L2trvl

My family and I were on the Norwegian Getaway that docked in Costa Maya on Friday,  January 3. The word on our ship was that your ship could not leave because of the position of your pier...parallel to the island, while we were more perpendicular. We were told that the direction of the very strong winds was forcing your ship to jam up to the pier so tightly that the ship could not move without causing damage to the ship. This seemed like a reasonable explanation to us, as the winds were, indeed, extremely strong. This was info we got from crew members who had friends who were crew members on your ship....but who knows if it is fact. 

My family and I will be on the same itinerary 12/29- 1/5. If you have any of your dailies, it would be very helpful to us if you could post them. Thank you!😊

Good to know...thanks. Yes, I know that the resort fee is standard there, especially at the true "resorts". But it's the extra $180/night that the Marriott wants to charge me to have my kids in a room that it claims sleeps 4 anyway that really gets me....:)

I don’t know what the cutoff age is to be considered “children,” but our family just stayed at Marriott Waikiki and we were not charged extra to have our 16 yr old and 13 yr old children in the room with us. We had 2 beds for 4 ppl.

Let me just say this, it sounds like most of you had good butlers. Our butler was like a ghost. We never saw him. A dish with canapés or little sweets would show up on our coffee table at random times. That’s it! Never saw him in hallway, no brief “is everything ok” phone calls, no taps at the door to just let us know he was alive. He did the least he was expected to do. Actually we didn’t need him, we were fine on our own and if we called him for something , I’m sure he would have responded.

We had traveling companions who had a completely different experience with their butler. In addition to the little plate on coffee table, she might leave freshly baked warm cookies, bottles of complimentary water (free water wasn’t included in our suites), special chocolates. And if she hadn’t seen them during the day, she would give a quick call or stop by their table at dinner to ask if there was anything they might need. She was never intrusive, always polite and friendly and kept things brief.

So, I guess my point is, if you want a tip of more than $10 per day, don’t just mysteriously plunk a plate down on our coffee table and disappear into the bowels of the ship. Bring us some warm cookies and ask us if we are ok.

We had a wonderful concierge on PoA, Thomas. He was attentive while not being overbearing. He graciously took care of any problems we had and gave answers to any questions we had. He was always friendly and efficient. He gave my family and me the opportunity to relax, have peace of mind and enjoy our cruise! Who could ask for more!! Thank you, Thomas, and thank you NCL for providing such a great concierge!

You’ve probably already booked, but we had the same dilemma you are having. After checking prices for 2 staterooms, we decided to book one of the obstructed view two bedroom suites. It has 2 bathrooms, 1bdrm with a king and the other with 2 single beds (twins) and 2 Pullman’s, TVs in each bdrm, plus all of the perks that suites get. We looked in one of the regular staterooms and it was so small that we would have been miserable. I’m not sure how 4 adults could manage. Not sure price comparison with 2 inside rms, but it was almost same as 2 outside, and we were still all together. There are only 4 of these suites, midship on 7th floor, so they get booked early. We loved it!

We are receiving a pre cruise night at the Marriott Waikiki thru the Free at Sea promo. Is the $35.00 resort fee included, or do we get charged that at check out?

That's great! Exactly what I had hoped to hear.

Thank you, dexddd! May have stirred up a hornet's nest or two. I've learned my lesson. ;)

Along with all of the for purchase items in fridge, is there room to add something of your own (i.e. bottled water, wine,etc)?

Brenda, thank you for the helpful information! So happy to know we may add off menu items to order. Glad you had a good experience!

Bwahaha! Didn't mean to sound like a brat....and blue is not my color!

dexddd, its positive reviews like yours that I am clinging to!

However, if your theory is correct, all of those people going ashore, that PoA doesn't have to feed, cater to and entertain, has to amount to enough to pay for enough poorly paid, gratuity supported employees to offer PoA passengers what all other Norwegian ship passengers get, and more times than not at a better fare....HELLOOO MONOPOLY!

We chose this cruise. We will have a great time. But, fair is fair and I want what everybody else is getting!!

Yes, the post before yours explained what the OP meant to say. The original post, if you read it, makes no reference to UBP overage, just listed " drinks in excess of $15" are covered by unrefundable OBC. :rolleyes:

So I can't buy a $10 glass of wine with our free at sea OBC?(Per "drinks over $15" with non refundable)

And, btw, butlers aren't busy on other Norwegian ships?!?

That is very disappointing! I was really excited after reading long threads with posts abt wonderful breakfasts from Cagney's (or the ships designated suite restaurant) or even MDR, and dinners from specialty restaurants!

It's a shame that PoA knows it has a monopoly and takes advantage of it. Without the location, or if there was true competition, we would never have booked this ship. There were so many bad reviews, I had to close my eyes and just "write the check." My extended family and I wanted the destination and wanted the cruise experience.

We go on all of our trips with a good attitude and enthusiasm. We are already in that mode for this trip! Had to put negative reviews behind us and look at the good parts of the trip. However, this does put a sour taste in my mouth for future NCL cruises!

Thanks for info! Have only been on a couple of cruises and was warned not to touch my cell phone on ship even when in port. So this is great news!(y)

Can passengers in suites order breakfast and lunch from Cagney's?....dinner?

Can breakfast be ordered from MDR?

For any recent passengers on Pride of America please clarify cell phone usage for me.

My interpretation of what I've read on this forum is that while ship is docked, passengers may use their cell phone for calls, texts, internet, etc, while ONBOARD SHIP, with no extra charges added due to using ship's cell tower. This is supposedly because you are actually using an island tower.

Is this right? Why wouldn't your phone automatically connect with PoA cell tower. BTW, as obvious by post, I am pretty illiterate when it comes to how these things work.:)