GrammieCruising

7 hours ago, bajathree said:

Oh...as far as the beach stay post....if you are looking at Clearwater Beach I would suggest looking at The Sandpearl..not sure budget wise if it fits in but it's a very nice hotel in a great spot right on Clearwater beach. 

Thank you for both replies. Good information 

    We are deciding between these TAMPA HOTELS:  Haya Hotel, The Barrymore or Hyatt House (all within our budget) We’ve read reviews on each of these and some older comments on CC. Hoping to get recent  cruisers experiences at these hotels-the good, the bad (hopefully not the ugly🤡)

    We are also staying a couple of days after and plan on staying near the beaches but haven’t researched accommodation yet. Any suggestions? 

    Thanks in advance (TIA)

17 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 

@mugtech, you are correct. There are no show reservations on the Gem.

We’ve never cruised on a smaller ship with NCL, so didn’t know this. Thank you.

8 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It's open daily for dinner. I've never seen it open for lunch.

Where you able to make reservations once on board?

Hope someone with recent experience (Panama partial) on attending Blazing Boots and/or Get Down Tonight can tell me if reservations are available once on board and if so, where to make them at? Thank you. 

Is the ORCHID GARDEN open for lunch daily? Dinner daily? Open every day or just occasionally. THANK YOU.

      We got Triple loyalty points on our last cruise. How often and what times of year are they usually offered? Have our eye on a cruise-hoping to get this same or similar perk.

    Thanks. 

I appreciate this very informative post-so much useful information! Our ship ports 6:20 AM and departs 10 PM. Our dinner reservations are for 7:30 PM, though. I think we’re planning a morning walking tour on our own of Palma. Trying to figure out the afternoon-Is early October warm enough to go to a beach in the afternoon? If so, what is the closest best beach to the port? If not what is something else entertaining for the afternoon near Palma? It’s been 30+ years since we’ve been here and spent most of our time in Alcudia!

Thanks!

23 hours ago, tcruisin77 said:

We stayed at a Ft. Lauderdale hotel and had SAS transportation take us back and forth to Miami cruise port. $15 per person each way. Comfortable vehicle with plenty of room for luggage and our driver was safe. It is not private and will make stops at multiple hotels and cruise terminals. We would use them again. 

Thank you, just the advise I was perusing these boards for😁

22 hours ago, closecruiser said:

Anyone have any pictures of the Epic they could share?

The shower is on the right with the frosted glass door. The curtain is covering a similar door where the toilet is. The sink is to the right across from the curved sofa in the body of the room. (Sorry about the messiness, this was after we were there for a few days😊)

I would suggest for first time cruising that you book thru the cruise line. It just eliminates another stresser from the other unique first-time worries you may have. NEXT cruise though, after experiencing a cruise, you’ll be better informed about how it all works and what risk you are willing to take. ENJOY.

On 4/25/2023 at 12:51 PM, euro cruiser said:

At the station you can buy a 5-zone BIRG ticket from the newsstand, not the ticket window or the ticket machines.  This is a regional ticket that entitles you to round trip train fare (on regional trains only) and free use of the trams, buses and metros in Rome for the day

Thank you for this information. Is there a 2-day 5-zone BIRG TICKET available?
         We are in port for 2-days, spending the night in a B&B. 
   Thank you.

   Does NCL currently provide a shuttle from the port into Palma? If so is it free? Or is there a fee?

   Are taxis available at the port? The cost?

    We considered walking but from what I’ve read it is about a 3 mile walk. Too far, when we want to do a self walking tour of Palma.

    😊 Thank you

   Does NCL currently provide a shuttle from the port into Palma? If so is it free? Or is there a fee?

   Are taxis available at the port? The cost?

    We considered walking but from what I’ve read it is about a 3 mile walk. Too far, when we want to do a self walking tour of Palma.

    😊 Thank you

15 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Perhaps you should consider cross posting on the NCL forum for best results. as it is NCL specific.

 

Other options include a taxi or a public bus from close to he cruise terminal.

 

And there will be info on how to do that on this thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2697012-palma-de-mallorca-diy-new/page/15/#comment-65181634

 

Thank you for the suggestions.

2 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

We have been to Palma numerous times with NCL.  There is a shuttle for a fee.  Maybe it was about $5 in 2018.  Could have been more for a return.  
 

We like walking so have usually walked into town.  When we went in July it was very hot.  April and November have been more pleasant strolls.  There is a public bus right outside the port, i think that if you don’t time it right there are queues.  
 

Palma is lovely, we like that you can go to the beach on the way back to the ship.

Thank you @olleinbertsmum. 
   Though, from what I have been reading, since the Epic is a large ship it will be docking at pier 7 (if memory serves), and is about a 3 mile walk. We like to walk but that is ambitious for us since we plan on a self-walking tour of Palma too. We are there in October.
    Were taxis readily available when leaving the ship?

Does NCL provide a shuttle into Palma? If so, is it free? If not what is the fee?

TIA

Does the Epic have the same awesome shower as the Breakaway? Is the sink at the foot of the bed (or next to the sofa) like regular Balcony on the Epic or is it in a better spot? What about the Balcony itself, larger than the Breakaway? Thanks in advance (TIA)

   We are coming from the west. What is the best way to fly to La Romana? We have no direct or stop over flights from here. What airlines fly into La Romana? Or is it best to fly into Punta Cana?

14 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

Not a free area. Vibe beach club is an outdoor, adult only area but it costs.

I had a great Encore sailing but I was disappointed with the amount of free sundeck space.

I think Escape was best for this and Joy was 2nd.

Thank you

2 hours ago, hallux said:

All of the Breakaway and Breakaway+ ships have both, except the Encore which dropped Spice.  I loved the Bliss and Joy and I embark on the Escape (which gets tons of praise on this board as a favorite) on Saturday!

Does the Encore have an adult area somewhere else outdoors?Thank you for the information. Enjoy your Escape!

Just now, bluesea777 said:

Epic has H2O, no Waterfront or FOL. 

 

Breakaway, Getaway, Escape have H2O and Waterfront, but no FOL. 

 

Bliss, Joy have H2O, Waterfront and forward Observation Lounge. Only 2 ships to have 3. 
 

Encore has Waterfront and forward Observation Lounge. 
 

 

Thank you-your reply helps a lot!

     Which NCL ships have the Waterfront (or something similar) and/or H2O? We like having outdoor space to spend time in and want our cruise after our next one (on the Epic with nothing like the Waterfront) to have the outdoor spaces. 
   Thanks from Idaho🥔

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Looks like you purchased the water directly from NCL, rather than receiving it through the gimmick they ran Sept - Dec. Since you purchased it, you should receive it...unless NCL is changing providers (but no one knows that). 

@cruiseny4life No-it was on my app once we booked. Haven’t purchased anything yet. 

I read either here or on the other sight that since we couldn’t book the Epic for the month of September and because it’s homeport in October was Marseille that it was most likely because it was being updated. NOPE- it is because it is being used in conjunction with the Rugby finals by a travel company…. we were looking forward to the updates in October-darn it! Stomp 🦶!