fairygirl1

I may be missing something but, I was pricing cruises and the current offers of Udp, Shore excursions or gratuities, appear to increase cruise cost. It was actually cheaper to just leave AARP discount, and latitudes discount,,,,Am I missing something? Thx for any clarification!

Family trip or couples trip??

 

Thinking outside the box: Train to Penn station then a cab to ship.??

 

For 2-I'm actually thinking of this for myself. If it was a family trip, nope.;)

Where are you traveling from? We train from upstate ny to penn $168pp round trip and $15 cab well worth it for us, no parking hassels!

Keep in mind the automatic 18% gratuity added to massage... my 100$ massage turned to $150 when I foolishly tipped on top of that!!

We really struggled w/this too,,,, we looked at all options and decided on an airboat tour, w gators. SOOOO not original plan, but Im actually psyched for this! my dd agreed when we factored in travel plus waiting online and travel back!

On our 1st cruise, Ncl, I became very seasick on night we departed. Stayed in room from sat night until monday am....my hubby was just fine and was out in buffet eating. A staff member noticed him alone several times, and inquired where I had gone to? When he told her, she immediatly gathered up crackers and green apples, telling him the staff swear by them for seasickness! It worked like a charm! When I finally ventured out, she was waiting to meet me, and checked in w me every day! Took pics together and shared emails at the end of trip!!

Is the water in the cabin sink drinkable? Or do they advise against that? (Years ago on some cruises I went on, there was a sign in the cabin advising not to drink the water)

 

I take medication twice a day for my IBS, first thing in the morning and in the evening. It would be convenient to just use water from the sink in the cabin for this.

I take meds too,,,always drank water from the faucets...completly safe!:o

Has the Gem's late 2015 dry dock been postponed? It seems like it is in service for all of 2015 and 2016, and it isn't being permanently repositioned to San Juan.

 

I thought that was the plan. So, what gives?

We are booked for next march from nyc,,,,,

Does pier in NY let you put drinks on with luggage tag on it? Going on Breakaway this summer

Yes they do,,,

Does pier in NY let you put drinks on with luggage tag on it? Going on Breakaway this summer

Yes they do, just b sure I ts tagged and leave w other luggage. will be delivered right to your room.

Hi there! We booked an inside GTY for our cruise this Sunday, and I saw we were given an inside family. Looking at pics it appears that it has two upper bunks. It's just my DH and I, so we won't be using them, and will have the beds pushed together. My question is, with the bed in the middle of the room, will those upper bunks stick out and be in the way (ie: will it be easy to bump into them)? Thanks in advance!

The beds fold flat against the wall,,,, they arent in the way at all. Have fun!

We spotted a small bird last sept pn our ship. Hanging out near lifeboats,,it wasnt trying to fly away and didnt seem hurt. The staff didnt do anything to it ,,,it was there up to the last day... I suppose if one was obviously injured they wouldnt leave it to suffer either tho.

My DH likes to wait until the last day to pack also, then I have to look through what he packs to be sure he has everything, have had to buy him a belt on cruise and one time he packed no long pants for dinner, had to wear suit pants all week.

My hubby waits til last minute too,,,1 cruise we have formal night pics w/him wearing flip flops with his dress clothes! Lol

Ships had no balcony cabins, it was ocean-view/porthole and insides only.

Free hot breakfast room service.

Smoking was allowed everywhere.

Cruises were generally longer as the ships weren't as powerful.

Ships dumped their trash directly into the sea.

Some ships had dining rooms with no windows - not even portholes.

Stateroom were generally smaller, and the beds uncomfortable.

Entertainment would include some big names, although at the time some may have been on the rise.

There were a lot fewer cruise ships to choose from, which lead to...

Cruise prices were much much higher compared to the cost-of-living at the time.

There was really only one dining room, and everyone would eat there every evening.

That sounds pretty terrible,,, I like things today much better ! Lol

Couldn't resist sharing a few more pix!

 

 

 

 

My BF being swarmed...

Karen, these are great pics!!! May I ask what kind of camera? My last underwater ones were ok,,,not great , with just a standard underwater drug store camera,,, thx!!!

my cabin mate drank a $5 soda out of our frig.

 

I worry about my grandkids. I might take it all out and put it up high somewhere lol

We asked steward to completely remove it from my cabin,,,,which he did. No mistakes ;)

So, I realize people with bad experiences will most likely post to the web, but people with amazing experiences usually do not. With that said, I cannot help but feel extremely concerned about our upcoming trip this Sunday (3/29). I have only been on one cruise (X Century, 1999). My husband and two boys (14 and 11) have never been on a cruise. My kids are spoiled, though. When we go to OBX, we stay with a group in a 10 bedroom, 12 bathroom house on the beach. When they go to Disney, my parents rent a Villa in Disney through the Disney Vacation Club. We've only had 1 bad trip in our lives and it was in Cabo - it was my fault - I went the cheap route and rented a condo which turned out to be horrible. But, we still managed to enjoy the week and made the most out of it.

 

I chose this trip because of the activities on board. I work full time outside of the home. I have a horrible commute. I am extremely stressed out most of the time AND I spend most of our vacations cooking, cleaning, doing laundry….I'm burned out!!! I need a week where I can chill out and not have to do ANYTHING except show up. So…with that said….here is where my expectations are for this trip based on numerous posts - the positive ones and the negative ones. Let me know if I'm way off or if I'm wrong, please!!!

 

 

 

- Service is horrible - ok…here's my take…I would like to see this for myself….I was a server and worked in retail for many, many years. It is amazing to me how people can be so down-right rude to service people and still expect them to fawn all over them. So, I am going to take this often stated review with a grain of salt. I am overly polite and appreciative of every service person who I meet. Normally, I met with equal or more graciousness and politeness.

 

- The free soda package was disappointing because there are no stations and it's hard to get refills - this bothered me a bit. I wanted to buy this for the kids. But, since it is spring break, I think it will be a mad house so we will bring a case of water and some other beverages for the boys.

 

- The food is awful - I would like to see this for myself, as well. I did not book this cruise for the food. My kids can live on mac and cheese and nuggets. I am not picky. My husband is not picky. If we wanted gourmet, we would have chosen a much more expensive cruise. As long as the food is edible, we will survive. Plus, I'm trying to lose 40 lbs (22 so far). So, not too concerned about this one…..

 

- hard to find chairs - I need tips on where to find a quiet space. I am a smoker (GASP). I just need a chair, a water bottle and my kindle. That's all I need - I don't need the pool, I might go in the hot tub….what I need is to decompress and forget I have a job for a week.

 

- lines for meals - I wake up at 4:30 am - I eat breakfast at 6 and lunch at 11, dinner at 4:30 and I'm in bed by 8:30 (no, I'm not a senior citizen - lol). Hopefully I will not be hitting the restaurants at the prime times….thoughts????

 

- rooms were dirty - This concerns me - I'm not a neat freak - I have dogs (lol). But, I am a little paranoid about 'people germs'. I would like to know how many had this experience. I'm sure our room will not be perfect.

 

- which brings me to my BIGGEST CONCERN - SPACE IN THE ROOM - I knew the room was tiny when I booked it. I chose an inside family cabin for a few reason 1) it was cheap, 2) it was cheap, and 3) it was cheap. Plus, I read bad reviews about the balconies so I couldn't justify the extra money. HOWEVER - now I'm reconsidering and the boat was booked when I called to try and snag a bigger room. Anyway - my family is on the petite side - BUT - are we going to want to kill each other by the end of the week?? Well - nobody can answer this for me but would love to hear from someone who tried to cram 4 people into an inside family cabin. This might have been the biggest mistake I made (not bigger than the Cabo fiasco, though - that one can't be topped!!).

 

So - if you actually made it to this sentence…thank you so much for reading my long, paranoid, crazy lady post. I want this week to be fun. And, after Cabo, I believe we can make it happen. I just don't want everyone in my family hating me on Easter Sunday for making them take this trip!!!

 

Thanks!

Donna

Honestly, you will have fun! Your story could have been mine ,,,lol we put 3 adult kids and 1 grandchild in an inside cabin and they were FINE. YOU CAN ALWAYS SHOWER AT THE GYM LOCKERROOM IF NEED TO, plus t h e y are larger there. The food is very good ,, (cruised ncl 4 times, w/5th and 6th booked) you and family will be fine,,just enjoy! Oh and go for soda plan,,never issues on refills :)

Thx for the post. Planning a trip w daughter,and we've been debating OV vs balcony. My minds made up, springing for the balcony! The noise would make me crazy,,,lol

When we went last august, it was actually cheaper buying them at the pier, if you are planning to see different areas . We saw st Georges, hamilton and went to scuba, was MUCH cheaper...have fun tho!

Hi all,

 

I'm cruising with my boyfriend in November (so excited!) and have a few questions about couples cruising.

 

I've heard that the bed is really two beds that can be pushed together. Do we have to ask for this before the trip or ask for it on the first day?

 

For dining, I heard that wait times weren't too bad but do you think for 2 people it would be better/worse at any time for dinners or shows?

 

For excursions we were thinking it would be safest to book with NCL so that we don't risk missing our departure or anything. We're doing the Western Caribbean so if there are any cool excursions you'd recommend we'd love to hear!

 

Also I was wondering if anyone has any tips or advice or to-dos for young couples (early twenties) going out on the seas together. We're both super excited so anything you can share will be much appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance! :)

Call your TA or ncl , ask them to put beds together in advance and I always request an eggcrate too, ( I feel the division between beds otherwise) . Ask for extra pillows too if you like them.

We make dining reservations ,even for the main DR,, no real wait for my hubby and I, or our family.

We take ncl excursions for safety as well as knowing ship will wait for us if late. Many people do set up own tho....we LOVED scuba diving and dolphin swim!

Have a great time!!

Believe me I am very grateful but I wanted to get it for my fiance, we are celebrating our 4th anniversary of being together on the cruise, and since she has never been it would of been great to see the look on her face plus she just (6 weeks ago) had her 2nd knee replaced so she's been upset at her slow progress with that. I am getting very excited to go back to Bermuda, it is such a beautiful island.:)

Ncl does some nice celebration packages ,, I ordered one for our anniversary, and they decorated our room, brought a cake and had dinner in one of the resturants. There are a bunch of different options, and MUCH less costly then up grade! ;) my husband was very happily surprised!

We have left ours beneath a poolside lounger a few times too,,, if its occupied I ask first, but never an issue (still in our sight too)

Ordinarily, I'd say an ocean view would trump an inside, but in this case, the OV on deck 5 is below the public areas in deck 6, theaters, restaurants etc. You might get a lot of late night noise from above you. The deck 10 inside is sandwiched between decks of cabins only and would be quieter.

 

So it really depends on how much you think you might be bothered by noise. If you have a specific cabin number, someone who has stayed there might to able to let you know if there were any noise issues.

I personally have been torn between oceanveiw deck 5 or a balcony midship,,,and I believe you just convinced me to go for balcony,,lol The noise above me would make me crazy !! ( was considering OV to save dd some money, but Im just going to spring for the balcony for us I think) Thx!!

Hello.....I read that the Gem will be doing cruises from Puerto Rico next year...would anyone know if the Gem will be coming back to New York....after it doing cruises from Puerto Rico? As i am interested in sailing her....but i do not want to take the cruise from Puerto Rico...

Definetly,,,we are booked next march on gem, from nyc!

With all the recent NCL changes, let me know if you have any questions!!

Considering booking next year,,,I hear a lot about overcrowdong ,due to ships size. Whats your opinion? Is it crazy,w childre :Deverywhere? Im just curious if comments are legit, ;)

None other than you have paid it off in advance of your cruise so you go on the cruise ship with a zero balance as opposed to owing gratuities. You also need to prepay gratuities if you want MTD.

Im wondering, what does MTD mean? Thank you!