R<3M2012

I am not the kind of person who really likes change. We want to do Alaska cruise in 2020 and I've been looking at NCL. (Carnival hasn't listed Alaska yet) ncl has a special right now where you can get the drinks for free and $50 a day towards excursions. Looking at carnivals 2019 rates for a balcony room is pretty comparable even with the extras . Not sure why I want to stick with carnival for this cruise other than getting closer to platinum, and I'm curious where people will say on this board. all of our cruises have been on Carnival, and we live close enough to Seattle so will actually be able to drive, which will make it nice. I guess I'm really not sure what I'm asking other than any input someone might have. ( or to be convinced to just book with NCL)

I pick my cruises by,

#1 date/itinerary (is it sailing around my Bday or Anniversary etc, is it going to someplace new and different)

#2 Price (best bang for my buck, any perks included?)

BTW NCL “free” drinks is not really free you still have to pay gratuities on the package and it does not included bottle water or specialty coffee. However unlike Carnival there’s not a per day maximum drink limit.

I like cruising different lines instead of sticking with one. Change of shows, atmosphere, ships, food etc. they all have there strengths and weaknesses.

Best thing you can do is book NCL since there deposit are only $50pp for inside to mini-suite. Lock in the price and perks. Wait till the other cruise lines post there itinerary and make your decision then since NCL deposit is refundable.

Are premium waters such as San Pellegrino or Evian included in the refreshment package? What about Ginger Beer (which is nonalcoholic)

Ginger beer is included. Was able to get the whole can since is not a fountain drink. Had Gosling Ginger Beer on Adventure of the Seas, and my last sailing on the Grandeur I had Gosling and Fever-Tree (my favorite as its much stronger than Gosling IMO).

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Does anyone know if there’s going to be a thalassotherapy pool in the spa? I don’t see it on the deck plans.

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Dates

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Hello, I am also on the June 10th sailing. Today I went to make my daughters reservation

because they were having the deposit sale, and I couldn't find cruise. I called my TA at Carnival

she said that the sale will end on Tuesday and that they had gotten an email that the reservations for

the Triumph will be released after 3 days. She got the email Friday. So she promised me that Monday

when she gets in she will call me an make my daughters reservation. Lets see how that goes.

 

Two years ago something similar like that happened and when cruise was back up they had changed

the whole itinerary. Hope they don't cancel anything about this cruise. Lets see what Monday brings.

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It must have been my lucky day. I was in a 4J on 9 for the 6/10/19 sailing. I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago....cabin was being decommissioned and they upgraded me to a balcony on the lido.

 

 

 

I know when I booked I got the last 4J....so they had nowhere to put me but "up".

Awww man lucky you!

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That's very interesting. I wonder what is being done to them.

 

Did you get the same type cabin on deck 7?

Yes they moved me to same type of cabin. But the deck 7 4J cabins are just regular sized cabins. The deck 9 4J had a more of a square shape which makes the room feel bigger.

My booking for July 10 out of NYC is gone too. I called and the rep had no clue why and just said try calling back Monday. Also, a few days ago Carnival moved my deck 9, 4J inside with oceanview room without notifying me to deck 7. When I called they said that the rooms were no longer going to be there after Dry Dock.

Thinking of trying a Swedish massage in the spa this cruise. Anyone had one and if so was it worth the $89 plus tip charge?

I booked the Swedish massage on Anthem of the Seas this past March. Keep in mind the $89 is usually the price for embarkation day or port day. I had my massage done on the 1st sea day at 8am for $109 which is less expensive than say for example a 10am or 3pm time. They will give you a form to fill out, on there I wrote "No product sell please here to relax and enjoy. Thank you." and it worked!

The massage was great!

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Wait till you get on Anthem to see how much better an O3B equipped ship's internet works - even on SURF alone.

Great to hear. I'll be on Anthem in March.

Did you do any speed tests?

No test was done

I was on the Grandeur from July 7 to 16 and never had a problem using FaceTime, wifi calls and text, and checking my emails. On two nights we even watched Netflix with no problem. The only slight annoyance was having to toggle between different devices since I only purchased the package for one.

I Purchased the surf and stream package.

Hi people,

 

How do I find out if i am to pay 18% on booze and dining promo as I did not think to print the T&C

 

We booked the cruises in August last year, and sail November this year.

 

I am in a suite on the star doing 3 b2b and did get the all 4 promo.

 

Anyway to find old T&C or can anyone shed some light on it for me please

 

Promo. Code listed on confirmation is CHOBDIS

 

Thanks for any assistance you might be able to give.

 

Cheers. Mark

Call NCL or your TA and ask them to send you an amenity invoice. It will list everything under that promo code as well as any other perks you may have.

For those who are handy you can hack your spinning luggage. I purchased 2, 28inch spinning suitcases from ebags. After our first cruise the spinners lost its bearings. I didn't want to throw the luggage away because I loved the unique color and pattern which made them super easy to spot. So my dad went to Home Depot purchased some dolly wheels and fitted them onto the luggage. 5 years and a ton of cruises, train travel and land vacations later my luggage is still spinning, it easily glides over any surface.

Take a taxi so much easier. Like the others have said without bags its no problem. But with bags, it's a long hike pulling them through traffic on uneven surfaces all the while trying not to run other pedestrians over with your suitcase. Then you can add the weather factor in, if your cruise is in the summer NYC can be really hot and stuffy, imagine how sweaty you'll be by the time you arrive to the cruise terminal. Lol. To the contrary in the winter it's really nippy and the wind that funnels in between the buildings is wicked. By the time you arrive to the terminal your hand will be frozen solid to the suitcase handle. Lol

So spend the $10-$15 bucks for a taxi/uber to the terminal. You can even save a few bucks and have them drop you off across the street from the terminal, that way you won't rack up the price while waiting for the light at the ramp up to the terminal to change. I swear it's a minimum of 6lights before you get through.

Enjoy your cruise!

Can anyone confirm if the fun shops are open!? And newly stocked already

The fun shops are open...However, The Green Thunder is closed down for the entire duration of our cruise.

Don't bother showing up till 3pm the police wont let you in to park so we went down the road doubled parked and will stay till someone tells us to move. Its too cold out to walk around the inner harbor. We already went to walmart to kill time and ate lunch at Dennys.

Can someone tell me where I can find luggage tags in the vacation summary? I completed the online check in but have not printed e-docs. Is this where I will find them? Thanks in advance.

In your e-docs you'll see a little symbol of a suitcase and it will say print luggage tags. I laminate my tags and secure them with plastic ties.

I have been natural for over 10years my hair when stretched is about 6 inches past shoulder, when curly my hair sits on my shoulders.

If it want to wear my hair out curly I use kinky curly on my hair directly and mix water, Shea Moisture leave in conditioner, kinky curly hair gloss is a spray bottle and spray as needed to refresh hair. I use Carols Daughter Black Vanilla Edge Control to slick down my edges or flyaways. I bring my big tooth comb, paddle brush, soft brush, toothbrush (for edges). Lots of clips, Bobby pins, head bands and decorative scarfs.

I've also two strand twisted my on hair down flat (like cornrows, but it doesn't grab edges as tightly) into a side or center bun. To make the bun seem fuller I use a "bun maker" (nothing but a extra big scrunchii) to use as a base and bobby pin the hair down and around it.

I've wore wigs (lace) plenty of times when I was feeling lazy and or wanted a new look.

And on a few occasions my hair was pressed out for a cruise. Now letting it hang down long and straight in all its glory lasted all of about 5minutes with the heat, humidity and water spray from the ocean. I literally saw my hair shrinking up fast. So I blow it out and pressed it once more and place the hair into a low side bun with a "swoop" bang in the front and I used John Frieda Frizz Ease Ultra Hold Hair Spray and that stuff works miracles. I could have probably been in a hurricane and my hair wouldn't have moved or frizzed up. I was able to keep the same hair style for a whole 7 day cruise just spraying once a day. Mind you it didn't get my hair completely wet but it did get in the whirlpool, sauna and went to the gym and the hair held up.

For my next cruise I'll probably two strand twist it into some sort of an up do.

Hey all! I'm wondering if any of you ladies have worn a wig on a cruise before. How was your experience? I went through chemo earlier this year, and my hair is at a point in it's regrowth that I absolutely hate. I like wearing a wig out with friends and to events, and I plan on wearing one most of the time on the ship if I can. I know it can get windy on deck though, so I'm a little worried about that.

I've wore wigs plenty of times. If your worrying about the wind you can add an elastic band for an extra secure hold. (YouTube it there are plenty of how to videos) you can also purchase a lace front or whole lace wig (very natural looking) and use adhesive or tape to secure it to your scalp. You can do it yourself or you can go to the salon and have them apply the adhesive. It very easy and it usually doesn't affect your hairline during removal if you go slow and easy and use the proper removal solutions.

To combat the uncomfortable heat and humidity make sure you purchase human hair wig and a length and style that's comfortable to you. You can blow dry it, wash it, put products (gels, hair spray). Heck you can even dye it fire red if you want. I would just stay out of the pool if you are using the glue or tape method to secure the wig to your hair.

If you have enough of your own hair make sure you braid in down usually cornrows, moisturize your scalp and place a skin tone wig cap on your head. That way when you have your lace wig and want to part it or style it a certain way it looks as if it's your scalp.

Enjoy your cruise!

If you contact the Accessibility Assistance Department 1-866-584-9756 they can make the arrangements for you and a large bottle of water will be waiting for you in the cabin as well as a letter from the Access Officer. If the water is not there just give the Access Officer a call. In the case of neither being in the cabin then just contact the front desk and they will be able to get it all straightened out for your aunt.

 

Important to note that it is highly recommended to bring your own extension cord, a small one should do. These cords can be in limited supply on the ship and your aunt does not want to be faced with not being able to connect her CPAP.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Rochelle

It sure does help thank you!

I have found that most NCL phone reps are incompetent. There are a few competent ones within the bunch, but it's impossible to figure out who is and who isn't, because they all answer you with such authority and quickness.

 

But you'd be surprised at all of the ridiculous things I've been told when I've called to ask questions, which turn out to be completely false.

 

Two days prior to my first NCL cruise in 2013, I was confused about the "bring your own soda onboard" policy, as I didn't know if there was a "checked bags" limit for NCL, and if soda boxes would count as bags. So I called NCL and a rep told me that she was "certain" you are allowed to only bring one case of soda or water at a time. She then said that you were allowed to repeatedly get on and off the ship, bringing one each time, but that's what I had to do if I wanted to get more than one onboard.

 

This seemed ridiculous, and I asked to speak to her supervisor. After 15 minutes waiting on hold (!!), she came back and said told me that she checked with her supervisor, who "verified" what she told me. I asked why I wasn't transferred to that supervisor as I asked, and was told that he was "busy". When I asked to be transferred anyway, I was put on hold and she didn't return.

 

When I spoke to a manager the next day, I was told that there were no supervisors at that office at that time, and that the rep had simply lied about checking with one. They pulled the recording of the call and told me that they were very sorry about what happened, and that indeed I had been lied to and purposely left on hold for long periods of time on purpose.

 

In reality, you are allowed to bring on as much soda as you want, and they will check it for you the same way they check bags.

 

They gave me a free "birthday" package for my wife as compensation for this mess.

 

And just in case you think this was a one time gaffe, last year I had issues getting the website to print my eDocs (kept saying they weren't ready, even a few days before sailing), and I had to go through 5 different reps before I got one who gave me the correct answer and fixed the problem. Everyone else gave me their best guess which they pretended was what they knew for sure, and had I taken their advice, the eDocs never would have been ready. When I questioned these answers, I was treated like a jerk for not believing them.

 

Bottom line: Independently verify everything NCL phone reps tell you.

Oh geez. All these stories I'm going to need to double and triple check things in regards to my own booking. Traveling with family in December and one of the uses cpap machine in which needs distilled water to operate. Aunt happy that she doesn't have to pack the water with her. I was informed that NCL will provide the water but the rep couldn't give me more info on if we request it from room steward once we board or will it be in the room waiting for us? Can anyone on here shead some light on how it works?

I would love to work for RCCL now that I am retired! I don't live in Miami or where any of their call centers are so I guess not.:( Would be fun as a part time job.

When I retire and if I lived near one or could work from home I'll totally do this also.

Most/many call centers now use home agents, no requirement to work in the office. A case in point, the famous Kathy that pops up on the NCL site asking if you would like some help, are all/almost all home agents. Many are members here. I tested at one time and did just fine, but decided against it.

Most call centers are pretty stressful jobs. They want a lot and offer little. Someone is always watching and measuring.

Not to change subject or hijack but speaking of pop ups the I find the pop up (the one that ask you to sign up for emails) that comes up right before you select your sail date very annoying.

I checked into doing that too but decided against it. Didn't want people calling me Kathy.:o

Hey KATHY! lolol