PaperSniper4

I booked a cruise for March 2025 two days ago. Today I was reminded about Cruise First.....wish I'd thought of it a week ago!

My March 2025 cruise is much more than 120 days in the future. I'd like to purchase a Cruise First certificate now for that cruise; is that possible? I know those certificates are valid for a few years, but I'd rather apply the certificate to a cruise I have booked already.

Anyone bought a cruise first after booking?

 Doug

23 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Website works just fine for booking restaurants. I never use the app for anything.

 

Thanks guys (gals?) appreciate it! We cruise on several cruise lines, I think it might have been Celebrity? HAL? where I was forced to do so much with the app.

 Doug

We two just booked the Getaway, departing NOLA March 2025. We are Latitude level Platinum, booked in an M6 cabin.

Can someone refresh my memory of when we can book Specialty and non-specialty dining? NCL.com indicates it's "too early". I recall it might be 125 days prior to sailing, but I wanted confirmation. March 2025 is a long way off, but if I don't write this down now I will forget to ask later!😳

Also, I recall the last time we sailed NCL I had to use the app, not NCL.com to book reservations? Can someone confirm that. PS - I dislike using apps and would rather do all this on my trusty desktop PC.

 Doug

50 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

The cigar lounge is on the starboard side of all the ships with a waterfront, as far as I am aware, and the waterfront bar that is nearest the forward is usually (I suspect always) the one that allows smoking.

 

Remember that all this is aft of the cabins so should only ever be an issue if the ship is in port. I’ve stayed on a starboard side M6 on the Getaway and don’t recall ever noticing any smoke.

Thank you Keith.

 Doug

11 hours ago, weisla said:

Currently sailing in an M6 forward on the Joy and sailed through a storm all day yesterday. We could not only hear but feel the ship’s bow breaking through waves last night. It was pretty exhilarating! The impact was shaking the cabin. We woke to lightning and massive thunder at 6am and watched lightning through the balcony doors at midnight. Lots of fun, though a challenge if I had been trying to get little ones to sleep. 
Balcony is similar, though a tiny bit of a different configuration on Breakaway+

we’re on starboard side and my only complaint is a faint lingering odor from the cigar lounge in the hallway and on the balcony. It’s fleeting, so tolerable, but if it was continuous it would really bother me. 

 

Thanks for posting. That balcony looks very nice, new furniture maybe? I think the Joy is only a few years newer than the Getaway and similar otherwise. That cigar comment....I wonder if all the NCL ships have that in the same location. We are thinking of booking a starboard M6 on the Getaway, the cigar smoke probably would not bother us as we're both former smokers....unless someone is smoking something nasty!😝 Pipe smoke nearly always is pleasant, but cigar smoke can be different.

Any noise from the theater? Which cabin do you have; forward in the M6 group or further aft? I am inclined to book something further aft in the M6 group to mitigate any sound from the theater.

Thanks to everyone who kindly reported their experience in an M6 cabin. I believe we have enough info to book ours for next spring.

 Doug

1 hour ago, PelicanBill said:

Agree, I never heard the theater there, or on another Deck 8 forward cabin that I was in.

If it could be heard, maybe only if you are an early to bed type.  For forward cabins, there were two other sources of noise:  Waves crashing in the bow any time the seas got over 5-8', and OMG the anchor dropping would give me such a shot of adrenaline.

Thanks Bill. The noise of the bow waves and anchor would be welcomed to us actually! We love being on ships, and any sounds related to that....the sea and ship, NOT the noisy passengers😉 is welcome! We are pretty early to bed, around 9pm to read for an hour or so, but I always carry ear plugs......

 Doug

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

We have been in the M6s several times and were never bothered by theater noise.   It might be that we don't book the most forward of the M6s🤔

 

We love how easy it is to pop down to Deck 8 and pick up a drink to enjoy on that huge balcony!

Hardly ever have to take an elevator unless going up to the buffet.

In the one place I looked, it appeared the further aft M6 cabins were over the theater. Glad you posted that, I will do additional research. We would prefer having one of the aft M6 cabins (in the bow) anyway....closer to everything!

 Doug

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

I’ve heard people mention hearing theatre noise on these boards, but we have never heard a sound.

On at least one of the occasions where we were in an M6 our son was quite young so would have been in bed relatively early so the show would have been on when we were in the room.

Thanks, that is good to hear

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Here’s a couple of pictures of the bathroom. It’s a decent size.

 

 

Thanks very much. Yes, that appears to be the same head we've had on the Breakaway on past cruises.

Another question: I looked at deck plans, and all/most of the M6 cabins are over the theater. Any feedback on the noise level? We retire pretty early, around 2200/10PM. We're slightly deaf, but then not that much.......

 Doug

18 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

The M6 balconies are from 85 to 118 sq feet.  Very roomy balconies.  They easily hold two loungers, two chairs, and a large table.

 

Found this spreadsheet (link below) on cruise critic years ago.  It even has 'Visual Aid Links' to show you pictures.  Some wonderful cruiser put it together several years ago:

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10YW7fMQarer30UCHKqKJ_zLDmbyMTczCTtYf2XRflh8/pub?single=true&gid=0&output=html

Thanks for that info and link.

Doug

18 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

I've had an extended balcony on Breakaway.  The cabin is the same size as all standard balcony cabins.  If you look at exterior pictures of the ship you can see how the extra balcony space is created.

I hope you mean the M6 cabin is the same as the MA (Club <balcony> suite or whatever NCL calls them this week). We like that category for it's expanded head (aka "bathroom"). I know the rest of the cabin is pretty much identical to a regular balcony cabin. Hell, at our age we need the larger head for all our potions, lotions and medications...the larger shower is nice also!😁 

Good to know the balcony is so much larger. When we sail on certain Princess ships we always try for the Caribbean deck for their larger balconies.

 Doug

We've sailed on the Breakaway several times, always in a category MA or MB cabin. However, the balconies are very small. We're wondering how the M6 cabins compare to those? The M6 is supposed to have a larger balcony, but is the cabin itself the same as MA/MB? In other words, we don't want 10 extra square feet on the balcony if it's taken from the square footage in the cabin!😗

 Doug

Thanks to all who replied, it is appreciated.

We avoid the Windjammer (Lido) partly because of the crown, and partly because many folks have not figured out how to wash their hands prior to visiting.

We have not thought of grabbing lunch in NOLA prior to boarding; thanks for that idea.

We do like a sit down meal with table service even on a port day, but we'll adapt....never go hungry y'know!😉

 Doug

It's been awhile since we've sailed RCI. We're scheduled on the Brilliance ot Seas this October (2024), sailing from NOLA.

1. We much prefer to eat all meals in a dining room, especially on boarding day to avoid the chaos on the Lido deck. Can anyone tell me if the MDR is open for lunch on boarding day? And its hours?

2. I heard that the MDR may not be open on port days. Can anyone confirm that disappointing news? We rarely eat ashore at ports where we have been dozens of times as this this sailing does.

Thanks!

 Doug

Just now, Laszlo said:

Just one more thing "America" doesn't make.... a 4 million dollar digital press.

Mores the pity, wish more things were made in American again.

23 hours ago, Laszlo said:

My company was in a law suit a number of years ago against a company based out of Spain. Long story short it was for a very expensive piece of equipment that failed. We were told by our lawyers and some others unless you are looking to recover 10 of millions of dollars and have many years to kill move on. Had this been a US based company it would have been "Easy" being based in another country makes it extremely difficult 

Ouch! Yet another reason to "Buy American"!😎

17 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

How are her lawyers going to get the principals of the crewing agency from the Philippines to a court in the US?  How likely is a Filipino crew member to have personal liability insurance, and while he may be physically in the US for a criminal trial and incarceration, forcing an insurance company (if there is one) in the Philippines to pay up would be difficult.

So you say that problem exists for getting compensation from the Philippines, correct? I didn't consider that, I don't know much about international law. But seems like there will be a lot of litigation for the next year or so. I hope the woman recovers, medically and emotionally. I hope NCL will do the right thing.

 Doug

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Since both of these are in the Philippines, she won't likely get anything there.

Why is that? I am legally curious.

 Doug

5 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

Thanks - Canceled other reservation and booked the same one you did. 🙂

Make sure you bring the receipt they will send in email. That's what you need to get into the garage apparently. I was not sure which of the emails was the actual receipt, so I printed them all, about 4 pages, and will have that on my car's dashboard when I arrive in New Orleans. This is a very good price; I hope the garage is as nice as it sounds on their webpage......😗

The papework did not indicate, but we can either drop the bags off at the (RCI) terminal then go to the garage, or simply take them with us on the shuttle from the garage to the terminal. We will probably do the first so we don't have to manage the bags on the shuttle, at least going to the terminal on the day our ship departs.

 Doug

5 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

I did some google search and found this  https://go.lazparking.com/search-results/100-Poydras-St-New-Orleans-LA-70130-USA   I'm wondering if the top link is a legitimate one?? 

 

It has two options "Reserve Ahead (Taylor Swift . . . " $320 OR 7 day pass for $250 

Ya got me, Dorothy. Weird. I booked the Fulton place in my post above. It's not very close to the terminal, but has a shuttle and the price for a covered spot was under $125.

 Doug

1 hour ago, DorothyB said:

I just booked a cruise today for late October.  The recommended lot is booked full.  Any other suggestions?  Thanks!

I just booked here: https://neworleansparking.com/reservation. There are several lots listed at that page, so choose carefully, some are covered, some are not, some are not for cruise passengers, etc. I booked the covered Fulton garage, 901 Convention Center Blvd.

Cost is $120.50, pay now, refundable less $5 up to 48 hours before your scheduled arrival time. They have a shuttle between the parking garage and the cruise terminal.

 Doug

35 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

I just booked a cruise today for late October.  The recommended lot is booked full.  Any other suggestions?  Thanks!

WOW! Already? I have a cruise booked for min-October 2024, and had not even thought about reserving the lot. BTW, when we took our last cruise from NOLA last October, the the "Whale Lot" was still being used. No idea if it is still. There are many places to park in NOLA for cruises I hear, but I have only used the Whale Lot about a dozen times, and the new lot (Hilton Hotel garage) once.

Please post what you find as I may be booking right after you!😎

 Doug

UPDATE - I just now tried to book the Hilton garage for dates in July and October 2024, and for March 2025, and get the same error message. I wonder if their computer is down or something right now? I'd suggest trying again in a day or two.

Apparently no one paid any attention to the above. The NOLA Whale Lot was still being used by many cruisers as of 10 March 2024. However, the 100 Poydras Garage, which is actually the Hilton Hotel garage, was a fine place I used. Covered parking, more secure than the Whale lot.

 Doug

On 3/10/2024 at 5:53 AM, boffoboffo said:

Our destination is in sight. 

This is our second straight cruise where the clocks changed for daylight savings on our last night and I am not a fan. Turns out we got up an hour earlier than we were planning to. At least the ship is quiet and nearly impossible to get around since all the stairwells on 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are roped off. I guess they’re trying to do a better job than they do in NYC of keeping people from lining up early. 

Very irritating that the purser's office insisted the time would not change at 0200 on arrival day. I asked several at the desk the night before; none simply responded "Yes, we are sailing from from ET  to CT but there is a DST change resulting in clocks not needing to be reset". I wish cruises on similar itineraries would simply stick with the departing port's time zone; forget about local time, stick with the ship's time.I found it irritating to change the clocks by only an hour so many times on a 7 days cruise.

7 hours ago, wncretired said:

.......... I think I will go ahead and purchase my 100 shares of NCL.  What have I got to lose? (Except maybe $2,000 😂)

 

 

 

 

If it makes you feel any better, I bought 100 shares of CCL for the OBC benefit back when it was trading for over $60.😳 Do the math, I'm too depressed over that acquisition..................😭

 Doug