AllAmericanAmy

Keep in mind that often times the people that speak up and post reviews are unhappy with something... people that are pleased with experience just go happily on their way and intend to post a good review, but get sidetracked. 

Other people consider it their "duty" to point out bad things.

And lastly, you sound like a positive, optimistic type of a person pleased with YOUR experience with NCL thus far.  Go expecting that YOU are going to have an amazing trip, and I bet you will!

On 11/15/2018 at 11:09 PM, Kealy said:

Was it in the Main Dining room?  Did it require reservations?  Please tell us a bit more.

On NCL Star and NCL Dawn it was in LaCucina restaurant 1st day at sea late morning til 2pm or something.  Reservations recommended.  $15 per person.  AYCE mini buffet along with menu ordering.  Buffet items were classy and seemed nicer than the normal buffet fare.  Menu items were a combination of LaCucina meals and Le Bistro (these 2 restaurants "share" a kitchen so they picked a couple of dishes from each), along with eggs benedict and a couple other breakfast type dishes. 

We enjoyed the leisurely meal and great music.  Was hoping for same on Breakaway, but I'm thinking it's unlikely.

2 minutes ago, JillK said:

Even more specifically, the first three letters of those words.... 

thank you for taking pity on me!   Got it.  

I was using Internet Explorer browser where bold does not show up.  After posting my plea for help I went to Firefox and pulled up this discussion there .... voila!   Bold letters showing. 

29 minutes ago, chars said:

If you look closely the two words that start c have letters that are in bold face.  

Thank you!!

You're both awesome - appreciate the help!

Happy sailing...

On ‎11‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 7:31 AM, spacedaisy said:

 

Figuring out cruise availability is contingent on who is able to publish all the cabins available 

   I never thought of myself as stupid.  Maybe it's time to reconsider.  Banging my head on table now.  I have no idea what site you are referring to.  Nothing is in bold typeface.  Can someone help me out here?  Re-phrase it?  Something? I'm missing the boat somehow!

hey... don't judge me!  

Hi -

Hubby and I have enjoyed the Jazz Brunch on 7 day NCL Dawn Western Caribbean cruises in past years.  We're wondering if we should expect a Jazz Brunch option on our 1/6/19 Western Caribbean 11 night cruise on Breakaway?

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for any input...

Amy

1 hour ago, tomservo said:

Are there times of the year that are historically slower to ensure more available cabins?

Hi ...

The weeks I know about are:

        the week heelfan94 is cruising, Nov 25 (i.e. the Saturday/Sunday departures right after Thanksgiving)

        the week immediately AFTER the above described (i.e. the 1st full week of December)

        the week immediately after New Years Day (i.e. not ON New Years but right after)

That being said, I've often found good deals the 1st two full weeks of December, as well as the entire month of January can offer some pretty good deals.

I've heard the term "slump" week to describe these weeks.  Possibly other weeks of the year are similar and others will chime in.

11 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

We were booked in an IA for our SA cruise in Feb.  Then the sailaway rate came down to $500pp less than what we were paying so we re-booked.  Didn't have a cabin # for about a month, but then, ironically, got another IA cabin assigned.

 

At that time, there were plenty of balconies available and we were hoping to bid.  Now it says all balconies are sold out.  Our ship, the Sun, doesn't have a Haven.  The only bids the balconies have are minis and some suites.  Doesn't look good for us.  And I do not want to bid on an Oceanview and get stuck with a small porthole on deck 4.

Lots can change before Feb, keep hoping! People may be cancelling as they get near to the final deadline for that.   I'm thinking travel agents will soon be giving up their held inventory as it gets close to 90 day mark, won't they?  That can change things.    Best of luck... 

7 hours ago, dcipjr said:

AAA, I think you've got the ideal setup for a bid situation—if you win, you're happy, and if you don't, it's fine.

 

Watching inventory can help guide you to the right quantity to bid. Lots of cabins available? Bid lower. Only a few? Bid higher. 

 

I've only gone through the bidding process once, but I was successful. I took into account what I had paid already for my existing cabin, and researched other sail dates to get an idea of how cheap NCL would let my desired cabin go for. There were plenty cabins in my desired category available, so I bid the difference between my current cabin and what my desired cabin would go for on a "cheap" sailing. I got the upgrade!

 

 

Try to think like NCL and you'll help your chances! Good luck!

 

I absolutely LOVE your phrase "try to think like NCL and you'll help your chances".  Brilliant.   My husband and I were discussing that very thing and trying to figure out WHO gets the upgrade and WHY.  In a nutshell, NCL and their stockholders  care about ONE thing in the bidding process.... How Much Money Will YOU Pay For This Cabin.   Nothing else matters.  Not when you booked the cruise, how much you paid initially compared to Joe Cruiser that paid half the price you did - nothing else. This is ADDITIONAL revenue for them & money already collected is not relevant in any way. Just like a real live auction.... top bidder wins no matter what.  If I'll pay $350 for a balcony and Joe Cruiser offered $325 --- I win.   I'm sure if the bids are identical and only 1 cabin avail, then they might possibly have criteria they review such as Latitude Points, etc.  Very possible NOT though.  lol

And great advice to watch the # of cabins available (though we both know that is in constant flux as others get upgraded, etc).  It's a strong possible indicator of how strong bid needs to be.  Especially if MANY categories you are not interested in have a lot of availability showing lots of unsold rooms.  That's even better for us  :) 

4 hours ago, JJAuckland said:

I would love to receive an option to bid!  This will be my third cruise & I am yet to receive an offer to bid. I am not sure you receive an option to bid for an upgrade on each cruise, but if I am wrong..please let me know as, although I am happy with my current cabin on my up coming cruise (similar to how the OP will feel if they don't win a bid) I would love to "give it a go"

I believe I had read in other posts that everyone has the option to bid.  If you didn't get an email invite, log onto your NCL account and see if you can find it there.... assuming you're within 80 days of sailing date which is the earliest it opens up to bidding, I think.   I'm sure others will chime in with better info

13 hours ago, heelfan94 said:

For what it’s worth we are sailing on a slump week (Nov. 25) and we won our upgrade bid over a month out because the ship has so many available cabins.  We booked inside GTY and bid on ocean view and balcony and got the balcony.  Your reasoning seems sound.  Best of luck.

That's great to hear... and congratulations!  I'm thinking slump weeks are MADE for happy upgrade bidding... many other weeks not so much.   Did you bid lots for the upgrade?  Or did you submit a "poor" bid and got accepted?  I

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Upgrades from insides are a lot cheaper and easier to get. 

 

Oh Bird, you say the nicest things!  Music to my ears

And regarding the automation.... just THINK of the labor dollars they've saved!!!

7 minutes ago, Rafa said:

Nailed it! You are correct, as it was for me too, bidding is ideal for you in this case, now' the how much are you willing to bid' is the next question.

If only you knew how many pages I read to "nail it"  lol    So you've done the bidding and it worked out well?

Dunno how much I'll be willing to bid - depends on what I end up paying for my cheapie cabin  :)   Hubby and I talked about it and agree it might be kind of fun doing this .... seems like we might get a decent cabin on the cheap.

so I'm trying to figure this out.  Read thru some of the pages of the first (closed) post about upgrades and then thru some of the 2nd  post.  Trying to take it all in - I understand there are some folks happy with this concept, many not-so-happy, and quite a few confused.  lol   

Here's my situation... we are going to cruise on Breakaway 1/6/19 Western Caribbean from NOLA.  Need to keep this trip inexpensive, so have been planning to book an inside sail-away or whatever they call it where they pick the cabin (not concerned with location).  As of couple days ago they still have over 300 cabins not sold. I went thru every category and counted open cabins --- many categories show "15" cabin numbers which I realize means they have something in excess of 15 actual cabins, so very likely they are well in excess of 300 cabins unsold.  I plan to wait several weeks to actually book as I anticipate substantial price reductions for a couple of reasons:   I realize that the week we are cruising is considered a "slump" week in the industry since people are just finished with Holiday celebrations/expenses whatever.  I've also been watching pricing for 11/24/18 sailing with same itinerary/ship and their prices are substantially lower than 1/6/19 and both of these 2 sailings are notoriously slow weeks for cruising and good bargains to be had. The 11/24 sailing still has many cabins avail too and continue to reduce prices (didn't add them up, but several categories showing 15+ avail).  Yes, I realize that by waiting it could backfire and prices could go up... I feel it's kind of unlikely, but could happen.  I'm going either way!

Seems like the bidding situation is ideal for someone like me.... happy to take the cheapest cabin anywhere on ship since I'm seldom in it and I won't be traumatized if I don't get a bid on better cabin category accepted.  Once I book my cheap cabin I can put in a low bid for a balcony and maybe get it, maybe not.  Either way I'll have a good trip.

Seems like the other scenario where bidding is a good plan is someone that is booked into a suite and is hoping to score a Haven cabin.  That person is happy with the suite they booked and if they get the upgrade to Haven wooohooooo.  If not, they're still going to be happy.

The people that are gambling the most with this bidding stuff are the people that have specific cabins booked for a particular reason (avoiding noisy area of ship, lower deck preferred for less motion, needing connecting cabins, etc).  They give up their carefully chosen cabin and roll the dice and may find themselves in a location they definitely didn't want, paid more for it and didn't gain any additional perks.

Whatcha think?   Am I on the right track here?

Counting down....

Amy

Not sure if you still want to know about Nohach Kay, but we went there a few years back.  At that time you could book the all inclusive (which we did) and we definitely also saw many people stroll up and enjoy lunch at the restaurant, have a drink on the beach if lounge chairs were open, then stroll off.  They seemed to do a decent business with non-cruise folks so I can't believe they'd close that option down.  I would imagine it is the same today --- definitely Tropicante is a good choice for a non-all inclusive stop too. 

Hi all -

Dec 2015 was my 3rd visit to Roatan on a cruise and 3rd time using Victor Bodden private tour service. I have had 3 different guides.

1st = Frankie we enjoyed this guide... very laid back & accommodating. We requested him for our 2nd visit, but the dates got messed up, so...

2nd = sorry... don't remember his name. Was not overly impressed (it was NOT one of the guides names mentioned on this board frequently)

3rd = Tex and this is BY FAR my top recommendation. I will DEFINITELY continue to request TEX when we go here (and we WILL be back - it's my favorite port in the Carribean).

HEAR ME NOW... At the end of the day I was talking with Tex and said I assume he is booked every time there is a ship in port, since his name is "legendary on this forum and another trip review website. He shook his head "NO" and said, unfortunately, he DOES NOT often have requests put in for him and many times a ship is in port he is without work. I was like "HUH????". How can THAT be? Then I realized maybe people assumed what I did - I read tons of postings about how GOOD Tex is as a guide and how far ahead some people book/request him, so when I contacted Victor 3 MONTHS before sailing, I assumed Tex was booked. Victor's response to me was "Tex is avail and I'd be glad to assign him as your guide for the day". I said YES PLEASE!

So, if you are using Victor's services and have read about a driver you'd like to have assigned to you .... REQUEST IT VIA EMAIL with Victor NOW. Don't assume Tex (or another favorite) is booked! As for ME and my family - it'll always be TEX --- ASK FOR HIM!

I was one of the people disembarking on 12/6. NOT a suite guest, so I can't speak to how well informed by NCL they were. Just a regular passenger here!

Yes, seas were rough on Saturday but We were docked by 7:30 (so not late). We were informed Saturday night to expect to disembark beginning around 9am after cleared by customs. Sunday morning we were told repeatedly over the loudspeaker that customs was NOT going to have us cleared until at least 9 am and PLEASE wait on deck 12 and enjoy a cup of coffee until your group is cleared. This was announced many many many times over and over. Got kind of funny cuz we were thinking "how much coffee can people drink". Little knowing many many many people ignored the announcements and were lined up on deck 7 to get off ship quickly. There must have been close to 1000 people crammed all OVER deck 7. And they waited. and waited. and waited beginning around 7:30. Must have been miserable time.

My family and I waited on deck 12 in Garden Café then relocated to the library where it was nice and quiet and we could hear the announcements clearly. While sitting in library, Andre the cruise director popped in for something and was very frustrated by the delay in disembarking. The hold up is CUSTOMS bringing the drug/explosive dogs on board and searching cargo holds, crew quarters, etc before clearing us. Andre said in Los Angeles they have even been running the dogs thru the passenger quarters before allowing disembarkation to begin.

FYI: 1st group of passengers began disembarking around 9:15 - 9:30. we walked off the ship around 12:30 and there were still a few hundred passengers behind us.

Happy sailing all!

OP: I'm going to tell you this in confidence... don't pass it on! Deck 12 inside cabins are the BEST. You probably know they are new(er) cabins due to renovation of a former club space into suites and inside cabins. But IMHO they ROCK because of the location... you are on same deck as the pool and buffet. there is also the library just down the hall from you, so if you want to kick back and have some more quiet time space and not be in the inside cabin, go to the library and relax (usually pretty empty). Stroll down the hallway to the outside dining area by the pool. Or hop the elevator up one deck for a (usually) pretty empty public restroom (if there are 4 people sharing cabin this can be handy). One deck up via short elevator ride also has quiet deck chairs to enjoy... almost like a balcony cabin (may be an exaggeration on my part!).

Anyway - good choice for an inside! :D I think if you went on an Alaskan cruise the balcony would be important. Port intensive cruises, inside just fine for us!

Happy sailing!

Amy

Yes - there will be things for her to see. Every time I have been there, I wade in knee deep and begin monkeying with getting my mask and fins on. Look down and there are fishys swimming round and round my legs.

This is what I did when my boys were young and we went snorkeling (anywhere)... get a cheapie blow-up float ring (pool toy). Dollar Store sells them. Easy to pack with you and at the beach, blow it up. When snorkeling I had my kids hold the ring in front of them while lying face down in water. I would put MY hand over TOP of their hand so we both held the ring. In doing this, I was free to relax and enjoy the snorkeling while KNOWING my child was with me and nobody was drifting away or getting separated, etc. Many times I would have one kid on my right side and other kid on my left side with me placing hand over top of one of each of their hands and off we'd go.

Does that make ANY sense to ANYONE but me? lol

It's an incredible place for kids - you'll have a great time!:D

Remoulade on a fried shrimp po' boy????? That was how I originally had one many years ago in NOLA. Came home and replicated the remoulade and have made them for years in Michigan for family (with poor French bread :()

I LOVE me some good remoulade!

Thanks for the review! Great info on the affordable fishing and getting to EAT what you caught! Might have to give that a try! :D

thanks for the update! Appreciate you taking the time!

Credit card bonus/points you say??? They ROCK !!! But are ONLY for people with great credit AND very disciplined people that will pay off their credit card EVERY month and NEVER carry ANY balance or pay any late fees. This "hobby" is ONLY for people AFRAID of credit cards (they are dangerous things to have, as many people can testify to - easy to "get in over your head").

There are many, many blogs devoted to this very topic and there are many things to consider before getting a credit card based on the bonus/benefits you will receive.

Currently (Aug 2015) I would HIGHLY recommend anyone that does not have a DISCOVER IT card, get one. For an entire 12 months after getting the card, They are doubling your cash back on EVERY purchase and EVERY time you use their shopping portal. They have quarterly 5% bonus categories (this quarter was dunno, dunno and home improvement stores. I maxed out the $1500 in home improvement stores (meaning I will get $75 cash back NOW and another $75 cash back when the 12 month period ends). ADDITIONALLY, I used the Discover shopping portal to make my home improvement store purchases (whenever at all possible) and buying thru Home Depot website via Discover portal they offer 5% cash back. So that means I receive an ADDITIONAL $150 (75 now, 75 at end of 12 months). That is a $300 discount on things I had to purchase anyway, and I just let the $$$ accumulate in my Discover account and use it as one big down payment on a cruise (or whatever).

Another favorite of mine was the Marriott credit card. 2 years ago we spent a week in Tampa staying at Residence Inn prior to our one week cruise on NCL. The hotel stay cost me.... not a dime.

This year we cruise out of New Orleans. I am staying 2 nights at the Country Inn and Suites, French Quarter.... free. When we get back into town I will be staying one night at the Hyatt French Quarter.... free.

What about my airfare you ask?? Southwest Airlines credit card = FREE for hubby and I. (I earned the famous Companion Pass in April 2014 so everywhere I fly during 2014 and 2015 hubby goes with me FOR FREE .... even when I use my points to fly FREE).

I'll stop now. But start reading some travel blogs IF you have great credit and PROMISE to NEVER carry a balance on your credit card (paying interest DEFEATS the purpose of this little "hobby" of mine and means you end up PAYING more in interest than you get for "Free". It's ONLY free if you do it right. And yes, I am often willing to pay the annual fee on the credit card when the benefits out weigh the fee (ie: Southwest Airlines $69 annual fee yielded 5 round trip flights for me and 5 for hubby. That works).

Happy travels all....

Amy

Hi Guest 2000....

I'm awaiting an email response from Bananarama re: lounge chair rental. Thanks for the idea! I had checked out their site but it only mentions their "we pick you up" option. We have hired a driver with Victor Bodden and I know they sometimes can get people better "rates" than if contacting resort directly, so we'll be sure to check with our driver too.

As far as the access road goes, I remember you and others saying it was owned by Paradise... was just hoping for current info and making sure nothing had changed regarding beach access. Possibly someone that has been there in the last couple of months will know for sure.

Happy travels....

Amy

Anyone have current info on whether we can still stroll past the "guard" booth in the alley next to Bananarama and access the public beach for free? I imagine the answer is "yes"... but never hurts to ask!!:p

Anyone know if Bananarama still has chaise lounge rental avail if we decide we need it for $10 pp including restroom facility usage? NOT looking for their option including transportation --- just the lounge usage.

Thanks for any info!

Blessings all -

Amy

Hubs also has a slight fear of "the big blue" and can get some vertigo if things seem too high. Is the Nemo drop off a frightening spot for a person like this? What kinds of "big" fish are out there?

Ummmmm, I'd say "yes it can be frightening for someone like that". I have been there twice and had an INCREDIBLE time snorkeling (in part thanks to Guest 2000 for the info a couple years ago!! ;) ). Both times I did snorkel out to "the wall". It is amazing. Shocking. Overwhelming. Incredible. Can't wait to go again even though it takes my breath away.

I have snorkeled on a couple of "boat trips" where you go out in the ocean and jump off a perfectly good boat into the open water. That is a different kind of feeling. I think the reef off the beach lulls you and reassures you because you can see the bottom, then WHAM there is nothing below you (well, there is but you can't SEE it).

As far as "big fish" go.... there are amazing amounts of fishes over the reef. When I first snorkeled there I thought "omg I am IN a Nat Geo documentary". It seemed unreal to me. Schools of 50, 100 or more fishys swimming right by me. I saw turtles and my son saw rays.

Bigger than that? I confess I am TERRIFIED of sharks. Overwhelmingly petrified. I have not seen one while snorkeling.... anywhere. And that is how I like it! lol When I swim out over "the wall" I have not seen ANYTHING swimming out there with me (again - that's FINE with me). I admit I do NOT linger in the deep blue... I scoot right back over the reef for the wonderful "false sense of security".

My most recent trip there was 2 years ago. At that time there were "guides" in kayaks that would help you find your way around the reef. When my youngest son and I went out to the wall, he kinda freaked out and wanted to head immediately back to shore. The kid on the kayak could tell my son was uneasy and offered him a "lift" back to shore. Lickety splity up my son went (I think he levitated out of the water onto the kayak) and off they went! I made sure to tip him well for the ride! If these guides are still there, you can probably pay someone to hang with your hubby as a comfort measure for a bit. Just an idea.

Anyway... have an awesome time! And be safe...

Amy