jmcookiemonster25

There's no "specific" requirement to be back an hour before departure. This is a suggestion because they want everyone back in time. However, one of the best parts of an NCL Breakaway cruise to Bermuda is watching last minute people getting out a cab and desperately running to the ship a few minutes before departure. They will let those people on even though they were not there x minutes before departure.

 

That said, I wouldn't push it. There ARE people who have been left behind in Bermuda because they have failed to make it back to the ship on time.

You're right, they'll let you on if you get there 10 minutes before departure, but all the signs when you're leaving the ship say one hour. So we always use that as a guide in case something happens. We actually use an hour and a half as a guide.

Related question:

 

Do the NCL key cards have anything on them to indicate age? We have sailed on Disney in the past and they had a code on them that identified which age group a passenger fell in (under 18, 18-20, or over 21). Does NCL have anything like that or will my 19 year old need to carry his license or passport with him while on the ship if he goes in any of the adult areas?

 

Thanks

They clip the corners of cards for passengers 20 and younger. And somehow they can tell how old you are after that. I was 18 in the 18 and over dance club, and a security person asked for my card. I showed it to him and he immediately knew I was 18-20 then though my card was clipped. So they know. No need to carry around a license or passport, your stateroom card is enough.

I've tried searching for this everywhere but I can't seem to find an answer. I'm going to Bermuda on the 10/16 cruise that docks at Bermuda for 2.5 days. What time do you have to be back on the ship by on the first and second night you're there? Someone told me the Royal cruise they went on closed the doors for the night at 12:00 AM. Does Norwegian do this too? Thanks!

No, you can be out all of the time until the ship is about to leave if you want to. You could stay the night at a local hotel the 1st and 2nd nights if you want. Just as long as you're back on the 3rd day before the ship leaves. I could be wrong, but I believe you have to be back on board an hour before the departure time on the 3rd day. It'll say on your itinerary what time that is. Crew is a half hour later than passengers. Can someone confirm that it's an hour or am I wrong? I've cruised to Bermuda 4 times so you would think I would know.

Why not just get one for the baby? For our first cruise with a 6 month old we got his at around 3 months old. They last 5 years.

It's gonna be funny when you need to show your child's passport when they are 5, it'll be a picture of them when they're 3 months old! Could totally do a bate-and-switch with another kid, they'd never know! Lol.

There is no such thing. Someone with UBP can get those things, but with soda package it's just soda.

Darn! They could make more money if they had a package like that. Hmm alright thanks!

I had the UBP earlier in the year and got orange juice from two different bars with no charge.

Awesome, thanks for the clarification!

Problem is that 20 year-olds aren't eligible for the Unlimited Beverage Package even with parents permission.

Right, I knew he wouldn't be able to get the alcoholic beverage package. But now that someone mentioned the virgin package (so like virgin frozen drinks, etc), as a step up from the soda/juice package, I'm wondering if that's possible.

Seems like the twenty-year-old should at least be able to get the virgin drinks instead of just a soda package. The virgin frozen drinks on board are pretty expensive so this would save a lot of money if you received these on a universal drink package even if you weren't allowed to drink alcohol.

Great point! I hope that would be the case, but I would check first before making a decision. Or maybe just wait until he turns 21 to make my life easier.

If they're in the same cabin, they need to agree on what free at sea offers they're choosing. Both the beverage package and the specialty dining package are for the first 2 guests in the cabin, so if they choose the beverage package and they're the 2 in the cabin, the 22 year old will get UBP, the 20 year old will get soda. There's no picking and choosing, unless each booking their own cabin

Okay thanks for clearing that up! Yeah we'd be in the same cabin, so it looks like we'd have to agree.

Does the soda (or UBP) include juice? Like cranberry or orange? I can get it in the morning for free at the buffet, but after that you have to pay for it.

For the free at sea offers NCL has, one of the options is unlimited beverages.

If two people, one 22 years old and one 20 years old, go on a cruise, and the 22 year old picks the unlimited beverage package, does the 20 year old also have to pick that package? Their parent will not be on board so no alcohol buying for them, so they'd get downgraded to the soda package. But they don't want the soda package. Could they pick another offer instead? Or do both people have to pick the same offer?

Does anyone know if after the Gems dry dock if they added Iconcierge?

Thank you [emoji4]

According to the iTunes app description, the Gem is now included, but I didn't test the feature when I was just on board so I can't say with 100% certainty.

I just got off the Gem yesterday. Some changes I noticed were:

The ceiling in the atrium is gorgeous. Instead of the gems on the ceiling (looked tacky), there are a bunch of hanging light bulbs that light up in pretty patterns. I want that for my house. :)

The bowling alleys in the Bliss are gone. Yay! It was a cool idea, but not practical. They only let you bowl when the ship was moving, which was a problem because the ball would just roll into the gutters all the time.

New chairs in the Garden Cafe (actually replaced at the Puerto Rico stop), they are nice.

The water slide wasn't working at all, which was disappointing.

Some new things Fleetwide:

Many of the specialty restaurants are no A la carte. This could be good or bad depending on your eating habits. Ended up being nice at Cagneys since I don't like steak but love the appetizers and sides. I got to pick what I wanted and not spend $35 for a steak I didn't want.

They no longer do the Fountains show at the end of the show. Drew, the Cruise Director, said it was because of sanitation issues. Too bad that people get so worked up over that, it's hilarious.

I am going to do the zip lining excursion on our next cruise. I'm the only one in my family who wants to go. But I would like my mom or dad to at least come with me so I'm not going alone. Is it possible (for a fee of course) to buy just a seat on the bus to get transported there? The zip line price includes the bus ride there so I'm wondering if someone can just pay a little bit to ride along and wait for me while I zip line. Any other suggestions will be helpful too. (It's in St. Thomas, USVI).

Yes. You are automatically enrolled in Latitudes once you sail on NCL.

 

No. Been on a bunch of NCL cruises recently and have not had pins left in our room in a while. We always go to the cruise consultant's desk and request pins.

Yeah I guess it just depends on the ship you go on and probably your room steward because they've been left in our cabin on our previous cruises.

let us know how you do. I need a Pearl Pin

I got an email back today from the Latitudes department and they said the pins are in the mail!

Someone from NCL emailed me back today and said the pins I asked for were on their way. :) That was easy!

I just checked it in the iTunes App Store. It sure has some awful reviews!

 

Anyone have real life experience with it?

We bought it on the Breakaway and it was quite frankly a piece of crap. Calling one another didn't work, which is kind of the whole reason we bought it. We complained to guest services and they refunded us one of them (we bought 2).

However, I was able to get notifications on my phone from the outside world. I couldn't log in and actually view stuff, but I'd get PayPal payment received notifications (we sell digitally-sendable goods so that was extremely helpful, we didn't have to log in beforehand to check if we'd received a payment, my phone would tell me and then we'd log in), or I'd get Facebook notifications that someone liked my picture but I couldn't actually go onto the app and view it. This was May 2014. I have no idea if that glitch is still occurring though.

Hello everyone. I'll be in St. Thomas (USVI) in January and would really like to go zip-lining! I'm going to be on NCL.

Are there any safe, reliable, fun places to zip-line that are easy to get to from the docks and that don't take all day (a lot of things I've found are full-day ordeals).

If you have zip-lined here in the past and have any advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Jennifer

I was on the Star in November, asked for the pins and was told they are no longer available on the ships and to e-mail NCL.

That's really bizarre. I got a Gem pin last December and my dad just got a Dawn one a few weeks ago.

Keep checking back frequently the market is very fluid and if needing more

than one from the same seller ASQ (Ask Seller Question) bargain Make Offer

Combine Shipping and Handling (postage).

You no like the price - don't buy - wait it out - and consider getting the

ship pin FREE from NCL by email and letter as noted in previous posts.

 

The cheapest ones are $6+ including shipping

 

That is pretty much the middle of the road - a buck of so for the pin and

Priority Mailing with Tracking $4 - the seller maybe making a token profit.

See if you can negotiate the postage to First Class at about $2 for about

half of the auction price. The plastic pins don't weigh much even if wrapped

well for mailing.

 

If you need the bird in hand by winning the auction go for it (Buy It Now)

otherwise wait for your ship pin to come in ! LOL !

Yeah I will check once in a while but I don't plan to buy unless NCL says no to the pins when I email them.

And yeah I sell a lot on eBay myself so I know how the game is played, thanks though. :)

eBay. You will find them for a few bucks

I already looked, the cheapest ones are $6+ including shipping. Plus there are only a few ships.

I'm sure the pins get either put in our room (or we can ask) but I just never thought about keeping/saving them until just last year. I'll just shoot Latitudes an email, thanks everyone!

You can get them on eBay for cheap.

I looked and there are only a few, cheapest is like $6 with shipping. I am sure I can get them cheaper than that.

Thanks everyone, I'll get in touch with NCL. I have a little collection going on my backpack. Not sure if I should do one from each cruise because I've been on some of the ships a few times, so I'm not sure if it would look stupid to have 3 Gem pins, 2 Dawn pins, etc. :P

I never got any... do you have to be a certain level to get one?

I assume that after your first sail you are now considered a Latitudes member. So they are normally put in your cabin if you are a repeat cruiser, but as someone mentioned they might not always do this unless you ask for it.