Paul Bogle

While construction is ongoing at Coxen Hole, the new pier came into service in early January. The pier itself is finished. The work is on what looks like a "no man's land" between the pier and the shops which used to be part of the bay.

NCL carries Sport24 which is a live sports channel available only in flight or at sea. On their webpage I found the following:   

"Since our launch, we've shown LIVE action from Summer and Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cups, Rugby World Cups, tennis grand slams, golf majors, as well as the biggest leagues on the planet including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NBA, NFL and much, much more!"

I think you have a very good chance of seeing the final round of the masters. The channel provides separate feeds to airlines and cruise ships so it is possible it will be available on one and not the other. My suggestion is to check their program guide a week or so in advance to see if it will be aired on the cruise ship feed. You can find their schedule on their website from the link above. The times they post are GMT so you will need to adjust to local time. 

2 hours ago, smplybcause said:

Anyone at Latitudes level Platinum and above can also enter the tender line at any time.

Thank you for providing so much information. Just wanted to add for the benefit of others, Gold and above have priority tendering.

https://www.ncl.com/shorex/210500895/latitudes

Why anyone would skip their cruise vacation for a week from Port Canaveral on February 15th 2020 due to corona virus  is entirely beyond my comprehension.

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The photo of soap bar and lotion was from December 2019. Have things changed in the past 2 months?

Yes

Soap bar and lotion are a thing of the past. 

mking8288 has the accurate description for current cruises.

It seems the room stewards are no longer involved with pool towels. On our recent cruise we had to check them out on the pool deck and return them to the same. In some port calls we could check them out on the pier and return them there.

I have never had an issue using credit cards in foreign countries. I have done so in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. I do notify my card issuer in advance of my travel plans and which countries I plan to visit.

4 hours ago, Coastalbreezes said:

I was on board also and according to the captain what happened was that when attempting to dock, one of the fenders on the pier broke making it impossible to complete the procedure on that side of the pier -- not a "collision".  An Oceania ship was also at HC that day and they had to tender their guest to the island.

I'm curious what the Captain meant by "that side of the pier"? Docking at Harvest Caye can only be done on one side of the pier so I do not follow. Did he perhaps mean one side of the ship? Did the ship spin 180 degrees and dock on the opposite side?

On the Jewel class ships the mini suites are an upgrade from a standard balcony. The bathroom is larger with the commode separated from the rest of the bathroom by a sliding door and a shower/bath tub combination that is quite nice. (short passengers have posted an issue with stepping over the tub to get in)

The cabin itself is only slightly larger but does have more storage than a standard balcony cabin. A curtain is in place to separate the bed in the middle of the cabin from the sitting area near the balcony. Since the sitting area is where a third or fourth passenger will sleep this can be useful with more than two in cabin. The balcony is the same width as the balcony cabins but is 50% deeper which is quite nice.

I like these mini suites but I'm not sure I would bid for one. They are located on deck 11 beneath the pool/spa/buffet. I am careful to select exactly what I am under and I'm not sure I would leave that decision to the vagaries of the bidding process where I am stuck with the assignment.

2 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

And you how did you come to know "it's just a test"?

read the preceding sentence.

This occurred several times on our sailing January 11 to 22. It's just a test.

(the above picture was taken of the big screen in the atrium)

It's 30% off the price they aren't charging.

6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL uses Punta Longosta. If there is more than one NCL ship in port, someone has to tender. 

The Breakaway docked at the International Pier on Monday January 20th.

On February 4th I see Carnival Legend, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Valor, Celebrity Infinity, RCI Liberty of the Seas and NCL Getaway calling on Cozumel.

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitingcozumelmexico-04feb2020.html

The three Carnival ships will dock at Puerta Maya which Carnival controls. The Celebrity and RCI ships will dock at the International Pier next-door. That leaves the Punta Langosta pier downtown for NCL Getaway.

6 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

If you are in the Haven there are reserved seats. Sometime 5 min or so before show time

if they are not filled I think anyone can sit there. They had cloth covers on the chair backs

but can't remember the color or if it said Haven. First come first serve in the Haven area

too.

On the Breakaway last week the Haven seats had gold seat covers with "Haven" embossed on the back.

Venues typically open 30 minutes before show time. Passengers with reservations will have their ship card scanned and granted admission. Seating is open. Ten minutes or so before showtime seating is open to anyone. 

Resort casual is acceptable which includes shorts is acceptable at both Cagney's and Moderno. You will see some people dressed up, more so at Cagney's in my experience. If you wish to dress fancy you will not feel out of place, like wise if you dress smart casual. Enjoy.

Will you have time to buy your champagne at duty free in Schiphol? If so you will pick up the champagne at the gate and avoid issues with checked luggage and mishaps. You may be able to do the same in the UK but I believe you will have to go through airside security in Schiphol before boarding a USA bound flight and the champagne may be prohibited there though I can't say for sure.

You can probably call duty free in Schiphol and find out what is available and what it costs. I wouldn't be too concerned about duty entering the USA. It's only a few dollars per liter for overage. 

(duplicate)

The app is free to use. It includes the schedule of events onboard under "what's happening" as well as access to your onboard account.

I am guessing you are referring to the text and phone messaging which costs $10 ? 

If that is the case it is $10 per passenger. Each passenger that wishes to use it should download the app and setup a MyNCL account in advance. Once onboard you connect to the ship wifi, load the app on your device and follow the instructions under messaging. The $10 (9.95 to be exact) will be billed to your ship account. 

Everyone in your group are not required to purchase but only those devices purchasing the functionality will be able to use it. We did this on the Breakaway last week and both text and phone worked fine. The phone was a bit clunky as the ring tone was low volume but we were satisfied with the service. It is much improved over the earlier version we used a few years ago.

Everyone in the cabin can open their own account with their own credit card, debit card or cash. How this applies to minor children isn't clear to me but I assume most parents place their children on the family account and restrict their purchases as they wish.

You do not lose the certificate if you cancel. The certificate will be returned to your account usually in a day or two. If you are cancelling and booking a different cruise, your cruise consultant can move the certificate over to the new booking. 

If the certificate expires between when you made the booking and when you cancel you will lose it due to expiration.

About the cards, here is what we have experienced. One card is always asked for and swiped when checking in with the hostess. When asking for the bill only one card is necessary if everyone at the table is in the same cabin and no one or just one person ordered drinks or upcharge items. If two or more people ordered drinks or upcharge items, separate bills came out to each person that ordered a drink or upcharge, and their card was required to process the bill even when the total was zero due to dining and drink packages. If we are dining with friends from another cabin the waiter will ask for cards from someone in each cabin and bring separate bills even if both bills are zero. The last time everyone at our table was asked for their card was on the Pearl in 2018 so perhaps the procedure has been relaxed since that time.

1 hour ago, blcruising said:

Was not my experience last week on Breakaway. I had no trouble surfing the message boards on my personal device without a paid package.

I was on the same sailing. When I tried to access the boards it just timed out. The regular cruise critic site loaded just fine.