grooveynurse

Wondering if anyone has recommendations for private wine tours in Ensenada? We dock on NCL Bliss from 8-5...most companies I have seen so not accommodate that early of a departure time.

Does anyone know if we can simply hire a van to take us to a few wineries once we dock?

So far NCL has no excursions listed for Ensenada.

Thanks so much for your review. Great tips about embarkation lunch and the Steakhouse bar. We always eat a the steakhouse, and I think we will visit the bar for a drink on our cruise in just 2 short weeks:)

We are booked in a Spa cabin for our upcoming Vista Cruise. I am wondering if it would be cheaper to book my treatments ahead of time online, or wait until on board? I know that they offer a discount on board for everyone, but an even better one for those in spa cabins (40/30/20). I'm not sure if the prices are higher once on the ship. Any advice?

We will be arriving into LAX around 9-10am on a Thursday. We cruise out of San Pedro on Friday. Would we be insane to think we can stay the night in Santa Monica? We understand there will be an Uber drive both from LAX to Santa Monica and back to San Pedro. I also hear there is a blue express bus to Santa Monica from LAX but not sure if it is Luggage friendly. We just want to have a fun day on Thursday and would like to see the pier. Any thoughts from locals or others who have done this?

Enjoy your trip. We board next weekend. Looking forward to your review:)

Thank you all so much for the advice this far. You have given me hope. I went online to book things and feared we wouldn't get to eat dinner until 8:30pm every night...LOL, that's all that is left for MDR reservations. And many specialty places are not accepting reservations now....But it seems I will be able to book first day and that's totally cool with me.

We are looking forward to our trip....lets just hope no more crazy hurricanes come our way;p

Book dining when you get onboard, book shows onboard or show up and wait on standby, charge for bowling, not for ropes, continental breakfast, no charge for room service, so far not enforcing check in times, lattes definitely cheaper than Starbucks.

Thank you.

Just got off breakaway

 

1. No charge for coffee and pastries not sure about fruit

2. Go to the right if guest services when you board so you can get dining. If it's Cagneys you are interested in you might want to book it if you can in line

 

3. You can arrive early and late just before last check in

4. Go to box office or kiosks to book on board when you get in ship

5. Can't help with this one

6.bowling is a charge I think it's $5 no charge for rope course

7. It bings!

 

8. Ship tour. It was either $79 or $99. We are platinum so get it free

 

Have fun

 

 

5.

 

 

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Thank you for your answers. I'm glad to hear it Bings:) Cagneys is not offering any online bookings now. We want to try the Japanese Steakhouse too but all of their times are late.

Do they always have the white party onboard?

Hubby and I have been planning anniversary trip to Key West for a year now. Key West recieved lots of damage so we had to figure out a plan B. I'm a HUGE planner and have always cruised Carnival/Royal. Hubby and I have been wanting to cruise NCL so we are now going on Escape 9/30. We have visited all of the ports (with the exception of Harvest Caye). This trip for us will be for the Norwegian Experience in general.

This is so last minute for me. I usually know what to expect before a cruise. Though I am excited, I have some questions. I have read over the boards a bit but honestly don't have the time to study as normal since we only booked last night. If you have time/insight I'd be so grateful for any info you have concerning the following questions, or any other helpful hints for that matter. I am still researching on my own as well.

1.) Most dinning times seem to be booked. We only want to go to two restaurants and the only available time is 9:30pm...way too late for us. Do we have a chance of getting earlier times on board and if so what is the best way to do that.

2.) Is there a fee for room service breakfast...coffee/fruit? Carnival has a little hang tag menu to order light fare for the morning...we love our coffee in bed. Does the $7.95 fee apply for this? I'm not complaining at all, just want to be informed:)

3.) It had me select a check in time, how does this work? Can we not arrive earlier than our time? What about arriving later?

4.) There is NO option online this close to sailing to book entertainment. Can I book when I get onboard?

5.) Does anyone know the average price of Latte's/Cappucinos onboard?

6.) Is there a charge for bowling? Any fee for the ropes course?

7.) When boarding the ship or getting off, do you slide your card and hear a "bing"? Carnival is discontinueing this on their new ships, but that always sounds like my vacation has officially started.

8.) Will they offer a ship tour onboard? A behind the scenes tour? If so, what is the cost of that? Is it only offered on sea days?

Thanks so much in advance for any help with all of this. We are super excited to try NCL. SUPER excited.

I have never cruised solo, and I don't think it would be soemthing that I enjoy. However....

I had a very dear friend (who recently passed away, God love her). She was much like a mother to me and I miss her dearly, but that's another story. She was very socially awkward, not much of a people person, a total gem of a human being but hated crowds. I cruised often and she once asked if she could join me....I was so nervous on that trip that she would hate it, but she LOVED cruising...so much so that when I could no longer go on cruises with her (life gets in the way), she decided to cruise solo...I was worried for her then as well...but she LOVED that trip and made several friends who she cruised often with after that. I was pretty jealous I couldn't join her as often anymore, but super happy she made some cruising friends and had enjoyed cruising solo as well.

If it's something you are considering doing, I think you will be just fine!

I had an embarkation wedding just two weeks ago out of Ft Lauderdale. I had informed my coordinator beforehand that I wanted to remain seperate from him. The onboard coordinator will be a different person, but she knew my wishes and did a great job at keeping me seperated. We didn't see eachother until I walked down that "glorious" aisle.

Hi Ladies, I apologize in advance that this post is not the full review I would like to do. I just returned home from our trip yesterday....to cold and rainy weather no less!!!!!!

The wedding was AMAZING. Truly. But when I tell you it was short....it was SHORT. I wanted to share a few quick observations with you all in hopes to help you plan better. Some I had read but didn't listen to, some I wish I had read and paid attention to.

1.) Make a list of photos you would like to take. Bring a copy. Give it to the photographer. I am so sad that I did not get pics with my whole family...we got some with his side, but in the rush, mine was forgotten. Make a photo list.

2.) In my binder, I had what I thought was everything.....upon arrival at the port, I didn't have my guest list in there....and neither did Carnival. They worked things out, but having it would have helped.

3.) Calll your credit card company and alert them that you are traveling....I usually do this prior to any cruise, but in the wedding rush I totally forgot....and it landed me in guest services a few times tryiing to phone the bank. Not a huge deal whatsoever, but just thought I would throw this in there.

4.) We had a big reahearsal/wedding dinner the night before. All the guests who attended the wedding came...it was nice to have the extra little time to spend with them as the wedding day will go by SUPER fast. If at all possible, I reccomend something like this.

5.) You need a welcome letter. I totally read that advice, but blew it off. I wish I had sent it out advance or handed it out the night before. It needed to address things like attire, wedding gifts, and when/where. I thought the information insert explained alot of things, like the one we sent with our invitations, but it didn't. Or people lost it.

I'm sure there will be more to come. Most importantly, ENJOY your day. Every single moment. It will go by FAST....and before you know it, it will be over. Have fun and move beyond the hard parts or things that don't go perfectly.

I'm going to try to post a photo here, but haven't ever done it so hopefully it works. Feel free to ask questions and I will try to answer them here in the next few days:)

I would DEFINATELY get married at sea. I'm going with Carnival and that is not an option for us. Take advantage:)

I have used these a few times and they are great. Since this is on a wedding forum, thought I would pass along the info that Carnival will not accept these gift cards, or any giftcards to pay for the wedding. Only a CC or check will work. I asked prior to making final payment. 20 days and counting..... :)

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! The Pride is a BEUTIFUL ship....my favorite out of all of my cruises. I didn't see the Pride before booking my wedding, but wish I had as I would have chosen that ship:)

As VASOXFAN commented above, the best option for getting hair/make up is having the stylist come to your hotel room. I'm getting married in Ft Lauderdale and someone is coming to mine....I'd checkout the one they reccomended.

From searching this forum, I know of a bride who posted a review of their wedding out of BWI...not sure if it was VASOXFAN or not,but I know a search will find it...it was very helpful and imagine it would be moreso for you since you are actually getting married out of BWI :)

Best of luck to you!

Well couldn't they offer the old service while they are "revamping" it? I would love to have a video :(

I'm getting married on the Conquest in March and was told videography is not available :(

I would LOVE one of these videos, however cheesy it may be.

Hi all...I'm getting married onboard the Conquest and have been trying to find other photos of "The Gallery" which is a popular wedding venue choice. I recieved one photo from the coordinators, but I wanted more:) Here is a link to some photos that give better insight into the space and size of the room.

It is worth noting that all Conquest class ships (Freedom, Glory etc) have a room similar to this one.

marie1983-Eloping sounds AWESOME! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding:)

You are smart for doing it that way...only immediate family at the wedding. We are getting married in 42 days and the invitation/guest list has been THE biggest hassle of the whole experience. I made like 1000 lists including/excluding people.....and I sent my invites out super early. Once I got some "Not attending" RSVPs...I sent around additional invites. Now my list is full and people who initially declined are wanting to come :( Such a headache.

I know I wasn't much help, but I wish you mega luck with your journey!

Hi everyone. I am wondering if anyone has information about having a larger cake? I want a 3 tier cake, but according to our guest list, we will only have a 2 tier.......I'm willing to pay extra for the bigger cake but can't find info on it. I'm getting married on Carnival out of FLL.

Our marriage license was about $260.....plus the cost of shipping it. So there is that expense.

Also the package usually only includes 20ppl.....you and groom are included in that count.....so 18 guests plus you too. Additional guests are $30 regardless on if they are sailing or not.

You should also take into account a hotel fee....unless you live close to that port.

My wedding is during spring break.....didn't factor that in...airfare and hotel are more than normal during this time....Oops.

Finally...the Freedom is AWESOME. I have been on her twice. We actually got engaged on her this past June....out on the "secret" deck :) That is a great ship and I would get married on her if I could:)

Oh this is a WONDERFUL review! Brought a tear to my eye...though it seems everything sweet and happy does that to me these days since I'm 62 days out from my own wedding!!!!

I'm so glad to hear everything turned out well for your wedding, I can't believe that your entrance music was ruined when it was so simple...but helpful to hear that it happened so I can mentally prepare for that scenario.

Who set up your reception area with the things you bought and brought on board? Did you designate someone to do it?

THANK YOU for sharing this! I teared up looking at your photos! Beautiful wedding!!!! Your pro pics are awesome! My wedding is in 62 days on the Conquest...can you PLEASE come help me organize? LOL You will have to share your license story with us.

Hi all! I just wanted to chime in on my thoughts regarding the Pride. I LOVED the ship. I have done 10 cruises and this was my first on the Pride....definately my favorite ship. I was on the 11/30 sailing. The boat is BEAUTIFUL. Decor is very classy and not too gaudy. The service was nice. The food was awful, I never looked forward to dinner and actually ate several times on the islands, which I usually never do. I'm really not a picky eater at all, the quality has just dropped that much. It did not ruin my cruise at all, but was worth noting.

We had FTTF for the first time, came in handy for trips to guest services. I only had to go twice, once was to get some gift cards applied to my S&S account and the other time was for internet cafe problems. Here is a tip for that...internet is WAY faster on your own device vs their computers. I was sailing without the fiance so nightly emails helped me stay in contact with him.

I'm sad that Pride is leaving TPA and heading to BWI....but despite that we are looking into a honeymoon Bermuda cruise in 2016 on her. No words to describe how much I LOVE that ship:)