Poppy42

Not really disgusting but I thought it was a bit inappropriate - We were on the Valor in 2007. It was a sea day and there is this woman changing her daughter from a bathing suit to dry clothes. Okay no big deal EXCEPT that this girl was about 10 or 11. Now as you can see by my picture, I wasn't offended. I just thought it was inappropriate.

I used to take a sport jacket but no longer do. I wear dress slacks with nice dress shirt (sometimes a tie), nice shoes. My bride, of 54 years, wears a nice dress. We've seen people wear their best t-shirts and flip flops on formal nights - we just wish they would enforce the MDR dress code for elegant nights. On other nights I wear Dockers and a golf shirt with nice shoes - no sneakers or flip flops.

So, y'all almost have me SOLD on booking a balcony room. I didn't read every single page of responses, so I have a few questions.

 

How much privacy do you actually have on a balcony? I've heard stories about seeing other people who were less than dressed or engaging in inappropriate behavior for a kid to witness on a balcony. Lol. How true is that?? (We'll have our 2 teens with us)

 

Is there seating and a table out there? Is it crowded? How many people will fit out there at one time?

 

Are there better balconies than others?

My wife and I are life long nudists (we are now in our 70's). We were on a cruise a about 3 years ago, we were sitting on our balcony, working on our all over tan, when our neighbor poked here head around the divider. She said, "Hi, neigh.....oops, sorry."

Some Carnival ships have cove balconies on the second deck. We booked one but found it was noisy as there is the galley area above. Some balcony rooms on the top most cabin deck might not have a ceiling. That wouldn't bother us but you get no protection from the elements.

Also, Pricesshas staggered balconies so the people above can see you. We only cruised on Princess to Alaska - too cold for nude sunbathing.

That's their problem. If they don't want to see it, they shouldn't be a Peeping Tom.

 

 

 

That's why we've moved more and more to just going on nude cruises. The freestyle deck is any deck numbered between 1 and 14. The prudes wouldn't even know where to book one.

We were on a cruise and were sitting on our balcony working on our all over tan. The woman in the adjoining cabin leaned around the divider and said, "Hello neigh.....oops, sorry." Saw her a few days later. She came over to apologize. Asked her for what.

As to nude cruises. They're just too expensive; we're retirees living on a fixed income. We'll stick to our local clothing optional beach - Blind Creek Beach on South Hutchinson Island Florida and a balcony on a cruise.

I'm sure this has already been addressed, but my question concerns man's attire on elegant night. Would it be acceptable with a dress shirt and tie, no jacket?

I wear dress slacks and a nice shirt - no tie or jacket. I used to wear a tie and jacket but saw too many "gentlemen" wearing jeans or shorts & tees on elegant nights. On other nights I wear dockers and a golf shirt.

We were on 11/15/17. We were in 8244 - balcony. Very quite cabin. We sailed on her two years ago and had a balcony on deck ten - also very quiet.

We were on the Conquest -011/25/17. We don't use the casino but our traveling companions (RCL regulars) didn't us the casino because of the smike. It was noticablejust passing by.

We were on the Conquest 11/25/17 cruise. Not a very good cosmetic job. First thing I noticed was when we boarded and took the elevator to our cabin - Deck 8. Paint on the trim on the inside of the elevator around the door was noticeable worn away. On our balcony, paint spallater on the floor & chairs. Varnish from the balcont railing was dripped on the glass below it and on the floor. On the Serenity deck - white paint on the stainless steel frame around the glass. Nit picking? Yes but very sloppy work. I guess that's why I'm a do-it-yourselfer - I hate sloppy work.

Chloe on out last cruise - 11/25/17

A tour of the WWII Normandy beaches and the nearby American cemetary. Outside of that one and snorkeling, we've found that excursions booked through the cruise are a waste of money - i.e. the beach in Saint Martin - $28 r/t by van for two to Club Orient & $20 for 2 chaises & an umbrella = $48 for two vs $60 pp from the ship. We don't get off of the ship in a lot of ports - been to most of them and they all start to look alike.

Should not be a problem, but I would prefer a deck with staterooms above and below.

Tanks for your quick response. We would normally take a cabin with cabins above and below on a higher deck but we can get a good deal on a cruise in early January - last minute. Only balcony cabins were on deck 6.

Submitted a review on12/4 or 12/5. Haven't seen it yet.

We've never cruised on a RCL mega ship before. We're thinking of the Oasis for our next cruise. How are the balcony cabins on deck six as far as being quiet - we get to bed around midnight Thanks

Some of the cabins on the top most deck sometimes have no covering over the balcony. We take a cabin on next to the top deck to be sure.

What are your top 2 favorite Eastern Caribbean islands and why?

Saint Martin because we can spend a great nude day at Club Orient. They were hit hard by this years hurricanes and are closed - temporarily I hope.

Don't rally have a second. After awhile, they're all the same.

Hey guys!

 

First time poster, long time lurker here on Cruise Critic!

 

Recently I took my first cruise on NCL. (Fourth cruise overall.) It was the Western Mediterranean Cruise out of Barcelona on the Epic. The cruise overall was great, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about NCL's customer service...

 

I admittedly did a silly thing. Upon debarkation I left my Bose Wireless Headphones on top of the coffee maker in my stateroom. It was very early in the morning, my sis and I were rushing off to the airport and I guess they kind of blended in with the coffee maker. I didn't notice they were missing until I got to the airport.

 

So I crossed my t's and dotted my i's. I called customer relations and created a lost and found claim. It's been well over the 10 day SLA response time and no one seems to want to help me. When I call guest relations, they say they are not responsible for lost items. The thing is, I didn't lose it. I left it behind :/

 

So my question to you guys is: Have you ever left something of value in your stateroom, and it was never returned?

 

I am really rooting for my steward Jeremy, who was great during the week and got a decent tip, turned them in for me, but who knows if they could have been swipped in the meantime.

 

Thanks so much in advance, I'm really at my wits end on this one!

My wife left a watch in the safe on a Carnival cruise - it was behind the lip on the front of the safe. Got a call from Carnival about a week later - we didn't even know the watch was missing. They returned it.

Every evening the room steward will put a copy of the Freestyle Daily in your room. It will outline the activities, shows, dining times, etc. for the next day.

 

Since you are sailing in the Pearl you will be able to show up 15 minutes before the theater show and get a seat. On the Epic, Getaway, Breakaway, and Escape, reservations are recommended for the theater.

Thinking of booking on the Epic. Are there shows every night or are some shows audiance participation (i.e. Newlywed game, etc).

Oasis is our ship next September as well! The nude cruises are expensive, but we go from balcony on regular cruises to the cheapest interior on the nude cruises to keep the cost fairly close (comparing full price on each). We have gotten to know many of the nude cruisers, so it is fun to catch up with them once a year.

 

 

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Very leary of taking a cruise during hurricane season. One of our daughters wound up spending time in Port Canaveral & going to Disney and to Key West in place of the islands. Another daughter had her cruise extended because they couldn't return to port because of huricane Francis in 2004. Played havoc with their airline res. We find that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the least expensive and generally fewer kids.

We have a cruise scheduled to stop in St. Martin next September. Hopefully things will be somewhat back to normal by then. Club Orient has rebuilt and reopened the Perch bar and has chair and umbrella rentals to start generating some cash flow, but all of their hotel units and probably the Papagayo restaurant will have to be rebuilt. Also, most of the buildings right along the beach (including the new stores next to Pedros) are gone. We were planning to go in the spring of 2019, but it seems like it could be at least a two year rebuild, so we are going to book the 2019 nude cruise instead and hope for a return in 2020.

 

 

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We're booking a cruise on the Oasis for 12/18. Stops at Saint Martin. The nude cruises are just too expensive. We're retired living on a fixed income so e cruise only once a year. Using out time share points we get a balcony for about $700 for two.

Didn't see where you replied after going to Orient Bay. We have been two or three times and the people were always very nice. One of our favorite stops in the Caribbean.

We always take a cruise that stops at Saint Martin. Our cruise next week had Saint Martin replaced with Antigua due to the storms. Hope Saint Martin and Club Orient are up and running soon. Hopefully by our next cruise it will be. Meanwhile it's off to Blind Creek Beach - a great clothing optional beach located on A1A between Fort Pierce & JensenBeach Florida. We go a few times a week.

I would recommend making reservations and to plan your evenings. Just keep checking cruise planner a few months ahead of your cruise and make reservations as soon as they are available. You can always change them but this gives you most flexibility. Making reservations means that you don't have to wait in standby and endure that mad dash 10 mins before show starts. Also, slots available tend to disappear so best to make bookings early.

 

We were in a balcony on Allure a few years ago. It was a D1 or D2 category (can't remember) and we found it to be decent size and comfortable.

 

If you have MTD then either plan your meals to avoid peak periods or make sure you have reservations in place to avoid spending too much time in lines. The shows are at different times so you can see why this requires a bit of forward planning. More so than on other classes of ships.

 

We have been on Allure twice and Oasis once. So many areas of the ship to explore and experience. My favourite class in the RCL fleet.

Thanks for the info.

You are not required to make reservations for shows, but having a reservation will ensure you have a seat and will allow you to enter the show venue much earlier than those without reservations to give you a better selection of seats. There is no set time for reservations to open, so keep checking. No reservations for any other clubs or bars.

 

In order to determine "worth", it would be helpful to know the total extra cost.

Thanks for the quick response.

We're thinking of booking on the Oasis for next December - Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Martin. We generally hit the beach on the islands. After awhile all the islands look the same and we've been to many of them either on a cruise or at a resort. Some questions - 1) Do we have to make reservations for the nightly shows? If so, how far in advance? 2) What about other clubs? 3) We always take a balcony (8d) - are the large balcony rooms (2c) worth the extra money? Any other advice would be greatly appreicated.

A few years ago I posted a bad review about the Carnival Dream (nightmare) and it was posted.

I cant decide between the Sunshine or Vista. I must have a great serenity deck with pools or hot tubs and the steakhouse and sushi bar a must too. Which ship is better for my requirements? Thanks for any help!

I would go with the Sunshine because of the ease of traveling thru Port Canaveral. Port of Miami is a pain in the butt; parking, traffic, etc. Cruised out of there last December. Never again. I'm half-way between the two but usually go out of Port Everglades due to the number of different cruises available.