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Hello, going on our first Carnival 3 day cruise to Bahamas. This is first cruise we didn't have drink package included for free. Wondering what the average cost of drinks are vs buying a package for 59.95 pp per day plus 18% gratuity.  The package seems a bit expensive.  Thanks!

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! Think we got it figured out. Have a wonderful weekend!

You could leave your phone on and calls will come through and you pay the $2.99 a minute. We do that and might have to pay for a few calls while on the ship. Luckily the vast majority of people that would call us know we are away and do not call. But, we have 24/7 coverage.

 

If you get lots of calls, that would not work as well.

 

They can do the "call the ship" thing, but realize the chances of them getting you right away is very slim. If you are not in your cabin, they will have to leave a message. You could be ashore, at dinner, at a show, etc.

Thanks, I'll have to give Verizon a call to see what they will charge for that. I suppose we will get charged for calls even if we don't answer?

Thanks so much for your replies. I will check out the faq about that. :)

Hi everyone...we are traveling tomorrow on NCL Breakaway. We've never used the wifi/internet packages on any of our prior cruises. But now because our kids not traveling with us, we wanted to be able to be reachable on a cell phone in case of emergency. We would not be using the internet on the ship to go online or any social media - but only for cell phone access. Will the basic wifi package cover this? Thanks very much for any help on this.

Have a ball! We are leaving 5 weeks from Sunday! Please report back.

 

Enjoy

Will do!!

Leaving this Sunday 7/5 ... YAY!! I'm just happy to be on vacation. Thanks for all the tips!!!

The check-in time selection is a relatively new thing for NCL. the note I saw as I was checking in online the other day was something to the effect of "Suites, VIP and Platinum do not need to select a time" so no time option was showing (we are platinum).

 

I've noticed at Breakaway security and check in much more focus is on Haven and CAS guests. We did get into the priority security line but only because I told them we are platinum. I think even the sign there said HAVEN only. After security they will ask you what deck you're on and send you to that line. I think last time the lines were so short I didn't even bother with telling them we're platinum and just went to the deck # line.

 

So check-in and security may be different for this cruise than you've experienced as gold in the past.

 

HAVE FUN!!

Thanks!! Leaving this Sunday ... I'm ready for fun!!!

You will have your cruise card in your hand when you check in and before you board. We got to pier around 10:30, and were onboard by 12 noon or so (the lines at terminal seemed to grow a LOT by 11:30pm or so). We had immediate access to room, but bags did not arrive for a few hours. Start your vacation.

Thanks! WoooHooo I am ready!!!! :D

Thanks ... definitely staying away from pool area. Hoping 16 forward will have some chairs available on first sea day! I am ready! Leaving this Sunday ... WooooHooooo!

Your onboard credit will be on your account and there will be a UBP sticker on your cruise card. Drop your carry-on bags in your room and head for decks 6 / 7 / 8 "the Waterfront" to get the lay of the land. And when you want a nice cool adult beverage, it will be free with the UBP (as long as "sticker price" is under $11). Make reservations if you want for specialty dining or entertainment. Continue up to the pool deck and buffet on 15 to see how it is laid out. Most of all, have fun.

We get the cruise card at the terminal before we board? If we board by noon, do we have access to our rooms right away or is there a wait? I kind of recall that back in 2009 on our last cruise. We had to wait a couple of hours before our room was ready.

Thank you for the info. Looking forward to checking out this ship and the waterfront sounds awesome! We are ready to love this ship and this cruise. We enjoy not planning anything, exploring and just chilling and having fun. I am ready for this!

The iConcerige app is different. iMessages use data. SMS texting does not. Without having either a cruise ship plan from Sprint or purchasing a wifi package from NCL you will not be able to iMessage each other.

Got it ... that makes sense ... thanks so much for your help!

Good question. This will be the first time the hubby and I have purchased the UBP. I know we're bad, but.....we have always snuck something on in the past so we could have our "dressing drinks" before dinner....we were discussing how we would do this without it being annoying this time around. We like a strong cocktail, but really we could get one of those and then stop and get some unopened beers for when we finish the cocktail. I'm getting some gears rolling here....thanks guys!!

I'm with you on this ... this weekend will be our first cruise in a long time and we have the UBP. Our last cruise in 2009 we too snuck on. But with UBP no need to ... but also want to find a way to stock some cold ones in our fridge. In addition to beer, do the bars offer hard cider in bottles?

Thanks!!

Hi, sorry if this is a repeat question. We haven't cruised since 2009 and I completely forgot what we do when we first get onboard. :confused: We have onboard credit & UPB ... do we get everything when we check in at port or do we go to the guest services desk? I've only cruised 3 times but so long ago I don't remember the protocol.

Thanks so much!

Hi everyone! We are leaving this weekend for our cruise - we haven't cruised since 2009 so I feel like I'm cruising for the first time. We are a family of 4 - my 2 dd's are 22 and 17 (she won't be 18 until November). We understand we won't be able to purchase Vibe passes because my daughter is not 18. We don't like to be near the pool crowds and prefer the quiet. Is there anyplace on the ship away from the pools that have lounge chairs where it is quiet? Knowing this ship is huge, I am hoping there are some quiet nooks and crannies in the sun somewhere. Thanks for your help. So excited to go on this ship!

Hi, I am going this weekend on the Breakaway!! Yay!! Been many years since last cruise.

I completed my online registration a while ago, and on these boards saw that people mentioned that NCL recently added this option to your online registration. I went online and sure enough it was showing my registration wasn't complete and had to add my arrival time. However, it wouldn't work. I selected 10:30 arrival , but it wouldn't let me select anything for the other 3 members of my family. Even though the early slots were all zero, I couldn't select anything for the rest of my family - not even the after noon times. So I called NCL and she told me that this was something new they are just trying, and said it wasn't working properly. She basically told me to get there when I wanted to, and I will be accommodated even if I arrive early at 9:30. I told her I could not select anything for the rest of my family and said not to worry about it.

I am planning to get to the pier by 9:30-10 and see what happens. :D

I just got an iPhone after being an Android user for years. One thing my kids taught me was that for texting another iphone, you use the wireless imessage instead of our sprint service. How would this work on the ship to text each other? Do I still need the iconcierge app to get the ship wifi to text? I understand to us the app you pay 7.95 per device but you are issued another phone number. We only are using phones for communication with each other onboard. We do not plan to purchase internet usage for social media and I will have all phones in airplane mode. Just wondering if the iphone to iphone texting would work. Thanks so much.

This will be my first trip on BA in July ... I've read posts about Vibes and I believe I saw it is 79pp. We are a family of 4 .... My girls are 22 (and 17 going on 18). My girls prefer the quiet settings. Just wondering what the benefits are to purchasing this. Thanks.

Aahhh didn't know it was in theatre ... I've only seen posts for the Manhattan dining room performances. thanks!

Hi everyone ... I was on NCL website to reserve this show for the last sea night on our July Breakawsay cruise and only time available is 7:30. Do I also need to make reservation for Manhattan dining room in order to see this show? I tried to reserve the dining room, but only times were 5:30 and 8:30 available. Do I just reserve the show and get there earlier to hopefully get in? Thanks!

Thanks ... will go online and see what I can do :-)

Hi All, Can someone clarify the reservations for shows? I've read through many posts that they book reservations for shows prior to cruise including cirque and the free shows. Other posts say reservations aren't required. I went on ncl today to book the cirque show and it states only one show per person per cruise can be reserved. I am sailing early July and wonder which show is the priority to reserve? I've heard the comedy show (can't remember the name ... city something) should be reserved. I wasn't originally planning to reserve anything but wonder if we will have difficulty seeing any of the shows because we didn't reserve in advance. Thanks!

thanks! I'll check it out. :)