luckybecky

Reviving an old thread here... where can I find info on what cruise terminal we are scheduled for? The NCL website and Cruisemapper just say "Tokyo" with nothing more specific. Granted, our cruise is a year and a half away. Is the terminal likely to be determined later? I'm already starting to think about what we could do with a day or two pre-cruise in Tokyo, and therefore what area we should consider for our hotel.

I emailed the CC help address that was given and have not received a reply. I went back and tried to find my old reviews -- a painstaking process -- to update the links in my signature. I could not find the oldest reviews but that's understandable, I guess. They were there before, but gone now. I'm still wondering why my signature lost all these links and how to avoid this problem in the future. Does anyone know? I hope that most of the review links are appearing correctly now.

Free at Sea+. Honestly, I don't see the value. We enjoy drinking wine with dinner, but we aren't connoisseurs. We are perfectly fine with the wines that are included with the basic package. As for other drinks, we could get almost anything we wanted. My husband likes Bombay Sapphire gin martinis. No problem to get that. He also likes whiskey. Bulleit, Crown Royal, Jack Daniels were all included in our package. Also many cocktails such as mojitos, mudslides, margaritas, spritzes etc. We took full advantage of the drink package and never had to pay for anything. We did give our favorite bartenders and servers a tip at the end of the cruise but this was not required. Sorry I can't comment on breakfast or coffee as we aren't big breakfast eaters. Usually we just grab a quick bite in the buffet and sometimes take it back to our room if the seating in the buffet is too crowded. Evening dining: for specialty dining, we like Cagney's best. Le Bistro and Ocean Blue are very popular choices. We didn't have the most amazing experience on Teppanyaki but it was mostly because our tablemates were duds. The Italian is always good. For main dining room, on our last cruise Taste was our favorite. It was more intimate than the larger Windows dining room and service was much better in Taste -- but this may vary widely by ship. Evening activities: we LOVE the game shows, comedy club and main theater production shows. Go early to get a good seat, especially for the big production shows. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime and people will already be lining up at that time. The game shows are smaller and we always thought they were so much fun, including the marriage show. We tried to go to them all. Comics rotate all the time, some may be better than others. In general, however, we really enjoyed the comedy shows. We haven't used NCL transport to airport. Other tips or secrets: if you like the hot tubs, we found that they are not all the same. Some are much hotter than others. So if the first one you try is hotter or cooler than you like, maybe give another one a try. As soon as you get on board, find out where to go to make your dining reservations and get that done ASAP. Some dining slots will be open before you board, try to grab those. But whether ahead of time or on board, reservations fill up fast so get that done as soon as you can. If you don't get your desired times, you can always try walk-in. Sometimes they will have tables available, Happy cruising!!

What?! If it is on Youtube, it must be true! 😉 I agree, that's why I wondered if anyone here had heard the story.

I always take a photo exactly like this so I'll have the info with me if needed. On another note: youtube channel Let's Go Travel Tips is reporting that the couple that missed the ship in Spain is the SAME elderly couple that missed an NCL ship a month or so ago in Africa (along with several others). I'm not sure where she got her information. Has anyone else heard this? Or can confirm?

Agreed. On Cruise Deck Plans, the occupancy for each ship is listed at around 4000 give or take a little, Aqua being the highest. I wonder if the lower number you are seeing on NCL is the new, updated number which would confirm what the Cruise Next person said. She gave no indication of what they are doing with the excess staterooms.

I do a review after every cruise. I include a hyperlink to each review in my signature. Yesterday I noticed that all my hyperlinks are gone -- just showing as plain text (the word "review") rather than the link that used to be there. Anyone know how/why this happened, and what I can do to restore the links? Thanks!

I haven't followed that thread, but for what it's worth I'll add this information: We attended a Cruise Next presentation on our recent cruise on the Spirit. The presenter said that they have heard the complaints about overcrowding and are reducing capacity on the Prima, Viva, and Aqua from around 4000 on each ship to approximately 3000. When exactly this is happening, she didn't say. But if true, it is certainly good news!

I did a Gate 1 tour in Spain with my daughter a couple of years ago. It was great. We also did a tour in China with Gate 1, and my husband and I did Peru last year. In each case, the tour was great and guides were excellent. They are a mid-level tour company, not luxury. For example, accommodations may be in an older hotel, not the Ritz. But they do an excellent job. We've used them three times and will do so again.

I agree. We are booked on a 25 day B2B Asia cruise in Nov and Dec of next year. Before booking, I looked at the itineraries for several other lines and no one offered anything even close to the number of ports we are getting here. The same was true for the South Pacific cruise we just completed. So we are taking our chances with NCL and hoping for the best. I do wish we didn't have to worry about this and could just count on going to the ports we expected.

We have only cruised NCL a few times but also have noticed this problem. Ports aren't being canceled at the last minute due to weather, for example, which is completely understandable. We've had ports canceled/changed months in advance for no apparent reason whatsoever. And never received any compensation. These changes often happen after final payment date. Exactly!! Our Panama Canal cruise dropped TWO central American ports, adding a sea day and Acapulco. I was shocked, since as you correctly point out, Acapulco is on the Do Not Travel list. Overall we have enjoyed our NCL cruises but been dismayed by these port changes. We cruise for the ports and study itineraries closely when choosing our cruises. I know ports may be changed at any time for weather related reasons and understand this completely. But the capricious port changes are discouraging. We have not noticed this on any other cruise line.

Since it is your first one, I'd say keep it as a souvenir! It's up to you if you want to keep or re-hide. We just finished a B2B on the Spirit and loved it. I hope you are having a fabulous time.

I sort of pride myself on packing light -- or at least trying to. 😜 On the cruise we just finished, we had the most luggage I've ever taken. Two carry on size cases, plus one slightly larger mid size suitcase, and two backpacks. In our defense, it was the longest cruise we have ever taken at 25 days. And we had to pack for cold weather (New Zealand) and warm beach weather (South Pacific). It was a challenge to pack and also to find room for everything in our cabin. We didn't have enough warm clothes (needed layers!!) but otherwise could have packed lighter. My all time favorite sandal broke literally as we were walking onto the ship on day one (Really?!?!) of that 25 day cruise! Oh no! Thank goodness I had an extra pair of sandals but it didn't make up for breaking my favorite that I had intended to wear almost every single day. Was good to have a backup. I also must own every travel accessory known to man. That takes up space. Some favorites are a collapsible laundry hamper and a shower caddy. Every trip is a Tetris challenge to pack as light as possible but also take everything we need.

Yes they did. I can't remember how often, but the outside decks were closed a few times. Not often, but it did happen.

You won't go wrong with the Australia/NZ cruises. We enjoyed it so much. They also have some excellent Asia itineraries -- in fact I just booked one for late 2025! Believe me, we made full use of the drink package! 😆 I usually drink wine but also enjoyed an occasional mojito, margarita, or aperol spritz. The mudslide is delicious and was very popular. We saw people drinking them all the time. Paul likes whiskey and tried them all (they have Bulleit, Crown Royal, Jack Daniels, Buffalo Trace, maybe more but he tried all of these) LOL and he also had gin and tonic from time to time. Bar service was always exceptional. They are happy to give you a double if you wish. No limit on number of drinks per day (as Carnival does, for example).