cruiseguy56

19 hours ago, surfone said:

Do you know if a screen shot of your COVID results on your phone can be used at check in or must you have a hard d copy? 

From HALs FAQs - The following formats are acceptable proofs of a negative COVID-19 test: paper negative COVID-19 test results (original only; no photocopies accepted), digital or emailed COVID-19 test results; or record of COVID-19 testing from a healthcare provider including original digital email notification or personal electronic health record.

Just my luck. Not even available for my next booked cruise,

Still a nice find!

On 10/17/2021 at 11:51 PM, zgscl said:

I believe you can get either. The signature beverage package specifically excludes the freestyle machine, you must get either a quench package or the elite package in order to use the freestyle machine. 

From HAL's FAQ about drink packages:

Our Signature package includes everything from our Quench Package 

The FAQ also notes that the Elite drink package includes the quench package. So, it seems anyone with the quench, signature, or elite packages would be able to access the machines.

On 10/18/2021 at 6:04 PM, DaveOKC said:

My DW went to both CVS and Walgreens today and asked about the tests.  CVS told her that they no longer do the Rapid test, just the one that takes 2-3 days.  Walgreens said that they do the Rapid test and we should get the results in a few hours.

 

My wife has had the test done at cvs drive-thru twice. Although they say 2-3 days, she's had email results within 12 hours. YMMV.

Seasick is correct. If one person in a cabin has the package, both people have to have the package. Assuming your Aunt DOES wish to drink, your uncle would NOT be able to transfer the drink package. HAL, as do other lines, also frown on someone with the drink package giving the drinks to someone else (Because the cruise lines feel this costs them the money of the other person not buying their own drink or drink package. That said, I'm sure the odd drink finds it's way from a drink package person to a family member sometimes.

48 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Grand Turk pics from my Westerdam cruise.  The nearby town is mildly interesting, the salt flats less so, and the beach is nice although not as good as Half Moon.  The pier was built by Carnival and their ships have priority.  It is an easy port call.  Large pool and bar and restaurant area.  Certainly appeals to the younger and less traveled cruisers than most of us!  

Enjoy your day wherever and however you may.

While we are NOT younger, and not really less-traveled, We seem to be part of only a small handful that visited the conch shell graveyard and the tip of the island for seashell hunting. For both, you take a right when you reach the end of the pier at the cruise center, then keep walking down the beach. It's not a very long walk, but wear water shoes as you will encounter urchins in several spots along the way.

Well, all we can do is send an email to Carnival and say " Thanks so much for saving me money on your cruises. Now, I DON'T need to spend money on a soda card and I DON'T need to order a rum and coke or a bourbon and coke from the bar. This will definitely save me, and cost you, a few bucks. Thanks again!!

On 7/30/2019 at 11:39 AM, Vineyard View said:

After reading this, I looked at our 24 day itinerary this morning. I just happened to check the pricing yesterday. It had dropped $600 total over the weekend compared to what it was when we had booked. Today the pricing has skyrocketed! More than $1,000 higher than  yesterday for the two of us. Guess HAL is prepping their pricing for Explore4. 

I missed the free gratuities promotion and would have like to compare that. It may have been more attractive. 

Question - we have a great aft cabin. I believe of we choose to transfer to a different promotion, in addition to loosing existing promotions, we would be risking loosing our cabin during that change? Is that correct? I was told this in the past and decided yesterday not to pursue the lower pricing because of that. 

Normally, if you booked through an agent, the agent can rebook and keep your cabin. 

We are 2 star mariners, going for 3 stars. Only booked once directly with HAL. They sent me an email with what seemed to be a great offer. The offer included on-board credit and prepaid gratuities with a decent price. Booked our veranda room, booked our hydropool package  and several excursions (as we ALWAYS do) and anxiously awaited sailing day. Upon checking our daily account statement, noticed there was NO OBC and the daily gratuities were showing up as NOT paid. Talked with the front desk folks, they made an inquiry back to the mainland and HAL came back and said that offer was ONLY for NEW customers. Asked how I was supposed to know that when THEY emailed ME the offer knowing that I'm a 2-star. They said the two letter codes in the fine print would have told me that. I reminded them that as a customer, not a HAL employee, I have NO WAY of knowing what any of their 2-letter codes would mean. After they screwed us over on that, we switched cruise lines. They may have gotten an extra $300 plus out of me for that fiasco, but they lost thousands in the long run. I am taking one more HAL cruise, only because they are going somewhere DW has ALWAYS wanted to go and the timing of that cruise works for us. Then goodbye HAL.

18 hours ago, fishywood said:

 

And Park by the Ports is now $9/day according to their website. They appear to be operated by the same company as Ft Lauderdale Airport Park.

I just attempted a reservation for park by the ports. It shows $5.99 per day when making the reservation.

Booked for a Nov 2020 10 day Nieuw Statendam cruise and after reviewing HAL's site, it sounds like the typical crew-performed main theater shows we're accustomed to on the Vista-class boats aren't what's going to be on-board the NS. Several things NOT mentioned on HAL's site are comedy, magic, and the Indonesian culture-themed crew shows. Site seems to emphasize only classical music and ballroom dancing type shows?  Has anyone sailed her recently that could shed any light on this? I'm fine with classical music and ballroom dancing, but the DW is NOT going to be thrilled with that type of show. Need to find out, if possible, so I can plan other ways to entertain her. Thanks for any input you can offer.

19 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

A question....If eating Lobster is  such an important and integral  part of  you cruise experience  why would you not choose one of the other lines that serve Lobster everyday in every venue...  even at the pool grill. ?  Since HAL only serves it 1 or 2 times during a cruise... why would you not change to a cruise line that does offer unlimited  both Maine and Spiny lobster in abundance daily and at no charge.?

I don't cruise for the lobster, but I've heard from several co-workers who cruise other lines regularly (We only do HAL with the exception of one Royal Caribbean and One NCL) that several other lines are only serving lobster in specialty restaurants (as NCL did on the one we just got off). What line(s) are you familiar with that supposedly server lobster every day? Just curious as I've never heard anyone say their lines do that.

Hi Kazu,

DW and I are on the 22 November 2020, Nieuw Statendam, 10 day southern seafarer. We are 2 star working on 3 stars. Looking forward to finally seeing the ABC islands!

thanks for this fun service you've been providing!!!

Cruiseguy56

21 hours ago, rtkenmore said:

 

When were the thermal spa pools saltwater?  Been sailing with NCL since 2011 and not once found a salt water pool.

Well then, Perhaps they never were?  Can only go by what the staff of the Breakaway spa told use on this cruise when we asked about the chlorine in the hydro pool. Of course, now that I'm thinking back on the cruise, we got some contradictory answers to questions about other things as well, not to mention more than a few blank stares in response to some questions. Perhaps NCL needs to do some remedial crew training on the Breakaway? Cruise on and enjoy!

20 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Funny, your post says you are in "Florida", but you've given a non-working link to the NCL site for South Africa 😲

Ah well, not being a veteran NCL cruiser, I did a quick google search to find out about the rooms. From google, the link works and regardless of the location of that site, I am in Florida. Yet another example of your being petty for no reason except to possibly make yourself feel self-important. How sad and goodbye.

20 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

NCL Escape has a Deluxe Owner's Suite (H2) category AND an Owner's Suite (H3) category.

NCL Joy has a Deluxe Owner's Suite (H2) category but does NOT have an Owner's Suite (H3) category.

 

If I made a post stating that I had a horrible cruise on Escape in the "3 Bedroom Garden Villa (H1)", it would be just as incorrect as the OP's cruise on Joy in the Owner's Suite....because Escape does not have a 3 bedroom Garden Villa.

One can split hairs about the difference in names of a DOS and an OS or one can consider that the OP being newer here may have simply referred to either as an owner suite. Not everyone is going to use the exact same acronyms as you or I. Likewise, not everyone is going to enjoy the same ship or even the same things about a ship. NOW, if the OP had posted about an H3, yes, that's a completely different creature.  Having seen several of the 5000+ clubs being so nasty to the OP about their not matching the SPECIFIC terminology of the 5000+ member, I can only hope that I never join the ranks of that 5000+ club.  The beauty of this forum in the many years I've been using it is the wealth of information available and the friendly nature of the posters, at least prior to this thread. Happy cruising.

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Which is not the same as NCL's OS.  Two different room categories.

 

And on Joy there would be two of the DOS, no OS.

One could split hairs about the difference between the DOS and the OS, or instead of being petty, one could consider that perhaps the DOS (which DOES have the words Owner Suite in it's name) is what the original poster is referring to as an Owner Suite since that is PART of the name. Not everyone who posts is going to use your exact terminology or use the abbreviations for every category of ship name and or room as you do. By the same token, not everyone is going to like the breakaway, just as YOU posted you didn't like it. Myself, DW and many of the folks on the May 19th sailing quite enjoyed it.

As for myself, I can only hop to not make it to the 5000+ club as I'm noticing from this thread that there are some very snarky people in that group. 

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Especially when Joy doesn't have an Owner's Suite. 

 

https://www.ncl.com/no/en/cruise-ship/the-haven

Funny, their website shows a haven deluxe owner's suite.

"This is a mental calculation I run when comparing the fares - will I get x value out of the free at sea perk, where x is the increased cost of the room that includes the perk."

That's what we do too. On our next cruise, we could pay $400 more per person and get 1 specialty dinner ($25 value) and the alcoholic drink package.  Neither of us drink alcohol, so the perks are really worthless and we choose the cheap rate without them.

We sailed the Breakaway out of Miami on the May 19, 2019 sailing. We saw NO ONE drinking in the thermal suite on any of our several visits each day. The ONLY problem we had with alcohol was while sitting in the atrium while they were doing one of their "game shows". Had someone walk past and he knocked two glasses of wine off a table and it went all over my jeans. Being a non-drinker, I wasn't thrilled with this, but I understand accidents happen. That aside, he could have at least had the decency to apologize to me and the people whose drinks he had just knocked over.

 As for the specialty restaurants, I had an amazing meal in Cagney's (no I did NOT order a steak). My wife's steak was equivalent to one you'd get from Golden Corral buffet, which isn't saying much for NCL's steakhouse specialty. While I had good seafood in Ocean Blue, the DW's lobster (supposedly grilled) came out a soggy mess soaking in water. I've NEVER seen a soaking wet "GRILLED" lobster, so despite the "chef's" personal assurance that it was only grilled, I suspect NCL steamed or boiled it first, then laid it on the grill for a few seconds.

Other annoyances:  We were somewhat shocked to find our balcony door curtains, majorly torn near the top in three places since the ship had undergone renovation not too long ago.

 The cabin door card reader didn't like our cards, even after we got new cards done, it would still take 3-4 tries before the reader would read one most of the time. Even a housekeeping officer walking by had trouble getting the cards to read, lol.

As for the thermal suite, was dissapointed that the hydrotherapy pool is no longer saltwater and minerals. It's no a lukewarm chlorinated pool with jets. While the jets are nice, the missing saltwater and mineral combo that has helped alleviate aches and pains on HAL was, pardon the pun, sorely missed. Although I realized before the cruise that the thermal tile lounges were in the same room as the hydropool on NCL, unlike HAL. I failed to think through the logic that there would be no peaceful quietness while laying on the heated lounges. That one is my mistake, although if you've ever experienced the difference between HAL and NCL in that regard, you may also find it to be poor planning on NCL's part as the total experience is SO much less satisfying and relaxing.  

 To be fair, I will say we had absolutely wonderful excursions and very decent food in Savor. I was also happy to find dal or masala or some form of Indian food on the buffet each day. I'm not Indian, but really love their food! 

While there's no such thing as a bad cruise to me, I'm already booked on HAL for my next one. NCL was interesting and I did like the freestyle overall, but our preferences just fall more in line with HAL.

Washy Washy!!

Ship - Breakaway

Deck - 14

Stateroom # - 14748

Stateroom Category – M9

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes, close to steps and elevators, but NEVER heard them

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions. Nice view of the sky, ocean and if you stand at the rail, of the decks below.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? -I would say UNDERSIZED. You have to sit the chair sideways on the balcony. Could not put the chair facing the ocean and have enough leg room to sit down in it, and NO, I'm not 7'3" or anything even close to that. The DW is 5'4" and couldn't face the ocean while seated in the chair. Greatly disappointing. We've never had that issue on HAL or RC.

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - n/a

Any specific problems with this cabin? - Despite the ships recent renovation, the balcony door curtain was majorly ripped in three locations close to the top. When we pointed this out to our cabin steward, someone came almost immediately to fix it. They thought they would do so there, but ended up taking it away to fix and then bring back (this was NOT a problem form our point of view). Sadly, when they came back, although it was fixed, the quality of the repair was underwhelming. Otherwise a wonderful cabin.

Any other comments? - Would take this cabin again

We are going on our first cruise to the Caribbeans. We will be going to Princess Cays (Bahamas), St Thomas

4) if you go snorkeling, where can we we safely keep our cellphones, wallets, ....

Thank you much. Feedback for us newbies would be great.

For St. Thomas, Take a taxi from the boat to Coki Beach (About a 25 minute ride). $9, per person (if you have a group of 4-5 you'll get a taxi right away. Lockers are available at the beach as well as showers/restroom. We wear shorts/t-shirts over our swimwear and put the clothes in the locker when we get there. Take Milk-bone dog biscuits with you and you can hand-feed the tropical fish by the rocks at either end of the beach. Just walk out in the water to about waist depth if you don't want to snorkel and hold a milk bone in the water. Stand still and in a minute you'll be surrounded by sergeant majors, parrot fish, surgeon fish, doctor fish, ribbon fish, and others. Have also seen dolphins swimming further out. Don't forget your waterproof camera for great pics/videos!! This is the same beach the boats charge $49 per person. to go to "coral world" at. IF you get right off the boat and get going, you'll be there for a couple hours before the beach starts to get busy. Wifey and I have been the ONLY people there for a couple hours each time we go. When ready to return to the boat or downtown to shop, just ask the rental people to call a taxi for you. They are happy to do so (especially if you rented a locker from them.) For $40 bucks (tipping the taxi plus the fare) round trip for two versus $49 for one, it's a great excursion. Enjoy your trip!!

My head is hurting I have spent that much time researching these cruises. I am looking at carnival cruises out of Miami in April. I have the option of the Eastern Caribbean on the Glory or the Southern on the Vista. The Vista is more expensive but I can' t decide which itinerary. Eastern is Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel. Southern is Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao and Aruba. Does anyone have any useful information on either the ships or ports that might help sway my decision? I love the idea of visiting Mayan Ruins but would prefer to be on a newer ship, that said I sailed on the Fascination last year and we had a good time. I'm just fed up now and can't come to a decision!

Do BOTH!!!

We were in Ochie a couple weeks ago. Like many others, walked about a mile from the ship to several shopping areas. No one hassled anyone. The locals were all very polite. We didn't find out about the Montego Bay happenings until after we got back or the DW would never have walked off the ship there and we would have missed a very nice Jamaican experience.