Marjar

JohninDC we were at the Fairfield Inn Orlando Airport.

We used Go Port in February of this year and everything went off without a hitch.  Both pickup from our hotel and catching the shuttle back to the airport was seamless.  

Disagree. I for one am thankful for the head's up, because I (and perhaps others) didn't know about it. And the OP did begin their post with, "I just wanted to give the heads up to anyone who doesn't frequently sail on Norwegian..." so it was pretty clear who they were addressing.

 

Also, I don't think the OP was looking for a cash refund. They were hoping the non-refundable OBC could be used towards their DSC, just as refundable OBC can. That's not something that's common knowledge to all readers (especially newbies), and being informed of this quirk is and should be appreciated, IMHO.

Thank you, TexasCigarGuy. It was exactly my intent to let new NCL's cruisers know about this, because although I am a frequent cruiser, I still didn't know about it. Even though I read these boards, I never came across this info, although I have been informed that it is "old news".;)

I didn't know which OBC was refundable and which was non-refundable until I looked at my account on board the ship. We got some refundable OBC from our TA and the OBC from NCL which was part of the booking "enticement" was non-refundable. But I didn't know that the non-refundable OBC couldn't be used for gratuities. I am not sure where that info is buried in the fine print, but it certainly wasn't made clear in the booking information and since it is not the norm I never even thought to look. But I thought there may be others, like me, who don't necessarily read the fine print, and could use this information because NCL doesn't go out of their way to make sure people know this.

Just off the NCL Getaway. I just wanted to give the heads up to anyone who doesn't frequently sail on Norwegian, that if you have Non-refundable On Board credits, they cannot be applied to the daily service charges. This is different than all of the other cruiselines I have previously sailed and we were totally blindsided when we got our final bill and lost out on $150 of non refundable credit. I checked my account frequently and it shows your charges and your credits, but it doesn't give you any indication that the credits aren't being applied until you get your final bill. Very disappointed that we didn't know this ahead of time, thus this post. Hopefully, it helps someone else.:(

Kim,

I just want to add my thanks to everyone else's. I can't tell you how many times I have visited a place solely based on your reviews! They are simply the most comprehensive and entertaining reviews around! Thanks for taking the time to do them. I am sure they take a long time to do, but rest assured they are being well used!

On our Holland America cruise you can rent a clamshell in advance for $11.95. It is $39.95 if you also want to reserve two chairs. I would think reserving chairs would only be required if there are multiple ships in port that day and you have the later ship in.

I just printed our documents for our Carnival Miracle cruise and it makes you choose a boarding time and it says that the boarding time is strictly enforced.

True or not true? I have a shuttle set to get me to the pier by 11:00 but the earliest boarding time is 1:30. Anyone with recent experience at the Long Beach pier?

Thanks for your feedback!

Maybe you can try the Royal and Regal next time. It has interactive TV.

Those may be the ships to try. I understand the Caribbean Princess is due for a dry dock, and maybe it will get new beds AND TV's.

Thanks for your comments.

They used to have regular ice cream in the buffet from a cart every day around 4.

Homemade and excellent! Victim of cutbacks. :(

Have always hated the soft serve ice milk. yuk........

The one Celebrity Cruise and the Holland America cruise I was on both had real ice cream. I guess I was expecting the same from Princess, thus my disappointment.

I am just off a 14 day southern and western Caribbean Cruise on the Caribbean Princess. This was my first Princess Cruise and I have a few impressions to share. I have sailed with Carnival, RCL, NCL, HAL, Celebrity and Costa and I have had no "bad" cruises. That being said my initial impression of Princess overall was that it felt like it was on par with Carnival, Royal and NCL and didn't feel like a step up to me. Some of my pros and cons are as follows:

First my gripes:

1) Juice selection in the buffet was poor, (only orange juice, lemonade, or ice tea was available).

2) No real ice cream at scoop's only soft serve and hours open were limited (never when I went by :()

3) The beds were hard as a rock. Some people like this, I am not one of them.

4) This one is petty (I admit) but the Princess Patter for the next day never came until about 10:00pm.

5) The TV's are not interactive, and the tv guide is an exercise in frustration. Movies were repeated over and over along with Love Boat reruns.

6) The past guest party was lame. (I got an invite after the first leg of a back to back).

7) Entertainment was kind of spotty. Some shows were very good others, not so much.

The Positives-

1) Dinners were great as was the service in the main dining room.

2) The theater had no pillars blocking the view of the stage. It did seem to be too small for the number of people attending the shows, however.

3) No trouble finding deck chairs as there were at least 3 big pools along with 2 smaller ones which spread the crowds out. That was awesome, I hate the daily chair hunt.

4) Rooms were ready when we boarded about 12:00.

5) Production show singers and guest soprano were very good.

So those are my initial thoughts. Maybe its just me, but I just didn't get wowed by it. Some of my gripes are based on my expectations because I thought Princess would be a step up from Carnival (think "real" ice cream vs soft serve). These are my subjective opinions...other opinions may vary.;)

There were cabs waiting right at the port when we disembarked in Venice. The cab ride to the airport was E45 and took about 30 minutes. The Venice airport is a cluster, however. They did not let us check our luggage until 2 hours before our flight, so there were a lot of people waiting in a small area which made it pretty chaotic for checkin.

We took about 500 in euros which we got from our bank prior to our European cruise. The rate they charged was about 1.19. Rates from ATM's in Europe were about 1.12 and the exchange rate on our credit card charges was about the same. We also exchanged some USD to euros on the ship and the exchange rate was 1.22. So your best deal in terms of rates would be to withdraw from ATM's in Europe or use credit cards when possible. However, we did like having some Euros in advance so that we did not have to look for ATM's everywhere.

The view from the Venetsanos Winery in Santorini is beyond amazing..

We got on the #1 vaporetto (slow boat) in Piazzale Roma and used the Rick Steves grand canal audio guide to St. Marks Square. It worked great! It was easy to follow as it told you when to start and stop the guide at each stop. So we got a nice tour while being transported to St Mark's Square!

We just got off of the Oosterdam sailing in Europe and got the unlimited laundry package for $7 per day per cabin by booking ahead. It was a lifesaver! After spending a week and a half in Europe prior to the HAL cruise we needed the laundry service in a big way! And most of our clothes were clean and folded in our luggage on the way home. A great bargain!

With 4 of you, taxi will definitely be better value and quicker!!

 

Cagliari, the company is called, Culture Sardinia, email: info@culturesardinia.com

 

His name is Alesandro, tell him we recommend him!

 

Not sure if this will stay here, I will try and find a PM for you.

 

I should have added, the Marseilles bikes were very easy to ride, we even cycled up the hill to the Church, the electric motor makes it easy.

Thanks, I wrote the information down so I can follow up on it.

Malnik-

Thank you for the awesome information! There are 4 of us traveling so good to know that taxis are often cheaper than ship transfers. This should be especially true with 4 of us. I would love the information you have on the Cagliari tour you took! My son in law would be all over the foodie tour! And I have been unsure what to do in this port. We plan to do lots of walking in Barcelona, as well, there is no shortage of things to see there. Thanks!!

I called Costa. If your excursions are cancelled you can ask to be put in another language group. You may also be able to do an excursion on your own for less money.

Moosie2014-

I guess another language group would be an option for certain tours (primarily scenic etc) but for historical sites I would think an English guide would be important. I have been looking for excursions outside of the cruise ship shore excursions, but in most cases they require a minimum # of passengers to run, or they are crazy expensive for private tours. I have been spoiled by the Caribbean as there are tons of reasonable private shore excursions there. I will keep looking but there is no activity on my roll call so not much chance of generating a group there.

Thanks for your help. PS ..I also called Costa for more info on their excursions and they had nothing other than the description they have on their website! Not much help there....

Amelie,

thanks for the offer! I have been focusing on non-ship shore excursions when I can find them, but often they require a minimum # of passengers to operate and want you to try to get more cruisemates interested from the roll call. Easier said than done, when there is so little activity on the Costa roll calls. so a little frustration on my end. do you have any must see/do activities in Marseille, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca? In Marseille I would like to see the Calanques and the ship tour seems to be the best option. But I am also considering tours to Aix en Provence and or Cassis. Do you having lived in France think that either of these is a good alternative? In Barcelona, we will DIY either walking and or using the metro. In Palma de Mallorca, I am torn between the train to Soller or an excursion through the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. Have you any experience with these?

Thanks for your European expertise!

Lamchops,

thanks for your suggestions for DIY in port. There is a wine tour in Savona, that I really want to take, so most likely I will book that and have the DIY port tour as a backup plan. It didn't look to me that there was too much to do in Savona, but I'm sure we can amuse ourselves for a few hours. In Marseille, I would like to see the Calanques so will most likely book the ship excursion for this and again, hope for the best. I couldn't find many private tours that would be operating on a Sunday, which is when we are in port. The ship tour is only 4 hours, so I hope to have time to do the Cathedral on our own. In Barcelona, I think will go on our own, since there is so much to see in walking distance of the ship. The other ports I haven't decided yet. Thanks for your input!

Namwicha,

I am in the same boat as you (not literally, of course). I have booked my first Costa Cruise because it is the only one that fits the dates, and departure port I need to meet another cruise. After booking it, I looked at the reviews and started to get very nervous. However, I decided to go, and form my own opinions and if I don't like it, I won't go again. For me, it is really just a good way to get around Europe without the hassle of planes, trains, hotel changes etc. So I am choosing to look at it as my floating hotel, and not as my primary holiday. I share your frustration with the lack of information on the Costa site and on these boards. But I have received some feedback, like you have, that it will not be as bad as we imagine!

I am going to have some backup plans in place, in case my shore excursions get cancelled, but other than that..at least I am prepared for what some of the differences are. It seems like a lot of people were not aware that the experience would be different on this line and therefore their expectations, based on other lines, were not met.

Go and have a great time! I am planning on it!:):)

Malnik

Thanks for your comments. I must say I am feeling somewhat better having heard from some that have cruised Costa enjoyed it. There are a lot of negative comments from those who expected it to be just like the experience they have had on other cruise lines. I am expecting it to be different than what we are used to, having only cruised in the Caribbean, primarily. I will say that I have been looking for Non-Costa excursions to do in the ports and even those I am finding some difficulty locating. I am using tripadvisor mostly because these boards don't seem to have as much info on European cruiseport excursions. We are porting in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Cagliari Sardinia.

Lamchops-

thanks so much for the info and the link to your review! Lots of great information-especially how long breakfast usually takes in the MDR. We will have to consider that in the morning..I love my hot breakfast, but I also love my sleep. Also, the wine deal sounds like a good deal. With so many port days, I didn't think the alcohol package would be worth it, but wine at dinner would be great. I was kind of wondering how they handle the muster drills with people embarking in multiple ports? You only have to do it once, right?

Good to know! Thanks!