hoopslover

We just booked the Viva for June 2025 and our TA added the BOGO airfare with 2 day deviation.  Got confirmation from NCL as soon as we paid our deposits.

We were there last July in your same type of itinerary.  I know that some people left the first evening and didn't spend the night.  Since our flight wasn't until 4 pm we did a tour of the town with a drop off at the airport at noon.  I think the ship clears customs when it arrives and you can self walk off as early as you need to.  Hope this helps.

Has anyone done the Supper Club on the Escape?  If so please give me details.  This is our first time on this ship.  Have done other NCL ships but that wasn't an option I don't think.

On 2/29/2024 at 12:31 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

As I explained above, I nap in the afternoons on cruises, so having my bed remade in the evening is a nice treat. Also, when I go to the pool/hot tub during the day or have a particularly hot/sweaty day in port and need to shower a second time, having fresh towels for my morning shower is great. Do I *need* those things? Of course not. But I have been on 23 cruises now where I had those things and I will certainly miss them on my first cruise without them.

I have been on 2 NCL cruises since the one a day service.  I don't miss the turn down service but I missed the clean towels.  I solved that by requesting the cabin attendant leave 2 or 3 bath towels per person when the room was cleaned each day and there were always dry towels.  We tipped him well!

2 hours ago, pompeii said:

 

Regarding Overlord, I'm trying to book it from Le Havre for our stop on the Regal Princess in August, but they won't commit to running the tour.  The email communication I've received is vague and says

 

"I have added you to the wait list and we will let you know if we can open the tour.

Again:

We open group tours depending on demand.

Please note this offers no guarantees and is demand dependent.  We need a minimum of 8 people to open the tour but it also depends on how many and which guides we have available as to whether we can open the tour."

 

For those who have used Overlord, did you run into this?  I know from our roll call that at least one other couple is on their waitlist.  It makes it very hard to plan if they don't even know if they'll have a guide for Normandy that day.  It seems very odd to me for a tour operator that specializes in Normandy tours.

There were 4 of us traveling together.  I asked on our roll call and got 2 other couples to join us so we had 8

We used Overlord Tours.  Best excursion ever!

49 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

Here is the website for the private guide we used in Malta:  https://www.maltatourguide.com/

We arranged this with two other couples on our Roll Call and she was excellent - both informative and fun.  We toured the Hagar Quim Temple (probably the ruins you are interested in?), the M'dina and the Co-Cathedral.  All are "don't miss" sites.  Also don't miss the sail in/sail out for Valletta as it one of the most beautiful in the world.

Thanks. I already contacted them but since we dock so late and the sites close at either 5 or 6 it wasn't possible for them to help.

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Hello. Yes, we did book this one through NCL. The name of the tour was Prehistoric Temples and Views. Our guide's name was Charles, and he was excellent. Very informative and friendly, nice sense of humor, and had tons of details to share. Maybe you can find him by looking on TripAdvisor or Viator, in case NCL isn't showing that one. Have you been to Italy before? Do you speak Italian? And what time of the year is your cruise? Last November was my 27th or 28th time to Italy, I've lost count. And I speak Italian fluently. I mention those details as a way of saying that for me, I tend to avoid the more touristy places (at least, ones I haven't been to before, like St Peter's in Rome, the Uffizi galleries in Florence, etc.). Those places are definitely worth visiting, don't get me wrong. But I've seen them plenty of times. I highly recommend Italytours.eu. We did a couple of tours with them last November (specifically the Amalfi coast one). You will get a lot more out of your time in Italy if you know some Italian, especially in smaller towns. When we went to Corfu in 2021 on a cruise, we visited a liqueur distillery and had a great time, as well as going to a restaurant for a touristy, but decent, Greek lunch. We visited Santorini and Mykonos last year, as well. Both highly recommended, they are just beautiful and unique. Santorini can be quite the cluster due to the massive numbers of people who stop there, and the fact there's only one way up (a steep mountain). If you're in decent shape, WALK! The cable cars are quick, but you can easily spend 2 hours waiting in line. You can walk up in 1/2 an hour. But the view from Oia is worth every second in line, trust me. Ask any other questions you like!

Thanks for sharing.  That is the excursion in Malta that we wanted but we don't dock until 1 pm and it isn't listed. I finally found a private guide through Viator and am hoping they show up and take us to the ruins.

On 1/30/2024 at 12:47 PM, DCGuy64 said:

We did a very similar itinerary last November on the Breakaway. When is your cruise, BTW? We ended up having to skip Athens and Livorno due to bad weather, so just keep in mind that rough seas might come into play (there were lines of furious passengers at Guest Services). We did an excellent excursion in Malta that featured ancient ruins, which my wife is a huge fan of. I can't comment on the other ports, since either we missed them or we had privately-booked excursions instead. Have a great cruise!

Did you book the ancient ruins through NCL?  It is not being offered on our cruise as our port times are 1-10 pm.  If you booked private could you please share who you used.  My husband really wants to see the ruins on Malta.  The ones on Viator leave too early for our port times.  Thanks for any help.

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

We have found the best steak on NCL to be in LeBistro (the French place. The filet, without exception, was better than anything else we had in any venue. And, after all, Filet Mignon is French, so it makes sense).

 

We have LeBistro booked for our cruise next month. Now I have to see if I can get the filet without the nasty fois gras liver thing sitting on top (and also avoid the upcharge).

My friend ordered it without fois gras and it was fine with them.

On 1/20/2024 at 12:32 PM, ihate2cruise said:

Thank you for your thoughts and sharing your experiences. I think we are leaning towards the Jewel Seward-Vancouver route. The flights are going to be brutal from Upstate NY, there is just no way to get around that, there are no non-stop flights, sadly.

 

Any tips for where to stay and what not to miss in Anchorage or Seward as we will be flying in 2 days early to help get acclimated before the cruise, it would be much appreciated.

We did the Jewel b2b and loved it.  On the turnaround day in Seward we booked the excursion through Major Marine for 6 hours.  We saw so much wildlife and it was a great day.  They are located near the pier and may have transportation to their office a few blocks away.  Loved the Jewel with the observation lounge to be able to see all of the scenery when we didn't want to be in our stateroom.  Enjoy!

4 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Geiranger and Alesund was my favorite.

on my sailing this past summer, my favorite port was Geiranger. I would take Norway over Iceland, but both are beautiful. Only got to do Reykjavik and Akureyri.

Same with us.  I can't wait to go back to Norway.  
The Golden Circle small group tour in Reykjavik was great.

Wasn't able to get in on the Prima in July so I was determined to wait forever to get in on the Breakaway.  First show waited about 15  minutes and got a seat.  The next time for Rumours we got in but there were no seats left so we went out back and they had the speakers by the bar outside and we listened to the show.  We got in the last night for the Prom Night performance.  It was also a new crew of performers that boarded when we did and they were amazing!

We couldn't make reservations for all of our specialty dining and latitude perk dinners.  Halfway through the cruise on the Breakaway I called the dining number from our stateroom and he said that since we were sapphire we had priority dining and to just go to the restaurant and ask if we could get in without a reservation.  She looked at our card saying sapphire and said that we would be seated very quickly.  The hostess at Taste also noted the latitude status and we were always seated before others who were waiting.  Doesn't hurt to ask if you have status.  I wouldn't have been disappointed if they couldn't accommodate us but it was good to know that our loyalty was appreciated last month on the Breakaway.

With record number of travelers going to Europe I would wait a few days to hear from them.  Unless it is a private tour they have to check the ship, the date and see if a group has already been started for that particular excursion. If there isn't one they usually reply that they will start a group and let you know when the minimum reservations have occurred. I have only used them for shared excursions and I don't know what the procedure is for booking a private tour. 

It may also depend on when you are sailing. They may still be having staffing problems or lack of tour guides in all of their ports. There is a lot of follow up closer to your sailing once booked. Hope this helps.

6 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

The embarkation process at NOLA can be a nightmare.

In 2022, we arrived at the port at about 945.  We spent the next hour plus standing in a very long line to clear security.  The waiting area at NOLA is quite small and when that area is full, they stop the security line  until boarding starts.  Seating is very limited.  We boarded about 1100.

In 2023, we wanted to avoid the long security line so we arrived at about 1045.  Very smooth.  No long lines.  we boarded about 1115.

It  you can get  your dining reservations done pre-boarding, there really isn't a need to rush to the port.

We prefer to stay at the hotel until the lines have cleared.  Staying at the hotel is much more comfortable than spending and hour plus standing in the security line.

We encountered a, so we've been told, unique experience in debarkation.  You'll notice that there are train tracks just outside the terminal and between the terminal and the parking areas.  We were in a cab riding back to the hotel.  As we exited the terminal, a very long slow frieght train blocked all traffic for about 30 minutes.  I've not heard of anyone else experiencing this train.

 

We experienced the train on disembarkation day.  Our Uber kept cancelling because he could not get over the train tracks.  The taxis came in another way so we had to go down to that exit and take a taxi to our hotel.

Thanks. One less thing to pack

We were on the Prima in Amsterdam and they changed the starting time for the NCL excursion by 30 minutes.  That put our return time at back on board time.  They said not to worry.  Well two busses full of that excursion was caught in rush hour traffic returning to the ship and we arrived an hour late which was after sailing time.  The ship waited for us.  We were less than half a mile from the ship and could have walked back faster than the busses were moving.

If anyone has done the dolphin encounter and stingray sandbar excursion on Grand Cayman could you please comment on the advisability of water shoes.  It says you will be standing on a submerged platform for the entirety of the program.  Is it rough with splinters or smooth enough to go barefoot?  Any help or advise welcome.

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

Some have  given Prima bad reviews,  but we loved our 11 day from Galveston  last  year. Great and roomy cabins.  Innovative  complimentary Indulge food hall.  Sailing in warm waters you can really enjoy the expansive  deck 8 waterfront  area.  

It does have quirks but we enjoyed it so much that we have rebooked another  11 days on her from Galveston  to Miami next year  😎

We were on Prima in July from Southampton to Iceland.  Loved the ship but not for cold weather cruise.  Most of the outside was unusable due to the colder weather.  I would like to sail her again in warm weather.  The ship is beautiful.

On 6/11/2023 at 5:23 PM, mskaufman said:

There is a nice beach in Cannes (spoiler alert - tops optional in case you have kids with you).  Last year we went to Nice and took the mini train around.

Did you enjoy the mini train in Nice?

5 hours ago, HEARTCC said:

Our driver from Livorno met our small group at the port. He took us just a few yards away from our first stop in Siena where we met our guide. The first stop was a church that is both simple outside and inside yet it had many visitors. Our guide informed us that it has a relic of Siena’s famous citizen, St Catherine of Siena, a Catholic saint.   Our guide is a native of Siena and very knowledgeable about its history and the annual palio (horse race) among contrades (regions). She was quite interesting and passionate about Siena and its traditions. Although it was raining we were able to duck under medieval buildings and through tunnels. We also visited the beautiful cathedral and then spent some time at our final destination, the Piazza del Campo that was truly magnificent! The rain had stopped by then so our photos are fantastic. We had lunch at one of the places in this plaza.

 

We walked a lot  in Siena but we were not rushed. I think the guide led us on safer streets to walk on because of the rain. Siena has many uphill streets but the guide had us go on the easy ones.

 

San Giminagno has the beautiful buildings one sees in brochures. But due to my spouse’s mobility issues on the day of our tour, we were not able to explore the town in its entirety. We could have because we were not rushed by our driver. 

 

On the way back to Livorno, our driver took us off the main highway. So we got to see the beautiful countryside of Tuscany and had glimpses of medieval villages on top of hills.

 

This excursion from Italytours.eu was superb and these two towns should not be missed. My cruise ship did not offer a similar tour.

Thanks so much for the information.  

6 hours ago, HEARTCC said:

We cruised on the NCL Breakaway last May and used Italytours.eu on May 13 for our shore excursion from Naples. The driver was on time and met our small group at the port and took us to Positano and Sorrento along the Amalfi coast. We did not hit too much traffic and were able to enjoy the two towns leisurely. We had lunch back in Naples then the driver took us around the city before taking us back to the ship. I don’t know if this would be the case if the tour were in the height of the summer season. We like that this tour cost so much less than the ship’s bus excursion and had the assurance that we’ll get back to the ship on time. We had 2 other tours with this company: from Messina to Taormina and Mt Etna and from Livorno to Siena and San Giminagno. On these excursions our experience with this company was superb. Be patient however,  their response to emails was not the fastest.

How was your tour from Livorno to Siena and San Giminagno?  We were booked on this tour when covid hit and we were cancelled.  We are booked for next May and are beginning to look at excursions.  Thanks for any additional information or suggestions for this excursion.

Donnna

1 hour ago, yakcruiser said:

We did this trip in late April. I thought it was a very nice excursion. The thing to remember is the driver is not a guide. He will drive you to each city and give you recommendations on what to see and where to eat and drink. You get to decide on how much you want to walk. It is a very hilly though if you decide to venture far from drop off points. You will have approximately 90 minutes per stop. I liked Amalfi and Ravello better than Positano which I found to be a crowded tourist trap. And speaking of crowds the drive there from Naples is insane. Think Highway 1 from Hearst Castle to Big Sur but with a gazillion cars. They do take the back way over the hills so it is not nearly as long going back. The drivers are very flexible about stopping for pictures, potty break and whatever you need. Used Italytours for three ports and have no complaints

Thanks for your personal opinion.  We used a private guide in a mini van when we were there in 2004 and it was a wonderful day.  I was trying to decide on private vs. Italytours.eu.  We have a year to go before we sail so I am just gathering information.  It was very crowded even then but I am sure it is so much worse now.  We did Pompeii on our way back to Naples which we don't care to do again. You can't beat the beautiful views!

8 hours ago, AtlantaKelly said:

I definitely recommend booking with ItalyTours.eu!

 

We just returned from a 12 night Med cruise. I booked 2 tours with Italytours.eu - a tour to Mt Etna and Taormina and the Amalfi coast from the port of Naples. A few weeks before we sailed, Celebrity changed our port from Messina to Palermo. I contacted ItalyTours and they rescheduled us to Palermo. We then ended up missing the Palermo port due to weather. We exchanged emails and I was reimbursed promptly. 

 

At our Naples stop, Vinny was waiting for us at the gate. He was fun to be with and an excellent driver - which you definitely want driving the narrow road connecting the villages of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. It was a full day, and time was made for a sea side lunch under vines of lemon trees. Compared to other offerings this tour was very reasonably priced. The van was comfortable, but not a new luxury vehicle, so if this is important to you, you may want to ask about it before booking.

Can you give any more specific details of your day on the Amalfi coast?  How long in each city, how much walking, what not to miss, etc.  Thanks!