lee101224

Hi , thanks for the quick response . 
 

I’d love to spend the day but due to work commitments it’s not possible . Sadly it’s either that flight or cancel the trip . 
 

I was kinda hoping that Sunday might be a lighter day for traffic but wasn’t sure if I was just being a bit too hopeful . Iv been on 10+ cruises but never needed to race off so never paid attention to how quick anyone has managed to disembark , or even how long immigration has taken In the past . 
 

I hear the pre-TSA , etc mention a lot , but I’m not sure a Uk citizen can get it ?! 
 

How are the US airports now ? Are they still crazy busy ? As I was assuming I’d need to arrive by 8.15am at the very very latest to make the flight , would anyone say this is about right for a London flight ? 
 

thx again all 

Hi All , 

we arrive back at Cape liberty on Anthem of the seas , 26th Feb . The published time of arrival is 6am . 
 

I originally had a flight back from JFK to London at 10.50am , which I thought would be tight but doable . Had an email to say flight has been changed to 10.15am . Do we have any chance ? 
 

what time does the ship tend to actually arrive ? 

what is the absolute earliest we could be off the ship ? , self disembarkation , etc are not a problem . 
realistically , if I was up , first in line and everything went to plan , would I make that flight ? 
 

there is an option from Newark , but that’s at 8.15am , which I don’t think is any more realistic , unless any of you lovely people can tell me otherwise . 
 

Any advice / experiences are greatly appreciated 

thanks in advance 

Lee 

Hi guys , 

Will be at Coco in February on Anthem , first time at Coco . Just looking at booking the water park , £135 each ?! So that’s what $160 ish dollars per person . How / what / why ?!? 
 

This year iv been to Dubai and Florida , those trips have included numerous water parks ( 6 or 7 I think ) , even Atlantis resort on the palm was half that cost ? Wild Wadi at the foot of the Burj was £50 each ? 
 

Am I missing something , is it just people pay it because their there and it is what it is , because I count 12 slides ( if I get on every slide once it would be $15 per person per slide 🤣 ) 

Yet I rarely see any negative posts , etc about it so those that have been and paid , surely find it value for money ? 
 

Stay cool 😎

Lee 

So no plans for an few short little trips around the med before heading back ? even to show of or even try the new features ? Thats a shame :mad:

Hi all ,

Disney wonder is set to emerge from Cadiz , Spain Oct 23rd.

Does anyone have any info on the itineraries it will sail before heading back to the US ? if not any idea when they will be announced ?

Thanks in advance

I would like to know peoples experience of this too . I have priced it up through disney to do the dolphin encounter , vs through an independent website and its only $10 extra Per Person through disney , so think I'm going for the safe option .

Hi ,

I'm also off Indy today , but I had a great time ( I always do ! )

Iv also been on jade and enjoyed it .

The biggest problem IMHO was the weather , because it was so dull and cold at time , everyone was inside , with better weather more people would have been on the top decks and it wouldn't have felt so crowded .

I am looking at allure and from what I see / read they are very similar in design .

Have you thought about ncl epic ? I have sailed epic and that didn't seem crowded ( but again it was from Miami and nice and hot ! )

Lee

Great read !

Departing from Southampton , first time we have ever sailed from uk . I have left Miami 3 times , dom rep once and and Barcelona twice .... Not expecting the weather to be on par with the Miami ! Lol

I'm quite happy if they do keep an 'American' edge to the entertainment , when we sailed from Barcelona it was 95 % Europeans and the atmosphere was 'stiff' , sailed out of Miami with the us guests and the South American guest , it was party time !

:). Haha , us Brits do love our cups of tea ( he says while sipping on his cup of .... Tea ! )

I am interest in the entertainment / activities specifically on independence , but any little things like that would be great to know . They must 'adapt' to a certain degree . It certainly seems that way with the recent interview regarding how RCCL will adapt to the Asia market .

Does anyone know if the crew change depending on where the ship is based ?

Lee

Hi all,

For both and upcoming trip and also general interest .....

Just wondering if anyone had any info on whether there is much difference to the independence of the seas when it sails from the US or the UK .

Do the shows , meals , activities stay the same or are they all changed .

I read somewhere that they change a lot of the merchandise , I understand that there are a lot more Europeans on the UK sailing .

Sailing on Indy in 20 days .

Going on Indy in 21 days , so reading with interest .

Hi all ,

We are on independence on May 25th for 6 nights .

Was just looking for some advice , and snip its of past experience of all the great little quick wins , I.e - where best to have lunch on embarkation day ? And little hints and tips that will make our trip even better .

I have sailed RCCL before about 7 years ago , if it was NCL I would be able to give loads of little things to do or be aware of that would be beneficial , so it's over to you experts to fill my brain with any golden tips you may have

THANKS in advance

Keep it coming , going on icy as a group of 14 in May

Loving this review ( nothing to do with the obsoletely beautiful blonde young lady that keeps popping up in the photos :-) ) Honest ! ;-) ........ Wonder if she's after a British guy ?!? :p

OP, have you tried explaining to them how the gratuities work on a cruise ship? Since this is their first cruise, perhaps they just don't understand.

Its a Bit of a long story , but .... They are not paying for the trip , another family member is ( big group going ) , without sounding awful or degrading , they wouldn't have naturally picked a cruise , but are happy enough to come along . BUT , i have tried the when i rome' and all that .

Like I said , our booking are all linked and it makes me cringe , I can't let it put a dampener on my happy place ( any cruise ship , sitting in a hot tub with a beer ! ) but it still make me Cringe !

Apparently a Problem shared is a problem halved ??

We will be travelling in May on INDY , 6th Cruise , 2nd with RCCL .

HOWEVER

A family that is cruising with us ( never cruised before ) are planning on immediately taking their Auto Grats on as they 'technically don't have to pay them so why would you ?'

Makes me cringe , anyone ever been in this situation before , Iv had may say but it has little effect ..... Makes Me Cringe !

Hi , we sailed RCCL years ago but have been sailing NCL and disney recently for a change .

I can't remember if and how , RCCL offers Future cruise certs and or booking while on the ship .

In a nutshell We are going on Independence in May , and I hope to go on ALLURE when she is in Europe next summer , so Would i be better off booking while on independence , or buying further cruise certs , or simply booking inland as normal ? ( ideally Cruise only booking as Flight to Barcelona are so frequent and easy i can sort that myself to suit travel plans )

MANY thanks in advance for any advice and experiences .

Hi ,

First cruised on Legend of the seas , 7/8 years ago , which led to 4 cruises with NCL and a disney cruise . Set to go on Independence of the seas from Southampton for 6 nights in May .

With the recent News about Allure coming to Europe , I have always wanted to try this ship , now I can without cost of the flights to Florida !!

I was wondering peoples experience and opinions regarding pricing and Future cruise Certs , I no on NCL you pay $250 each cert and get $100 OBC for your current cruise , and can buy quite a few at a time . you can also book onboard for future cruises . How does this compare to RCCL ? how do they work , and are they defiantly the best value ? would you suggest I buy the Certs and simply book onboard when on independence for the Allure in 2015 ?

Thoughts , comments , experience all welcome .

Thanks in advance .

First of all, there's no word "discretionary" that NCL uses regarding this service charge.

 

Secondly, while I agree that including the service charge in the fare would cut down on the anger before people cruise, it also would remove the ability to even attempt to have it adjusted if there was a service problem that could not be resolved to your satisfaction. Being a distinct charge allows you to have it adjusted if there is an issue that cannot be solved to your satisfaction. You cannot adjust your cruise fare once on board...

Read post number 16 ! , saves my having to log on find the example and point out your wrong .

SO NCL should change there entire system and do it your way .

Not at all , but its a subject that keeps coming up , and more and more people dont like it - in fact speaking to a marketing exc at Virgin Holiday cruises , there are more and more deals with DSL/ grat's / TIPs included in the price as they claim that people prefer this.

As I keep saying , you can buy a car for £1000 plus £250 per wheel , or £2000 for the car ... makes no difference but the latter would stop a lot of people getting angry before they even cruise.

- or at least take the word discretionary out of the terms.

Just to add another point - forums are an open space in which to chat , vent , ask , learn , what ever you want ....... every day i read " THIS COMES UP EVERYDAY ( moan moan moan )" , Well is that no telling you something , if person after person is coming up with the same issue / topic / problem then there is a trend !!!

( I also never understand why if a topic bugs you so much , why click on it , read it , then comment on it ?!? seems odd to me ! )

As soon as I posted this, I found that someone had just posted a similar question and the knives came out.

 

I am not trying to offend anyone. Yes, this has soured me on NCL before even setting foot on the ship and now I am going to be CERTAIN I get well more than $168 in service from the staff. Enough said.

 

However, due to the fact that $168 is far more than a reasonable tip for the services I will actually call upon (the cruise was not a free gift from NCL).... additional tipping is now out of the question.

 

Matter of principle to me. You don't put your hand out for tips before providing service and then make it uncomfortable for guests to ask for it to be removed. Tacky.

 

No one be mad at me, I am simply asking what seems like a sane question.

Im Guessing that it was my post that you refer to , and yes the knives came out , luckily im thick skinned , and enjoy a debate .... as stated many times if we were all the same the world would be a boring place.

Truth of the matter is you will now get a few people attacking your opinion , they can be quite single minded and unable to accept your point of view ... take the time to read through the thread i started , now has 185 posts , ignore the ones that shown one person moaning at the other , read between the lines . There are a lot of people that agree with you !!!

Like you i never mind tipping for great service , and we tip well . however it seems that some people for whatever reason love the fact that they buy something for say £10 , plus £1 this and £2 that , they think they have a deal. JUST SELL IT AT £13 to start with !!! the staff would be better of because the DSL is included , can not be taken off under any etc , it would simply be part of the cruise . Then the staff would be looking to make extra , via normal tipping , they would work hard , you would get even better service, be happier , you would tip more , they would get more , everyones a winner !!! Simple !

Dont take the upcoming negative comments too personal , people get very hot up about this , my only advice is something i learnt , if you do remove it you are known to the staff , whether this is right or wrong , it happens , so might be worth leaving on simply to enjoy the service and in protest leave nothing else on top , thats what i am planning on doing !