che-vos

I hate the "washy washy" thing on NCL.  Makes me cringe to hear it, and also demeaning to the people doing it.  We are adults. I don't need someone telling me to wash my hands, especially in such a silly way.  

Just grab some hand sanitizer or use those awesome auto hand washers. Can only control what you do, not others.  Might be best to avoid the buffet and stick to the deli and.other options where they serve you.

11 hours ago, Swells1 said:

Is there a citrus option? I love me some Diet Mt. Dew (the only Pepsi product I drink).

My drink of choice is Mellow Yellow and have always preferred it to Mt. Dew.  It is a coke product but seems to be hard to find outside of the south, so don't think it would be on the ship.  Freestyle machines have it.

Was on the Jewel this past May and was frustrated that Mt Dew was not offered anywhere on the ship.

We decline it also. Neither of us drink alcohol. I wish they offered the soda package instead.  I sometimes will purchase the soda package, but honestly I can just go without.  

I always seem to find myself in the minority, annoyed with the washy washy routine.  Feels like being talked to like I am a 3-year-old. The songs just make me cringe.  I have no problem with the hand sanitizing part.

Just off the carnival Vista last month, with 4100 people. It was clean, nothing out of the ordinary, and it seems like we all survived.  Amazingly, the wonderful stuff did not leave dirty dishes everywhere either.  

Looking forward to my NCL cruise next month. Not a fanboy of any particular line. Just cruise the best deal I can find! Just my two cents, be nice 🙂

Sailing on March 26.  Will be my wife and 4 children.  Does everything get added to the app on my phone?  Or do my wife and I both have the app (two devices/accounts) for our individual information, and add kids to one of our accounts?

Those prices are insane. I can't imagine paying for that a la carte.  

I have re-read the article a few times, and I do not think they will have two menus for two MDRs if rolled out to the older ships.  It looks like they would have a one fixed menu that is offered in the two dinning rooms.  Hope I am wrong on that, but that would make sense from a cost-cutting point of view (which is how I believe they are looking at it). Just my 2 cents 

Yeah, do not like this change. My wife and I first cruised with NCL in 2007. Currently we usually only use the included specialty dining we get for free, just not worth the upcharge for us.  And the biggest reason is that we sail with 4 children - way too much money to eat at the specialty dining for a family.  If it was only me and my wife, maybe, but still majority in the MDR.  So this will for sure push us more towards Carnival or Royal (which we enjoy just as much).   We would not sail NCL as a family. 

I have always brought a suit, going in march and will probably do the same.  Wife and 4 kids will be dressed up also.  Wife likes to get a nice family pic of everyone dressed up.  

14 minutes ago, cruiserbear55 said:

Assuming you're flying from Birmingham, a direct flight to Seattle is about 5 hours. However, most flights seem to be connecting, so about 7.5-8 hours. Maybe an hour layover in Seattle. Then another 3.45 hours to Anchorage. So now, with the couple hours you spent in Birmingham at the airport, you now may have close to 14 hours spent traveling! Another hour to get your luggage and find the shuttle. Then almost a 3 hour ride to Seward. Now close to 18 hours. Whew!!, I'm getting tired just thinking about it! I, personally, would get to Anchorage the day before. Grab a hotel room and relax. Get on a shuttle bus the next morning. No hurries, no worries about making it or not. Then if you have some free time, the aquarium in Seward is really worth the trip. Happy Sailing!!

Well when you put it that way, I guess it makes more sense to come in the day before. Now I've just got to convince my in-laws to keep the kids an extra day.  

32 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

I am not postive but I think you fly into Anchorage and then have ground transporation (bus or train) to Seward.  Since you have their air package, they will get you to The Jewel in plenty of time.

Correct, I should have mentioned that in my first post.

We are scheduled on the Jewel, May 23rd, for our first Alaskan cruise. We've been cruising since 2001, but living in Alabama we have always driven to all our ports.  First time having to fly for a cruise. (We have flown many times for other trips, just not cruises)

We are flying with NCL with the second passenger flies free promotion. Transfer included.  Just figured that was easier since our cruise begins in Seward and ends in Vancouver.

Anyone have experience on flights booked into Seward by NCL?  What time did they get you to the airport? I'm trying to decide if I need to tell them to get us there the day before, but honestly we'd rather not have to have the hotel room even if it means getting there at an odd hour (3am). But then I'm worried that since the boat doesn't set sail till 9:00pm, they will get us in at some late hour the day of our cruise, with a 3-hour transfer ride to the port. Don't want to show up the boat at 6:00 p.m.   Any thoughts or experiences are welcome.

19 hours ago, vpearlkc said:

Are you sure he needs three shots to be fully vaccinated? The third shot would be due six months after the first two. He would be considered fully vaccinated until at least October if the first two shots were administered in April.

 

Is NCL now requiring the booster? 

3 doses for 2-4 age children info

Basically, the study showed poor immune response with the small dose and two shots. Instead of scrapping the study, they are adding a 3rd dose.  If that had not been the case, the vaccine would have been approved very soon for the younger ages.  Now do not expect it till mid year.   

Tried searching the boards, but did not find my answer.  Can you use your own insulated cup for the soda?  I plan on bringing an insulated type cup, and would love for it to be filled with the soda.  Or do they insist on giving your a glass from the bar?

We are scheduled to sail on the Vista on March 26th, 8 of us, and all fully vaxed except for my 4 year-old twins. They have been approved for an exception, so now planning on how to go about their Covid test before sailing. From what I've read on the board and carnival's website, they will need a PCR test, correct?  Does the Walgreens IDNOW test count as PCR? My guess is that it does not.  Looks like I can get them tested 3 days before sailing. 

So, those that have had to get a PCR test done for travel/cruise, where can I get a PCR test back in time.  Any personal experiences on Walgreens, CVS, etc..?  I am hoping that the current spike in cases is over by the end of March (or at lease decreased), so the demand is less for testing. 

We have four kids, and each of them have been on a cruise with us when they were very young.  My youngest are twin girls, and we had them on their first cruise at 16 months. We had two carnival cribs in the room and it worked fine.  Used the mattress and sheets provided by carnival, but we brought their blankets etc.. to put in with them.  Also brought a small sound machine for some white noise in the room. Did not bother with trying to put anything up to block light, they would just pull that down.

Yes, cruising with little ones is a completely different experience, and we remind ourselves of that. But oh so much fun, and the memories we have are fantastic.  We have never been afraid of traveling with them young.  

1 hour ago, ecarbine said:

I whole heatedly agree with you about dressing appropriately but I am constantly baffled by the assertion that the MDR is fine dining.

With the dancing waiters, the mediocre food and the declining service; to me it is not much better than a glorified Chuck-E-Cheese

Have you eaten at a Chuck-E-Cheese lately? 😁.  I have and I place the MDR a little higher quality. But I also still enjoy packing a suit, so I'm in the minority. 

But as for the original question, I would go one step above jeans. 

Just got back yesterday from New Orleans on the Sunshine. We arrived to the port at about 10:30am and had to wait for about 15 minutes in a line to finally get parked. We did NOT have FTTF and were still on the ship at 11:30am sitting down munching on a Guy's burger. The priority lines were clearly marked.

We are leaving in just a few days on the Sunshine and i'm having a hard time finding any real pictures of the food in Ji Ji's Asian Kitchen (Dinner). Anyone have any pictures or want to chime in on what you enjoyed on the menu.

Also, any info on what the kid's menu looks like? Thanks in advance for any help!

The kid's portion is $5 (12 and under I think) and it includes things like spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, etc. I don't think we kept the menu, but all courses are included in their prices too. In fact, the cannoli dessert is the same as the adult one.

We are on the Sunshine this March and want to try Cucina with both kids (5yo and 18m). Anyone have a comment on how kid friendly the setting is?

We did MDR with great success 6 months ago and both are used to the dinning out routine.

Last October we cruised with my two sons (4 & 12 months at the time) together with my brother his family (8, 6, 3 year olds).

It was a blast! The kids were spoiled by the crew all week. We ate in the MDR every night together at a big table and not once did we have melt-downs or cause trouble. In fact the tables around us commented quite frequently on how well the kids did. And I credit my wife for this.

Before we left on the cruise she prepared 10 gallon sized zip lock bags with various themed "quite" toys to entertain the kids as needed before, during, or after the meal. So one bag was "dinosaur" with small dinosaur toys, stickers, coloring book, crayons, Another one was "cars" etc... She would bring a new bag or two each night in a small backpack, that way it was something new and different each night.

She spent quite a bit of time putting it all together but it was a HUGE help as we enjoyed the MDR.

I'm sorry it does nothing for you, but for me it will be great. I've got a 5 year old that loves Dr. Seuss. We have our next cruise booked for this March on Sunshine and it will be my sons 3rd cruise, our 6th. I hope it is up and running by then.

I'm excited for these new menus! Great to see some good cuts of meats again.

I'd love to have this on my Sunshine cruise at the end of March, but pretty sure it will still be the old menu.

Looks like YouTube e is blocking the video, at least for me. Says it contains copyright music. I've had it do that to me before also and had to use another video service to host.

But it is great to hear you enjoyed the cruise! We are scheduled to cruise on Sunshine in March and are very excited to see her in person. Looks like a beautiful ship.

Can't wait to hear more! We are booked on the Sunshine this coming March.