retired rascal

For years we've always found the roll call for our cruises and have enjoyed pre cruise contacts and planning events.  We are on the March 21st sailing on the Jewel from Panama City / Colon to San Diego.   I believe this will be the first NCL cruise out of the Colon port.  In any case, I have searched for the roll call.  I can't find it, and it's hard to believe that there is no roll call for this voyage.   Help.  Thanks.

Haven’t sailed NCL for years.  Wondering if breakfast and lunch at Cagney’s is still a perk for suites on Gem class and Star etc.  Suites not Haven.  Thanks in advance. 

Starting January 17, NCL will no longer provide tests.   They will require antigen or PCR within TWO DAYS  of embarkation.  This is a problem for those cruisers who will be en route to the departure port during those two days.  Does anyone have a suggestion re how to handle this??

We haven't cruised for a number of years, but we took many NCL cruises before that.   At that time, suite guests could have breakfast and lunch in Cagneys.

Is this still provided for suite cruisers?   The information on the NCL site is sparse and I got different answers from calling NCL.  Help.

Transiting the Panama Canal is a MUST cruise. Have been on the other 2 you mention. Neither compares to the Canal. Hopefully you will also stop in Cartagena which is a beautiful city. Be sure to go to the films shown before the transit. The history and engineering of the Canal is fascinating. The other ABSOLUTE MUST is a forward facing cabin (overlooking the bow) so you can see the actual working of the Canal, the locks, and the little locomotives. From Atlantic to Pacific (or vice versa) takes all day so you'll want both the comfort of your own balcony and the ability to be viewing whenever you want without trying to vie with 2,000 other people trying to carve out a sliver of space on the public decks.

She must have been having a bad day. She wasn't crabby today. She actually loved that CC poster said nice things. Her name is Edisona and she is from Albania.

Last week she was at Bistro. This week she is checking in and seating suite guests at Moderno for breakfast and Cagneys at lunch. Rather crabby these weeks.

Liquids were confiscated at security screening. It is a US port and essentially same rules as US airlines.

Had a great time on a cabin crawl on a Panama Canal cruise. People volunteered their cabins in advance. Enough people volunteered that there was at least one cabin for everything from insides to deluxe owners suites. The person who organized it picked one cabin of each type and figured out the best route through the ship to see them. She brought enough copies of the list of cabins and order to visit. Really fun. Although there were haven pax in the group, we didn't go to Haven cabins as it was too big a hassle to get ship's permission to access the secured area.

QUESTION FOR GEM PASSENGERS SINCE MOVE TO SAN JUAN +

THOSE SAILING 11/6, and 11/13:

For those whose cruise is already over or those boarding the next 2 weeks::

Are cabins being refurbished or was it a rumor?

If they are, what is the order they are being done??

Our recent cruises were short enough that we could carry all the cash we needed. Now we'll be gone for several weeks. Years ago we'd bring Travelers Cheques and the Pursar would cash them. HOW DO YOU GET CASH NOW??? We'll be on the Gem. Are there ATMs? or???

Wish we'd known that when we booked. NCL knew as this is the only break from NYC schedule. We were on the Star during a Panama Canal cruise when they were finishing construction that hadn't been completed during dry dock. It was a bit of a logistical nightmare as parts of the corridors were suddenly blocked off or full of construction equipment. Hopefully this plan will close down a huge block of the ship and not be as confusing. We had a great time despite the construction. Maybe we'll be in a brand new cabin by the time we sail on the 20th

We will be going 11/20 to 12/4. As long as it's available, we'll be fine. Thank you.

Does anyone know if bottles of Pellegrino [an Italian sparkling water] are sold on board? Price would also be useful information. Thanks

The last time we came into Miami to disembark, the ship could not dock as scheduled. Don't remember the exact circumstances, but it had to do with not receiving clearance from one of the many US Government agencies that monitor ship passenger information. I think we were over an hour late. We always book an afternoon flight. Can never predict the time Immigration and Customs will take.

Depending on the port, you may need to research traffic patterns. For example, on Maui, the port is no where near any place you'd probably want to see. Essentially there is one road around the island which is primarily one road. Any accident or construction can literally hold up traffic for hours. You can sign up for email notifications to notify you when road closes and then reopens. Just something to consider as there is rarely an alternative or detour. My recollection of our HI times is that is similar on Lanai, Kuai, and Molokai. Honolulu is notorious for traffic. We've never been to the Big Island, but we'd fly over the volcano I an 8 seat fixed wing plane. A sight not to be missed.

Our experience has been that we could ask for pretty much anything that is available on the ship that day. We've asked for raisins, pretzel bread, specific desserts, fruit...all kinds of stuff. Usually got it. Next cruise is not in a suite. We will miss having a butler.

Previously asked this question, but got mixed responses.

What kind of coffee pots in the mini suites?

Any details welcomed. We are coffee people

(we sure will miss the Lavazzas from the real suites we've sailed in on our last several cruises)

Are there telephone wake up calls? Are they reliable?

We did Alaska on the Pearl in September a few years ago. The highlight for us was Glacier Bay. Heads up: it can be very cold. Think winter hats and gloves. We prefer the Jewel class ships. They have more amenities, but are not gargantuan like the new megaships. If I were choosing, it would be the Pearl. No contest.

Owners Suite on Star...heading to Panama Canal...ecologically proper bath ball. Get in tub. Put on the jets. Suddenly bubbles waaay higher than top of tub. At that point the bubbles are stiff enough that the "wall" holds initially. I pull the plug to reduce the level. Husband takes picture. He grabs every towel in the Suite, laying them along tub edge. Jump into robe and we push enough bubbles out that we can deal with the rest. Took a long time. We were laughing our heads off. Called Butler who brought pile of new towels and steward cleaned it all up. Lesson learned!!!

We have a small like (approx 4" X 3") that can charge 6 devices at once. Check out multi port chargers on Amazon..many available.

On some cruises we have actually lost weight or stayed the same. We find walking up and down those long hallways so many times during the day, using the stairs instead of the elevator (if we're only going a few decks), walking around the decks at night, and all that trudging around ports and on excursions...well, that's a lot of excercise. When we do 2 weeks on the Gem in November, I'll wear my Fitbit. Then I'll know how much I really walk. p.s. We are oldsters but we try to stay in shape.

Don't miss the documentary about the history and then construction of the Canal. Shown in the theatre either the day before or the day before that. Must see...fascinating and informative!

We've been in 11014 and loved it. We were concerned about elevator noise, but there was much. We always get the spa package for the whole cruise and love being able to dash up the stairs.