QuattroRomeo

Re: The Coffee Lovers package one can order pre-cruise. ☕ It is described as coffee beans, 2 Delft mugs and a beverage card. I would like to be sure that it will be mugs, as opposed to cups and saucers that I see in some photos of coffees served at the Dutch cafe. Don't need any more cups and saucers!

It will be on Koningsdam. If you have ordered this in the past, what did you receive? Also, can I assume that there is no advantage to the beverage card other than reduced itemization on the bills?

Thanks for any help!

Wow, I can see we will be living at the Dutch Cafe!...🍪☕🥣

ps Are there any advantages to getting a coffee card? (I think it is called a non- alcoholic beverage card on the upcoming cruises site).

Thanks!

We haven't been to this island before; has anyone done the ship's snorkel excursion? Any good? Is it easy enough to just do it on your own, and if so, wondering about safe-keeping of belongings while in the water? 

Thanks for the information! Not a lot of choices but somehow I think we will "manage"..can't complain about having a cruise..

This is a very interesting read for sure- thank you! 

Thanks for the review! We are thinking about trying MSC, and Divina in particular. We do enjoy specialty restaurants; will we have any choices on Divina? 

Palau de la Musica is beautiful inside, the tour is quite helpful and doesn't take a long time. When you see the stained glass inside, you might recognize it from movies and various photos. Just gorgeous. Sagrada Familia inside (and out) is so unique, definitely worth seeing. Las Ramblas- used to be more interesting, not now in our opinion; just walk down it once to say you saw it and move on! Too touristy and souvenirs are all the same, restaurants overpriced and not great, you can do better on just about any other street. La Boqueria market is okay but I would go elsewhere now. I agree about the suggestion to see the rooftop at La Pedrera - it is unlike anything else!

Gothic Quarter is great to walk around; if you want something unusual in that area go inside The Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum on Carrer Ample!  Quite interesting actually.

If you like the artist Salvador Dali, you would enjoy a tour to Figueres to see his museum, and his house in Cadaques. We did a tour a few years ago through Viator; there are others that offer it too. More recently, we took the train ourselves from Barcelona to Figueres and walked to the museum for another visit. It is quite unique! Figueres itself is a beautiful town to walk through. 

I booked the Romance package twice on different NCL ships. When you get to your stateroom, there will be a card on the desk acknowledging the package.

When we entered the room on embarkation day, it had the beautiful roses, a bottle of bubbly, the chocolate covered strawberries, a card stating our entitlements to a portrait photo and Le Bistro dinner, and the date for our canapés delivery. It was very nice!

You can reserve any night on the cruise for the restaurant, by going to either the general specialty restaurant reservations desk near the main customer service desk, or, go to the restaurant directly to reserve. One time I brought the acknowledgement card, the other time I didn't; they seem to know in the system that you have the package.

I would make your reservation on board as soon as you can, to insure you get the date of your anniversary! 🍾

We love the specialty restaurants; we have done nothing but on a couple of sailings! Although they are mostly the same specialty restaurants from ship to ship, on each NCL ship we have tried we find one of the specialty dining rooms stands out for us as the favourite on that sailing, and it varies. It is really nice to have the extra space, it is generally quieter, and service is terrific. Our favourites tend to be Cucina and Le Bistro, but everyone has different tastes. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

Another thank you for the link! Haven't cruised out of Canaveral yet so this really helps.👍

Has anyone experienced the NCL shore tour called "Lagoon Wildlife & Mangrove Estuaries"?

Was it enjoyable?🐋 Or any other of the more nature- oriented ones?

how did it go? Any suggestions? Do you recommend them?

Hi Bob- it is quite the thrill to see the sharks and rays all around you, but the time actually snorkelling isn't much. For a detailed account I'll just refer you to my review, and if you have questions just ask!

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g291968-d2335988-r464813368-Belize_Exotic_Adventures_Day_Tours-Belize_City_Belize_District.html

Hello! There is a lot of info here but I’m still a little confused. We are in port 1pm-8pm on a Saturday in Nov, I was thinking of taking the wooden train to Soller and maybe also the tram to the port of Soller but I don’t know if I have time before the sun sets or how to get back in the dark. I had thought to take a bus back. I have 3 boys that love trains so I thought they’d like it and it would be scenic. Is there something better to do?

Thanks

Haven't been there, but did read about this for families when researching Mallorca; might be of interest to your boys:

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g187463-d7605195-Reviews-Adventure_Rooms_Mallorca-Palma_de_Mallorca_Majorca_Balearic_Islands.html

The shuttles only stop by the cathedral , easy to go anywhere with the local buses and they accept euro#s

Thank you!

A few of you have kindly mentioned that the RCCL ships and others have shuttle services that drop you off by the Cathedral. Is that the only stop? Do they offer a pickup point somewhere too? We are planning a walking tour starting from there, but wouldn't want to have to walk all the way back to the Cathedral to return to the ship! Maybe it's just one-way?

If we take a city bus, can we use euro coins, or do they need tickets?

https://www.viator.com/search/barcelona,%20spain%20dali

We did the Port Iligat, Cadaques and Figueres tour, but it was post-cruise. It was terrific, but rushed. This year we're going to try the train and go to Figueres, as we have an overnight in Barcelona during our cruise. Can't wait to see the museum again!

It is a long excursion and depends on your time in port.

- just realized you said Palamos! You will have time!

Hope you enjoy them, Spiralingshape! We also have cookbooks from Maria Emmerich, Jimmy Moore, and in the back of the book Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung. Plus I regularly check for new stuff on the website dietdoctor.com which is excellent to subscribe to, at least for the first few months. You'll get a sense of what ingredients to always have on hand. In the beginning we stuck to dietdoctor.com recipes coded as strict LCHF, then as you have success you can slowly add some of the moderate to liberal coded recipes. Even desserts get added- I'm telling you, pumpkin cheesecake tastes pretty darn good after a few weeks!

We often have a piece of good dark chocolate for dessert. Even full fat ice cream now because we have access to sugar/sweetener free kinds.

The cheesy skillet bread is wonderful when you need something bread-like.

p.s. since we have no use for our potato masher anymore, I now use it to mash the egg yolks for the devilled eggs!

Another thing I make often for a meal is Coconut shrimp soup/ stew.

Saute a variety of low carb veggies in coconut oil/ olive oil or a combination of them. I typically use broccoli, spinach or kale, green beans, peppers, green onion or leeks etc. Add some shrimp, & some sliced or chopped ginger root. Have a small cauliflower finely chopped, ready. (or can use a food processor to rice it with). To the sauteed mixture add a full can of highest fat coconut milk and some chicken broth. Add the cauliflower. Add some curry powder to taste. (the ginger root really helps in this recipe). Simmer until cauliflower is tender. Doesn't take long. Serve! Very filling. You'll get sense of how much broth to add based on the volume of everything else, plus how thick you like it.

BrsQld-

Sounds like you're too light on eating fat with your meal, you won't feel full without it!

Try coffee cream, whipping cream, coconut oil and/ or butter in your coffee. That is my breakfast and for me it works as a daily intermittent fast by skipping anything else until lunch.

Eggs are great but you need to add fat for your lunch. We have homemade devilled eggs all the time.

Prepare a dozen at a time- hardboil them.

Cut the eggs lngthwise and put the hard yolks in a bowl.

Add to the yolks:

Finely chopped:

1 small brine dill pickle

1/2 red pepper

2 green onions

4 slices cooked bacon

Then add:

2 teaspoons of the rendered bacon fat

3-4 lg. spoonfuls of good mayo (homemade, Hellmans etc)

salt & pepper to taste

Sitr together and scoop into the egg halves.

Optional extras to mix in:

grated cheese

smoked salmon

Spiralingshape- we have these eggs on hand all the time for lunch- just add sides of full fat cheese, veggies, olives, salad, a bit of meat or tinned fish etc.

We used Belize Exotic Adventures in December.

We booked the snorkelling tour to Caye Caulker, Shark Ray Alley, Coral Gardens & Tarpon feeding for our day in Belize.

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us! We love the specialty dining on NCL too. It is interesting how you get to find different favourites of specialty restaurants, depending on the ship- we think that also! So your discussion on this will be very helpful on our future Getaway cruise!

Another vote for the Made-in-Roatan craft store!

Such a worthwhile place to visit. The proceeds go directly to the artists and their families.

If you want unique, really made in Roatan souvenirs, this is a good choice. Plus you can order from their website, too. I've used it a few times for jewellery orders and things like handsewn eye-glass cases.

We had a great tour with a roll call group, with Jorge of www.portlimon.com

Ours was a custom itinerary that I designed with him, so, if the tours they show on the website aren't what you want, don't be afraid to ask for something!

Thanks very much! Look forward your 'test drive' of the route! We love the artists and architecture that are displayed in those places and hope to enjoy our day.

-Pam