rnr4thatsme

They moved down the street next to the typewriter repair shop in my town. 🤪

Is this on the NCL Sun?

Is the pricing better if bought locally on site? Or is it the same as if you pre-book.

Contemplating a cruise to Alaska in 2024 but was wondering if it's like the Carribean where you can get off at the port and there will be tours to buy from vendors? Or does one need to pre-book? I would definitely pre-book the few that are important to me, but other ports, I'm open to see whatever...

So true! I couldn’t access an English language NCL site.

I’ve heard the seas are generally rougher in the winter, does anyone have info on this? Also, are things generally open all year?

There are many great restaurants and neat bars downtown, if you like that kind of thing. Downtown Victoria is very pretty for a stroll around the Empress Hotel.

Unfortunately, we waited until from 12:30 to 1:30 in the mall and the lines never went down significantly... It was not very organized and I felt awful for the elderly and those with small children. And even if you are Haven (I wasn't but took notice), it wasn't until after the initial long line did you get any preferential treatment insofar as the lines to get on the ship.

Definitely bring your elderly family member a wheelchair!!! We were just through the Port of New Orleans and can second it's a LOT of walking and standing... even for much younger people. It took us about 2 hours to get onboard. No one checked our check-in times, it was just one huge line-up about 2 hours on our feet. Alternatively, get the 9:30 check in time and get to port super early - you may find a spot to sit while waiting for boarding to start. Either way, it's a long wait. Once onboard, our rooms weren't ready for a few hours. I would highly recommend going to a sit-down venue to bide your time. It's a little crazy. Muster drill was also done the pre-covid way - so having a wheelchair for your elderly family member might be helpful here, too, as our station was in O'Sheeans and it was very hot and packed. We were fine to stand, but there weren't enough chairs in any case. We also had a very forward room - just be aware that the hallways are long if she tires easily - perhaps a walker with a seat or something might be helpful if they need a rest? Disembarkation, while smoother, also covered a lot of ground - your family member may benefit from a wheelchair on this day too.

You do get an in category upgrade usually (value $100 give or take). I would just research which exact cruise you want beforehand while you have access to faster internet rather than trying to research onboard.

Just off the Breakaway, cruised the Jade previously.. I liked on the Jade not having to pre book entertainment. I didn’t really notice a difference on the pool deck with crowding. I’d say it felt the same to me. The only thing to note is of course less bells and whistles (ropes course, water slides, etc) on a smaller ship.

@Tpzatxjust pay the $4.99 a minute to call your TA from the middle of the Atlantic or whatever ocean you're on, it's worth avoiding the stupidity on here... Or believe previous posters who were able to book onboard for free with a real live person. I'm sure if I wanted to book onboard in person with CruiseNext, I could've, no doubt. The manager said as much. The fact is booking onboard for free without paying for phone or internet use is possible. Whether you are the type of person who prefers to deal with a TA, PCC, their personal travel guru or just DIY, that's another question that nobody asked.

I have highlighted and underlined the sections that refer to the duties specified. Cruise Next Ultimate refers to the process of booking a cruise onboard to receive discounts in addition to the usual Cruise Next certificate discounts. And again, I ask... Who would you suggest then that a cruiser onboard see to obtain this additional discount of booking onboard? The captain himself (yes, that's sarcasm).

Ok, then, how would one access the discount of booking onboard? Which department would one consult and book through? Who would be the "booking agent" in this case which would access this discount for a client? Seeing as, in your opinion, it is not the CruiseNext staff. I thought maybe using the caps would make it clearer or easier for read for you, my bad.

Then why OFFER and ADVERTISE to book cruises onboard for a discount? How else would you get that discount if not THROUGH the CruiseNext desk? They ARE in fact also booking agents in that capacity.

I often book myself, online, without assistance, through a website. Same thing with the majority of my similar-aged friends and I’m not that young. If the wifi had been better, I could’ve gotten the price myself in 2 minutes. But with the slow wifi, I figured he had access to a computer and it is in their job description - that’s how they advertise them “Book your next cruise onboard get an automatic upgrade”. I know what I want - just give me a price. That seemed to be a big ask.

The thing is if you had booked onboard, you would receive an in class upgrade - obstructed balcony to BA, worth about $100. They should stop offering these specials if they don’t want you to book onboard then. I’ll take my chances on getting a gift card from my big box store rather than try to deal with those people next time!

Yes, I notified their supervisor when I saw her later, and she was very apologetic. I didn’t expect more than that - that was suffice for me.

I just wanted to give a thumbs up to Sonia from Rony’s Tours in Roatan. If you are looking for a laid back island tour with a shopping stop (which I was), she is great. She’s a slightly older lady who grew up on Roatan before it became the big developed place it is now, so has many good anecdotes. She knows all the shop owners and seemed to honestly care that we were having a good time. I would definitely give Rony’s a call the next time I am in Roatan. Not only are they cheaper than NCL, you decide where and how long to stop. I recommend the Rusty Fish and Waves of Art if you are looking for authentic artwork and souvenirs. This was my favourite stop on our cruise and I can’t wait to visit again!

Has anyone experienced this? Just off the Breakaway, and while every other staff member was pleasant, what’s wrong with the CruiseNext staff? Outside of the manager, who was excellent when we chatted with her about the onboard booking promo, we dealt with two male sales agents who seemed to resent doing their jobs! As I was planning (but did not but after this experience) on booking onboard, I first approached an agent and asked him if he could tell me if any 5 day cruises left Orlando in January 2024, and instead of offering to check just handed me a pamphlet and said I could check in there. Thought it was odd as it usually takes a few minutes to check the website (and the wifi was slow that day - another story, but I digress). I selected later in the day 2 cruises I would like and returned at 8:30, thinking it wouldn’t take too long to price out 2 cruises. There was a lady already speaking to the rep, but I figured I would stick around (they closed at 9), as she seemed to be finishing up. At 8:40, she was done and I approached the agent and asked if he could price out my 2 selected cruises, thinking he had 20 minutes left in his shift, it was plenty of time, and my wifi was slow. He acted the entire time like I was putting him out, even after I explained I realized they closed soon and would return tomorrow to do the actual booking. I was shocked to be honest at the tone and nary a smile or any courtesy to be offered. After such treatment, when I saw him working the next day, I decided to forego booking onboard and just purchased my CruiseNext which I will book with a big box who offers a gift card with purchase. So if you are cruising and don’t want to be hounded by CruiseNext staff, sail the Breakaway. They don’t want to serve you anyways - outside the lovely manager who unfortunately wasn’t always available to speak to. And, yes, I will also notify NCL of my experience…

Just off the same cruise, and we had a similar experience with our room steward. We only saw him once. He was friendly enough and said there was a new cabin distribution for them and he was also cleaning rooms on another floor. This makes me wonder if the workload hasn’t increased. We did have to request the shower gels be refilled as they were empty and there were some dusty areas: nothing serious and any service requested was promptly fulfilled. I wouldn’t consider it a reason to avoid NCL in the future, but almost considered not tipping above and beyond the service charge as I usually do (but then felt bad for the poor guy and tipped extra anyway).

Looking for suggestions for the best ship for an 18 month old. We are planning on going on a multi generational extended family trip in 2025 (Caribbean/Bahamas or somewhere warm 7 day) and have found out we will have a grand baby joining us who will be around 18 months at sailing time. There will be one baby - rest are adults 20-80 years. No babysitting required as we have lots of arms available to help mom and dad. Looking for a ship with baby friendly play areas and possibly splash areas.

Totally understand and will probably do at some point, but we originally were going to gift this trip to our both kids and their spouses, and now we found out a grand baby will be here! But don’t want to leave out the childless sibling…. Just delaying it now until 2025.

Thank you so much for your reply @European_CruiseGirl! The baby pool on the balcony sounds like a great option! This will be my first grand baby, so I am thinking too it will be nice for the mom and dad to have a trip with extended family to give them a break while also accommodating my dad who is in his 80’s and giving him special “great grandad memories”, and the other aunts and uncles who don’t have children yet.

Looking for opinions for a multi generational 18 month - 80 years family trip - just the one baby, rest are adults. We usually cruise Carnival or NCL. Disney is just too expensive and won’t appeal to the majority.. We are thinking May Carribean, Bahamas or Mexico area, ship focussed holiday.