Motegi

We ordered bottles in the MDR and at Cagneys with our meals.   The waiters actually encouraged it.  
 

However we didn’t take them out of the dining rooms.  For the wines they gave us claim tickets and they saved the bottles for our next meals.  
 

We also ordered bottles of sparkling and still waters for our meals. 

And on the Sky we were able to use the PREMIUM PLUS package to get espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes (hot and iced including PSL) from the new onboard Starbucks.  This perk was pointed out to us by a bartender on the ship.

4 hours ago, dexddd said:

This is news to me.  And with NCL, this addition is costing them money for a company constantly trying to squeeze out every nickel.

 

The two private islands NCL goes to, one food is free and the other not.  Believe because one owned VS other leased.  GSC has added a second buffet, taco stand, now this truck/trailer.  Guess it was added if close to cabanas because other options a bit of a hike so they needed something closer to those shelling out hundreds for cabanas.

We were just at one of the private villas in early October but didn’t know about the new food truck.  We went to the silver cove villa buffet which had great selection, hardly any line, and plenty of seating.  But if we had known about the truck we probably would have gone to get a snack there in the afternoon!

9 minutes ago, Nymich said:

Ok you have to eat out of the truck...…..good to know

LOL.  Or one of the buffets. 

On 10/21/2019 at 10:06 AM, perakcruiser said:

Everything port and staff is different. One day they let everybody thru, the next they collect everything ...

This is true.  I've even seen where they have a table just past security where they are bagging and tagging alcohol purchased in port for storage until disembarkation but nobody preventing people from just walking past with their bottle and taking it back to the cabin.  We checked ours in at the table because we had a drink package and the bottles were for us to take home anyway.  But we saw plenty of people just walking by with theirs.  

I agree with the above.  As a watch collector the onboard pricing for watches is not usually very good.   

As recommended previously, I've purchased several watches from Jomashop over the years and all have been 100% genuine.  The shipping is fast and free and Jomashop will warranty the watch in lieu of the manufacturer.  If you have any issues during the warranty period you send it to Jomashop and they will repair it for you.  

Jomashop purchases their inventory from authorized dealers who sell to them their older models at dealer cost to make room for the latest releases.   The watches are all brand new, never worn and usually come with the original packaging and manuals less the factory warranty card.  One might ask why the dealers don't just discount the older watches and sell them to the customers themselves... Often the authorized dealers are under agreement with the brands that they represent which prohibits them from selling the watches to customers below MSRP or risk possibly losing their brand authorized dealer status.  So they sell this slow moving inventory to Jomashop at cost minus the warranty cards so that they are not traceable back to the brands.  Jomashop then sells these watches at well below MSRP.   Authentic Watches and Ashford are other online grey market dealers.  Interestingly, Costco is also very much the same for many of the Swiss watches that they carry.  

Are there any special suggestions for cruisers when ordering drinks at the bar?

What can a cruiser do to make the bartender happy and keep the drinks flowing?

Along those lines is there anything that cruisers should avoid doing when ordering at the bar?

On a related note, the NCL private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, just added a food truck to their dining choices recently as well.  

On 10/29/2019 at 7:13 PM, FreestyleNovice said:

Another new for me was the food truck near the cabanas:

 

18 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

If I am paying YC per day prices for a stateroom, I expect cuisine that is superior to whatever a food truck might provide.

LOL.  Nobody is forced to eat from the food trucks...  

Hopefully then your visit to Ocean Cay will be AFTER the Yacht Club area is complete.

22 hours ago, Nymich said:

Food is not what I am talking about.  Using food trucks is much cheaper then a facility/kitchen etc...…...Cheap does not always mean bad.   Not what I would personally would like but it is what it is and I think imo it was done because they needed it fast or wanted it to reduce expenses......or both.  JMO to each their own people can always go back on the ship and eat. 

Per MSC's OceanCay Site FAQ:

• "Will restaurants and bars be open on the ship while the ship is at Ocean Cay?
• The ship's buffet will be open at select times. The restaurants will not be open."

2 hours ago, scrim67 said:

I can confirm he will be on ENCORE next week

Does he have a social media page or other site where he posts where he will be performing?

We enjoyed dinner with the officers on our Sky cruise last year.  

The Sky's Safety Officer and the Port Shopping Guide joined us at our table..  

Unfortunately, the Shopping Guide ended up having a "shopping emergency" partway through the dinner and got called away.  Yes... seriously!  Luckly she came back for dessert.  

The Safety Officer was very interesting and we had a wonderful conversation with him and the other guests at our table.  

We had the premium plus package on our last cruise and felt it was worthwhile.  We enjoyed being able to order wines by the bottle at dinner (they will keep the unused portion for you for the following day).    It was also nice to have sparkling water by the bottle and bottled waters whenever we desired.  And espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes (iced and hot) throughout the day at the Starbucks on board.  Plus we made use of it at the Ocean View Villa on Great Stirrup Cay as well.

On the other hand if you only like to have perhaps one glass of wine with dinner each day and don't see yourself ordering cocktails or other beverages frequently then perhaps the package is not going to be worthwhile.

I agree.  Jim Badger is hilarious.  We spent most of our nights on the Bliss at the Brewhouse because of him.

I heard he is no longer on Bliss and his next contract is on the Encore.

Wow!  

We walked by the lagoon area on our way to our Oceanview Villa at Silver Cove earlier this month.  The Lagoon Villas looked like they were almost complete then and just getting the finishing touches.  

Those look incredible!  

Although I'm not sure who'd want a bed for a daytime stop at the island... well, it's not for sleeping I suppose.  LOL.  

We were also on the Epic this summer for the western med cruise Barcelona-Barcelona.  To the original poster it's too bad that you weren't able to get off and explore Barcelona due to the protests.  Barcelona was actually our favorite of the entire itinerary.  We stayed there for several days both before and after our cruise and we look forward to going back to Barcelona again soon.  Hopefully you'll be able to get there someday.

The Epic was certainly not the most attractive ship with the giant forehead but we found it to be quite enjoyable overall.  The food was great and the shows were excellent.  The cabins were a bit odd with the curved walls and the split bathroom arrangement but it was such a port intensive itinerary that we didn't spend much time in the rooms. That being said, I think the Epic is in need for a dry dock refurbishment soon because the carpet was peeling up in the corners and the countertops were chipped and peeling in our cabins.  On the other hand, the public areas all looked fine.  While some of the newer ships may overshadow the Epic, I certainly wouldn't mind sailing on her again for the right itinerary.  

Hmmm, well I don't know where some of you are from but food trucks are pretty trendy right now.  Theres a TV show devoted to them on Food Network.  Even the new Virgin Cruise Lines Scarlet Lady will have a food truck style dining area onboard.  Disney has put them at their Disney Springs area in Orlando.  And cities across the US have food truck rallies throughout the year.  Perhaps you are thinking of the old lunch canteen trucks at construction sites...   

5 minutes ago, sidari said:

Reefe - Safe Suncream ! 

Thanks for the photos!  The menu offerings sounds great!.

23 minutes ago, Motegi said:

Some additional information I've discovered... I didn't realize that the cabana rentals were not for the full stay during your visit to Ocean Cay.  Apparently the Cabanas close at 5 PM according to the site.  Kind of a bummer if you ask me because we were planning to enjoy the sunset and evening in our cabana..

Hmmm... The plot thickens...  While the above mentions Cabanas closing at 5 PM, the following page says the cabana rental is "All Day". I suppose it's going to be dependent on their definition of  "All Day".  

And I'm not sure if this has been reported before but it looks like there will be smaller islands adjacent to OceanCay that will be available to rent (not ready yet) for private functions while you are there:

Internet (WiFi) access on the island:

Here's the list of beaches along with short descriptions of each on Ocean Cay:

Also for those who were inquiring about island access for persons with disabilities:

Some additional information I've discovered... I didn't realize that the cabana rentals were not for the full stay during your visit to Ocean Cay.  Apparently the Cabanas close at 5 PM according to the site.  Kind of a bummer if you ask me because we were planning to enjoy the sunset and evening in our cabana..

4 minutes ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

TY great info. I was reading on the ocean cay/ MSC website.

No problem!

With the island being brand new the information is a little scattered.  

We're really looking to our first visit to the island in December!