islesdave

On 7/1/2022 at 11:36 PM, JustAPilot said:

Why in the world would you sign your self up to that kind of routing. Venice to YUL then Denver then to New Orleans? 

Highly likely that's a question for NCL's air department.  Yes, FlightAware is great for stuff like this.  

This is not an NCL issue.  This is an airline issue.  NCL just books your flights for you.  Hold times for airlines are incredibly long - reach out to their social media teams with your claim info, they should be able to track down where the bags are.

Lost/damaged luggage reports usually have to be filed with the airline's baggage team prior to leaving the airport, whether they're lost in destination or at home airport.  

Did you purchase travel insurance or have some sort of insurance benefit from a credit card?  If so, I hope you kept receipts of things purchased while on your trip to submit for reimbursement.

2 hours ago, hjz77 said:

Prices of TA and NCL are identical except TA offers free gratuity for two plus $100 obc, ncl offers neither. Just wondering if ncl matches the promo

That is correct.  TA's may have group space that includes extras that booking direct with NCL doesn't have, or the TA is giving back some of their commission.  

Can you post copies of your Freestyle Dailies?  I'm on the 7/10 sailing.

I'm sailing 7/10.  I'm looking for a couple of recommendations for must eat at restaurants for dinner before the cruise and for Sunday when we debark before we head to the airport (flight is at 9:35PM).  Pre-cruise we are staying at the Sound Hotel in Belltown and are using Port Valet for luggage after the cruise.  What are your go-to restaurants?

16 hours ago, Cobra1365 said:

We’re cruising in May.  Plenty of time for things to change by then.  We have insurance and air thru NCL.

Double check the Ts&Cs of your NCL insurance to see what it covers for post-cruise issues in terms of positive testing.  It may differ based on which tier of insurance you have.

When are you traveling?  I don't think anyone knows at this point when the US will stop requiring negative tests to board a flight coming in from another country.  Yes, a large portion of Europe has already started to treat it like a regular flu and eliminate isolation requirements, but that does not pertain to a flight to another country.  

I would make sure if I was cruising Europe, I would have a good insurance plan that would cover me if I needed to isolate before traveling home.

Yes, you should let NCL know.  Depending upon your travel dates/final payment date, you may be entitled to get port fees/taxes back.  As far as insurance goes, if you purchased CFAR insurance you are covered most likely, if you purchased NCL's Booksafe, no coverage or if you have a credit card with base travel insurance, also no coverage.

Looking for a recommendation for a pre-cruise hotel for July 7-10.  While I'd love to find one with a shuttle to the port, it is more important for it to be within walking distance of the downtown attractions.  I'd like to not break the bank too.

Anyone know if there's a sports bar in town that has access to US sports and not just the Caribbean sports networks?  I'm going to be staying at a resort and would like perhaps to go somewhere for NFL playoff Sunday or to catch an NHL game.

I'm on the Bliss leaving Saturday.  I'm going to try to get to the port around 9 AM as I've done in the past.  Security will start scanning passengers around 9:30 provided there were no issues as stated above with the previous sailing.  Your e-docs will tell you which terminal (usually C is even decks, B is odd), might be different after new port opens.  You go through security, fill out the health questionnaire, go to check in, then up the escalator to a holding area where you're given a boarding group number.  General boarding usually begins between 11:30 and 12 noon, in group number order.   

22 hours ago, dreamofcruising said:

Hello,  

  

My cruise leaves this weekend and if by some chance I can not make it to the airport because of the snow, (airport is 2 hours away) what happens to my cruise fare?    I have the standard NCL Insurance.   I have been on hold forever with NCL and thought I'd just ask here if anyone knew.  It may be better to change my flight to the morning of the cruise, as far as the weather and roads would be clearer.  But that is risky as well.  As of now, my fight is for 1 day before the cruise leaves.         

 

Hopefully I won't have to find out.  But want to at least be prepared somewhat.   

 

Thanks.  

Can you change your flight?  Many airlines waive change fees if you're changing your flight due to weather/incoming storms that will likely ground travel.  This happened a couple of years ago with me.  I live in NY, was able to change my flight to the previous day.  We were the last flight that left NYC area airports to FLA, as it started snowing way before it was supposed to.  If you can't change your flight, book a room at an airport hotel that has park-and-fly rates and a shuttle to the airport in the morning.  I'm leaving NYC tomorrow for a cruise as well, looks like we'll be clear for flying tomorrow.  I'd be worried if I booked a Friday flight as I haven't seen any airlines post advisories.

I have never heard of there being a discount for booking on the first day.  Certain excursions, like the Rebel Yell to Jost Van Dyke, sell out quickly (and might already be sold out for your sailing).  In the Caribbean, many other options available to book excursions with that are much less expensive than booking through NCL, of course, if you took the shore excursion credit as a perk, those must be booked through NCL and you receive the credit after you take the excursion. 

On 1/3/2019 at 9:55 PM, BigProc said:

A few people mentioned Bushwhackers. Any idea what's in that? Also, is the cherry limeade an adult drink or is it like a cherry limeade from Sonic? 

Bushwacker - Baileys, dark rum, dark creme de cacao, ice cream mix. Tastes like a frappuccino IMO

cherry limeade has Svedka citrus vodka and Bacardi limon rum, but it's refreshing.

They have Sport24; a European based sports network; I have been on ships during this week, it's on.  They also usually carry a 1PM, a 4PM and all prime time NFL games, while they might not be available in the rooms, they have shown NFL on the large screen in the Atrium.  

10 hours ago, kathy884 said:

Any chance they will have the Austrailan open tennis tournament grand slam coverage?  The only sport we follow is tennis, and we happen to be cruising the second week of this tournament.  It's one of the four big tennis tournaments of the year.

Most of the major brands have local edition locations nearby the cruise port with shuttles to the facility, keep in mind that lots of these local editions aren't open Sundays.  The exceptions maybe to the ones that are in hotels.  Another thing to keep in mind - the rates are not the same as renting from the airport.  Depending upon your time frame, it might be cheaper to Uber/cab/cruise ship transfer to MIA and rent from there.  

I just booked a rental car for myself for 1/18 so I can go play the Blue Monster.  I'm staying in Brickell.  It was almost cheaper for me to go back to the airport and rent from there rather than rent downtown, and if I didn't find a 3rd party booking site that is a measure of distance, I probably would have.  

1. Bushwacker

2. Cherry lime-aid - very refreshing

I'm thinking of renting a car for a day 1/18 pre-cruise as I have tee time at the Blue Monster and it seems like Uber to and from the course looks to be about 30 bucks each way.  Anyone ever book with Supreme Car Rental or Miles (this site seems to be a 3rd party) with some good prices.

I've stayed there.  Great location, Bayside Marketplace across the street.  Rooms have a European boutique feel to them.  On-site restaurant is excellent.  

Netflix and/or your bank that issued said CC should be able to trace the charges to an IP address.  That IP address can help determine location of the offending charges, and the ISP of the fraudster.  This can help narrow it down to whether it was someone on the ship or in a port, or even someone who RFID scanned you as you walked by.      

I love a good Bushwacker.  Similar to a mudslide, but tastes more like a Frappucino than a milkshake.  They have a drink of the day - however when they do that, it comes out of a pitcher or other large container, they're not made fresh.  Cherry lime-aid is very refreshing.

I'm staying in the Brickell neigborhood next month.   I am looking to find a good sports bar that has the NHL package so I can watch my home team's games before sailing.  I'm familiar with the chain of Duffy's, are there any nearby Brickell?  Any other good spots?

44 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

Interesting! I always wondered what would happen if a passenger simply decided not to get off, maybe they had a friend who was coming on the next sailing, decided to stay with their friend, in their cabin under the radar, eating at the buffet all week...LOL! Would the ship really hold boarding because 1 person didn't get off?

 

I am sure that once the person did decide to get off, they would be in big doggie-doo, but still. Holding the entire boat just because they're not at 0? What if there were administrative or system problems that caused the total passenger count to be incorrect as debark, and in fact, everyone did get off, even if the system showed  they didn't.

There's a show called Mega Ships which details operations of large ocean liners, both cargo and cruise ships.  There was one on the Oasis a few years ago, and they detailed turnaround day, showing the passengers leaving, the crew and port handling loading of supplies and deliveries, to the check in area.    

All passengers must be accounted for, even people staying and doing a back to back, depending upon the port, are either told to disembark and follow a port employee to a room or meet in a restaurant and are accounted for that way.  You'd get ship security on a search, starting with your cabin.  Security probably has a list of people's names and their cabin numbers; and if they don't, they can get one very easily.  You'd get ousted by the cleaning crew if you decided to try to hang out in a bathroom or other public area.  I don't know what they would do if their computer system wasn't working or a card didn't scan properly.  That's why there's someone watching the gangway.

Security usually starts scanning people about 9:30; check in opens at 10.  Priority boarding starts around 11, then 11:20 or so the general boarding starts.  I usually try to arrive at PoM between 8:30-9.  Nobody can board until they get a 0 count from previous week's sailing.

I'll have a full day in Miami pre-cruise next month.  Can anyone recommend a nice golf course that rents clubs that won't be close to $200 with club rental?  I'm staying in the Brickell area.