MeHeartCruising

I would look for a hotel near Piazzale Roma, which is the transportation hub for Venice. That will make it easy to get to the hotel from the airport via wheeled transport (taxi or bus). Plus there is a People Mover station there that you can use to ride over to the Tronchetto People Mover station, which is where your transfer to the ship we leave from. All of Venice is walkable. You will need to walk to/from your hotel to see some of the major sites. Or you can lean how to use the Vaporetto water bus lines to get where you want to go when sightseeing. I did a combination of both when I hoteled near P. Roma.

I don't know if all cruise lines provide transfers both directions, but Royal Caribbean and Celebrity appear to (for a fee) based on my personal experience and/or what I've read on this forum. Royal Caribbean offered 2 version to/from Venice. Either to/from the Marco Polo Airport or to/from the Tronchetto People Mover station. So if you're in a hotel, you would likely choose a transfer to or from the Tronchetto People Mover. You would have to get from your hotel to or from that location.

Thanks for sharing this story. You are clearly a level-headed thinker and likely a seasoned traveler. Great job dealing with a bad situation.

Non-studio “solo” cabins is a recent sales/marketing gimmick that NCL introduced in 2023. They exist on all or most ships in the form of inside, ocean view, or balcony cabins. NCL suggests that these cabins allow for more affordable solo cruising. However, the reality is that the pricing may or may not be less than when one person purchased a cruise in the past using a standard, non-studio cabin. It’s not like solo cabins are always X% cheaper. But, it’s nice to see us solo cruisers given a little marketing love for a change. I’m not sure how often it will actually save me money, however.

I was on Celebrity's sister company, Royal Caribbean, but it took me two calls to find an agent that knew how to properly research and sell transfers from Ravenna to Venice. I would assume that someone at Celebrity will eventually find a transfer. Royal Caribbean sold 2 transfers between Venice and Ravenna. One was to/from the Venice Marco Polo Airport for those arriving or departing from the airport. The second transfer sold was to/from "Venice City Center". Their definition of Venice City Center was a bus parking lot beside the Tronchetto Island car parking garage and People Mover station. So, if you would be staying in Venice at a hotel before/after your cruise, you would need to get transportation from your hotel to/from the Tronchetto People Mover station to utilize the transfer bus. Royal was charging about $55 per person for these transfers (one way) in 2023.

Have you considered using the transfer service provided by your cruise line (for a fee)? If this is for Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, they both offer the service. You can call them to pre-book it or arrange it while on your ship. I would do it in advance. I haven't seen a more reasonably priced alternative.

I've bought lots of crap on the ship that I would not otherwise buy in order to use up non-refundable OBC. Better to buy something than to leave it go unused. Buy them out of overpriced M&Ms if you have to.

I used an eSim with no issues in the UK. The process to set up was simple and without issues. There are multiple companies that sell them. You do need to be careful that you are getting the features you want. Since you want calls and data (texts, email, apps), you need to make sure the eSim support that. Many eSims sold only support data (no voice support). A commonly mentioned one to use in Europe is from a company called Orange: https://travel.orange.com/en/buy-a-sim/offers/europe It will come with a French phone number. But it will work in most, if not all, European countries by connecting to a local cellular carrier that Orange has agreements with. Check the website to verify if all your countries are supported. I have not used Orange myself. I planned to, but decided just to switch to T-Mobile, which offers plans that work in Europe as part of the US plan.

https://www.nclhltd.com/investors/shareholder-benefits

To me, Taormina is one of those locations where the ships' "Taormina on your Own" excursions make sense. It really is a town you just want to walk around at your own pace and soak it in. No need for a tour or guide. But getting there using public transporation/taxi is not all that easy or inexpensive. Let the ship's bus get you there and back, but enjoy the time while there doing whatever you want. I've done this twice with no regrets.

Kaisatsu sums it up nicely. These 2 cruises are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum. Choose the one that is in your half of the spectrum.

Have you been there before? Assuming not, I would take a taxi from the ship to see La Sagrada Familia. It’s possibly the biggest attraction in Barcelona. Then if time permits, I’d taxi back to walk around some in the area where Gaudi architecture is prominent in several buildings. Then maybe walk down Las Ramblas back toward the ship, catching a taxi at some point to get you there.

I don’t recall the exact time, but yes, they run multiple busses and they will assign you to a specific departure time based upon your flight departure time. They will ask for the flight info when you buy the bus transfer. If you look thru the various threads on this topic, you may find a picture of the bus departures list that people have posted from previous cruises. But your cruise may or may not follow that list.

Since the OP has stated they are going to use NCLs air option, that only gives them the ability to extend 2 nights after the end of the cruise. My advice is to spend that time in London and see what you can. Trying to cram in a Paris visit is not a valuable part of your time. Save Paris for another trip. Or cancel the NCL airfare and book your own flights (which will likely be more expensive) but will allow you to add several more days on to the end of the trip so you can get over to Paris.

It happens automatically on a daily/realtime basis. Incoming charges get deducted from an appropriate OBC bucket until the OBC bucket is empty. You can, and should, follow along using the TV screens in your cabin to check your bill up to that point in time. Note, it can be confusing how the math is being done. Especially on some ships’ TV screens. You can always stop by guest services and they will print out your account charges up to that point. This printout is usually easier to follow with respect to the 2 types of OBC.

I'm pretty sure that all the tours use the same boats. For my cruise in May (on Royal Caribbean), our cruise excursions did indeed get to the island first before ANY public boats or private tours. We left from a dock near the docked ship. While we were touring Delos, the boat that brought us to Delos went back to Mykonos and served as the first public transport boat for individual travelers and those on tours (I assume). They brought those people to Delos and then took our ship excursion groups back to Mykonos. I don't recall seeing any private tour boats in the process.

Then let them eat cake! 😂

The passenger probably should have asked about refunds before leaving the ship. I don't think there is any stated policy regarding this situation by the cruise line. Therefore, I doubt there is any process to initiate refunds. Perhaps the passenger will get lucky and get some refund if there is someone on board the ship who recognizes that it would be something they could do for the passenger. But I would not bet money on this happening.

Since you're good with public transportation, I would fly into either airport and take transit into London and spend the night before your cruise enjoying the city (or a few nights, if you can). Stay in the County Hall/Waterloo area. Then take a train from Waterloo station to Southampton on the morning of your cruise. Then take a taxi from the Southampton train station to the ship.

I agree with KeithJenner about Rhodes. The ships dock right beside the entrances to the Old Town. You can't get much closer without docking on the street.

Yes, a solo cruiser in a Studio cabin can optionally decline the drink package. That will remove the mandatory gratuities for the package from the cost of the cruise. For a 7 day cruise, it removes $152.60 from the cost. You can also remove the dining package if you really want, but that only saves $11.80.

https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program#tier_benefits

I’m quite confident the ship crew can accommodate the situation with your child. However, I doubt you’ll get much confirmation from Royal until you get on the ship. There always seems to be a crew member responsible for the B2B process. Go to guest services early in the cruise and explain what needs to happen. They can make it happen. Ask to speak to the person who will be responsible to see to the details. Don’t sweat the room change. I’ve done it several times. I actually like getting a new cabin for something different. Work with your cabin steward on the actual details. Some have preferences on how they like to accommodate you. I choose to entirely repack my belongings into my luggage just so there are no loose clothes going down the hallway. If you get a 2nd room that is near your first, you might keep the same steward or you can at least go introduce yourself to the new steward and let them know your bags are going be coming in that morning.

Sounds like an opportunity to book another short cruise prior to the 12 night one.

If you can afford the larger room, I would go for it. Hotel rooms in Europe are generally much smaller than we are familiar with in the US hotels. For your afternoon in Venice, I would suggest getting ground transport from the hotel to Piazzale Roma (the transportation hub for Venice) and then catching a vaporetto water bus (Line 1 or 2) to ride the entire length of the Grand Canal (to soak it all in) to San Marco Square. Do your sightseeing in that area and expand outward. If you're walkers, end your day by walking back to Piazzale Roma so you can get lost in the core of Venice (and then get unlost -- don't worry, you will -- just look for signs on the walls pointing you to P. Roma). It's a wonderful day!