Knobhdy

We need to keep in mind that around 25% of working people in the US don't get any paid leave at all. That number goes way up if you break it down by income. (Again statistically speaking African Americans are more likely to make less).

Even among the top 10% of all earners in the US paid vacation is not universal, although it is close.

The reason is because we as a society have decided it's not important to us if people take vacation. About 55% of workers who do get leave don't take it all. And this is despite the fact that research shows people who get away from work, including email and mobile work, are more productive when they return. It would seem to be in our best interest to encourage workers to get away, but for whatever reason, we don't fight for those kinds of regulations and laws.

European countries went in a very different direction when they were building their democracies (possibly because they had to take them by force from the monarchs?) and do as a society value leisure time and protect it in law. Sometimes that's not a great thing - I'm looking at you, Greece. But we do have to acknowledge those differences.

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I stayed in 9202 last summer in Alaska. It was a smaller room but the balcony was large. I prefer that to the smaller balcony/larger room, but it's a personal preference.

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Getting a passport is not a quick and easy process. Not only do you have to find somewhere with convenient (for you) hours to get your picture taken, you also have to dig up your original documentation. I had to have a new copy of my birth certificate ordered from the court in a state I no longer lived in when I got my first one. It can be more about time and convenience than it is about money.

Of course, I got my passport at 16 so I could go to Mexico with my high school and have had one continuously ever since. A friend of mine, who is white, didn't get around to getting her passport until she was almost 30, despite my annual invitations to enjoy crepes in Quebec. Some things are just less urgent for some people.

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My guess is, for Breakaway anyway, that at or about her 5 year anniversary, she'll get refurbished and get new shows as well.

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I was hoping the rest of 2019 would be out soon, but it looks like (based on previous years) we'll see those schedules in fall 2017.

I booked NYC to the Caribbean in March of 2019 as I needed to use a FCC. Here's hoping a 1.5 year old has fun and sleeps a lot. [emoji4]

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But February was balmy! March came in like a lamb, out like a lion.

Yup. And our April Showers seem to be freezing rain.

Of course, spring 2018 might be totally different. We could just straight from winter to July like we did a couple years ago.

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Oh, I would definitely pay more to know that 1) the advertised cost was the real cost of the cruise and 2) to know that all the staff, captain to laundry, were being paid fairly.

I say the same thing about restaurants in the states. Tipping, dsc, resort fees, they are all ways of passing business costs to your customers. Business owners shouldn't be able to artificially lower their overhead in this manner.

Oh course, I also believe that everyone who works full time should earn a living wage and that's really going well in the states. [emoji849]

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The bartenders should be paid a living wage.

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The beverage package comes with sodas. So does that mean we will have to get the sodas ourselves? Or do you think our butler can bring a pitcher of soda to room if the beverage package only allows for fountain drinks? We are in a SE forward suite on the Jade in Nov.

You can't get soda yourself; there is no self serve option. You can stop by any bar and order one though.

I don't know if your butler would bring you a pitcher of soda. Technically drinks (alcoholic beverages) delivered by your butler are not covered by the ubp. A pitcher of soda might be low enough overhead (the butler can stop by the bar and fill a pitcher from the tap without asking the bartender for anything) that they might just bring it for you.

I think you may have to ask and see.

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Suites don't get the $500 obc, sadly. But they do get the rest of the perks.

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Or some charcoal sticks (for filtering water, not for barbecue [emoji4] ) and ask for a pitcher from your butler or steward. Smaller footprint if you want to filter water in your room. I use them at home and they are surprisingly effective at filtering my city water.

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Both Balconies and Mini-Suites are within 2 categories of Suites. All rooms of a specific type count as one category, so if you are in a balcony, you can bid on any suite.

If you are in an Ocean View, you can bid on Balconies and Minis, Inside, bids on OV and Balcony.

It is possible that NCL will change their policies (they do often and can at any time), but by the current procedure, if you are in an OV, you will not be invited to bid on Suites.

I'm glad I read this thread. I was going to bring my George Foreman grill and my toaster.

Don't forget that if you turn the toaster sideways, you can make grilled cheese right in your cabin. :halo: :halo: :halo:

Ha. Makes sense, I suppose. The aeroccino looks pretty slick. No problems with the heating element and security?

Last summer on the Sun, I really missed my afternoon cappuccinos.

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We had one last month. We brought our own frother.

What kind of frother did you bring?

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Ugh, not me. I always get up, have a leisurely breakfast. Go back to my room. Finish last minute packing. Maybe sit on my balcony. And then at the last possible minute, walk out, grab my bags, and leave. Almost no lines at all.

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If you want to use your credits, you need to either call the excursion desk (sorry, don't have the number off hand) or book on board.

If you book through myncl, it'll try and charge you.

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While family customs or experiences may have some effect, for many individuals, "inherited" customs often evolve into expanded or significantly different customs. Growing up in a lower middle class family that only took domestic automotive vacations, I remember as a child in a history/geography class looking at a picture of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres and thinking that I would never be there to experience it in person. Twenty-five years later, I was inside the Cathedral appreciating the beauty of the stained-glass windows.

Ah, Chartres cathedral is amazing. Some day, I'd like to do the pilgrimage from Chartres to Compostela.

I did have a teacher once who would always say things like "When you are in X, you really must see Y." So, when you are in Cambodia, you really must go to Angkor Wat, for example. It was never "if"; she always put it as a foregone conclusion that we would go to these places and, while we were there, see these things.

I took it to heart, internalizing the message that eventually I'd get everywhere. It was very empowering.

Of course, I still haven't gotten to Angkor Wat yet. But it's on the list.

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Statistically finances probably do play a large role here. African American families not only make less then their white counterparts (controlled for education) but they also have less assets and wealth.

I'm sure that factors in to how much, how long and where these families go on vacation.

The "wealth" part probably plays a double role as well, since we tend to stay with the patterns we learn growing up. If one's parents often traveled abroad, or took longer vacations, then one is more likely to travel abroad and take longer vacations. If one's family didn't have the time or resources for these sorts of activities, even if one gains those resources, one is less likely to try those activities.

I'm also an African American woman, although my husband is white and I grew up in a white family, so my experience is not indicative of other's.

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NCL does discount the third and fourth guest anyway. I decided not to wait for a sail free promotion when I discovered that it was only going to cost me about $600 (excluding port fees) for each of my extra guests. Which is a great deal since I'm paying more than 10x that for myself and my husband. Of course, with the number of people we're bringing, we need a suite and it's a long cruise.

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This is exactly what I did last summer for my honeymoon. Unfortunately I missed a lot of what was going on on the ship, as my new husband was sick (He ended up being hospitalized when we returned home).

But I can highly recommend the excursions. In Ketchikan we did a float plane tour, which was spectacular, but also allowed us to have the afternoon to wander around town and shop. This ended up being key for us, because we didn't make it to shopping in Juneau due to a long excursion (glacier hike, which I definitely recommend if you enjoy the outdoors and especially if you are rock climbers.) and we just weren't impressed by the options in Skagway, although we did have time for a nice lunch of King crab when we got back from the Railroad tour (we went up and back by train; it was breathtaking). If we hadn't bought souvenirs in Ketchikan, we would have been out of luck until Fairbanks.

I do recommend going off the main street to find the more locally owned stores; they tend (not always) to have different inventory and more stuff that is made in Alaska, instead of the typical stuff imported from Asian countries.

Try a New England/Canada cruise. I promise you'll enjoy the best lobster of your life at every port!

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It looks like, due to an unfortunate confluence of cruise next expiration dates and available pto, my next NCL trip will be on the Breakaway.

It'll be my husband, child and hopefully my mom. BA seems to only have one type of two bedroom suite.

Does anyone know if a pack and play will fit in the master bedroom?

I'd really really like to not have to put grandma with the baby if I can help it.

Not that grandma would mind, of course. [emoji56]

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dumb question: we had purchased bottled water on board, is it necessary? will my butler keep us in chilled water? i'm really not trying to sound weird, but man, i feel self conscious about saying "my butler."

If you want bottled water, you will need to purchase it. You can keep a pitcher of water in your fridge (or juice or iced coffee if that makes you happy) and your butler will make sure that it topped up regularly.

Has anyone had luck requesting reading wedges? I've asked for them every time and never received them.

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