So here we are December 23rd, 2018 two days before Christmas and read to head back home to the cold temperatures from the lovely warm weather we have been experiencing. This is going to be so hard. I can tell you that for sure. So the night before they provide you with the next days Freestyle Daily. Last night it was not a Freestyle Daily rather a You'll be Leaving Soon with all the information you will need to help you get off the ship
First off everyone is asked to be out of their staterooms by 9:00 am you do not have to get off the ship right away but the crew has a lot of work to do to get the ship cleaned up and turned around for the next cruise that will depart at 4:00 pm with people getting on as early as 10:00 am.
Breakfast is available from 6:00 am to 9:00 am at the buffet, The Savor and O'Sheehans. We chose to do the buffet as it was quick and simple and we needed to get off the ship as soon as they would let us.
You can also settle your account in the Atrium between 6:00 am and 9:00 am although you can have it set up so it charges your credit card which means you do not have to do anything at all. We chose to pay cash and to make things less hectic we did it the day before. Although be prepared for long line ups. Don't forget that there is a service charge of $14.50 USD added to your account every day for each guest. Haven and suite staterooms pay $17.50 USD. You can pre pay these charges online in your NCL account and in Canadian funds. These charges will be shared among the staff members, including the restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and other behind-the-scenes staff, who have provided services to enhance your overall cruise experience.
The photo gallery is open from 7:00 am to 9:00 am for any last minute purchases of photo's that have been taken or frames. Sadly while I really loved some of the photo captured which I mentioned before I just could not justify the cost of them. I have bought photo's on previous cruises but this close to Christmas while the cruise was our major gift we still needed some stocking stuffers that I had to take care of when I got home.
They will lock your mini-bar on Saturday night and take a final inventory and add that to your account once they do your turn down service. We never used it so it was no big deal for us to have it locked. If you purchased any alcohol in the ports it is taken from you and stored for you along with any purchases you made of it in the gift shop. They get delivered to you on Saturday night between 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm. We didn't make any so we had no worries here either.
Now the most important part is luggage if you are not doing self-assist disembarkation you must have your luggage outside your stateroom Saturday night by 11:00 pm so that it gets picked up. You will be given colour coded luggage tags based on the time of your departure. Self assist was expected to be allowed off at 7:45 am and the different colours shortly after that in 15 minute intervals Black is for anyone going on an NCL shore excursion in Miami. Some people chose to do this especially if they have late departures. My parents did this on their Alaskan cruise. They toured Seattle as their flights did not leave until 10:00 pm and you get into port do early.They leave at 8:00 am. Yellow is Latitude reward members who are gold and platinum and they leave at 8:15 am. Red is next at 8:30 am and that is anyone who has a Norwegian transfers and have flights leaving up to 1:30 pm. Gray is next at 8:45 am and that is independent guests who have their own transfers, pick up's or will grab a taxi or uber. Orange is next at 8:55 am and those are Norwegian transfers for flights between 1:31 pm and 3:30 pm. Purple, light blue and Lime follow at 9:15 am, 9:30 am and 9:45 am and they are all independent transfers usually based on flight information you may have provided. Last is brown at 9:45 am and those are Norwegian transfers for flights after 3:31 pm and anyone who has booked a post cruise Hotel Package with Norwegian.
I am not sure if I shared many pictures of our cabin from the beginning of our trip but here are a few taken the last morning.
I woke up fairly early this morning and did not want to wake up my kids so I went out on my balcony and watched us sail into Miami. It was so nice and peaceful and seeing Christmas lights and so little traffic. It was a nice experience in of itself. Some people walking along South Beach called out and waved. I noticed/heard a few other people out on their balconies, but not many.
We along with many others headed down to the gangplank to get off as soon as they released us. The line was rather long but once they allowed us to leave it went rather fast. We took my mom's luggage between us so she could concentrate on walking. I pre-arranged a transfer for us as our flight was in Fort Lauderdale and early and we did not want to take any chances in missing it. Because of us being a group of six transfers for that size are harder to find. Standard is four people. I found an amazing limousine service that catered up to 14 people, so they were more than capable of handling us and our luggage. Our driver was amazing. The kids loved the experience and we got some great pictures. The company was Dreamride Luxury Transportation and Limousines and are chauffer was Luz and I definitely would recommend her as well. I will be referring my clients looking for that type of service in a heart beat. She got us to the airport in plenty of time, coordinated with us perfectly for our pick up and helped us with our family picture at the end of our trip as well.
Now when we got home it was later and time for dinner. No drive through Montreal is complete without a visit to Smoke Meat Pete's. We manage to visit 4 ore more times a year. As usual he was prepared for Christmas. He goes all out with his decorations both at Halloween and Christmas. We love his smoke meat and there is something for everyone to eat. Which is always a bonus.
Very weird to be discussing Christmas and the hustle and bustle when it is the end of April. But my crazy business definitely got in the way of keeping up with my blog and hoping that I will be able to keep to my scheduling much better now.
Want to experience your own cruise there are still some really great specials for 2019 and of course 2020 and 2021 are on sale now for most cruise lines!! Drop me a line and I will help you chose the cruise line and itinerary that is best for you and your family.
Where you can find me:
First off everyone is asked to be out of their staterooms by 9:00 am you do not have to get off the ship right away but the crew has a lot of work to do to get the ship cleaned up and turned around for the next cruise that will depart at 4:00 pm with people getting on as early as 10:00 am.
Breakfast is available from 6:00 am to 9:00 am at the buffet, The Savor and O'Sheehans. We chose to do the buffet as it was quick and simple and we needed to get off the ship as soon as they would let us.
You can also settle your account in the Atrium between 6:00 am and 9:00 am although you can have it set up so it charges your credit card which means you do not have to do anything at all. We chose to pay cash and to make things less hectic we did it the day before. Although be prepared for long line ups. Don't forget that there is a service charge of $14.50 USD added to your account every day for each guest. Haven and suite staterooms pay $17.50 USD. You can pre pay these charges online in your NCL account and in Canadian funds. These charges will be shared among the staff members, including the restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and other behind-the-scenes staff, who have provided services to enhance your overall cruise experience.
The photo gallery is open from 7:00 am to 9:00 am for any last minute purchases of photo's that have been taken or frames. Sadly while I really loved some of the photo captured which I mentioned before I just could not justify the cost of them. I have bought photo's on previous cruises but this close to Christmas while the cruise was our major gift we still needed some stocking stuffers that I had to take care of when I got home.
They will lock your mini-bar on Saturday night and take a final inventory and add that to your account once they do your turn down service. We never used it so it was no big deal for us to have it locked. If you purchased any alcohol in the ports it is taken from you and stored for you along with any purchases you made of it in the gift shop. They get delivered to you on Saturday night between 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm. We didn't make any so we had no worries here either.
Now the most important part is luggage if you are not doing self-assist disembarkation you must have your luggage outside your stateroom Saturday night by 11:00 pm so that it gets picked up. You will be given colour coded luggage tags based on the time of your departure. Self assist was expected to be allowed off at 7:45 am and the different colours shortly after that in 15 minute intervals Black is for anyone going on an NCL shore excursion in Miami. Some people chose to do this especially if they have late departures. My parents did this on their Alaskan cruise. They toured Seattle as their flights did not leave until 10:00 pm and you get into port do early.They leave at 8:00 am. Yellow is Latitude reward members who are gold and platinum and they leave at 8:15 am. Red is next at 8:30 am and that is anyone who has a Norwegian transfers and have flights leaving up to 1:30 pm. Gray is next at 8:45 am and that is independent guests who have their own transfers, pick up's or will grab a taxi or uber. Orange is next at 8:55 am and those are Norwegian transfers for flights between 1:31 pm and 3:30 pm. Purple, light blue and Lime follow at 9:15 am, 9:30 am and 9:45 am and they are all independent transfers usually based on flight information you may have provided. Last is brown at 9:45 am and those are Norwegian transfers for flights after 3:31 pm and anyone who has booked a post cruise Hotel Package with Norwegian.
I am not sure if I shared many pictures of our cabin from the beginning of our trip but here are a few taken the last morning.
Toilets are always a tight squeeze between the counter and shower
Nice amount of space for toiletries and such
We opted to have our beds apart and my son took the couch bed
Miami early morning
Fancy yacht there were quite a few
waiting for our ride at the cruise terminal
The tv had a fire playing, music was going and the lights on the ceiling changes colours. Water was provided
Girls chilling
Mom and I chilling
Our ride in style (yes we are celebrities lol)
The airport was fairly crowded we managed to score wheelchair service to get to security and to our waiting area which was nice. So very little walking for my mom. Our flight was delayed as was the flight going to Toronto and we were at gates beside each other so the area was quite crowded. We had a great conversation with a family who had traveled on the Anthem of the Seas and who were from Toronto. Just a quick note. Look at how my daughters are dressed above and we were flying back to Montreal where there was snow on the ground and cold temperatures. They were told this when we were leaving but they chose to ignore. Needless to say they may have been a tad chilled when we got home.
My companions on the flight home Daniel and the sloth
Smoke Meat Pete's Ile Perrot (montreal)
Very weird to be discussing Christmas and the hustle and bustle when it is the end of April. But my crazy business definitely got in the way of keeping up with my blog and hoping that I will be able to keep to my scheduling much better now.
Want to experience your own cruise there are still some really great specials for 2019 and of course 2020 and 2021 are on sale now for most cruise lines!! Drop me a line and I will help you chose the cruise line and itinerary that is best for you and your family.
Where you can find me:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor
Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com
TICO 500212282
55 York Street, Suite 1003
Toronto, On M5J 1R7
Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area
Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area
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