clarkfam

On 5/16/2022 at 3:55 PM, Reagan0712 said:

Just started reading this thread so if someone has already responded I apologize.

Anyhow, if you haven’t booked your flights yet there is a bus that runs twice a day from Vancouver near the cruise terminal to SEATAC. It’s a five hour ride and the cost for the later bus is $50.  Then you don’t need to test at all. 

Thank you so much.  After a lot of research, we have the bus booked.  

2 hours ago, 2inSETexas said:

Same here. Our hotel in Vancouver offers testing, and we now plan to handle it there.

What hotel in Vancouver offers the testing?  We are cruising from Seward to Vancouver.  We have not made our return flight arrangements yet so we can stay in Vancouver a night if this will be easier.  

4 hours ago, dshefter said:

We just got off the Encore after a fabulous 7-day cruise. I will be posting a review in the next few days. But wanted to let people know to ignore all the negative reviews about the crew and ship. Is it a perfect vessel? No. But it has a lot to offer. Happy to answer questions, but I will post a detailed review of the things we did on the ship.

Looking forward to your review.  We sail in April on her.  

We are on the Sky for a short 4 day Cuba cruise. We have a suite and a balcony cabin next door. Is there a way to open the balconies so they connect as one?

Thank you

They won't do it.

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We are leaving on Getaway on 16th. It's killing me waiting to see if our bid is accepted.

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Best of luck!! Hopefully we both win!

Good luck to you!

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Has anyone heard on offers for the Getaway this weekend April 16?

I have two bids for the Haven

I am on same cruise and have 4 bids for Haven.

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I placed several bids for Haven. Our cruise is the 16th. I looked online and they still have empty Haven rooms. Fingers crossed.

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We were on the 1/28 Escape sailing and just got off the ship today. We initially booked a mid-ship mini suite. Around 80 or so days out we received an email to place bids on the Haven suites. They give you the option to bid 2 categories above what you initially booked. We initially bid $500 per person for the H5, H6, and H7 suites. A week before the cruise we still hadn't heard anything so we upped our bids to $650 per person- we really wanted the Haven! 3 days before sailing we received confirmation our bid was accepted for the H7. It was an amazing trip!

 

 

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How can you change your bid?

You can't book those dinners in advance, though. At least not today. We are going on a cruise in April and I like booking specialty restaurants online. It won't let you do it unless you want to pay for it and fight for reimbursement.

Given the new bottled water restriction, I wonder if someone has some recent info about how drinkable the water on the Pearl is. Is there somewhere on the ship where you can fill up a reusable bottle (and keep it in the fridge)? Is the water in the cabins good enough for brushing teeth or if one of my boys needs a quick drink before bed? I hate to pay what they are charging for bottled water, but if it is a safety issue, of course I will.

We were on the Pearl and had no water problems. We took a couple of tervis cups and filled them up from sink and placed in the refrigerator. The water is drinkable.

Probably not. The toilet and shower are quarter circle enclosures in the corners beside the door opening. If you stand against the interior wall on either side of the door, and someone is on the other side, they are unlikely to be able to see you. You can see the position of the toilet sitter and the door in this image.

 

 

Thank you for the photo.

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So, let me get this straight, if you enter or exit the cabin, if someone is walking past your door and happen to glance in, they could see a silhouette of your spouse or cabin mate in the bathroom or shower?

If you had a choice of floor, which floor would you choose? 8, 9, 10

We booked 8069 and from what I have been reading, not a good choice. We have other rooms that we can choose (Mini-suite) mid or forward.

We searched Trip Advisor and found a tour that my husband and I thought would be great. We contacted Lee Miles (Leland@misteremerald.com) to discuss the tour. He gave us a price for 2 and said if we found more people the price would go down. I told our roll call people about the tour and ended up with 17 people at a cost of $40 per person. Everything that was promised was fulfilled. This price included the tours of some of the paid admissions. We were met where they told us they'd be, a sign with my name on it, walked through a garden to an awaiting mini-bus, toured LaPopa Manastery, photos of San Felipe Fortress, viewed new city and old city, stopped at Pierino gallo Plaza, visited Lee Miles' jewelry store which is highly recommended if you want to purchase jewelry, paid for our trip at his store and received drinks and wifi, walked old city, visited Church of San Pedro Clever, back to garden for a shuttle to cruise ship. I highly recommend using Lee Miles. You will be truly satisfied and you get more for your money! He makes sure he gets you a tour guide that speaks very clear English.

I have read all over about secret doors on other ships. Is there one on the Pearl?

I wish you could share this. This sounds helpful and wonderful!

Please ignore this post. I found the spreadsheet. Oh My Goodness, Sherri you are a brilliant. Really appreciate the hard work you did to benefit all of us!

I am a planning nut. I have an Excel workbook that I use to organize myself and my DH before each cruise. It is broken down into several spreadsheets (tabs).

 

Tab #1 is the oh-so-important PACKING LIST, organized by suitcase and carry ons (mine vs. DH). The items are color-coded (his are blue, mine are pink) and for items that I still need to purchase before the cruise, I click the "to-buy" column and it sends that item to a separate spreadsheet (tab) called "SHOPPING LIST". Since I tend to lay the open bags in our guest room and begin the packing process over the course of a month before a big cruise, having the list there is helpful. I can check things off as I put them into the bags.

 

As for the SHOPPING LIST, I have an alert set on my calendar to check my shopping list at 3 months and again at 2 months prior to cruise to begin looking for any items that still need to be purchased.

 

Another tab on my cruise organizer is the ONBOARD TIPS list. This is very helpful when cruising on a large ship with so many options. The tips list includes all the dining and activity venues as well as whether there are fees involved, if reservations are required, best viewing places for outdoor shows, secret spots, all sorts of CC tips that I gather from lurking in the months leading up to a cruise.

 

My TO DO tab is my reminder to do things like setting dining or show reservations, making payments, booking excursions, prefilling Rx's, notifying bank of international travel, etc.

 

The last tab on my cruise planner is my SCHEDULE. Just prior to leaving, I fill in the blanks on this document and print it out in triplicate (because we always end up changing something after we get on the ship). It's a glimpse of the entire cruise itenerary. It includes any dinner / show / activity reservations we've made at a glance on one page. It also contains our Hotel, Flight, Travel Insurance, and Transfer information and all emergency phone numbers for TA, cruise line, hotel, etc.

 

Of course, all that is subject to change once we step foot on the ship, but it's good to at least have something to go by. And for me, planning the vacation is half the fun!

I wish you could share this. This sounds helpful and wonderful!

Don't buy a wrinkle release product, your paying for water and smell nice. . SAVE YOUR MONEY ! Pack a regular spray bottle, when in room... Add water and spray your items wrinkles ... and watch the wrinkles go away. First item in our suit case !

Agree! You can buy a bottle with mister in Walmart near the irons. It packs very light. We tried it last trip. If all else fails, mist the wrinkles a little heavy and then blow dry it.

I was wondering if when you go on a long cruise if the entertainment is different every night?

Has anyone been on the Panama 18 day cruise?

Trying to figure out dinner schedules, etc.

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I am so glad I came across this thread.

We've been on a 7 day and we packed:

fold-up laundry basket and it sits over near the couch and out of the way for dirty clothes, garbage bags to put dirty clothes in for trip home, magnets for dailies, pens to help with custom paperwork, notes, and highlighters for dailies, post-its for notes left in cabin for spouse to tell whereabouts, boca clips for drying clothes attached to chairs while in port, chap stick, first aid kit, sunscreen, etc.

What I am adding to my list: over the door holder, duct-tape, mini-battery tea lights, flashlight and eye glass repair kit.

I will also pack 1/2 of clothes in each suitcase.

We are going on an 18 day and nervous about how many clothes to pack!

Any ideas or tips for internet to communicate home that is inexpensive?

Where is the secret map, door, etc for Norwegian Pearl?

love this one. all tips are great. but this one is my favorite. and how obvious but u don't think of it. i'll be packing one for sure! Thanks.. :)

Really curious how they attached the clothesline.

I am glad I came across this site today.

I am going on a long cruise and was hoping people could suggest what they do or how they pack for long cruises and the airplane luggage problem. Cruises usually allow more than airplanes.

I learned that for wrinkle release, you can pack an empty bottle that has a mister and fill it with water and mist your clothes. If needed use the blow dryer after misting and wrinkles come out.

What is the door decorating for? Is that so you can find your room easily or to make it your own?

a bungee is used to keep the balcony door open. :)

If you prop the door open or leave it open, doesn't the a/c shut off? Any solutions on that?

I like the list. 2 things I don't do laundry on vacation hell no! And if i have a stain oxy clean spray or tide to go pen fixes anything i spill(they are TSA approved)

What I can't figure out is the string and bungee cord anyhow? repelling off the balcony? Just curious.:)

 

 

Alrana

I'm curious, have you been on a long cruise and if so, what do you do about laundry?