Pitzel

There is no need to get anyone listed as villa guests. You should plan to tender over to GSC together, using the excursion ticket to be able to get a priority tender. Once at GSC, you will get wrist bands at the excursion/villa/cabana post. Once everyone in your group has wristbands, you will hop on the shuttle that will take your group to the villa. Once people have their wristbands and know where they are going, they can come and go as they please for the remainder of the day.

Based on the itinerary, I would choose the Dawn. I have sailed both the Prima and the Dawn and like both of them for very different reasons. The Dawn is a smaller, older ship (of course), but in a port-intensive itinerary, you will likely be spending the majority of your time off the ship anyway. We did sail in a suite on the Dawn and loved the larger room size and amazing service that we got onboard. That said, I don't know if I would splurge for that if I didn't really have the time to enjoy it. As long as the room is big enough to be comfortable for you and whomever is traveling with you, you can likely just view the ship as a traveling hotel.

It was on the menu briefly, which is where a lot of this chatter originated. I agree with you, though -- if it is a change in policy and there is, indeed, a charge for a second or subsequent lobster tail, I would greatly prefer that they just say so on the menu. Though, if you are traveling with others who don't love lobster, what is to stop them from ordering a complimentary lobster tail and then sliding it across the table to you?

Wow...it looks like the extra charge for additional lobster tails may have been removed! The latest online Haven menu (with filename dated yesterday) no longer mentions the charge. https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Fleet_Haven-Dinner_Mobile-Menu_040524.pdf

Bring a deck of cards or other portable/travel game that you can play. We have a travel cribbage board that we sometimes bring with us that takes up almost no room at all in our luggage. Cards Against Humanity or another card-based game would be fun if you were traveling with a small group. Organize a card game or find someone to play chess or checkers (usually available in the library or game room) Read a book Take a class, if one is offered Knit, crochet, or do some sort of craft that doesn't require a lot of space or equipment Walk Visit the gym Attend a yoga or stretch class Go to the trivia events Go to the casino and learn how to play a new table game Do the daily sudoku or crossword puzzles (usually available in the library or card room) Take photos around the ship Practice making towel animals Listen to live music and go to the performances in the evening Make some friends onboard and hang out with them Make friends with some of the crew and ask them about where they are from Take a "behind the scenes" tour, if one is offered Wander the gallery Attend the onboard parties Go to an art auction Play bingo or Deal or No Deal Watch a movie in your room or on the big screen Get a spa treatment Get a professional portrait taken Soak in the hot tub

Could you contact the hotel and ask them directly? There should be someone on the staff who is familiar with what they offer as a group "excursion" and how that does or does not differ from their typical tea offering.

Actually, that is EXACTLY what the Chef's table means elsewhere. Royal Caribbean also offers a Chef's Table that is very much like what NCL used to offer. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-dining/chefs-table I highly suspect that is what the OP experienced on Princess as well.

Usually, the larger rooms are handicapped accessible rooms. Those are noted on the deck plans with a specific symbol. In rare cases, there are size differences because of which deck the cabin is on. For example, suites at the front and aft of the ship could vary in terms of their room size or the size of the balcony, with the lower decks having more space than the upper decks (usually, but not always the case). You can look for PDF versions of the deck plans that will place the decks side by side. That often makes comparisons easier. OR you can look to see if your travel agent or online booking site provides room size information at the stateroom level. The one that we use does, which allows me to click on the available cabin numbers and see their precise size. Not all booking sites offer this, but many do.

That is not what "Chef's Table" means on cruise ships. What you are referring to is more of a "Kitchen Table" where guests can be seated in or near the action of the kitchen. Typically, a "Chef's Table" is a small, intimate dinner for about 8-16 guests with a fixed menu of specialty items that are not available anywhere else on the ship. These dinners often come with wine pairings and the chef will usually come out and introduce each dish and the thoughts behind it. The diners do not get to see the preparation of these items, though. A Chef's Table event, if offered, may only be available once or twice during a cruise; hence, it feels very exclusive. NCL used to offer a Chef's table, but I believe it was discontinued sometime around 2014. We went on the Epic in 2013 and it was fantastic! In fact, we still keep in contact with a couple that we met and dined with that night. Somewhere, I even have a copy of the menu that was autographed by the chef. Bummed that it is not longer offered.

We once drank GSC out of their entire supply of Blue Moon. They had to send someone back on a tender to retrieve more from the ship! 😄

I guess this means that our Platinum laundry vouchers are now worth more! 😉

Hi and welcome to CruiseCritic. In general, it is better to start a new discussion thread rather than resurrect a discussion that has been dormant for several years. While there were a couple of posts before yours in 2022, the vast majority were from 2018. Just like the saying, “Let sleeping dogs lie”, old discussions usually shouldn’t be woken back up.

I am getting the following error message when I try to go to NCL's website. Anyone else having this issue? Access Denied You don't have permission to access "http://www.ncl.com/" on this server. Reference #18.24efdd17.1710380426.f6f04b8

Yes, it can certainly be done. Just give your butler plenty of advance notice so that they can make sure that they are available at that time and can coordinate with the restaurant. - You will spend specialty dining credits if you order from a specialty restaurant, but it sounds like you knew that already - You can only order from one specialty restaurant at a time (ex. You cannot order both from Le Bistro and Cagney's during the same dinner). - You will need to let your butler know if you would like to have everything served all at once or if you would like to be served course-by-course. If the butler is particularly busy, they may only be able to provide all at once service.

We have stayed in the Forward Suite on the Bliss, but never the Aft suites. Having two separate spaces and a door definitely helps!

My 14 yo is on the smaller side, so the bed should be just fine. I am curious -- what room would you want to get next time instead of the HI?

We will be sailing in an HI cabin on our next cruise. Would it be possible for you to snap a pic of what the second bed looks like when it is all made up? I am also curious to hear what your daughter thinks of that bed. Is it comfy? Is it big enough? Thanks!

We got upgraded to a Lagoon Villa when we were there in early 2020. We had booked one of the smaller Villas, but the beach area in front of those was under construction, so we got a complimentary upgrade to a 1-BR villa by the Lagoon. Since there were only 5 of us, we invited another family that we met onboard to join us for the day. Having a private bathroom, a place to change, a nice shaded patio with plenty of space for people to sit and hang out, and a very short walk to the lagoon was awesome! That said, it would depend heavily on the price whether or not we would splurge for a Villa of that size again.

Any info on the Joy post-drydock?

Your best bet is to look for YouTube videos or photos of specific cabin numbers, not just cabin categories. That way, you will know for sure if the room you want will have a tub or not.

Midnight, EST, by the way. Try booking after that time. If you still can't book, contact NCL using one of the methods above. Also, suites and Platinum and above Latitudes members can book entertainment starting at 26 days out.

Last year, there was a partial charter on our cruise to Bermuda on the Prima. Some other passengers were UP IN ARMS that this would absolutely, positively ruin their vacation. And you know what? Other than 1 afternoon when the observation lounge was being used for a private event, I would have had almost no idea that they were onboard. I did meet a couple of people who were part of the charter group and they were lovely. In fact, if you have cruised before, it is very possible that there were partial ship charters onboard then as well. So, I would say -- go forth and enjoy your vacation...and don't let the fears of "what if's" ruin your anticipation leading up to the cruise.

With 9 days to go, should the title be 3/9-3/16, then?

Are you sure that it is an *additional* $100? The Shareholder credit will show up as 2 x $50 in your cruise planner. Do you know where the other $100 is coming from?