Fiona2011

See you on board the Prima! @mustymom

On 3/11/2022 at 11:34 AM, Rhea98 said:

Terminal testing is the more nerve-racking to me. We did that in Civitavecchia in December on NCL. We'd tested within a 72 hr range as well as a 48 hr range before leaving Orlando. We maintained our personal health protocols through Miami, Boston, LHR, and FCO before a night at the port.  Our next cruise is out of Genoa in April, and we are glad just to have to test within 48 hrs (we may have to get tele-monitored tests, though). At least, I think what the protocol is at the moment.

We are also out of Genoa on 4/27 and according to the website, we need to have PCR tests within 48 hours and I don't think we can do those ourselves. We have appointments at our airport to get them before we fly from the West Coast, but will be en route when the results are back, fingers crossed.

I'm on the same cruise. I was able to complete web check in and print all of my documents today. It lists check in time as 11:00.

Last April, a friend and I did a 21 day Panama cruise on the Pearl and loved her! We had excellent service in all of the dining venues and our room steward was fantastic! We shared an inside cabin and had plenty of storage. It was a long cruise and my friend is NOT a light packer.

You'll have a great time!

15 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

I am booked solo in a cabin.  So, if the excursion credit is $50 per cabin, then I get that full credit for an excursion in each port?  That's a sweet deal for me on a cruise with 12 ports.   Or is there some fine print caveat that the $50 per cabin credit is based on double occupancy or something like that?   After all, NCL will get less from my one excursion less $50 than they would from two excursions less $50, so I wouldn't be surprised if there is a catch.  Yes, I will read all the fine print and ask my very competent travel agent, but since this thread is currently active, it seems like a good time to ask fellow cruisers, who often are the best source of information.    

 

Please see my post, I forgot to address you specifically, Joanne

I have the same situation, Joanne, and the person I talked to in order to book my excursions (the shore excursion dept, not a PCC or TA) assured me that I would receive the full $50 credit after each excursion. I think there is only one that is less than $50 on my cruise, so I did not inquire about that aspect. From what I've been told, it is best to book directly with the shore excursion folks at NCL, not to do it online or any other way. Your onboard account will be credited the $50 after you return from the excursion. I am also on a cruise with 12 ports, so it really helped to keep some of those solo costs down. I hope this helps!

The Thai chili wings are the best! LOVE them! I was on the Pearl in Sept/Oct and went to O'Sheehan's as soon as I got on the ship only to find out they had the old menus and no Thai chili wings. :eek: I'm back on the Pearl in a month and I'm hoping since the refurb that they've updated the menus! But, if they haven't, I'll get my Thai chili wing fix in Sept on the Epic. :D

You're in luck! I was just on the Pearl in April and the Thai chili wings were available-and delicious!!

I was on the Escape last January and at that time there were no items with an upcharge on the menu. We ordered an entree, a couple of sides and dessert for each of us. We had the SDP.

One of main dining rooms will be open at their regular time-12 or 12:30. My friend and I got there when it opened and it was lovely and quiet.

The best meal I had on the Escape was at Pincho Tapas! We had the Specialty Dining for 3 meals and used one credit for lunch here. So worth it!!

It's a five minute boat ride from there to Maya Key, which is an excursion offered thru the cruise line only. It's a great place- great day though if you're interested..... pool, beach, excellent buffet lunch, cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen anywhere (probably including my house!).... but the real draw is the snorkeling which is awesome. There' a long pier into the water and you just walk down the steps at the end and you are on the reef. They provide snorkel gear if you need it.

 

They also have an animal sanctuary, and even a big bay area with sharks and sea lions- they are free to look at and for extra you can swim with them. (we didn't do that)

 

Can't say enough good things about Maya Key... the return boat back to the ship runs every half hour so you can stay as long as you like.

Thanks for this summary of Maya Key. I will be going to Roatan in April and will be looking for good snorkeling excursions-they aren't listed for our cruise yet. Taking note!

Check pricing - many times the spa rooms are $300+ more per person, but the spa pass is only $199 per person. Nothing special about the staterooms themselves, so no need to over pay for spa access.

Yes, good to check, we just lucked out and it was $50 less than what the price we paid for our balcony+ the spa pass would have been. Timing can play a part, I'm sure.

Good point, Birdtravels! We might have been a little more forward than I remembered-closer to the 15730's because we never heard the treadmills. However, if you choose port side, there are cabins above, so that's another option.

Yes! A friend and I stayed on deck 15 in January and loved it. We had a forward cabin, so we were under the Salon area (15742ish) A couple of times we heard a little bit from the pool area, but it was very minimal, like an announcement or maybe music if we were on our balcony. It was a quick hop up to the Spa, which we made frequent use of. We actually saved about $50 when we rebooked to a spa balcony as we were planning to get a pass anyway. Being forward, when we got off of elevators or to the end of the stairs, these rooms have their own little dead-end hallway, which was nice-not a lot of foot traffic outside the door.

If you're not sure you want to spend $15, think about spending $7 at Pincho Tapas Bar, which is absolutely amazing! All the small plates you want for the $7 if you're using one of your SDP credits. My favorite food on the Escape!

I found the magnets with clips to be pretty handy for keeping paper clutter off of the limited desk/countertop space. Packing cubes will be your friend for the closet shelves.

I'm looking at the Panama cruise also, but I'd probably take the one that ends in New Orleans. I'm solo and NCL seems to be a good choice and it looks like an awesome experience.

There is already a very active roll call for the April 2O18 New Orleans to Seattle 21-day through the canal. I know it's the opposite direction of what you were thinking, but it sure looks like a fun group. I am on this with 2 friends.

I also recommend Pincho Tapas as an excellent value for the $7 upcharge. The food was the best I had on the ship!

IF your Uber driver is familiar with how to get to each Terminal Bldg. Ours had a bit of trouble, so we had to loop around once, but we made it and any of the Uber drivers we used there were super nice. I would double check that the address you have is the terminal building and not the Port admin. bldg. And which terminal you are to board in, B or C so you can get close.

Good to know about fewer kids being the norm on the longer cruises, which I sort of figured! Some friends and I are booked on the reposition of the Pearl from New Orleans to Seattle because we always wanted to go through the Panama Canal. April 2018 for 21 days. I expect it will be quite a different experience than our week on the Escape!

Last few times we've sailed from Miami I always book an early flight. We are on the escape February 25 and have a 9:28am flight back to Raleigh. If you get up around 5:30am, do self walk off, grab a cab or Uber and you can easily be at Mia by 7:30am. All of this is assuming there are no issues with ship being late but I fly a lot and can get on another flight for free if we happen to miss the 9:28am so I'm not worried, if I didn't have that option I would probably wait and book later.

Um, not if they don't start debarkation until 7:45, as was the case just a couple of weeks ago when I was on the Escape. You are lucky that you can get a later flight easily and for free, but most of us don't have that option. I agree with the walk off as soon as you can and grab an Uber. We were quickly through customs and zipped right to the airport. Lots of that lounging around time, lol.

VideoTech...this is so helpful.

 

Quick "?" Are there kiosks/vending machines in the terminal to buy refreshments or snacks? If not, are we able to take any to the terminal?

Yes, there are vending machines. We had a 9:30 check-in and the terminal waiting area was not at all crowded at that time. There was also coffee, tea, water and I think, juice set-up and available for free. We had some time to wait until boarding, but we waited in seats and not a line.

If you love food, give Pincho Tapas a try! It was our favorite specialty dining experience, by far! We ended up going there for lunch and it wasn't crowded so the wait staff was very attentive and we really enjoyed their recommendations. Thursday was Beef Wellington night in the MDRs! Just got back on 1/21. If you didn't already have something booked, I would have recommended the Tree Limin' zipline excursion in St. Thomas-loads of fun!

We're cruising next Janaury on the Carnival Magic. We noticed Carnival is offering $20 odd the Thermal Spa week pass. We're having trouble pre purchasing it. We can't seem to find the option in the spa list online, and when we called requesting it be added to our cruise, 3 reps were unable to help us.

 

Any suggestions on how to purchase this before the cruise?

This particular thread is regarding the Norwegian Escape and you are apparently traveling on Carnival. However, for NCL, the spa pass option is not available for purchase until 90 days before sailing, so Carnival may have a similar policy.

Thank you! I figured it was something like that. I know I will be logging in at the 90-day mark to make sure I get our passes! And hopefully I will not witness any "funny business" at the spa! 😂 Some people!

It showed up at 100 for my balcony room on the Escape-we had already upgraded to a spa balcony so it didn't matter, but you might want to check at 100 days.