AnnArbor_707

Whats really difficult for me to understand is when the best free dinners are (lobster and steak) and when the best free parties are (white hot, jazz band, spiceH2o's biggest night) because i dont want to make reservations to pay restaurants and parties (cirque dreams, ice bar) on the coolest "free" nights!

What makes it worse is if you dont reserve quickly and pick dates without knowing youll miss out all together

Anyone have any advice ?

Just out of curiosity - How much pre-booking of dinners and entertainment did you do ?

For example, as soon as the 45 day advance is up do we need to book all of the specialty restaurants we want for the entire week ? Do we also need to pre-book dinners in the "free" restaurants ? As for entertainment; did you pre-book EVERYTHING ? I guess I'm just wondering how much planning of the week we should do in advance....

Also, since you mentioned the dress code in the Manhattan room - would you say typically the women were wearing sun dresses or something fairly formal ? (not jeans and flip flops) Wondering what to pack is all and you seem like you might have been the type to dress up a little more so I thought I might be able to get your $0.02

I tried to book a sea lion excursion directly with Blue Lagoon only to find out that they are all booked the day The Epic will be docked. Blue Lagoon mentioned that I should contact the cruise ship as many of the reservations are held thru The Epic. I did that and even booking through Epic it's completely booked. I then contacted Atlantis to do the sea lion excursion there, but the times they offer it are before our ship even docks so it's not an option.

I then tried booking the dolphin swim at blue lagoon (where they push your feet and you "fly" through the water) and that is also booked completely full.

I ended up reserving the regular dolphin encounter where you just 'hug' them because there was nothing left. I asked Blue Lagoon if I could go on a waiting list to get the sea lion excursion, but they don't take a waiting list so we're out of luck. It's a little disappointing, but I'm sure it'll still be a ton of fun, just kinda had our hearts set on the sea lion thing..... wish there was a way to still do it...

My advice is to book early!!!

I just found this on the NCL website:

 

Fees are $15 for 750ml bottles, $20 for 1,000ml and $30 for 1,500ml. Boxed wine is not allowed.

Thanks Rog. Guess I'll have to call in the Carlo Rossi question :)

Haha, you sound like me. I asked about bringing a box of wine on board! (But no, that's not allowed).

 

I am a "cheap" wine drinker, and was thinking about buying some cheap bottles of wine and bringing them on board, but then I saw the NCL wine list and see many bottles priced at $28-$30. So I figured why buy a cheap $12 bottle of wine, only to also pay a $15 corkage fee on top of that, which would equal $27. Might as well save the hassle of lugging on my own wine just to save a buck, ya know? I'll just buy the $28 bottles on board. :cool::D

You can get a gallon of Carlo Rossi for $10 here in Michigan. It's in a glass bottle/jug, so not sure what rule NCL would make to keep the rif raff from bringing in some large jug of rossi, haha.... but with a $15 corking fee that's only $5 a bottle total. If they allow it, I'm bringing Rossi, just to get some reactions out of the people in the fancy restaurants. Wine drinkers can be the worst for being stuck up, if you ask me.... (I actually have a friend that does this out in California, haha)

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Also, around here you can buy $4-5 bottles of "good enough" mascato..... which after the corking fee would still be $10savings after they charge you for a tip on the cheapest bottle.

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Anyway, I'm actually not a wine drinker, but my gf's idea of drinking wine is one glass so I have to finish off a lot of bottles (ok, maybe not "have" to... but who would waste it) Thankfully for me she doesn't judge drunks, because on top of what I've drank the wine usually will do me in....

I have a question that I have yet to be seen discussed or answered

1. If you bring wine on the ship, you pay a $15 corking fee per bottle, but how does that wine actually make it on the ship ? Do you walk into one of the restaurants with it ? Do they check it in before hand ? Not sure how that process works....

2. What is the corking fee on a liter bottle ? What about a half gallon ? Still just the $15 ?

If anyone knows let me know :) :) :)