CarolinaMamma

Wow! Hope you sail soon. Keep us posted. 

This is the second post I’ve read about NCL not having a good plan for those who test positive at the pier. I’m so sorry this happened to you, OP.  Please keep us posted if you can.
 

We are sailing on Encore out of Miami in 3 weeks and we were really thinking NCL would take care of us if we did everything right (vaxxed, boosted, pre-tested with a PCR test) then ended up testing positive at the pier. I wonder if it would be better:faster to call our travel insurance company than to wait for NCL if we end up in a similar situation. Do they let you leave the port on your own and go to a hotel to quarantine, or do they hold you there?  Would be good to know in advance. 

Thanks for the great info! We had all our information ready, checked in at midnight, and were able to snag 9-9:30 testing slots!  Looking forward to having our vacation begin as soon as possible. 
 

For those reading this in the future, here’s what you will need to complete check in, though I think you can skip straight to the health and safety section and get your test time, then go back and fill in the other stuff later:

- Passport number and expiration date

- Flight numbers,  arrival and departure times 

- Photo 

- Primary and secondary phone numbers. (They verify the primary one with a text) 

- Email (they will send a verification link). 
- Emergency contact (not traveling with you) name and phone number.

- Credit card number for onboard expenses.

Remember to screen shot or download the barcode you get from CVS for Covid testing, as this will expedite the process at the pier.

Thanks for the great info! We had all our information ready, checked in at midnight, and were able to snag 9-9:30 testing slots!  Looking forward to having our vacation begin as soon as possible. 
 

For those reading this in the future, here’s what you will need to complete check in, though I think you can skip straight to the health and safety section and get your test time, then go back and fill in the other stuff later:

- Passport number and expiration date

- Flight numbers,  arrival and departure times 

- Photo 

- Primary and secondary phone numbers. (They verify the primary one with a text) 

- Email (they will send a verification link). 
- Emergency contact (not traveling with you) name and phone number.

- Credit card number for onboard expenses.

Remember to screen shot or download the barcode you get from CVS for Covid testing, as this will expedite the process at the pier.

On 12/24/2021 at 6:25 AM, ggTexasGal said:

The entire check-in process is NOT the same as Pre-Covid19.

NCL has added some additional steps, including loading a photo of each individual, watching the Safety video (drill), and selecting arrival time. Otherwise, it is similar.

To further answer your question, it would seem that everybody in your group would need to complete their Check-In at approximately the same time to select arrival times together, and needs to be completed no later than three days prior to cruise.

Our check-in starts at mignogjt tonight. Thanks for the tip about needing a photo. Other than a photo and passports, is there other info we need to have handy? Photos of Covid vaccination cards? I just want to be prepared so we can snag an early testing time. 

57 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

Today is 21 days for us .  Only 6 slots were available for boarding the ship at 10am and by the time I read all the information, only 1 slot was available so we opted for 10:30-11am. Signed up for the CVS covid test, got our barcode, completed the forms and now just waiting for our E-docs.  Ready to go!

Thanks for the helpful info. What time did you check in? I’m guessing the hubs and I need to stay up til midnight tonight! 

I know I can check in 21 days before the cruise, which is tomorrow for me. Does it start at 12:01 a.m? 8 a.m?  
 

I am hoping to snag an early testing and boarding time, so want to check in as early as possible.  We are in the Haven, so I know we get to board early, but have read others’ comments about only being able to get a later testing time. 

22 minutes ago, Diane67B said:

 

Norwegian Encore January 16th

We are on your cruise! Traveling with my husband and two teens. Have you joined the roll call yet? There is also a fb group and someone planning a bar crawl the first sea day. I’m not sure that’s really my thing, but could be a good way to meet people. 

We chased a hurricane to Bermuda on Breakaway a few years ago. The first sea day was really bad, and a lot of people just stayed in their cabins. We occasionally had to grab onto rails when walking around. My husband and I proactively took Bonine and didn’t drink that day, and we were absolutely fine. 

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

You would be moved to isolation if you test positive. You get your comfy quarantine room and your boxed meals left outside your room (your days in the Haven dining room are over). Close contacts are isolated until they are cleared by the ship's medical team (probably a couple of days of negative tests). 

 

I return to my position that 10's of thousands of people cruise every week and there have been 1500ish total cases (include those who never make it onboard) since restart. Folks fret over "what if" situations which are very, very, very, very, very rare. 

I think we are just going to be very very careful the two weeks before our cruise. Sure, there is always some risk, but we have waited too long for this vacation to spend it in quarantine, so we’ll be as cautious as we can. 

Hope you have a great cruise! We will be on Encore 1/15 so I’m eagerly resting this thread! 

I would still like to know more about the “dedicated isolation accommodations.

Under what circumstances do they move you from your cabin? Is it only if you test positive, or if you are a close contact of someone who tested positive?

Do they move everyone in the cabin if the others have not tested positive? We are a family of 4 staying in a Hacen 2-bedroom.

Oh my gosh, I didn’t know NCL had SIX! We saw it in Chicago pre-pandemic and loved it! 

We have a 3:45 departure out of Miami after our Encore cruise. Any recommendations to kill time that won’t be a pain with luggage? I’m not opposed to camping out with a book in the airport if that’s the only option.

How long will they let us stay on the ship? We are in the Haven, though I’m not sure that makes a difference. They probably still want us out of there as early as possible. 

Thank you all. I’m glad I asked. I would have overdressed him, and that would have decreased his enjoyment of the vacation. In the past, we’ve eaten in specialty restaurants every night, and this will be our first time in the Haven, so it’s helpful to know what people actually wear. 
 

I AM insistent on no athletic wear in restaurants, though. My son lives in Adidas pants and would probably wear them the whole time if it were up to him. 

I use the little NCL cups, take them to the table, and fill my Yeti at rhe table. I think the way the OP is saying they fill their cup is allowed from a hygiene perspective, but other pax may not like the amount of time it takes or may not want to see that personal cup getting anywhere near the dispenser. 

Yes, I have read the dress code, and No, this is not one of those, “what’s the minimum I can get away with?” type questions that spark so much conflict on CC. My 17-year old son will be ticked off if I make him wear trousers and a dress shirt when “everyone else” is wearing khaki shorts and a polo, so I’d just like to get an idea of current norms. My 15-year-old daughter will be sailing with us as well. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

The Breakaway spa is pretty amazing. Depends on the itinerary though. How many sea days? Are you visiting ports that are likely to be closed or restricted due to covid? How much time are you likely to spend in the spa?

We are foodies, too, Celebrity’s MDR food is ok, NCL’s is meh, When booking NCL, we factor in the cost of eating in specialty restaurants every night.  It is cruise food, so never going to be as good as a high-end land/based restaurant, but we’ve been very satisfied with the food in NCL specialty restaurants. the Italian restaurant you heard bad things about was probably La Cucina. I was not impressed with it either, but Encore has a new one called Ondo by Scarpetta, which is supposed to be much better. 
 

On our last cruise, rather than upgrade to the premium plus beverage package, we brought seven bottles of our own good wine and paid the $15/bottle corkage fee. Well worth it.  Something that you as a foodie may find annoying about NCL is that they don’t have anything like Celebrity’s premium

nonalcoholic beverage package, which includes specialty coffees and sparkling and bottled water. To get those things included on NCL, you have to buy the premium plus beverage package. For kids, the only option is the soda package, which just includes Pepsi products. Yuck.
 

One thing that you may want to consider is the ages for the teen clubs on different lines. I seem to remember Celebrity starts the teen club at age 12.  NCL starts at 13. When we sailed with my 12 year old daughter on NCL, Breakaway, she took one look at the “baby” furniture in the kids’ club, heard about how they mix age groups when there aren’t many kids in there, and had zero interest in the kids’ club. She spent the entire cruise being pissed off that she was three months shy of being allowed on the teen club. 
 

What tipped the scales for us when booking our upcoming Encore cruise was the Havenn2-BR family villa. Sharing a bathroom with my kids is not a vacation, so we were looking at either two balconies with upgraded food (NCL specialty dining or Aqua class on X) or a suite with two bathrooms. On Celebrity, we would have had to get two sky suites, which was more than the price of the Havenn2-bedroom family villa. Plus Encore has better entertainment and a lot more stuff for kids to do. 
 

We booked a year ago, and prices may be totally different now. 

What we have always done is book one adult and one kid in each room, then once onboard ask for extra keycards and trade, so parents are in one room, kids in the other. The room stewards seem quite accustomed to this. 
 

doesn’t work if you’re a single parent, but if you have two adults, it’s easy. 

3 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I have elected for land vacations this year. Not because I am afraid of covid, but I don’t want to have to quarantine due to close contact. I’m also not super keen on all the last minute changes. 
 

While a lovely post, this statement is not accurate. If you are required to quarantine you are moved to a separate section of the ship. You are not allowed to stay in the cabin you booked. This is for a few reasons. First, Staff who interact with you  (room service, etc…) wear  hazmat type suits and the cruise line doesn't want bad publicity. Second, it is easier to monitor a block of rooms to make sure everyone stays put. Third- they need everyone together for movement off the ship. 

Thanks. I didn’t know that. I had heard about people who were deemed close contacts of positive cases on some of the early Celebrity sailings quarantining in their cabins while they waited for test results, so I mistakenly assumed it was that way on NCl as well,

I wonder where on the ship they are quarantining people and whether they move the whole family. Four of us moving from a Haven 2-BR to an inside cabin would be terrible. 

There are two recent threads on here with Encore dailies. That may answer some of your questions.

How many days before the cruise does bidding usually close? 
 

and have you seen minimum bids increasing or decreasing during the bidding time?

we are in a 2 BR Haven and the minimum bid for the deluxe owners suite is a little higher than I want to pay right now. Wondering if there is any chance it will decrease before my cruise and ow long I have to decide if I want to bid for the upgrade; 

We all have our different risk tolerances. I was locked down tight during most of the pandemic because I was on an immune suppressing medication at the time, so I I understand your hesitation. I’m cruising in January, and things that make me feel physically safe are:

• knowing we are triple vaccinated
• knowing everyone else on the ship is vaccinated and has tested negative. Sure, some cases will slip through, but the odds are that most people on the ship won’t be superspreaders. I can’t say the same for restaurants in my town.
• knowing that we have a balcony, and that we will be in the Haven, with a little more room to spread out, free room service as an option, and maybe priority for outdoor seating at some restaurants. Having a nicer cabin also makes me less nervous about any quarantine situation that could happen if one of us gets Covid or is considered a close contact of a positive case.

Things that make me feel financially safer are:

• Having bought good CFAR insurance at the time of booking
• Having booked on my Amex card. When NCL cancelled my April 2020 cruise and still hadn’t refunded my money more than 60 days after sailing date, despite. Y having asked for a refund on March 21, I called Amex and they had the money back in my account within minutes. People with other credit cards did not have this experience.

I’d encourage you to think about what is making you feel unsafe. For me, indoor shared air in small spaces  is my biggest concern, so I have some strategies to avoid that as much as possible if this new variant or another one turns out to be really bad. If you’re going to be so nervous that you won’t enjoy your vacation, maybe consider a land-based all-inclusive resort instead. 
 

Good luck with your decision, and I hope you and your wife get to enjoy a nice vacation soon, whatever you decide.

51 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

@HuliHuli Just an update on Puerto Plata / Amber Cove - I sail on the Encore on 12/12 and as of today NCL still are saying we are docking at Puerto Plata (Amber Cove).  I will report back post cruise as to what actually transpires 🙂

We are on Encore January 16th and I’m wondering how much notice they will give us if ports change. Not a big deal, as I’ll be happy to cruise, wherever we go, but I’m a planner and like to know in advance what to expect.