trivimp

The in-room bottle of wine isn't the same thing.  If you only want soda, then the most cost-effective thing to do is to decline the beverage package at booking, but then purchase the Adult & Teen Soda package separately.  It comes out to $9-ish per day, instead of $20 for the regular beverage package.  

ah, simul-post with hallux 😄

I don't think this intersects with the "Second Passenger Flies Free" promo; they already guarantee that two people in the same cabin will be booked on the same flight.  I think this is targeted more towards a larger family group, or a group of friends, who have booked several cabins & want to travel together.  

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Disclaimer added to NCL vaccine policy: "Limited exceptions may be made pursuant to valid medical or religious exemptions".

Do you have a link?  I'm not seeing it on the (US) Sail Safe page.  

Gary, that's good news about your wife's mild case... best wishes for her complete & uneventful recovery.

The rest is just window dressing.  We can get as upset as we want about cancelled vacations, but, keeping ourselves & our loved ones safe is the highest priority.  

22 minutes ago, deek72 said:

 

Thanks. I'm not really an inexperienced cruiser, I've just never had an ocean view cabin. 

 

I know what he was getting at but if a balcony door will open, I wouldn't think it unreasonable to ask if an ocean view cabin window on one of the same decks might open. 

That would be a reasonable assumption, but the ocean view cabins aren't usually on the same deck as balconies (with a few exceptions, such as deck 8 on the Jewel-class ships) -- OV are generally lower.

Bon voyage, Jamie!  Looking forward to your review when you return.  

Yes, there are signs.  

I think a vow renewal ceremony at sea would be sweet, but, it seems a little early to be doing it at ten years.  That's usually something done further down the road, for a 40th anniversary or something.

The spa offers couple's massages, which (again) are a little pricey compared to land-based spas, but would be a nice romantic splurge.  

I submitted my paperwork on 6/3 & received my new passport yesterday.  I was using a courier service (rush my passport dot com) with regular processing, not the upgraded "expedited" package.  The whole thing was pretty painless.  

Q is actually pretty decent barbecue, something I am always amazed to hear myself saying, because it's so unexpected from a 'cue aficionado like myself.  It also has the advantage of being something that is familiar & hopefully not scary for Mr. Picky.  I recommend splitting the judges' platter if you just want to try a taste of everything.  

Jewel-class all the way!  The original locks are so redolent of history.  You also will see the remnants of the original French canal on the starboard side (coming east to west,) which you'll miss on ships diverted to the new locks. 

I'm a history nerd, so it mattered to me.  🙂  Of course, now I want to book another Panama cruise on a neopanamax ship just to get a new experience 🙂 

The points are a courtesy thing, they can be awarded at the discretion of whoever is high up enough in the management chain to make that decision.  There are reports of passengers who organized meet&greets getting awarded double points.  Doesn't happen every time, but it's nice when it does.  

so yeah, HowardK got lucky & he is appreciative of it.  Well done.  

26 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Again, I think you'll be fine, especially on these earlier, less capacity cruises.

 

That said, I don't see how people walk around in the Caribbean in jeans...too damn hot.  I'll take a pair of light khaki's any day....but I'm not a gal.  

I'm with you, too hot; I never pack jeans... it's all sundresses in my bag.

My twin sister, on the other hand, cruises with nothing but jeans and loud Hawaiian shirts.

Vive la difference!  

I seem to remember that there are dry sauna & steam room facilities inside the single-sex area on the Bliss?? I may be conflating it with another ship. 

13 hours ago, SkierRobUMN said:

Same here. I swear they probably just wash everything on super hot water and dry it on high. 
 

I’ve learned to only send out stuff like socks, underwear, gym shorts, old t shirts. 

This is why my travel wardrobe consists exclusively of items that can be thrown in the washer & dryer on any old setting.  If it requires special handling, it stays at home 🏠

I hit platinum after my last cruise, thanks to the grandfathered system.  Oh boy, I was so looking forward to being able to get into the Platinum line & get the dinners & the laundry on my next cruise!! A couple weeks later, the world shut down 😞 

Oooh, that Mixology thing does sound like fun!  Please report back on how well you enjoyed it once you return. 

9 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 = Wheelchair Accessible

 = PrivaSea

 

For an even better set, check out... 🤪

 

 = Two non-combinable beds

 = Holds 5

 = Holds 6

 

And the font for the symbols is dark-colored on the legend, but light-colored on the deck plan chart.  Good web design all around!  😜

The icon actually means wheelchair accessible, not Privasea.  The two icons are similar, so confusing.... 

It would be really really nice if they ever fixed that bug on the website.  I have a friend with whom I cruise often, there are two drop-downs with his name for Guest 2 that I can add when I'm booking something new, and BOTH of them have the wrong Latitudes number.  I have gotten into the habit of going through to the end, putting a courtesy hold on it, then letting my PCC call me to finalize the booking.  This only works because I have a good PCC, it would be seriously annoying otherwise.  

Either itinerary sounds great, but be aware, Bonaire was having some issues pre-pandemic with being able to take a full complement of cruise ships & some were being turned away.  I had an ABC cruise booked last year (immediately pre-pandemic) & we ended up missing Bonaire & had an extra sea day.  

It's hard to know the whole story, but from what I gathered from random internet goofing about, it's something like: Bonaire has two cruise ship docks, one was badly damaged in a hurricane a few years back, money was allocated & repairs were approved, time went on, something something shady dealings, the money disappeared, Bonaire still has only one useable cruise ship dock.  

Anyway, don't get your heart set on Bonaire & then be disappointed if you miss it.  

The MDRs work pretty much like your favorite land restaurant... if you decide you're going to go out to dinner, but you see that the place is really busy when you roll up, you can decide among a few options: 

You can resolve to be patient & wait for a table to open up

You can try to find another place to eat that's less slammed

You can go have a drink & come back later when they slow down 

As some others have said, I've never had more than a few minutes' wait even at very busy times.  Enjoy!

Q has a small dance floor.  They had a four-piece combo in there the night we dined, playing country-rock crossover stuff.  They were pretty fun, lots of people danced.  (Conversely, If you're looking for a quiet conversation, Q is not the spot after about 8 o'clock or so.)

I am a big ol' BBQ freak (& a certified BBQ judge) so I wasn't at all sure what to expect from Q.  I liked it a lot!  It wasn't the very best BBQ I've ever had, but it was a pretty solid offering.  It's mostly Texas 'cue with a few outliers (KC-style burnt ends.)  BBQ is very subjective, so you'll hear some people say they hate it.  But I'm planning on eating there again next time I'm on the Bliss.

First -- They seem to be putting all their eggs into the Gem basket in the Caribbean.  I can see the behind-the-scenes stuff going on with my October cruises (shorex being added & so forth) which tells me that NCL thinks that one is going to go.  (As opposed to the Sky, which had pretty sparse shorex before it was cancelled/swapped for the Gem) 

Last -- I'm guessing the pre-Jewel class ships like the Sky & Sun.  With fewer bells & whistles, they're just not the moneymakers of the fleet.