Sparkygirl

Don't know of any family or friends that cruise NCL, but maybe it is time they start! ;)

 

I knew of the 4 years but going out 2 years there wasn't anything that really worked. Not real confident that they will add anything 4 years from now, but I suppose it is possible. And, to be honest, I really don't want to wait 4 years to go again. Haha! But...that gets my gears turning...if we took a 4 day Bahamas we could NOT use it on that cruise and save it for another, right? It doesn't necessarily have to be used on your NEXT cruise, does it? Provided that we can squeeze 3 cruises into 4 years... :eek: which could very well blow the vacation budget out of the water! (no pun intended)

No, it doesn't have to be used on your next cruise. If you find an awesome deal on the Sky out of Miami go ahead and book it, then also have something booked using the FCC. Then you can have 2 vacations planned out, it also helps with the let down upon leaving the ship that your next one a year or two out is already booked.

You all been very helpful and thank you so very much. I will contact them when my cruise gets closer, its too far out right now. I didn't know they were that accommodating, its wonderful. Thank you for all the info. hugs.

NCL's accomodations for those with access needs and special diets have morphed over the past 3 years. They are trying to find their nitche in the special needs cruising market as a first choice cruise line! We did the behind the scenes tour and saw pallets of gluten free frozen items including I thought deserts.

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There was a small write up about my daughter's allergy to latex in the freestyle daily during our cruise originally it was going to run for a day or two and then be replaced. Instead it was edited slightly, the exact same wording was not used twice during the week and was in the freestyle daily for the entire cruise. I was told it helps to address concerns or issues as the accommodation need is published. We were asked to approve posting our daughter's name and after feedback I received from other guests we will include her age next time.

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The quality varies widely, and there are also different companies on different ships (I think.)

 

I do agree it's a volume business, but I would assume that selling more copies of less shots would be a good thing.

 

We have had "portrait" photographers fuss over where our hands were, where our feet were placed, and they still end up producing snapshots.

 

Part of the issue may be that I'm sure the post-processing is automated in Photoshop or similar, so there is not a lot of human care involved. My wife will spend hours in Photoshop, editing a single photo simply because she can. The ship's photographers are on deadlines, so I presume they run an action that tries to fix the contrast, balance the light and crop to the requested size automatically. You won't get consistent results that way unless you have complete control (background, lighting, posing) over the shoot, like the portrait guys do.

 

The selling point they have is that short of handing your camera to a stranger, it's the only way to get a photo of your entire group. So, for some, they will buy a photo or two because they want a memory, not matter how poorly composed. This, I think, is why the companies don't hire photographers, they hire people who can learn to use the cameras over time.

There is human involvement in the post processing and editing all you have to do is ask. My mom wore a green shirt on embarkation day and it was a green screen photo. She was wearing the ship. We gave it to the photo staff and a few hours later it was fixed and ready. We also know that a photo we were given was also fixed as it was from the Capt greeting with the Capt name but didn't have the captain. The text was changed to the individual in the photo and my daughter's name.

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No, they are printed daily and minor changes made as necessary.

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We book because NCL accommodates my daughter's latex allergy. 100's of crew members are involved in keeping her safe that her dad and I are able to relax and enjoy our vacation. We haven't found a land based vacation that gives us that same sense of safety or ability to relax. We also found cruising works best for our blended family when we cruise with my step children and their mom and stepdad.

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As chengkp75 states we have always found the crew elevators to be passenger elevator behind them crew stairs, landing, crew elevator. This seems to be consistent across the 3 ships we have sailed.

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Not at all.

 

 

 

I was on the Dawn three weeks ago and you would be surprised at how few people actually have the UBP (I did as we were in a suite and had all three promos - UBP, UDP and $300 OBC). Those that did seemed to be mostly sensible, including myself, drinking throughout the day but not noticeably drunk.

 

 

 

YMMV, obviously, but definitely from our point of view, no increase in drunkenness.

We were in a suite with all 3 as well, I actually preferred the non alcoholic smoothies and daiquiri's rather than the alcoholic drinks which were included on the UBP.

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I think that the Escape will end up home port in Houston, New Orleans with the sail down the Mississippi may be problematic as well as the port at New Orleans (Julia Street) can barely fit the two ships that dock there with the second being the Dawn.

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/capt-evans-hoyt-is-designated-master-of-norwegian-escape.html

 

Sean is also going to open the ship.

Sean, Hotel Director from Getaway? We are sailing 5 months after the Escape first voyage I hope he is still onboard, we haven't sailed with him before but heard great things.

Has there been any hints at who may be the ships officers aboard the Escape?

Passport Card is a no go in my opinion although it is valid for both land crossings and sea to limited areas (Mexico, Canada, Caribbean and Bermuda). We want to travel in the 5 years of a child passport card or book beyond the countries accessible by Passport Card.

Passport Book versus Birth Certificate…our child travels on her passport and has since she was a year old. It is my rationale that if something were to happen to her while traveling I do not want to delay being able to return to the US by air if needed while waiting on an expedited passport and travel documents. Even with the Passport Card there would be a delay in returning the the US by Air and would need a passport book.

That's not true about the passport card.

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card/Difference-Between-Passport-Book-and-Card.html

Thanks, I'll edit my statement…

Any new info to share or confirmation of existing info?

Here is an update for the NCL Dawn:

Dawn (as of February 15)

Captain: Teo Grbic

HD: Sonja Sommergger

CD: Bobby Broughton

Executive Housekeeper: Carmencita Reid

Exec Chef: Paulo Vaz

Food and Beverage Director: Adolf Netsch

Rest Mgr: Martin Cliff

Beverage Mgr: Norman Anderson

GS Coordinator and Access Officer: Jenmark Opon

Concierge: Karabi Saikia Alphanso

Passport Card is a no go…it is only for land crossings.

Passport Book versus Birth Certificate…our child travels on her passport and has since she was a year old. It is my rationale that if something were to happen to her while traveling I do not want to delay being able to return to the US by air if needed while waiting on an expedited passport and travel documents.

We leave today on the Dawn from New Orleans also in an SJ! We sailed the dawn last year in the DOS!

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How was your child's age fudged? This may cause an issue as we tried to make my child the 2nd person in our cabin and could not because of the UBP. A child can not be the 1st or 2nd in a cabin with the UBP.

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I am having the same issue, the change is promos seems to be the culprit. Waiting to see what it does next week.

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With this promo has also come price increases…kids50% off on our sailing were $499 they are now $699.

What category does OBC from a travel agent fall into?

Clear as mud...it depends...you have to ask your travel agent if it is refundable or non refundable OBC.

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The card is also coded to the beverage package…both the sticker and the card have to match.

We just returned from the Dawn trip to Bermuda, Family Suite, no balcony, Room #12018. LOVED it. The room was nicely sized for our family of 5----it never felt crowded unless we forgot to put shoes away and tripped on them. . .The Murphy bed was great for two of my kids and the room steward would close it up each day to give us that space back. The sofa bed didn't strike me as super comfy but my 10 yo loved it. That wasn't folded up every day but it didn't get in our way as it was against the glass windows. Our bed was wonderful and there is a folding "wall" on one side and a curtain on another, so you can kind of close off the main bed from the rest of the room. The bathroom was great---double sinks, stand-alone shower and full tub. Lots of storage. Walk-in closet area outside of bathroom. I loved being on Floor 12---right down the hall from the pool and not far from Cagney's where suite guests can eat breakfast and lunch. Our Butler brought us treats every day and the little suite perks really make you feel special. We joke that we've ruined our kids for "real cruising" now that they've had priority treatment for embarkation and seating at shows. Hope this helps!

How did you find noise to be in this cabin? We are booked in the same Cabin and sail in 8 days.

Is there a price difference between pre-booking your shore excursions before boarding versus booking onboard the ship?

We sail in 9 days and are wondering if we need to go ahead and book what we think we want and then cancel on board depending on how my 98 year old grandmother is feeling or wait until we are onboard?

Fine with your disagreement. But as a health care professional, having an intermediate step involved can have some issues. In my case, I would NEVER allow my meds to be handled by unlicensed individuals. Contamination, theft etc can happen. I don't care how many times it doesn't, it can't be predicted.

 

 

 

In an emergency you are now, counting on the Splash staff to find this med, and give it to the health care staff. If the child is alone with no parent/guardian right there, they would be smart NOT to give anything, until that child is taken to the health care center and accessed and given meds from their stock following their protocol.

 

 

 

If the child is independent in their health care, a whole different story with the med storage. This OP is stating they are not.

 

 

 

Reason, I mention ADVANCE contact with the Health Care Center and what they will and will not do, is essential.

Thank you for your response, I understand your perspective as I am also a health care professional. I was focusing on my daughters medication and first aid kit which we are training her at 4 that she is not separated from as that habit will possibly save her life one day. We do not depend on the medication that is left with splash academy. I make up 4 complete kits with an epi-pen, single dose Benadryl and basic first aid supplies as I do not trust bandaids and tape to be latex free and packaging free of latex. The one left at splash academy is in a tamper evident sealed plastic bag marketed for schools as meeting the child safety requirements. Her dad and I each carry a complete kit on ourselves while traveling as well as her grandparents have one.

I absolutely agree that pre communication with the medical staff onboard is vital! Due to my daughters allergy and severity we attend a team meeting immediately upon boarding where we discuss my daughter and her needs with the ship physician, splash academy, hotel manager and food and beverage manager. I've actually had a room steward we had never met at a towel folding demonstration go to hand my daughter a towel animal, catch himself as he heard our room number and swap out for a latex free towel animal.

With pre planning and communication cruising can be an enjoyable and relaxing vacation for all!

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To inject this, the person is going to have to be licensed, it isn't a matter of you signing any waiver. Nobody at the Splash Academy is going to give it.

 

 

 

You state your daughter is not able to do it herself. Is she aware when she has a reaction, does she give clear details? Does she have common phrases used? IF so, then you need to disclose this clearly EVERY time she is dropped off. The response of the medical team is fast. Clearly the best plan of action is to be prepared. Epi is going to be available in the medical clinic. They may or may not give patient supplies. I would NOT be leaving any medications in the kids center. In advance see if the medical staff would use it, and leave a supply with them, if accepted. Otherwise, as your child grows older, get her professionally trained, and keep a supply with you.

I disagree with this, the medication stays with the child. There has been a plastic bin with medications in it held by the counselors behind the check-in desk. It is in a non child zone therefore free of a child getting into the medication.

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