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mcmomny

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  • Posts

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About Me

  • Location
    Upstate New York, outside of Rochester
  • Interests
    gardening, traveling
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    NCL
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Europe

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. So I looked at my notes from our trip in August and the excursions we took are still listed on NCL website if you search the excursions tab, so maybe they just aren't linked to your cruise date just yet? Maybe call NCL and see if they can book them for you? We did these five excursions "Magnificent Ephesus" "Classical Istanbul" "Exploring Rhodes Religious Past" "Scenic View of Mykonos" "Charming Oia and Winery" Hope this helps! On a side note, make sure to be on the top deck of the ship as you cruise the Bosphorus Strait and under the Bosphorus Bridge! Super cool! Once at around 1 am and again when leaving Istanbul before dinner!
  2. I know that our tours were posted much closer to the cruise as at the time we were sailing Greece was having those terrible fires and extreme heat problems. Classical Istanbul we booked as soon as we saw it available as it has always been one of my husbands bucket list to see Hagia Sophia. I have noticed that NCL since Covid doesn't seem to have a lot of excursions posted all at once, they seem to trickle in. So you have to look often and book fast before they fill up. In 2023 we wanted a certain excursion to St John so we could hike the National Park but it was sold and and a few days before we sailed they posted another one so we were able to go! There are no excursions at all for our booked Africa cruise in January which makes us wonder if this could become a problem as we really would prefer to use NCL excursions but if they don't have anything we want than it might be too late for us to find private excursions. I do find it difficult sometimes to book a cruise when you have no ideas about what kind of excursions they will offer!
  3. We did "Classical Istanbul", yes pricey but very worth it. This was our most expensive NCL excursion on this trip. Bus to get to a few different locations but than a walking guided tour in the heart of the city, about 2 miles of walking on and off. Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar plus our guide also pointed out many other things along the way, either on the bus or walking. FYI, women must cover their heads in the Mosque and no bare knees for men or woman. Tour included an excellent Turkish lunch! Matter of fact all of the tours we did with NCL included a snack break of local food and wines or lunch if it was an all day tour. Again we were there in the summer which is the height of tourism for Europe and it was packed! And hot! But worth it! If you are starting in Athens try to go a few days early as Athens was amazing, crowded but amazing!
  4. We were on The Jade last August and had purchased the FAS Plus package so we had $100 per excursion savings plus our Latitude discount so we opted to use only NCL excursions where in the past we have booked privately. We were in Greece when it was 100 plus degrees so we basically booked the cheapest excursion as they would provide transportation so some of our excursions ended up being free due to our $100 port excursion costs Our tour guide for Ephesus was fantastic and we felt we had plenty of time even thou it was a short stop! Istanbul, our guide was great and kept us moving so we could see all the major sights and when we were given free time to shop the market we asked her for advice to go somewhere for a drink and snack she she pointed us in the right direction for a great experience! Santorini, we also booked NCL so we could avoid the cable car lines up as they tender you to the old port where the buses are, nice scenic drive and a nice stop at a winery before being dropped at Oia where we walked around and took the cable car down. We lucked out with no lines but we heard other complain later about the long lines. Rhodes, because all that was left was The religious history tour we booked for the transportation but boy this was the high light of all of our tours! Our guide was great and we learned so much history and really were glad we had booked this excursion! Mykonos, again a bus ride to tour the island but we also had free time so worked out great. Each port we had enough free time to sit at a scenic cafe for a cold beverage and snack and watch the world go by! Our favorite part of travel!
  5. We are also taking this cruise, the 4 day one this summer with son, daughter in law and grandkids in two connecting regular cabins so very interested in following your review! Excited about the private Island!
  6. Good morning Birdie16! I was born and raised in Tucson! Still have family there and return several times a year to check on my mom! With the 'Free at Sea" program everyone gets specialty dining now so making reservations prior to sailing is very important! Depending on your status depends on when you can do this, typically 120 days before sailing. You can even make reservations for the MDR's on line! There will be shows, not sure what they are on the Breakaway, should be shown on your pending cruises on your NCL page or app. Here you will also find dress codes, ports of call, excursions almost everything you need to know! The Breakaway is huge ship and the first one NCL designed with the outdoor water front which we love unless the weather is bad than the ship can feel very crowded inside. As for dress up night, it's not required anymore. There is a dress code for all sit down dining but I have seen everything from glitter and heals on women to cut offs and tank tops. Sometimes it is enforced and others not so much. We always follow the rules of attire but others don't. Not sure where the port is in Cozumel, hopefully someone else can answer that for you. Funny, we were just looking at Canada and The Breakaway for this fall!
  7. Last March I made the mistake of booking a cruise to the Caribbean and boy was the ship full of families and College Spring breakers. Ship was at full capacity and loud! No room at the pool or loungers and the buffet was always packed. Many incidents of kids not being able to hold their liquor! But we still had a great time! You will need to make reservations for dinner ahead of time or you won't get in and you will have to contend with the buffet and crowds. Yes with your group size you need to call NCL and have them help you as they can also help with making dinner reservations for your large group and help with keeping cabins near each other. With he Free at Seas program cruising has become a more affordable options for college kids
  8. Still one of our favorite cruises! Sounds like you had a great time!
  9. I think they meant me as grandma! But were also bringing their mom and dad and we all have passports so we should be good!
  10. Thank you! Same experience we have had with NCL, quick and efficient with no problems getting to MCO for 1:55 pm flight but we are new to MSC so we aren't too sure about how their process works. Sounds like we should be safe with our plans! Thanks again and looking forward to our first MSC experience and our first time cruising with the Grandkids!
  11. sthrncrusr May I ask you about dis-embarkment please? What time was your flight from MCO and what time did you get off the Seashore to be able to make it to MCO? We are booked on this same cruise in October and were looking at a 1:55 pm flight out of MCO and was wondering if that will work Thank you!
  12. I just got off The Jade in August from Greece and loved her! Much older ship but recently redone, very clean and easy to explore. I have not sailed any other lines so can not compare for you but I have been on several NCL cruises from small to huge ships and we were concerned we would be bored after being on several larger ships recently but we were not and we had a wonderful time getting to know the staff and exploring the ship. Depending on the dates of your cruise will depend on lots of kids or not, sailing Greece in the summer we had lots of kids from all Nationalities. We really enjoyed The Whiskey bar and their bartenders, La Cucina and Le Bistro were excellent meals and service.
  13. Depending on the ship the location can be great or bad, The Jewel Class ships they are under the buffet and pool areas so noise can be a problem. On The Escape and Encore they are on several different decks so you can choose a quieter location. We enjoy the Club Balcony and it's perks but I won't book them if they are in noisy areas.
  14. FYI the specialty coffee is Starbucks! In the atrium. If you have the coffee package no cost, they will serve the Starbucks coffee and specialty drinks to you in the MDR or specialty dining options. No package than they will serve and bill you. We did the "free at seas" plus package, we enjoy better quality drinks and wines, this also included Starbucks, better wifi and an extra $50 per port excursion. Many don't feel it's worth it but we did, my husband got to try some very expensive scotches nightly and also had Starbucks several times a day. And several of the NCL excursions we booked were almost covered by the $50 plus the extra $50.
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