VideoTech

Hi - I just received an email that the Sun is now going to Nassau instead of Grand Bahama Island in June. Of course, it doesn't say why. Any ideas? Not that I mind the change...

Thank you in advance!:)

Could be any number of reasons. One aspect of all this is that many of the Caribbean islands that were damaged by the hurricane can still not handle the kind of capacity for passengers that they used to. So this results in the cruise lines shuffling around their ports of call.

I booked the excursion online, so I called and got the same answer as other people - if I take the excursion, the $50 shore excursion credit will be applied to my account as OBC. If I don't use it, I will get a refund at the end of the cruise.

This is the real key and the source of the confusion. As the poster says she will get refundable OBC "IF I TAKE THE EXCURSION." In that case, and only if you've PREPAID for the excursion, you will receive refundable OBC on you final bill. You can choose to leave it there against the total of the final bill or have it refunded to your credit card, or take it out to spend on the ship.

If you have NOT prepaid for your excursion, but do take one, the cost of that excursion will simply be reduced by $50.

Some people, on being told that the shore excursion credit is refundable, are wanting to get the money back EVEN IF THEY DO NOT TAKE SHIP'S EXCURSIONS.

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1) you can not book the shore ex yourself. It can ONLY ave redeemed by calling the number below or booking onboard. And they will not charge you for the excursions in advance.

 

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I'm sorry, but this is simply not correct. We always book our shore excursions online before our cruise, and we always receive the shore excursion credit as a credit on our final bill when we leave the ship.

Some people do not like to book online before the cruise because your credit card will be charged for the shore excursion. But then you get the credit at the end of the cruise, which offsets $50 of what you've paid. If you're using the same credit card, it's a wash. If you're not using the same credit card, you still received the credit, so your final out-of-pocket for the cruise is reduced by the shore excursion credit amount.

If doing it this way bothers you financially, then the only way around it that you DO have to call to book, so the credit will be applied right away.

Our family will have several checked bags on our cruise and two members physically can't carry bags. How far do you need to carry your bags once you arrive at the port? Do you need to carry checked bags through security first? Do ports typically have luggage carts available? Thanks.

First, put the NCL supplied (you print them) baggage tags on your luggage before you leave for the port in the morning.

There will be porters waiting to take your bags right where you are dropped off at the terminal. They may or may not want to check your cruise paperwork. Please be ready to tip the porters $2 to $3 per bag. You will not see your bags again until they are delivered to your cabin later that afternoon or evening, so please make sure you do not leave your cruise paperwork, identification, any medications you may need, and anything else you may want until then in your checked bag.

You will then take your carry on to the terminal. At the terminal, you will first go through an airport-style security point. Your carry on bags have to fit through the same kind of x-ray machine that is used at airport check points.

(edit: distance from the baggage drop off to the terminal varies by port. Typically it's a short walk of a few hundred feet)

After that, you will complete the check in process which includes having your reservation checked, your pictures taken for your cabin card, and your credit card or other financial details settled. Then you will likely be given a boarding number and sent to an area to wait for your number to be called to board the ship.

Your checked bags will show up at your cabin door sometime later that afternoon or early evening.

(edit: this information is valid for Port Canaveral, Miami, New Orleans and Seattle, and likely for most other ports in the U.S. Can't tell you about European or Asian ports. It always helps to name the port you are cruising from when you ask a question like this).

How many electrical outlets are there in a HA cabin on the Epic? I will have a travel scooter to charge in addition to the other stuff like camera, etc.

It's been a while since we were on the Epic. Typically, however, most of the NCL ships have 2 U.S. style outlets in the cabins, and several European style outlets. The U.S. style outlets supply 110 volts, the Euro outlets supply 240 volts. The U.S. plugs aren't always in the most convenient places.

I suspect if you talk to the ship's staff, they will help you with setting up to charge the travel scooter.

You can charge most electronics on either voltage (check what it says on the power supply). So to use the Euro outlets, all you need is an adapter plug like the one in the picture.

I'm anxious to hear what you find out, since we are on the Dawn from San Juan in January. Still need to choose a hotel and flight. We'll wait (im)patiently for excursions.

At one time we were booked on a cruise leaving from San Juan, and we had planned to stay the night before the cruise at the Sheraton Old San Juan, which is (or was) right next to the dock used by NCL. Unfortunately, we had to cancel that cruise, so we never went.

At the time, there were two cruise docks in San Juan. One in front of the old town, by the Sheraton, and one across the harbor, by the airport, used by the other cruise lines. I don't know if that's still true since the hurricane.

I recently upgraded to a balcony and this is one of my free at sea. I called the shore excursion desk since I had already paid for my excursions. She told me the $50 would be credited after we take the excursions. Anything we don't use will be refunded to us. I asked if it could be deducted for the daily service charges and she said yes, so I am hoping that is what the credit will be used for.

It is a credit, and you receive it on your final bill. But it's not your money, and you don't get anything refunded to you if you don't use it.

That service agent was obviously terribly confused or very poorly trained. The shore excursion credit cannot be used for anything except as a credit for the cost of shore excursions booked through NCL.

I have used my Starbucks card on RCCL (Oasis).

 

And I didn't know Starbucks was even on any NCL ships. That would kinda be a conflict if they are on RCCL. But I would definitely welcome them on all ships.

The Escape serves Starbucks coffee in their atrium coffee stand. That's not the same as it being an official Starbucks store.

You need to build a relationship with the casino host (casino manager won't take care of you). It's like building a relationship with your land-based casino host. They have latitude in what they can offer. If you show up on the last night and say "comp some charges", you may get the value of the points you have earned (which is the minimum they are obligated to offer). On some cruises, a large number of passengers (hundreds) are casino guests. And the hosts are not going to comp charges for all of them.

Couldn't agree more. We always build that relationship during the cruise, and it's really helpful if you come back to the same ship and some of the same casino staff are there.

Typically, NCL's shore excursions don't start showing up until a few months before the cruise..you are perhaps a little far out.

In any case, there will be plenty of options for those islands, because even though they may not be regular NCL stops (although they actually have been in the past), other cruise lines go there and all the islands have tourism industries, which creates the shore excursion business on those islands.

You can easily find out what might be available privately with a google search for the name of the island and "tours" or "excursions. You can also look on the ports of call board here on CC.

I think you'll find there will be plenty of options.

Hello everyone,

 

After a last minute cancellation of our scheduled cruise aboard the NCL Gem last November, we were looking to use our credits before they expire.

 

We ended up picking a 10-day cruise out of San Juan on the NCL Dawn in December.

We ended up picking the Shore Excursion credit for our "Free at Sea" choice (since there are 9 islands on this cruise).

 

But - I've noticed that these islands aren't ones NCL typically sails to - some of them don't even show up as options when you browse all shore excursions (not just ones for my cruise).

 

So - people who have sailed with NCL to the following islands - do you feel there were at least a decent number of Shore Excursions available to choose from? Or would I be better off picking a different "Free at Sea" choice? (We already get $50/port for the Distinctive Voyages perk, so we'll end up with $100/stateroom/port).

 

 

 

St. George's, Grenada

Bridgetown, Barbados

Castries, St. Lucia

Fort-de-France, Martinique

Roseau, Dominica

Basseterre, St. Kitts

(Tortola - already doing the Baths)

Thanks everyone!

 

 

PS - was going to post in our roll call, but only 6 people are signed up so far.

My experience was similar to what others have reported: limited time in the check in area which had lovely snacks then moved upstairs to roped off area with only cookies. Not the first class experience I was expecting, but you still get on the boat first so can't complain.

Never had that experience on any of our many cruises out of Miami. 5 to 10 minutes in the private Haven check in room, then straight onto the ship every time.

Going on my first comped cruise soon. Who do I talk to about getting some charges removed at the end? The Casino manager? Thanks.

They will typically start making announcements about it on the last couple of nights of the cruise. Most of the time you have to go to the casino desk and ask for it to be done, but one cruise they did it for us without us asking.

Also there was a time when they changed the redemption night to the night before the last night - we protested this as it meant our play on the last day of the cruise would not count. They ended up changing back to the last night.

We are looking at taking a cruise with several family members this summer that leaves out of Miami. I can’t decide from 2 different options for flight home.

 

There is a flight out of Miami at 12pm or one out of Fort Lauderdale at 1:45pm. Both are the same price.

 

There is one at 3:30 out of Miami but that would cost $90 more per person.

 

We want to make sure we get to the airport in plenty of time, not be too rushed and not have to do self assist as some of people traveling with us are older.

 

Would the 12 be ok? I’ve never cruised or flown out of Miami so I don’t know the distance, how busy it is etc.

 

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We cruise out of Miami all the time, and always take a 12 noon flight, with no issues. We don't rush off the ship either. You could also make the 1:45 out of FLL, but why bother if they're the same price?

We will be getting off the silhouette in FLL and will get some sort of transportation to MIA. Our flight doesn't leave until 4 pm. Will we be able to get into the airport and do anything there since it will be too early to check in for our flight. I think we can only do that 4 hours prior , so can we sit anywhere in a restaurant or anything until time to check in? We really don't want to rent a car. Any other suggestions would be appreciated

There's very little outside of security (at the check in area) at the Miami airport. A few fast food places and a news stand or two. But once you're checked in and have gone through security there's a lot more.

You really won't be held up by the 4 hour rule all that much. Take your time getting off the ship - have breakfast, take the latest disembarkation group. Get your bags, clear customs and then you've got a 45 minute ride to the MIA airport. So let's say you're at the MIA airport by noon, you'll only have an hour to wait until you can check in and clear security. I'd just go to the counter, they might well check in your bags at that point anyway.

If I have a pre printed boarding pass and no luggage to check, may I go directly to security at LAX without checking in at the United counter?

Yes. You can do this at any airport in the U.S. Go directly to the appropriate TSA security entrance for your gate area.

Also, can you drop your bags with a porter and go explore around the port if you choose to board the ship later?

 

 

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There isn't any reason why you couldn't, although most of the U.S. embarkation ports don't really have much in the immediate area. Miami, for instance, would require you to get in a taxi, uber, or rent car to go back into town to have anything to see or do.

Just remember that if you do that, you still have to allow time for the boarding process when you return to the port, and you need to be on board no later than 2 hours prior to ship's departure time.

We are traveling in a suite on the 4/1 Dawn cruise. Trying to determine what time to head to port. Anyone have experience that can help us decide?

 

 

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We always aim to arrive between 10:30 and 11:30 am. Goal is to be on the ship in time for lunch in the Haven restaurant or Suites restaurant.

Excellent advice Bluesea777. I read of many people worrying about charging adapters for their electronics. Most modern electronics, from cameras to tablets to phones to laptops, have chargers that will accept supply voltages for worldwide use, anything between 110v to 240v.

In that case, you do not need any kind of transformer, just a simple adapter for the style of plug on the ship. This also allows you to eliminate the muli-outlet power strip, which the ships do not like because of potential fire hazard. With a couple of the right plug adapters you can use both the U.S. style and the European style plugs in your cabin.

Check your chargers/appliances (i.e. CPAP) for the input voltage - if it's 100-240v it's good! Just buy the following simple single plug adapters:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ceptics-Europe-Asia-Plug-Adapter/dp/B0084OPT8C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1521988113&sr=8-4&keywords=plug%2Badapters&th=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/ANRANK-U4113619AK-European-American-Adapter/dp/B015LU59ZE/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1521988194&sr=8-11&keywords=Euro+to+USA+plug+adapters

 

https://www.amazon.com/BoxWave-US-Plug-Adapter-Australia/dp/B000I06JLQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1521988277&sr=1-5&keywords=Australia+plug+adapters

 

No need to buy expensive multi plug adapters or anything with surge protector or power convertors.

 

We travel a lot and these single plug adaptors are gems and take up no room!

Just wondering?

Are you asking because that's your disembarkation port and you want to make an early flight?

Or because it's a port of call and you want to book an excursion?

I remember reading a thread awhile ago and someone had talked about how the credit to your account at the end of the cruise is calculated, but now I can't find the thread and don't remember what it said.

 

We usually travel on comped CAS cruises and at the end, even if we've only earned say 5,000 point (which would be $50) they usually take much more off our bill at the end of the cruise.

 

Does anyone know or have any ideas on how they decide how much extra to deduct from your bill?

 

Thanks

The minimum number of points to be considered for a folio credit has always been 2500 on cruises we've been on. There is a formula the casino staff uses to calculate your credit, but they also have leeway to depart from the formula in some way or another. No one knows for sure what the formula is, or what determines the leeway and how much leeway they have.

All I can say for sure is that we've had cruises that we leave with everything wiped off our bill except for taxes and gratuities, that they cannot comp off. And we've had other cruises where the casino staff obviously only used the strict formula and we still had some charges left on our bill after the credit. So it depends a lot on the person doing the calculation.

I will also say that we've noticed that casino staff has been getting more and more strict and applying less and less leeway as the years have gone by. This would seem to be in accordance with corporate CAS deciding to tighten up the process.

We decided today that we weren’t going to get to the Muster Station 20 minutes before the drill started, just to stand around for half an hour waiting for everyone to turn up.

 

Drill was at 5pm on the Spirit, and we were in Henry’s Pub, about 30 seconds walk from the Muster station beforehand. We decided to wait in the bar until either 5 minutes before the drill was due to start, or when we were kicked out.

 

Anyway, at 4.40 everyone was told to leave for the drill. We walked to our station, with a loo break on the way and got there at about 17 minutes before the drill was supposed to start. During that time, we were moved along a couple of times.

 

Despite this, people were still wandering along at 10 past 5, 10 minutes after the drill was supposed to start and nearly half an hour after we got there. Where on earth were these people hiding, and how thick skinned must they be to ignore the staff telling them to go to the drill?

 

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It's the same thing at airports. How many times do you hear those announcements calling for passengers by NAME, telling them that the airplane door is about to close and they will miss their flight if they don't show up? This in spite of the passenger in question having bought a ticket, holding it in his/her hand, and having been clearly told when the flight boards and that he/she needs to be at the gate no later than x number of minutes before departure? And how many times do you see those same passengers come rushing up, clutching bags from the shops and duty-free?

Humans. Gotta love them.

Can the starbucks app or starbucks gift cards be used on the ships?

The new ships, starting with Escape, serve Starbucks coffee in the atrium coffee stand. They are not Starbucks stores, and would not take a Starbucks card or app. Everything on a ship goes onto your ship's card, no matter what the store.

Now that I'm Ruby status with CAS, can someone give examples of what would be considered Ultra level drinks in the casino.

I'm kind of a light-weight drinker, but I enjoy trying new cocktails or an interesting martini.

 

I do enjoy the special cocktails like Emperor's Nectar (Le Bistro) and Revolutionary Cure (Food Republic), but I know they don't want to make those for you outside of those venues. Is there something similar to order?

It's not so much the cocktails as the liquor that goes into them. You'll be able to order any cocktail made with premium brands of liquor. You'll have to ask for list of what's in that category.

Bingo! With 6 sea days' date=' with some along the northeast coast in winter, you helped me make up my mind. Haven penthouse it is!! I'll do the Aft when I'm only in warm waters. Thank you!![/quote']

 

NP! And you'll still have a smaller balcony on your Haven Penthouse for the sunny days. Plus, there's a Haven only sundeck above the pool area on Deck 18, with bar service and a hot tub.

Thank you, so much. So since we have three nights specialty dining I would book all 3 nights prior to boarding? You can wear shorts in the MDR during dinner? I have several friends that would make very happy!

One MDR allows shorts, the other technically does not, although it's not always enforced.

Of the Specialty Restaurants, Le Bistro does not allow shorts. "Smart Casual" will work in any restaurant.

I would book your specialty dining if you have specific times and dates you want to have in specific restaurants, and/or if you want to eat at the "popular" times. I would definitely always book Teppanyaki in advance. It's not that large a restaurant and it fills up fast.