debenson0723

Wasn't my experience on my last RCL cruise in May. Have never encountered such a miserable crew ever, from Officers to bartenders to room stewards. No smiles, no response to a Good Morning. But every time I was served a meal, I was asked to give them a 10 on the survey. I know some people are put off by the friendliness of NCL crew but they sure do make my day much more pleasant, especially as a solo traveler.

You can usually see the specials regarding CruiseNext certs when you log into your Latitudes account. Sometimes it is 6 months in advance and balcony or higher and other times it may be any size cabin and any booking date. It really does vary. They had a 2 certificate promo for any size cabin for months after the restart. I also sometimes do a mock booking, add one certificate and then see if it will let me add another. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't (I usually book studios or insides since I am a solo cruiser). If you have a PCC, they can help you also.

No college football on the Prima during the September/October TA. But we did have NFL football on Sunday, Monday and Thursday on channel 18 all the way across the Atlantic. Some of the games didn't start until 2am but they were on in the Local and on the stateroom TV.

IF you don't check any bags and IF your flight lands on time and IF the traffic isn't too bad, you might get there by 2pm. I have flown into MSY multiple times and it has taken me anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes minimum to get close to the port (I usually stay near by). By any chance do you have NCL transfers? That might help a little bit. I have seen them hold the ship for almost an hour in NOLA due to delayed flights but that doesn't mean they always do. Its too close to comfort for me but then if the flight is over an hour long, I always fly in the day before. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

You're lucky the RCL drink package was only $59 pp/pd. On the RCL cruise I took, the drink package was $89 pp/pd + 18% gratuity. It was a holiday cruise and I knew it would be more but that's crazy. I don't need a cup to carry around, fancy coffee (I use my Starbucks app on NCL), fresh squeezed juices with the empty calories (I'll take my empty calories as tequila) or water. I kept looking for the sales I keep hearing about on RCL but one ever materialized for my cruise.

You can delete the drink package from your cruise up to 3 days in advance.

It is in the Indulge Food Hall. It is in the beverage station, sort of hidden behind a wall, so no surprise you did not see it. On the TA, there was no card swipe and the soda was free. Not sure if that has changed recently. There is a 2nd one in the Studio Lounge.

Thanks @cruiseny4life.Glad to see if hasn't changed.

I have done a morning excursion and afternoon excursion in the same port and gotten the $50 off both. Haven't read the T&Cs in awhile so don't know if that changed.

I have not been on the Epic but have been on the Getaway multiple times as a solo traveler. As far as the lounge atmosphere, it is always going to depend on the solo cruisers that are on the ship. I have seen it vary from lots of people showing up daily to the lounge being a ghost town after the first day. On a port intensive cruise with long days in port, my guess is that it will not be very active. Only you know if it would be worth it to pay extra for an Oceanview room. In the US, the Studio cabin can be more than an Inside Sailaway rate so I will book an inside. I will also bid the minimum for a higher cabin category and have been successful more than half the time. But I am happy with whatever cabin I am in. I am also a shade person and live on the Waterfront area on the Getaway. Might have to switch sides depending on the sun, but always find a space. Any cabin less than a balcony only get 1 Specialty Dining on NCL. They do have an option to purchase additional meals but again, whether it is worth it is up to you. I sometimes will pay out of pocket for a few items in a Specialty restaurant (usually just apps and dessert) but there are no restaurants on the Getaway where I would do that. i was on a Baltic cruise a few years ago and with being in port all day and tasting the local cuisine, I barely had interest in an MDR. It was a small meal in the buffet and bed on that trip. I am also looking at an August (or May) Med cruise so pondering the same issues. Maybe our paths will cross. Enjoy your cruise!

I believe someone recently posted the T&Cs of the Shore Excursion credit and it did not include an end of the cruise transfer to the airport. When I was on the Escape in February, we ended up taking the NCL transfer back to Orlando and did not get the credit. Best to check with the Shore Excursion or Guest Services desk once on the ship to find out for sure.

Your guess is as good as everyone else's. Please come back and let us know if they did or not.

There are cups to the left of the machine.

They did in February. It was way in the very back of the buffet and we just got lucky to find it (nothing else was open back in that area). They were available at both lunch and dinner.

No.

My travel companion does not drink alcohol but still gets the FAS package because he drinks more than $20 a day in Diet Coke. He gets non-alcoholic Pina Coladas all the time and I even had them make him a non-alcoholic Raspberry Guava Mojito on the Escape (to go with my alcoholic one). As said above, the bartenders don't care.

Or they may not be in the same restaurant every night. We saw our waiter from Hudson's working in Indulge one night and the Commodore room another night.

Yes. But I think your biggest challenge is going to be finding a place to put all of your clothing and accessories once they are unpacked.

Yes, of course. No dining reservations necessary in the MDR. I have had dinner before the show and then gone back to the MDR afterwards for dessert. And maybe an appetizer, LOL.

More than enough room under the bed to store luggage. I took a 15 day Panama Canal cruise on the Bliss in a studio cabin and had no issues. If you can nest your suitcases into each other, even better.

I also enjoyed the Chicken Tikka and Shrimp Pad Thai. Pulled Pork sandwich from Q wasn't bad, and always enjoy the deviled eggs (with bacon garnish). Cobb salad, tomato bread and tagliatelle bolannase were also lunch staples for me. Honestly did not have anything I didn't like at Indulge.

Are you on the Roll Call for your cruise? This is a great way for a solo cruiser to "meet" people before you even board. You can plan to meet before sail away, after dinner, plan an excursion...the possibilities are endless. I have sailed solo many, many times but always meet someone onboard to hang out with, typically at the first night's solo gathering. I remember one morning watching the Bliss sail into San Francisco from the Observation Lounge, chatting with a charming man and then we headed to breakfast (hi, @hallux) before parting ways for the day. And even better, I have sailed multiple times with other solos I have met...there are 4 of us that met on various cruises who will be doing the Joy in February together. So don't worry about being solo for long...in my experience, NCL has the friendliest cruisers at sea.

I have only been cruising NCL since 2016 so missed the older ships but have been on these (and some multiple times): Sky, Pearl, Jade, Getaway (5), Escape, Bliss(3), Encore(2), Prima. Have the Joy and Viva booked but going to switch out the Viva for the Epic.

That's what I was thinking too. Not sure if OPs 'new rules' were something new from the past 30 days or she is referring to just after the restart many months ago. I have only been asked to see my check in time once and that was last November in LA. I had flown in morning of the cruise so got to the port right at my 11am check-in. Have also sailed several times with friends and we all had different check in times but no one even looked at them. Much ado about nothing.

Been on 6 cruises in 13 months, 6 different embarkation ports...used the same photo (with glasses on) with one retake at the port (Los Angeles). Last cruise it stated no glasses at 21 day check-in so had to take a new photo. No retake in Southampton. Can't wait to see what happens in February in LA again.