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As a first time cruiser, certainly seems easier to get from the porter. Why doesn't everyone do it? I think I have to buy luggage holders from Amazon.

 

When can you print your luggage tag?

You do not need to buy specialized tag holders for the baggage tags. Looping the paper tags around the handle works just fine. Don't put them on before your flight...just put them on the morning you go to the port. You can loop them around the handles and tape them, or borrow a stapler from the hotel front desk if you're staying at a hotel.

Thanks everyone. This actually isn't for a cruise; we're arriving late in the evening (after dinner) and flying out early the next morning to the Caribbean. All we need is a decent place to sleep and breakfast. Was considering a nearby airport hotel, but would prefer not to deal with waiting for a hotel shuttle or even a short taxi ride late when we arrive...so was considering the airport hotel.

I've flown in and out MIA hundreds of times, but didn't even realize the airport had a terminal hotel until I did a web search!

You SIL can pull up and drop you right at the luggage drop off area. Porters will be waiting to take you're bags..they'll check your cruise paperwork to make sure you're dropping your luggage for the right ship. From there you walk a short distance into the terminal, and join the line for security. All very easy.

Has anyone done the NCL after cruise tour to Pearl Harbor? Would you recommend it?

We could actually see Pearl Harbor the week before our cruise but are thinking we should leave it until after the cruise. With a 10 pm flight we have a lot of time to fill. Ending the tour at the airport is so convenient.

Even so we will still have too much time at the airport.

We have done this tour, choosing it to see Pearl Harbor and for the convenience of having our luggage on the tour bus and the eventual drop off at the airport for our flight home.

We were pleased with the Pearl Harbor part..felt we had plenty of time and our tour bus driver already had Arizona Memorial tickets for us. We were very lucky in that our shuttle boat to the Arizona Memorial was the last shuttle boat of the morning..the shuttle was shut down right after our tour due to choppy water conditions in the harbor.

The following city tour was less impressive, although our driver had a good line of chatter and lots of information. Towards the end of the tour there were a number of hotel drop offs, but then our driver still had some time, so we drove around the north shore for a bit more sightseeing, before being dropped off at the airport in plenty of time for our evening flight.

The term "Inside Passage" refers to the entire passage from Seattle/Vancouver in the south to Skagway/Galcier bay in the north. The passage itself runs from Seattle to Vancouver, behind (east of ) Vancouver island, then across a short stretch of open ocean, before going behind Moresby and Graham islands and then into the long chain of fjords and passages of SE Alaska. It's all called the Inside Passage as all but the short open ocean stretch is sailed in protected waters.

Most cruise ships leaving Seattle do not do the first part of the inside passage, but pass instead to the west of Vancouver Island. Most of the cruise ships leaving Vancouver do pass through the first part of the passage, east of Vancouver Island.

When you are cruising in SE Alaska, you are in the Inside Passage, so no matter where your cruise leaves from (Seattle or Vancouver) and no matter whether or not you do the first part of the Inside Passage (behind Vancouver Island) you will still be cruising the Inside Passage.

Does anyone know if the Miami International Airport hotel (the hotel actually at the airport itself) is INSIDE of security, or OUTSIDE of security? Their website is very vague about this.

I suspect it is outside of security..most airport hotels are...but wanted to confirm.

Also, if anyone has stayed there...your opinions?

Thanks!

I can only speak to the American Airlines part of the MIA terminal..there is nothing really nice for a sit down breakfast before you go through security. There is a Starbucks coffee stand and an Au Bon Pain stand. The ABP has tables, but it's not a "full" ABP...limited menu.

I would either eat breakfast before going to the airport, or check your bags, go through security, and find a restaurant inside the terminal...there are plenty of sit down breakfast places in the terminal.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn SeaTac. Free breakfast & shuttle to the light rail. Light rail goes to downtown then a short walk to pier if you don’t have a lot of luggage

 

 

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There are two cruise terminals in Seattle. Pier 66 (NCL) is right in front of downtown Seattle, and could be considered a "short walk" from the light rail as long as you can manage your luggage.

Pier 91 - Smith Cove Cruise Terminal, is not in downtown Seattle, and is in an industrial area with no nearby hotels. You absolutely could not walk to Pier 91 from the light rail.

Any recommendations for pre cruise stay in Seattle?

Thanks!

It would help if you let us know the cruise line you're sailing on. There are two different cruise terminals in Seattle and that would make a difference on hotel suggestions.

If you're cruising from Pier 66 (NCL) there are two hotels right at the pier. The Edgewater is on the pier next to Pier 66 - the cruise ship will be right next to the hotel. The Seattle Marriott Waterfront is just a short walk from Pier 66, easy to do with luggage the morning of the cruise. This pier is also right in front of downtown Seattle, so you can also use almost any hotel in the downtown area.

The Smith Cove cruise terminal or Pier 91 (other cruise lines) is more of a problem. There are no hotels in the immediate area, which if mostly industrial. Your best bet if cruising from this pier is to find a hotel in downtown Seattle that's convenient for sightseeing - assuming you have the time for that. Then taxi or Uber to the pier on the morning of your cruise.

I have. They just said there were several downtown. Said they weren’t sure how close they were (I’m sure they don’t). They were very unhelpful

The downtown car rental offices are about a 15 minute walk or more.

Some of the in-town offices of some car rental companies used to offer to come pick you up before your rental and drop you off again afterwards. You might want to call the downtown Miami offies and see if they will do that. Or of course you could just jump in a cab or an Uber.

You might want to cross post this question on the Ports of Call - Caribbean - St. Thomas board.

Has anyone used the NCL luggage storage at the Honolulu port for the Pride of America at the end of the cruise? is it easy to find? Our flight isn't until late and we don't want to cart our luggage around with us for the day. :):)

We took an NCL city excursion after disembarkation. That way our luggage rode with us in the tour bus and we were dropped off at the airport later that day. The excursion also included Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial, and someone else did the driving in the abysmal Honolulu traffic, so it was worth it.

It was the only formal excursion we booked for our whole POA cruise.

Thank you all for the reassurance. I would rather take an earlier flight home than hang out in the airport half the day.:)

12 noon isn't an "early" flight in the way that this question is normally asked. In fact, it's what most people recommend at most ports: flights at 11 am or 12 noon. It's what we always go for on any cruise, and we don't like to rush off the ship in the morning.

Can you make a 12:00 Noon flight out of Boston Airport after cruising on NCL?

Yes, easily.

Hi all! Just booked my first ever cruise through CAS. I’ve been compulsively reading the boards and have gotten so much great info. I travel often (just never by boat up until now) so naturally I wanted to check out any rewards programs available. I’m going to sign up for Latitudes but I was curious how that plays with CAS? I know often one program will nix the benefits of another. Will there be any Latitude benefits to look out for with this trip or is it really only beneficial further down the line with higher status?

As you continue to cruise, your Latitudes status and CAS status will work independently of each other, but you'll get the combined benefits.

For instance, at a certain Latitudes level you get one or two free specialty restaurant dinners at certain of the restaurants during your cruise. Since you'll likely also have the free dining package (that's an NCL thing not a CAS thing) you may have trouble finding enough nights to use all the dinners!

At the same time, as you gamble, you're earning CAS points on that cruise. At the end of the cruise the CAS points will be converted to a credit against your final on board bill. The amount of the credit will vary depending on your play and the casino manager. But to continue the example, if you happen to have also bought any specialty dinners, you may find those costs go away due to your casino credit on your final bill.

As a final note: The CAS year and the Latitudes year do not run in sync. The CAS points accumulation year is March to April. I'm pretty sure the Latitudes year is a calendar year. Your CAS status resets at the end of each CAS year. Your Latitudes status does not.

Also check out promotions from your casino. I just got off the Pearl and Harrahs had a promo, your CAS points would be matched with your Harrahs tier points.

That TR promo ended Aug 31. Be nice if they'd do it again, or make it permanent!

Thank you all for the great explanations. You’ve helped me to get a much better understanding of these two programs. I wasn’t aware of the CruiseNext certificates but that’s certainly an excellent tip! As long as I love my first journey on this beautiful *ship* (;)) I will surely be taking advantage of that!

 

So if I a higher status with a land based casino rewards program (TR) can I use that to my benefit with the CAS program - such as point or status matching like BlueLineGal mentioned? If there’s a better place to ask these types of questions I apologize. Still figuring this place out!

There is generally no point matching between TR and CAS. There was, briefly, a promotion that TR was running this year that did provide some TR points for CAS points earned during a certain period. That promo only ran through Aug 31 - when I checked a few days ago, it was already gone from the TR website. That's the first time I've EVER, in all my years of being a TR player and an NCL CAS cruiser, seen a direct points linkage between the programs.

I'm hoping perhaps TR and CAS might be considering doing this more. Some cruise lines do have linkages between their cruise casino loyalty programs and land based casinos. For instance, Celebrity casino points can be credited to your MGM M life account.

Basically, though, your TR status & points mean nothing to CAS other than a standard % discount on the price of your cruise. Once you have established a play history with CAS on the ships, they will use that play history to decide on future comp cruise offers.

As a note, there is a "Cruise Casinos" board here, way down the the main page under "Cruise Conversations." It covers all the cruise lines casino programs.

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but i need to get a quick answer. We are booking 2 cabins on NCL Epic over thanksgiving and would like to book the adults in one cabin and the kids, 2 ages 15 and 12, in the other. They are side by side balconies and i could swear we did this on the last NCL cruise, but our travel agent is telling us that we have to book 1 adult in each cabin. I would rather book the adults and kids in the the cabins they are actually going to be staying in because it makes dealing with the keys, drink package, etc much easier.

is this still possible on NCL?

thx

Your TA is right. NCL rules prohibit booking cabins for children below a certain age without an adult also booked into the same cabin.

You can attempt to switch things around once you're on board, at the guest services desk. We have done this when switching adults around, but I don't know if they'll do it to leave two underage children in one cabin by themselves, in that this is still not accepted under the rules.

I understand that the servers are covered by the DSC.

I understand that there is no obligation or expectation to tip them beyond the DSC.

 

However, I am curious, from those of you who have tipped extra:

1) Did you tip at each meal or at the end of the cruise?

2) If at the end, did you tip the servers individually or collectively, i.e., an envelope for the entire staff?

3) How much did you tip? If at the end, would you please specify the length of the cruise?

 

Thanks in advance to those who address my questions.

If you want to tip individually at any restaurant on the ship, I'd suggest doing it immediately after the meal. The servers do move around, getting different assignments from time to time. Possibly the only exception is in the Haven restaurant, for those ships that have them. But even there, we have seen the staff change over the course of a cruise.

I have stayed there on a business trip. Hotel is fine, very easy to access right off the trains from airside terminals, down a short hallway. If you check luggage you'll have to go downstairs to pick it up first, then go back upstairs to the main airport lobby and then a short walk to the hotel.

Something interesting that I have noticed is how similar the overall experience of going on a cruise ship is to visiting a casino resort. Obviously excluding the clear similarity in that both have legalized gaming, it seems like cruise ships really on the same sensory overload techniques that make most large-scale casino resorts successful (buffets/numerous dining options, live entertainment, nightclubs, bars, foreign staff, flashy design). Also interesting is how the casino is always at the literal center of any ship I have ever been on. It almost seems like cruising evolved because of casino gambling. I would almost go so far as to say that it seems like the modern cruise ship would not exist without the casino. Has anyone else (especially those who gamble frequently) made these same observations on their trips?

If you think about, both cruise ships and casino resorts are designed around the same basic goal: Having a captive audience.

A casino resort wants to keep their customers in the resort as much as possible...hopefully gambling as much as possible. So they add the other bells and whistles to keep the customers in the resort.

A cruise ship has the same need, but for a slightly different reason: The customers literally cannot leave, except in ports of call. So the cruise ship has to provide the same variety of bells and whistles to keep the cruising customers happy.

However, I don't think the casino operation is as central to cruise ships as are the multiple bars, restaurants, shows and activities. There are good examples of cruise lines without casinos (Disney ships, NCL's Pride of America) that are very successful for other reasons. And there are plenty of cruising customers who never even go into the casino on a cruise ship.

I would say Port side is preferable. The volcano is best seen from starboard but that’s so brief. Na Pali is a bit longer, and sail away from Kauai is quite nice too from the Port side. Other than that, you will mostly be sailing after sundown anyway.

 

 

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And if there's no lava flowing into the sea, the POA sails north-around the Big Island anyway, with the port side facing the coast. But again, that sailing, like most others on the cruise, occurs overnight.

The link below from the U.S. Park Service tells you the current conditions of the volcano and if there's lava flowing into the sea or not.

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

NCL's ships are all built in Europe, and (except for the POA now), are expected to be able to serve the European markets too. In Europe, the hand-held shower wand is much more the norm...I've never been in a cabin on an NCL ship that didn't have one, even if it also had a fixed shower head. That included our suite on the POA.

We had an aft cabin so had a pretty good view. When necessary we went to the promenade deck for a side view. Port is best for the volcano and starboard for Na poli coast.

 

 

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Actually, you may have that reversed. The POA sails south and west around the big island if viewing the lava flows, and that would put the right, or starboard side of the ship facing the coast line. If there's no lava flows to see, then the ship sails north around the island which is a shorter distance.

At the Na Pali coast the left, or port side of the ship is closer on the sail out. Then the ship turns around and the starboard side gets a view..but on our cruise, the ship's course was further away from the coast on the second half of the Na Pali loop, so the first part, from the port side, gets a better (closer) view.

Your change was probably the first of what could be several. That's the problem booking far in advance (we always do)...but it's easy to change usually. We're getting ready to make that AA flight to SJU in the next few days and have had several changes...Our outbound flight has only varied by a few minutes each time so no big deal but our return is a 9:45am flight....the other choices were much too late and since we've done early flights from SJU before know to self disembark ... get to the airport asap..agriculture check and get to our gate...fingers crossed.

Just booked a set of DFW-SJU-DFW flights for our Dawn cruise in December. I'm an AA frequent flyer and live in DFW so prefer to fly American, but they only have two direct flights a day to and from DFW/SJU...and I thought long and hard about that direct return that leaves SJU at 9:45 am.

I know it is technically possible to make a flight that early, but it goes against all my cruising experience...and I've heard horror stories about SJU. Besides, we're not morning people and prefer a more relaxed end to our vacation! But the next direct doesn't leave SJU until 3 in the afternoon...way too late.

So we opted for a connection through Miami back to DFW...giving us a more relaxed disembarkation and allowing for anything that might go wrong in the process. Of course, the connection adds to the travel time, so it's a give and take.