robin13

So I am on the fence about what internet package to buy for my upcoming 15 day TA cruise.  I was thinking of doing the 250 Minute Anytime Internet but after reading numerous posts about how slow the internet is I was thinking that I would go through those 250 really fast.  So then I thought I would do the Unlimited Social Media package but I don't know if you can use the What's App on that.  If I can then I will probably do this package as once we get to Spain I will have the AT&T International Plan so I will have access to the internet in the ports.  So can anyone tell me if they actually used the What's App on the Social Media package?  

4 hours ago, SoccerMom#3 said:

It's a long day but well worth it! Our ship (Celebrity Reflection) was in Malaga so Spain Day tours met us (there were about 4 vans full of about 12-15 people each from our ship).  Each van had a tour guide as well as a driver.  We drove through Malaga to Alhambra (about and hour and a half to two hours).  At Alhambra each group was met by an individual  tour guide specifically for Alhambra who took us through Alhambra.  It was nice being in a small group. After the tour, we had time to grab a quick lunch at Alhambra and then we got back on the van to drive back to Malaga in plenty of time before the ship was scheduled to leave the port.

 

Our van driver and tour guide were great!  Lots of stories, history,  and info about the areas we were driving through.  Our tour guide at Alhambra was excellent too.  Very informative, personable.  

 

Alhambra is definitely a must see-well worth the money.

So glad to hear this as I almost didn't do it.  Thanks for responding so fast.

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 9:23 AM, SoccerMom#3 said:

We used Spain Day Tours last October for 4  separate tours during our cruise( Barcelona, Malaga, Alhambra, and Tenerife).  Each tour was absolutely fantastic!  Also their communication before the cruise was top notch.  I highly recommend Spain Day Tours.

I am using them for 5 tours in May.  Can you tell me how the Alhambra tour was?  When I tried to book this tour originally it was sold out but then then emailed me and  said there was a spot.  I grabbed it as I heard it was a must see.  I hope that is correct as it was pretty expensive.

On ‎3‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 3:07 PM, PSIA said:

Hi Robin, I think you are on the Epic. Let me know if you find something as we didn't like the ship choices either. I was trying to find a small walking tour but haven't come across one yet. Pat

Yes, I am on the Epic.  I discovered that there is a Hop on Hop Off bus in Ponta Delgada that I might do.  I really like the idea of doing a walking tour but the one that I looked at was sold out.

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 5:58 AM, mom4mom said:

We just had an overnight in Ponta Delgado last week and arranged 2 private tours with folks on our Roll Call. If you haven’t checked out your Roll Call I’d recommend doing that first as others may have already set up something that you can join. 

 

The first tour tour we did was to Fuogo Lake and waterfalls with Azorean Tours. Gary did an outstanding job showing us many different views of the lake. The vista is so green and beautiful. IHe arranged a lunch at a local restaurant which served the stew that they cook underground at Fuogo Lake. I used him several years ago to see Sete Cidades which was beautiful. Others in my ship said the weather didn’t allow them to see the different colors in the 2 lakes this year.  Take a look at all the shore excursions that Gary offers. I’m sure you will find one you like. I prefer to gather my own group together or you can let him do it for you. 

 

The second day i arranged a private “free” walking tour with Zsombi who was recommended on Trip Advisor. You tip him at the end with what you feel the tour was worth. Most people give between 5-10 euro. He has a Facebook page. He was fantastic and gave us a comprehensive history of the area and was flexible in meeting us where the ship shuttle dropped us instead of the city gates. 

 

Enjoy your Ponta Delgada stop. It is a very beautiful island. 

 

Joan

Can you tell me how you booked your tour with Zsombi?  This sounds like something that I would love to do.

3 hours ago, havenfan said:

 

Some are definitely noisier than others, e.g., there have been complaints about cabins under the gym or under parts of the sun deck where people move chairs around a lot.  But some people pay full price for those cabins anyway, either because they don't know or because that's all that's left when they book.

 

Edit: Sorry, I just realized you were talking about the Escape.  I'm thinking about the older ships where the mini suites are all under the pool deck.

My TA is on the Epic on deck 14.  In looking at the deck plans it does seem that is it under the pool deck but since this is a TA going from Orlando to Barcelona I'm hoping not many people will be laying out.  At least I'm near the elevator and the buffet is just one deck up.  Regardless, I'm just happy to be in a mini suite for two weeks as the last time I was on this ship I was in the tiny studio cabin.

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

At least a crane hasn't fallen on it.........Yet Lol

I just laughed out loud at work when I read this.  I'm on this ship 4/27 for a 15 day TA. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is still a go. 

On 4/1/2019 at 1:26 PM, brookie848 said:

And don't believe any employee that tries to push you to the buffet. If you get a Daily when you check in, it will have the hours of restaurants open for lunch. Enjoy!

This happened to me on The Escape last April!!  I asked an employee if the dining room was open and she said no that it was closed.  After I got to my cabin I looked at the daily paper and sure enough the dining room was open.  I was so mad as I had to fight the crowds in the buffet.  Lesson learned, I will always look at the daily paper for hours of operation.

1 hour ago, Dugg3482 said:

That seems like an invalid excuse by NCL. Especially when you can go on their site and go through the process of booking a balcony for 1 person at double occupancy rate and see that the total will be less than the total you paid for a studio. It shouldn’t matter what discounts you got if the amount of money you have already paid exceeds the total cost of booking a balcony for 1. 

 

The amount they want me to pay to upgrade is almost the cost of booking a balcony from scratch. I’m not paying for a cruise twice just to move rooms. I’m like you. I’ll just take this as a lesson learned for next time.

And like you I also said there was no way I was paying that price for the balcony cabin.  Fast forward one year and I did get to upgrade for free from a balcony to a mini-suite for my 15 day TA on 4/27.  The only caveat was that they picked the cabin but since it was a mini suite I didn't think there were any bad locations.

23 hours ago, Dugg3482 said:

I am also booked on the Bliss for May 19.  I originally booked a Studio room and have been watching the prices ever since.  Now balcony rooms are just ~$90 difference (if booking from scratch) than what I paid originally.

 

I called NCL to see if I could upgrade from Studio to Balcony thinking they would say I could for ~$100, but the rep said it would cost ~$1327 to upgrade!!! Wow!!

 

From what you all said here and what I've read about others upgrading, this doesn't seem right.

 

Is this typical or should I call again and try another rep?

The same thing happened to me last April on the Escape.  I booked a studio cabin and saw that the balcony cabins were cheaper than what I paid for the studio about 2 weeks before the cruise.  I thought no big deal in upgrading as when I booked the cabin I asked the NCL rep if it would be possible to do this and he said no big deal.  Well it was a big deal as they now wanted to charge me $1700 to go from the studio to the balcony cabin.  They said that I booked under the "solo cruisers discount" and that is why they couldn't do it for cheap.  They also mentioned that since the studio cabin is just for one person you have to pay double for the balcony cabin.  Lesson learned here is that I will never book the solo cruisers discount again if I want a chance to upgrade.

Going on a TA and will be in Ponta Delgada on Saturday, May 4 from noon to 8pm.  It seems that I have tours in all of the ports except this one.  Have no idea how that happened but it did.  Can someone tell me what they would suggest to do in this port?  I know there are some real pretty places outside the city but I was just thinking of staying in the actual city and walking around there.  Or is it possible to hire a cab when I get off the ship and have them take me on a tour of the city?  Or is there a Hop On Hop Off bus?  Any suggestions would be most appreciated. 

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

A Mr Worldwide is a drink specific to NCL. Apparently they came up with it when Pitbull was part of the launch party for the Escape? Anyway, it's vodka, pimm's, strawberry puree, lemon juice, and sparkling wine. Usually topped with basil.

Wow, this sounds very refreshing.  I will be trying it on my TA in April.  Thanks for the tip.

Well they let me use my OBC for my stockholders benefit to buy the Cruise Next Certificates so I don't see why they wouldn't let you use it from the Past Guest promo.

16 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Edoc updates are within a day. Call NCL and ask for tech support. 

I was thinking that something was wrong so I will call today. 

I was upgraded to a new cabin after I did my check-in.  I am still waiting on the new edocs to be ready as it has been 3 weeks since the upgrade.  Any idea how long it should take?

On ‎9‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 2:39 PM, Budget Queen said:

IF you get frequent OBC’s. Eg stockholders. It’s a big mistake to buy large numbers of certificates. I simply buy the minimum number to use the obc. Do NOt confuse my reference to a obc with the cruisenext “rebate”.

I will have $250 of OBC due to my stockholders perk.  I plan on buying two of the certificates on my TA cruise in April.  To me that is a no brainer.

So this just happened to me as well.  I booked a balcony in January for a April cruise and two weeks ago the price for the mini suite was lower than what I paid for the balcony.  I called my guy at NCL and he said his supervisor said it was ok to upgrade me for free to the mini suite.  The only problem is that they pick the cabin but I was ok with that as all of the mini suites were mid ship.  I totally overpaid for this cruise but I feel a little bit better since I am now in a mini suite for a 15 day TA cruise all my myself.  And yes I did get to keep my perks so that made me feel better.

I am so excited that there is a coffeemaker in these cabins.  I have only been in the Studio cabins where there is no coffeemaker and it was a pleasant surprise when I watched a video and saw one.  I love having a cup of coffee on my balcony in the morning and now that I don't have to walk somewhere to get it makes it extra special.

I was on The Escape in a studio cabin last April and there was no bartender.  They did have a wine dispensing machine but I never used it as I always took a glass of wine from a bar back to my cabin.  It is my understanding that the Epic does have a bartender for the 5pm meetings so I'm looking forward to that.  Even though I'm staying in a mini suite I'm sailing solo so I'm planning on being in the lounge for the meeting every day.

The only time I will do that flight time is if it saves me a lot of money.  I did an early flight like that several times but as others have said the key is to walk off with your luggage and to take a cab to the airport.  

That's what I thought.  Thank you for the quick response.

Do you have to be on board in order to purchase?

1 hour ago, NLH Arizona said:

That is what I have and my filet was cooked perfectly.

Well that makes me feel better.  The only cut I will eat is the little filet and it has never failed me.  I'm not a picky food person as I have only sent back one meal and that was on a Carnival ship. 

Well this is scary as I just booked Cagney's for my TA on the Epic in April.  I very rarely eat steak so eating at a steakhouse is a treat for me.  It's also a tradition I do on every cruise that I go on so I will keep the tradition going and hopefully it will be a tasty meal. As for the fries I never order them but I do like a good baked potato with my filet so hopefully that will be a good choice. 

3 hours ago, Visigoth said:

It has a large shower, no tub.

You made my day Visigoth!!  That was the response I wanted to hear.

I was past final payment when I saw that the mini suite was $400 cheaper than the balcony cabin I paid for.  I called NCL and they agreed to upgrade me for free to the mini suite as long as I agreed to a gty cabin.  I was fine with that as all of the mini suites were mid ship which is what I wanted.  I'm so glad that I called when I did as now the mini suites are sold out for my cruise.