pier and proceeded to the marina. The transfer took about 15 minutes. It's a picturesque drive. When we arrived at the Marina, Joe was waiting and ready for us to board and start the day.

Joe is a great captain. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him. He's extremely knowledgeable about all of the islands. And, from beginning to end he does everything possible to make your day memorable.

We spent the first part of the morning snorkeling off Cooper Island. We saw turtles, barracuda, and many many gorgeous fish. The water was so clear even at a depth of almost 40 ft. Joe was so helpful getting everyone fitted with snorkel gear. He also provided waist floats which gave some of our nervous swimmers an extra measure of security.

After snorkeling, we headed to Cooper Island Beach Club. This place is truly paradise. We relaxed on the beach and took in the resort while we waited for lunch. Joe phoned our order in ahead of time. When lunch was ready, long tables were reserved in the outdoor dining room. The food was fantastic. And, the drinks were cold and perfectly created. Don't miss their painkiller. In my opinion, it's better than those at the soggy dollar.

After lunch we had about 20 minutes to stop at the gift boutique and take some pictures. Then we were on our way to the Baths. We've (my immediate family)visited before, but approaching by water is really a very different experience. We snorkeled to the beach. A few of our friends snorkeled around the rocks and caves. Most of our group, left our snorkel stuff on the beach and took the paths.

The Baths themselves are beautiful. Our group (everyone else was a first timer) was impressed and really enjoyed the hike. We had about an hour to do as we wished before we needed to swim back to the cat.

Unfortunately, our day was coming to an end. Joe got us settled back onboard and reminded everyone as he did throughout the day to reapply sunscreen. He put the sails up and we headed back to Tortola.

We arrived back at the marina, disembarked and returned by open air taxi to the ship.

Our day was nothing short of perfect. Thank you Joe! This was the highlight of our vacation. I highly highly recommend.

There were 5 cruise ships in port on our trip and we docked at the third St. Thomas cruise port. It was furthest away from downtown.

I didn't know there were 3 terminals in St. Thomas. Do you happen to know the name of the dock and how many ships docked with you?

We are scheduled to tender from the spirit on 2/16. Your post gives me hope that perhaps we won't have to. I've read that tendering from the spirit is a nightmare.

Thanks for your insight.

Gift cards?! Tell me more? Do you mean the OBC certificates that can be purchased on MyNCL in different denominations? That's what we purchased (over the phone). Four $1000 certificates.

I'm wondering if I can purchase several $100 certificates. When I called to purchase them before, they put them through as $1000 certificates. There is no mention of a limit for amounts of $100 or less, so I'm curious about that possibility.

 

Again, I question the legalities of changing the terms of a contract weeks after accepting payment.

No I actually mean purchasing ncl gift cards. You can buy them in denominations up to $1000. And in the faq's it says a maximum of 3 can be used per transaction. So, I would think you could purchase 3 $1000 gift cards that total $3000. When you get on the ship you take them to the front desk and apply them to your on board spending account.

I'm not Canadian. And, I have no idea how the legality works. But, it occurs to me that if they accept gift cards as payment on board (they absolutely do), then really what's the difference between that and obc?

i would approach a link to the ncl gift card, but it never works when I do it. So, google it. And read thru the t&c and the faq's.

I am certainly not an attorney, but I wonder if you couldn't purchase gift cards from ncl. According to the faq's there is a limit of 3 gift cards per transaction. And gift cards can be purchased up to $1000 usd each.

22 days! Have a great time.

Now that you are plantinum, you will also get a free behind the scenes tour. The laundry is usually a stop. It's impressive to say the least. And, the technology on the breakaway laundry is really something to see. The crew takes exceptional care of your clothes. We use the laundry on every trip. Highly highly recommend. Have a great trip.

It says "dock" on what I see, but none of this stuff is infallible by any means. Hope you do end up with a berth, because it's a nightmare otherwise. Might want to consider not taking an independent tour.

Thanks for your help. We were planning a beach day. Sapphire, if the red algae isn't an issue. We considered a ship excursion, but they are all very short. I can't see doing the 4 hr tour to St. John thru the ship. It's just too short for me.

I'm hoping that more people will report back that ncl has improved their process. Its frustrating to think that this level of mediocrity is acceptable to them.

Hope springs eternal that we pleasantly surprised.

I'm sorry, it won't let me copy android paste a link.

The web site is Vinow dot com.

It lists the holland America ship that tt no longer lists. Not sure why that is.

Be

I've me, I hope you have better information than I have. It's so much nicer to dock.

Where are you seeing this? It's not on the schedule I have access to.

 

The only benefit for Platinum is that you don't need to get a numbered ticket beforehand. Go directly to the line for the tenders.

http://www.**********/cruise/ship-schedule/2-2016/

You should be fine. Spirit will likely dock at Crown Bay with Norwegian Gem.

Thank you so much. But, I neglected to mention that there are 6 ships in port. And it says the spirit is slotted for anchorage.

Judging by the other reports in this thread, it sounds like it has the potential to be a disastrous day. Thankfully, we are plantinum and will get priority tender tickets. Can anyone report on how the priority went?

Just back and we tendered at St. Thomas and it wasn't pretty. Used Spirit tender boats, not life boats, but the boarding was ugly. Rocky waters and they weren't stabilized. Many people had a hard time if they weren't prepared to wait with the wave and time the "jump" onto and off the tender. There were a lot of deckhands there helping. But it was difficult for the older people.

 

As for a wheelchair, there's no ramp. They'd have to be able to stand up and make the steps up to the tender and cross over with help. They then folded her wheelchair and put it onboard.

Just wondering if you can elaborate on your tendering experience in St. Thomas. How were numbers handled, how long it took to actually get off the boat, return trip & where the tender actually drops off?

We are supposed to tender on 2/16. There are 16k passengers in port and we don't arrive until 11am. This combined with reports of lots of red algae at the beaches is making me a little nervous.

Your perspective. Greatly appreciated.

Help!

I have a large group wanting to charter over to the baths. Patouche is my first choice except for the drive to east end marina. Who has taken this drive? Can you please tell me your experience? With the recent celebrity accident, we are nervous about driving on the roads of Tortola.

Your perspective is appreciated.

Thank you so much for your help! I was able to reach Joe. He seems like a great guy! He can accommodate my group. BUT... We have to take a taxi bus over to east end. This is a concern for many of the people I'm traveling with. Can you tell me about this drive? With the recent crash we are nervous.

Thank you. I will call them in the am.

We are a fairly large group(20 to 30 people) visiting Tortola in February. Our group would like to go to the baths. My husband and I have previously done this on our own successfully. So, we know about using the ferries.

My question is whether or not it would be cost effective to do a private charter? Which operators would be recommended? And your thoughts on doing this way vs. via ferry.

Our ship is arriving on a Wednesday which alters using only speedy's. We are in port from 8-5.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

For Mullett Bay, it was $9/pp each way. It's on the Dutch side of the island so not as far as Orient. I'd say about a 15 minute cab ride. There were cab drivers sitting in the lot, so we had no issue getting back to the port area. You could see the planes coming in. It's not as close to the airport as Moho, but it's also not as loud.

Hope that helps your planning. Have a great trip!

We sailed on this sailing as well. This was our first time on the Gem. I can't say enough about the staff. Honestly, the best staff we have experienced in many many years. Our room steward was like a room steward of the old days. (Although he was young). He knew us by name and was very friendly. And he got to know our timing, so our room was cleaned as soon as w left.

Every bartender, every waiter, absolutely every employee was pleasant and friendly. This as the first ship that we witnessed employees being managed. And it truly works. It's my opinion that the Gem should be the model for ship service. It's honestly that impressive.

The only hiccup we experienced was on the last night in cagneys. We ate there 3 times. But, on this last night it just wasn't what it was on previous visits. I had to ask the waiter to bring the French press coffee which he told me they only serve for breakfast. (Not true). In fairness, when asked he did bring the coffee. So, if you have a specialty dinner planned, don't save it for cagneys on the last night.

Magnums was our favorite bar. We loved the variety of music. Don't miss the last night. The crew from the bar staff sing with the band. They are incredibly talented and fun. And, can they make a martini!

Don't miss mojitos in sugarcane. And, the bar staff in the great outdoors are fantastic! They do tricks and were lots of fun.

If you want a dining package for less than the duration of the cruise, buy it before you go. We did and loved the variety. On board they only offer it for the whole trip.

For the ports, we went on the run forest hike. In St. Marten, we went to mullet bay. No sea weed. Absolutely beautiful. Great snorkeling. In st. Thomas, we went to coki and the snorkeling there was amazing. So colorful. We saw a 4ft shark. Very very cool. In Tortola, we took the ship excursion to Jost van dyke. Which was amazing. We booked before we left on the cruise and ship excursion desk told me that it sells out every trip before the first day. So if you want to go, book it.

We were in Tortola last Saturday. We took the escape to Jost Van Dyke catamaran excursion thru ncl. No other ncl excursion visited while we were there. I would highly recommend the Jost excursion. It's one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited.

Just as a point of reference, it's about 45 minute cat ride from Tortola to Jost. So, if you go, I would recommend you book thru the ship.

That's great info! We are also sailing on the Gem. And overpacking is exactly the reason for my question. Thank you so much! More room to pack shoes!