debenson0723

A crew member told me last night that this was fleet wide. Only needed if it's a port requirement and can be reinstated if cases on board start to rise. So happy for them.

For those of us on the Prima TA, it's 12 days before we arrive in Canada!

Someone mentioned this auction bidding a few weeks ago and it might have been on the Bliss. For me personally, I have a maximum dollar amount I am willing to spend to upgrade and if I knew I wasn't in the running, I would remove my bid. A friend and I recently did an upgrade bid for a balcony on the Prima...he bid $400 more than I did. I told him he over bid, he says I underbid. I guess we will find out of either (or neither) of us win.

You need to post your question on the European Ports of Call board https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

According to some recent posts, if you have the FAS drink package, the corkage fee is now waived.

I believe they start around 9:00-9:30 and leave when each bus is full. You could get lucky and get a bus that fills up quickly or be sitting there for awhile. I just take a cab. Lots more information on the West Coast Departures forum.

Did NCL say in the letter they were not going to reimburse the port fees or is this an assumption? Port fees charged are a cumulative amount for the entire cruise. Some ports charge more, some charge less. Some raise their fees before you ever get there but the cruise lines do not come back and request the difference. What if they did substitute another port and their fees were higher? Would you want to pay the difference? I have had ports cancelled and changed, sometimes receiving a minuscule OBC that I didn't even notice....you wouldn't be buying one cocktail much less a few. There are disappointments in life and in the big picture this wouldn't rank very high on my list.

When you check in at 21 days before your cruise.

I have a very close friend who is an Officer on one of the NCL ships. He told me a few weeks ago about the switch and I had been sworn to secrecy. It is going fleet wide but he didn't have any type of schedule for the switchover. I don't drink soda so this doesn't really apply to me but I know lots of others will be happy for the change (and when I did drink soda, it was Coke all the way).

Since the bids are usually not accepted until a few days before the cruise (and upgrades aren't even offered until after final payment) you would have nothing to apply the 2nd CruiseNext to.

No, I have never had a problem either. Took my photo, saved on my desktop, attached to check in document on the first try.

Lots of information on the Florida departure forum https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/

There is an internet cafe on the Prima. Deck plans are available on the NCL website.

You may not plan to get off the ship in Canada but unforeseen circumstances could happen (hitting an iceberg) and you may have to get off in Canada. Better to be prepared than having to deal with issues that could arise...especially these days, it seems.

If you cancel before your cruise, you will get a refund to method of payment (so typically a credit card). If you cancel while onboard, you will get an OBC. And you need to call if cancelling before sailing...no doing it online. As mentioned above, sometimes they do fill up and depending on the excursion, no more are available. I always check on board if there is something I really want to do as there are cancellations.

Do you have a link to this verbiage above? All I see on the site is the Cruise policy that you posted in post #8 above. We are boarding the Prima in Southampton in September and won't arrive in Canada until 12 days later (assuming we test 2 days prior to boarding). Doesn't make much sense to me to test before embarkation.

Also, you can use the Starbucks app or card on the ship. I just load mine up before boarding with what I guesstimate I will spend. You do earn their reward Stars on the ship but cannot redeem them while on board.

Been on the Bliss 3 times and they have the cold fruit soups in the afternoon in the Observation Lounge.

I have used NCL transfers twice and they certainly did check to make sure I had paid for them before we were let on. To the OP, I got off the Jade back in November and was at the airport well in advance of my 11:30am flight to Milan...even had time to grab a snack. We used a private car transfer service as there were 6 of us and it was cheaper than using the transfers.

None of the 3 women in my group who used it are handicapped but they are very obese. I actually never saw it as I did the climb but they were at the top when I got there and had been up there for quite a while.

There is actually an elevator that you can take to the top (and back down if you want). 3 of our group took the elevator and 3 of us did the climb...I almost felt it was harder going down than up (it is very slippery as mentioned). I went in November and it was virtually empty, with temps in the 70s. I could not have done this in the summer.

Yes, I have seen a photo of the enclosed smoking area of the Casino. Similar to Bliss, Joy and Encore.

There is no 'anytime dining' per se on NCL for the MDR. You want to eat at 5, you show up at 5, want to eat at 6:27, show up then. Unless you have a large group, you will typically get in within minutes. And if one of the MDRs doesn't have room, they will normally direct you to the one that does. In all my NCL cruises, I have never made a reservation in the MDR. As for Specialties, they only release about 30% online...the rest you can book onboard (or call and tie up the line 😉).

Call or book on board.

I always give additional cash to my room steward, bartenders, maybe leave a few bills on the table at the MDR at breakfast and lunch. But, during the restart, the crew were not able to leave the ship at any point and they were in need of items. Most would tell me they didn't want anything but a few would tell me what they would like. The most requested item was toothpaste. So I would pick up a few tubes and also chips and candy. One of my room stewards stated he liked those to eat while watching TV in his down time. It's just a few dollars out of my pocket and if it makes them happy, I don't need or expect anything in return.