sharonax3

I was on this sailing and chose to get off Friday morning in Tampa. I could have stayed, but they said it could be up to five days until they returned to Tampa. If they do go to another port, will RC pay for their flights home to Tampa?

Sailing on Empress on 9-4 to Cuba. I normally would not care if we were diverted or even cancelled, but this is Cuba. I have never gone during hurricane season, only in January and February. I only booked because it was going to Cuba. :rolleyes:

We also did this thru Native and the tour was amazing. Our party of 13 had a great time. Learned so much and the lunch was excellent. Our kids ages 3 to 14 learned how to make tortillas from scratch and cook them over an open fire. they still talk about it over a year later.

I assumed it would be more formal than what I am used to. I prefer casual, casual meaning sundress, nice capris and top. Is that acceptable, and do men need suits/and or ties? Are nice shorts and polos acceptable for men on nights that are not "formal"

thanks so much for your suggestions, just trying to fit it. oh, forgot to mention this will be a carribbean cruise.

Have only been on Ncl, Carnival etc. Can someone please advise on dress code for MSC. Going on Seaside in February and wondering how "dressy" it will be.

All comments appreciated

thank you

Hi,

Sailing on Empress in Sept and have never stayed in oceanview room before, nor on such a small ship. I have a room right now on the third deck, but thinking I should switch to deck eight. I originally chose deck 3, because I think there will be less motion. Price is the same. Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Should I switch to the eighth floor?

Thank you

I was also going back and forth between the two ships. NCL being a little cheaper considering the alcohol package was free. I decided on Empress as the time in port for Cuba was much longer. I love NCL, but have only been on their newer and bigger ships. I'm a little nervous going on such a small ship, but have heard only good thing about Empress, not so much for the sky.

I am booked for Sept, within 90 days of Trumps announcement. I also booked a few private tours and am hoping I will be able to keep them, as there has not been any official announcement. hoping to be grandfathered in. I just don't want to be on a ship excursion. I never take the ships excursion and certainly dont plan on doing it for this cruise.

Try asking the frequent, long-time travelers on the Thorn Tree Cuba travel forum.

 

Here are some (recent but not current) posts on baseball in Cuba from that forum:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/experience-cuban-culture-go-to-the-baseball-stadium?page=1

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/baseball-season-in-cuba?page=1#post_22487336

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/baseball-in-cuba-done-for-season?page=1#post_22437072

thank you so much for this forum... something other than cruise critic...

Hoping someone can advise on baseball season. We are docking on 9-6 and was hoping to maybe catch a game. Doesn't have to be professional. Just a game of some sorts. I tried on several websites, but most are in Spanish. Anyone have any info?

thanks

we also did this tour. one of the best. there were 13 of us, so we had private driver. the tour of the ruins was great and then went for the meal. Fantastic! kids enjoyed making tortillas and food was great.

We just did the ruins and the meal with the family. we were a private group of 13. your kids will love this. the ride was about 50 minutes on paved roads to the ruins. very informative. The meal was delicious and we all made our own tortillas. we had Kasi for our guide and she was the best tour guide we have ever had. our kids ranged in age from 4 to 13. you will not be disappointed.

leaving tomorrow on the getaway. praying that we stop at harvest cay. I do not want a sea day. does anyone know if belize mainland is an option. I thought about calling NCL to find out, but not sure they would have an answer

I also experience extreme swelling of my feet. It is embarrassing. I am not a water drinker so I can't blame the water. I think it has to be the amount of salt in the food. Going on a cruise next week and I am going to try and stay away from soups, gravies, etc. someone said that eating pineapple helps. ? The swelling stays for about two days after I am home and then goes completely away. So frustrating. And this never happens on a land vacation, just cruises. Maybe just the humidity and sea air are causing it.

we have been to nassau many times and it's fine for us to just walk around. last time there we hopped on a local bus and went to the zoo. a bit different than our local zoo. very pretty and we saw a show with a bunch of trained flamingos. very interesting. on the way back we decided to walk. was maybe a mile and a half from port. think it was 15 for admission.

Thank you all for advise given. you are probably right about getting to MIA by 9;15. would be very tight. I will have to come up with a plan b. Cant imagine why airfare is so expensive coming in to Chicago. Never had this problem before.

looking for some advise on train options. In order to save quite a bit of money, I was thinking of taking a Southwest flight out of west palm beach airport, versus going out of FLL. It looks like the train would only be 5 dollars per person from Miami airport to W Palm beach airport. The only problem is flight leaves at 1:05. do you think we could make that flight if we got off ship very early. I think we would need to catch an uber to Miami airport in order to catch the train. savings would be more than $1000 for our party. We will be on Ncl Getaway in February, departing on Sunday. thanks for advise.

Nice review. This is exactly how I felt on our first NCL cruise after only being on Carnival. I will probably only sail NCL for awhile.

I am in the same predicament. booked a balcony( not a guarantee). Now the price of the mini suite is the same as what I paid for a balcony. Was hoping to move up, but they basically told me no. Not a big deal, but the extra room in the bathroom would have been nice.

I am not worried as I would be happy with the cabins we have. Just thought that NCL would let me move up to mini suite, since it's the same price as what I now have.

Need some advise please. I have balcony booked and fully paid for on Getaway.I am also past final payment. I noticed the mini suites are now the same price as balcony. Actually $27 more due to increase in port fees. I called and asked to move(upgrade) to mini suite and Ncl said no, I would have to cancel and re-book. I don't think this is true after reading these boards for years. Should I just call again? Or am I incorrect. I have a pcc, which is who I spoke with. Any advise would be helpful. I actually have 3 balcony cabins booked that I would like to change.

thank you

No passport is needed. A birth certificate is all you need. We just did this same cruise a few months ago and several of us did not have passports.

We rented a golf cart and explored. excellent day. we found an isolated beach with NO ONE around and enjoyed a couple of hours there. beautiful crystal clear water. then took the golf cart to the end of the island to the lighthouse. best day ever. golf cart was $100 for the day.

We are coming into MIA late Saturday for a cruise on Getaway in February. Looking for an inexpensive hotel and found La Quinta by the airport. Has a free shuttle from airport to the hotel and free shuttle to POM. Is this an acceptable hotel for the night? thoughts? We will need 4 rooms. Hoping the hotel is in a safe neighborhood. I normally would choose a different hotel, but we will only be there for around 10 hours.

thank you for any suggestions.

We actually stayed very near this location over the shuffleboard area and it was not a problem at all. hardly anyone out there and not noisy at all. in fact, I picked the same location for my next cruise