msar1076

I've done both with Norwegian. They were both amazing. My only complaint, having an all American crew, the service was sorely lacking on the Hawaiian cruise. We always go a couple days ahead of time so we can enjoy some sights before the cruise. On the Hawaiian cruise, I felt they gave you plenty of time on the islands. It gives you a taste of them all. If I ever return to Hawaii, I'll know which island I'd want to return to.

I would definitely go back to Alaska in a heart beat. The experiences there are like no other. It's so beautiful and unspoiled. It depends on what you're hoping for in a cruise. If you're looking for amazing scenery, untamed beauty, go with Alaska. If you're looking for sand & surf, Hawaii it is. You can't go wrong with either one.

Not true that only seniors go to Alaska, it's for all ages.

I boarded this cruise on the 17th. I was supposed to check in at 11:30 but was told about the medical evacuation and weather. Carnival called and emailed me many times on Saturday asking us to show up 4 hours later than our scheduled time. We finally got on board around 4:30 and the ship didn't leave until close to 7:30. We lost a couple hours in Cozumel because of it. I didn't really hear too many people complaining about it. One person wanted to know what Carnival was going to do for them because of the losing 2 hours in Cozumel and leaving late. I mean things happen. They should have just been happy not to be the medical emergency. We didn't mind at all.

We had some pretty rough weather our self. They had to drain the pools on the second to last sea day. I'm sure nothing like you had but enough to get some people sick. I had the spa pass so I used the pool there. The water was sloshing all over the place, down to your waist, up to your neck. It was interesting.

Overall, we had a great time and I would definitely do this again.

I just returned on the Fantasy on Saturday and I also had a noon time flight. I was a little concerned about the time. We didn't go to our scheduled breakfast at 8:15. The buffet opens at 6:30 so we went there and then headed to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time to catch our flight.

You can also run a 5K on the island for free. They'll put information in your stateroom the night before. I'll be back there in 3 weeks. I told my husband that they can drop me off at the beginning of the cruise and pick me up on the return. It's so beautiful. We go to Serenity Beach!!!

We brought a bottle of wine and a case of beer on board the Fantasy last year. You just have to carry it around until they let you into your stateroom. Nice to sit on your balcony and have a couple drinks.

I booked Boston to Venice via Dublin and then Rome, Dublin, Boston on Aer Lingus. I paid 1100.00 per ticket. We are going last day of May and coming back mid June. All other flights from my area were in the $2,000.00's. I've heard good things about Aer Lingus.

Thank you for the quick response. I put Sept. 20th into their website earlier today and it said no rooms available. I will look at it again.

I was having that problem myself a while back for June 2014. When I emailed the hotel I was interested in directly, they did have rooms available. It was just too early to book. That might be your case also.

You're welcome. I think if you do this excursion you will have a good time. We all enjoyed it, but of course we had never done anything like it before to compare it to.

I just did the Salsa, Salsa through Disney (Fantasy) with Francisco in Costa Maya. It was a ship sponsored excursion. This excursion was so much fun and the highlight of our cruise. We were two couples celebrating our anniversaries. We were met on board by Francisco and driven by air conditioned bus. The areas we were driving through were definitely run down. Once at our destination we parked on a side street (still run down and lots of trash) and walked down the street. One side of the street was a beautiful beach with people lounging while the other side had some restaurants, hotels and shops. We walked up to this half open aired restaurant, half pavilion. No ac here but not really needed with the ocean across the street. We sat in the pavilion at tables of four. We put on chef hats and aprons. Each table had plates with ingredients grouped into three. We were making three different salsas. I chopped and my husband mashed from the ingredients in the order Francisco told us to, all the while the beer & margaritas flowed. There was also bottled water. We got to make the salsa and then try them. They provided bowls with chips. Once we finished eating we all gathered on the dance floor for what seemed like a 30 minute salsa lesson and dancing. So much fun. Afterwards we were given the option to head right back to the ship or hang out and haggle with the vendors for an hour or so. We chose to go back to the ship. Francisco walked us to the curb and hailed a cab, which he paid for to take us back. That was an experience in itself. I'm glad that we did this excursion. It was fun and we all enjoyed it. I saw kids doing it too and everyone seemed to have a good time. We are in our late 40's early 50's. There were all age groups here.

it says to call the # on the back of your card ...

I'm sure if that's NOT the right one, they will direct you to the one that is.

If you have online banking through BOA and go to the cruise rewards section of the NCL Mastercard, it has number to call which I called today. It was NCL.

That's exactly the point, you can't redeem the points for ANYTHING through NCL after Sep 30. No OBC, no upgrades, nothing, that's the part that's ending. You can, however, use the points towards HOTELS, RENTAL CARS & Airfare.

 

And you can still earn 2 points per $1 spent with NCL. So you can still charge your cruise to the card and get the double points. YAY for that.

 

I have the letter in front of me, it's spelled out pretty clearly.

Letter also says a more streamlined website is 'coming soon' making it easier to redeem points.

According to someone I spoke with today at NCL who said she was familiar with the cruise rewards program, said just the opposite. That only Bank of America was no longer offering rewards through NCL. NCL said they were still doing it. Hmmmm something stinks.

I called the phone number listed on Bank of America's website for redeeming the 500.00 OBC. It was a NCL number not a BOA number. I have 94,000 points right now and wanted to get to the 1000.00 OBC. I've read that the points cannot be redeemed for NCL rewards after September 30th. When NCL answered the phone number that I dialed through BOA website, I asked right away if she was familiar with the NCL mastercard rewards. She said yes. I told her that I wanted to redeem for a 500.00 OBC but was really close to 1000.00 OBC. She said that only Bank of America was no longer doing anything with NCL points but NCL will still be letting us use our points for cruise rewards. So, I said if I don't claim this OBC by Sept 30th I can claim it after September 30th to get my 1000.00 OBC once I get to 100,000 points? She assured me that was the case. I'm leary and am going to call back on September 30th to double check. I won't be at 100,000 points but I don't want to miss out on a 500.00 credit if I can get that. Does anyone know if the 1000.00 OBC is taxable?

I think that I am going to request cash too and then tuck it away for my cruise next year. I'll use it for the OBC,

I have 91,000 world points right now. I was hoping to get to 100,000 to have a $1,000.00 OBC for my cruise in June 2014. Does anyone know if I redeem the points by 9/30 for an OBC, will it still be valid for my cruise in June? Obviously I won't make the 100,000 points by the end of the month. Can I ask for multiple OBC and use them on one cruise? Redeem 50,000 for $500.00 then redeem 25,000 for $250.00 etc. I guess I am going to get rid of this credit card. The whole point of it was to get the NCL cruise rewards. If they no longer offer that, I might as well get a Southwest Airlines or Jet Blue cc. I know they have annual fees. This is disappointing but I am so happy I found this thread. If they mailed me the info on the cruise rewards, I never read it. Thanks to whomever posted about the change in cruise rewards.

If you're sailing with NCL and you buy pictures, only buy what you want, then call them when you return to get a copyright letter. Take them elsewhere to print off as many as you want. At this point, they can no longer make money off of you so they will email you the letter without a problem.

Thank you so much for posting the link to see your pictures. Your review worked 3/4 of the way through. Just when it got to your engagement the pictures stopped showing up. I was thrilled to finally see your ring. It's gorgeous. All the best to you and your family.

Congratulations Ashley & Tyler and thank you for your amazing review. I've been hooked for weeks. When I got to your engagement I could no longer view your pictures. I tried several computers but for some reason they wouldn't show up. What a disappointment, I missed your engagement pics. The suspense was killing me. I've really enjoyed your review. I am going to Europe next summer. I can't wait. All the best to both of you.

I know you may have already answered this a while back and I'm sorry to repeat if you did. Did you say you had a private pick up to take you to your apartment after you got off the Epic vs taking the train? I am concerned about taking the train with luggage in tow. I think I may want to hire someone to take us straight to our hotel. I think it will be worth it. We may be a party of six (Bill if you're interested) but definitely a party of four. Who did you book with being a party of six and was it expensive?

Also, what type of plugs did you use, did you buy adapters here in the states or did the Epic have American plugs so to speak or do I need to purchase some before we go over to Europe? I've read they can be two prongs or three prongs. What did you see more of? We would need to charge iphone, ipad, kindle and camera battery.

Thanks, your review has been fantastic.

This is such a great observation about 'real life" friends! They either aren't into travelling - cruising in particular - or are just not interested in hearing you go on and on about what a great adventure you had. Thankfully there are those on this site who are very very interested. Thanks again for the wonderful pictures. I am so glad you had a blast and I am getting the sense I was there with y'all as I read on and see the memorable photos.

 

You have given me the idea of arriving to Venice and spending a few days there prior to our cruise on Epic next June. We can then take the train to Rome and spend 2 days there? The cruise ports include a few other cities in Italy so This will probably end up being "the Italy trip" I have been wanting to take for a long time.

 

xxx Jasmine :)

Jasmine,

Which date are you going on the Epic next June? We are going June 4th before it gets too hot and really crowded. We already have a roll call started so if by chance this is your sailing, stop by and say hi.

Sheila

I really loved reading your review. You should seriously consider selling your photos. You could then finance other trips. It's that good. I am taking a trip on the Epic next June and coincidentally I've booked the same hotel in Venice and the same type cabin you had on the Epic before I read your review. I really loved the pizza making part and when your husband talked to the chef while you all hung out in that gorgeous hotel. Wow, what an experience. I also love that your parents went with you. They looked like they kept up well and the memories are just priceless. I love seeing children bond with Grandparents. Something they will never forget. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a picture nut. I can't help it. If you buy pictures from NCL, you can call them as soon as you get home and ask them to email you a copyright letter so you can then take your pictures to Walmart or wherever and have them duplicated. I asked and they did it in about 5 minutes. Disney wouldn't do it but NCL did.

As far as taking a picture of your picture, how cheap can you be? lol

With my family of four, each person got a passport during a different month so we didn't incur the expense all at once. My sister went the cheaper way and only got the passport cards, now she is wishing she spent the extra money to go for the full passport.