VideoTech

Jewel and the NCL Suite Life. Definitely worth it. But be careful: You and anyone else on the trip will have hard time cruising in a regular room after this one!

The Western Caribbean itinerary is great if you've never done it before. Roatan has great beaches with reefs so close you can snorkel right off the beach. Belize has part of the second largest barrier reef in the world. Cozumel is...well...Cozumel.

But the balcony was hard to see out of. I felt like it was a cove balcony. You couldn't see out unless you were standing looking out and around. It was my first cruise so I didn't realize it at the time. On my next cruise I had just a regular balcony on a different ship and it was much nicer on that balcony.

The room is amazing in 8500!!

We are going on POA again and have a midship balcony booked with hopes to upgrade to a penthouse with large balcony if we can. Would prefer this to the os just for the view, not the room.

Thanks bigmandog. That confirms what I felt might be the case, when I looked at the pictures and videos I could find. I also noticed that the balcony on the 10 and 11 deck forward suites is very narrow...so narrow that the lounge chairs were setup up sideways to the door.

We've gone with one of the OS's on the forward side. It has a big balcony, and I think we'll be very happy with it.

Unless you just have to get out of town, I agree with jgmpuma. Why not store your baggage, and extend your vacation by a few hours in New Orleans?

If you want to do the Baton Rouge flight, I'd hire a car service for your transportation. They can meet you at the New Orleans cruise terminal.

We've cruise out of New Orleans several times, and never found it to be much different than any other port. It's busy, and of course there are a lot of people trying to get checked in and onto the ship all at once, but it seemed well organized, and we had no shortage of porters.

We do not drive to New Orleans, so I can't help you with parking, but there is a lot of parking around the cruise terminal, and there are plenty of hotels that have stay & park packages.

I will say that I was in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago on business, and noticed that they are currently doing construction on the cruise terminal. I think they are expanding it? That could have an effect on port operations.

Thanks so much, appreciate your info. My flight is on a Sunday just after 12 noon!!! Hopefully that will be ok.

You're fine.

The ship usually docks in the early, early hours of the morning, around 5 to 6 am, but of course you can't get off until the port authorities clear the ship for disembarkation, which is usually around 7 to 8 am. The run from the cruise ship terminal to the airport is quick. You'll have plenty of time to catch a noon or later flight.

Received at comp cruise from our local casino. It comes with an inside cabin. We have never cruised before but now seems like a good as time as any to give it a go. Couple of questions.

I called NCL have to pay taxes etc which i already knew 318pp for epic jan 11th sailing includes insurance , Should i upgrade to Balcony cabin now or wait till about 3 weeks out and see if price goes down?

In the casino is it cash or do they use your cruise card?

anyone who has gone this route for their cruise have any other info

thanks Jeff

We are NCL/Casino cruisers, and do this all the time. We take the offer we want, and pay the difference for the upgrade.

If you have a particular type or location of cabin you want to upgrade to, I would do it now. If you wait, you may not have as many choices. Also, you mentioned that you're sailing on the Epic - that is popular ship and easy for NCL to sell out, so the chances of a price drop are minimal.

The casino is cash in/ticket out on the machines, and cash in/chips out on the tables.

We've done Alaska on the Pearl in both Forward and Aft suites. Still much prefer the forward suites. Like seeing where I'm going, not where I've been, and the views from the forward suites are amazing.

However, the aft suites have the advantage of being more sheltered.

Never had any problems with checking email on the NCL ships. The service is slow, though, and he may have to change his usage habits a a bit.

Since you're charged by the minute for every minute you stay connected, it's better to bring your own device, and use an email program that downloads the email to your device. Then you can sign off, compose replies, and sign on again to send them.

But maybe he'll get into the vacation spirit, and realize that some of the emails can wait...after all, that's what a vacation is for!

We have never had any NCL crew member, including the butlers, enter without a direct invitation to do so.

Contemplating a Hawaii Cruise, and may be lucky enough to be able to do it in an OS.

Can anyone tell me about the size & quality of the balconies on the two forward OS on deck 8 (cabins 8500 & 8000) versus the same with the one on deck 11 (cabin 11000).

I've always enjoyed the forward balcony suites on other NCL ships, but the POA has a very different design. The forward balconies on other ships are large and very open, but the ones on POA appear to be quite small and, particularly in the case of the ones on deck 8, very dark - at least as far as I can tell from a photo search on the net.

Any comments on those forward OS versus the ones on the sides of the ship, with particular emphasis on the balconies? This appears to be the kind of cruise where you'd want a nice open balcony to maximize your sightseeing.

Thanks!

On all of our NCL cruises, the ships changed time to match the port.

.....We are 50somethings who enjoy seeing the local attractions and culture. We are not interested in shopping in lots of t-shirt and curio shops, doing extreme sports, hanging out in bars, or lounging on a beach for hours on end, although we do enjoy strolling a beach for an hour or so. We enjoy dressing up a bit for the MDR. We would prefer avoiding lots of kids and college students, so the dates above make sense to us.

 

Which itinerary would you recommend--and why? Thank you!

We've done both itineraries, and the realistic view is there's not that much difference between the two (or between any Caribbean itinerary). Each itinerary is designed to provide much the same mix of beaches, shopping, sports, tours, and of course, shopping.

Having said that, I will say that our favorite destination on these specific itineraries over the past years has been Roatan. We like it because it seems a "little" less touristy & developed, although I'm sure that's changing quickly.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we like Cozumel the least. But we may be influenced by being from Texas, as we find Cozumel to be not that much different from any border town we can drive to.

If you're interested in cultural attractions, Belize and Costa Maya (Mexico) offer access to many of the best ruins in Central America. Check out the ports boards for information on those tours.

I disagree with the many who did not like the Jamaican destinations. We thoroughly enjoyed Ocho Rios, doing the cave & grotto tour there and of course, Dunn's river falls. Never had anyone offer us drugs, or felt threatened in any way.

Bottom line: Since you can't avoid Cozumel on either itinerary, I'd suggest the Roatan/Belize/Costa Maya itinerary.

Only one of the MDR's is usually open for lunch on embarkation day. That can account for some of the confusion.

Can't tell you specifically about the Oasis, but my in my experience, VP paytables on ships are even worse then they are on land. However, they do have most of the same VP games that land casinos have, so chances are good they have Pick Em.

Of course, people hit Royals on ships just as they do on land. Your chances of hitting one are the same as they would be playing anywhere else.

http://casinogambling.about.com/od/slotsandvideopoker/a/Video-Poker-Royal-Flush-Odds.htm

Hi all. I Am going to be on enchantment of the sea next week and was wondering how the slot action has been recently and on what machines...VP is never a winner for me, I like the pennies, nickel or quarter machine. I have never ever won on a cruise slot machine. I am hoping maybe an informed hunt may help turn the tide!!!!:p

Can't help you specifically with the Enchantment, but as a long time cruising casino player, I can tell you that in general you should not expect much from slots on cruise ships.

In general, payback percentages are set very low on cruise ships. There's no reason for them to be set anywhere near normal land-based casinos, since they have a captive audience with no where else to spend their gambling dollars. You will usually find a mixture of mediocre and low paying machines, but if you're lucky you can find one of the mediocre ones and stretch your playing money a bit.

Of course, random chance does work in any casino, on land or sea, and you will always have the possibility of hitting a jackpot. Best of luck to you...let's hope that happens!

I stand corrected and I'm sorry. I was confusing NCL with Carnival, and the fact that I had funds on my NCL players card from the slot website.

 

BTW NCL if you're listening, I would prefer it be the way RCCL and Carnival do their tracking.

No apologies needed, everyone here just likes to make sure that people get accurate information when they ask a question. I'm certainly guilty of confusing cruises and ships in the past too!

As for me, I'm happy with the way NCL does the CAS card. Ticket in/Ticket out doesn't bother me much..it's just like a land casino.

That has been my experience on the last 3 NCL cruises I have taken, which have all been in the last 2 years.

 

If you have funds left on the machine when you finish playing it, where do you upload them to? I have also drawn against my onboard account, while at the machine, rather than going to the cage and leaving the machine.

Hmm, that's odd. As for funds you have left over on the machine, you receive those in the form of a ticket. You can put the ticket in another machine, or cash it out at the casino cage.

It really sounds to me as if you're describing what some of the other cruise lines do. Carnival and RCI both use the key-card (which is tied to your onboard account). You can load your machine up with money initially, and then when you cash it out, the balance goes on your key card and you move to another machine with it.

On those lines, since your key card is tied to the on board account and credit card, I would assume that you could get a cash advance directly to your key card from your on-board account.

Just to be certain, I checked with DW, who most recently got a cash advance in an NCL casino. She confirmed to me that she received the money in cash.

In any case, the OP's original question was about the availability of a cash advance from their on board account. You certainly can do this on NCL, as noted previously.

..........If you plan on only playing the slots, simply upload money from your onboard account onto your players card and spin away.

 

If you want the money for the tables, keep in mind that if you go to the casino cage and/or the tables to do get funds, you will charged a 3% convenience fee. To avoid this, upload money to your player's card on the slot machine, then go to the cage and "cash out". THEN you can take your cash to the tables without paying the 3%.

Sorry, that's not my experience of how the casino card on NCL works. The casino card is only for keeping track of the points you accumulate as you play; it does not carry any cash value.

You are correct in that you can get a cash advance from the casino cage, which will be charged against your on board account, and will carry a 3% service charge fee. The money will be handed to you in cash, however. The advantages of doing this are two: First, no secondary ATM fees. Second, since the cash advance appears on your on board bill as just another purchase, you won't pay a cash advance fee to your credit card company.

Any video poker players out there who can report on the pay tables on the Epic. Are they as bad as on other ships?

Well, my Epic cruise was two years ago, and they were not good then. I see no reason to expect they would have improved in the meantime!

Basically, I've never been on a cruise ship with decent VP pay tables.

There are some rental car offices in the downtown Miami area. They're not terribly close to the port - you'd still have to get a cab to take you from the office to the port (or port to the office) if they wouldn't drop you off or come pick you up.

Do a web search for "auto rental downtown Miami, FL" or go to the major auto rental chain sites and put in Miami.

You'll also want to check and make sure that the downtown offices are open on the day you arrive.

VideoTech, what is the difference in boarding for Suite guests?

At most ports, there's a separate line for suite guests to take care of their account and key card. Then you're usually taken to a VIP lounge, with snacks and coffee and so on available. In at least one port (sorry can't remember which) the key card and credit card are also done in the VIP lounge.

You meet the concierge in the VIP lounge and if you have any arrangements you need to make with them at that time (dinners, spa, shore excursions) you can usually get them started on right there. The concierge will also give you the first day's Freestyle Daily, and tell you about any special events coming up.

Sometimes you also meet your butler in the VIP Lounge. Then an NCL staffer or your butler escorts you around the long lines waiting to board, through the security kiosk, and onto the ship. Since it's normally around lunchtime, you're taken directly to Cagney's (or which ever restaurant serves the suite guest luncheon on that ship), and you sit down for your first lunch. If the timing is right, you'll hear the announcement that your cabin is available shortly before you finish lunch.

Even if your cabin is not available when you finish lunch, you can often go down and at least drop off your carry on luggage in the cabin. We've done this on many cruises; we just find the cabin steward and let him/her know what we're doing.

Those are the differences..it's just a lot smoother, quieter and quicker boarding process, with almost no standing in long lines.

Hello, when you get to the port your taxie (or whoever) will drop off your luggage with the porters then you will proceed to the terminal. You will have to go through a security check point like at the airports.

 

You will need, for embarktion: your cruise document/ticket, passport, and credit card.

 

I hope this helps, enjoy your cruise and flight over.

 

Debbie

Just to extend this a bit; here's what happens after you enter the terminal - but first, a note: You do not have to give your luggage to the porters at the pier, if your suitcases are small in size and you can manage them up escalators and several long ramps to get them on the ship yourself. If you're accustomed to traveling in just a carry-on size suitcase, this is quite manageable. If your luggage is large enough to have been checked on your flight, let the porters take care of it. It's much easier.

No matter what you do with your luggage, you'll first go through an airport style metal detector and your hand luggage through an airport style x-ray.

Assuming no problems, you'll go into a large area where you will be directed to one of many lines to check in. If you're in a suite, you'll be directed to a special line, as suites have different check in procedures. Otherwise, you'll wait your turn, and this is a good time to fill in the simple, one page health declaration form which will have been handed to you right after your security check.

When you reach the counter, the NCL rep will examine your travel documents, check your reservation, and register the credit card that you will use to secure your on-board charges. They will take your photo with a small web-camera, and then create your identity card for the ship.

The identity card is used every time you get on and off the ship, and is shown for all purchases on board. It's also your room key.

Once your documents and key card are done, you'll join another line waiting to get on board.

Last stop before boarding is a kiosk where your ship's identity card is scanned. After that, you go on board, and (unless you're in a suite) you are on your own to do what you will. You can eat lunch in one of the dining rooms or the buffet, explore the ship, or just find a deck chair and wait until the announcement is made that the cabins are ready. This usually happens around 2:00 pm, but the time can vary.

If you left your luggage with the porter at the pier, it will be delivered to the hallway outside your cabin door sometime that evening. If you've carried on your own luggage, there is usually a place where you can leave it until your cabin is ready - ask one of the many NCL staff who will greet you, or at the ship's desk in the main lobby.

Hope that all helps. If you're in a suite, let us know, and we'll give you the rundown on suite boarding, which is a little different.

.....but for some reason, my travel hair dryer always raises flags at airports.........

Ummm....take a look at the shape of most hair dryers? :rolleyes:

I took my "free" cruise from Tropicana a few weeks ago on the Sky.

 

How much does one need to gamble to get some discounts from CAS?

 

This was my 4th NCL cruise and I am a gambler, but 95% of the time I play table games.

 

Since I am planning my cruise for 2013, I called CAS yesterday to see if I qualified for any kind of discount, etc.

 

They said NOTHING

 

I find this hard to believe. I don't know if it is because the SKY cruise was a short cruise or not but when I called after my pearl cruise last year they were at least offering me 15% discount when I called.

 

Just wondering if there was any method to their madness LOL

In a way, you've answered your own question. If you had all your table play tracked, you apparently did not play enough to qualify for any future cruise discounts. So, if you know how many $ you put in play, you at least know you'll have to play more than that next time to qualify.

The other problem is that your credit for table play relies on the pit boss to accurately observe and credit your play. It seems from the many comments on this that it's very hard to get table play tracked well.

However, the future cruise offers do not seem to follow a set formal. They are influenced not only by your tracked play on your last NCL cruise, but by the popularity of the ship & itinerary you are trying to book, and the number of cabins CAS has available on the ship. It's much easier to get a comp cruise on an older ship on the Western Caribbean run, than on the Epic on the Eastern Caribbean, or any of the Alaska runs.

If you are a rated member of Harrah's Total Rewards program, you are always entitled to a % discount based on your status. For Harrah's Diamond level players, I believe that is 20%. There is a webpage on the NCL site that lists the levels and the discounts.

Finally, here's the formula used on board for points calculation, at least on the slots:

Casino points: 1 point = $5 through the machines ($10 on VP).

1500 points for the free drink card

2500 points to qualify for end of cruise credit.

I *think* the formula is the same for table games. If you know the # of points you were awarded on your last cruise, you can use this formula to determine if you got an accurate count for your play.

We have our "free cruise" Foxwoods. Does anyone know the connection between foxwoodsband ncl?

Yp

Unless Foxwood's is a Harrah's/Ceasar's property (and I don't believe it is), there is no connection.

The marketing groups in most land casino chains work with different cruise lines to setup promotions; the benefit to the casinos involved is obvious.