Markanddonna

We just got off the TA Star 14 days to CPH and found the ship quite crowded, very much like Christmas shopping at a mall. Problem seems to be that NCL turned several nice public areas into penthouses and suites and rather ruined it for the majority. Even an officer said this in a public session.

Personally, I would consider this ship to be one of my least favorite although the crew was excellent and public areas are kept up. The Star will be in drydock in Feb, but this corporate error can't be undone.

Just got off Ncl star on Monday and the cost of a taxi from oceanjag to Nyhvn was about 190 Dkr. I was quoted about 120Dkr. The hotel was worth it. Truly Copenhagen is expensive but lovely.

I was on the Sun for my first Alaskan trip. It is pretty light at the "usual mainland" fireworks time and I am guessing you will be pretty far from the town to see much. That said, I was in Juneau on the 4th and they tend to celebrate with much more gusto than we do. We discovered that it is like working on Christmas and many tour groups close their doors early for parades and local celebrations, so be prepared. We were sweating it getting to the ship on time because of traffic jams and our driver was NOT happy to be working on a big holiday.

You should lose 5 hours total but the timing is up to the captain. Sometimes he considers the staff's lack of sleep and adjusts it to be more advantageous for them. They do it one hour a day though. Monitor your daily.

I think the time change going east makes it easier to adjust so that you will be "set" once you reach the ports in Europe. It is better for being back to normal for visiting Europe.

If you move on to different ports, you will lose one more hour- for ex. Copenhagen.

Here is the notice from their website:

FLL Airport and immediate FLL Airport area hotels to the Port of Miami and downtown Miami Hotels

We no longer offer service to Miami Beach, South Beach or Miami Airport Area Hotels

BTW- QLS will take you from FLL to airport area hotels in Miami for $25 pp

I did that. My reason for asking was more specific as some like SAS you recommended no longer go to the hotels in Miami anymore. If you can't make a helpful comment. please don't waste our time with your reprimands.

Please let me know the most expedient way to get from FLL airport to a hotel in Miami (Comfort Suites Miami Airport North)- shuttle, car service, etc?

We are not in a hurry as we are coming in the morning of the day before the cruise.

Thanks in advance.

We ask our doctor for a basic antibiotic when we go to Europe. My DH has COPD and has caught the upper respiratory thing that goes around twice now. You might want to ask your doctor about this.

I never heard of acetaminophen in Europe untill I just Googled it.. paracetamol!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol

 

"Paracetamol is the International Nonproprietary Name (INN), Australian Approved Name (AAN) and British Approved Name (BAN), while acetaminophen is the United States Adopted Name (USAN) and Japanese Adopted Name (JAN)."

 

Widely sold over the counter in many European countries, not just pharmacies but also at groceries and supermarkets. We are quite modern over here!

Thanks so much for your advice. I think I will google some of our frequent meds to get the international name. Now, I wonder why the pharmacist who seemed helpful didn't look it up or know about it. We still think bringing our little bag of meds is a good idea esp. for that long stretch of sea days and who wants to spend their port time looking for simple meds.

Hi,

Be sure to sign up for the roll call and you might have more of your questions answered there. I am anticipating the weather to be "April in Ohio" weather, so am preparing for that scenario. I will be taking just one pair of capri for the Miami and close by Miami travel days. I did a Mediterranean TA last year in late Oct-early Nov and found it rather dreary and the balcony was not worth it, although many will disagree. A sunny day makes a port balcony worth it on our east bound TA. My hair frizzes up and so a cool ocean spray isn't my thing.

I am expecting weather in the 60's at best in England, Helsingborg and Copenhagen, so jeans will be my typical pants. I'm bringing a weather resistant jacket to be worn on potentially cool/rainy days. I plan on wearing darker/nicer jeans to dinner occasionally and I'm a typical TAer (over 60). You wouldn't believe what some people wear lately onboard, so don't fret over not dressing up. We are spending time on the continent, so are packing rather light.

The cell phone thing is tricky depending on which carrier you have. We switched to T-Mobile one reason being that you can text for free from Europe- but not the ship! I think texts are relatively inexpensive and I am just giving my family the ship's emergency number (a call is about $7.95 a minute, but it rarely happens). I'll text them in port. We typically don't communicate every day anyway and what would you do in the middle of the Atlantic in an emergency?

I've learned to use the ship's laundry service for almost all items you can see, but wash our delicates myself. If you can afford to cruise, you can afford the laundry service, IMHO.

The cost of the spa is extra and since I'm not a swimmer, I likely won't be bringing a swimsuit this time- just workout clothes. One recommendation is to bring a small amount of "pharmacy items" as you might not find the equivalent onboard or even in Europe. We took a bottle of acetaminophen to a pharmacy in Spain and they couldn't figure out an equivalent...really???!!!

The best time to use the internet is very late or early in the morning. The connections take you back to early computer days. I don't think I will use the internet on the ship at all. Wasn't worth it because you have to sort through all the silly emails to get to a possible important one.

I'm also going to use the ATM's at the port except for one where I have to hit the ground running. I had an experience right before a holiday where the ATM's were not functional in the first two locations. Not typical, but that was my experience.

Think through every article of clothing and if in doubt, leave it at home. Save some room for souvenirs.

See you onboard.

I'm posting to give your questions a better chance to be addressed. I'd like to know also. My suspicion is that you could do better yourself using some more specific websites like cruisedeckplansdotcom.

I do know that some travel agencies buy a block of cabins and "turn them back in" after a certain time period.

It is my guess that you would have a VERY hard time finding a TA who would work as hard as you are hoping. It seems to me that I have seen deck plans with keys for connecting cabins. You are correct that the "hot cabins" go quickly on many ships. I have traveled with very savvy people who book their cruises the moment they are posted, about 18 months out. I have also found that doing so gives me exactly what I want at the lowest rate I'm going to get and I can cancel if I need to. Good luck!

HI All,

I am hoping to get some expert advice here as I am sure there are probably a lot of TA's about.

 

I am trying to do some very specific searches to find the exact cruise and information I want and find what is available online lacking. I have never used a TA and am now considering it, but I wondered if professionals have access to the info I am looking for. As a software engineer I want to try and write something to do what I want, but don't want to reinvent something that is already available.

 

I want to be able to find out:

1. exact floor plans, sq footage etc for particular cabins, especially balconies. The deck plans can sometimes make it look like the same category can be vastly different on different floors.

 

2. Do they sometimes hold back inventory only for TA's.

 

3. I want to be able to search by connecting cabins. For example I want one of the Carnival grand suites at the end with the connecting Ocean view for the kids. I have spent hours searching each sailing and have never seen them available. Can a TA do this?

 

4. I want to search by cabin category or cabin number. There are certain cabins or categories that are almost always sold out. My dates are flexible but I want the cabin I want. It takes forever to try to go through each sailing over months trying to see if the cabin I want is available.

 

So I'm wondering if anyone has shortcuts to do these tasks, or if it really is just a manual time consuming process.

 

Mahalo, T

You sound like a wonderful person who has gotten caught in the quagmire of a very dysfunctional situation. Keep YOUR family in focus, enjoy that vacation without YOU taking the responsibility of the nephew and be very kind and patient to his grandparents who shoulder the responsibility. That doesn't mean taking the nephew on vacation...

Bless all grandparents who rescue their grandchildren...

My guess is that all the people involved were locals who go on the Sky for a cheap vacation. They didn't look like your typical college crowd. Scrub that pool and hot tub!

My experience with TA's is that they are not as OCD as I am about MY TRIP. The last time I used one, I called for him to check on a free cabin upgrade promotion and he called me back, two or three days later with just an apology. If you are willing to let your TA have full control over your booking, then go right ahead. I also learned during a cruise right before Hurricane Sandy that it was up to ME to get things done and make the changes.

If you are a "suite life" person who wants the upgraded experiences and are busy and don't have the time or skill, then a TA is probably a good idea.

I have had a 14 night TA booked for over a year at $639 PP with a $100 OBC. I doubt a travel agent could squeeze much more out of NCL, unless it was a last minute booking.

I have traveled with both NCL and RCCL and think they are pretty equal overall with Royal being just a smidge above NCL in the food arena. NCL, IMHO, gets a bad rap because they were the line who revolutionized cruising to be more casual and the traditionalists lament this move. Now you find a version of freestyle with most cruiselines.

Besides the particular ship, I think where and when you go makes a huge difference. We were ready for an old crowd on HAL in June in Alaska and found the mix was the same as any other ship. It also wasn't "luxury" as their fans had stated. Go on a 3 night Bahamas cruise and you are likely to be underwhelmed with most any cruise f you are a veteran.

We had the best experience on a 16 night TA on RCCL, but that was filled with lots of veterans and people who had "diamond and + status", so the company wants to keep them happy. It was also pretty childless, so that made the experience seem more "upscale" (sorry, kids...). Lots of empty nesters who were very active.

Thanks Matfel- I'll do that. I usually stay in FLL region and shuttle but just wanted to change things and try Miami. We are not beach people, so it really doesn't matter if the rates and reputation of the hotel are fine.

Question:

We are arriving at FLL and want a shuttle to take us directly to a Miami Hotel (Comfort Suites Miami Airport North). What is the best way to get there (we have plenty of time)

I checked SAS's website and I read this on their website:

"Pick Ups at the FLL Airport begin at 9:30 A.M.

FLL Airport and immediate FLL Airport area hotels to the Port of Miami and downtown Miami Hotels

We no longer offer service to Miami Beach, South Beach or Miami Airport Area Hotels"

So, they go downtown or to the port. Should we go to the port or a downtown area and then get a taxi? or call Comfort Suites from the port?

Thanks.

I booked a 14 day TA when they first came out and the price I received hasn't gone down from that point. I believe that I also benefited from the longer trip also with more points.

The services offered by the naturalist seemed identical on both cruiselines. Some people think Princess and HAL do Alaska better because they have been in Alaska longer, but offerings like the one in Glacier Bay showed me there was no "better". I believe the park service allows two large ships in each day and the permits are held by seniority which does not seem fair to me.

You will love Glacier Bay and I heard that the Junior program was wonderful.

Lots of good advice, esp. skyscanner.com, airberlin, icelandair and norwegianair, but you mentioned that you are cruising solo. Might the cost of a single cabin make your trip a lot more expensive? Just asking...

I copied this from my review last summer (we booked right from the hotel website):

Seattle: we arrived at SeaTac in the evening and quickly found the free shuttle for the Sleep Inn SeaTac. The front desk was consistently helpful and friendly and our room was very good. I didn't realize until our post cruise stay that we were put in a handicapped room because we had the senior rate. The room was near the ice machine in the hall and I could hear it throughout the night. Our post cruise room was in a quiet hallway. The breakfast had the usual choices, both healthy and hearty and was well stocked.

We had decided to take the hotel shuttle to the airport and pick up Shuttle Express from there. We didn't realize there was a better option: Seattle Express picks you right up at this hotel and goes straight to the piers for $12 pp. Shuttle express was fine and seems to have the larger share of the market but costs $22pp to and from SeaTac. We made arrangements with Seattle Express to take us back to the hotel post cruise and this was a wise decision.

We had stayed at downtown hotels on previous cruises and wanted to try the airport hotels. We were very pleased and can recommend the Sleep Inn SeaTac with the Seattle Express transportation. Sleep Inn was $71-76 and is highly rated on tripadvisor.

I decided that I need to purchase one and looked at a few and don't understand how they "switch" voltage. I assumed that there was a switch I needed to turn on to change from 110 to 220. How exactly does this work?

I get it that I need the different plugs but I don't need that heavy converter, right?

I would like opinions on choosing luggage for a 3 week trip to Europe- some on a TA and the rest on land. I am tempted to get a large, featherweight piece that is about 29" and weighs maybe 10.5 lbs. My concerns are: will the contents put me over the 50 lb. limit and also that I have to be the one to lift/carry it.

I intend to do laundry here and there as I travel. Here are my thoughts:

- needs to be lightweight

- needs to have spinners

- needs to be reasonably inexpensive (TJMax, etc)

- not black (thieves like black luggage is my understanding)

Are there any other issues I need to consider as I choose? Thanks for your wisdom.

It is hard to fit in any European country if you are an American/Canadian, but I have noted that many Europeans wear dark colors- pretty much black/grey with just a touch of color in a scarf or shirt. T-shirts, white athletic shoes, shirts advertising sports teams, baseball caps, big prints, etc. are typically not European.

I am also going to the more northern regions and I will fit in more easily there. If you are blonde and have the "all American look", you are not going to blend in the Mediterranean very well. I noted that there was almost nothing I could do to have the fashionable look like a young, Italian woman. They have great style. Of course, all we have to do is speak one word, and all the locals know, but we can still try.

We've been there twice (once on the Pearl), so here is what I recommend. Bring your knitted hat, smart wool socks, gloves, etc. so that you can stay outside for a good portion of the day. We had a balcony on the second one, so we stayed outside roaming the decks (mostly promenade) while they approached the big glaciers. It was lunchtime when we swung around, so I quickly got something to go and enjoyed the balcony viewing when it was on our side. I believe the approach is to have the best view on the port side first and then the ship turns 180 degrees for the other side.

I went to the ranger's talk which was very good, but then I missed some great scenery. It should be a glorious day for you. Don't fret if it starts out foggy. I think that is a typical day.

BTW- Butchert Gardens sometimes doesn't work out well in Victoria as most ships arrive near dusk and lots of folks are disappointed. Consider the time of year that you will be there and if the ship has a rep of getting there late. We took HAL and they arrived about 7:15- over an hour late. I personally like the Pearl over the Westerdam as Skagway is SO much better with the train and the Yukon and a very long day there.