poolreader

There is a big difference in missing a port and having an extra Sea Day, or having to overnight at a port you wanted to see, than coming back a day early to stay on a ship in the port of embarkation with no shops or casino open in a construction zone.

Anyone who can not see this has their NCL blinders on too narrowly.

You pay for the whole cruise experience; food, entertainment (and for many that is casino or shopping time), transportation to ports, and enjoying time out at sea. When you lose 3/4 of this for 1/7 of the time you are due a refund.

Pretend you went to a restaurant for 7 nights that had fixed price which included a drink, appetizer, salad, a main course, and dessert. But on one night you only were given an appetizer and dessert because they needed to do repairs in the kitchen. Do any of you honestly think you should pay the whole check on that night?

I recently went on a short trip with a relative. When it was time to eat she always insisted on fast food. I rarely eat it at home except when traveling from one place to another, without time to sit down and eat, but I choose places with healthier options. For her Mc Donald's tastes good.

She would be happy on a cruise with food that tasted like fast food. I would be miserable.

I feel cruise lines, and even ships within a line, have a personality. We do not like everyone we meet, and we are not going to like every cruise line, because we bring our own preferences on board with our luggage.

I like the longer, later day in Ketchikan, on Hal. There are many things to do in that port,

I loved your review, it really made me feel like I was back on a cruise to Alaska. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.

we completed a home sale while on a cruise. We set it up so we could sign electronically, with a password. Everything went through without a problem.

For $50 I would take the ocean view. How many of you are on the cruise, and where are you cruising?

I take 2 copies of the first page of our passports. I leave one at home with some one who has a fax. The other I put in a separate place from my real one. For example the passports in my purse, a copy in my DH's carry on.

I do this because once in the shuffle inside of the cruise terminal; show it to the person at the door, show it to the person who tells you where to line up, show it to the person who gives you your cabin card, show it as you board. I thought I lost it. I had it up until the very last step. They were going to let me get on the ship because they knew they saw it three times already and I had a drivers license, but I would not be allowed off the ship at the ports. If they did not find it in the terminal I would have problems when I returned.

I found it once I was on the ship, it had fallen into a weird little pocket where the handle of my suitcase attached to the bag. But if I did not have it at the point you get your cruise card I doubt they would have allowed me to board.

I agree with those who are saying try to go on the cruise. If it is already paid for all you have to come up with is money for the tips. You do not need to go on excursions and can use public transportation to see some of the local color.

Think outside of the box: have a garage sale, ask for gift cards for any up coming birthdays or anniversaries, see if they will down grade your cabin and give you the difference in OBC, one of you stay home and get a friend or relative to pay the fare for the one staying home.

If you stay home you will still need to eat, drive, use electricity, etc. These costs will be saved by going on the cruise and can be applied toward transportation costs.

People who get upgrades are just lucky, I do not think it has anything to do with your level. I am a Diamond on Royal. I booked a balcony guarantee on the Allure, a high level guarantee. Not only did I not get an upgrade I got a room that was lower in prices than what I paid by several hundred dollars. They said they could do nothing about the situation, nor would they refund my over payment.

While on the cruise we met a couple who booked after we did, with a balcony guarantee on a lower level, and were given an upgrade to a suite, after we were told they could not help us. This couple had only cruised with RCI a few times.

In over 40 cruises I have never received an upgrade, only two upsells. It is just luck, so I stopped wishing for an upgrade and only book when I am happy with the room and price.

My DD's (12 and 13 at the time) and I went on the rafting trip and it is still something we talk about 17 years later. In fact my eldest just mentioned it a few day ago. Amazing feeling of being in the middle of awe inspiring wilderness with no one but the few people on your raft.

We started in Skagway, took the train trip, then over to Haines. It sounds like you have enough time to briefly visit Skagway and do the raft trip.

I would just bring a plastic pail, sit her on a towel in the shower stall, and let her play with the soapy water. Or get one of those Gigantic Zip lock bags used for storing blankets, roll down the top creating a shallow pool for the water.

Many years ago one of my family members thought it was horrible that I took my teenage daughters to a movie that would be rated PG 13 now, because it showed a couple in a serious relationship in bed together. This same person took her daughters to movies that had so much violence that even today they would be R rated, I told her I hoped my girls would grow up and have loving sexual relationships so I was fine exposing them to those type of movies. I wondered what she hoped for her girls with the movies she let them see. Fortunately all of the girls are now women and either married or in a committed relationship. And seeing the violence did not make them violent.

Henri, you are so, so cute. You look like the female version of Horton Jeffrey.

 

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I went to dinner last night in a very nice restaurant in the Santa Clarita Valley of L.A. The hostess greets Horton, me and other family members with a lovely smile and sits us down. A woman walks over and says, "don't you know better than to bring a black dog into a restaurant. In my country the black dog is killed when it's a puppy, it's considered very bad luck!" "My family is sitting near you and we're going to leave if you don't!" I was so startled by her comment that I just stared at her with my mouth dropped open, as Horton was a perfect gentleman laying near my chair, against a wall.

 

Sometimes I get so tired of people who come here from other countries and expect everyone here to go by their culture. If you do not like how we do things go home.

The Miracle is a much nicer, bigger, and just more to see and experience. Seven days and more exciting ports would win it alone. The Junior suite would be bigger and that is the only plus, but you are not in your room for enough hours to make that worth what you would lose. The French doors give you many of the same advantages as a balcony, breakfast in the open air, looking at the sea at night, etc. The Miracle has a a larger pool and deck area for you to enjoy the outdoors.

The only issue I can see is that sometimes a cruise has a change in the order of the ports last minute due to weather. Also, sometimes they do not make it to a specific port. You would need to have contingency plans.

It happened to us once on a 4 day. My DH's bag never made it to the room until the last night. Although Carnival kept putting paperwork in the cabin about a number of bags that were missing.

It was Spring Break and we think it was in a cabin of young men, because we saw a young man with a way too big shirt and tie that was exactly what my DH had brought (bought for our wedding at two different stores).

His bag arrived on our bed the last night and it had been gone through. The dress shirt and tie were just shoved in the side, and someone had eaten dinner in the outfit. My DH would not let me stop the young man when we saw him across the room.

They gave him one t-shirt to wear, and we bough some others on board, but since he had jeans to wear he could not go to the MDR for formal night. That was a number of years ago, it wouldn't matter as much now.

Now we always cross pack, and take a few mix and match items, along with a nice shirt for both of us in our carry on bags.

Bon Voyage, I hope yo get to 100!

You probably will not be on board until 11 - 11:30 at best. By the time you look around, find the Lido, have some lunch, listen to music while you have a drink or two, tour the ship, find your room, read the info in your room, tour the spa and have a free mini massage, it will be time for muster stations.

Lunch is available in one of the dinning rooms on the first day until about 1 p.m., check the Patter to see which one is open.

First thing go to your room and drop off carry-ons and pick up the Patter. Take the Patter with you to lunch so you can use the time waiting for food to read up on all the activities for the day. Choose to share a table at lunch, many of the people who go to the dinning room for lunch are very knowledgeable.

If for some reason your room is not available you can pick up a Patter at guest services.

Because we have been on over 40 cruises people ask us which is the best cruises line. I always tell them that cruise lines have a personality, and the line that is best is the one that will fit best with your own.

The shorter Carnival Cruises are a somewhat different experience from Princess or Royal Caribbean short cruises. The ships that do the shorter cruises on Carnival have a somewhat early, or downtown Vegas look to them IMO.

These shorter Carnival Cruises are still enjoyable, and have a quite area just for adults where my DH (62)and I (59) like to spend time . There are still activities like Trivia but games I have seen are easier or more youth related, but I have not personally seen as many Carnival ones as I have on the other lines.

The night time entertainment on Carnival seems to be more for a younger crowd. But I am happy as long as the casino is open.

I like Carnival and do take the shorter cruises, in fact we are going the end of April. But while I would pay $249 for Princess I only go on Carnival when the 4 day trips are about $179 or less. For me it has less value, but it is still fun.

Rent a car for the day at someplace near where you live, then have the car rental place drive you to the port after you drop off the car in Long Beach. Call them when you get back to have them deliver another car, or pick you up at the port, then drive home in the rental and turn in the car back near you house.

Sometimes the dollar type stores carry small blow up rafts this time of year. I take the kind with small windows so you can float over the areas with fish and get a decent view. At the end I give them to a local child.

Kim,

I love reading your reviews and all the crazy fun you have with your family. I have been on over 40 cruises, on several lines, and have never had such a horrible cabin steward.

The only cruise I did not like was my one NCL cruises, and I swore I would never cruise on that line. But, as I have been reading your reviews I was ready to give them another chance.

Until this review and you MDR troubles (similar to the problems I had), and the steward. I hope NCL makes it up to you in some way.

I have been on this cruise twice and have always seen young people, including quite a few teenagers. This cruise also has a lot of activities she would probably enjoy, for example Hula and Ukulele classes that culminate in a show for the entire ship. There are lei making classes, classes on the flora, fauna and geological formation of Hawaii. There are even classes in how pronounce Hawaiian words. The movies under the stars are especially wonderful with the warm breezes you get a day or so out of home port.

It sounds like it will be during Easter, and I have been on Princess ships during that time, although those were Coastal Cruises, and there were a lot of activities. Between all of this and the normal shipboard things to do she should be fine even if she does not find a big group in her age group.