luvincruising

They take calls from 8:30am - 5:30pm, M - F. They only have 6 people on the team. I was on hold several minutes before I got through.

:)

What items/ingredients are available on the crepe station? What is your favorite crepe?

:)

I just got off the phone with the NCL Executive Resolution Team rep/ 1-800-456-7298. She recorded my complaint about the new bottled water policy and my suggestion that they should adopt CCL's policy instead. She told me that they are receiving a large backlash to this new policy. Their team monitors CC threads, facebook and twitter.

Everyone should get on the phone now and log their complaint too.

:)

Have SIL tell ds, "Your aunt and uncle are going on a cruise and want us to see them off at the pier; afterwards, we will spend a few days in NYC and enjoy the sites.".

At the pier, uncle can drop off the bags to the porter & park while SIL, ds & aunt stand in line for check-in. At the check-in counter, aunt can distract ds while uncle and SIL check-in everyone.

On the ship, aunt & uncle can show them their cabin. If you have adjoining cabins, SIL could make some excuse to go out into the hall, access her cabin, knock on the adjoining door inside the cabin saying "Housekeeping!!", aunt tells ds to see who that is, and he opens the door to "Surprise!!!".

This is elaborate but doable. For our dd's first cruise, we told her that we were driving to Florida and staying in a hotel at the beach. When we were in sight of the ship, we pointed at it and told her that is our hotel. She was very surprised. It was a great cruise. This could be your Plan B.

:)

Are you chocoholic? I am. :-D

Our next cruise ship less than in three months but on oasis of the seas. I do wonder what kind of desserts they have as well. Never been on Norwegian so can't suggest. But I do want to create a post where ppl would suggest the best cruise for chocoholics! :))

Have a sweet cruise!!!

 

 

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Yes, I am a chocoholic but I am open to other forms of decadent sweets. I want to thank everyone for their posts. They all sound wonderful. Keep them coming.

As far as the best cruise for chocoholics, Palo [one of the specialty restaurants on DCL] has an excellent chocolate soufflé that should never be missed. I had two of them on our last DCL cruise.

:)

Personal favorite is the Chocolate Covered Bottled Water. Don't miss it!

Is this covered under the UBP or the UDP?

:)

I will be on the Escape in a couple of months and would love to know what desserts I should not miss. I already know, from other posts, that the lava cake is good.

What else is out there? Are there any great chocolate desserts?

:)

Squaremouth.com has the same policies but has better search filters. If you have preexisting medical conditions, most policies require that a policy be purchased within 14 - 21 days of the first cruise payment. Check the fineprint.

:)

Not in my opinion. I booked three OV for my family of six (all children are 19+) rather than the family suite. It was actually more expensive, but three bathrooms and privacy is always better. Suite perks on non-Haven ships are minimal.

Another vote for this option. With adjoining balcony cabins, you can have the divider opened and have one huge balcony. You could also do a balcony and an opposite inside cabin to save some money.

:)

Target.com has $50.00 Disney Gift cards available now. Yeah!!! They have been out of stock for the last month.

:)

OP is flying into FLL but Escape sails from Miami. Take Uber.

 

 

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Another vote for Uber.

https://www.uber.com/ride/

From FLL to POM, Uberx is $30-39; UberXL is $62-81.

:)

We went to Cinnamon Bay on St. John on our own, 2 weeks ago. Nice beach and not as crowded as Trunk Bay. Round trip travel costs for 2 adults and 1child totaled $140.00 [taxis, ferry & tips]. We had nice a time.:)

Just off the Valor and this is what I learned:

Gift cards can be applied to your onboard account when you check-in at the port [if the card readers are working]. Gift cards can also be added onboard at Guest services or at the kiosks. There is 1 kiosk by GS and another by the liquor store. If you want to use them, go at off times. They are very popular. Gift cards can be used to pay the deposit on a future cruise when you book it onboard. If you have already added all your gift cards to your onboard acct, go to the candy store and buy a new Carnival gift card with your S&S and use the new card to pay your deposit.

Warning: Any gift card money left on your onboard acct at the end of the cruise is non-refundable and cannot be reloaded to the original cards[this was conveyed by a GS mgr and separately by a GS rep]. If you do have gift card money left on your acct at the end of the cruise, go to the candy store on the night before debark and buy a Carnival gift card and a St. Jude t-shirt to zero out your acct; and/or, go to GS and have them add a specific amount to your dining team gratuities - over and above the auto-gratuities.

Setting up a casino acct:

After you have added your gift cards to your onboard acct, go to any slot machine, insert your S&S card in the slot, and follow the instructions and create a 4 digit pin. Once your pin is active, select the amount to move from your onboard acct to your casino acct - $10 - $500.00. $500.00 is the most that can be moved from your S&S until you cash out. You are now ready to play the slots.

To cash out:

go to any slot machine, insert your S&S in the slot, enter your pin, and select the cash out button; go to the cashier cage, give her your S&S card, enter your pin into the keypad, and the cashier will give you the cash that is left in your casino acct.

Warning: you can only cash out twice before the system locks you out. When your acct is locked up, a message will appear on the slot machine screen - "EFT NOT PERMITTED. PLEASE SEE A CASINO HOST FOR ASSISTANCE.". The casino host can reset your acct but they will tell you that you will have to play a lot more to prevent your acct from being locked again. They do not want you using the slot machines as an ATM.

To avoid the 3% service charge at the table games, use cash to buy chips at the tables or the cashier cage.

I hope this information is helpful.

:)

We have used the stay-park-cruise at the LaQuinta by the airport 3 times. Decent rooms, free shuttle to the port, and up to 10 days free parking. Not the best neighborhood but never had any problems. Very little noise from the planes.

:)

Bermuda is quiet but there are fun things to do. The pink beach is something to see. When you go, there is an ice cream shop on the way to airport that serves a great lime sherbert. You must try one.

:)

I never felt out of control with the booking. The TA was very responsive, even made 3 way calls to CCL. I forgot to mention the bottle of Champagne in my room, no 2, one from my TA, one for being Platinum.

This and OBC from your TA. Talk to other cruisers and get recommendations for TA's. There are good ones.

:)

If you are on a low deck, try to get in the middle or the aft (rear) of the ship. Being near the front, you can hear the sound of the ship as it chops through the waves. In semi-rough seas, it can be loud enough to keep a light sleeper awake.

Midship cabins have less movement and are less likely get engine or anchor noise.

:)

Another vote for squaremouth. They have a better interface than insuremytrip. The carnival policy is lacking. Most policies will cover preexisting conditions, if you buy the policy within ~14 - 20 days of making the first payment for the cruise.

:)

My guess is $448.95.

:)

This is exactly what I do. One piece of tape horizontal and one lengthwise, always with PRIORITY clearly visible.

This.

:)

The one 4 day cruise that we did went by fast. By the time that we felt relaxed, it was time to pack. I would consider doing another one, if it was part of a b2b.

:)

If anyone has done the $99 per person Villa excursion on amber cove, I'd love to hear about it. It sounds like a good deal compared to the more expensive cabanas.

I was looking at that too.

:)

I'm not trying to be a smart - here. Can you please explain TSA locks? Does TSA have keys, combos?

What's the point? Can dishonest persons not buy locks or a list of combos?

I normally use colored zip ties. Just don't want my un-mentionables falling out on the conveyer belt!

TSA approved locks have a separate key slot that only TSA has keys for - whether it is a combination lock or a key lock. There is a code next to the TSA slot indicating which TSA key will open it. The point is that with this type of lock: TSA can open your luggage, as needed, check for contraband and relock your luggage without cutting off your luggage locks.

:)

Just snagged one. They had the coupon flyers at the CS desk.

:)

Is there another means, aside from booking through Carnival, to get a better rate on cruises on Carnival?

The short answer is no. The price is the same on all the websites. The difference is the OBC that TA's offer that Carnival does not. You also can use the discount Carnival gift card route from Verizon or AARP to save 10% [see those threads for details].

:)