Nilbog

We were last on the Pearl in '22.  The safe uses a code that you enter to lock, then unlock when you need to access it.  The lights didn't use a card.

1 hour ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

Also not sure what you need a deck map for if you aren’t on the ship.

When you ride a scooter you have to take time to plan routes and avoid obstacles. 

Once on board, the NCL app is actually helpful.  You can see deck maps, itinerary, your booked items, all kinds of stuff.  However, take one step off the ship and it's useless, no maps, no calendar, nothing you can use to plan your evening once you get back on the ship.  If you're not connected to their wi-fi it's like you're not even on a cruise. On another cruise line, once you've booked a cruise you have full use of the app, and I like that a lot better.

21 hours ago, roomba920 said:

Just curious....as only active military have an I.D., how do veterans prove their status to airlines?

A lot of airlines and cruise lines use sites such as id.me to confirm military veteran status.

On 4/11/2024 at 4:28 PM, Jordan61 said:

We were on the Bliss in the Haven last May. Sometimes the bar was crowded, sometimes not. But if we set up somewhere outside the lounge area, our favorite bar waiter Mario always found us. 🙂

I have always found that no matter how full the bar area is, if you cozy up to one of the wait staff they will always keep you in drinks.  Even in a non-Haven bar, if you frequent one waiter/waitress, they will keep you in drinks.  I've even had one waitress go to the bar manager and request a specific liquor be kept in the staff because a Haven passenger was frequenting that bar and requested it.  And it worked.  I tipped her well and often.

We've been on four NCL cruises so far, 3 on the Pearl and 1 on the Jewel.  Why?  The smaller ships go where we want to go.  That being said, we'll be on the Breakaway in 28 days and are tying a full Haven.  On the smaller ships I won't do Haven again as you get nearly the same benefits from a suite for much less money.  Our cruise after the Breakaway, though, is on the Star.  Again, the smaller ship is going where we want to go.

On 4/8/2024 at 10:07 PM, jack300s said:

Thank you so much. Do have to use NCL internet or can my wife use her jet pack with our verizon service?

To use the jet pack you would need to have cellular service, and while out at sea you won't have that unless you bounce off the ship's satellite system, which puts the jet pack into roaming mode.  It would be akin to not turning your phone on airplane mode.  Your Verizon bill after returning home could easily be into the thousands and maybe even the tens of thousands of dollars.  The NCL wi-fi plan will be much less expensive.

8 hours ago, nordicacres said:

So if it’s not a real Starbucks, how is the coffee?

Sincerely, very picky coffee drinker

NCL is licensed to sell Starbucks products, so they're selling actual Starbucks coffees.

2 hours ago, laudergayle said:

@kaboozle How’s the drink selection at the Atrium Cafe?  Do they do drinks like frappes?  Things like chai latte?  

Yes, they do have the fu-fu coffees.  My wife gets them all the time.  I just drink straight coffee.  I like my coffee like I like my women...hot and straight.  🤪

7 minutes ago, roddy good boy said:

I’m sorry, but you are mistaken. It’s called Meryem Ana Evi (mother Mary’s house). Recall in the scriptures, Jesus’s words from the cross to both John and Mary, “Mother behold your son. Son behold your mother.” It is believed that John took Mary with him to Ephesus. 

 

You are correct.  34 years has wiped too much of my memory and I relied too much on Google.  This IS said to be the house of the Virgin Mary.

(I apologize for this being upside down, it's not letting me rotate it.)

Just keep in mind when deciding to visit Mary's house or not, this was allegedly the house of Mary Magdalene, not Mary the mother of Jesus.  That may sway your desire to go there.  There are some accounts that she travelled with St. John the Baptist (St. John the Evangelist) to Selçuk next to Ephesus, and would, by that account, have a home in the area.  St. John's basilica is another tourist location next to Ephesus.

We're in the same boat with 74 points and a 14-day cruise coming up in August. To make sure we were Platinum for the 14-day cruise we found a 4-day cruise in May that will push us to Platinum for the long cruise.

21 hours ago, metravelling said:

I am going on NCL JOY on3/30/24. Scootaround no longer honors USCRUISE or any other discount $260 (-$10 for repeat customers)for 7 nt cruise. They have a Kiosk inside NCL terminal @Port of Miami so you can pick up scooter and not need wheelchair to get on/Off ship.  

Quite the change since November 2022 when we cruised out of Miami on NCL.  I did get the discount and they delivered to the cabin so had to try to find wheelchair assistance (which was hard to find).

Glad we're waiting until she's in Miami on May 8th.  Don't need that Texas traffic...

2 hours ago, luvs2beachit said:

Anyone know how much one would cost for 8 days?

Not sure about an 8 day cruise, but my last few 7 day cruises it ran about $250.  You can always go to the website and mock book one.  I think Scootaround is the one that automatically adds the insurance, but you can uncheck the box and take that off.

Not sure about the Jade, but on her sister ships, the Jewel and the Pearl, we've enjoyed the show and the food.  We've got a short 4-day cruise coming up on the Breakaway where we only get 1 specialty dinner and Teppanyaki is the one we booked.

7 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

One more question....

 

Is it doable to sit in your loungers on the balconies of 10000/10500 while underway?

In 10002 on the Pearl and 9004 on the Jewel we used the loungers while under way.  It was breezy under way, but doable.

That's a great cabin, with an awesome balcony.  The butler will set up dinner on the balcony for you.  Just arrange it in advance so he can be prepared as he'll probably have to move your cabin table to the balcony.  We were in one of those suites on the Pearl and the butler asked if we wanted to eat on the balcony.

Having been in the Haven OS on the Jewel and the forward-facing penthouse suite on the Pearl for a partial canal transit, I wouldn't pay the extra for the Haven on a Jewel class, even though that Haven OS was an AWESOME cabin.  Like @Turtles06 said, if you get one of the forward-facing penthouse suites on deck 9 or 10 you'll get the same view of the canal as the Captain.  The other thing to look at is an aft-facing penthouse suite (non-Haven).  I absolutely love the aft suites, and have done that on the Pearl through the canal, too.  Loved that view, too.

11 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Is not Cagneys aft on jewel class ships?  You have one perk is that the breakfast and lunch restaurant is only one flight of stairs down if you stick with the aft suite.
 

Cagney's and Moderno are on deck 13, midship.

Having been in an Owner's Suite on the Jewel (same class) and an aft suite on the Pearl, I'd stay in the aft suite.  On those class ships they don't have a full Haven, just a small sitting area with a small pool, but no Haven restaurant or bar.

10 hours ago, LisaLisa87 said:

We’re not really interested in cruises to the Bahamas at this point, and 11 to 12 nights is tough for us since we’re both still working full-time. On the local news, they mentioned that the Gem will have to work around Carnival’s schedule. 

It'll be great for a quick weekend getaway, though.  First Coast News said NCL and Carnival will work together to deconflict schedules.  They made it sound more of a mutual working agreement than a one-sided dictatorial relationship.

We're still working, too, but rest assured we'll look at the 11 and 12 day itineraries to see if they're places we want to go.

We're excited about the deal.

1 minute ago, FLcruisergrl said:

Very excited! The port is approx 30 minutes from my house, so that’ll be convenient!

It's a 20 minute drive down I-295 for me.  Can't wait for it to get here!

For the "a la carte" specialty restaurants the dining package includes one appetizer, one entree, and one desert.

That being said, you can probably call NCL and make arrangements for some way to keep frozen breast milk.  They do make arrangements for medical needs, and I'm pretty sure this would qualify.

6 hours ago, rbxlady said:

My husband and I are introverts to the point where we could be happy going the whole cruise without talking to anyone but each other and our kids, but when there are extroverts around who are happy, inclusive, and otherwise not obnoxious we end up enjoying ourselves around them. We feel like we're part of the cool kids 🙂

You just described my DW and I to a T!  We could easily spend the whole cruise sitting in the Atrium or Observation Lounge and read or do puzzles.  But there are times we've been sucked into the cool crowd and had a good time.