yankprintster

I can do certain things on their website, but I can't manage any of my upcoming cruises.  Earlier in the day, I couldn't even login.  At least I could login now.

Just rode this on the Jubilee a few days ago.  It was fantastic!  Worth the $15.  As others have said, go full throttle the entire time and strategically use your 15-second turbo boost for the best possible experience.  You can ride by yourself or with a second person.

I had no idea you had the ability to control the throttle until I was ready to ride.

1 minute ago, EPTCB said:

"Onda - ....The amount of food you get with the credit is almost too much.  You get 2 choices out of the appetizers, pasta or pizza plus 1 entrée and 1 dessert."

I know Onda is different from La Cucina, but the last time I went to La Cucina (about two months ago), they were now considering the pizza an entree.  That was different in the past.  I used to be able to both the pizza and entree no problem.

On 11/22/2023 at 9:14 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

The position of the lifeboats is the problem for Escape....

vs. the 3 other ships in the class...

Thanks for the explanation.  Wasn't aware Escape had a different configuration of lifeboats compared the the other Breakaway/Breakaway+ class ships.

Any particular reason they choose to do that for Escape?

Prima and Viva are both Prima class.  Aqua and the following ship (unknown name, rumors of Bella or Diva) will be Prima+ class.

Encore (NCL's biggest ship) just went through the new locks of the Panama Canal.  I'm surprised to hear that Escape can't fit through the new locks.  Where did you hear that?

Don't know about the Sun specifically, but on the Jewel the darkest place I could find was in the aft on Deck 12 (behind the buffet area).  It wasn't really that dark though, but it was the best place I could find to watch the Northern Lights.  A big problem was that there was a bright strobe light that flashed every 10-15 seconds either green or white.  I thought it was people taking pictures with flash on until I noticed the strobe light.  There was no way to turn it off and the repeated, bright, white flashes basically meant there was no way to get your night vision to kick in.

Jewel is supposed to get it installed sometime in Q1 2024.

6 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

LATRIPLE - 3 points per night

Technically, that code means 3 *extra* points per night (so 4 points per night unless you're in a suite, then it's 5.)

7 hours ago, jwp1963 said:

Hi All, Joe from Boston, I joined the NCL Ambassador club in June 2022 and took my free cruise in June 2023 on the Pride of America in Hawaii.  Had a blast and I paid for an upgrade to a suite.  No regrets 🙂  Check out the video at the Latitudes gathering.  https://youtu.be/uAK5qLH0c40

 

Well done!  I should be able to reach Ambassador by November (assuming I don't miss any booked cruises).

Any ideas what the age of the youngest Ambassador is?  I see in your video you joked about being 40, but then clarified that wasn't really the case.  🙂

That's disappointing to hear.  I was in Spirit B2B 5/10 and 5/17/2023 and really enjoyed the two stops in Valdez on 5/16 and 5/18.  During the first stop they wanted $15 for transport to town if you had not booked the excursion, but on the second stop two days later, transport was free.  NCL reportedly paid $12,000 that day to keep the free transport option in place for the passengers.

The first time I did the Best of Valdez tour ($126 - $50 credit).  It was a bus ride to show off some great waterfalls and other picturesque scenery. The second time, I took the free transport to town and spent hours visiting the family incredible museum ($15 or so) that was split between two buildings in different parts of town, and also did a short hike up a hill with great views of the small town. There was also a ferrry terminal with lots of great sculptures all around it.

Valdez was a very unique place and it's sad to see others won't get to visit this year.  And least they are giving you Stika as an alternative on one of the legs.

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Does anyone know why this change was made?

I was on a Spirit sailing last month and someone asked this question to the Captain during the Q&A.  From what I recall, the Captain said there is a speed limit of 7 knots or so in that part of the inside passage (to limit the impact if they were to accidentally hit a whale) and based on the planned arrival time at Icy Straight Point, there was no way the original itinerary was actually possible. They can sail at 20-21 knots when in the open ocean.

I have had some good experiences with mine initially, but as time went on, they became less and less responsive. They often don't even reply to my emails anymore.  Now, I find it easier to work with the CruiseNext representatives on the ships than contacting my PCC about anything.

Wouldn't be a charter, but maybe this could be a 77-day NCL world cruise?

Ships are big.  I sometimes lose track of my wife for multiple hours.  Usually means she got a deal at the spa and went to get a long massage or hanging out in the thermal suite (that I might not have a pass for).  I wouldn't start worrying unless we missed a dinner appointment or if we sometime got separated on a shore excursion.

It's interesting though that they refused to page your wife.  I hear announcements all of time about "first name last name please call guest services".  If it's not right after leaving a port, people just think people need to pay their bill.

On 5/2/2023 at 12:18 AM, EngIceDave said:

As for the cruise, this is the longest one for us. Our longest in the past has been 10 days. Biggest issue in the cruise length is the number of days between stops. It feels like it's been 4-5 days between each stop. Just a LOT of days at sea back to back. The ports of call were all beautiful and our tours were awesome. Wish we'd planned something for Moorea in hindsight, but lesson learned. 

I honestly do not think we will do such a cruise again. 14 days maybe, depending on itinerary. 

 

As for the ship. Let's be honest, it's small and sure there are minor issues here and there, but none are the end of the world. The food is "ok," its not great, but it's fine. Breakfast menu has gotten monotonous. It has literally been the same thing almost every day. Still no bananas. If you're not into pool/sunning, trivia or hanging out in a bar, there's not much to do. This ship is a "chill" ship, not an "activities" ship. You just chill, nap, eat, sun, drink, gamble, nap and chill some more. Nothing wrong with it. I think anyone complaining would be people who expected more, such as a mega ship more, with multi choice of everything. That's not what Luminosa is. This is pretty much "old school" cruising from not too long ago. There's no show in the sky. No one flying or diving of high platforms. Shows are straight stage shows. Singers are standard lounge acts. Casino is small, and is busy. There is no non-smoking area in the casino, but smells never bothered me unless sitting next to me. No craps, supposed to be installed soon. 

...

If you must be entertained every minute of the day, you probably won't like the Carnival Luminosa.

If you like to just relax, hang out in a bar, get a tan and maybe swim, you'll love it. Of the ships I have been on, it's the most "adult" feeling because it lacks waterslides, roller coasters and such.

 

Luminosa is the relaxer's cruise ship.

Here's my take on the 22-day Luminosa voyage:

It's also my longest cruise.  Although earlier this year, I did a few ship-to-ships in rapid succession, 11-day (Norwegian Sky) another 11-day (Norwegian Gem), and then a 3-day (Carnival Conquest), so 25-days over 28 days but not quite the same.

Food: I generally skip breakfast, only ate their one day, so can't really comment.  I also generally only eat in the buffets and the other buffet food stations.  Never tried the main dining room, and only ate in Steakhouse once.  First off, the 555 Steakhouse was awesome.  But the buffet, that's a different story.  Franky, I found the buffet food terrible. Like, the worst I've ever seen on any ship, any cruise line, ever. 

For the different alternate buffet food stations:

• BBQ: Terrible. 
• Pizza: Very good. 
• Burrito: Just okay, sometimes good. 
• Hot sandwiches: Just okay. 
• Tacos: Didn't try. 
• Burgers:  Depending on the time of day, either too cold or just okay.

I actually thought the ship had tons of activities to keep me busy.  I didn't mind the sea days at all.\

There were *tons* of comedy shows.  I probably watched 20 or so different comedy shows from the variety of different comedians they fly in at nearly every port.  The first few comedians were OK but not great, as they were from Australia, and they often referred to Australian-specific terminology that I had sometimes had a difficult time following.  The comedians kept getting better as the cruise went on.  The last punch they brought up that got on were all super funny.  I really enjoyed them--although the comedian host, Amber, oh man.... I got so sick of hearing him do nearly the same intro (give me some noise on the left, on the right, on the middle, etc.). It was fine the first time.  I didn't need to see that 19 more times.  I was glad the couple of nights he took off and had the women guest-host instead.

I also really enjoyed the naturalists they brought onboard, especially the first pair of people they had that talked about all the animals at the places we were visiting.  They did a terrific job.  Once they got off in Tahiti, the next naturalist onboard seemed to be a bit on the spectrum and not a professional speaker, but it was still informational (more-or-less a Physical Geology 101 review with a little Oceanography thrown in).

Between the comedy and naturalists, those ate several hours of every sea day and kept me busy.

I never played in the Casino.  I attended many of the trivia games.  I didn't play as I had a hard time understanding what the hosts were saying--I prefer the way NCL does the trivia with the question written on the screen behind the host.  Also never did Bingo, but sat in a the last Deal or No Deal game.  I was surprised they didn't play more Deal or No Deal--I think they only attempted it 3 times on the 22-days.

Overall, despite the food, I really enjoyed the cruise.  I thought about booking the same one for next year or the return back to Australia, but the prices were crazy.

On 4/29/2023 at 3:11 PM, EngIceDave said:

Time for....STAIRWAY ART!!

 

First up, the forward stairs....This is supposed to be top down....Deck 10 to 1

Nope....deck 1 to 10....going upward

 

I love this!  I thought about doing this many times in the past, but then thought to myself, that'd be crazy and people would think I was nuts if I went and did that, so I always talked myself out of it.

And you went and did it!  Amazing.  Looks great.  No fears next time!

Not understanding what exactly what are you trying to say.  Did many of the passengers not secure the necessary visa before the trip?

On 4/27/2023 at 11:03 AM, EngIceDave said:

 

This is some weird sports bar/racing theme that has been totally ignored and closed all trip

 

FUGLY

 

 

 

Where is this at? Been on the ship almost 20 days and somehow haven't run into this yet.

3 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-not-planning-on-more-sailings-from-panama/96077#:~:text=Norwegian Pulls Out of Panama,of Panama following December 2024.

It doesn't say it in the article referenced above, but I bet a big part of the reason is that the deal for free Panama Canal transits likely expired:

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/panama-oks-ncl-incentive-cancels-operating-tender-delayed-cruise-terminal

"Panama Tourism Authority Administrator Iván Eskildsen on Tuesday said the government approved an agreement to reimburse NCL for its Canal transits in 2021, 2022 and 2023, up to an annual sum of $6m, for a total of up to $18m."

Another big reason ia that the port was a disaster.  I sailed out of there earlier this year.  The port wasn't ready, so we had to meet at the convention center to check-in, and then a separate shuttle had to take you to the port.  There was a ton of construction going on making it impossible for two busses to pass each other when entering/leaving the port, so we had to wait on the bus for 15-20 minutes to wait for the prior bus to exit.  Once the construction is complete, it will probably be a very convenient experience, though.  Panama airport is close to downtown and the Panama City port.  Much closer than Colon.

On 4/19/2023 at 2:32 PM, itsnotjustme said:

I tried to get the behind the scenes ship tour, but they only offered a few with 20 people on each.  Despite having a suite and concierge help, I could not get the tour.  I did note they were selling the tour like an excursion for $89!

 

The $89 tour is much better since it goes to the Engine Control Room and Bridge, and comes with a free photo for you on the bridge.

The free tour is nearly pointless unless you want to see the back of the theatre, the galley, on the laundry room. It's cool to do once, but it looks very similar on all the ships.  The paid tour visits all of these places too.

On 4/19/2023 at 3:55 PM, kessdarln said:

I did a couple of checks, the 3 extra are still the same ships as last month, others get two. 

How did you do the check?  I only see codes once I complete/confirm a booking and pay the deposit.

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Back at the restart of cruising in June of 2021, Royal Caribbean was offering as much as 7x points for cruises. It drew a lot of reservations. NCL is trying it out now. 

I only heard about that way after-the-fact.  I would have jumped on that had I known about it.  I think all the cruise lines now are just offering 1 point per day, with NCL being the only outlier with their promotions.  If there are other lines offering more than a point per day, they are doing a bad job of letting me know, otherwise I'd be jumping all over them.  Instead, I'm just crusing a ton on NCL this year, should be Ambassador by the end of this year or April of next year.

6 minutes ago, yankprintster said:

 

Which 15-day cruise is eligible for that offer?

Sorry for responding to myself.  I just noticed I got a copy of the email as well.  Looks like it is for a cruise on the Epic in April.  Unfortunately, I'll be on a transpacific cruise on Carnival Lukinosa during that same time so can't take advantage of the NCL offer on that one.

10 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

one of the "eligible" 15 nights TA cruise - one can book last-minute solo (just Insides available) at a bargain steal rate with all the FAS and get 60 Latitudes point, that's crazy

Which 15-day cruise is eligible for that offer?

Just an amusing side effect of this... I added my middle name to my NCL profile for the January cruise I did because I got the email about the same name as passport needing to be on it, and ever since, all the restaurant waiters call me by my middle name.  Room Stewart is still using my first name.