OneParticularHarbour 71

I haven't looked into this but am curious what the pricing is like on other lines for their China sailings? Are they comparable to their European and North American sailings? I wonder how DCL pricing would be.

The Getaway has the same problem but I am surprised to hear that about Escape as I thought I had read somewhere that they were limiting the smoking in the Escape casino but it doesn't sound like that is the case.

Also, if you want to book the Illusionarium dinner show, it is under "Entertainment" not dining.

Can you wait and book a clamshell when you are on the island or does it need to be done in advance?

Regarding the coffee makers, we had a balcony and inside room and just the balcony room had a coffee maker. It was a one cup pod style. There was regular and decaf coffee pods provided as well as black tea and green tea. There was also creamer, sugar, sugar substitutes, etc. We didn't use any of it so can't speak to how it tasted.

Great, thanks!

A couple more questions that the kids are asking - are there floats and bikes available to rent?

What do we need to budget for on the island? I see the excursions that are offered but what else is there that we may spend money on (besides alcohol) and what are the approximate prices? We will have 4 teens/tweens with us. Will their soda cards work on the island?

Also, is there a 5k offered? If not, is there any sort of path that could be used to get a run in?

My kids enjoyed Cagney's (my daughter said it was the best steak she ever had, lol), Teppanyaki (they enjoyed seeing the food cooked in front of them) and Moderno (they got a kick out of using the green/red cards to indicate when they wanted more). They also liked the Illusionarium dinner show (there is an upcharge for this though) and La Cuccina. LeBistro they could take or leave though they did enjoy the chocolate fondue dessert!

We didn't end up going to see Burn the Floor or Legally Blond - I am hoping to catch them next month. We took one of our sons with us to the early comedy show - he enjoyed it but I don't think we could reserve that before the cruise - I think we had to do it onboard.

Enjoy your cruise!

Is your crystal ball working?:D

Apparently it is because that is exactly why I was asking, lol

Thanks everyone for your replies!

If I purchase an onboard credit certificate through the ncl site, can it be used toward the daily service charges?

I think I read somewhere that OBC from travel agents cannot be used this way, but wasn't sure if that applied to obc that I purchase myself.

On the major pricing site I looked online, it now lists the special as EXCLUSIVE Savings - Save HUNDREDS per person. The pricing that it gives you does not include any perks - it says you have to call for those. If you compare the pricing that it gives you online to ncl's pricing, it is a few hundred dollars less.

Sorry, I don't know how to PM here...

Do you have to carry it on with you or can you give a case of water to the porters?

Also, what time are the staterooms normally ready? I don't remember from our last NCL cruise. Thanks.

Our cruise in on the Getaway and we were able to combine the no frills with the 3/4 pax free promo and get some onboard credit though the obc may be coming from the travel agent, I didn't ask.

Yes, for this cruise it looks like we save some money by not paying for the "free" perks up front and just paying as we go. Was wondering if it was something they offered often but it sounds like maybe it is more for last minute bookings. :P

Yes, it is about 1.5 mos. out from sailing.

I was surprised to be offered "no frills" pricing yesterday and it saved us a good amount of money upfront. I hadn't seen that offered before, does NCL offer this often?

Another vote here for the longer cruise on the Wonder. My kids have grown up on the ships and love them all and would choose the extra day. The Wonder doesn't have the Aqua Duck but it does have a water slide at the Mickey pool. I believe it is for up to age 14. On our Wonder cruises, the tween club has had nights where they take over the slide after the Mickey pool closes.

Enjoy whichever you decide!

Was the meeting a pre-arranged meeting? Just asking as my husband has a fish allergy and we need to also meet someone - access desk are aware, just wondering if they contacted you pre-boarding to arrange or do we just ask once on ship?

No, it was not pre-arranged. We went to lunch in the MDR on the first day. The manager came over to see how everything was - he had a clip board with him and asked for our cabin number. He said he had us on his list and said he would have contacted us later in the day but since we were already there, he let us know what was available for DH.

When we were on the Getaway, we met with the restaurant manager the first afternoon at lunch in the dining room. He said my DH could preorder his meals in the MDR's the day before or would have to visit the specialty restaurants early in the day if we wanted to preorder those dinners. My DH doesn't like to do that, so we just let our waiter know each night that he needed gluten free. It seemed we had to let the waiters know in the specialty restaurants, whereas the waiters in the MDRs already knew about it.

He did eat in the buffet for some breakfasts and lunches and didn't get sick. He chose things he knew would be safe - fresh made omelets for example.

O'Sheehan's was open 24 hrs - you just need to tell the waitperson you need gluten free and they will let you know what is safe.

Also, the first few days of the cruise, someone called each afternoon to make sure everything was going ok.

Good luck!

When we went on the Getaway we had 2 cabins booked. We all checked in at one terminal (I didn't realize there were 2). It took an extra few minutes to get checked in because he said he didn't have all of our cards there. He went in the back and a few minutes later came out with all of our cards.

Even at the fast food places (at least on the Dream/Fantasy) you can get gluten free items - it just takes a little while to prepare. The server at the window will call a manager and they will come over and take your order. The manager will have the food prepared separately for you. They have gluten free chicken fingers & fries, gluten free pizza and gluten free hamburger and hot dog rolls for burgers/dogs. Sorry, I don't know if they are also dairy free.

If you are visiting Castaway Cay, make sure you place your order the night before with your head server so they can make sure they send the approriate items out to the island for you.

Last year we used Alamo/National - they had a free shuttle to/from MIA airport to/from the port. They did check paperwork to verify everyone had a reservation with Alamo/National.

When we were on the Getaway in August, there was a free kids menu (same menu in all dining rooms) or if they wanted to order off the regular menu, it was the same up charge as the adults.

My husband cannot have gluten. At Teppankyaki, his meal was prepared and served first (they used butter instead of the other shortening like oil that is normally used). His food was all served prior to any soy sauce or shortening being added to the grill.

At the other specialty restaurants we had to inform the waitstaff of his allergy at the beginning of the meal. In the MDR, the allergy was already noted.

The first few days of the cruise, we received a phone call to check to make sure he was being taken care of properly.