disneydave

How far is the ferry terminal in Charlotte Amalie to the cruise docking in Charlotte Amalie? Trying to figure how long it would take to walk or better to grab a cab back to the ship.

Agree on Bernards have booked with them several times; now we just wing it but if I had a group who had not been to the island I'd be booking Bernards again.

Gotta love those "free" beers. I've enjoyed a few myself 🙂

It's a different design. We sailed on the Celebrity Edge shortly after it's launch and it received similar reviews as many just were not used to the layout of the ship; now several years later people have adjusted and many like the ship. Viva is the 2nd in a new class of ships and it will take time to grow on those NCL loyalists used to other designs.

We booked the summit for a feb 8 2025 and our res has disappeared from both booking and from my future cruise on their website but they have yet to inform us or return our deposit. grrrrr

The story as of today is you can sign a waiver onboard so they can purchase wine and beer; what we do is order 2 drinks on our free at sea and hand the other off to the kiddo.

Actually, unused OBC from my TA has always been returned to me not forfeited.

Have sailed with both and prefer celebrity; currently have cruises booked on both. When you book a cruise on celebrity that includes say a drink package and tips and gratuities you won't see any additional charges; with ncl that isn't the case. When you book airfare with celebrity you pick the flights from their list of available and if there is an issue they are there to help; with ncl they pick your flights and then if there is an issue its up to you to resolve. Not all bad with ncl but just some differences; ncl has better shows than celebrity and is more lively. There is nothing like aqua class on ncl but the retreat and the haven are a close comparison.

100% I do like the listed dress code better on NCL; however, i'm that guy showing up for dinner in shorts and a nice collar'd shirt and can say i've never been turned away in either Blu, Lumanie, or their specialty dining although i do get an occasional hateful look usually from a female who is getting ribbed from their spouse about being forced to wear long pants.

Certainly, I have similar itineraries booked for spring break on NCL in 24 and Celebrity in 25 and the Celebrity booking is less and includes their all in so drink package, gratuities - no extra charges when in port, obc, and internet i can be logged into all the time for less than NCL with free at sea but as stated the only thing that is guaranteed is that pricing will change.

Did the OP say they were forced to purchase anything or did I just miss it in their comment?

I prefer to be in control of my bookings and so prefer to do it myself; however, cruises and some inclusives are better booked with an agent. Recently booked 2 cruises from an agency due to their offer of 10% of cruise fare back as OBC. The price was identical to what i could have booked online with NCL and Celebrity but the 10% back as refundable OBC is a winner all the way around and when i want to make a change to something I just call the agent and they deal with the cruise line instead of me waiting on hold to talk with them and get different answers depending on the person i'm talking with.

Cruise fare is not much different than airfare...... it changes frequently; your comparison is spot on for only that moment in time and doesn't take into account for many situations.

Shouldn't have to get in line or even request it; NCL should handle like Celebrity does and automatically do it.

Hey now I resemble the shorts comment at dinner; although, usually either in blu or luminae.

I'm sure it's in the contract that they keep the fees; sadly, other lines refund the fees if a port is missed

Based on your comments you will enjoy the retreat on the Edge class ships; the older ships some have been refurbished to include the Retreat but just not the same as they don't have the same amenities.

So i'll be ordering 1 shot or Licor 43 and 1 of heavy cream and make my own baby beer shots. 🙂

oh the looks when i get upgraded with the black and siver delta luggage tag before others.... could change it out but the looks are worth it.

Poor baby; leaving the fur babies is the toughest part of vacationing.

I cannot drink that much water either but when on a cruise we can certainly enjoy that many beverages during the entire day. 🙂

Business Cards are a great idea. We take a picture of them and their name tag.

Cab fare from the airport to OSJ is regulated and should be 19$ for up to 4 in addition to a bag charge to get from the airport to OSJ. We've done both cabs and uber and it seems as if the uber drivers are known by the cabbies and are greatly disliked as the cabbies have to pay for a permit to operate and view the uber folks as dipping in on their livelihoods. Have not had an issue with either but the uber drivers seem to be cautious as to where they pick you up and drop off as they didnt want to be close to a taxi stand.

Having recently returned from the Baja peninsula area personally I would go especially to tourist areas; this is a normal thing that happens from time to time unlike weekends in Chicago....those statistics have become normal.

Ya not sure how they would allow 1 individual to check in under 2 reservations. Imagine the passenger count would be a nightmare.