Zellchat

We were also on this cruise, and I agree with Bambione, everyone will have their own opinion on food quality.  But, we absolutely loved the buffet.  We are both platinum, so we received two free speciality dinners.  Both of these were very good (Le Bistro and La Cucina).  We only had one dinner in Manhattan room, and it was also fine.  Because of our opinion of the buffet, we ate most meals there.  Our food was always fresh, hot, and we felt the menus changed daily.  Each station has a grill and a cook behind it.  They are constantly cooking the food, and keep a small quantity available so it doesn't get soggy, etc.  We actually didn't want to eat anywhere else because we didn't want to miss a new item at the buffet!  This cruise topped all other cruises we have been on.  Loved everything about the ship - the observation lounge, the spa, the bars, etc.  We were happy with our NCL excursions, and our spa mini-suite cabin.  We had placed an upgrade bid for the Haven, but so happy it was not accepted.  We have sailed in the Haven on other ships, but see no need for the Haven on the Bliss and hopefully, the new ships going forward.  

On 1/12/2019 at 8:04 PM, EllieinNJ said:

I too, never got an offer to bid on my Feb. 2019 sailing.  I called the old upsell # 1-800-625-4309 and after 24 hours got the e-mail to bid.  Now the banner sporadically comes up on MYNCL.

Thank you, EllieinNJ, so much for the information.  I call the number this morning, they looked at our booking for the Bliss, March 30 Panama Canal Cruise, and said there seemed to be a technical issue why we didn't get the offer to bid, and they would look into it. Our original booking is a spa mini-suite.   Within 2 hours, we received the e-mail to bid.  So pleased we at least have the opportunity.  Now, we just need LUCK!

28 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Have you checked to see if you have the banner when you log into My NCL? Or the messages in your Message Center in My NCL? Sometimes people don't receive an email. I haven't heard of anyone booking through NCL and/or CAS and not getting a chance to bid. There was a stretch there where people in Spa rooms couldn't bid, but I believe that's been resolved.

Yes, daily.  Both in Message Center and looking for banner - nothing there.  Should I call to check on it?  But, who would I call?

On 1/9/2019 at 5:56 PM, Sensenigr said:

I know that the Bliss has only sailed on two Panama Canal Transits to date.  I will be on the third one in March of 2019.  I just received my upgrade email. I am currently booked in a Mini-Suite with Large Balcony, so my upgrade options are all Haven. 

 

I am considering bidding on a H9 (Spa Haven Suite) or a H6 (Haven Aft Facing Balcony).  H9's are starting at $500 and H6's are starting at $750. Any luck with anyone obtaining success on the lower end of the scale?

 

I'm not sure how full the Panama Canal transit is currently.

We are also on this sailing, but did not receive the offer to bid.  We booked through NCL, CAS (casino at sea). We currently have a spa mini-suite, and would be thrilled to bid for a H9 at those starting bids.  Not sure why we didn't get the offer, other than, we booked this sailing 2 years ago, and rates have gone way up since then.  Any chance we could still get an offer to bid after the initial ones went out a few days ago?  Any idea why we would not have received an offer?  The spa mini-suites have been sold out for months - up until about a week ago and 2 opened up.  The last I checked, there were 10 haven rooms available across all categories.

We are planning to sail on the Meraviglia in the Yacht Club during Christmas week 2019.  We understand there will be more children because of the school holidays.  I just read the NCL Bliss had 1600 under 16 year olds for 2018 Christmas week.  If you sailed 2018 in the Yacht Club during Christmas week, were the YC facilities stressed because of an excess of passengers?  Thank you.

11 hours ago, hcat said:

Was the area out  front of the spa windy?

Yes, but no more so than the higher decks of the ship.

11 hours ago, Silkroad said:

How was Blu?

Blu was wonderful.  We liked the intimacy of the restaurant, compared to a large dining room.  Menu had great variety of choices.  Our first evening there, we had a great server, Delwin.  So we asked for him every breakfast and dinner.  He was efficient, funny, and always went over his recommendations.  He went over and above for us regarding special requests.  Blu is definitely a positive benefit when booking Aqua cabins.

Just returned from the December 6 three day preview class.  We cruise 1-2 x’s/year, and the spa/thermal area is a big part of our cruise enjoyment.  We’ve cruised in NCL Spa, NCL Haven Spa, and MSC Yacht Club cabins.  Both NCL and MSC have great spa areas, with NCL definitely the BEST.  The three day preview was a great way to try Celebrity and we wanted to experience The Edge - we love new ships!  We booked an Aqua class cabin, giving us both unlimited thermal suite access and the infinite veranda.  As many others have reported, the ship is stunning and high tech, so I’ll report on our thoughts of the thermal area and our cabin.  The thermal area consist of the Turkish Steam Room, Salt Room, Steam Room, Rainfall Water Therapy Room, Float Room, heated tile loungers, Infrared Sauna, and Crystalarium.  We tried them all on day one, and we both felt the sauna and maybe the steam room, would be the only two we would use again.  There just wasn’t enough heat in the other rooms for us.  The heated tile loungers were nice and comfortable, with a beautiful view.  There is a big deck outside at the front of the ship, but no where to sit.  I did inquire why there was nothing there, and was informed that originally nothing was planned for the area, but so many had commented that they were now rethinking sitting on the deck.  At 5’7” tall, my feet touched the floor while trying to “float” in the anchored swing chairs - so no floating for me.  We enjoyed the sauna and the stone heated loungers, but there are no other relaxing loungers in the area.

Our infinite veranda room (10243) was beautiful.  My husband felt the window design gave us more space in the cabin and he would book this room again.  I have mixed feelings, as I normally spend more time on the balcony than he does.  It is not a balcony.  It is a large cabin window that opens halfway.  Pros are that it is very private - we heard no conversations from either side of us, and chairs were comfortable.  The AC shuts down when the window is open, and with the window closed, the sun beats in and can really heat up the cabin.  We closed the shade during the afternoon to keep the room cooler.  The lowest the thermostat will go is 66 degrees - we kept it at this sitting all three days of the cruise.  Part of the heat issue is in the bathroom.  The large mirror is heated - light on or off - the heat is there.  I think this was meant to prevent fogging up - which it does.  We checked with our room attendant, and there is no way to turn off the heater.  Sounded like we were not the only ones to complain about it.

The Aqua class rooms have a great shower.  Unfortunately, the shower drain does not work correctly.  The bathroom floor got flooded with every shower.  The first time it happened, we thought maybe the shower door wasn’t closed completely - not the issue.  Again, the room attendant said this was being looked into and he was sure would be fixed.  The water seemed to leave the shower drain and come back onto the floor from another drain that was behind the toilet.  He just brought us extra towels for the floor.  I’m not talking about a little water, it took a beach towel, and two bath towels to absorb the floor water each time.  No doubt this issue will be corrected quickly.

A very positive feature in the bathroom is the night light under the sink.  Great idea, thank you, Celebrity.

Even though the thermal area was not what we expected, and our bathroom sauna/wading pool issues, we still loved our cruise and our first Celebrity experience.  Our next cruise is a Panama Canal transit in the spring on the NCL Bliss, in a spa mini-suite.  The Bliss was docked next to us in Nassau on Friday, so we had our first peak at her.  And, we wouldn’t hesitate to book another Celebrity in the future!

While cruising on the NCL Sun to Cuba last week with our friends we used FerTours. Fernando was quick to respond to my e-mails and assigned Alain as our guide for the Barefoot Havana tour. Alain was not only a fantastic and knowledgeable guide, he is also a great human being and we all enjoyed meeting him and learning about Cuba and his life. The plan was to meet Alain at 10:00 AM just across from the cruise terminal. We were off the ship by 9:00 AM, and just enjoying the action in the square while waiting. Alain arrived by 9:30 AM with my name clearly visible on a piece of paper. After introductions, we began our walking tour. We walked and talked for approximately four hours. During that time, Alain secured us a lunch reservation at Habana 61. We insisted he join us for lunch, and he was gracious enough to accept our invitation. Habana 61 was more than we could have ever possibly found on our own. The restaurant is privately owned, very clean, very cool, and has delicious food and drink. Bathrooms have toilet paper, paper towels, and toilet seats! After lunch we walked to a parking lot and picked a beautiful car that would hold six for the driving part of our tour. We secured what I think was a 1958 red Buick convertible. During our drive and stops, Alain continued to narrate and answer all our questions. At the end of the drive, we were back near the ship with only a stop by a cigar store needed. Again, Alain recommended a shop we would have never found and our friend was able to purchase the cigars he wanted before getting back on the ship. By the time we left Alain around 4:00 PM, we all felt like we had made a new friend for life and had learned so much about his country. We cannot thank Fernando or Alain enough for our memorable day in Cuba.

Thank you for the report. We, too, enjoy the casino while cruising. Did you notice if they have video poker machines? And, by chance, did you note the game type and paytables?

Yes, the H9 on the Getaway has a closet, drawers and shelves. Plenty of storage. Closet doors are sliders, so not sure where you would hang your over the door shoe hanger. Just off the ship 1/29, from an H9 cabin, so if you have any other questions, just ask.

We will be arriving in San Pedro on the NCL Pearl on Saturday morning, 10/1 (walking off early) and we fly out of Orange County Airport at 12:40 PM. Our plan was to use Uber or Lyft as our transportation to the airport. On an earlier post, it mentioned that ride share was not a good option for this route. Is this still the case and why? What have others used between these two locations? Thank you.

With regard to status match with NCL, I have read on posts that MSC does not count the extra nights NCL gives for booking 9 months out when doing the status match. Does anyone know if they give the extra nights for suite or Haven cruises that you receive from NCL?

Hi Skier52, What information do you have on Divina 12059? Would you recommend a different cabin in the Aurea Balcony selection?

We were on the Getaway for the July 18th sailing. Booked in a BA - mid ship balcony. About 3 weeks prior received email offering Haven suite upgrades - lowest price was $750 each. Didn't respond. Four days before cruise received another email offering H9 - spa Haven for $500 each. We jumped on it, and is the best $1,000 we ever spent. We absolutely loved the spa and the Haven privileges. It will be hard to ever cruise any other way again.