First Time Cruiser Questions

[adlb1300]

Not sure if this should be in the First Time Cruiser forum or not but since we will be on the NCL Breakaway I figured it might be better suited here. My family and I will be taking our first cruise on April 4, 2020. Being that we have never been on a cruise before that has lead to some questions. I have looked around the board and have either not seen an answer or the ones I'm finding seem to be all over the place or older so looking to get the most current info. The following are the questions that I have and for reference we will be in a category BD balcony suite on deck 10 :

 

• Location of outlets?
  • I have a CPAP machine so wondering if the outlet will be close enough to the bed
• Do these suites have USB only ports?
• There is supposed to be a pullman bed in the suite and curious if anyone knows how much it holds weight wise?
  • Also is it possible given the floor plan of the suite and the way the pullman is set up to just take the mattress out and put it on the floor so as to not have to worry about weight limit or anyone hitting their head?
• Are extension cords and multi-outlet plugs allowed as long as they do not have surge protection?
  • I checked the NCL prohibited list and I'm not seeing them listed but then I see online mention of them being taken away during boarding
• Is the dress attire requirements for dining different in some restaurants?
  • For the most part we will probably just be using the included dining locations with maybe 1 or 2 speciality ones
• Is it possible to book an excursion now but not be charged for it until the cruise starts?
  • There are some we are interested in and I was thinking of booking now to reserve a spot but the app wants to charge me now. However, I would rather not go through the hassle of a refund, etc. if we change our minds and decide to do a different excursion.

 

Thanks

[josephmz]

 

I can try to answer some of your questions. You refer to BD as a suite. It is not a suite and has no special perks.

 

I always carry a standard extension cord in my CPAC case. Generally there are no outlets near the bed.. By the way, you can ask the room steward for a jug of distilled water. No charge.

 

I believe most  of the newer ships have charging stations.

 

Can't answer about the Pullman situation.

 

Dining is pretty casual. The larger main dining room requires long pants and collared shirts for men. Women at least skirt or slacks and appropriate top. Le Bistro does as well.

 

Sorry about the excursion thing. Unfortunately some of the more popular excursions sell out. You can go to Excursion Desk ahead of time to make changes, but no guaranty as to availability. As a first timer you may not be interested in trying this, but you can find non-ship excursions online. They are usually less expensive.

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

34 minutes ago, adlb1300 said:

Not sure if this should be in the First Time Cruiser forum or not but since we will be on the NCL Breakaway I figured it might be better suited here. My family and I will be taking our first cruise on April 4, 2020. Being that we have never been on a cruise before that has lead to some questions. I have looked around the board and have either not seen an answer or the ones I'm finding seem to be all over the place or older so looking to get the most current info. The following are the questions that I have and for reference we will be in a category BD balcony suite on deck 10 :

 

•  

Thanks

Here's what I know...

• Location of outlets?
  • I have a CPAP machine so wondering if the outlet will be close enough to the bed

Outlets are located near the dressing table/desk area.  I have brought a simple extension cord in the past with no trouble.  By simple, I mean a two prong extension, not three.

               

•             Do these suites have USB only ports?

I have never stayed in the category you booked.  In our suite (haven) there was a USB port near the light fixture next to the bed.  However, I brought my own USB block to charge multiple devices just in case.

 

• Is the dress attire requirements for dining different in some restaurants?

Shorts are not allowed in the Manhattan Dining Room.  They were also not allowed in Cagney's as a member of our party was turned away and had to go put on a pair of pants.  There may be other but you can check your daily when it arrives for the dress code of each venue.

 

• Is it possible to book an excursion now but not be charged for it until the cruise starts?

You will be charged for anything you book ahead of time through your cruise planner.  Excluding the reservations you make if you have the 3 night specialty dining or the complimentary shows.  Your best bet IMO is to be certain of what you want to do and go ahead and book it or it may sell out.  I believe that if you change your mind, you can seek a refund at the shore excursion desk once on board.  However, I have never done this so I have no experience with the ease of this option...but it sounds like a hassle.  

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by Georgia_Peaches

[FitchburgWIFamily]

The pullman bed drops down from the ceiling above the sofa/bed...making it look like bunk beds with two identically sized beds one right on top of each other, with the long side against the wall.  There is not enough floor space to put the mattress on the floor, there would be no room to get to bathroom from the other  bed and you would not be able to get out of the sofa bed without stepping on that mattress.   I don't know what the weight limit is.  I put my full grown teens in the pullman and they never reported a problem with hitting their head.

 

Hope this helps.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Shorts are not allowed in the Manhattan Dining Room.  They were also not allowed in Cagney's as a member of our party was turned away and had to go put on a pair of pants.  There may be other but you can check your daily when it arrives for the dress code of each venue.

Are you sure that was Cagneys?

 

As well as Manhattan, shorts aren’t allowed in Ocean Blue and Le Bistro. Your comment above is the first time I have ever heard anyone say Cagneys didn’t allow them, and shorts have certainly always been allowed there in all of my cruises, including The Breakaway twice.

 

If that did happen at Cagneys then I suspect that it was incorrect information from the staff member.

[Georgia_Peaches]

9 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

 

 

If that did happen at Cagneys then I suspect that it was incorrect information from the staff member.

Yes, Cagney's on Epic....not Breakaway.  Perhaps it was a miss-informed staff member. But from that point forward, I always double checked the dress code rules in the dailies.

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, Cagney's on Epic....not Breakaway.  Perhaps it was a miss-informed staff member. But from that point forward, I always double checked the dress code rules in the dailies.

Yes, almost certainly staff error.

[kochleffel]

15 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, Cagney's on Epic....not Breakaway.  Perhaps it was a miss-informed staff member. But from that point forward, I always double checked the dress code rules in the dailies.

 

I was on the Epic in February, and while another passenger told me that Cagney's required long pants, the Freestyle Daily did not say that - only Manhattan and Le Bistro. However, the other passenger was my host, on a platinum certificate, so I dressed as he wanted.

 

The dress code is not completely uniform across all NCL ships and it may even vary from one sailing to another, so it is always prudent to check the Freestyle Daily for your sailing.

 

[KeithJenner]

It is correct that the dress code isn't uniform across all ships, or even itineraries, but it really doesn't vary that much.

 

Basically, it is this:

 

Le Bistro - I have never seen any time when shorts have been allowed (as per the official dress code onboard).

 

Aft dining room - Usually shorts aren't allowed, but on some ships they are. This is the one you need to check when onboard.

 

Ocean Blue/Bayamo - As far as I am aware, shorts are never allowed, but I've never eaten there, so haven't looked too hard. Check onboard to be sure.

 

That's it. I have never seen any stricter dress code in any other restaurant in any of my cruises, nor heard of them reported (other than the example above).

 

Of course, sometimes the individual staff choose to allow people in despite them not meeting the dress code. It is quite often reported that people were allowed to eat in the patio part of Le Bisto (where there is one) wearing shorts, but that is a staff decision, not the official policy.

 

Almost certainly the Cagneys example above was a staff member not following the stated dress code. I don't recall other examples of them making the error that way. Usually they are lenient rather than making up extra restrictions.

Edited July 25, 2019 by KeithJenner

[snirpville]

You can call and book your excursions and then you will not be charged in advance.

[KeithJenner]

Just now, snirpville said:

You can call and book your excursions and then you will not be charged in advance.

Others have said that you can only do this if you have the excursion promo. I don't know the correct situation from experience, but opinions seem to differ as to whether they will allow you to reserve without payment if you don't have the promo.

[snirpville]

Nope, didn't have the promo on my first cruise and called and booked all my excursions and the ones for my parents.

[stefmaia]

I do recommend taking some carpet tape to secure your extension cord for your cpap. It makes walking around the cabin less treacherous especially when answering calls of nature in the middle of the night.

[don't-use-real-name]

1 hour ago, stefmaia said:

I do recommend taking some carpet tape to secure your extension cord for your cpap. It makes walking around the cabin less treacherous especially when answering calls of nature in the middle of the night.

 

That extension outlet should be at a minimum 10 feet best at 15 - if a 3 conductor cord bring an adapter for two

conductor depending on the cord of the CPAP pack the extension cord with the CPAP machine.

Carpet tape handy another method is putting shoes footwear on top of the cord bumping into them a signal lift your feet.

Some guests bring along a small LED night light. Leaving the bathroom door open a notch with the lights on helps too.

That Pullman berth should be able to handle 250 lbs if not send the ship back to dry-dock for reinforcements.

Sensible thing to do put the lightweight guest in the Pullman and the other without weight designation in the couch bed.

 

[fshagan]

Here's an image from this post that has several pictures of a BC balcony cabin. Yours will be almost identical to that cabin, if not identical. Your cabin might have the bed next to the balcony instead of next to the bathroom like this cabin, and the pullman / bed from the ceiling might be different.

 

 

The electrical outlets are across the room so a 10' or 15' extension cord is a good idea. It cannot have any kind of "surge protection" like you see where there is a reset button. Just buy the cheapest extension cord you can find, like this one (if you don't need it grounded for your CPAP machine just buy a two prong extension cord):
 

 

You can see there are only two US style outlets and two Euro style outlets. For our mobile devices and tablets we have a Euro style 220v USB adapter that plugs into the Euro style outlet.

 

The Breakaway requires a key card in a slot near the door to turn on the lights, including the power to these outlets. The post I linked mentions that they used an old key card from a prior cruise to keep the lights on so their devices could charge. However, on my last cruise the room steward unplugged any devices left plugged in, and advised us they no longer allowed unattended charging. Kind of made sense to us, so we just charge our devices when we are in the cabin.

[adlb1300]

Thanks everyone for the responses. They were very helpful. Sorry for any confusion on the type of room as it is just a plan balcony room not a suite. One other question the ships is supposed to arrive back at Port Canaveral at 7AM on Saturday April 11th. Curious how much time I should allow for getting off the ship and to the airport so I can schedule our flight home without worrying about missing it? Debating between flying in/out of Orlando or the Melbourne Airport so not sure which yet. 

 

Thanks

Edited July 26, 2019 by adlb1300

[esm54687]

On 7/25/2019 at 4:19 PM, snirpville said:

You can call and book your excursions and then you will not be charged in advance.

Only true if you are using the Shore Excursion Promo and you call the Shore Excursion Call Center.......   I have tried numerous times to just reserve and not pay but can't. 

 

Glad you could though!! 

Edited July 26, 2019 by esm54687

[snirpville]

10 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

Only true if you are using the Shore Excursion Promo and you call the Shore Excursion Call Center.......   I have tried numerous times to just reserve and not pay but can't. 

 

Glad you could though!! 

 

Weird! My parents do it all the time as they don't like to prepay their shore excursions and they have only take beverage package (usually - except once we got a distinctive voyage package). And yes, we always call the shore excursion telephone number on the website to book them. Strange that they don't have a consistent rule.

[ellenw]

My tip has nothing to do with your questions, but something I always make sure that first timers on NCL know. When you board the ship, there will be a dining room open for lunch. Crew will direct you to the buffet, which can be a madhouse. Just ask them which dining room is open. Go have a lovely sit down lunch.

[Burrata]

I have sailed the Breakaway on deck 10, category BD Balcony, there is not a pullman bed but a couch that converts to a bed, not very big or long, probably ok for a  child or teenager.

 

100% agreement with ellenw mentioned about your first lunch, a sit down lunch with a white table cloth is the best way to start your vacation!

[don't-use-real-name]

7 hours ago, adlb1300 said:

Thanks everyone for the responses. They were very helpful. Sorry for any confusion on the type of room as it is just a plan balcony room not a suite. One other question the ships is supposed to arrive back at Port Canaveral at 7AM on Saturday April 11th. Curious how much time I should allow for getting off the ship and to the airport so I can schedule our flight home without worrying about missing it? Debating between flying in/out of Orlando or the Melbourne Airport so not sure which yet. 

 

Thanks

Check the availability - MCO Orlando - larger jets more seats and more competition especially on weekends -

(think Disney Universal Studios other attractions)

Orlando non-stop flights bypassing Atlanta and Charlotte hubs

MLB Melbourne further away smaller jets fewer seats and perhaps not so convenient flight scheduling.

Melbourne apt to have a connection (plane change) in the mix

You are too far away to consider FLL Fort Lauderdale - MIA Miami - JAX Jacksonville - TPA Tampa

 

NOT having done this - I would expect off the ship at 7:30 (walk off with luggage) out to the pier curb

taxi shuttle to the Orlando airport

(NCL recommended transfer airport 4.5 hours to flight departure at noon - $29 pp transfer fee)

With private hire probably can beat that by half the time - have pre-check in with airline affinity status

TSA security clearance and on board a flight departing at 10-10.30 am.

No snags - flat tires - traffic accidents - weather - everything working like a well oiled machine 

 

Readers comments check this for accuracy previous application - - -

[CruisingNole]

On my NCL cruises, I have experienced the “clientele” to be, well., less than desirable folks. Similar to a Carnival cruise.

 

These are my opinions for a first time cruiser, as you requested. Whatever it is you decide to pursue, have a blast!