Lacaena

Hi everyone!  Merry Christmas!  I'm on the Escape in January, calling in St. Lucia.  We were planning on using Joe Knows to go to the mud baths.  I really liked that it involved a fun speedboat ride and they got you there before everyone from the ships arrived.  Unfortunately, we are there on a Monday and they are closed 😞. So, we need an alternative!  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  Ideally we are looking for something that doesn't involve a long bus ride and that gets us there before it's super crowded. Also, something that doesn't involve hikes as we are looking for light intensity.  Thanks in advance!  

Laura

I just looked into this cruise, called NCL.  It is sold out. Not sure why it's so popular, but there you have it. 

I’m on a cruise in January (NCL Escape) that stops in Tortola. We’d love to do the rebel yell catamaran to JVD but their website is down. The excursion isn’t listed as an option on My NCL. Anybody have any info?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

On Escape do you know which parts are coed? going with my DH.

On the Escape (and to my knowledge, all other NCL ships) the entire Thermal Suite (pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna, snow room, loungers, etc.) with the exception of the locker rooms is co-ed. My DH and I always go to the spa together.

Grouping all travel agents into one lump statement based on a poor experience you had with ONE travel agent is pretty closed minded. However, as others have stated you may have options regarding your booking.

My travel agent notifies me of price drops. I usually get a call, email, or text letting me know and letting me know that it's all set and I don't have to do anything. I know that this means less commission for him but he cares about his clients. Find yourself a good travel agent and you'll never go back to booking on your own.

My husband and I have had the spa pass on a 14 day cruise and it was twice the price of the 7 day pass.

We booked it online through NCL website.

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

I would call reservations or your Travel Agent. I'm guessing that either it didn't sync up to your reservation number or there's some fine print that you didn't adhere to such as "Air routing, scheduling and carrier are at the discretion of Norwegian Cruise Line. Air subject to availability." or "Hotel credit is not applicable to bundles or cruisetours. Credit can only be used on Pre or Post hotel, but not both. Maximum credit of $100 USD per stateroom. Hotel subject to availability."

Did you book the airfare and hotel through NCL? If you didn't, that's why as it's only applicable when you book through Norwegian. If you did, it should be automatically applied.

I think you're pretty ready!

You may not get your luggage until that night, run through embarkation day in your head. Will you want to swim, hot tub, book to read, game to play etc. Keep anything out that you'll want.

Definitely keep your Haven tags off until the last minute. They're pretty tough but no need to risk them getting ripped off. I always wait until I'm leaving for port to attach mine.

Tip sounds good, unless your luggage is somehow unusual (large, heavy, unruly, etc.) We tip $2-$3 per bag.

Pretty much everyone else is covered by your DCS for tips. However, we always tip our room steward cash in addition to the DSC. So for Haven, we would tip concierge, butler, and room steward.

One important thing! Unless your tea lights are battery powered, they will be confiscated. Fire is the biggest threat on a ship so anything with an open flame is strictly prohibited. I would recommend a wind breaker / rain slicker. It can be quite rainy in Alaska and chilly even in summer.

As far as dining, I would skip the buffet for dinner personally. Try it out for breakfast or lunch and have another specialty or Haven night. The Haven menu doesn't change so, maybe specialty. There are LOTS of great options.

Most importantly, try and relax and have fun. Vacation is 99.99% attitude. If you relax and are determined to have a nice time, you will. Enjoy!!!

Expensive is subjective. As others have said, it's usually $199 pp for a seven day cruise. You save $20 pp if you purchase it ahead of time online. We always get the spa pass, it's 100% worth it in our opinion. We do not have children and typically try to find areas that are less traveled by children. The spa is adults only. When other places are crowded, the spa is usually pretty quiet. We've never had a hard time finding a place to relax in the spa. Also, the view is great as it looks out over the bow. I'd much prefer relaxing in the spa over jostling for a place by the pool on the deck. Enjoy!

Thanks guys for all the great answers. I feel comforted that the stingrays are well taken care of. I am pretty sure we are going to do this excursion!

Thanks for the reply! The size of the pen definitely makes me feel better!

Hi everyone!

I am going to be on the Escape in October and starting to look at excursions. I would like to do the stingray excursion at Great Stirrup Cay; however, I understand that the stingrays there are penned and not free to roam. I always have hesitations about this. Can anyone confirm that they are in fact penned and if so enlighten me as to whether this is humane. I have heard a lot of negative things about dolphin enclosures but nothing about stingrays and a google search didn't turn anything up. I wouldn't want to support something that was "inhumane" to the animals. I'm a little bit of a bleeding heart when it comes to animals. Thanks!

Check out Geocaching Adventures LLC on Facebook. Lots of awesome Geocaching cruise Adventures there! They put together awesome trips that are centered around geocaching and you get to hang out with other geocachers too!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Just be aware that if you do decide to wait, they only sell a certain number of passes. Sometimes they do sell out. We LOVE the spa and always get a pass. It's a great option if you like a quiet and relaxing place to lounge and don't want to fight for a deck chair.

You can book now with the current perks and if the next set of perks is better you can call your agent or NCL and get the new package. But, if the price goes up, you're locked in. That's what I'd do.

Keep in mind that prices and perks go hand in hand, so if the price did go up AND the perks were better you'd have to make the choice of the perks and price you have or the new price and new perks.

Honestly, it’s hard to enforce this as it can be hard to tell where it’s coming from. However, there is a reason that smoking isn’t allowed on the balconies. It is a major fire hazard, one ash that lands on a neighboring balcony with a towel or something and it can be a major issue. Fire is the single biggest risk at sea. Also, cigarette smoke really bothers me (and many others) and not being able to enjoy my balcony, especially when I have to avoid a lot of other areas, because someone else is smoking on theirs when there are designated smoking areas is just rude. Not flaming you, just encouraging you to think of how your actions impact others.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We went to Coral World in St Thomas and did their shark activity. It was honestly amazing. Coral World is quaint. But they outfitted us with snorkel gear and weight belts and we got to go into a small pool with nurse sharks and lemon sharks. We got a ton of information from the guide who was working on his masters in marine biology. And it was just the 3 of us in the pool with him. The price was excellent for the activity and the time spent with the sharks. Btw... these were all young sharks and they rehab them for release into the wild. We did not book thru the cruise line, we booked ourselves and took a open air “taxi” to Coral World. The price included admission to the park. I understand that due to the hurricanes they are working on reopening many of the exhibits still. So it may not work for you.

This sounds like a great option! It is closed at the moment due to the hurricane but we have a year to go so hopefully it will be open by then. Thanks for the great info!

Hi everyone! I am in the planning process for a family cruise, it's two weeks on the Escape Jan'19. It's my BIL and SIL's first cruise. My SIL is OBSESSED with sharks and really wants to go shark diving. Not necessarily cage diving but she would really like to go on a shark dedicated dive, either feeding or cages. I am having a hard time finding anything. To complicate matters, she's not a certified diver so it would have to include a resort course. I found one place in St. Kitts but it looks like they're out of business. Anybody have any ideas? I posted here instead of on the port boards because we have a lot of options where to do it. Here's where we'll be stopping: San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Tortola, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Barbados.

Thanks in advance!

We were on the Breakaway in January two years ago and we hit a bad storm on the way back. We are both seasoned cruisers, my husband was fine but I admit I was a bit freaked out. We had 37' seas and 65mph winds. I had to wait to walk across the cabin to the bathroom until it was "down hill" because "up hill" was difficult. Anyway, the captain was GREAT. He came on every couple hours with an update and assured us that everything was safe and when he expected things to improve. That made all the difference. I think radio silence would not help the situation. I haven't read many accounts of this most recent BA cruise but sounds similar.

Before our BA trip in Jan '16 I took to the boards and asked what it was like out of the northeast in January. People said hit or miss. One guy said he had seen seas like glass an also very bad storms, bottom line is that it is the northeast in January... I guess that's the best approach to take.

Of, if you leave your phone turned on, you can answer that. Will be $2.99 a minute.

 

If you are in port while in Canada, the cost will be less. Way less if you sign up for the $5 or $10 a day plan many carriers have.

Just be careful if you do decide to leave your phone on. Most phones have apps that use data in the background or email pushes to the phone etc. That means that you could be racking up international roaming and data charges while you aren't using it.

From outside the US the caller dials 1.732.335.3280. They will be prompted to enter which ship and provide a credit card for the charge. I don't know how much it costs. Enjoy your cruise!

For port specific options you would probably be best checking the port of call boards. However, a little tip is to look at where off duty crew is congregating. That's typically a really good sign that there is free wi-fi. Good luck!

Today we are 80 days out from our Escape cruise and I just had the opportunity to put in upgrade bids. We are currently booked in an M6 mini suite with large balcony. I'm a little surprised at the minimums for Haven. We had upgraded once before on Getaway before the new system. I plan on tracking bids and availability etc. and will provide an update once process is over.

Can I ask what the starting bid was and the Haven Category the bid applies to? I won't ask what you bid, just what the minimum was. I'm on the Escape next year and thinking that I may want to bid on a Haven upgrade. Currently we're in a Spa Balcony. Thanks!

The closest thing I've ever seen to a "sale" is the $50 credit per port that's sometimes offered as part of the perks options.