debenson0723

I just love all your photos. Thank you again for sharing with us.

You posted in your Roll Call, which is a good place to look for others to share excursions but you need to check the ports of call forum on this site. Here is the link to both Italy and Spain. Trying to find hotels at the height of tourist season 20 days out is not going to leave you much to deal with. Good luck and enjoy your cruise. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/465-spain-and-portugal-ports/

It looks like you are doing 2 cruises Back 2 Back on the Escape. Barcelona to Venice from June 23rd to July 3rd for the first leg and then July 3rd from Venice back to Barcelona on the 2nd leg. So wifey needs to look for 2 separate Roll Calls with those dates.

Is this in 2024? Are you doing a B2B?

I am in a solo inside on my upcoming Joy cruise and got the full $100. Never gotten anything less when I have paid for a studio up to a Club Balcony (with no solo supplement). While you can't use it for gambling in the casino, I have in the past used it for Bingo (would not pay out of pocket because it is very overpriced for what you win).

Go to your Roll Call on this forum and also the Port of Italy forum. There are possibly people on your ship who are looking to share excursions/cabs or ubers. You can also check tour groups from Rome in Limo and Italy Tours.com who are looking for passengers to round out their tours, on your ship and others in port the same day. Much less expensive than ship excursions and reliable (their reputations depend on getting people back to the port on time). Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

I am so happy that you went here. I was going to suggest it but wasn't sure how much more time you had in Barcelona. It is truly one of the hidden gems and I loved every minute that I was there. You are seriously making me think I need to leave a few days earlier than planned for my Pearl cruise out of Venice and make a stop in Barcelona. Or scrap the Pearl altogether and do the Escape TA. Or maybe just quit my job and do both! Such bad influences on this board.

I hope you are right about this. I personally feel it's a bit early to predict but even if it is somewhere close to this, I will be happy. One of the worst thunderstorms I have ever been in was in Manhattan in June and that's all I can think about, LOL.

Lots of experiences on the Port of Italy board on this forum. I have been looking myself and trying to decide my options but from Venice to Trieste.

Have done it multiple times with no worries. Drug enforcement are looking for the 'big fish' smugglers (or legitimate illegal drugs) not Costco gummies.

I wonder why you get so many emails that I don't...maybe because you are in the Haven? I did my check in at 9pm on Saturday night and my edocs were ready at 11:10 (so about 2 hours later). I never got any emails at all. Or maybe it is something in your NCL settings?? No big deal, just curious. Since the pandemic, I also don't print edocs anymore. Just a screenshot of the bar code is all I have needed to get inside the terminal. You don't need cell service or wi-fi for that so no worries there, and I can't deal with all the paper anymore. Same with hotel reservations, boarding passes, word/excel docs...everything in stored in one Travel folder on my phone/tablet and I can access anywhere. I know that's not for everyone but works for me.

If you do a search under BOGO, NCL air, etc you will find many, many threads on this topic; for, against and in between. Since the cruise isn't for quite a few months, there is no way to really guess how much it would be but $2800 is extremely high. I am guessing you are looking at Miami to Los Angeles...you could book two people yourself on Delta or Southwest for much less than that. I am looking at a cruise in November and airfare for me (solo traveler) is less than $800 round trip, flying to Venice and home from Rome. Also be aware that you do not get to pick your airline or flight times and you might not get something that is advantageous to your schedule. But you can add a deviation of 2 days on either end of the cruise (or both). So I would try again on the website or give a call on Tuesday

Oh I plan to keep trying up until the last possible minute. I will buy you a drink (as long as it's not over $15) and ice cream at Bailey's in Bermuda (not gelato but the best I can do). Or you could just @schmoopie17 us and show up at the Cavern Club bar on the Waterfront at 5:30. I promise I won't be mad for being surprised.

Wonderful review...thanks so much for posting it. My first solo cruise was also on the Getaway, back when she was brand new. I was nervous too but now prefer to sail solo, most of the time. I met a couple of other solos on that cruise that I am still friends with to this day and see once or twice a year. So glad you had a great time and are back home safely.

I have had this type of cabin twice and I love them. One was a Mexican Riviera cruise and there was almost no movement or waves crashing against the bow. But on my eastern caribbean cruise, it was another story. It was only the first night and half of the 2nd night, but the waves crashing was very loud. I think it bothered me most because I didn't know what it was the first night. I saw the Captain the 2nd day and asked him about it and that's when he told me it was the waves. He also assured me that once we got to our first port, it would not happen again, and it didn't, not even on the way back to Miami. Be aware that you have to keep your curtains closed at night if you have the lights on, But you can't see anything out there in the dark anyway so that was not an issue. I would for sure take this cabin over an inside (and maybe even a balcony) if given the opportunity.

I am sorry you had this experience. This hasn't happened to me at all when checking in. Since I have a 3 hour time difference from Miami, I was able to check in at 9pm last night. It took me 7 minutes, start to finish and I had my edocs at 11pm. I typed everything in and uploaded a photo saved to my desktop (same one I always use and sometimes they retake my photo and sometimes they don't). I think that maybe some issues have to do with the browser people are using. I use google chrome and have very few problems. I also clear my cache quite often (sometimes daily depending on what I am doing). The good news is, in 3 weeks at just about this time, we should be on board, having that first cocktail! I have a general idea of what I want to do each day in Bermuda (never been there), an idea of how much money I am going to take so now I just need to figure out what to pack. I know from your past 'lives' that you are a minimalist when it comes to packing but unfortunately, I am not. I am getting better but still have the 'but what if I need this' mentality, LOL. I am going to start my list today and see where it takes me....wish me luck!

I checked in this morning for my upcoming cruise. Took me all of 7 minutes, photo (that I have used prior and is saved to my laptop) uploaded on first try and I had my edocs within 2 hours. Couldn't be easier or maybe I am just lucky (and really excited to be boarding in 3 weeks!).

Don't be sad...tomorrow is check in day for the Bermuda 6/16 cruise that will include myself and @graphicguy (aka The Fall Guy). And you don't need a passport for it! Loved this review so much and can't wait to see your adventures in Barcelona.

I agree with this completely. Haven't seen her in quite a while but she is a favorite...always so gracious and kind.

I have gotten glasses of water from the bar and filled my cup in the buffet on every cruise line I have sailed (RCL, Carnival, Disney, Princess). No need to buy water anywhere.

Please refresh my memory. We will be walking to the port, staying at a hotel on 49th Street the night before. What is the street at 12th Avenue that we cross to get inside the port for check in? Is it easy to get upstairs (ramp, elevator, etc.)? I know when we disembark we cross 52nd to get a car service but when embarking do we need to go up to 54th? Thanks for your help.

Is it easy to get a minibus back to the port? We are only 2, maybe 3, so minibus would be the most economical (but not adverse to a taxi either). Will probably only spend an hour or two at most, just to say we did it. Thanks!

What a fabulous hotel! And very reasonable for the night I want to stay there in October...it's at the top of my list. I was originally going to stay in Murano for my 2 nights in the Venice area but now I think I will head to Trieste the afternoon before the cruise. I can't thank you enough for all the information you are providing.

Head on over to the Florida departures board and you will find many recommendations.

While I agree with you on final thoughts being the ones that stay with you, remember that everyone has a different experience based on their likes, dislikes and expectations. I did not care for my cruise on the Prima and swore I would never go on that class of ship again, but was on the Viva as soon as it got to the US and had a wonderful time (with many of the same crew as on Prima). And probably the worst thing you can do is follow groups on FB...many, many inexperienced cruisers who do nothing but complain because they didn't know what to expect and had unrealistic expectations. Your cruise is still many months away and things can and will change on the Jade and other ships (who could have predicted that when I stepped off the Encore in March 2020 it would not be possible to get on another ship for almost 18 months?). @YVRteacher you write the best reviews on this board and I am sorry this cruise was not up to your standards, which is what all of us expect from NCL. I hope your Princess cruises are better...I have a friend who sails both but prefers NCL overall for his needs, especially as a solo traveler. Can't wait to read about your upcoming adventures!