Seas2mountains

You might be right about that. When I made a comment to the cabin steward on the last cruise about the changing pillow arrangements, he said it was the “pillow talk” for that day.

Here is the letter Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners, The itinerary for Norwegian Breakaway's sailings from May 12, 2024 through and including May 26, 2024, have changed. Travel Partners are asked to share this information with impacted guests. As part of our commitment to deliver exceptional vacation experiences at every step of the cruise journey, listening to our guests is instrumental. Given recent guest feedback, and to accommodate certain circumstances including but not limited to fuel optimization as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, as well as global maritime regulations, we have adjusted the original itinerary as shown below. We apologize for any inconvenience these adjustments may cause. We recognize the importance that destinations play in our guests' vacation decision-making process and assure you that these modifications were made with an optimal guest experience top-of-mind. While we will no longer be calling on Tortola, British Virgin Islands, we are pleased to share that we have extended our visit to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas; affording you with additional time to explore all our exclusive private island has to offer. The modified itinerary is as follows: Original DayDestinationArriveDepart SunMIAMI, FL5:30 pm MonAT SEA TuePUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC7:00 am4:00 pm WedST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS11:00 am7:00 pm ThuTORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS6:00 am2:00 pm FriAT SEA SatGREAT STIRRUP CAY, BAHAMAS10:00 am6:00 pm SunMIAMI, FL7:00 am Revised DayDestinationArriveDepart SunMIAMI, FL5:30 pm MonAT SEA TuePUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC9:00 am5:00 pm WedST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS1:00 pm7:30 pm ThuAT SEA FriAT SEA SatGREAT STIRRUP CAY, BAHAMAS7:00 am7:00 pm SunMIAMI, FL7:00 am As a gesture of appreciation for choosing to sail with us and as a genuine acknowledgment of the inconvenience caused, we have arranged a $100 non-refundable onboard credit per stateroom (restrictions apply). This will reflect as a $50 non-refundable onboard credit for each of guest one and guest two on your onboard account. SHORE EXCURSIONS Shore excursions booked through NCL for Tortola, British Virgin Islands will be automatically canceled, and a full monetary refund of the fare paid will be returned to the form of payment used at the time of reservation; no further action is required. Shore excursions booked through NCL for Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and St. Thomas, Us Virgin Islands will be automatically adjusted to coincide with the new times in port; no further action is required. If you are interested in booking new excursions for your upcoming vacation, please login to your MyNCL account or contact us directly at (866) 625-1167. Guests residing outside of the U.S. or Canada should visit www.ncl.com for local contact information. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS Depending on nationality, guests may require a passport and/or a visa to visit certain ports of call. All necessary documentation should be printed and available to present at check-in on embarkation day. Guests who fail to obtain these documents will be denied boarding. For more information on the necessary documentation to sail and for all ports of call, please visit www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents. Requirements and policies are subject to change. YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY It is the responsibility of the guest to be aware of, and to satisfy, any local protocols and/or travel restrictions in place at the visiting destinations at the time of sailing to avoid denial of boarding. For additional information on our health and safety protocols, please visit www.ncl.com/sail-safe. Please note that destination specific travel requirements supersede any NCL embarkation protocols. As such, we strongly encourage you to visit www.ncl.com/travel-requirements-by-country to ensure you are in compliance and avoid any chance of being denied boarding. We encourage you to check these sites often, as regulations change frequently and with very short notice. As always, we are at your service and look forward to providing you with a truly memorable onboard experience! Sincerely, Norwegian Cruise Line This also impacts June 16 and 23 sailings. Earliest St Thomas excursions start at 1:45pm and all seem to be modified with the later arrival time. It’s a mystery as to why Tortola was canceled. Yes, they can do it, I know. Each person can decide if $100 OBC is generous or not. On a social media platform, some report having multiple cabins booked for family. We are cruising with some family members who have never cruised. I’m sure we will have a wonderful time no matter what but it is disappointing but better than being told when embarking. Hoping we are able to tender at Great Stirrup Cay as scheduled as otherwise it’s a 2 port cruise over 7 days.

I understand what you are saying but if it is unsafe, why was it okay for the Sky to dock there today and with the Breakaway planing to go there on May 2nd?

At first, I also believed it may have to do with the 5 missing people, but NCL Sky is currently docked in Tortola. The Breakaway has a scheduled stop on May 2nd that hasn’t been canceled. The truth is always preferred over twisted words. We are booked on the May 26th sailing of the Breakaway.

We have been in connecting cabins a few times and usually did not hear anything with the exception of some loud kids on one cruise and someone who had a horrible cough on another cruise. The slightly larger bathroom in the club balcony suites are worth it and now you’ll get some treats and a bag of laundry, too. Sounds like a great location! It will likely not be an issue.

Thank you so much for the wonderful live review! While you were writing this review, I was contemplating booking a 3 day cruise on Reflection in early May in a Sky Sunset suite which we did book this week. Your positive review definitely helped to make the final decision. This will be our first Celebrity cruise. Your photos and comments on the Beach Club were super helpful. Today, there was a “Flash Sale” for our cruise (what is a flash sale ?!?) and it was $86.99 plus tax per person. Thank you for all the other suggestions for Marmalde in San Juan as we will be there later this year. It looks like a wonderful restaurant. Congratulations on your retirement and anniversary! Safe travel home.

See you are already on page 4 and the cruise hasn’t even started! We loved the Encore, too, and had to do an encore also. It was the last ship we sailed before Covid in February 2020 and we got back on the Encore in August 2021 to Alaska for the second week of the great cruise ship restart from Seattle. Next NCL cruise is at the end of May on the Breakaway with family. But first, we have a long weekend on Celebrity Reflection which includes one of the first times Celebrity will stop at Coco Cay. I hope you do a live review when you are on Princess. It’s interesting but also a little scary to check out the competition especially when being used to wonderful Latitudes perks. Your calendar really highlighted the difference in events. How did you already find out when the Dinner with the Officers is scheduled? Love the list! Where are the crepes?

Following along as usual! I remembered your Encore encore live review and reread it since you included the link. Did you realize that whole review was a total of 4 pages long? This review will surely be at 4 pages or more before you embark on Monday. Wishing you and your Dad a wonderful birthday celebration cruise! 🎂🥳 I look forward to a summer of live reviews from you no matter the cruise line if you plan to keep writing about your adventures.

Thank you all for taking us along on your 15 day TA! I’m so jealous! We are exactly two months away from our Prima cruise in June from Southampton. Non-refundable OBC ideas: - Add a lobster tail to your dinner or order a Cagney’s steak when in the dining room. - Get a spa service. - Order a bottle of wine for the kind not offered by the glass. - Go to the shops to splurge on some items you need/want or get gifts for family & friends. We tend to use leftover OBC for expensive face or eye cremes. - Add some speciality dining. Have a wonderful cruise @mking8288, @Fogfog, @snorklinbarb, @Sugar Magnolia and anyone I missed. Looking forward to your updates!

Yes. It is $75/per person.

Thank you! We are booked on the POA in September and I appreciate seeing the dailies to get a feel for what is planned on the ship. Hope you had a wonderful cruise!

This was our experience, too. Each ship had their own process. It was not consistent.

I also think you are describing @TheDougOut I also found his live reviews were very entertaining.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner answer here! I confirm it is correct based on our experiences.

I’m so sorry to hear about the second broken pipe. I hope the repairs on this one don’t take as long as the last one. Thank you for another fantastic review! I look forward to following along in a few weeks if you do another live review. I hope all goes well as you return to school.

Yes. It is not published in the dailies.

My husband is an Air Force retiree and I’m an Army veteran so we both enjoy attending these receptions and have attended about seven of these since March 2023. While several have been uneventful and short as described, my favorite was on the Spirit in September where we each took less than a minute each to introduce ourselves with our branch and years of service. Several of us realized we may have served together and it prompted follow up conversations for the rest of the cruise. It made it more personal and special. That one lasted about 45 minutes or so. NCL - if you are reading, please allow each service member to introduce themselves at these receptions.

Thanks for doing another live review! I loved your last one on Virgin! Our P+ favorites: San Pelegríno at lunch, dinner and in the evening. Flow water for the room and especially when we do shore excursions. Starbucks teas for me and the drinks loaded with whipped cream for DH. NCL Gin ‘66 with club soda and lime. Can’t be too much club soda. Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio Veuve at Le Bistro - some say it’s available now at Cagney’s but we didn’t try asking Whiskey or tequila taste testing for DH. If I’m at the pool or a bar that doesn’t have my favorite P+ wine, my go to is the German Shades of Blue Riesling and I think it’s better than the P+ Riesling. If you like Riesling, you’ll have to try both. Since you like Veuve, I recommend the NCL ‘66 Prosecco or the Pommery Brut Rose Champagne. I want to try Ice wine on the next cruise. Looking forward to hear about your favorite P+ drinks. Enjoy your vacation in LA and have a wonderful cruise! 😎

Thank you so much for your wonderful and entertaining live reviews and I am also looking forward to the one on the Jewel with your Dad! We got off the Gem last Thursday and our next ship is... the Breakaway at the end of May so this is super timely. Can't wait to go to Howl at the Moon based on what you are describing. But do they make you feel uncomfortable with all the tipping requests? The last time we went, we did not expect them to be constantly asking for tips. We went one time and did not go back. Do you like any of the other musical entertainers in the lounges or atrium? We also experienced a few occasions of people speaking loudly in the spa. One time, a woman told her male partner in a loud teacher voice that there were no signs that said they had to be quiet. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️ What is it that people don't clue in? Like you described, we also have had long and fun dinners for the Dinners with the Officers on our last three cruises. Will you be doing another one this week? Hope you don't have to share the table with a woman like that one! That sounded awful. Have a wonderful cruise and I am excited to read more! 😎

We were on the Gem in February and just got off the March 12th-21st sailing. As mentioned by others, we did not experience what you described and know that everyone may have a different experience. YMMV 1. Cookies were found in the Great Outdoors. 2. Room stewards can make towel animals on request but I would not request it without providing a generous tip. 3. We rarely went to a bar for a drink with the exception of Maltings and Great Outdoors where we had a very limited to no wait. Bar servers were typically asking for our order within minutes at most lounges - Spinnaker, Atrium and Magnums. We do tip for drinks so that may have helped, too. We did see longer lines at bars on the first day after embarkation which is typical and we did see that some went to bars to get drinks in some lounges rather waiting for the bar server. 4. We constantly saw crew members cleaning common areas and restrooms. I really appreciated that one of the women cleaning the restrooms in the evening did not shutdown the restroom while she cleaned. We can report we experienced excellent food, service and entertainment. Many of the officers were available every evening in the Atrium at about 7pm and they also served some appetizers in the atrium at that time which was new to us. And they were also available when disembarking at ports. Our only complaint for us was how the band, Upgrade, was scheduled to play their first evening set at 10pm for two nights and we would love to have them play at 8pm or 9pm like they did on other nights. This was unique to the Gem as we experienced earlier times for the band on other ships. We had such a fantastic cruise that I booked another one after this one and may consider canceling a planned cruise on a competitor.

If you are in the Haven on a ship that does not have a Haven restaurant, breakfast and lunch will be served in Moderno or Cagney's. If you are in a suite (not Club Balcony Suite), you will get breakfast and lunch in Moderno or Cagney's. I believe the only exception is suites on NCL Joy.

Just got off the Gem last Thursday. They are serving Suite/Haven breakfast in Moderno and lunch in Cagney's. As mentioned by @UKstages, most of the suite/Haven staff works in Cagney's in the evening with some exceptions so you will be greeted by familiar faces. We had wonderful service at every breakfast and lunch and expect you will, too! The food was excellent and we had a fabulous cruise as was reported by all other guests we spoke with on the ship.

Yes! We’ve seen oatmeal raisin, Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chocolate chip. They are a bit too crunchy for me as I prefer soft cookies but my husband has enjoyed a few this past week.

On the Gem right now and can confirm that cookies are available in the afternoon at the Great Outdoors. They have brownies in Garden Cafe.

Here are photos from the lunch buffet and a few from the bar area by the villas. There is another bar at the buffet. They do have water faucets spaced out by the villas to wash off sandy feet.