buckeye82

Day two dailes.

Thanks. This is helpful. Would you mind uploading those dailies here or sending them to me? This is my first NCL cruise and I haven't found a recent Freestyle Daily for POA. And thanks for the well wishes!

Attached are day one dailies. More to follow.

My darling wife just received a FedEx package this morning. I was from NCL. It contained her Engagement ring which we lost on our March 2nd sailing on the Epic.

 

Would like to specifically thank Stephanie and Jaime from NCL. They were our phone contacts with NCL.

 

We also thank the entire crew of the Epic. Not only did they provide us a wonderful vacation, they facilitated the return of the ring.

 

We especially would like to thank the unknown person who found and returned the ring. Thank you and may life bring you the joy and blessings you bought to my Wife.

Wow! That is great!

Hello,

Question for those who were on the Spirit the last weeks.

I would like to know who is Butler and Concierge for our upcoming cruise next week.

Thank you

Brigitte

I was on the Spirit in March and the Conceirge was Yahira and the Butler was Mary Jane. Someone writing a recent review about the Spirit mentioned Yahira as well.

The previous two times we were on the Spirit, we had the Pisces Suite, which is on deck 10 forward. This time, we upgraded to the Singapore Suite to get the second bathroom and two balconies. Most the of the information written about this suite was fairly old and some of it was actually inaccurate.

 

At some point since we had last been on the Spirit, the ship has converted a number of the old 220V plugs over to 110. This is a big improvement as there are an equal mix now of 110 and 220 outlets. In addition, they have removed the large transformer boxes that use to sit on the floor in front of the TVs.

 

The new sofa bed is quite comfortable. We were very impressed with the design and how comfortable it was for our DS. A number of nights we got a DVD to watch after the kids club closed and all three of us laid in our DS’s bed watching the movie. Given the size of this bed, I am surprised that NCL won’t book four people into the cabin as it could easily accommodate that many.

 

We were able to use our front balcony at any time we would like, although there is a sign noting to not use it in high winds or high seas. If the door isn’t dogged, there is a significant whistle when the other balcony door is open. It was particularly loud if it was windy.

 

The front balcony was usable only a few days while out to sea as we did have some high winds (30-40 mph with gusts to 60). However, we could always use the side balcony if the front was too windy. And we loved the front view, especially going into Casablanca and the Canary Islands.

 

Overall, the cabin is in good repair and the master bed room bed was very comfortable. However, given the upgraded charge for this suite over the Pisces Suite, unless we were traveling with 3 people, I think the Pisces is just as nice. We could be happy in either one.

 

Our In-laws and SIL had the Malaysian Suite, which is identical in design but has much darker wood. When we saw pictures on-line, we thought the light wood cabin would feel more airy, but the dark wood color made the cabin feel more luxurious. Either is a great choice.

We were in the Phillipines suite (10000) and really enjoyed having an extra 1/2 bath. But I think I would have prefered the lighter wood tones. I felt it was dark and cold. Don't get me wrong, nice cabin. I am just used to lighter brighter colors. Did you ever wake up in the night to the sliding bedroom door sliding back and forth? Or maybe you had it locked shut (which we finally did!). We found the motion in front to be a little too much. We are moving back more on the next cruise. Also, my husband was not crazy about the glass toilet door or the curtained entrance into the master bathroom. The opening of the balcony was always an adventure! lol

They are just above the atrium and the walkway to midship-aft cabins on deck 8 from fwd goes through the restaurants. There is no heavy traffic there though.

Good to know!

Welcome to cruise critic. :). I have had inside and balcony cabins on NCL recently and there was not an umbrella in the cabin. Perhaps suite guests do have them available to them though.

There was one in our suite closet on the Spirit. Luckily, we didn't need it!

We were on the POA in December. Showtimes were sometimes 7, sometimes 7:30 with a second show at 9 or 9:30. I am looking at the dailies. So if you ate at 8:30/8:45 you would probably be good if you went to the first show. We usually went from the first show straight to dinner. Some nights they had a themed party starting around 10 (white hot, 50's-60's, toga).

Best wishes on your upcoming marriage.

I can totally relate, I'm on the fence about if I even like the placement of Blue Lagoon/Moderno (or the fact that the corridor is open) on Dawn and Jewel class ships - luckily not too many people use the restaurants as their walkway between midship and aft stairwells on deck 8.

Oh no! Moderno too? Haven't tried that yet. Is that in the back of the ship on Jade? I will have to check the deck plans.

On Jewel class ships the Italian restaurant is not in the buffet anymore than Le Bistro is in Magnum's Bar. They are not connected in anyway, have completely separate entrances on different sides of stairwell etc.

 

I have hard time understanding how the location of the Italian restaurant on Jewel class ships would be "odd" - one doesn't even need to walk through the buffet to get there like on Epic.

Well all I know is that in the Spirit's Italian restaurant I sat and watched people in the buffet eating through a hazy glass partition. But it didn't go all the way to the ground so you could see the buffet goers feet clearly. But your right, we went into the buffet and then had to go all the way around even though we could see the restaurant right in front of us through the partition. That's ok, small ship. I wouldn't eat in the Blue Lagoon because of all the people walking through. It was a main walkway from the atrium area.

We ate there on the Jade last month. I think it is called La Cucina now. It was ok. The location behind the buffet is sort of odd. One of our dishes was good - pass on the pizza. Salads were fine.

Yeah, the Spirit's Italian restaurant was in the buffet also, separated by a screen. My DH was not thrilled with that.

Personally I don't think that one could compare the restaurants like that because of multiple reasons. First of all, all NCL restaurants are following the corporate made plan and menu (same as chain restaurants on land) and secondly one can't never know who will be working there (especially in the kitchen) on any given night and that is the biggest variable between the same restaurant on different ships because the members of the crew are individuals and their contracts and work schedules vary.

 

Only thing that can be said is how the restaurant on some specific day in history was, but as with weather, it doesn't tell you anything about how things are in a month. We have had hits and misses in NCL's Italian restaurants on different ships but we have also had very different experiences on two different nights on the same cruise - absolutely no definitive pattern there that would warrant comparison between ships.

Ok...so after saying all that will you be eating in the Italian restaurant on our upcoming Jade cruise?

Just wondering how the specialty Italian restaurant Papa's is on the Jade? We enjoyed the Italian restaurant on POA, but not as much on the Spirit. Just wondering if we should avoid it this cruise.

Sounds great! I will keep that in mind.

I as just wondering if anyone has done the Game of Thrones filming location tour in Dubrovnik. One of them is run by Viator. They have one specifically designed for cruise ship passengers. If anyone has done this I would love to hear what you thought of it. Thanks!

We'd LOVE to know the answer to this if it is a "yes" and someone has done it.

 

We tried and tried and tried to get NCL to allow it (rather than claiming we got "left behind"), and NCL was adamant about it violating the maritime laws.

Our TA inquired a few times on our behalf.

 

We fought it, and did not understand how it applied, as it was a US-flagged carrier, already allowed to carry passengers between US ports without also stopping at a foreign port. So we weren't sure why those laws applied.

 

But NCL said that not only would we be fined the normal fines (e.g., for getting "left behind"), but - apparently because we made our intentions known by asking - we would not be permitted to get back on in Kona, and our luggage/belongings would be returned to us a few days later in Honolulu.

 

That didn't sound like a good option...

 

GeezerCouple

Wow! Sounds like a NO! to me.

I wanted to book a party of five online, couldn't and called NCL. I was told to book for six and then cancel one reservation when I got on board the ship.

Back in December, they gave the fizz to the winner, and everyone who wanted got initials on a card. No idea what they got for initials.

We did many trivia games including the music quizzes. No fizz. This was in March. We turned our initials in for two NCL tshirts and a tote bag! lol There was one social hostess who would put out a deck of cards or a mug so the winner would have instant gratification. But none of the others did that.

I wondered if anyone would pick up on the "real" secret in my post!!!

 

Yes its a full duty free.....there are two of them opposite each other just after the Chefs Table table.........spent half my spends on wine, gin, beer, fags, whisky and squandered the rest......

 

Our "group" had a prohibition party in one of the cabins one evening, drinking everyones smuggled booze :)

 

Another source of free booze that cruise was the 80s music quiz. I was quietly reading my newspaper on the iPad in Champagne Charlies, when it suddenly filled up with people for the quiz. None of my friends were around, so I entered myself as my own team. 20 questions later I am in the tie break, against a team of five or six people, and five tie break questions later, Im one bottle of bubbly better off. We drank it an hour later before dinner. :D

We were just on the Spirit, and now instead of prizes (like a bottle of bubbly!) for the winners of trivia and other events, you get a card to be initialed by the social staff person hosting the game. If you win he or she will initial it many times, if you participate they initial it less. At the end of the cruise you turn in your initialed cards for prizes. The more initials, the more junk (I mean prizes!) you can get. So even if you participate but don't win, you can earn prizes. But a bottle of bubbly wasn't offered!

Thanks so much for the info! We have a comped meal at the Italian restaurant so we will at least give it a try :). There are no online options I have seen for reserving Teppanyaki which I would imagine is due to limited seating. It is very helpful to know to try and get to places early. I just hesitate to make too many reservations as after a long port day we might just want to hit the buffet! Did you try Le Bistro or Cagney's? I would like to book somewhere special for DH's birthday :). Thanks!

 

 

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We tried both (we had the UDP). My favorite is Le Bistro and my husband favors Cagneys. We couldn't reserve Teppanyaki online either and decided not to worry about doing it, but then I saw it offered for lunch and we decided to reserve for one of the sea days. I am sure you can make reservations on board for any of the specialty restaurants if you are willing to be a little flexible with the times.

We will be sailing next month and would like to try some of the specialty dining options. Do we really need to reserve ahead? I know Teppanyaki books quickly, but what about the rest? Not sure if there is a difference with sailings in the Med. Thanks in advance :)

We were on the Spirit in March and we thought that the specialty restaurants were fairly busy by seven o'clock. Le Bistro seemed popular. The Spirit only has one Teppenyaki table which holds ten, so if it is something you really want to do, keep that in mind. They also offered Teppenyaki for lunch on sea days, but again make sure you have a reservation. We ate at the Italian restaurant on POA and thought it was very good. Unforunately it wasn't very good on the Spirit, though some of the seating was by the window so we had a nice view. We enjoyed the other specialty restaurants. Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks Buckeye for the excellent info. You said there were 10 of you in the minibus, was it a 10-seater or were there spare seats? Just wondering if potentially it could have been, say, 20 people - which of course makes it less appealing than a 10 person group.

There is no way 20 would fit in that mini bus. There were 10 of us plus the driver and tour guide in the front. There were single seats on one side and two seats together on the other side. One of the single seats was open, because I put my backpack on it. I believe there was actually a seat between the driver and the guide, so the bus probably could hold 14 total.

We took a taxi to the castillo on the hilltop with amazing views and battlement walls to walk on. We walked downhill to the Alcazaba with its lovely gardens, fountains and courtyards. We popped into the Picasso museum and went to the Cathedral. Stopped for ice cream and some shopping. We finally worked our way to the waterfront where we had a late lunch and then strolled along the beach. It was a lovely, perfect way to spend a day. And it didn't hurt that the weather was beautiful. Hope to go back someday!

Use Blue Hawaiian helicopters. AWESOME!!

We used Blue Hawaiian also, in Kauai. We reserved ahead online and they picked us up at the ship. It was fabulous!

As Keith said, there is no private restaurant on older (pre-Epic) ships like Jade.

 

Also be advised that the persons booked to the mini-suite will get no suite perks such as suite breakfast or lunch and might even have to check-in separately from the persons in the suite (no priority).

I am not sure this is always true. My DH and I have been in a balcony cabin connecting to our relatives in a suite and had breakfast with them in Cagney's a couple of times. Maybe it is at the discretion of the Maitre D. He knew we were all one family (same last name) and we had eaten dinner in Cagneys together as well. Didn't test the embarkation issue. They checked in suite and we checked in Latitudes. Disembarkation day we had a tour so we all left together.