Meanee

Every cruiseline seem to have a different approach. But I can see the reason why OBC won't cover gratuities.

Think about cost of goods sold. Let's say you want to buy a bottle of beer on a ship. You will pay approximately $7. Cost to cruiseline is approximately $1. Draught beer cost about 40% less. So, to buy $1 worth of goods, you will spend $7 of OBC.

Since gratuities are paid to staff (very questionable, I am hearing a lot from ex-cruise employees that cruiseline pockets that too), then "cost of goods" here is same. $10 OBC here will cost $10 to cruise line. Since OBC a lot of times is just money that cruise line gave you, they are "losing" much more money if you use it for gratuities.

On every NCL ship we have been on, they have multiple channels - not cable, but more than 3-4. Usually a "junk" channel with reruns of popular shows, 2 movie channels, some sports, news and I think a food channel.

 

No pay channels as mentioned.

 

We usually have a laptop or ipad with movies on them if we want a break in the cabin.

There were 20+ channels. Most of them were "buy xyz" type, like where to shop in next port, where to shop on the ship, "casino excitement" and spa showcase. There were 2 movie channels that had them on repeat.

Pay stuff was a part of interactive menu. You could get some new-ish movies, for low low price of about 8 bucks, so you can watch it on world's tiniest screen. I chose to pass.

I've never been on the Epic, but I can tell you with certainty that the Breakaway and Getaway have plenty of free movies on tv using their interactive movie channel. The Gem also offers free movies on tv, although their selection is far more limited than the Bway and Gway.

Yeah, it could be just an Epic thing. Out of 20 or so channels you get 15 of your typical "cruise ship" channels. One loops all info on restaurants. 2-3 channels keep trying to sell you some stuff on the ship. There's navigation, bridge cam channels. A channel guide channel. And 2-3 channels that loop some TV shows and movies. For example, you can catch some random Big Bang Theory episode every now and then. Actual live channels suck.

Thing is, we were in the Inside stateroom, and TV is microscopic there. So we just ended up watching stuff on my laptop. I prepared well, by transferring most of my XBMC library to external drive. Made the flight and some cruise nights much better.

I was on Royal Princess and their HDMI ports were "disabled" but their onboard entertainment system connected via HDMI. So we just unplugged their system, connected my laptop and enjoyed movies/tv shows without insane pixelation that their system had.

I do have to frown at NCL here. Princess had movies and TV shows free. On NCL, you have to pay for them. And our recent cruise (Epic), only had 3-4 channels. I do not care about sports, and news. Other option was Nickelodeon, and Dora the Explorer makes me very grumpy.

Meanee...RE booking in advance on Carnival - it's not published for pubic knowledge and not on their website. They claim that if you email John Heald (was that his name??) that'll do the trick but I never got a response that way.

 

You have to email the maître de at the ship's steakhouse - they also handle the reservations for CT. I've booked CT in advance multiple times on Carnival this way in addition to making a reservation for our 17 person wedding party at the steakhouse a few years back. Very efficient :D

 

Would be great if NCL did the same.

Irrelevant information for me, since there's no way on God's green earth I will step on a Carnival boat again, but I am glad this is an option. And I am glad this is not a public knowledge. Gives more people a chance to experience CT.

As much as I disliked my only cruise on Carnival, I loved their Chef's Table. I found that menu, pantry tour, more informative chef, and entertainment (card magician) made the experience much better than NCL did.

Sounds interesting Meanee, im just worried about turning up without having something booked. Are these a regular thing for everyone, or just for the Visiting Cruise Ship visitors?

 

I don't suppose you know the company it was with do you? (off i go to ask my friend Google!!!)

 

Something for me to look at, thanks.

These seemed to be regular. Bus was half empty. We thought we will go to train station, get to Rome this way, but there was a bus and a woman holding a sign that round trip is 17 euros. Regular price was 22, but we were "last minute" since we got off the ship a bit late.

When we got to bus stop in Civitavecchia (we did not plan to, but there's a lot of repairs and cruise shuttle no longer goes to train station, but other way to bus station), we saw about 4-5 other buses just standing there, offering a ride to Rome and back.

It can be a gamble. What if you don't make the bus? What if everyone and their pet hamster wants to go to Rome this way? But I think transport situation there is flexible enough to make it there and back. If buses are not available, take a train. If train is not available, do a ride share with someone to Rome in a cab. There will be plenty of people going to Rome in a taxi, since it's also embarkation/debarkation port.

Me and my significant other thought to take a train from Civitavecchia, but it worked out better. We took free shuttle to bus depot from the ship, and found a bus to Rome. Round trip was 17 euros, in a nice, comfy, air conditioned coach. We were given a map and a choice of 2 stops. Rome Hall of Justice or Termini. Hall was about 10 minute walk from Vatican. Pickup was at 4:15pm and we made it back to the ship without any issues.

Anyone know if you can book in advance of the sailing? We've done CT on a few Carnival cruises and have always been able to book it ahead of time.

 

???

I do not recall being able to book it on Carnival ahead of time.

I also found the wine thing to be funny on Epic. They brought out sommelier, who showed us "carefully selected wine for our meal" only to see same wine listed in Taste dining room next 2 days.

I was called from some call center in FL before. They offered a cruise on "Caribbean cruise line" for taking a short, political survey. They assured that I will only have to pay government taxes and that's it.

In my career, every now and then I do get an offer to take a paid survey. Last one I took was $75, but lasted about 20 minutes. Nobody will give you a whole cruise for few questions.

The good old saying about free cheese in the mousetrap works here. But let me add another one. "If you are not buying the product, then you are the product"

Thanks for the reply. Aware of the controversy around Epic whether it be the smoke smell from the casino or the infamous bathrooms. Want to book really just for The Haven. Stayed there on Getaway in March and loved it. Now, I am curious though. What are the other negatives you refer to?

Casino is setup in a way that you just can't avoid it. You will have to go through it every now and then. I preferred Oasis ship for that, where casino has it's own deck and you are not forced through it. That being said, I did not notice a smoke smell there. And I am very good and picking it out, since both of my parents smoke.

A day before the cruise, I strolled into my bank (Chase) and asked them to give me certain amount of euros. They did. There was no fee. They told me that they will accept back unused euros (except coins) when I am back.

ATM withdrawal is at forex rate, but they charge 3% fee.

I used my Amex and Capital One cards most of the trip. They have no fees at all. Make sure you have your card's PIN. Some vending machines won't take your card unless PIN is entered, even for credit. Vendors, however, had no problem like that. Make sure you tell them that your card is "swipe and sign" and they will accept it.

Nice. You did more in Barcelona than we did. Our 1st day, we got to hotel (more like a closet with a bed) and went to Sagrada Familia. Had dinner and went back to hotel. 2nd day was breakfast and to the boat.

I wish I could see more, but oh well.

Thanks for the review. Is the ship in good shape?

Yeah. I found the ship to be in a great shape. It's not particularly old, and it feels pretty fresh.

Ship itself has a bit more modern looking interior and cabins. For example, to turn on your night/reading light, you push the button right under the light, which has a glowing blue LED surrounding it.

I did not see anything broken or uncared for. All inside/outside facilities were nice, clean, and tastefully designed. There was not a single thing out there that I thought "you know, it could use a fresh paint" or anything like that. Nothing like worn carpeting, or anything like that in sight.

It seems that everything is very well cared for. I am sure the ship has very thorough maintenance staff.

That was certainly good times at the Chef's Table!

Ahhh!! STALKER!!!

LOL yes, it was certainly amazing. Sucks I couldn't connect with you and Brits on last day...

Hello people,

 

I want to go on a Seattle-Alaska round trip cruise within the next month.

 

I've done a lot of research on price and am finding that the room with no windows costs about $1,500 for 2 people / 7 nights. A balcony costs more like $2,800.

 

It seems like booking way in advance isn't much cheaper than what I listed above. Why? You would think it would be a lot cheaper when you book one/two weeks in advance because they are trying to fill rooms that are still available? Or? I'm hoping to use my flexibility to my advantage.

 

Also, based on what I have read, there are a lot of additional costs that come with cruising. It sounds like water isn't free? What does that mean? Is it not safe to order a non bottled water at the bar/restaurant or drink out of your bathroom sink?

 

What are you spending on average on top of the room costs? My budget is about $2,500. Do you all think I can get away with the $1,500.00 closet and less than $1,000 on alcohol etc on the trip? We aren't high maintenance and we don't gamble. We just want to eat the included food, have drinks at night and look at the scenery.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I did search but wasn't able to find the answers I was looking for.

 

 

PS. Does anyone have any tips for drinking alcohol fairly cheaply? I read we can bring a couple bottles of wine. I also saw you can pre-order alcohol at a 3X inflated price.. Are there any other options? You can't buy a bottle of liquor on board and bring back to room, right?

Never went to Alaska, so can't answer that.

Type of room you want to be in is entirely up to you. I only book balcony if I can get a great price. To me it's just not worth it. We are very active and usually are out and about. It is very unlikely that I will spend more than 10 minutes a day on a balcony. But everyone's different in that respect.

There are additional costs. You can be an ultimate penny pincher and walk away with $0 in cruise charges. But this means stiffing the crew on tips, not using ship's excursions, etc. Last cruise I did (West Mediterranean, NCL Epic), my ship charges were very low, since we did all tours ourselves. For example, Rome tour through NCL is $299/pp. We took a 17 Euro bus to Rome and explored on our own.

Water (non bottled) is free. There's always free food. You can go to specialty restaurant and pay a very reasonable cover charge. Water is very safe to drink. Ship generates it's own water only when in the sea, and stores it, or gets potable water from the shore if in port. It is basically a sea water that was desalinated and filtered gazillion times. Tastes no different from Poland Spring.

If you bring wine on board, you will be charged $15 corkage fee per bottle. It does not matter if you are going to drink it in your room or anywhere else. Alcohol is fairly reasonably priced. Beer is about $6, mixed drinks are $8 or so. You can get drink package, but you need to be a fairly big drinker to make it worth it.

I've never cruised with NCL and am a little confused with the freestyle part. I know with royal caribbean you can prepay tips that go to waiter, head waiter, ect. Since you don't have a set waiter how does the tipping work? Can you still prepay/how does tipping work with NCL? I'm going to be booking Getaway for November, thanks!

Pretty much same. You get set amount per person per day. You can pre-pay tips on NCL website, or just have them charged to your folio. How they are distributed, no idea. For me and my significant other, we paid $160 or something like that for 7 days on Epic. There were no 3 envelopes, like you would have on RCCL. Just a charge added to your folio.

Royal Caribbean pretty much requires you to pre-pay your tips if you are doing anytime dining, and you get "tip coupon" in your room on the last night. At least that's how it was few years back when I sailed Oasis and Allure.

not true. all of NY city is a tow away zone.

if you park illegal(except over time parking at a meter) you are subject to tow any where in the city.

 

http://parkingpal.com/crash-course/chapter-4/

 

they don't always tow for street cleaning but they might.

 

btw they don't always tow for too many tickets in judgement either. lately they have been booting those cars....

 

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/parking/booting.shtml

The ticket tow is only when local marshal decides to earn some money. I've seen it a number of times. Goes through a block, checking plates vs his list and grabs whatever car can be legally towed. I do not see it too often. I think towing vs booting is a neighborhood thing. Friend got booted recently for tickets, and I observed towing not far from my house.

But I am yet to see, in over 20 years of living in NY, someone getting towed over alternate side parking. Not saying it can't happen, but I never seen/heard of it. Only towing by NYPD traffic enforcement that I saw were hydrant, bus stops, and usual non-commercial plates in commercial areas.

LOL plus $185 tow and $20 per day storage. getting a car back from the TOW pound is a hassle.

Only if you illegally park in Manhattan below 96th street or run up $350+ in unpaid parking tickets.

I have to think you are joking with us

 

If not well then your suggestion is scary! Lol

 

Fwiw some here must actually think you are serious

 

But nay nay. Not me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I live in NY, so yea, I am 100% serious.

Snowstorms are not as frequent as last winter.

Leaving a car on a wrong side of the street, as long as you are not in Manhattan, only gives you $45 ticket. And this ticket is for parking on a street cleaning side. Majority of streets are cleaned once a week. For example, where I live, my side is cleaned on Thursday and opposite is on Friday. If I leave the car there up to 13 days, I will get $45 ticket that I can pay over the web.

In Manhattan, you can be towed for even walking away from your car for 5 minutes. I used to work on 38 between 5th and 6th and constantly kept telling tourists that they cannot park there, not even meter parking. Some chose not to listen and had to go to impound to collect their car.

NYC does not tow cars unless they are parked illegally in Manhattan, or owe more than $350 in tickets.

There are also off-airport parking options. I am in Europe now (returning from NCL Epic cruise) and dropped a car off at offsite parking in Newark airport. After all taxes and fees, from July 4th to 14th, total price is $83. But I only did this so I can drive myself home after I land. If I am flying out of JFK or LGA, I usually drop my car off in Sheepshead Bay. My father, once kept his car there for 8 months without moving it or encountering an issue.

Don't be afraid to think outside of the box.

Never been on Getaway, but mention of Carnival Dream usually wakes up homicidal thoughts, after my cruise on that tub.

It's a February cruise. Snow perhaps? Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Even in noreasters, there is typically a ton of parking out there. You may have to drive few blocks around, but it's there.

Or just leave it anywhere, even if you will get an alternate side cleaning ticket. $45 is not too bad.

If you want to be a complete penny-pincher, and have some time to spare, try this.

Drop everyone off at the port, pretty early. Drive over to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, and you can park on the street for free. Tons of parking and no street cleaning. Take the Q train to 47th street and cab to the pier.

I park there all the time when I go on a trip. No tickets and free parking.

Just off Epic, and had some hope that maybe, just maybe, these rates made it there as well. They didn't.

[/b]

 

This is why I always recommend Herculaneum instead of Pompeii. Beautiful mosaics, better preserved ruins, more shade AND no hordes of people. Its very easy to DYI and its on the same train line as Pompeii, just an earlier stop.

Didn't realize that. Thank you for the tip!

Thank you for your review. Glad you enjoyed the cruise. Agree completely that you can do most tours on your own and not have to purchase ship excursions. Appreciate the detailed descriptions of what you did in port. Good to read they still do lobster in the Garden Cafe. However being from New England I don't have high expectations. I also like grilled lobster tails so maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. Did you eat in any of the specialty restaurants? We sail on the Epic for the first time in spring 2015.

I wanted to, but I was a bit under the weather for decent chunk of cruise. And to be it was more convenient just to go to MDR/Garden Cafe after long day out.

We wanted to do Moderno or Cagney's, but never made it there. I do recommend Chef's Table. It is pretty pricey, however, but food is more unique. Unfortunately, I felt like Chef's Table on Carnival had more creative dishes. And I did not get the whole "you will have to share your dessert" part of Chef's Table...

Lobster itself was not grilled. On Carnival, when they showed us how they make it, they pass tails under electric heating element on a conveyor belt. So, you should not get your hopes up for grilled or steamed lobster. If you are used to lobster for New England, this is more likely to disappoint you.