Sonoran_cruiser

When I went to the Baths with NCL there was no guide. There are 2 trails. One goes directly to the Baths beach area, and is the shorter of the two. The other goes to Devils Bay, and is about twice as long as the other trail. I took the longer of the two, but when I was heading through the caves to the Baths, I was heading against the main flow of traffic, and literally had to force myself through against all of the others. If I had it to do again, I would just go to Devils Bay, which is the nicer of the two beaches, and then back up the longer trail...

Unfortunately we encountered more than a few "wrong way hikers" who chose to go CLOCKWISE (aka, the wrong way) from Devils Bay to the Baths, instead of the way that traffic is suppose to flow (from the Baths beach, through the caves, to Devils beach). This misdirection ends up adding considerable time for the hike, since there are multiple areas that are "one person at a time" maneuvers.

With respect to "does the ship rock more than expected":

I was on the Inaugural 7D cruise out of Miami (and had been on a Princess Mex Riviera cruise just 2 weeks before). The Escape didn't so much rock, as it seemed to "shimmy like a bowl full of jello". To me, it was as if the ship stabilizers actually try to do too good a job to stop ship motion. On my Princess ship, the motion was more noticeable (traditional), than that on the Escape.

On the Escape, I experienced what felt like a slight side-to-side motion at a very rapid rate (felt like every few seconds). To me, this was more noticeable than actual rocking and rolling. You did tend to get use to "the shimmy" as the cruise went along, but it never went away. Only on our northbound sea day did we actually encounter a "rolling sea" which provided a more normal ship motion sensation.

I did the Virgin Gorda bath excursion on the first 7 Day Escape Cruise. My biggest complaint is with the lack of "tour guides" for the tour company.

Part way down the trail was a woman saying "be back at the pickup point by noon". This didn't give us much time to visit the first beach, creep ridiculously slowly through the bath trail, take a brief stop at Devil's beach, and walk back to the top.

As we start to assemble up top, we're then told that "your bus won't be coming for you until 1pm". Needless to say, we're all p*ssed off about having to rush to get back up top, when in fact we had another hour to spend down there. So everyone piles into the nearby restaurant, to spend money they didn't plan on spending (hmm, maybe a ploy between the restaurant and tour operator).

How can a tour operator, who does these tours DAILY, be so out of control with sharing info with their customers?

To expand a bit on the "no" response above.....

The Fitness center (machines, free weights, cardio equipment) is free for all passenger use. Note - it can get crowded at times (ie, early morning on sea days), so you might need to change your workout time(s) if this is bothersome.

If you like to use the sauna or steamroom - those are only accessible in the spa area, and would require you to buy a pass.

My first Princess cruise was on the Sapphire, and we liked the ship a lot. My last two were on the Crown and Ruby, which both lack the indoor pool and (more importantly) Alfredo's. The pool isn't as much as of a biggie for me, but I do miss Alfredo's on the other Grand class ships!

After our POA cruise in August, We rented a car from enterprise, which was just about three blocks or so from the pier. It was an easy walk, even with dragging all of our luggage along. The parking fees are sometimes included in the "resort fee" that many of the Waikiki hotels tack on to your bill, whether you use the service or not.

Can't help the original poster in their logistics, but just want to comment on this posting.

I've been to Hawaii 10+ times (always in Honolulu/Waikiki area for at least a few days of my trip), and have never encountered parking being included in a resort fee. Parking at major hotels (ie, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hyatt) runs $30+ dollars a day, and more if you valet. Last time I stayed at the Hyatt, we parked several blocks eastward over at the Waikiki Banyan. The Banyan allows anyone to pay to park there. Unfortunately the Banyan may now charge $20/day, which is still a bit cheaper if you were staying several days, with a car.

I just glanced at the most recent Imperial Hawaii review on Yelp, and was not impressed.

Have you considered bundling your airfare with a hotel, to get you a somewhat discounted rate (obviously this can't be done if you are using frequent flier miles to book air)? Does Carnival have recommended hotels for pre-stays? I've been to Honolulu at least 10 times, and have stayed at various properties (Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hyatt, Hotel Renew, Aqua Waikiki Pearl, Waikiki Banyan, and a few others mostly on the east end of Waikiki).

Lower end hotels tend to have the "remodeled 20-25 plus years ago look". I'd ask "what type of hotel do you typically stay at - chainwise, amenities, level of property, etc)" and try to stay in something comparable. Look at room pictures, but "with a grain of salt". Why ruin the start of your trip by staying in a sub-standard accommodation?

I haven't been on the Royal or Regal Princess, but I believe the "shower area" on these ships is actually only available in the Spa area (which requires a payment to use those services).

I was on the newest NCL ship recently, and the only way to use the sauna/steamroom/shower facilities was a paid Spa admission :( Wouldn't be surprised to see something similar occurring on newer ships by other cruise lines...

We did the non-waterslide package at Atlantis as part of our Escape Inaugural cruise in November (ship excursion price was at least $80pp). And, of course, it started raining as soon as we disembarked, and continued raining all day.

So we got to see the two aquarium areas, briefly walk outside for a few photos, and spend $54 on a greatly overpriced lunch (no alcohol, just soft drinks). Personally, don't know what I'd do on my next (assuming there is a next) Bahamas visit.

I'm traveling with 8 others on the Danube (Emerald Sun) next May! Most of us are doing the 3 day land extension to Prague. All but our solo traveler are booked under their $495 airfare special, which is proving to be a plus (since roundtrip airfare from AZ is over $1600 right now :( ). Looking forward to a great trip!

I do wish Emerald had it's own product/ship doing southern France, since using someone else's ship/crew doesn't provide a consistent experience of their product.

Obviously, if you are a couple (or maybe a small group) sitting at your own table, your eating speed helps determine the pace of your dinner service.

For most of our MDR dinners during my recent Escape trip, I ate with my significant other. Don't think it ever took us 1.5 hours (that said, we ate right after the dining room opened, and it wasn't very busy).

Slowest service - if you opt to sit with others at a larger (8 or 10 person) table. Speed of the slowest diner (and amount of dinner conversation) dictates the length of dinner service.

I too suffer from occasional histimine attacks that have residual nose and throat issues, sometimes for several weeks.

I definitely would not write anything negative on my health form with respect to this condition, since it is not anything contagious or endangering to other passengers (I, however, get to "enjoy" this suffering).

That said, I wish people who are legitimately sick would be honest on such forms, since they risk getting many fellow passengers sick. Realistically, I know that this rarely happens, since no one wants to cancel a cruise at the last minute.

I was also "one of the 800". A few other things:

- For a ship with 4200 passengers, it was surprisingly easy to get into and out of the main dining room (we did MDR's on 4 nights). I never waited more than a few minutes to get seated in the MDR.

- They have live music (big band type) in the largest dining room, Manhattan. The music is too loud, and needs to be toned down a bit to be enjoyable as background dining music.

- Elevators - there are only two banks of 8 elevators each. At times it can be very hard to get an elevator that isn't full (ie, disembarkation day). I used stairs quite often.... and felt like I was doing a stairstepper at my local gym (ie, 6 to 8 decks at a time).

- Air conditioning. It works too well on this ship. My "group of 800" spent a few hours at a time in the Escape theater, and almost froze on a few occasions. At time is was equally too cool in the Garden Cafe/Buffet.

- Yes, the smoke is bothersome in the Casino. And I found the penny slots to be incredibly tight. PS - this is my first NCL cruise, and was surprised to find that the Casino charges a "$3 per $100" service charge to charge money to your room account. I've never encountered this on Carnival or Princess.

Recommends:

- If sailing on the Escape, research and book your dining options AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Being as I was on the first 7 day cruise, all specialty dining was fully booked by day 3 of the cruise.

- Same "early booking"recommend goes for entertainment.

All in all, I was very impressed by this first exposure to NCL. I will definitely consider NCL as a candidate for future cruises. Just wish Escape had more itinerary selections to choose from.

I just completed my 3rd Princess Cruise (Ruby Princess) last week, and have my first NCL cruise upcoming. I'm looking forward to trying this NCL cruise for several reasons:

- Restaurant choices. Princess only has 2 pay options (going away Sabatini's, and Crowne Grill) on most ships. NCL (in my case, the Escape) has many more dining cuisine options. I don't mind paying for a unique meal, if it breaks the monotony of main dining room dinners.

- Entertainment - I only did a few shows on the Ruby, and they were ok. Two of my traveling companions went to more shows, and didn't like any of them. Maybe the Stephen Schwartz productions will be a hit, but these are programming changes long overdue.

- Better booking packages = happier customers. I (due to reasons I can't go into) didn't get a booking perk for my NCL trip, but I know a few other friends who "drifted away" from Princess due to the lack of incentives for booking. A seven day alcohol package is a big incentive to people who drink. To the best of my knowledge, Princess only offered this once, and only for a two or so week booking window. This is a regular incentive available on NCL (and Celebrity).

I do still plan to cruise with Princess in the future, but I'm very open to trying out the competition. (now, if the others just had ships on the West Coast...........)

Just got off the Ruby Princess on Sunday (from Mexican Riviera cruise). A few things:

- Internet speed is definitely slow, and in need of an upgrade. I only did emails, nothing that was graphic or data intensive.

- Intranet (the free communication between passengers) is ok, but it has a few quirks since it isn't a "true phone app". Namely, your phone will not buzz, chime, or alert you of a message. You have to check the "messenger", and refresh often. You also need the "id" assigned to any passenger, in order to add them to your messenger contact list.

- If you want a quiet bar for a drink or small get together, use Adagio bar on Deck 16 (starboard side, next to Sabatini's).

I'm on that Princess Cruise (Ruby Princess), and would greatly prefer an overnight in Cabo San Lucas (it's a tender port anyway, so no dock fee required) vs a stop in Ensenada. Been to Ensenada twice, and although I haven't done the winery tour yet, it's a place I'd rather not waste another day visiting. Medano Beach in Cabo is a much better choice to kill an extra day.

My husband and I will be disembarking on the 21st from the Escape. Wish I was doing a b2b (even if on another cruise line for the 2nd cruise), but he wasn't up for it. Have a nice cruise!

I'm sure you can find an adult only cruise on NCL, or just about any other major cruise lines...... they are called full ship charters.

On those cruises you just trade the antics of a few out of control kids, with groups of obnoxious, out of control adults (on alcohol, and who knows what else).

I know friends that got a visit from the "upsell" fairy a few weeks ago for their Mexican Riviera cruise. $400pp for a suite...... Thanks, but no thanks.

You're probably more likely to get an upsell attempt, than a meaningful perk like "Sip and Sail".........

A friend asked me about Vantage a few weeks ago (since some other friends took one of their European river cruises several years back). I "googled" Vantage, and saw some less than flattering information on the Consumer Affairs website.

In the last several months, several customers had Vantage call them "within 3 days of their cruise", to tell the customers that they were being cancelled due to "overbooking". Needless to say, all these customers were not being adequately compensated for this nightmare.

Wonder if any other river cruise line has pulled this type of trick?

Reason to get advanced tickets - while in Hawaii last summer, we decided to get up one morning and go to Pearl Harbor (think it was a weekday morning). Got there about 8am, and got tickets for the 1:15pm tour!

We went to Haleiwa for breakfast, took a brief run to the North Shore, and stopped by at Dole Plantation, then went back to PH area to look at some of the displays before our tour time.

So yes, always get advanced tickets!

A few thoughts:

- I wouldn't be fearful of flying into LAX for a cruise (or a connection, for that matter). It's still the most logical option for those doing LB/San Pedro cruises (sure LB Airport is closer, but has way less direct flights)

- With the singles group on the Ruby Princess Oct 25th sailing, hopefully (fingers crossed) the demographics will be a bit younger for this cruise.

- If you want a younger crowd on Princess, either do a 3 or 4 day getaway trip, or travel during times when younger folks (including families) cruise. Caribbean is suppose to be a younger crowd (note - as you may now know, Princess doesn't do Caribbean sailings during the summer season). Cruises longer than 7 days tend to be an older crowd.

- Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean have younger passengers demographically. Dance clubs on these ships will be busy at night, which isn't the case on a normal Princess cruise (where the casino is about the only sign of life after 11pm or so).

A Caribe deck room (premium balcony) is nice, especially if you have more than 2 people in your cabin, or have a cruise worthy of spending lots of time on the balcony. We had a Caribe room on our Alaska cruise in 2014, and absolutely loved it!

If you can get a Caribe room at a good sale price, even a better reason to jump on it.

Had a friend on the Crown Princess earlier this year, who got a "free upgrade" to one of the "under the fitness center" rooms. He noticed the 'thundering heard' noise from the treadmill almost instantly. Needless to say, he was stuck in this room for his (thankfully only 4 day) cruise.

And note - 8am time is for sailing guests. The crew/staff has access to the fitness center even earlier in the morning (and possibly after closing hours), so "all is not quiet" prior to 8am.

Word to the wise - make sure your room selection is marked "no upgrade" if you don't want to risk this kind of upgrade nightmare.