minn55441

Thanks for posting the dailies.  We are on the Breakaway next week.  By the way, not sure you noticed but it is 56 degrees in Minnesota today.

Yes, we have seen the new menu.  We have already decided that we will not be eating at the American diner with the new menu options.  My hope is that a new specialty restaurant will be added as an option for haven guests.

With the recent change of the American diner to a complimentary restaurant, has this changed the embarkation lunch for haven guests? During past cruises we have had the choice of the haven restaurant and a select specialty restaurant for embarkation lunch, depending on the ship.  For those guests recently off of a sailing, has this change of the status of the American diner resulted in a change of the embarkation lunch options?

We are sailing on the Breakaway in February.

72 Days out and they booked our air.  Not very happy with the decision they made.

Home Departure City - MSP - Minneapolis

Arrival/Destination City - MYS - New Orleans

Airline(s) used - United

Number of Connections - 1

Outbound Flight departure/arrival time - 8:52/3:08

Return Flight departure/arrival time - 3:59/10:28

We paid the extra fee to fly in the day before, so we fly in on Saturday and the cruise leaves on Sunday.  My frustration is that Delta has a nonstop that leaves Minneapolis at 10:00am that would get into New Orleans at 12:49pm on the way there and a return nonstop that leaves at 4:07pm that would arrive in Minneapolis at 6:57pm for on $25 more than what they paid for the United flights. 

I understand that because of the promo my flight was free to me, however I would have gladly paid an extra $100 per person to have the nonstop flights.  Too bad they don't give you the option of working with the person making the flight reservations. 

On 10/31/2019 at 8:45 AM, jgris90 said:

Hi, 

 

received an email that our air tickets were issued 86 days before our cruise.....worried with the timing and missing the cruise .....is it possible to get a deviation now that we have been ticketed? 

You have me worried.  We are currently 85 days out and when I go to vacation summary on NCL it does show airport abbreviations for a connecting flight on the trip to and from our cruise location.  No flight numbers, no times and no airlines listed.  I called the general customer service number and they reassured me that our flights have not been booked and would not be booked until 40 to 45 days out.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

My travel agent is closed on Sunday. 

I booked a suite on the Getaway for January for my wife and I and received "take all free" promo.  Today I was talking with my adult son and he may be able to get that time off from work an join us.

Has anyone else added a 3rd or 4th guest after final payment using the 3rd or 4th guest sail free promotion?

It is just as simple as paying the taxes and port fees for this additional guest?  Or is it more involved than that?

If he is added and is then not able to sail with us, would we just be out these port fees and taxes that we would prepay now, or would there be additional fees or penalties.

Thank you for any info you can provide on this topic.

We have made connections in CDG twice in the last 3 years.  To Barcelona in January of 2016 and to Marielle in January of 2018.  In looking back at our tickets, we were on Delta both times.  In 2018 I had the same concern as you.  We were scheduled to arrive at  7:45am and our connecting flight to Marielle was at 9:25am.  Looking back, both years our delta flights arrived 45 minutes to an hour early in Paris.  We had to change  terminals both times, but since our flights were so early getting through security and making our connections turned in no issue at all.

It seems like they build a lot of extra time into these international flights.  Whether it is to make their on time percentage look better or to help those of us making connecting flights.  Since you booked it through NCL, I"m sure you will be fine.

On 2/11/2019 at 2:49 PM, peacebeautytruth said:

We're going to be at Maya Chan next week off the Vision.  Have been there 5/6 times.  Obviously we"ll check out the pool.  We so enjoy the peaceful ambiance of the place, we'll probably mostly hang out at our favorite palapa.  Just out of curiousity where on the property did they situate the pool?

 

Mike and Doris 😎

As you leave the main area (bar, restaurant) walking to the beach, just take a left and walk to the end of the property.  Its not that far off the beach, but it is set back.  If you watch the video, it should give you a good idea on how to find it.

On 2/10/2019 at 5:22 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

Thanks for the review.  Was the pool open to anyone who wanted to use it, or just for those with loungers on the pool deck?

The pool deck is open to everyone.  As mentioned earlier, it is more of a plunge pool.  It doesn't get too much sun, so it is a little on the cool side.  Great if you want a quick cool down after laying in the sun.

Enjoy your stay.

On 2/5/2019 at 2:16 PM, Outta My Work Clothes said:

Thankx Minn.... Water looks clear.... No seaweed issues?

No, we had a perfect day.  We used the kayaks, standup paddle  boards and the floating chairs.  No issues with seaweed during our visit.

I was concerned when I booked this reservation, because they were at capacity and I thought the pool deck would be kind of an overflow arrangement.  I could not have been more wrong.  It did not feel crowded and I there was always someone there to help with whatever we needed.  The staff was wonderful, it was just a nice relaxing day.

For those of you with questions about the new pool area at May Chan, we were there on January 30, 2019 and were assigned a spot on the pool deck.  I don't feel the area should be considered less desirable than the other traditional locations.  It is probably more secluded as it is off the beach, yet you have a clear view of the beach from all of the locations on the pool deck.  There is a very nice rest room with changing area on the pool deck.  The pool deck has its own private bar.  The beach recliners have pads that are very comfortable. For the most part the area is in shade for the most of the day.  We were able to move our recliners around and stay in the sun for a couple of hours during morning (that was enough sun for us). 

You still have the same great service as the rest of the guests, as we had specific staff assigned to our area.  You still have full use of all of the Maya Chan property and amenities.  I would definitely do it again without hesitation.

I have attached a photo of the pool deck bar, a photo of the unique sink in the pool deck changing area and a link to a video of a walk from the pool area to the main beach, just to give an idea about how close you really are to the rest of the guests.

https://youtu.be/OXUxxDGdA-s

On 12/30/2018 at 9:17 PM, sensfan318 said:

Hi,

 

I got the same response from them but haven’t found any info about their pool area. Did you decide to book? We’re concerned it might be too secluded and it definitely doesn’t look the same experience as being on the beach. 

 

Thanks so much

Tracey

Hi Tracey,

Yes we did end up booking, once we made our reservation request they would only hold our spot for 24 hours without payment.  We will be there on Wednesday Jan 30th.  I will report back when we return.

I'm sure we will have a great time, as we have a number of beach days planned prior to Maya Chan.  We will appreciate the shade and quiet low key atmosphere that we are expecting.

I just contacted MC about a reservation in Late January.  I just heard back that they are fully booked that day, but have a new pool deck option.  Same price.  Has anyone else been given this type of reservation?  For those of you that have been there, does this sound like a good option?

"All beach venues have been reserved for the day you requested.  We do, however have an option for our adult guests who would still like to join us at Maya Chan.  

We have recently added a freshwater pool in a secluded area of our resort.  I have attached a photo of both the area and the view from the pool.  Like all the venues at MCB, we are able to configure the seating to accommodate the size of your group.  If you received this email, you have been invited to spend your day with us in this quiet haven."

We have flown into Fort Lauderdale and even West Palm for Cruises out of Miami.  We have used the Tri-Rail on many of those trips.  Very convenient and inexpensive.  The train runs between each of the airports every 6 minutes on weekdays and on Weekends they still have them running every 15 minutes.  Here is a link http://www.tri-rail.com/

On the Sunday we returned from our cruise, I was worried about making our 1:30pm flight out of west Palm, as it turned out we made it with hours to spare.  As you can see in the photo, we had a whole train car to ourselves on Sunday morning.  I think it was only $5 per person.

I submitted my request for the shareholder benefit last Friday in an email.  I received confirmation this morning that $100 of OBC has been credited to my account.

I booked my January 2019 cruise last March and received the dinning package among many other promotions that were going on at the time.  As many of others have reported, the Shareholder benefit is alive and well.

This is a discussion that was started back in 2011, but it is a very thorough listing of all of the Epic balconies. I found it very helpful when researching past Epic sailings.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1522322&highlight=epic+balcony

Thanks for the info. Just called my travel agent and re booked my cruise for next January using this promo and saved $250. I lost $150 in OBC, but still a net change of $100.

I would much rather pay less up front and have less OBC.

The Captain has just come over the tannoy to say that we will not be going to Heraklion tomorrow due to winds and high seas. Instead, we'll arrive in Piraeus at 12.30pm.

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Forums mobile app

Sorry to hear that you will be missing your second port this trip. Will you be spending two days in Piraeus? Is this fairly common during this time of year or have you just caught some bad weather?

Thank you for the updates, we have enjoyed your photos and commentary.

thanks for the photos.

Took me a couple of hours to figure out that there's a big difference between Akistours.com and Askistours.com

Not trying to be offensive or say anything mean or disparaging. Just letting others looking at this thread know.

Thank you, much appreciated.

I understand that you can currently use two certificates for all booking out of New York and Europe. I have never been able to take advantage of this promotion in the past. As far as I know it is not advertised, where have you seen this published? Is it only available to those that call and ask?

I just noticed that the new insider offers posted today. In the past I have not paid much attention to these offers, as we have always booked through a travel agent. The bonus points to our latitude account won't affect us as we are already platinum and we won't be chasing platinum plus for the perks, however the additional $100 OBC would be appreciated. My question is, can you book an insider offer through a travel agent or does it have to be booked directly with NCL?

The travel agent that I have used for the last several cruises have consistently offered prices about $100 less than booking through NCL directly, plus they have given us OBC of various amounts depending on how far in advance I contact them.

Thanks for the information, if anyone has booked an insider offer through a travel agent.

Yes. They will easily fit under your bed.

We just sailed the Getaway January 29th through February 5th. The passes were $99 per person or $329 for one of the five cabanas. The price for the Cabana does include passes for two people and $100 of OBC. We opted for the Cabana, as it was only a net of $29 more and we would have a private place to keep our things. We were in an inside cabin for this trip and felt it was a nice trade off for not getting a balcony cabin for this cruise.

You will hear good and bad reviews on the Vibe. A lot will depend on the group of people you are with. Not surprisingly, you do get to know them fairly well after a week. We had a very positive experience. We had a very diverse group, but everyone was respectful of one another. My wife and I don't drink much and spent most of our days reading and laying in the sun and shade. It was more than quiet enough to read without being disturbed both within the cabana and laying out in the general vibe area. There were times when the staff at the bar would gather everyone around for shots and play music a little louder, but things never got out of hand or disruptive to those that didn't want to take part.

During this week we had the worst weather we have ever had on a Caribbean cruise. It rained several days and was cloudy and windy a couple of more days. Even with the less than perfect weather, I am glad we opted for the Vibe passes as it allowed us to not worry about finding a deck chair when the sun finally did appear. We made some good friends during the week within the vibe area and felt comfortable leaving our things lay on the deck chairs if we ran back to our cabin or stopped by the buffet for a snack. Within a few days we all recognized one another and watched out for each others things. I could understand the frustration for some people if they happen to spend a week in the Vibe with a few unruly guests. Unlike other areas of the ship, if you find someone offensive you can just leave that part of the ship and spend your time elsewhere.

I hope this helps.

We just got off the Getaway on 2-5-17, we purchased our Vibe passes at Guest Services.