New to NCL and have a lot of questions!

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

I looked at a few different online TA sites and they are all running the same promotions that NCL is running so I went ahead and booked through NCL. I will keep an eye out for OBC promotions though because we love getting OBC! :D

[delily]

And the problem with that is it's 15 pages of results (and maybe a total of thousands of posts) she would have to sift through for some specific information. I'm used to the CC search engine, yet I often look at the results and just back out. Way too frustrating.

If no one ever asked a question there'd be no reason for anyone to ever come here and read the boards. The whole reason for the existence of a place like this is to give people a place to ask questions. If someone doesn't want to be bothered answering a repetetive question they should ignore it.

 

I agree that it's really difficult sometimes to sift through information in old threads. And old posts aren't always accurate. I thought my shore excursions would be billed to me at the end of my cruise because that is what I read in multiple old posts. But policies change which I discovered when my credit card was immediately charged. And ships change as well. I discovered that the Spirit was refurbished in 2011 making posts about the ship written prior to that obsolete.

[numberguy]

You can wear jeans in any venue on the ship at any time, including the nicer dining room and LeBistro (previous poster is incorrect). Sandals are technically not allowed, but I think they are more worried about flip-flops than they are dress sandals, especially for women (there's a fine line between a sandal and an open toed shoe). You can even wear shorts to dinner in Taste and most of the other venues. They just like LeBistro and the more formal aft dining room to be a little nicer

 

As another poster pointed out, YMMV, but here's my experience, and it's been a while ago. We cruised the Mediterranean and TA in 2009. We prefer the MDR for dinner (and often for lunch). On our first night, I wore khakis to the MDR, and DDP wore jeans. No problem.

 

On the second night, we were lined up on the stairwell, about 12 people back. One of the hostesses walked up to us and told DDP that he couldn't wear jeans into the MDR (and they did have a sign saying something similar). She stated that he could change, or we could go to the smaller MDR, where jeans were OK. We did option B. NOTE: All of this conversation was held very nicely and very professionally. (PS: I'm guessing that the rules are a little relaxed on first night, just in case you haven't received your luggage yet.)

 

We ended up eating in the smaller MDR every night, because he had only brought jeans. The cruise prior to that was an Alaskan cruise, so I guess wearing jeans all the time was expected.

 

Basically, bottom line, I think it depends on whatever rules are in place at the time, and it probably varies ship to ship. I would say that you might want to carry at least one pair of slacks or khakis, if for no reason other than to wear to dinner in the MDR or the higher end pay restaurants.

 

Just my one experience.

 

--Michael

[ladytravlr2]

Mysticks:

You will love the Star! And, the anytime dining. I have sailed on Spirit and Star, and am booked for Breakaway and Jewel yet to come June and October.

 

It is great to not have to pack formal clothes for dinner. We always dressed nice, as in capris, long pants, or skirt..with nice tops. It gets cool at night in the different parts of the ship, so I mostly wore long pants at night. My other clothes were for daytime and excursions.

 

It also is easier to eat when you want to, in case you have plans for one of the shows in the evening...you can plan accordingly. Also, when you get back from excursions you don't have to rush to get cleaned up for dinner if you had a scheduled early dinner time as other ships do.

 

The buffet was okay, but after awhile it seemed monotonous with the same thing day after day...so we mostly ate there if we were in a hurrry, or needed to grab something during the sea days. The food out by the pool is good too for quick bites and to take back to your lounge chair.

 

Have a good time!

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

We are so excited about trying NCL that we went ahead and canceled our winter cruise on Carnival so we can focus on this cruise. I went ahead and upgraded from the mini suite to an aft penthouse this morning after I got off of the phone with Carnival. I can't wait! We are going to drive ourselves crazy waiting for Nov 20, 2014 to arrive!

I do still have a question and I can't seem to find any pictures or confirmation on where the 3rd person would sleep in an aft penthouse (SF)? The photos only show a queen bed and a love seat instead of a full sofa that can be converted to a bed. Since these types of suites can hold up to 4, are the other two beds in the ceiling?

[WaldosPepper]

3rd passenger will sleep on the sofa. It is a pull-out.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

3rd passenger will sleep on the sofa. It is a pull-out.

 

 

 

Thank you! I have been reading reviews about penthouse suites and I finally found one that said the love seats were switched out and now they have the convertable sofas.

[WaldosPepper]

Thank you! I have been reading reviews about penthouse suites and I finally found one that said the love seats were switched out and now they have the convertable sofas.

 

You are most welcome!

 

Hopefully you will have one similar to what we had last year in the OS on Jewel. It was a white leather sofa that pulled out into a double bed. Our son and his best buddy shared that bed (much to the hilarity of DH and I, as well as our other son and his fiance' who shared the adjoining balcony cabin). They were both 22, and our son is 6'5", and his buddy is 6'4" so these are some pretty big guys, yet they claimed the bed was quite comfortable (although that could have been the beer talking :p ). Our steward set the bed up in such a way that they each had their own sheets and duvet, and it looked similar to two sleeping bags. They slept like babies.

 

It was quite comfortable as a couch, too!

 

Enjoy that penthouse, that incredible aft view, and all those wonderful suite perks!

:D

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

You are most welcome!

 

Hopefully you will have one similar to what we had last year in the OS on Jewel. It was a white leather sofa that pulled out into a double bed. Our son and his best buddy shared that bed (much to the hilarity of DH and I, as well as our other son and his fiance' who shared the adjoining balcony cabin). They were both 22, and our son is 6'5", and his buddy is 6'4" so these are some pretty big guys, yet they claimed the bed was quite comfortable (although that could have been the beer talking :p ). Our steward set the bed up in such a way that they each had their own sheets and duvet, and it looked similar to two sleeping bags. They slept like babies.

 

It was quite comfortable as a couch, too!

 

Enjoy that penthouse, that incredible aft view, and all those wonderful suite perks!

:D

 

 

I'm sure our son will love it! Hopefully he won't get spoiled and come home begging for a bigger bed after the cruise! :D

I can't wait to spend 11 days looking at the view! I broke down and told my hubby that I upgraded our cabin so he's been on CC for an hour researching what we can use the perks for. I have a feeling that we will be having dinner in our cabin every night since he found out that they will serve dinner in the cabin if you choose. :rolleyes:

[deschoolie]

Absolutley love the jewel ckass ships on Ncl and DW loves the pearl the best so far. While I am patiently (not patiently) awaiting our next cruise on the gem this fall), I am really looking forward to our first 11 day cruise in Dec 14 on the pearl. After two previous balcony staterooms on deck 9, weere in a mini last december. Directly under La cuucina on the aft port side, we found the location surprising quiet and convenient for easy access to the garden cafe for breakfast. Minis are great for the extra room, tub and the curtain that seperates the bed from the couch. Next two cruise,based on ourt enjoymEnt of the minoi from december last year now are in minis but on the aft startboard. It is good to know what is above, next to and across from your stateroom. Whitespace generally is kitchens, laundry, or storage access for the room strewards. I would think being under the linbrary would be a greatocation. Enjoy your cruise and join your roll call for your cruise and share information!