sherrihall128

My 2 cents after taking our first and only (but not last!) Mediterranean cruise in November 2022. We did use the BOGO flight offer, which saved a ton of money. For the flights, you and your friends are not guaranteed to be on the same flights. If you're ok with that, then you can proceed. Also, know that you may not get your flights until 30 days prior to departure. If you're ok with that, you can proceed. Lastly, know that once the flights are assigned, you can't make changes to time or days. IF you have tight layovers, NCL says "sucks for you--hope you make it". We had great experiences with our flights, even though we only had a ~90 minute layover in Paris (it gave me so much anxiety--I studied the CDG airport maps to optimize our time and make our flight to Venice). It saved us a lot of money, and I'd do it again if only 2 people were traveling (aka not with my kids). However, you can definitely read a lot of other people's bad experiences as well. If a flight is cancelled, NCL will not book it for you, and then you may have to rely on travel insurance or the flight company itself to fix things. I also highly recommend Rick Steves's book! Prior to reading the book, I thought I had to stay with the cruise line excursions. After I read it, I got a lot of confidence on how to navigate in various ports, what to see, etc.. So I cancelled the cruise line tours and booked my own or did our own thing. There's also a website that is super helpful, as is this cruise forum. https://www.whatsinport.com/ One more thing: if you have the time and budget, arrive 2 days before the cruise. It'll give you some time to acclimate to the new time zone and give sightseeing time. We also stayed 2 additional days after. Hope you have a great time! We absolutely had a blast.

You have to go through how you booked it. If you booked straight through NCL, you'll need to call them. If you booked through a website or travel agent, you have to call them. They'll also be able to see if you have any unused CruiseNext certificates on your account.

I was on an online chat with the website I booked it through (CruisesOnly), and that online chat agent was wrong. I'm on the phone with a booking agent with the website, and she's applying it to a pre-existing reservation that I booked 7 months ago. Wahoo! This group just saved me an additional $500.

Are you all sure it's for existing reservations? My travel agent said it's only for new bookings.

What would you recommend for a transfer? I'm planning way ahead for our cruise in 10/2024, and we plan to stay in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for 3-4 days before the cruise.

I would say it depends on how comfortable you would be with that time frame. The train from Tel Aviv to Haifa takes 60-75 minutes according to my research, plus the walk to the pier (the train stop looks close, but it may be dark when you arrive). You may want to do a private transfer or NCL transfer based on your risk assessment. Also, have you considered traveling a day before? That time frame looks a little tight for my comfort.

To be fair, most of their sugary MDR and buffet desserts were tasteless too. 😅

We took the train from Venice to Trieste. It was easy and way cheaper than NCL transfers. There are also buses (FlixBus) you can take from Marco Polo airport to Trieste that are cheap.

I live in the Gig Harbor area, and I feel the same way an Alaska cruise. I've been tempted to book an Alaskan cruise due to the proximity of the Seattle port, but I feel like the cruise would just show me a bigger version of my neighborhood. It's still a treat to see eagles, but we do see them and lots of other wildlife by our home frequently. @WestCoastDeb I'm speaking as a Registered Dietitian and Diabetes Educator here.. I know this is after the fact, but being as specific as possible about "artificial sweeteners" would have been helpful. Other countries have various sweeteners that aren't used as much in the US, and vice versa, so the term "artificial sweeteners" isn't the same everywhere. I would have listed them out as "aspartame", "acesulfame K", "sucralose", "stevia", etc, so that way labels can be checked. They aren't used commonly in normal dishes or drinks unless it's listed as sugar free, keto, "no added sugar", "diabetes-friendly", etc.

1) Unpacking once and travelling to different places while we sleep. 2) Having something to do at night while on vacation other than drinking wine. 3) Having something for kids to do. 4) Not worrying about the cost of additional meals. 5) The option of making it all-inclusive or just paying for things that we plan to use.

Hey, someone from Folsom? That's my hometown! I agree with you on some aspects--that sometimes people need to be kind, patient, and understanding when around large masses of people on a cruise ship. The whole cruise doesn't revolve around one person/family.

Yes, water and ice are available at multiple points at the front, middle, and end of the buffet. Just be sure to use one of their cups to fill up your water bottle.

You even have a Seinfeld nickname. Love it!

The food sounded better than it tasted, but as long as I wasn't expecting amazing, I was happy. TBH, I thought the desserts were underwhelming--both buffet and MDR. The only ones that were good were in specialty restaurants, and I'm not booking one just for dessert!

I'm a little bit of a harsh critic, as most of the food was good/ok, but nothing spectacular. 2 of my favorite MDR dishes were spicy bacon-wrapped shrimp with grits, and Hawaiian soy-glazed pork belly. I'd say the pork belly was my favorite. Something that was also memorable, but not in a good way, was a fruit (?cherry, maybe) trifle. I heard someone say it was really good, so I ordered it. I was quite surprised when a cherry Jell-O type dessert with whipped cream showed up. If you like Jell-O, cool.. if not, you'll be really disappointed with the "trifle".

Very true! It's tempting to try to see everything in a short period of time. We just did Positano from a view point, Sorrento for 2 hours, and Pompeii for 2 hours. The amount of Pompeii was good as I felt overwhelmed with the size of the place, but I definitely wanted more time at Sorrento and Positano. Just having proper expectations for the amount of time you have and things you'll see is super important so you're not disappointed.

I think you'll be fine. Of course, they can't control the traffic, but I hope one person's bad review doesn't deter you from your booked tour.

I'm sure the drivers and Guide would love that!

It was my impression that their tours often cater to cruise guests, and that most of the tours are conducted in English. You may be able to see if they do any tours in Italian.

Do you know which ships have the non Haven 2 bedroom suites?

When I purchased the soda package ahead of time, I had to purchase it for my husband and I. Are the rules different once you get on board?

It is still relevant--as the cost of a soda package for 2 people for a 9-day cruise would be $9.95/pp/pd, which would be $180 plus 20% gratuity. The person who drinks soda would have to drink over 45 sodas (worth $4 each) over the course of 9 days (5 sodas per day) to make it "worth it". If @GamblingHabit drinks that much soda, then it would make financial sense. We did the soda package on our last Caribbean cruise, and we drank a LOT of diet Coke to get our money's worth. I don't think I'll drink Diet Coke again. Honestly, I won't purchase it again as I can spend money elsewhere and just have an occasional soda.

It's still the same--about $4. you can request a can at some locations. I'd also recommend asking for no ice if they don't have cans. They put a lot of ice in those cups!

I look forward to your review. We are looking at a similar itinerary on the Dawn in 2025, so I'll be curious what your experience will be like.

Yes--I looked at resorts in Hawaii and Cancun, which were NOT all-inclusive, nor were they luxury resorts. For 6-7 nights, it would have been over 5K for our family. We paid $3500 for our 7 day Caribbean cruise, so obviously, the value is there still for cruises. The prices of everything have gone up, so we can't expect cruises and vacation prices to hold steady.