MeHeartCruising

I will share my personal experience, even though it is a bit dated now. But as far as I know, the rules have not changed. I had a DUI in 2005. In 2010, I flew into Vancouver from the US to attend a work event. I was not aware of Canada's rules at the time. My US Passport was flagged as I was processed upon arrival. I was asked to step into a side room. There were at least 50 people in the room with me in a line. We were being processed further by Canadian Border officials. It was a very slow process. It took over 2 hours for me to reach the front of the line. The agent then asked me many questions before finally asking if I had a DUI on my record. I did not lie in my response to any of the questions. The agent probed me for all the details of the DUI (describe exactly what happened and how it was resolved in the US court system). The agent also probed the details of why I was coming into Canada and what I would be doing there and for how long. She asked to see written details of my business trip that I had with me. Finally, after about 20 minutes of questioning, she indicated she MIGHT be able to let me enter on a Temporary Resident Permit since I appeared to be coming for a work event and didn't seem like I would a risk to other people while in the country. But she had to get it approved by her management (not guaranteed) and it would take a while to process. It also would cost me $200. After another 15 minutes or more, she got it approved and processed. It was a document that was stapled into my passport and was only valid for the duration of my business trip. It was not a guarantee of any future re-entry into Canada. Most of the people in that room were being processed for the same thing. Not all of them were offered the Permit. It was possible to hear some of the conversation between agent and travelers taking place in the room. I heard some being told they would be put on the next plane back to the US at the traveler's expense. I never saw anyone taken off to jail or similar. I too would like to take an Alaskan cruise, but the process to resolve this issue with Canadian border control is not an easy one. So far, I have chosen not to attempt it. I also don't believe that just because some people are let in with no challenges that this means every one will be. It is very much a judgement call made by a border control person -- just as similar issues are made by US border control personnel every day. Roll the dice. You may win. You may lose.

From time to time, they offer the Cruise First certificates at different price points with different “end value” amounts. I’m not sure if one of each value is available for purchase at the same time though. You can buy whatever the current promo is offering.

Like many workers, even personal cruise consultants are permitted to take days off. Or perhaps they are out sick. Or experiencing a death in the family. By all means, if you aren’t hearing back from then as fast as you would like, then call the main number and book with whoever answers the phone. Or do it online. If your cruise consultant calls later about the cruise, just tell them you waited a reasonable amount of time and decided to use an alternative method in order to lock in the price. Have them review the reservation to see if there is any lower cost options that were missed.

We docked in Souda. There was a shuttle bus provided by the locals. Bought a round trip ticket at a little tent they set up for a nominal amount of euros. It dropped off and picked up in Chania near the market house. Easy to explore the town from there. Easy and relaxing day. Some shoppes, cafes, marina, etc.

LOTS of pros and cons to this topic. And only you can decide how those match up to your desires/needs/preferences. Read the many threads on this topic already posted. You need to read the details of them to fully grasp what some people experience and how that COULD impact you. Bottom line is, yes, it is a legitimate offer. But you need to study the details and read up on it before deciding if it is a fit for you. My own personal assessment is that I won't likely ever use the service. I prefer to fully control all of my flight decisions. I may indeed pay more for this control. I understand that. Others may feel differently.

Did you see the “Excursion Details” tab on the Princess’ website for each of the excursions? It seems to contain all the details for each excursion. The excursions each seem to offer enough differences to warrant them being sold separately.

NCL has always permitted bringing your own wine anywhere on the ship to consume once you have it on board. I don’t see any indication that should change with the new policy. Enjoy the wine of your choice!

Yes. There should be coupons for the platinum meals in your cabin upon arrival. And they are good at specific restaurants. So you will want to plan out where/when best to use them vs the free-at-sea promo meals.

Given the stupidity I have personally witnessed, I think it’s entirely possible they didn’t realize they were at a private event. There are some mighty self-absorbed people in this world.

I found Kilmainham Gaol and the General Post Office most interesting. The guided tour of the Gaol is very well done to tell the story of what happened there. The Book of Kells was also well worth viewing (read about it first and/or take the time to read the exhibit annotations, otherwise you likely won’t appreciate it). I found the Guinness Brewery tour uneventful. Mostly product marketing. Save your money and buy your Guinness at a local pub. Much more fun.

IF you arrive back at the Livorno train station and there are not taxis (or a ship shuttle), there should be a bus alternative that partially helps. When we arrived back at the station, we waited for about 15 minutes with no taxis and we could not get anyone to call one for us inside the station. They were busy. So I saw a city bus waiting outside the station and found that it would take us to Piazza Grande, which is a central city transportation hub of sorts. I figured that was half way to the ship, so better than waiting at the station. Upon arrival at P. Grande, I found that this was where the ship shuttles dropped people off who had arranged for transport into town. We were able to hop on one of those back to our ship. Even if that had not been the case, there were more taxis here and we could have hopped in one of those to the port. Of course, we had to pay for the bus from the station to P. Grande, but it was of minimal cost.

I think the problem with this is that the shuttles would pick up at a location either outside the port or right at one of the entrances, which may not be the same entrance you would be walking into the port at. They used to pick up at the entrance by the fort, which was a convenient entry for those walking into the port, but I don't think they do that any more.

There is not a limit. But you need to carry the wine with you during checkin/boarding. It can't be in checked luggage. As you pass thru security with it, they will see it and are supposed to send you and your wine to a desk that has been set up off to the side. A person at that table will inspect your wine supply to make sure it is actually wine or champagne since stronger liquor is prohibited to be carried on. Assuming your wine passes inspection, they tag it with a sticker. They fill out a form with your name and cabin number and have you sign it. This will result in a $15 per bottle charge being added to your onboard account. It usually shows up about day 2 and will usually be a charge from one of the bars or one of the restaurants. In my experience, it does NOT show up as "corkage fee" or something like that. Once you have your bottles on board, you are free to consume them anywhere you want including in any dining location. There have been reports that in some instance, they don't always get the inspection table set up in time to catch early arrivers. Or they don't have personnel to man it. If you aren't told by security to proceed to the table, feel free to move along with your bottles and take them onboard. In theory, once on the ship, if your bottle does not have a sticker on it, they could attempt to charge you a corkage fee. In reality, I don't think that ever happens.

Cruise Next Certificates do not have that restriction. Cruise First Certificates have the restriction. Cruise Next Certificates are purchased while onboard an NCL cruise. Cruise First Certificates are purchased from the NCL.com website at any time.

Agreed. However, as I noted in my initial reply above, when I did the walk in 20 minutes, it was from Terminal A. The port or the cruise line provided us with a shuttle bus from Terminal B to Terminal A. I do not know if they still do this. Google maps shows the walking route from Terminal A to be 21 minutes.

I can address a couple of these, I think, based on how things were when I was there a long time ago. But from recent posts, it sounds about the same now, just more expensive. There was a line of taxis waiting at the port to take you where you want to go. When I was there, a tent was set up between the ship and the taxis where you discussed your desired plans for the taxi with an agent. That agent helped you as needed. You paid the agent for a specific number of hours to match up to your plan. I think I paid 60 euros for 3 hours of taxi time. The agent gave me a receipt which I then walked up to the taxi line and gave to the first driver. I never had to pay the driver anything -- the meter was never run (although I did tip him at the end of the day). I don't know if you could just approach the taxi line and have them take you where you wanted to go (one way) or if they required a time-based duration. I would assume they would take you where you wanted to go. So I would say it's easy to get a taxi at the port. Our driver was talking to other taxi drivers when we exited Mdina. But I don't know if they were drivers that were already booked by people similar to us or if they were free to take fares. You might consider booking a taxi for a few hours. We found it well worth the money for 3 people. We had a comfortable car with plenty of room. Our driver was not a guide, but he spoke English very well and was talkative. We mostly just discussed life on Malta. He answered any questions we had as best he could. We were at Mdina early -- 8:30 or 9:00 maybe? Not much was open. We enjoyed just walking around and soaking in the sights and views. We did go into the Cathedral, which was open. We also visited the Moste Dome on the way back to Valletta. You might consider it. It's pretty and a quick stop. Our taxi dropped us off at the central bus station in Valletta when we were done with him. It's a good location to start your walking of Valletta. From there you can walk to all the sights in the city you will likely wish to see. When we were done, we then walked back to the ship. It took us 30 minutes or so, but we were going slow (my parents were mid-70s) plus we were stopping to take pictures and absorb the views along the way. It's quite a downhill walk. The Barrakka Gardens are worth passing through as part of your walk back. Now, there is actually an elevator that can take you down to the waterfront via a parking garage structure. You should investigate that if you decide to walk to or from the ship. There are details in other posts on this forum. It didn't exist when I was there, so we just walked the entire way. It was an enjoyable walk. Like you, we headed back to the ship by about 3pm. We had walked a lot that day and were ready to relax a little on the ship and soak in the views from the ship with a drink in hand.

I'm sure the walk can take some people 40 minutes. It's all a matter of how fast one walks and/or stops to take pictures along the way.

Well, I’ve walked from the cruise terminal to the Piraeus metro station twice and would do so again if the weather was nice. But, yes, it’s a little ways away, so you’d need to be people who don’t mind that. It took me about 20 minutes to get there walking at a decent pace. There were about 20 of us from the terminal doing the walk and sort of helping each other with the navigation (which is easy if you’ve studied the map a little). Our ship docked at Terminal B and we rode a shuttle bus to Terminal A. From there we walked to the Metro. Are there better ways? Everyone has their own opinion. I enjoyed the walk. It didn’t take too long. I wanted to visit the Agorra first and then go up to the Acropolis this trip and I was at that entrance 20 minutes before they opened at 8am. The second time, I did Rick Steves walking tours, and had plenty of time.

My interpretation of the page was that a couple of the sites were open and a few were closed. If you look at each individual site, it says "open" or "closed". I assume that is the Covid status. But I could be wrong.

Most airports have a luggage storage capability. It's not usually linked to a particular airline and it is a "for a fee" service. This page has info about the one at FLL. Scroll down to the Public Baggage Storage. Of course, you would have to go to the airport, leave your luggage, and then go site see, and then return to the airport. https://www.broward.org/Airport/passengers/Services/Pages/Default.aspx Googling "fort lauderdale luggage storage" shows a few other alternatives outside the airport that might work. You would want to contact them in advance, I would think, to make sure what they actually offer.

There is no NCL policy that automatically permits this. You will need to call them and discuss it with them and try to persuade someone to do this for you. In their computer systems, it is likely a cancellation and rebooking, which would have penalties for the cancellation and new pricing for the new cruise.

I think you will find this to be totally determined by your cruise line and the specific logistics of that particular day. Boarding times will vary with the circumstances. Some cruise lines assign you a specific boarding time. Has your cruise line told you what time to you are permitted to arrive? A ship will not start boarding until it has arrived, cleared any customs/immigration protocols, fully disembarked current passengers (this is an unpredictable amount of time), etc. The 2 times I have sailed from Barcelona, we were let into the building for checkin around 10am. We started to board the ship around 11:30am. Once on NCL and once on Royal Caribbean, but both had similar timing. This was all pre-Covid.

1. No, you cannot change category or cabin for an existing reservation using the NCL website. Call NCL. 2. No, you cannot cancel an existing reservation using the website. Call NCL if you wish to cancel. 3. Since the cruise is not until 2024, which is well before final payment is due, you can call NCL to change the cruise with no penalties. This assumes this cruise was booked in the USA. Some other countries may have different rules. 4. There should be no need to cancel and rebook. Just call them and tell them what you want. They will, however, reprice it based on the new cabin rate AND if the terms of related promotions have changed since you booked, you will now be receiving the new terms. Perks may be different. 5. Any agent from NCL SHOULD be able to make the change for you. If they can’t, they aren’t properly trained. If you can get a Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC) assigned to you, you may find them helpful. But there are bad PCC’s just like there are bad agents. 6. If you booked using a travel agent, you need to call them rather than NCL to make these changes.

I stayed for 3 nights at Hotel Ca Doge on P. Roma. I did not feel that it's location detracted from my enjoying Venice one bit. No matter where I was going to stay, I was going to walk and walk and walk and ride the vaporetto as desired. I really only spent 1/2 a day in the St. Marks area. The rest of the time, I was out exploring the near and far corners of the city on foot and by boat. At the end of the day, usually after dark, I would find my way (literally, because you always get lost to some extent) back to the hotel. I loved seeing the city away from the crowds along the way back to the hotel. One thing I did not do, if I recall, was to go back and forth between my hotel and sightseeing much during the days. Maybe once. Once I left in the morning, I was gone for the day, the most part.

NCL has historically, generally been out of Terminal B. However, I'm not sure that's always something that NCL determines. If you're going out and about on your own, there should be a shuttle bus that runs you over to the primary Terminal A where you can catch taxis and buses. That was pre-covid, so they may have changed the infrastructure some by now.