VideoTech
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As others have noted, it's tight but probably do-able. Key things would be to get in the first disembarkation group (if possible, carry off your own suitcases to be the very first off), and arrange your own port to airport transportation.
Personally, I'd try for a later flight, but I hate being stressed about missing a flight when I've just come off a nice "de-stressing" vacation cruise!
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Just back from my 2nd Aft facing suite, I vote for Aft, our friend had a forward facing Owners Suite and the wind was just too much on the forward balcony (though he had a hull balcony on the side) but at the same time (well almost same time I had to walk the length of the ship) my aft facing was protected from the wind and we could enjoy it.
Yes we felt some vibration but with azipods on the Gem not as much as with a screw on the Star.
You also have the light issue on forward balcony's at night as not to interfere with the bridge. Then again on aft we had some small garbage fall from the Great Outdoors on to our Deck 10 balcony but it was not an issue.
Personal choice it comes down too, DW now wants an Owners Suite now that she saw it...
FWIW
I don't think the OP is asking about forward or aft suites. They're asking about side cabins that are more forward or more aft, if I read their post correctly.
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We used Already There and were very pleased with the service and reasonable cost.
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In our experience, the Spa will start to advertise other specials, including port-day specials, as the cruise is in progress. You'll find them included in your daily newsletter, or you can just go down to the spa desk and ask.
My DW often stays on board on some port days and takes advantage of the spa. -
And here I'll put in a gentle reminder for those new to the NLC "Suite Life" - Your butler and concierge are not part of the DSC (Daily Service Charge) distribution. Therefore you should tip them directly if you feel their service warranted it.
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Did the ship's snorkeling excursion pick you up directly from the ship? Were you dropped off back at the ship or dropped at the pier?
The ship's snorkeling expedition picked up and dropped off directly from and to the ship. However, you're also taken - after snorkeling - to a little island with a beach resort. If I remember correctly, you could then opt to get on a tender from there to go into town, or get back on the tender to the ship.
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Someone gave me these instructions that we will be trying in February:
1. Go to System Settings
2. Turn “Airplane Mode” ON. This will automatically kill all connections using any type of Verizon network….phone, text, data, etc….and turn the phone into a really expensive calculator!
3. Turn “Wi-Fi” ON. This will allow the phone to only pick up Wi-Fi.
4. Will have to go into Wi-Fi to pick a network to connect to.
And from that point, if you want to use the internet on your phone while at sea, you will still have to sign up and pay for an internet package through the ship.
When in some ports you may find free wifi connections to the internet. A good give-away is to look around the port building for crew-members on their laptops. They all know which ports offer free wifi!
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Hi everyone,
we consider an Alaska cruise for 2015, so there is still enough time left.
NCL has already announced the 2015 itineraries and the cruises between Vancouver and Seward are the most appealing ones for us, on SUN. :)
Does anyone know whether NCL has any lecturers on its Alaska cruises?
Hepl would be appreciated, thank you! :)
On the NCL Glacier Bay cruises, a U.S. Park Ranger boards the ship at the entrance to Glacier Bay, and provides commentary and narration throughout the day. They talk about the park, point out wildlife, explain about the glaciers and the environment they create. You can hear their commentary on the public decks and over one of the TV channels in the rooms.
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Thanks for the recommendations on Antarctic cruises. If we were to do one, it would definitely be on one of the smaller expedition ships. Can't see much reason for a "drive by" when you've gone to all the trouble to get to the bottom of the planet!
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A few of the "grand old ladies" of New Orleans restaurants:
Court of Two Sisters
Arnaud's
Antoine's
Broussard's
Brennan's
It's hard to go wrong in New Orleans...speak to the concierge at your hotel for others
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...........I would be curious to see the allocation of the monies spread out and to whom the 12 dollars goes to.
As I understand it, the money collected in the DSC is shared between the hotel & restaurant staff, not including (I believe) officers and managers. Just the worker bees.
If you're cruising in a suite, please realize that your butler and concierge do not benefit from the DSC. You should tip them separately if you choose.
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NCL doesn't want you there before 11 because they are still disembarking the previous cruise up until that time. If you get there before they allow you into the embarkation area, there is nothing except a few concrete walls to sit on.
Miami is a very busy port and the lines to get into the building can be long around noon because that's when many passengers arrive...all of whom are just as excited as you to get their cruise started.
Tips: When you arrive have your luggage tags already on your suitcases. Porters will take them from you right at the start, and you won't see them again until that afternoon or evening outside your cabin door. That means you need to make sure you have any medications or other important items in your carry on bag. If you want to go swimming or lounge on the pool deck in your bathing suit, put it in your carry on or wear it under your clothing. You won't be allowed into your cabin until about 2pm or so, but there are places to change if you want to swim.
You'll be directed to a line to pass through a metal detector and have your carry on bags screened by x-ray, just as they used to do at airports way back when. If you're trying to smuggle on any liquor, it will be found and taken from you at that time.
After the security check, you'll be handed or told to pick up a health form. Fill it out as you wait in one of many lines to let them swipe your credit card, take your photo, and print you a boarding card/room key. If you're not a VIP, Casinos at Sea, or Suite guest, these lines can be long at the peak time.
Boarding usually proceeds pretty smoothly and efficiently. They've got a system and they know how to do it! You may have to wait a few minutes after you've completed all the paperwork and have your boarding pass, but it's usually not long.
As you board the ship you'll be given an opportunity to pose for the first of many portraits. Your choice...bypass it if you don't want one.
Have fun!
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Have done suites on NCL, Carnival, and RCCL. NCL far and away the best, absolutely. Carnival and RCCL were a huge letdown as regards "suite-life" experience.
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On our Belize stop, DW & granddaughter tendered into town, while I had a ship's snorkeling excursion. NCL had tenders on both sides of the ship. The ones on one side were running a fixed schedule into town and back. The ones on the other side were for the excursions. It was very efficiently run, and DW said they did not have to wait long for a tender at either end.
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The Pearl is our all-time favorite NCL ship, so much so that we've re-booked on it several times. For some reason, we just found the crew and ship to be even a notch above the rest of the NCL fleet...and the rest of the fleet is just fine, too.
If you are used to the big RCCL ships, be prepared for a very different experience. the Pearl is smaller and more intimate. Try it with an open mind and I think you'll enjoy it.
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My feeling is that all of the big, middle-of-the-road cruise lines provide much the same experience. People still tend to rate Carnival as the "Party" line, and we've stayed away from it after the first two times. We enjoyed our one RCI cruise, but we don't really like bigger, more crowded ships, so we look for smaller ships. DW has been on several other lines, still likes NCL the best.
On my cruise "to do" list:
1. Alaska in a much smaller ship (100-200 passengers) so you can go places the big ships don't go.
2. European river cruises
3. Antarctica!!
If it matters, we're probably considered "seniors" too, although I sure don't feel like one.
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Can you recommend things to do in each port?
Very broad question; it would help if you gave us some more information about yourselves - how many in the group, ages, what you like to do, any previous cruising/shore excursion experience, etc.
A couple of general answers, from one who's done most of these ports several times:
Jamaica: Depends on where you're docking. Ocho Rios or Montego Bay? From Ocho Rios, we've done Dunn's River Falls and the Green Grotto. We're headed to Montego Bay in a few weeks and looking for a good beach, away from the town center.
Grand Cayman: Beaches, Beaches, Beaches. Too many to choose from, and all good. Some with snorkeling off the beach. You can take a ship's tour or just hop a bus or taxi to almost any of them. Tons of resorts and restaurants for dining right on the beaches.
Cozumel: The town isn't much different than any other tourist town in Mexico. Lots of bars, tourist shops, etc. Beaches on the west (town side) more crowded, snorkeling is ok, but nowhere near as good as other Caribbean locations. Beaches on the east side much less crowded, but somewhat harder to get to. If you have kids, highly recommend the "Dolphinarius" swim with the dolphins. It's expensive, and they hit you hard for picture & video packages, but the kids will love it.
One thing to be very aware of: the only Mayan ruins are NOT on Cozumel island itself. They are on the mainland, and require a ferry ride and bus trip to reach, and it can be a long day. As others have mentioned, best to do this through the ship's shore excursions, so you can be sure the ship will wait for you if you're late returning.
As mentioned, check the ports of call boards for more info.
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Carried over points can NOT go towards drink cards on another cruise.
http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/casinos-at-sea/players-club
Earn 1500 Points to be awarded a drink card for all sailings 5 days or greater
Earn 750 Points to be awarded a drink card for all sailings 4 days or less
*Points transferred between ships are not included to reach the minimum criteria for each cruise length
Harriet
I wonder if that's part of the "new" CAS rules? I remember people talking about doing this in the past (more than a year ago). However, yet another reason why I can't see much advantage to transferring points between ships.
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Not really, right now Mar 30 - Apr 6th
Epic Balcony starts at $629
Jewel Balcony starts at $989
Oceanview starts at $649
Both doing Western Caribbean
Epic itinerary probably not as popular as the Jewel, since the Epic is doing Ocho Rios.
Wow, surprising. Every time we've looked, Epic was always more expensive. Thanks for the update.
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Never encountered a "hidden" fee on any of our NCL trips. All charges, fees, and taxes are clearly enumerated up front. I don't think any cruise line would be very popular for long if they started trying to charge their customers hidden fees.
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.......I like the idea of stopping at a port or 2 that aren't quite as popular, but this isn't a requirement.
That said, Anyone have any suggestions? I'm also looking for RCI comparisons as it will likely be them if I can't find a cruise I like with NCL.
Any input is greatly appreciated.:D
We have done almost all of the NLC Caribbean itineraries. If you want to get away from the "more popular" ports, you're going to have to go on a longer cruise, so as to go farther out into the Caribbean. For instance, the 10 and 11 day Southern Caribbean itineraries include some stops that are more off the beaten trail of cruise ships.
On the shorter itineraries, we've always enjoyed the ones that include Roatan. This island - at least when we first went - was much less developed than the islands closer to the U.S. mainland.
With regard to the ships: this is a matter of personal preference, but we prefer the smaller NCL ships. We've done the Epic, it was nice, but not our favorite. I think it depends a lot on what you want available to you while you're actually cruising, and how many people you want to share those things with.
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It's a vacation - don't let that stupid little plastic slab rule your life - switch it off -stick it in the safe and chill out (or chuck it overboard, which is the best solution IMHO).
Guess what - I hate mobile phones with a passion...
Don't hate cell phones, but I sure do agree with your sentiments.
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Nope, what i'm saying is there are lots of office buildings, hotels, stores, ect., in NYC, i'm hoping while we sail out of NYC on NY Harbor I can hook into someones wifi signal from land...
Gotcha. My apologies for misunderstanding. FYI, Wifi in and of itself is not a long distance broadcast medium. I doubt any system in a building on shore will have the range for you to connect reliably from the ship, once you pull away from the dock into the middle of the river & harbor.
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CAS comps are like frequent-flyer mileage seats on airlines. They're subject to many variables beyond your gambling record with CAS. Their inventory of available comps depends on what they're given to work with by NCL, which in turn depends on how sold out the cruise already is, and how likely it is to sell out at full price - which of course depends on the ship, itinerary, and date.
However, it does seem backwards to me that you got a better offer on the Epic than the Jewel. The Epic is the more popular ship, doing the more popular itineraries. But you never really know with CAS...
Cas - a bit disappointed
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
There are a couple of other factors at work in CAS offers, too: How much inventory CAS has to work with on the cruise you ask for, and how easy it will be for NCL to sell out that cruise without giving away cabins through CAS.
In other words: For the same level of play, it's harder to get a good comp on a more popular cruise (think Alaska, for instance) then it is on a less popular one (think Western Caribbean).