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First of all, Galveston cruises (unless the ship is repositioning at the end of a season) are unlikely to go anywhere except Western Caribbean. It's simply a matter of how far they can travel and get back again in 5 or 7 days.

As to cruise lines, it really depends on what you're looking for. They all offer the same basic product, but each has a different kind of vibe. We would not willingly sail Carnival ever again, as the ships in the smaller ports like Galveston tend to be much older, and the cruise line has a deserved reputation as a "party" cruise line, which is not our thing. 

My DW recently completed a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Galveston and was very disappointed with Enchantment. We've cruised one or two of Royal's larger ships, and been happy with them, but she felt Enchantment simply was too old and run down, with few options for dining. Allure of the Seas will be cruising out of Galveston soon, and that ship is certainly new, up to date, and huge, with plenty of options for dining and entertainment. 

Beyond Carnival and Royal, I believe Disney sails out of Galveston. Very different style of cruising, oriented towards families and children. No casino if that's part of what you like on a cruise. 

You can go to New Orleans, which isn't that far away, and you add the choice of NCL. As you'll see by my sig, we are longtime NCL cruisers and really like their product. But again, you'll mostly have Western Caribbean itineraries. 

So, unless it's just out of the question, I would consider flying to a Florida port. This opens up the whole of the Caribbean itineraries to you, and adds several other cruise lines to the equation. For special cruise like you're planning, I'd suggest either an NCL ship in a Haven cabin, or perhaps a Celebrity ship in a suite. 

We've been on the Dawn twice, and enjoyed both cruises (one in 2011, one in 2018). As many others have said, it really depends on what you want from a cruise. We don't need the rope courses, water slides, etc, and we actually don't go to many shows. Decent food and a comfortable cabin with a good itinerary are what we need, and the Dawn is fine in those categories. 

In both cases, we sailed in a Forward Penthouse. We love those cabins on the Jewel class (slightly larger) ships, and they're just as good on the Dawn class although the cabins and balcony are a little smaller. 

22 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Midship, or you can walk up the stairs from O'Sheahan's.  Used to be the iCafe 

 

If I remember correctly, there's also a door into this lounge from the deck 9 cabin hallways. It's a single door, not hugely marked, and easy to miss, because it looks just like all the service area doors in the hallway.

We had a similar stop in San Juan on a past cruise. The fort will be closed by the time you could get up there. 

I did a wandering walk through old San Juan and up to the fort and back and it's a beautiful, picturesque city, well worth the time spent exploring it. As mentioned above, you could easily find a great restaurant for dinner if you wanted. 

2 hours ago, MoniMommy said:

Amen! Instead of trying to rid ship of Noro why not prevent it.

And that comes right back to the passengers. If everyone would practice good sanitary procedures, there would be far fewer outbreaks. 

2 minutes ago, Ginapier said:

I just booked the forward PH suite for the 11 day southern carribean out of ny. How rough is the sailing? I’m worried the first 2 days at sea and last 2 days will be difficult...

 

anyone info would be appreciated...

TIA

You didn't say when you're sailing? The seas around NY can obviously be rougher during the winter due to increased numbers of storms. But you could also have a very smooth trip...it really depends on the weather when you sail. You also didn't say which ship, but they all have stabilizers designed to smooth out the ride as much as possible, and the crew will always do their best to sail around storms and in smoother waters. 

I would NOT fly to LAX if your intended destination is in Studio City. Burbank airport is much closer to Studio City and will save you a lot of driving time. Burbank airport is so easy to use, and it has all the major car rental companies in a central garage that's just a short walk from the terminal. I will always opt for BUR when flying into LA with business in downtown..it's a great airport.

What I would suggest is: Fly into and rent your car at Burbank. Then return it to LAX, as LAX is closer to the port. Depending on who you rent from and your status with them, there may be no extra charge at all to do this. As is suggested above, arrange to have your Uber to the port pick you up at the rental parking lot for whichever company you use. Uber/Lyft pickups from LAX are no longer as easy as they used to be, and there's no reason to add the extra two bus rides (rental lot to terminal, then terminal back to the new Uber lot) if you don't have to.

We have sailed in the Haven on several cruises and on different ships. Unfortunately, you have no control over how the parents of children choose to make them behave (or not).  We've had cruises where there were kids in the Haven pool who were very polite and well behaved, and cruises where the kids in the Haven pool were completely out of control and ruined the experience for everyone else. 

I have read that one of the two hot tubs is supposed to be "Adults Only" - but I've never really seen that enforced. 

If you prefer a quieter atmosphere, head to the Haven sun deck above and outside. This is restricted to age 16 and up. Of course, there's no pool there, so if you want a dip in the pool you'll just have to decide if it's worth it to put up with whatever the kids in the Haven pool are doing.

The ship will be available for boarding as usual, beginning around 11:30 am to noon, sometimes slightly earlier. The only thing that would change that would be if they were late arriving, or late being cleared for disembarkation by the previous passengers for some reason.

The "Casino Reward" is offered to those who have gambled some, but not enough to qualify for a full comp. As mentioned above, it can be applied to future cruises within a certain date range, but obviously cannot be used on a fully comped cruise as NCL isn't going to pay your port fees, taxes, or DSC for you.   

Pretty hard to answer as regards grabbing a bite to eat, since we don't know what type and price of food you're looking for. Google Maps is your friend. Go to the hotel on the map, then select "nearby" and and then select "restaurants nearby." You'll get a display of nearby restaurants that you can filter by price.

You can do the same thing for your bottle of wine. "nearby" and enter "grocery stores", or "liquor stores." 

When you stream on board an NCL ship, I believe you're streaming from a U.S. registered IP address, so your U.S. Netflix and Sirius subscriptions should work. 

What's more important is your final question. It depends on which ship you're on (you didn't say) and some of them have updated internet systems, some don't yet. It also depends on how many other people are trying to do the same thing at the same time. In general, do not expect the kind of streaming experience you likely get at home. A ship's bandwidth and speed are much more limited. Some people report that their streaming works fine, others report that it does not. 

As to whether it's worth it - well, I personally wouldn't spend the money. I'm on a cruise, and there's plenty of other things to do! But that's just me....I don't need the premium service as all I need is to check email every now and then, and I try not to do that very much either!!

The Na Pali coast and the volcano viewing are two different places. The volcano viewing (if it's active) is done during the night you sail around from Hilo to Kona at the Big Island of Hawaii. IF - and that's the key - IF the volcano has lava flowing to the sea, the ship will said around the south side of the Big Island and you will want to be on the starboard or right side of the ship to see it. If the lava is not flowing, the ship goes around the north side of the island as that's a shorter trip - and of course it doesn't matter what side your cabin is on.

The ship sails the Na Pali coast line out of the port of Lihue on Kauai. The port or left side of the ship is closest to the coast on the trip out. Then the ship turns around and sails back, heading towards Honolulu for the end of the cruise. At this time the starboard side of the ship face the coast, but the ship is typically further out from the coast.

Your cabin selection really doesn't make all that much difference, since you can always go up on deck and see out either side of the ship. Both of these things (Na Pali coast and possible volcano lava viewing) are only small portions of the total trip. 

You can check this website to find out the current status of the volcanoes on the Big Island:

https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm

We often find we are able to eat at specialty restaurants with no reservation. The key is to be flexible about when you eat, and willing to change plans. Obviously, it helps if you're doing this outside of the "normal" busy dinner hours, and willing to try a couple of different restaurants to get in one of them. It also helps to eat during the theater show times.  

Of course, it helps the most if you're in the Haven and can use the concierge to ring down to the restaurant!

If the filter (or any other process) isn't completing on your Android device, it's likely because the site software is trying to do something (like a pop up or other screen write) that isn't supported or is blocked on your browser. You can try other Android browsers, but as mentioned above, the NCL site is not well optimized for mobile browsers. 

As for pop ups on your laptop, there's little you can do to block it if you want the site to work well. You can instruct any brower not to open pop ups on any site, but then depending on how the site is designed, you risk making the site much less usable.  These instructions will tell you how to block pop ups globally in Chrome, but then you may find you'll have to go back in on certain sites and allow them, or you'll face the same situation your seem to have on your Android browser.

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/stop-pop-ups-chrome

We absolutely love the forward facing penthouses on the Jewel class ships. Huge balcony, wonderful views, makes you feel like you're on your own private yacht. I like seeing where we're going instead of where we've been. Some people complain about the wind on the balcony when underway, but I've always found you could get out of the wind if you wanted. 

Both the forward and aft penthouses have some issues with people being able to look down into your balcony....and the bridge crew can see down into the set of forward balconies right below the bridge. If total privacy is your goal....well....take it indoors. Do note, though, that the entire balcony (forward or aft) is not visible from above.

You'll have people tell you that you cannot use the forward facing balconies at night. That is not true. You simply have to make sure that the lights from your cabin do not spill out onto the balcony while the ship is underway. Close your cabin curtains and keep the inner door closed. The bridge crew needs your balcony dark to help with their night vision.

Finally, if you go with the forward facing cabin, be very careful with the outer steel door. It's very heavy and the wind can catch it and slam it on you. Always latch it open when you're using the balcony.   

I find it interesting that so many more responders seem to prefer the smaller ships. That's true for us as well, and we've sailed all the classes of NCL ships. When NCL first introduced the Haven on the larger ships, I felt as if it was an attempt to give a "small ship" feel to the larger ships...at a premium price, of course.

What would be an ideal ship for us would be a Jewel class ship, with more Haven style suites and a Haven style restaurant. Yes, I know...that's Regent Seven Seas. But we'd like it with the more informal vibe of NCL. And while they're at it, do the Haven style restaurant the way Celebrity does their suite class restaurant: With a menu that changes every night. 

Guess I'll just have to get a yacht, huh? 😁

From the NCL CAS website: TABLE GAMES: Points are based on average bet, session play or hands played and game type

Note that the 3% fee is waived for Sapphire, Ruby, and Elite CAS members.

If easy is the criteria, on the whole I'd say Miami. As noted, Port Canaveral is 40 minutes drive from MCO in Orlando - but you could make this easy by taking cruise line airport transfers. Another drawback to MCO (Orlando) is that it always has long security lines.

But Miami isn't much better as far as security lines go, and baggage claim takes forever at Miami. On the other hand, it's a quick 10 to 15 minute taxi or Uber ride to the port. 

Flying into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) for cruises out of Miami gives you an easier airport to deal with, but puts you about 40 minutes from the Miami port. 

I'd suggest you pick the cruise you want, and not worry too much about the airports. There are plenty of ways to make the airport part of the cruise fairly easy anywhere. Cruise line transfers, baggage pickup services, etc. 

I interpret the move as simply trying to fill the void between the older, smaller ships, and the bigger, new ships. Makes good business sense, particularly when you consider that the mega-ships cannot visit smaller ports...one of the big issues the mainstream cruising industry faces is overloading the ports with thousands of passengers, and the inability to really go anywhere new. 

Personally, we've always preferred the older, smaller ships of the Jewel class. What would be ideal for us would be ships not much bigger, but with the full on Haven treatment. Yes, I know...that's what Regent Seven Seas does. But we prefer the lower key Haven style - no need to dress up for dinner, a more relaxed atmosphere, and frankly, a lower cost point than the all inclusive Seven Seas model.

We'll be looking forward with interest to see how the new class of ships works out.

The area of the Hilton St. Charles is fine. It's a busy, tourist filled area. The Quarter is just a few blocks away, easily walk-able. The St. Charles streetcar line runs right in front of the hotel. Poydras street, busy, active, with hotels and restaurants, is a block or two in the other direction. You'll be fine.

Yes, all the NCL ships have an "internet lounge" of some kind that has computers for you to use. You'll still need to setup your account and log in and out each time you use the computer. The NCL staffer in the Internet Lounge can help you with that if you need help. Make sure you log out, or your minutes will go quickly. 

It's really the only cost effective way to stay in touch with members of your group on the ship, if you need to do that. You pay the fee per phone, then connect to the wifi ( this is free, you do not buy any internet minutes to use this). Once everyone is connected you can text between your "contacts" on the app, and also call their cabins from your phone. 

Other than that, as mentioned, it displays the status of your on-board account, and shows you reservations you have for specialty dining and shore excursions. And of course, it's a way for them to send you ads for things on the ship, such as gift shop sales.

OP's question was never answered.  OP asked how much gambling was expected when you're on a comped cruise.

The answer: None is required. You could technically take the comped cruise and never set foot in the casino. However, it is expected that you likely will gamble, since being a gambler is what got you the "free" cruise to start with. Of course, if you don't gamble at all then you won't be eligible for another comp. There is no "expected" amount. CAS assumes that you will likely at least gamble what you did on the last cruise that earned you the comp.