ladybird77

3 hours ago, BigEasyCC said:

Similar dilemma, different airport. Ship arrives 9 AM (Panorama), but the only direct flights are in/out of LAX. There's a 12:43 pm flight or a 5:35 pm flight. I've heard stories of the problems getting through LAX and I don't think it will be possible. Just hate getting home so late. What do you think?

My sister is going on this cruise with me. She is traveling to a different city. She has already booked a 12: 50pm flight from LAX. She said she is just going to take a chance. Hopefully since it is a weekend it should be ok. 

I have actually flown in and out of long beach airport before and have even taken a cruise shuttle from the port to the long beach airport. But it has been a few years. I remember the last time I flew they only had one security line open which could be bad if there was a wait or delay.

Also, normally my flights are always later so I am usually waiting around. The only flights after this one to my home city (in my price range) are after 6pm. I hate to wait that long. 

I'm eyeing to take a South American cruise in 2016. I'm debating between March and October.

I would likely be going solo.

Now, I saw yesterday that Norwegian has a Dec. 1 South American cruise that dropped to $399 for inside cabin (no single supplement, that's right $400 for a 2 week cruise). The same/similar iteneraries in 2016 are going for about $1100+ per person. I'm wondering if I should wait very close to sail date to buy a 2016 cruise if Norwegian always slashes the prices that low. Or if that would be an issue. The thing is if I did that I'd have to buy my plane ticket before I bought my cruise.

I've been cruising on NCL for the last several years on cruises given me by CET. While on the ships I have sometimes earned 2500 or 3000 points in a week. That is not enough for CAS to care about giving me a cruise. Last year I made 'Golden' with CAS and that really didn't give me much with them. Since you live in Vegas, have you tried making Diamond with CET? They have several offers a year of "free" cruises (paying port taxes and fees only.)

 

I am SevenStar with CET, but I know others who are Diamond who also get the offers. You might want to talk to other Las Vegas 'locals' to see if they are getting the cruise offers.

I'm not sure what CET is or what casinos in Vegas use that program.

I did get a "free" cruise with Princess through my casino membership with Station Casinos, however, the cruises offered for "free" with Princess are extremely limited. I'm taking my free Princess cruise which cost me about $175.

I'm a first time cruiser with NCL. And signed up for the Casinos at Sea slot club when I was on the ship. But I think I may start cruising more regularly. When I was in the casino, I never saw many people in there at all.

I earned about 600 points during my 7 day cruise which after reading a bunch of posts I realize is nothing. I know I won't be getting any free cruises. But I was wondering if, they give you any coupons or anything at all for beginner level, or do you have to reach a higher tier to get coupons. I live in Vegas, and often when a new casino opens up and you spend a little bit of money (less than $500), you start getting coupons for the hotel & dining, because they want you to come back. For example, when the palazzo first opened, I got several days of free hotel stays and free dining offers and barely spent anything there, but I was there in the first few weeks of opening.

I do not know if it works the same for Casinos at Sea or not.

I wanted to update this thread for anyone who is considering both.

I just finished my Jade cruise solo. I absolutely loved it! My first solo cruise and everything went off without a hitch.

As far as being solo friendly, I didn't see it that way so much. Maybe I should've alerted the cruise director crew or something that I was solo, I don't know. Also, every evening at 6:30pm they had a solo travelers gathering at a bar area. I know this time conflicted with at least two port days and my excursions, and by the middle of the cruise, I had already met some people from this message board to have dinner with nightly, so I never ended up going to the 6:30 meet up.

Other than that one meet up at an inconvenient time, I didn't really see NCL cater to solos at all. I feel like if they were going to have a meet-up it should be in the morning around breakfast time, not dinner. So that people can plan activities and dinners/lunches with other solos if they wanted.

I ended up meeting several solo people traveling just on my own, so I never felt lonely. Plus everything was so busy. However, I would say the first couple of days I did feel a bit lonely but I think part of it was jet lag, and being in an inside cabin.

I'm still going to do an Epic cruise. However, I still don't see many itineraries that excite me right now. I really love to go back to Europe.

Also, another thing that is absolutely wonderful is Febreeze wrinkle release. It was my first time using it and it actually works!! I hung up all my clothes the first night and used it and by morning none of my cottony clothes had wrinkles.

So I just got back from my Mediterranean/adriatic sea cruise.

I realized that you are never going to totally blend in with the locals. Maybe if you have ancestors from that region AND dress exactly like them, will they think you are local. But other than that they will be able to see you are a tourist a mile away, no matter what you are wearing.

Also, if you tend to dress more local, if you do shore excursions, then you may end up sticking out from other people on your tour. I feel like I did. Most people were wearing khaki, shorts, t-shirts, light color clothing. While, I wore mostly darker clothing and covered my arms and legs. I dressed more conservatively.

In some ways its good to look like a tourist, because people are generally friendly and also give you space. I also noticed people who looked more local getting a bit more scrutinized when coming back through the port terminal security (not the cruise security, the security for the ports).

Honestly, so many spots that we went to were so touristy, I mean all I saw were tourists, that its hard to say what the locals were wearing because the locals weren't frequenting those spots.

I think next time I take a Mediterranean cruise, I will just wear whatever dresses I feel like and always have a light sweater/scarf for cover up. I'm still not a shorts and t-shirt person, but I will probably wear more lighter colors.

I'm heading out to Italy/Croatia/Greece in just a few days. I appreciate all the suggestions in this thread and have crafted my wardrobe with some of the suggestions in mind.

My concern with living in Vegas and being accustom to the heat, is that at about 70 or below I feel really cold. So I'm taking a few lightweight sweater/blazers. I am also taking a couple of solid color maxi skirts, even though someone mentioned that people dont really wear them there.

I'm curious about exchanging money before I go too. I was more worried about paying a bunch of atm fees, but I didn't realize europe didn't charge ATM fees?

I'm actually going to be traveling to countries with 4 different currencies. I'm going to Italy (euro), Croatia (Kuna), and Turkey (lira), and then the UK (pound) after my trip. I just hate to get money in one currency and not have enough or worse have a lot left over, and get terrible exchange rates back.

I have a question about over the counter meds and vitamins. If you are traveling out of the country, Can you just put it all in a pill box? Or do you need to actually have it in the bottle it came in? I haven't traveled out of the country in almost 20 years, so I'm not sure how strict they are.

I am almost in your same boat. My cruise is still about 5 weeks out. It will be my first solo cruise and first cruise in Europe! I am freaking out about how I will get around in Italy when I don't know any Italian. I've studied the route from my hotel to port over and over.

I'm sure when you get the first one down, the next will be easier.

This issue regarding the Terrorists in Tunisia did alarm me for a bit, and also the recent downing of the Germanwings plane.

When I was in my vacation planning stages in November I costed several versions of the trip. All I knew was that I wanted to go to Europe this spring/summer, but I wasn't set on any particular city. I specifically looked at Mediterranean cruises that went to Tunisia because it looked interesting and I thought the roman ruins would be a one once in a lifetime experience to see. Also, I could say I've been to the continent of Africa if I went there.

I also planned out several trips where I would leave from Barcelona or Rome and go to Germany for a few days after before I went home. I was thinking Germany or England. And the plane that was downed was leaving from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. Yikes! Just gave me a wake up call like the Tunisia terror event too.

I actually decided on going to the Eastern Mediterranean with a Venice port, and then I am flying from Venice to London to stay a few days before I head home. I just hope nothing happens in any of the places on my itenerary between now and then. I would've never expected these two events to happen either, so you just never know. I can't say it didn't give me pause.

I am traveling solo on an Eastern Med. cruise in May on NCL. I started looking at prices in November. I noticed that the closer to sail date the prices seemed to increase. Actually, the prices seemed to dip around 90 days before, and then about 60 days before they increased. I don't know if that happens all the time. It may depend on the season.

I also looked at Epic, but I decided to go with an inside stateroom on Jade. Those Epic rooms looked too claustrophobic. An inside room is bad enough, but their studio rooms look like you can barely stand in them. Just enough room for a bed.

I'm going on the Jade Venice to Venice with stops in Turkey, Croatia, and Athens. The prices of my Jade cruise was only about $50 more than the cost of an Epic studio. The base price was about $674 and about $780 with taxes. But if you look at the pricing now for the same cruise, its probably a 2-3 hundred dollars more. The pricing is kind of erratic.

I have to say that my experience on Jade was different. They did little for solo travellers. The good was the worst I have ever experienced, and I had a lot of noise from the next door cabin. Epic was much better. Personal preference is with RCI

Where did you travel to on the Jade?

Just want to update.

I chose NCL Jade with an inside cabin.

I may try Epic next year.

I was able to get an inside for about $50 more than if I had bought a studio on Epic. So once the price came down, I was pretty comfortable with getting the inside.

So glad I booked my cruise when I did. I paid for my May 9-16 Venice to Venice cruise on March 3, a little more than 60 days out.

It is a single supplement cruise/inside cabin.

I booked for $674 base price with tax it was $788.

Today, I went through and checked to see what the price would be today. It is now $795 base price with tax it is about $910.

It seems like with the European cruises, they prices really go up closer to the sail date.

In fact, when I first started looking at cruises to the Mediterranean in November, I was eyeing a March 18 Mediterrenean cruise. I remember at the time balconies were pretty cheap. When I checked back in February the balconies had sold out, and the insides were almost as much as the balconies!

Perhaps, NCL cruises to other regions are different.

I know this is an older thread. But this is one of the better reviews I've seen for the itinerary of the NCL Jade Adriatic cruise that I am going on May.

I am researching this myself.

Viator lists a hop on hop off tour with a lot of good stops.

http://www.viator.com/tours/Athens/Athens-Shore-Excursion-Athens-Hop-on-Hop-off-Tour/d496-2916ATHENSPRT

Athens and Piraeus hop-on hop-off tour stops:

Akti Miaouli Terminal

Lions Gate

Archaeological Museum of Piraeus

Mikrolimano Harbour

The Planetarium

Marriott & Intercontinental Hotels

Temple of Zeus

National Gardens

Syntagma Square

Melina Merkouri, Plaka

Intercontinental & Marriott Hotels

The Planetarium

The Munincipal Theatre

I am mostly interested in just seeing the Acroplis and the Temple of Hephaestus which are stops on this tour. Also its only $25 which seems like a good deal.

I'm a bit confused though about the port route vs. city route. I only see one route listed on Viator? Unless the previous poster is talking about a different tour operator.

ETA: never mind I found this hop on hop off tour with the Red and Blue Routes.

My only concerns with these types of tours is actually getting back to the ship in time. It looks like the entire loop takes about 2 1/2 hours. It begins at 8:30 with 30 minute intervals for stops...and with the ship leaving at 5. It really only gives you a couple of hours to truly look around. I'll have to think about whether I want to do this or a shore excursion.

http://www.citysightseeing.gr/red-route/tour-map/red-route

Well I booked my cruise around the 65-67 day mark. Didn't see this thread. My cruise leaves in early may. It was an inside cabin. I had been tracking a NCL Jade and a NCL epic cruise cabin with single supplement since December. The base PP/Double Occupancy price of the Jade cruise never changed that much (about $50 up and down), but the single supplement at some point dropped from about 75%-80% to 50%. I was scared the supplement price may increase in the 60 day mark so I booked it.

I'll watch the pricing on this cruise and supplement to see how it is closer to the 30 day mark.

Having tracked a few cruises for a couple of months, I don't really see NCL prices dropping too drastically in the last four weeks. I followed the pricing for mostly european cruises.

Checking in for the first time. I want to lose 20-25lbs before I cruise May 2015. I think that would put me around a size 8-10 or smaller. idk.

This thread is very insightful!! I'm going on a East. Mediterranean cruise in May (Italy/Croatia/Turkey/Greece).

I honestly rarely dress casual. I don't even own a pair of regular shorts (gym shorts yeah). I have t-shirts but I only wear them to work out. I don't own flip flops.

I also studied in spain when I was in college and know that people in Europe tend to dress less casually in general compared to americans.

My concern is the opposite. I think I may be overdressed and stickout from other people on tour excursions. Every picture I've seen, people are dressed super casual like they are going to the beach. That's not my personal style so I'm having a bit of dilemma about my wardrobe on the trip. It is interesting to see other people's perspectives.

While they will adjust the price before final payment or give you a possible upgrade after final payment......the Best price guarantee policy is just good for 48 hours after you make the booking.

 

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/best-price-guarantee

 

Our price is the best price

If you find a lower published price for the same cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line, either on ncl.com or on a piece of communication directly from Norwegian, we will either:

 

Re-price your cruise at the lower price

Or, you'll receive 110% of the difference in the form of an Onboard Credit

How To Claim Your Guarantee

Just complete the "Best Price. Guaranteed." claim form and submit it online within 48 hours of making your booking. If it meets the Guarantee criteria and you choose to receive an Onboard Credit, we will automatically attach that credit to your account. Once you are on board the ship, you can use the credit however you please.

OK I guess I missed the fine print.

59 days.:)

I love your review and photos.

I'm taking a Med cruise on NCL Jade in May. Different itinerary. I was wondering if there are a lot of areas to sit on the deck of the ship? Or outdoor eating areas? I've never been on NCL at all so it is all new to me.