Cruisevirgin1965

Over the past 3 days I have been on hold for over 6 hours total so far and have not been able to get through. And now it looks like their website is down. VERY loyal NCL cruiser trying out MSC for the first time and so far other than the price MSC has nothing in their plus column to impress me.

New to MSC for our cruise this summer. We have a large family group of 17 people and like to book our excursions in advance. My mom is disabled and needs extra time in the morning and on other cruise lines we have always been able to see the exact time an excursion departs and pick what ones work best for her needs. When I am on the MSC website it doesn't show me a time. On a port day of 7am to 7pm I'd like to know what time the excursion is before I book it. We usually pick short usually 3-4 hours for my mom and have always had a choice of times with other cruise lines. Wondering if I am missing something.

TIA

We are on the Sun July 31st - August 7th and have a group of 17! Would be great if Casey could take some fun group shots of us all. I will keep an eye out for her!

So in January we will be on a cruise with Ocho Rios being one of our ports. Due to an unfortunate work situation my sister and her husband have to leave our cruise at this point and have a flight home from Montego Bay. I am looking into finding out what is the best way for them to get from the port in Ocho Rios to the airport in Montego Bay. I have done some research but am not having much luck.

Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.

TIA

While I sympathize with getting ill, no fun, especially on a trip, OP does not know who she caught the virus from. My mother has COPD and when she coughs it sounds dreadful. She is also a smoker which doesn't help. I always cringe when we are travelling and she starts to cough because it sounds like she is at death's door. Her cough is deep and raspy and like I said she sounds awful. However, she is not contagious. I am usually quick to reassure people of her health status but I'm sure people still think that she is.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.

Thank you so much for your review and pictures. We are staying in your suite - cabin 16118 in just 2 weeks so it was great to actually see pictures of it. While we have stayed in suites on NCL ships before, this will be our first time staying in The Haven. Even more excited than I was!

I apologize in advance if this has been asked and answered in the past. I am wondering if there are any Marriott hotels in Miami that also have a shuttle from the airport that are close® to the Port of Miami. When i do some research all I can find is ones near the airport with a shuttle. We will have about 24 hours before our cruise so want to be located near some things that we can walk around and see and I think that the hotels near the airport will be pretty isolated.We have Marriott points to use so it has to be a Marriott. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

TIA

Great idea Holly2...should have thought of that myself :o

Thanks!

I am so confused :confused:

We will be arriving in Copenhagen on August 9th and staying at the Marriott. On the 10th we will go from the Marriott to the cruise port. On the 19th we will go from the port back to the Marriott and on the 20th we will go from the Marriott to the airport.

We do NOT want to use public transit. My mom is elderly and in a collapsible wheelchair and also travelling with others who will not be able to manage their luggage.

I would like to prebook our transportation. The one quote I have is from Copenhagen Limousine Service. It seems very expensive to me. I am wondering if the quote is reasonable. Please see below:

1. Sunday August 9th - pick up of 12 people plus luggage and one collapsible wheelchair from airport and drop off at Marriott Copenhagen Hotel

DKK. 1360,- + 25% VAT

2. Monday August 10th - pick up of 12 people plus luggage and one collapsible wheelchair from Marriott Copenhagen Hotel and drop off at cruise port (NCL Star)at 11am.

DKK. 1360,-+ 25% VAT

3. Wednesday August 19th - pick up of 12 people plus luggage and one collapsible wheelchair from cruise port (NCL Star) and drop off at Marriott Copenhagen Hotel

DKK. 1360,- + 25% VAT

4. Wednesday August 20th - pick up of 2 people at airport at 9:15am with luggage - and take to Marriott Copenhagen Hotel

DKK. 985,-

5. Thursday August 20th - Pick up of 14 people plus luggage and one collapsible wheelchair from Marriott Copenhagen Hotel at approximately 8am and take to airport

DKK. 1360,- + 25% VAT

I know we are a big group but the price seems high to me.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks.

This summer we will be on the Star and with us will be 5 teens (ages, 16, 16, 16, 18 & 18).

We are looking for some fun, more active excursions for them rather than the traditional sightseeing of historical sites etc.

The ports I am looking for ideas in are:

Tallinn, Estonia

Helsinki, Finland

Stockholm, Sweden

On NCL website the majority of excursions are not overly exciting to them, although they are considering the Lapland excursion in Helsinki and the Rooftop Walk in Stockholm.

I would appreciate any other ideas.

TIA

We had already booked the Escape for February 2016 - Haven Spa Balcony...figured we would splurge on the Haven when it is just the 2 of us cruising on our own without extended family and to celebrate our birthdays. Price was (gulp) a lot but I justified because it included the UBP, UDP and $300OBC. Today I emailed my PCC and he was not only able to apply the new promo so we now have gratuities included but also the price has gone down and cruise is now $100 less a person. :D

Maybe I should look at 2017 too ...... :D

Thank you for a fabulous review. We will be doing some of the same ports this summer and I am wondering if you can comment about accessibility. My mother is in a wheelchair, the collapsible kind and she can do a couple of stairs if needed if there are railings. As well, my DH will be 5 months post hip replacement. The ports we have in common are; Copenhagen, SPB, Tallinn, and Stockholm. I am just wondering how much walking there was. Actually more concerned about my DH because my mom can usually be pushed. We will probably do a private tour in SPB but were hoping to just do some wandering in the other ports. Do you think this will work for us?

TIA

I have a few dessert favourites:

1. warm espresso chocolate brownie at Cagney's

2. chocolate volcano

3. Lemon sorbet (sooooooo good)

4. chocolate croissants on the buffet

5. grilled pineapple at Moderno

I do find some of the desserts on the buffet to be bland, however, I am very glad of that. Like someone else said, thank goodness they weren't all wonderful or it wouldn't be a good thing.

Thank you Danish Viking for the wonderful wealth of information. I have spent the last few days reading posts in anticipation of our cruise this upcoming August.

I am wondering if you can recommend a hotel or hotels that would fit the following criteria:

- Walking distance to Tivoli Gardens (less than 10 minute walk)

- Air conditioning

- Elevator (my mother is in a wheelchair and cannot do any stairs but does not need an accessible room)

- onsite restaurant

- larger rooms (more American style)

Being close to bus/train etc is not necessary as we will be relying on private transportation due to some of the special needs in our group.

Thank you in advance.

I am finally one of those people who have 2 cruises booked! I first cruised in 2010 and since then have been hooked. I have always been envious of those who have more than one cruise booked...and finally that is me! Yay! And to make it even better although I have been in a suite before, I have never been in The Haven.

Not trying to brag but I did it as a surprise for my DH and wanted to tell someone.

Thanks for listening :D

We will be in Copenhagen this summer (August 2015) for a Baltics Capitals cruise on the NCL Star. I am wondering about hotels pre and post cruise.

First off, a bit about our group

We are travelling with 13 people and will need 7 hotel rooms. In some rooms we will need 2 beds and in others 1 king sized bed is preferred.

Pre-cruise we will be arriving about noon from on overseas flight. We do not plan to do much sightseeing but will just want somewhere comfortable, safe, air-conditioned where we can hopefully check in early. As well, in our group is my 75 year old mother who is in a wheelchair. She cannot do stairs so there must be an elevator. She does not need a specially equipped room, just a room that can be accessed with her in her wheelchair. Her wheelchair is collapsible. It would be great to be somewhere that those who want to go out for a walk could while others could just rest. A hotel with a restaurant would be necessary or one very close by. I know my mom will be too exhausted after our very long flight.

Transportation to and from the airport and cruise port will be booked privately. We will not be using any public transportation not only because of my mother but because of other seniors in our group.

Post Cruise Hotel.

We will arrive back in Copenhagen about 8am and are not leaving until noon the next day. One this day we would like to come from the port to a hotel and drop our luggage and then do some sightseeing. This may be a private tour etc. This is another thing on my to-do list lol. But right now I am wondering what a good area or hotel would be for this part of our stay. Again it needs to meet the needs outlined above.

If anyone has any suggestions for either of these stays (maybe the same hotel will work for both?) I would really appreciate any information.

We usually stay in Marriot Hotels and I have read info about the Copenhagen Marriot Hotel or the AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen but haven't read much about those particular hotels on here.

Thanks again in advance for any information.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Not sure I can complain when I am trying to figure out which suite to book! :eek::D

We are just in the process of booking the Star this summer cruising the Baltic Capitals. I am looking to book 3 suites and need some advice on which ones to pick. I am trying to decide between the "Aft-Facing Penthouse with large balcony" (SF) or the "Penthouse with large balcony" (SE)or the "Penthouse suite with balcony" (SG). The SG is the most expensive, about $300 more per person than the cheapest which is the SF.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions? I would appreciate any input.

thanks!

We were just on the Getaway, a group of 38. One person in our group was in a wheelchair, 2 had scooters and one had a walker.

For the theatre they have a lot of accessible seating when you enter on deck 7. Both sides of the theatre worked for all in our group. At times my mom stayed in her wheelchair and others she transferred to a seat. Both worked well. As far as the buffet there were a lot of tables set aside for disabled. However, I found this buffet the best of any I have seen on any NCL ship. There seemed to be more room around tables and many more tables. We never had a problem finding places to sit and my mom's wheelchair worked at most tables, not just the accessible ones. We also found on this ship that there were more elevators and things seemed to work better for people with mobility issues or in wheelchairs or scooters. All the other restaurants had good seating. The only place I'm not sure about is the Flamingo Grill. It is a small buffet on deck 16 and I can't remember if there was table specifically set aside for wheelchairs etc.

Enjoy your cruise. The Getaway is a beautiful ship.

Thanks everyone!

I have a quick question. A large group of us is cruising over New Year's on the Getaway. My stepdaughter is in her mid 20's and is the only one in her age group. Rest of us are either a lot older or a lot younger. She is wondering if she will be able to partake in some of the gatherings available for solo travellers. She would love to meet some friends her age rather than always hang out with the younger or older crowd. Because she isn't technically a solo traveller does anyone know if she can, or how she can access this.

Thanks!

Okay....just to clarify. We are on a cruise this December. It is a big group and a couple of people in the group do not have credit cards. We all have prepaid the DSC and as well prepaid for some other things, excursions, specialty restaurants etc. So technically it is possible that no more money needs to be spent once on the ship. Because the DSC has been prepaid plus a few other things, how much money will these people without credit cards have to put on their accounts. Can they just put down $100 and if and when they spend that much add more to their account?

Thanks.

I too, will add my two cents worth. Wonderful, extremely well written review. I have shared with my two teens and they as well were blown away by your gift of writing and expressing yourself so well, not to mention the website you have created to share all this information. We are on the Getaway for New Year's Eve and you have made us even more excited.

As an educator, I am so impressed with your writing. You have a gift and I hope that writing has a place in your future. Your parents must be so proud.

We always tip the first morning or even the first evening if I have asked them to do a number of things....empty mini-fridge, extra pillows, egg crate on bed. We then tip daily, a few dollars IF they are good and usually we have had great room stewards. And finally at the end of the cruise if they were very good we give a larger tip. For a week's cruise we usually end up tipping our room steward about $35-$50.

Just an FYI.

We were on the Spirit in July and were in a suite. We originally purchased the UDP but on the second day were told that we could NOT use it to have food from a specialty restaurant delivered to our suite. It was only good if you went to the actual restaurant. We were able to cancel it without any issue. We had decided to only purchase if we could have specialty food delivered to our suite. My mother is in a wheelchair and tires easily. We knew this would be the only way it would work for us.

NCL did tell me that they had tried to offer that service but too many people took advantage by ordering food to their suite for people who had not themselves purchased the package.