felixdacat

Got off the Getaway on the 27th and on the drive home DD asked if anyone had her camera that was brought to dinner the night before . Apparently it was left in the dining room on the table.

Called the direct number to lost and found that week, and was told that all items would not be off the ship until it docked the following Sunday. Described the Camera to Denis. Turns out that he was able to get a hold of it and it was shipped back to us!!!

Just got it today COD. So if you leave something behind, keep the hope up.

Number, BTW to lost and found directly is 305 436 4774 M-F

Here is a photo of the entire island taken from my In-Law's balcony:

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/showphoto.php?photo=39889&cat=521

Notice anything?

Doesn't seem so big, does it? That green mass at the right of the image is the mangroves.

I was on the Getaway for its initial docking on 11/23. It was overcast and even rained some throughout the day. And you still could not get a beach chair and were lucky to get a poolside lounger. It took me over 20 minutes to get two beers at the Landshark.

If the Getaway or a ship in that size class ever docks on a sunny day with highs in the low 80's...the island will be overwhelmed. The place is just not big enough for that size ship.

Bring your own bag was just as bad, if not worse to get off on Sunday STood in line for at least an hour!!

The boat never felt over crowded, even though it was full during the cruise itself.

I wish the Atrium was like other cruise lines where it extends up a few floors more. The entertainment was very good. I thought the food was not warm at times, and we had mixed reviews of the dining room. Traveling with my parents, we tended to eat in the main dining rooms every night.

Biggest complaint are all the upcharges. Yes, all cruise lines have them, but they seem to charge more than others. Also their onboard app to contact others in your party is not the best and doesnt always deliver messages. Most movies on the TV were a charge. The drinks if you did not have a package were pricy.

To be honest, I wish we would have done Belize itself instead of Harvest Cay. With bad weather it was sorta a wasted type of day.

Note: I did a search but did not see the info I needed.

I know that if I bring wine on board I need to pay $15 per 750ml bottle as a corkage fee.

So...does corkage fee mean that they will actually uncork the bottle for you? In other words, do I need to pack a corkscrew (jeez cat, not like that's very heavy).

Could you bring an unopened bottle to the MDR and have them open it there? Also I know that on other cruise lines, when you pay the corkage fee they will actually store your bottle and pour the remaining wine at another meal. Will NCL do that?

FX

I am traveling with a party of 7 who are in three rooms. Going online I can reserve for “Million Dollar Quartet” and “Burn the Floor” for certain performances. I can only reserve for my cabin.

Do they give out physical tickets upon check in? If yes, can those be given out to anyone?

I’m not sure if everyone in my party wants to go to these shows. I would like to avoid having us order 7 tickets and then only use 4.

What I'd like to know is if or how private tours can be booked or met there. I don't like the NCL offerings, or the prices, and we hardly ever do ship tours anyway.

Just using business logic, I doubt that private tour companies will have too much interest in Harvest Caye. First, you have to compete with the island itself. How many passengers will be willing to get ferried to the main land to do an excursion? I expect that this will be a hard sell even for the NCL sponsored excursions.

Second, you only have one ship per day. Maybe if it is a big ship like the Getaway with 4K+ you might have enough numbers, but what if you only have a 2K ship? Plus, the island is 3 hours south of Belize City, which means it is waaaaay to far from the regular shore excursions.

I will be there on 11/23 during the first week it is opened. Frankly, I’m not real happy. I love Travel Channel shows and have heard of Belize cave tubing for many years (big crush on Samantha Brown). When the cruise was booked, that was going to be the highlight of my trip. Instead, I get to walk around an island, trying out a self serve beer machine.

A very nice person just posted Getaway dailies in another thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2414859&highlight=getaway

OMIGOD...did not realize how far away Harvest Caye was from Belize City. There goes cave tubing.

FX

If you want to do a non-NCL shore excursion, like Cave Tubing, will that be possible out of Harvest Caye?

Is that likely up to each private tour company on whether they will utilize Harvest Caye?

FX

As a newbie, you should be aware that booking excursions through the cruise line means you will be paying a premium price.

Between Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, you are likely to find the same excursion for a significant savings.

FX

I was waiting to get into my next Credit Card cycle before purchasing the 179 Thermal Spa package. When I went to the website, it says the package is no longer available.

Have they sold out for this cruise (Turkey day cruise, full ship)?

Possible website problem and I should just call in?

FX

I opening up this topic again because I’m rethinking my decision on not going for the Vibe pass.

I have been reading these posts and…

A) I read that the check in times you put in for when you are online are just “suggestions”. It appears that whoever gets to the port first gets on the ship first.

Note: When I went online I choose an 11:30AM boarding time as I had given up the Vibe idea.

And

B) Some of the reviews describe a fully loaded ship as feeling very crowded, especially in the pool areas.

Someone earlier said that you can only reserve passes for yourself. Does that mean just the person who is on the Guest Services line or just for the people in your cabin? What if you reserved more than one cabin? Could you reserve Vibe passes for anyone in your party?

Thanks in advance.

FX

How do you judge whether a Specialty Dining package is worth it to you?

The UBP is easy to figure out. The under/over is roughly 6-7 drinks per day. You go under, then not worth it.

I’m guessing you can go to one of the specialty restaurants without a package. And I’m guessing it would be more than $27 per person for dinner. But how much more?

Does getting the package give you any other advantages, like easier reservations? A “My Parents bought an NCL SDP and all I got is this T-Shirt” T-Shirt?

I'm giving up on the Vibe Beach idea.

I thought it would be great for my in laws, as they have some health issues and would have appreciated the cabana. But since I could not have reserved it for them, and they would not have wanted to get to the ship that early, they will have to make do with their suite.

I think I will settle for the thermal spa. Hope I can talk the bride into doing the same.

FX

1) What time does NCL first allow you to line up to board?

2) How many people are in a “boarding group”?

3) On the Getaway, please confirm…Vibe Beach passes are purchased at Guest Services?

4) For the Thanksgiving week cruise, roughly what time would be best to make sure passes can be bought?

5) Can I purchase a cabana for another cabin (relatives)?

6) If I get two passes and one cabana, my guess would be that if my cabana relatives leave Vibe Beach, than I can’t use their cabana. Correct?

7) Has anyone ever heard of anyone being able to reserve VBC ahead of the embarkation day? Health issues? War hero? Fairy Dust?

8) Can you use the VBC on embarkation day? Like a place to go after you leave guest services?

9) What else is there to do after reserving VBC and you’re on board early? The room won’t be ready, right? Pool? Food? Other?

Thanks in advance.

FX

There is a general consensus throughout the Cruise Critic/Norwegian forum that NCL does nickel and dime you with many of their policies.

Unfortunately, I did not have the luxury of being able to choose a different cruise line. My In-Laws decided that instead of trudging up to the Northeast for Thanksgiving week, they would hop a cab down to the Port of Miami and have someone else do the Holiday cooking. 95% of their decision is based on itinerary, so before I knew it, we were booked (and yes, it’s on my dime). Had I had the time to do some research I would have not gone with NCL.

Some general thoughts (some not yet mentioned on this thread):

Bottled water has been a way to sneak booze on board. Yes, if you’re vigilant enough, there are ways to tell the difference between vodka and H2O, but it can be time consuming. I think that the combination of extra profit and the ability to stop some smuggling was why the change of policy. Last year, Carnival changed their bottled water policy. I was actually on the first sailing with the new policy. BUT…when they made the change, they actually had some reasonably priced options for bottled water. 100% markup (from normal wholesale) rather that 1000%+. Not sure if they held that policy, but it was a much better way to deal with their guests.

Vibe Beach club is a reasonably priced option. What is unreasonable is having that option available for less than 100 guests out of 4000. Most other lines have much larger Adult only options and some don’t charge for it. With a holiday week cruise which will likely be fully booked, I wonder if I have to line up like I was doing Best Buy for Black Friday.

Can’t believe no one has mentioned the wine policy. At least RC, X, and Carnival allow you to bring two bottles of wine per stateroom. The only corkage charge would be if you brought the bottle to the MDR or other restaurant. You could even get the room steward to get you wine glasses and bring the glass to the MDR. Pretty damn civilized if you ask me.

Shore excursions- Most cruises I have been on, if you found a well reviewed excursion on Trip Advisor, the cruise line would mark it up by 50-60%. I have already seen 120% markup with NCL.

Funny…my very first ever cruise was NCL (16 years ago). And back then, they gave you complimentary wine for the first meal. If you compare that to modern cruising, a very bizarre introduction.

It has been 10 years since we were at the Costa Maya port. Back then (per the suggestion of this forum) my wife and I decided to walk to Majahual, despite the port owner having built illegal walls in an attempt to keep passengers in his facility as long as possible. I remember that the Mexican government was fighting with the owner and threatening him with bulldozers.

We were told to walk on the rocks and get around the wall that way and ignore the security guards who would yell at you but do nothing. And that’s exactly how it played out. It was a nice morning walk to the little town and we made sure we stopped at Cats Meow.

I know that there was a hurricane and that Cats Meow is gone. Google Maps shows that the area directly outside the port has been built up. There appears to be a walking trail directly from the port to Majahual. Did the dispute get resolved?

We will be back in November. Are there some musts on the to-do list when in Costa Maya?

Can't seem to find a 100% yes or no.

I have been on other cruises where the Spa has an area where you can have access to saunas, steam rooms and general relaxation areas. There was a daily charge.

This might be the equivalent of the Cloud 9 service on other Carnival ships.

If they do have something like this, is it something you can pre-order, or do you have to sign up on board?

FYI-I'm aware of the Serenity, Adults only area on the ship, and will likely spend a great deal of time there.

Thanks,

FX

As a rule the big jets come in from 11:30 thru 2:00 PM. One of the regular posters here, Kal, used to provide a big jet schedule at his website, but it hasn't been updated past Oct 2009.

I was told in another thread that the big jets do not start arriving till after 1:30PM, which makes sense because the bigger flights are either inbound from the USA or Europe.

Try this link.

http://www.sxmarrivaltimes.com/