mscloyd

So much to see and do in Alaska you could easily find many things to do no matter how many days you fly in early.

No sure about evening but we walked over to Bayside Marketplace first thing the morning of our cruise in 2020 and got tickets for a boat tour of the millionaires homes. It was really nice. Had breakfast on the water while waiting for the boat. Still got to the ship around noonish.

Don't miss Glacier Bay! It is the Quintessential Alaska postcard. The one where you see a cruiseship floating amidst several large glaciers. For a first-time Alaska trip I would definitely make sure to include it.  And while I'm at it, if you can book a one-way and spend a few days seeing Denali National Park and Kenai Fjords National Park you will not regret it!  Now that is the real Alaska! (I cruised in 2004 with a short land tour and dreamed about it for years so went back in 2021 for 10-days land only!).

They have done the same thing on other itineraries elsewhere.  The March 11 NCL Joy Western Caribbean just cancelled their stop in Roatan and substituted Bimini.  Citing the same message above. And it was just announced a few days before the cruise. Nothing you can do about that. I get that they want to be as eco friendly as possible, but people are not going to be happy if they get the reputation for changing itineraries all the time after final payment!

On 2/1/2023 at 4:52 PM, notes4theheart said:

Hi all, 

 

7 years ago, I purchased 2 necklaces in Roatan, at the “View” which is a craft market. Victor Borden took us here on the fun and sun tour (it might have been a request from someone else on tour).

 

I purchased a white and blue shell necklace with matching earrings and a multicolored jade necklace (rectangular beads).

 

Recently, the shell necklace was accidentally broken when it fell from my jewelry box. I would love another one, and would cheerfully pay 3 times the cost it plus shipping if anyone found it. 

if anyone would be willing to look and purchase, I would be forever great full.

 

I would also love another of the jade necklaces but it’s not a high priority.

 

thanks!

I will be there next month and will keep my eye out for it.

I used our free minutes to make calls and text through Whatsapp also. Whatsapp is easy, you download it ahead of time, invite the people you want to keep in contact with so they can download the app also. Then when you want to make a call, log onto your free wifi and open the app and either call or text those people.  You can't call people who don't use Whatsapp.  I didn't try the wifi calling, but have used it when I was in foreign countries and used the hotel wifi and it worked fine.  In theory I don't see any reason it wouldn't work. But I will tell you that the free wifi on the ship wasn't as reliable as say a hotel wifi. Even using whatsapp, sometimes the call wouldn't go through or I would have to call 2-3 times to finish a conversation. Most of the time it was fine though for a few minutes conversation. If you must have reliable phone service I would check your phone company to see if they offer anything and then check with the cruiseline to see if your ship offers the newer Starlink wifi. I know a lot of people travel and pay a lot of money to have streaming capabilities so they will have more reliable service.

On 1/2/2023 at 10:09 PM, UnbridledEnthusiasm said:

I meant $50,000,000 dollars everyone. I apologize for the confusion. 

Spit out my coffee laughing out loud.

Wow I read through the boards quite a bit and had never read this which is why I shared it. I waited up until midnight on Christmas Day to book only to find it unavailable. My bad...

Just sharing information here. I kept reading that you could pre-book entertainment at 90 days but it still wasn't available. I called NCL and was told that they stopped Pre-Booking during covid and have not resumed it.

Thank you! I didn't think there would be a problem getting one to go back to the port but wasn't sure about going somewhere else.

We have booked Mr. Sancho AI in March 2023. Had hoped to book a dolphin excursion in Roatan but it isn't going to work out so now want to add that in Cozumel. Dolphinarus doesn't show anything available yet and also doesn't have the experience that we are looking for so our only option is Chankanaab. Ship docks at 8 so we would take a taxi and should be able to make the 10:00 dolphin experience. Would spend a little time checking out Chankanaab and will then need to get to Mr. Sancho. Will we have any problems finding a taxi to take us in the middle of the day?

In 2020 we ate at Cagneys (I rate that #1 of the 3), Teppanyaki (#2 - fun but not really unlike what we can easiely and fairly inexpensively have at home), and Moderno (my #3 - have eaten at 2 Brazilian BBQ places before and it was a disappointment in comparison).  This was all on the Escape.

For our upcoming trip will definitely go to Cagneys but haven't decided on our second one.  Everyone seems to rave about Le Bistro but I don't really enjoy french foods and don't like much seafood so probably won't choose that one.

When NCL first removed their testing requirements to cruise there was still a country requirement to be tested for Honduras. But now that has also been removed so I don't believe there are any requirements. But the Honduras websites still say that vaccines and/or testing is required to enter.  Maybe just slow to update?

28 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

When you upgrade with points it’s not like bidding on an upgrade where they assign your cabin, this way you choose your own stateroom.  But you can only upgrade to a BA, you can’t go for club balconies or suites.  Enjoy your cruise.  BTW, I noticed the card now offers 25,000 points.  They go back and forth between that and 20,000.

Good to know! We are already in a BB on deck 11 so could upgrade to a BA if there were connecting cabins available. I will definitely check into it.

I booked in January 2022 for a March 2023 cruise. Between January and May 2022 I found 7 price reductions! Each time was between $100‐$200 per cabin (we have 2 cabins). This promo is still higher.  Guess it depends on when you booked. My final payment coming up soon but I will keep watching...

14 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Mscloyd, we have found that using points for cabin upgrades is the best way to maximize bang for the buck.  That may not interest you, but if you haven’t looked into it closel, you might check it out. Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks but I have booked connecting balcony cabins that would be pretty difficult to upgrade. I always book the cabin I want and then watch for price reductions along the way so got a really sweet deal (6 price reductions). If I had know about this card earlier I might have tried that but will keep that in mind if we decide to book another cruise again anytime soon. At least I know i have the option and can wait and request the account credit anytime and not have to use it for this cruise as an onboard credit! 

Thank you! I would rather just get a statement credit as opposed to having to mess with the timing of requesting a cruise certificate for onboard credit.

Sorry if this has been asked already. I'm looking at the current Mastercard ad and it gives several options for using your points but they all say "this is a cruise only offer" and does not have an option for a credit on the card. I have final payment in 3 weeks and was considering opening a card to pay my final payment. I have read through the comments and had decided to request an account credit as opposed to an onboard credit but that doesn't appear to be an option. Does anyone know if this is correct? We aren't frequent cruisers so a credit is our best option. And do I need to request a certificate for that?

https://www.ncl.com/world-points/terms

We are leaving on the 3/25 sailing.  Woo hoo! It has been 3 years and several cancellations and finally (fingers crossed) going to go. We had a couple unvaccinated family members so kept having to bump it out.

Sure wish I had seen this offer before it expired (if it was even available on my Amex card).  I have final payment coming up in a month.  Dang that would have been nice.  Doubt there is much chance they will offer it again anytime soon.

Yes, it was just removed.

Once the certificates are applied you can no longer see them. If you email cruisenext@ncl.com and give them your name and certificaate numbers they will get back with you with the expiration date.

NJsmom, that is so true.  We actually went to Eielson about 2 weeks before it was closed in 2021 so we were so lucky! That trip we also had a day that we drove into the park ourselves, too.  I don't know if we just got lucky or what but we saw so much wildlife in that first few miles!  Tons of moose and caibou!  It was so exciting to stop the car and get out and watch (from a safe distance).

After re-reading your post I realized you were talking about FCC rather than certificates. Sorry, but I don't know much about FCC. That would be a lot to lose!

NCL extended some cruise certificates. When were they purchased? I'm thinking if yours expire this year that they might have fallen in that extension perdiod. I have the information at home and will try to post it later tonight.