seaskydoll

We just arrived on 11-26, they did easy walk off at 7:15am. We did the NCL transfer and got to the airport at 10am. We were the second group off the ship after walk off. Sat on the bus for 30 minutes waiting for it to fill up. I would suggest taking a private car, cab or smaller transportation company to get there sooner.

Thanks all for your help. Im on deck 13 so I thought it would take me to all decks (lol). Thanks again!

The forward elevators go down to deck 5 (and deck 4 when in port). The aft elevators only go to deck 6 (deck 4 in port) you have to get off on deck 6 and go through the casino to the escalator and take it down to deck 5.

We were on the 11/19 Epic cruise. We took the NCL bus from the hotel, arrived at the port about 12:45. Sat on the bus in traffic to get to the parking spot for 30 minutes. Once we parked, an NCL rep came and escorted us past the lines to the security entrance. That took about another 30 minutes. There were more lines to check in inside but, we are platinum and breezed through that. We were on the ship by about 2pm and went straight to our cabin. There were very long lines outside the terminal, not sure how quickly those moved. Getting off the ship today was super easy so hopefully it will continue to improve.

We had premium and were 2nd in the line and were sat in the first 2 seats of the table next to the stage. The standard were in the booths around the outside and a bit of an obstructed view from the tables in front. I got grabbed twice to be part of the show

 

 

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How early were you in line?

When we had Carlos as our concierge it was before that time. We also saw him talking to people for sometime and then just walked past us with not even a hello. As I said our only request we were told we can take care of by ourself. Luckily we had Jayson as our butler and he was phenomenal. We feel common courtesy should be for everyone not just people he remembered from past cruises. When I posted all that happened on a review of the cruise, others had similar issues with him.

I completely agree with common courtesy for everyone and sorry this happened to you especially on a long cruise. I am confused when you say it was "before that time"? His dad became very ill in Sept 2015 when we were on the Gem and he just moved to the Sun in March 2016 I think so, this would've still been when he was dealing with a sick father. Since others had the same issue just trying to offer a reason he might not have been what others have experienced in the past. Glad you had a good butler, that has saved us on other cruises as well!!

For those of you who have done Panama Canal cruises is port or starboard side better or are they the same? And wondering about the owner's suite with the side balcony, is it worth the extra cost upgrade from the front suites to have the two? I have seen both so know what they look like, sailed in 10500 before.

Any updates on the Panama Canal trips? Best type of cabin to get...front suite or aft? Looking to do this to celebrate my 50th! Waiting impatiently for schedule for Fall 2017. Want to know what cabin to book as soon as they open it up. Also, best shore excursions?

Hi,

A close friend of mine is actually a NCL "insider" and he told me that they (NCL) upsell department start to look at low volume bookings 6 months out and monitor the inventory with a eagles eye...NCL gives offers to booked guests with last names starting with A through M and then after 60 days whatever is left will be offered to N through Z.

 

its a pretty old school system...i know....also my "insider" said that he in particular search out guests with unique last names which does not follow the alphabet criteria...so if your last name is unique...your in...but again ...this is all coming from an NCL "insider" so you know its true.

 

Best,

Mark

That is interesting.... We have gotten 3 upsells in the last several years. We are an unusual G name. Things that make you go hmmmm. :D

I was shocked to hear you were talking about Carlos. We frequently cruise in suites and have sailed with him 3 times and had superb service every single time. Different ships and different cabin types. That being said I know when we sailed with him last September his father was very ill and am wondering if he had gotten worse and possibly his mind was not completely on the job when you were there. Someone posted about a death and not sure if that was his dad.

We have had two female concierges that never spoke more than one sentence to us the entire cruise, don't know their names and another male that was the same. Don't remember his name either but, I actually got hurt on that cruise and he never even came to check on me....We were in an owner's suite that time.

We are fairly easy going but, have usually found that we have great butlers when the concierge is bad. We generally find service by the crews on NCL to be wonderful. Sorry you had such a bad experience and I would've said something to someone and not tipped as well.

I believe that guest services offers free bug spray. We just got off the Spirit and saw it noted on the dailies. We brought our own so I didn't see if they actually had it. Can anyone confirm? Also, if you have a suite, do you get priority tendering? We will be in our first suite on the Jade in November. Super excited!

I don't know about the bug spray. If you are in a suite you do get priority tendering and disembarkation. Your concierge will let you know where and when to meet and they will escort you down. If you have shore excursions through NCL you just follow those directions.

I am not sure about internet but, I just read a post where the sister purchased OBC for the cruising sister hours before they set sail. I think NCL is almost always willing to take your money if they can. LOL

Omar Concierge on Jade thru at least July.

Thank you!

Sitting in my Tampa hotel room post cruise (yes, my husband made it on the ship with plenty of time to spare!) I only have my phone but when I get home I will spare no details in my review of the ship (overall very nice!!!) in an effort to give back to the community. It probably won't touch Mitsugirly's reviews, but I'll try!

 

Two last notes on this wonderful happy ending: first, my husband recounted to me later his experience at Delta Cargo in Tampa. He arrived nearly sick with stress. He arrived right as the plane had landed; they had told us it would take an hour for the parcel to get off the flight and to the cargo facility. He explained to the guys working there what he was waiting for and they gaped at him and asked him if he needed a smoke! Ha! One guy got on the phone immediately and found out the passport was on the loading slip- he told them to hurry it up because there was a guy here waiting to board a cruise! No joke- his passport was in his hands 15 minutes later. I plan on contacting their supervisors and making sure they knew how appreciated they were.

 

Second- my friends in Mpls went above and beyond getting the passport to the airport, and my sister in San Diego did her part by getting online and having a big chunk of onboard credit added to our account so we could have a ginormous drink upon arrival! Very much appreciated, especially since we weren't blessed with the UBP.

 

Thanks again all- my review will be forthcoming!

 

 

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So happy to hear that everything worked out! I just happened upon this thread tonight while being unable to sleep. What a great story and great people all around helping. I am a former Delta employee and so glad to hear they are still going above and beyond as well. Kudos to your sister that was a perfect touch. It is about 5 degrees here in Indy so I imagine the cold is waiting for you in MSP as well. :D

Just accessed our February Spirit online cruise info and it lists an "Adult Beverage Package" on our profile. I'm assuming this is another name for the UBP as I don't recall seeing that term anywhere else. Any thoughts?

I would double check this. The ABP, from what I was told is the one you buy that includes alcoholic beverages. There also was an Adult Soda Package that we used to get, no alcohol. UBP is both. Lots of changes lately and I wouldn't want to be surprised once on the ship. :eek:

When we went to St Thomas in November 2015 we actually had to tender because there were so many other ships in port that day. Take that into consideration when trying to get around on your own. So much traffic! Ugh. Tortola was better but roads are steep and winding just be aware if anyone gets car sick.

This is our first NCL cruise and we have the Bev Pkg as part of our cruise

 

Can anyone tell me if you get a mug/cup to get soda from the bars? I know it is fountain soda vs cans. On Royal you get a mug as part of the alcohol bev pkg but did not know if you get one on NCL also. Don't want to drag my Royal Caribbean mug with me for soda if I don't have too!

 

Looking forward to seeing NCL's private island. Always see it from CocoCay and wondered what it is like. Hopefully we are able to get into the island so we can see for ourselves!

The refillable soda cup on NCL is really no great thing. It's just something else to carry around and not that big. Easier just to get a cup of soda from anywhere. They might give you one if you ask since it is "free" regardless of which package you have.

The private island is really nice. If you want a quieter experience take the tram (or walk) to the farther side of the island.

We are frequent travelers on Carnival and Princess who decided to give NCL another try because of a new stop in Belize, Harvest Caye. Today I went online to book my restaurants and realized that we are now stopping in Belize City as opposed to Harvest Caye. We booked this trip with NCL because of a unique destination and now we are back to the same destinations we would have gotten with our preferred cruise line where we are platinum and almost diamond. When I called we were offered nothing in compensation. Since they made this change after the cancellation period, we are stuck. The customer service in this case is abysmal. Is this typical of what to expect from NCL? If so, I will short their stock and buy more of Carnival!

We are frequent NCL cruisers but, also booked this in hopes of going to HC. I'm sure customer service is being bombarded with nasty phone calls since this is not the first delay for it. While it is not an excuse for poor service I would guess they are having to say the same things repeatedly. We have always had good service for general issues. While we are disappointed too, we always have such great staff and service on the ships we will make the best of the usual ports. We actually decided to try the spa passes and stay on board in Belize instead.

Good to know! It's been years since I've sailed with NCL but since the price on Carnival has gone up quite a bit lately I've been looking at NCL again. Back when I had sailed with them in the past the staff were very rude and unhelpful. On my last cruise with them if I asked a cruise member for directions they would just shrug their shoulders. Or sometimes they would just give you directions but the wrong directions! On Carnival if the person doesn't know how to get there, they tell you, but they don't just ignore the question. I know it's unfair to judge them based on cruises more than 3 years ago but I sailed with them 4 or 5 times and sort of gave up on them changing. As long as they have karaoke, I may give them a try again!

We have been on quite a few NCL cruises and the staff are excellent! Have been extremely friendly and helpful, never had a problem.

Thanks so much for all the great information! Do you remember on day 4 what the "Showtime Showdown" was? I haven't seen anything like this before.

Not happy about this. Harvest Caye was one of the big reasons I booked the Star for spring break this year. I guess I'll have to drown my sorrows with the drink package.

Same for us, we have done Western Caribbean twice and booked our cruise for the new port. Definitely will be enjoying our UDP and spa pass that day!! February was already a delay but, to go out to November makes me wonder if it will ever get open.

Does anyone know who is concierge and any butlers on the Jade?

We have been on the Gem and Spirit in the last 6 months and the gift shops didn't even have an NCL bag to buy! Definitely bring your Princess bag. Maybe NCL will see other cruise line items and bring these things back.:D

Any good fortune or horror stories with a guarantee balcony booking?

We booked a gty balcony on the Spirit over Thanksgiving and got an upsell email for a suite. We took it! Only time we have done that. I think you have to be willing to be anywhere there is a balcony cabin and hope for the best.

Hello. Still trying to decide what cruise to take in February for my daughter's college spring break. Considering sailing the Spirit to the Eastern Caribbean out of Port Canaveral. I am a longtime NCL cruiser, and have sailed the Spirit back in 2007. I really loved her back then. I am not a big ship fan; recently sailed the Breakaway and felt a bit overwhelmed. I think I prefer ships the size of the Spirit. Sailed on the Sun last year, and loved her as well. How is the Spirit holding up these days? Thanks

You might try checking you tube for recent pics. Also someone posted a photo tour in an earlier thread. It was from 2012 but, looked pretty good. I also think it was in dry dock again last year for updates.

A question for the experienced among you who have sailed on the Spirit.

This ship as an older vessel has less categories in balconies, no large balconies, no aft balconies (except in suites) and so on. So... my question is do they upsell from the balconies to the suites ever? The price difference seems to be very extreme and I can't imagine that they do a reasonable price upsell to these cabins.

Has anyone done this? I am just curious. I am not expecting this to happen to me, just a query.

Only our second time on the Spirit, last time was 2004. We booked a gty balcony and just got an upsell to a suite in front of the ship for our cruise in Nov. It was on the lower end of the price range the previous post mentioned.