MeHeartCruising

10 minutes ago, furrrball said:

We will be in barcelona for one day between back to back cruises.  Any suggestions on what to do within walking distance from the port or easy diy excursions.  We are limited on time

Have you been there before?  Assuming not, I would take a taxi from the ship to see La Sagrada Familia.  It’s possibly the biggest attraction in Barcelona.  Then if time permits, I’d taxi back to walk around some in the area where Gaudi architecture is prominent in several buildings.  Then maybe walk down Las Ramblas back toward the ship, catching a taxi at some point to get you there. 

6 hours ago, tamarabash said:

HI ! I am leaving out of ravenna to macro polo airport. Do you remember what time the earliest transportation to Venice was?  Does RC run multiple buses ? My flight is at 2pm. Thanks

I don’t recall the exact time, but yes, they run multiple busses and they will assign you to a specific departure time based upon your flight departure time.  They will ask for the flight info when you buy the bus transfer.  If you look thru the various threads on this topic, you may find a picture of the bus departures list that people have posted from previous cruises.  But your cruise may or may not follow that list.  

Since the OP has stated they are going to use NCLs air option, that only gives them the ability to extend 2 nights after the end of the cruise.  My advice is to spend that time in London and see what you can.  Trying to cram in a Paris visit is not a valuable part of your time.   Save Paris for another trip.  Or cancel the NCL airfare and book your own flights (which will likely be more expensive) but will allow you to add several more days on to the end of the trip so you can get over to Paris. 

It happens automatically on a daily/realtime  basis.  Incoming charges get deducted from an appropriate OBC bucket until the OBC bucket is empty.  You can, and should, follow along using the TV screens in your cabin to check your bill up to that point in time.  Note, it can be confusing how the math is being done.  Especially on some ships’ TV screens.  You can always stop by guest services and they will print out your account charges up to that point.  This printout is usually easier to follow with respect to the 2 types of OBC.  

I'm pretty sure that all the tours use the same boats.  For my cruise in May (on Royal Caribbean), our cruise excursions did indeed get to the island first before ANY public boats or private tours.  We left from a dock near the docked ship.  While we were touring Delos, the boat that brought us to Delos went back to Mykonos and served as the first public transport boat for individual travelers and those on tours (I assume).  They brought those people to Delos and then took our ship excursion groups back to Mykonos.  I don't recall seeing any private tour boats in the process.

50 minutes ago, KSSS2013 said:

 

 But not everyone has a butler.

 

Then let them eat cake!  😂

The passenger probably should have asked about refunds before leaving the ship.  I don't think there is any stated policy regarding this situation by the cruise line. Therefore, I doubt there is any process to initiate refunds.  Perhaps the passenger will get lucky and get some refund if there is someone on board the ship who recognizes that it would be something they could do for the passenger.  But I would not bet money on this happening.

9 hours ago, jajsmom said:

We're about 6 months out from a roundtrip cruise from Southampton.  I've sailed out of Dover, and found flying into Gatwick to be much easier.  So for Southampton, is it better to fly in to Heathrow or Gatwick?  I can flights available for both. We tend to use public transportation.  When I google map it, it's evening in the US, so it's showing me middle of the night options in England.  thanks for your practical experience.

Since you're good with public transportation, I would fly into either airport and take transit into London and spend the night before your cruise enjoying the city (or a few nights, if you can).  Stay in the County Hall/Waterloo area.  Then take a train from Waterloo station to Southampton on the morning of your cruise.  Then take a taxi from the Southampton train station to the ship.

I agree with KeithJenner about Rhodes.  The ships dock right beside the entrances to the Old Town.  You can't get much closer without docking on the street.

2 hours ago, mrsbunder said:

Thanks for the input, I'm gearing more and more toward the solo room.  Relaxing on the heated loungers sounds like the perfect way to end the day.  My roommate is thinking that if she takes the drink package off the reservation, the cruise fare would be lower?  Would that be the case?  I'm fine to keep the drink package for myself, but she seems pretty firm that she doesn't want it.

Yes, a solo cruiser in a Studio cabin can optionally decline the drink package.  That will remove the mandatory gratuities for the package from the cost of the cruise.  For a 7 day cruise, it removes $152.60 from the cost. 
 

You can also remove the dining package if you really want, but that only saves $11.80. 

https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program#tier_benefits

I’m quite confident the ship crew can accommodate the situation with your child.  However, I doubt you’ll get much confirmation from Royal until you get on the ship. There always seems to be a crew member responsible for the B2B process.  Go to guest services early in the cruise and explain what needs to happen.  They can make it happen.  Ask to speak to the person who will be responsible to see to the details.

Don’t sweat the room change.  I’ve done it several times.  I actually like getting a new cabin for something different.  Work with your cabin steward on the actual details.  Some have preferences on how they like to accommodate you.  I choose to entirely repack my belongings into my luggage just so there are no loose clothes going down the hallway.  If you get a 2nd room that is near your first, you might keep the same steward or you can at least go introduce yourself to the new steward and let them know your bags are going be coming in that morning.  

Sounds like an opportunity to book another short cruise prior to the 12 night one. 

7 hours ago, Mrsfrz said:

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I think we'll stay at the Antony per your suggestion. Our flight is at 11, but I'd rather be close to the airport in the morning. I see that there are many different types of rooms depending on what floor you're on. Some have a view of Venice. The first level is what they call their economy rooms and are less expensive and smaller. Which did you stay at? Do you think it matters for one night? I assume we'll go into Venice in the afternoon and play it by ear. 

If you can afford the larger room, I would go for it.  Hotel rooms in Europe are generally much smaller than we are familiar with in the US hotels.

For your afternoon in Venice, I would suggest getting ground transport from the hotel to Piazzale Roma (the transportation hub for Venice) and then catching a vaporetto water bus (Line 1 or 2) to ride the entire length of the Grand Canal (to soak it all in) to San Marco Square.  Do your sightseeing in that area and expand outward.  If you're walkers, end your day by walking back to Piazzale Roma so you can get lost in the core of Venice (and then get unlost -- don't worry, you will -- just look for signs on the walls pointing you to P. Roma).  It's a wonderful day!

You can request the cord and distilled water using this form. 
 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs

However, if the supplies are not in your cabin upon arrival, ask your steward to get them for you.  I’ve never had a problem getting them.  But more times than not, for me, I’ve had to ask for them upon arrival, even after filling out the form.  The cord will likely be a big heavy orange cord like you use in your garage.  You might want to bring duct tape to tape it to the floor since it likely will have to run from an outlet on the desk. 

Yes, they return to your account as they previously were before using them.  You may need to call to use them on an immediate cruise as I think it took a few days before I could see them on my online account to do something with them.  However, you will be calling anyway to cancel the first cruise.  So just see if that agent can immediately process them on to another cruise.

I would estimate $8-15 per drink.  But it really depends on WHAT you drink.  Beers are on the lower end.  Fancy martinis are on the upper end.  A generic screwdriver in between.

27 minutes ago, tonyfall1 said:

Hello,

 

I booked my first NCL cruise for February using the BOGO airfare. I am pretty happy with my flights, they booked me on United.  They booked me for economy which is fine. There were numerous seats for economy for my return flight which I was able to pick the seats we like. For our flight to MSY there are numerous seats available but they are all either economy plus or premium, there are no economy ones to select. I assume we will just get one of the economy plus seats if we take no action and there are no economy seats to select.

More likely is that United will upgrade one of their frequent flyers or customer's that paid more money that is currently in economy into those unfilled Plus seats.   And then they will assign you into the lower cost, now open, economy seats.

9 hours ago, Hazydavo said:

From a cruise Sydney return.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/different-departure-port-city

I see on the FAQs that it can be requested however has anyone been approved to do it? 

TIA!

It's interesting that the link you provide (to the Australian FAQs) has different information than what we see in the USA.  Here is the equivalent USA FAQ Link.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/different-departure-port-city?country=USA

Where it says "Royal Caribbean no longer allows cruise passengers to pre-plan early debark or late embarkation for any of our ships."

I thoroughly enjoyed the few hours on Delos.  However, as Hank says above there's not much there... other than dirt, gravel, crumbling stone structures/artifacts, some sparse areas of brown grass, a small boat docking area, and views of the wonderful Mediterranean around you.  There is no town.  No stores.  Depending on when you go, there may be a small museum (if they reopen it from its renovation).  It's basically several hundred acres of small tour groups walking around the remnants of cultures from the past.  Visits to this island are for those with an interest in the very significant role it played in the history of the Greek civilization (and onward).  If one does not have any interest in this whatsoever, it will likely be viewed as a negative trip over from Mykonos.

As for the bathrooms, there is definitely a door on the shower stall, which is on one side of the room as you enter the cabin from the hallway.  There is also a door on the toilet stall, which is on the other side of the room.  The sink and mirror sit off to one side, somewhat in the cabin's interior.  There is a curtain that can be pulled across the room to separate the bathroom area (shower stall, toilet stall, sink/mirror) from the sleeping/sitting area.  With the curtain pulled, those in the sitting/sleeping area can't see anything.  But they can probably hear more than a more traditional bathroom setup.  

The stalls are made of a frosted glass which prohibits seeing anything clearly.  However, in certain lighting, you can somewhat make out shapes in the stalls.  Nothing X-rated, but you're aware people are in there.  

Also, if someone is using the bathroom area, even with the curtain pulled, someone could walk in from the hallway door if the door was left ajar or had a key.  I think there is a deadbolt lock for the door, however. 

I don't care for the bathroom configuration.  But we made it work.  Depending on your comfort level with a roommate, it may be considered uncomfortable for some.  I've sailed the Epic twice, so obviously, it's not a deal breaker for me.  But it's a personal thing to either like or dislike.

This is a good YouTube video of a typical Epic cabin.  About halfway thru they start showing the bathroom stuff.  This is a balcony cabin, but the insides are the same bathroom setup.

And just to make sure you know.  Since you mentioned the confusion about the "separate gratuity".  There IS a separate gratuity in the amount of $20/person/day that will be automatically added to your onboard accounts.  It is not 20% of anything.  Just a flat $20 per day.  

This is NCLs version of the tip/gratuity/service charge that has long been a part of cruising.  This $20 is not related to the built-in gratuity of the beverage and dining packages.  The $20 charge goes toward your cabin steward, the wait staff in all the dining rooms and restaurants, the cooks, the dishwashers, the people who wash your towels, etc.  NCL currently refers to this as a "service charge".  You can pre-pay this if you desire using your online account or by calling NCL.  Otherwise, it will be added to your onboard account every day of your cruise.

I believe both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do the same thing nowadays for this "gratuity".

Is your arrival in Munich a flight from the United States or somewhere in Europe (specifically, a Schengen country)?  If arriving from the US, you will need to clear passport control upon arrival before you can connect to the flight to Rome.  So, that could make it quite tight, depending on the lines at passport control.  If you are arriving from say, Madrid, then it would be just like connecting domestic flights in the US.

I'm not sure if you will be required to gather your luggage to pass thru customs or not.  I think you might.  This would also slow you down as you'd have to re-check it.

Some of our European experts should be along shortly to chime in with confirmations.

If it helps the OP, that cruise currently "starts" at $1246 USD per person for an inside cabin on the US website.

1 minute ago, tmal2 said:

Thank you! Just wanted to confirm what I thought was correct.

You summarized it nicely.  Any other tipping you may or may not want to do for the housekeeping, bar staff, or dining staff is entirely optional.  You do not need to tip more.  Some people choose to, however.  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I don’t.