Mitsugirlys FASCINATION with San Juan-review & pictorial

I have so much to do today but it had to wait until I finished reading your review. The housework can wait cause it's sure as heck not going anywhere and will be there waiting. :D

 

I really enjoyed your review and am so glad you did this itinerary because this itinerary out of San Juan is our all time favorite and you really captured the beauty of it with your pictures. I also love your writing style and all the details you add. It's funny, but a year ago, and right at this moment (believe it or not), we were on our flight to San Juan for our cruise on Liberty to do the same itinerary.

 

I really loved Lindquist Beach in St. Thomas!!! Our plans were to go back to Trunk Bay in St. John (on our own, to have more time) next time, but I'm thinking Lindquist Beach. I had never seen any other pictures or read any other reviews where they had gone there for the day. It's beautiful. Hubby and I LOVE beaches, so beaches are a must and that is why I love your reviews. So glad you got to Jalousie in St. Lucia and Pinel Island (another of our favorites). Your pictures posing with the presidents statues in San Juan were not offensive...I busted a gut laughing out loud at those. I need to look for them next time. :p

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to do such an awesome review of an awesome, and my favorite, itinerary!

LOL at the housework waiting. Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments (and managing to stick it out with me on this long review). I appreciate it and glad you enjoyed it. We had a lot of fun with the presidents. :p

Kim, you have really sparked my interest in Pinel Island. We were planning to go to Orient Beach when we cruise to St, Martin but now I'm curious about Pinel.

 

Is the only way to get there by kayak or can we just take a cab? How far is it from where the ships dock? Also, any particular section of the island you'd recommend? We like a place with chairs, umbrellas, bathrooms and food. Thanks again for all your expertise!

Pinel is right down from Orient Beach. You can catch a cab at the port there and take the ferry over if you wanted (instead of the kayaks). But you would have to either ask the driver to come back at a certain time to take you back to the port, or...I guess the other option would be to get one of the vendors or even the kayak place to call you a cab.

This map may help you. See Orient? It's right up from that.

The only sections with beach chairs, food and restrooms is the section where we "parked" our kayaks and what is in all the pictures you see. I did not explore the rest of the island (which had trails and other beaches, just no service there). It was just too darn hot to leave very far from the water.

I'm chiming in REAL late on the bioluminescent bay, but we used to go to the extreme southwest part of the island (not necessarily a road trip you would make on this sort of adventure) to La Parguera, which at the time, at least, seemed to be the best one. HOWEVER, you were always at the mercy of Mother Nature- recent rain or not, tides, brightness of the moon, winds, seasons, temperature swings- all affected the quality of the nighttime boat experience, and it was a crap shoot.

 

The only thing we could really avoid was not going during a full-ish moon. In three trips we had one astounding trip, one average, and one meh.

 

When going to any phosphorescent bay, you have to take a good attitude and best wishes- which you did!

Yea even though I was disappointed in not seeing what I had heard about and seen pictures of, we still had a fantastic time. The guide was awesome and the trip was fun. I really enjoyed floating down the mangrove path. It was really pretty, even at night. There was still a lot to see. I will try it again in the future...just not the "near" future. :D

Kim,

Thank you so much for sharing. I appreciate the love and effort you put into your cruise logs. It is a huge task!

 

Best of luck with the diving lessons Sweet Sakari!:D

 

Already looking forward to the next one!:D

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it. I just know Sakari is going to love diving. :)

Great review, I'm dying to go to St. Lucia and Barbados, I'm always looking to see if they offer those islands on a cruise that sails from Miami or Ft. Laud since we live so close. But I might just have to spring for airfare to San Juan and cruise out of there if nothing shows up soon. The countdown you mentioned answering another poster is similar to mine for our next cruise... what ship are you on? We're going on Allure 11/13!!!

Thank you so much. You MUST make it to St Lucia and Barbados. Absolutely gorgeous and such a great time!

Aww, I wanna be on the Allure!!!! We will be on the Epic on 11/12 (hubbys birthday). :D I wonder if we'll be in any of the cruise ports on the same day. (St Thomas, Tortola)?

Kim I forgot to mention:

 

Your review of the hotel encouraged me to switch my reservation to El Conquistador. I told the hubby that it is "Mitsugirly Certified"!!!:D:D

We are doing the repo on the Celebrity Summit in April from San Juan to New Jersey.

Oh boy...I hope it lives up to your expectation. Are you staying there very long? Please report back and let me know how it went. Definitely check out the beautiful private island. :)

Not sure if you're limiting yourself to a specific cruise line or only looking at summer months, but there are tons of cruises from Florida that go to St. Lucia and Barbados. None of them are only 7 days, of course, because of how far south they are. There are always sea days at the beginning and end so are usually 10+ day cruises.

 

If you're not interested in a slightly longer cruise, then I think you'll have no choice but to sail from San Juan on a 7 day cruise to get to those two islands. Either way, they're definitely worth it. San Juan is a great embarkation port, so that's an awesome option also. The cruises from San Juan can sometimes be cheaper as the airfare is usually higher for most to get there vs. Florida ports.

What cruise lines go from Florida to there? Do tell in case I decide to do that as well. I wouldn't mind a 10 day cruise. I know 11-12 days straight on vacation is pretty much my limit at this point. I just get tired and want to go home. But...I would still consider it.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy and hectic days to write that review. I was following along while at work to help the work day go faster. I too will be flying from Columbus to San Juan to sail on the Oct. 2nd fascination cruise. Was nice to see all your photos and tips on each of the islands. Just wanted to say thanks :)

You are very welcome and thank you for commenting. Fellow Buckeye? I hope you have a wonderful cruise on the fascination. :)

mitsugirly your reviews are so awesome and fun. Thank-you so much for all the time and effort you take to put these together. Whether or not I agree or disagree with how you and your family do things, I always greatly appreciate your honesty, candor and openness with sharing your family and vacation with us. These type of reviews are so helpful for new cruisers, and such great entertainment for us more seasoned cruisers. Can't wait for the next one :)!

Thanks for commenting and your thoughts. We are a fun group, sometimes things get out of hand, but life is not perfect and neither are we. I think that's why we have so much fun and don't let too much bother us. :D We can definitely make for some entertainment. :p

Great review as always, thank you for putting this together!

 

Looking forward to your EPIC review. Since you were last on the EPIC, you've cruised on plenty of other very nice ships and the EPIC is no longer a new ship. Your perspective on the EPIC will be very interesting.

 

Glad that you got to see some new ports and I would encourage a visit to Aruba and Curacao. Great places, both.

 

bruce...

I am actually really looking forward to stepping foot on the Epic again myself. As you said, she was brand new when we cruised her, it was also my hubbys very first cruise and my first cruise after being out of the "cruising loop" for about 12 years.

She amazed me, things had changed so much since the 80's and 90's and she had that WOW factor. The group we sailed with (roll call on here) was AMAZING! I'm still friends with a lot of them and we have even cruised together again. They were just a great group.

I have always said the Epic was my favorite ship. However, it was so long ago...and maybe that will change now. I mean I have been on some awesome ships since then (with Breeze probably being my next favorite). My perspective may be a little different this time around.

Also, last time it was just the hubby and I and we had 2 studio rooms. So that was really cool. We had a blast in there...while others were complaining about the wavy balcony rooms. This time around, we will get one of those wavy balcony rooms...however, we have the SUPER LONG balcony to go with it...so that might make up for it. :D

We'll see. :) At least this time I'll be able to get more pictures. What was I thinking last time? I feel like I barely have any pictures of the Epic (well, at least compared to now and my reviews...oops). :p

Great review, Loved the pictures in Puerto Rico. Brings back memories when we were there for our 30th Anniversary.

 

If you get back to Old San Juan Puerto Rico again, Sakari may like this. There is a little restaurant called "Carthage Express" where they have a train deliver your food from the cooking area. We ate breakfast here one morning and thought it was pretty unique.

Thanks for the comments.

Are you kidding me?? A train brings out the meal? Why am I just now hearing about this? I'm looking this up for sure. No one on here has mentioned this before. Thanks!

Thanks for a great review.

 

 

 

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You're welcome.

Thanks for taking the time to do such an extensive review with pictures. We are getting ready to visit a couple of those islands in December and your information has been invaluable! (Plus it was just fun to read about your vacation!)

 

 

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You are welcome and glad you found some useful information. :) Have a great trip in December.

This was great! You're family beautiful and fun and i love reading about your adventures! Especially when it's a cruise I'm waiting to take Hha. Looking forward to your next adventure :D:D:D

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

I figured you would know about Simba. I hoped he really was back home, but I also hoped he was not as changed as the reviewer I linked you to was saying. Glad you have good contact with the owner, and hope they get Simba back soon.

Yea, about 4 months ago they won the court case for the abuse of power. Then several days ago they won the appeal too. Now they are just waiting on the final order to have the animals returned. I just hope they are all returned in good health and not mistreated. It's such a sad situation that they can be done this way.

Enjoyed reading your review for your cruise. This itinerary is under very heavy consideration for my cruise next year. San Juan is one of my favorite port cities. I stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan the last time I cruised from there.

 

Someone said to try Barrachina for Puerto Rican food & I agree with them. Their pina colada is the only one I have ever enjoyed. Also try Rosa de Triana. Their mofongo was excellent.

 

Also have been looking at the Conquest out of Ft. Lauderdale. Only been to Grand Turk & LaRomana. I was not sure what to do in LaRomana so I ended up booking an excursion through Carnival. Think it was called the country side experience. Many people on my cruise booked excursions through Seavis Tours in the Dominican Republic. Have not been to the other two ports on that itinerary.

So since you mentioned you stayed at the Sheraton last time, can you tell me if all the rooms are actually that big? Or was it just because I was on the end? I have really been wondering this.

I definitely wanted to make it out to eat some real PR food. It was just so hot and we were so worn out from walking in the heat. I will get to it next time for sure.

I have not been to LaRomana or Dominican Republic yet. Some day I hope. :)

 

 

I know this sounds REALLY Really stupid but when we were young and flew my Mom always had us "drinking' on take off = it was easy when we could be having a bottle but maybe the cups with the straws may simulate the same swallowing action. Its a bit like the yawning but it is a more constant action.. not sure if may work but since i started following you I have been meaning to ask this! This is of course if the MD doesnt find anything wrong

Hey, we'll give it a try. Anything might help and worth a shot. Thanks for the suggestion. If it works, I'll report on my next review. :D

Thanks so much and definitely consider this itinerary. It's amazing. I think one of the best times I have ever had.

 

(BTW, my next review will be sooner than next year ;) :D)

 

 

 

 

I'm jealous and happy at the same time. I look forward to reading about your next adventure

Great review as always!!!:)

Love your reviews! Read it from start to finish! I also have a mermaid and now she wants to bring her stuff for our next cruise :-) Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. You take beautiful pictures!

What cruise lines go from Florida to there? Do tell in case I decide to do that as well. I wouldn't mind a 10 day cruise. I know 11-12 days straight on vacation is pretty much my limit at this point. I just get tired and want to go home. But...I would still consider it.

 

Again, really enjoyed your review! My search turns up quite a few mainstream cruise lines that would sail from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and hit both Barbados and St. Lucia in addition to a wide variety of other southern Caribbean ports. There are a couple premium cruise lines also. The mainstream lines I found and the length of cruise: Princess 10 nights, Oceania 10 & 12 nights, Celebrity 10 & 14 nights, Royal Caribbean 11 nights, Holland America 11, 12 & 14 nights and looks like Norwegian starts with some next fall at 10 nights.

 

For me, I prefer just sailing from San Juan to get to the southern Caribbean. I almost always cruise in the winter, generally January, so weather out of Florida is not always that great. Second, I love San Juan. And third, I generally don't love sea days so would prefer fewer. I'd rather be in port doing whatever activity, land or sea!

 

On another note, you mentioned in your review the stray cats in Old San Juan. In the 9 or 10 times I've cruised from San Juan and stayed in Old San Juan pre-cruise, we've always enjoyed the local colony of cats. I don't know anything about it being illegal to pet them, never heard of that, and we've always interacted with them. Many are extremely friendly. We're animal lovers (dogs and cats) so we've enjoyed the cats there. They're taken care of by a local organization called Save A Gato.

 

From their website:

"Save A Gato manages the colony of cats on the Paseo del Morro and the rest of Old San Juan. We manage them through T/N/R. This stands for trap, neuter, and release. Cats are first trapped, then with the help of local vets we are able to neuter, vaccinate, and de-worm the cats. The cats are then returned healthy to the Paseo to lounge and sunbathe on the rocks.

​

Save a Gato also offers the option to adopt cats while they are going through the T/N/R process. Please visit our album on Facebook for adoptable pets and also at Petfinder. As we are not a shelter, the cats that are not successful in our adoption program are returned to their original colonies and are lovingly monitored by our volunteers and residents."

 

My teenage son and I have cruised together many times, several times from San Juan. During our last pre-cruise stay in Old San Juan we actually spent a couple days volunteering with this organization. They have a building, "the casita", in Old San Juan (sort of near El Morro) where they house cats and kittens that are recovering from spays and neuters or are getting other health care. We spent our time at that facility cleaning cages and caring for the cats. It was very rewarding and they were extremely appreciative of the help. I think they're very short of volunteers. My son had also done a good bit of fundraising prior to our visit and so we were able to give them a nice donation to help with their programs. They do really take good care of the cats. Most that we've seen around Old San Juan and the Paseo del Morro are really healthy.

 

Maybe too much information, sorry, but just thought maybe you were curious about the cats hanging around! Here's a link to their website if you, or anyone else, may be interested: http://www.saveagato.com/

I enjoyed going through your review of the Fascination.

My wife and I are taking our first cruise October 16th on the Fascination. We are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary.

We booked it earlier in the year and paid for airfare and ship fare then.

Since then we have went through sometimes where things have got tight in the pocket.

So I'm writing to ask you what are the best budget friendly things to do while on this Cruise?

I have bought us each a snorkel set.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks JD

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Awesome review!! I stopped in San Juan many cruises ago and didn't enjoy it much. After reading your review, I am now excited to go back and try many new things that I didn't even know existed. I cant wait to stay at El Conquistador! Your vacation looked amazing and I am always amazed at how happy your family looks all the time, lol. We travel with my family as well and in my pics there is always someone who woke up on the grumpy side of the bed.

Great review and pics. I did this same itinerary and its one of my favorite cruise. I did some of the things you did. I'm planning on doing this itinerary again, but first I want to do the ABC islands.

My next cruise is in November on the Glory doing the western itinerary. Reading your other review sold me on Goff Caye. Thanks for all the hard work you do in writing these reviews and sharing your experiences.

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Hey Kim,

So I might be a little hooked on reading your reviews, so have been going back and reading your past cruise reviews. The NCL ship pins. Do they still have these? I didn't know about them being that the Escape in January was our first cruise and so obviously didn't get any. Since I just started with latitudes with that cruise would I be able to get pins yet? Is there something I can do to have them mailed to me? Any info you have would be appreciated!!

Thank you,

Heather

 

So since you mentioned you stayed at the Sheraton last time, can you tell me if all the rooms are actually that big? Or was it just because I was on the end? I have really been wondering this.

 

I definitely wanted to make it out to eat some real PR food. It was just so hot and we were so worn out from walking in the heat. I will get to it next time for sure.

 

I have not been to LaRomana or Dominican Republic yet. Some day I hope. :)

The rooms from what I remember were big. I stayed in a single room with a huge bed. The room seemed big to me because it was only me in the room. Loved it. My room was not at the end of the hall. My sister had a room right next door to me & her room was big too. I would stay there again. Enjoyed not having to pay for a taxi to haul me & my luggage from the hotel to the port. :)

Hope you do get a chance to go to the Dominican Republic. It was nice but I would love the chance to go to Amber Cove on one of the Carnival cruises that sail to there as a port of call.

Hey Kim,

 

So I might be a little hooked on reading your reviews, so have been going back and reading your past cruise reviews. The NCL ship pins. Do they still have these? I didn't know about them being that the Escape in January was our first cruise and so obviously didn't get any. Since I just started with latitudes with that cruise would I be able to get pins yet? Is there something I can do to have them mailed to me? Any info you have would be appreciated!!

Thank you,

Heather

they do - although everytime I have cruised I forget to get one! I think you have to go to the Cruise next desk?

they do - although everytime I have cruised I forget to get one! I think you have to go to the Cruise next desk?

Hello and Thank you for your response. But I am no longer on the Escape, I was back in January and didn't know about the pins. I am wanting to know if there is someone I can e-mail or call and have them sent to me for a past cruise?

thank you,

Heather

 

 

I'm jealous and happy at the same time. I look forward to reading about your next adventure

Thank you.

Great review as always!!!:)

Thanks so much

Love your reviews! Read it from start to finish! I also have a mermaid and now she wants to bring her stuff for our next cruise :-) Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. You take beautiful pictures!

Aww, let her bring it and have a great time. She'll be the talk of the beach. :D Sakari really only gets to use her mermaid tail when we are on vacation. She obviously can't take it to the local pool (no floats or fins allowed due to safety reasons of the others in the pool) and our local beach is...well yucky and brown and even stains your bathing suits, so I refuse to let her wear it there and mess it up. So, she pretty much has to wait for vacation each time. :(

 

Again, really enjoyed your review! My search turns up quite a few mainstream cruise lines that would sail from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and hit both Barbados and St. Lucia in addition to a wide variety of other southern Caribbean ports. There are a couple premium cruise lines also. The mainstream lines I found and the length of cruise: Princess 10 nights, Oceania 10 & 12 nights, Celebrity 10 & 14 nights, Royal Caribbean 11 nights, Holland America 11, 12 & 14 nights and looks like Norwegian starts with some next fall at 10 nights.

 

For me, I prefer just sailing from San Juan to get to the southern Caribbean. I almost always cruise in the winter, generally January, so weather out of Florida is not always that great. Second, I love San Juan. And third, I generally don't love sea days so would prefer fewer. I'd rather be in port doing whatever activity, land or sea!

 

On another note, you mentioned in your review the stray cats in Old San Juan. In the 9 or 10 times I've cruised from San Juan and stayed in Old San Juan pre-cruise, we've always enjoyed the local colony of cats. I don't know anything about it being illegal to pet them, never heard of that, and we've always interacted with them. Many are extremely friendly. We're animal lovers (dogs and cats) so we've enjoyed the cats there. They're taken care of by a local organization called Save A Gato.

 

From their website:

"Save A Gato manages the colony of cats on the Paseo del Morro and the rest of Old San Juan. We manage them through T/N/R. This stands for trap, neuter, and release. Cats are first trapped, then with the help of local vets we are able to neuter, vaccinate, and de-worm the cats. The cats are then returned healthy to the Paseo to lounge and sunbathe on the rocks.

​

Save a Gato also offers the option to adopt cats while they are going through the T/N/R process. Please visit our album on Facebook for adoptable pets and also at Petfinder. As we are not a shelter, the cats that are not successful in our adoption program are returned to their original colonies and are lovingly monitored by our volunteers and residents."

 

My teenage son and I have cruised together many times, several times from San Juan. During our last pre-cruise stay in Old San Juan we actually spent a couple days volunteering with this organization. They have a building, "the casita", in Old San Juan (sort of near El Morro) where they house cats and kittens that are recovering from spays and neuters or are getting other health care. We spent our time at that facility cleaning cages and caring for the cats. It was very rewarding and they were extremely appreciative of the help. I think they're very short of volunteers. My son had also done a good bit of fundraising prior to our visit and so we were able to give them a nice donation to help with their programs. They do really take good care of the cats. Most that we've seen around Old San Juan and the Paseo del Morro are really healthy.

 

Maybe too much information, sorry, but just thought maybe you were curious about the cats hanging around! Here's a link to their website if you, or anyone else, may be interested: http://www.saveagato.com/

Oh ok. Maybe that's why I haven't noticed any going down there from Florida (don't really look at those cruise lines yet).

Awesome information on the cats. Yes, they were all very friendly, but I remember reading something about the cats and not touching them. For some reason, I'm thinking it was in one of my threads during my planning that someone brought it up.

I enjoyed going through your review of the Fascination.

 

My wife and I are taking our first cruise October 16th on the Fascination. We are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary.

 

We booked it earlier in the year and paid for airfare and ship fare then.

 

Since then we have went through sometimes where things have got tight in the pocket.

 

So I'm writing to ask you what are the best budget friendly things to do while on this Cruise?

 

I have bought us each a snorkel set.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks JD

 

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Thanks for the comments and glad you enjoyed the review. Since this is my first time sailing out of San Juan and doing the Southern Caribbean itinerary, I'm kind of limited with the suggestions.

Giving suggestions would depend on what you and the wife like to do while in port. As you can probably tell from this review (as well as any of the other reviews I've done) I'm a beach person and that's mostly what we do. Do you enjoy going to the beaches? Do you like snorkeling (I assume that's a yes, since you purchased snorkeling equipment)? Do you like site seeing? Are you the adventurous/daring type? That would help with making suggestions (either from me or the "audience") :D

Awesome review!! I stopped in San Juan many cruises ago and didn't enjoy it much. After reading your review, I am now excited to go back and try many new things that I didn't even know existed. I cant wait to stay at El Conquistador! Your vacation looked amazing and I am always amazed at how happy your family looks all the time, lol. We travel with my family as well and in my pics there is always someone who woke up on the grumpy side of the bed.

Our stop in San Juan back in April wasn't the "best" either. It wasn't bad or anything. We had a good day. But, it wasn't one of those OMG I LOVE THIS PLACE AND NEED TO COME BACK type of days. Now it is. :D

LOL :p For the most part, we are a pretty happy family. But when I get a sour-puss on my hands...I ALWAYS make sure to take a picture (which usually cracks a smile and I miss the moment). :D

Great review and pics. I did this same itinerary and its one of my favorite cruise. I did some of the things you did. I'm planning on doing this itinerary again, but first I want to do the ABC islands.

 

My next cruise is in November on the Glory doing the western itinerary. Reading your other review sold me on Goff Caye. Thanks for all the hard work you do in writing these reviews and sharing your experiences.

 

 

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I want to do the ABC islands as well. Maybe I can squeeze that in some time next year. I'm always up for new adventures. :D

Have a wonderful time on the Glory and a great birthday. :)

Hey Kim,

 

So I might be a little hooked on reading your reviews, so have been going back and reading your past cruise reviews. The NCL ship pins. Do they still have these? I didn't know about them being that the Escape in January was our first cruise and so obviously didn't get any. Since I just started with latitudes with that cruise would I be able to get pins yet? Is there something I can do to have them mailed to me? Any info you have would be appreciated!!

Thank you,

Heather

LOL. Good luck, they can be time consuming. :p If you read any of the very first reviews, some of the links are probably broken due to me moving my pictures around (organizing) my host site and it moved the link. Let me know if you run across any of them and want to see the additional pictures (yes, my reviews started off really small with only the 6 picture limit for each review). :p

As for the ship pins...there was a rumor that they discontinued them. So, I'm really not sure. I completely forgot to ask for mine on the last cruise (Jade) and I emailed the latitudes department (as I have in the past and they have sent me one), but this time I never did get anything. So, I'm thinking maybe the rumors are true and they no longer have them...DARNIT...I only need 3 more! grr

The rooms from what I remember were big. I stayed in a single room with a huge bed. The room seemed big to me because it was only me in the room. Loved it. My room was not at the end of the hall. My sister had a room right next door to me & her room was big too. I would stay there again. Enjoyed not having to pay for a taxi to haul me & my luggage from the hotel to the port. :)

 

 

Hope you do get a chance to go to the Dominican Republic. It was nice but I would love the chance to go to Amber Cove on one of the Carnival cruises that sail to there as a port of call.

But when I said are all the rooms "that" big, I meant like the room I got (which had a separate bedroom) or did I just get lucky. :D

they do - although everytime I have cruised I forget to get one! I think you have to go to the Cruise next desk?

Are you sure about that? There have been a lot of reports since the beginning of the year and last year that they stopped doing the pins. I completely forgot on my last NCL cruise and latitudes has not sent me one after asking (as they have in the past).