Northern wanderlust

Maybe consider renting a car for the day? DH and I are doing that next month. He got his international drivers permit through AAA and we are going to rent a car and explore the island on our own. If that's an option for you it may be much easier and cheaper than the cruise line excursion.

Perfect. Thank you!!!

I am trying to plan activities for our upcoming cruise on the Escape. The itinerary says the ship is in port from 9AM to 9PM. Does that mean 9PM is the all aboard time or is that the time the ship is expected to depart? Where do I find the actual all aboard time? I'm trying to avoid being a pier runner lol.

Excellent. Thank you for the information.

We are planning to take the train from FCO into Rome when we arrive. Is it worth booking train tickets in advance for that trip? I do worry about a flight delay or delay getting through customs and missing our train.

DH and I are fully vaccinated and boosted. We have our vaccine card showing the various doses but it is just filled out by hand by the provider whenever we get a dose. Will this card be acceptable for NCL and various governmental authorities or should we get something more official from our local health department?

When you say a year to use it from date of issue does that mean we have to sail by a year from when it was issued or just book something before it expires? Also, where do you see the FCC? Is it just in an email or is it on your NCL account somewhere?

We are sailing on the Escape out of Rome on Oct 21 and, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I keep checking the current fare in our same cabin category and it seems to have dropped about $1,200 or so. We are far past final payment date so I assumed there was nothing we could do but my TA called today and checked and apparently we're getting FCC for the difference. It isn't a refund but hey, I'll take it. I was hoping we could take the kids on a cruise next year and this will certainly help. Good news for us, today!

I am pretty confident NCL will not be my favorite line. Again, if we were cruising with the kids we may like it better but for just me and DH I actually think Celebrity has a lot of potential for us but, like I said, NCL had the best itinerary for us this time. It's an 11 day cruise with 10 port days. I don't think we're actually going to be on the ship all that much anyway beyond sleeping and some meals but since we'll be in Italy and Greece we're planning a lot of meals in port anyway. Whether NCL turns out to be a good fit for us or not it should still be a great vacation.

Full disclosure, we have never sailed in the Haven. Actually, our very first NCL cruise is coming up in a couple of months. DH and I are late 30's and this will be his second cruise. All of my previous cruises, save one on RCCL which I didn't particularly care for, and the one previous cruie DH was on were on HAL. I only sailed on HAL because my mother works for a travel agent and that was the line that gave her good agent rates and she liked the fact that the older demographic made her feel young. So, that's just what I'm used to. I may be old and crotchety but I must say, I agree with what The Shrike said. We chose NCL because it had the best itinerary that we could find for our cruise to the Med this fall. We do not care about water slides or go cart tracks or ice skating rinks or really entertainment much at all. If we had the kids with us or a different itinerary it might be different but it's just us and this is a very port intensive itinerary. I am planning to pack my suit but I would actually not be surprised if we never went in the pool at all. I think ultimately I view cruising as a fun means of transportation to the destination rather than the destination itself. We fall in the wine tasting/history and culture lecture category more than the pool party/belly flop competition category I guess. I am SO looking forward to time on my balcony with a glass of wine and my book. I cannot wrap my head around the Haven. I understand the concept in a way, a more luxurious experience, I guess I understand that though the Haven itself doesn't particularly appeal to our personaliites. But if I'm paying $5,000 a person for a week long cruise then I will be on Viking or Silversea. It sure as heck wouldn't be NCL. Is it so you can have the luxurious experience of the ultra luxury lines combined with all the bells and whistles maybe? If that's it then I am very happy for everyone who wants that experience that there is an option for them. I actually don't mind eating dinner with other people. Some nights I prefer to be alone but other nights I enjoy it. On our last cruise we dined with a lovely couple from the UK. I very much enjoyed our meal with them. But, it is of course, hit or miss.

We are on the Oct 21st sailing out of Rome and we are very excited. It's our first time on NCL. I'm very excited to check out the dailies when you post them. I have been wondering if you can use any form of id to get back on the ship when in port or did you take your passport with you? The real thing or will a copy do? Obviously, we will have out passports with us but the idea of taking it into port every day does make me a little nervous.

Thanks for the reply. I don't think we are interested for this cruise. We booked the cabin type we wanted and given we have 10 ports in 11 days we won't be on the ship enough to feel upgrading would be worth it.

Hello everyone, We are booked on the NCL Escape October 21 out of Civitavecchia, if she comes out of dry dock on time that is. We have never sailed NCL before and had a question about the upgrade process. Final payment date was a couple weeks ago and we got an email offering upgrades for what looked like the total current fare. This is different than the bidding to upgrade process right?

We live in the region and our local news has been flooded with pictures if Octantis sightings. I have been salivating over an Antarctic cruise on her and am excited to see her in person. Ah, maybe some day.