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OUgal

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Posts posted by OUgal

    Whale Watching through the cruise line

    in Alaska

    Posted

    6 hours ago, quack2 said:

    I have been on cruise ship whale watching excursions where the boats were much bigger than 20 passengers, making photography challenging at times due to the number of people.  If you want to get whale pictures, go with a smaller boat.  I've done Harv and Marv in Juneau and Glacier Wind in Icy Strait.  Both great companies.

     

    I’m scheduled for a whale watching tour with Glacier Wind in June. Great to hear you had a good experience. I like the fact that they only take 6 people at a time. 

    Escape late leaving nyc?

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    While watching the port cam earlier I noticed that the fuel bunker did not leave until after 4:00. Possibly that is reason. Still at pier and the port cam pulled back the sail away close up. Since they are going to Bermuda, they can leave late and it would not matter as they can make it there in a day and a half instead of 2 days.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

     

     

    Currently on board the Escape. The Captain said they are doing engineering testing right now since they have the time. He said nothing is wrong and we will still be in Bermuda as scheduled.

     

    We did learn at check-in this morning that due to daylight restrictions in Bermuda, that we will be arriving at the Bermuda Dockyard at 9:30 am instead of the originally scheduled at 8 am.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    My View: The Epic Beauty/Beast

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Day 3.... My View Continued...

     

    (The following has extra detail, for those who are setting up a meet and greet...)

     

    This was the day our meet and greet was scheduled. All the directions for setting up the meet and greet are listed on the Cruise Critic site, and it was an easy process. I learned in the past that there is an unwritten rule that the person who starts the thread sets up the meet and greet. However, that person on our roll call jumped ship (or at least switched to a different week), so I volunteered to do the meet and greet due to lack of other interest.

     

    If you have the chance and interest to do the meet and greet, it is very simple, and it often comes with some special perks. We received chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine.

     

    Here is the link with clear directions to set up the meet and greet: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1300907

     

    For our sailing, I set a deadline to sign up at 3 weeks before departure. On Sunday, February 25th, I e-mailed the coordinator for Epic.

     

    Here is the body of that e-mail, in case you want to copy something similar:

     

    To Whom It May Concern:

     

    We would like to kindly request a meet and greet event for our Cruise Critic roll call, boarding Norwegian Epic on March 17th, 2018.

     

    We currently have 30 people interested and signed up for the event.

     

    Coordinator information:

    (YOUR NAME)

    Booking #:YOUR BOOKING NUMBER

    Cabin #: YOUR CABIN NUMBER

    Contact: YOUR e-mail ADDRESS

     

    Please let me know if you need additional information.

     

    We look forward to our cruise adventure on Epic!

     

    Sincerely,

    YOUR NAME

     

    I received an acknowledgement within hours, and our Meet and Greet confirmation was sent to me within 2 days (on Feb 27th). We did not get a choice of when or where to meet. TIP: When you do your meet and greet set up, ask for 11:15, so that it does not coincide with the behind the scenes tour for higher tier Latitudes members. We found this to be a conflict at our Meet and Greet.

     

    I made invitations, using an old Epic photo that I took in Grand Cayman:

    51d9b5e11e8c51b6507df32c3162bf57.jpg

     

    Most of the roll call members who signed up gave me their cabin number, so I delivered the invitations by leaving them in the mail slot by the door on Sunday. I only ran into one glitch, as one of our members had a cabin in Haven. I asked guest services to deliver the invitation, and hope they did!

     

    At the Meet and Greet, about 20 people showed up. Manny (hotel director) made a joke that there seemed to be more staff members than CC attendees! I think the Epic staff did a nice job of putting everything together, but André, the CD, could not attend.

     

    Here in the front is Manny (Emmanouil Kampanakis), the hotel director:

    723041ac175cc40d651f1f2cc8f8dbee.jpg

     

    The event took about 30 minutes, and we had fun getting cruise tips and life stories from other CC members. Best advice from Manny: Don’t try to do everything. You need to relax on your cruise too!

     

     

     

    Hello! I’m really enjoying your review of the Epic. My family and I were on the same trip as you and your family. It’s great to relive our trip and see it through someone else’s point of view.

     

    Thank you for setting up the meet and greet and sending out the special invites. I was the one in the Haven and our invite was delivered to our cabin. The meet and greet was really informative.

     

     

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Trikes Cozumel Confirmed!

    in Cozumel

    Posted

    Just back from our Western Caribbean sailing on Harmony of the Seas. We spent several hours with the Trikes Cozumel team and had a great time! We'd never seen some of the coast beyond the typical beach clubs like Mr Sanchos and Nachi Cocom; the views along the seaside were spectacular! When we booked we somehow missed that the tequila tasting and lunch were included, so that was a nice surprise. We highly recommend this tour!

     

    Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

     

     

     

    Thanks for the trip report. It’s great to hear you had a great experience with the Trikes team! I agree with you that the tasting and lunch aren’t promoted well — I read it on someone’s review, but couldn’t find it on the Trikes’ website to confirm.

     

     

    Nicole

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Spring break

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    We’re from Oklahoma, and it’s our Spring Break the week of March 19. We’ll be in the Epic for the March 17th cruise.

     

    Last year we took the Dawn out of New Orleans and there were a lot of college kids on the ship. There was a huge group of students from OK State and others from several Texas colleges. Lots of alcohol and partying, but everyone was respectful.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Trikes Cozumel Confirmed!

    in Cozumel

    Posted

    I just booked the Trikes for March. Our ship doesn’t port until 10 am, but I contacted the company and they are very accommodating. It looks really fun. Lunch and tequila tasting is included in the price.

     

    I’ll report back after my trip in March and let you know how we liked this excursion.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Catamaran Trips

    in Cayman Islands

    Posted

    Crickets around here :)

     

     

     

    I recently booked Stingray Sailing. They have a 43-foot catamaran called the Far Tortuga. Michelle is the tour director and does the booking by email. I believe her husband is the Captain. She said the boat is factory rated for 45 people, but they go for a more personalized tour and do not pack the boat. They average about 14 people per tour, max is 25 people. They go to two stops — the Stingray City Sandbar and the Barrier Reef. They give you about 45 mins at each location.

     

    Here’s their website: stingraysailing.com

     

    Trip Advisor had great ratings for them. It’s $65 per adult and I just had to put down a $10 deposit per person. I’ve had multiple conversations by email with Michelle as I booked our trip, and she has been very responsive, answering all my questions.

     

    Best of luck!

    Nicole

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Pre-baby pregant mumma cruise

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    I cruised with my husband when I was 24 weeks pregnant — this was before cruise lines changed the rules from 28 weeks to 24 weeks.

     

    We did several excursions on our trip. However, we mistakenly did a river cruise in Belize. The boat had no shade and we were on the river for at least 2 hours. I got overheated and had to lay down in the boat. It was awful — I wouldn’t recommend it. In Roatan, we did a beach excursion. We were able to swim and snorkel right off the beach. It was nice and relaxing. We also visited Cozumel, and I took it easy and mainly just shopped in that port.

     

    I was worried about being seasick, so prior to going on the cruise I talked with my OB/GYN and she prescribed Phenergan. It was a topical medicine that I rubbed on my wrists and belly when I started feeling queasy. I was past the morning sickness stage, so I could tell when it was the seas. I used the medicine about three or four times and it really worked. A side effect when using the medicine was it made me sleepy and I’d take a couple hours nap.

     

    It was a wonderful vacation for my husband and me before having our son.

     

    Congrats on expecting! Hope you and your wife have a wonderful vacation.

     

    Nicole

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Earliest return flight from New York

    in East Coast Departures

    Posted

    Thank you all for your comments and advice. All very helpful! I’ve only traveled to New York once and it was in the early summer. My husband and I will be Haven, but it sounds like there are so many other variables that could impact the ship’s timing, being cleared and getting off.... I’d be a nervous wreck if we were running late. I’ll check out 1 pm and later flights.

     

    Thanks again,

    Nicole

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

    Earliest return flight from New York

    in East Coast Departures

    Posted

    I’m curious what’s the earliest departure time I should book for a return flight home from one of the NY area airports? My husband and I will be departing from the NCL Escape (Manhattan Cruise Terminal) on Sunday, Oct. 7 and I’d like to schedule the earliest flight home that I can. Any suggestions - - is 11 am too early?

     

    Also, what is the best airport to depart from on a Sunday? Is there an airport that is easier to get to from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal?

     

    Thanks in advance for any advice.

     

    Nicole

     

     

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    What to do in Miami until flight?

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    My DH and I had a late flight out of Miami after a cruise once and we rented a car from a place very close to the pier. We got off the ship early and was one of the first in line. We noticed it got busy; so if you decide to do this, be sure to make a reservation. Then we just drove around the city. We ended up stumbling across a botanic garden that was having a huge flower festival. It was something we hadn't planned to do, but it ended up being so fun exploring.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

    Cozumel question

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Punta Langosta has a nice mall area across the street that we always shop at after coming back from the beach. The mall area is attached to the pier area and has a skywalk where you cross above the street to get to and from the pier.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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