niborHS

7 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

for me it's a no brainer. WE don't go to specialty restaurants, and we would have chosen the free perk of a free 3rd person. The price difference was a couple of bucks, so we went with Sail away as the slightly cheaper option.

 

Thanks for the idea. I priced the 2 choices because we may be 3, it turns out the sail away is still cheaper, as you mentioned. SOmeone posted dining room menus. I am fine with the choices. I can get prime rib anywhere, I don't have to worry that I can get it only 1 night on the cruise.

What you have to consider about taking public transportation from Newark is whether you really want to bring your luggage with you onto the trains, up and down stairs, etc. You are saying Newark hotels. Are you planning to stay in a hotel by Newark airport, and get in from there? Also, what day will it be? Newark Airport is south of the Holland Tunnel, which is much more of a disaster than the Lincoln Tunnel. The day and time you are coming is what makes the most difference. 

Thank you for posting the menus, they look fine to me, especially because I know that if I want in the MDR I can order various things, in case I don't like something. My first cruise was in 1994. The food used to be quite good, however I still said that if I wanted to eat good food, I could just stay home (I lived in the NYC Metro area), or go to a foodie town, like Charleston, and many others now. I go on a cruise for the experience. That being said, in the past I felt that the specialty restaurants on NCL were much better than the MDR, however I am sure I could live without them and be perfectly happy. We are trying to decide between the sail away cabin, and paying more for the free at sea. (don't debate with me about the unlimited beverages please).

You are all making a good point, you do what works for you. I have been on about 20 cruises, so the ports are more irrelevant to me than anything unless I do something like Windstar where I can hit the small islands that I have not been to. However, I am not only thinking about myself here, but my traveling companions. NCL's unlimited beverage package is $99 a day. So obviously if I were going with my husband, who would take the UBP without trying to decide if it was a good deal or not, it would definitely make sense to pay the higher price of the cabin. What also makes a difference is whether you drink soda, or drink during the day. Neither is the case with me. 

13 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

So..for approximately an extra 40 dollars per person per night, you're going to give up the drinks package.  Your 3 glasses of wine could be close to 40.00 and if your wife has the same you're giving up the possibility that maybe you could sample something new since you're on vacation and it would be covered.  Now you'll save that 160.00 and pay per drink at NCL's inflated prices. Enjoy.

Maybe I have to be more clear, the difference is $80 per person, add to that the approximately $80 that is added as a gratuity. Also I, a woman, do not drink that much. Maybe there are some who do. The other person in the room with me is my sister-in-law, not that this makes a difference.

1 hour ago, mianmike said:

That's what's important.  If you're happy with the price you paid, that's all that matters.  

 

We are value vacationers.  My wife was employed as a budget analyst.  We don't mind paying more, we just need to see the real value as quantified in dollars.  NCL is expert at offering perks that give many cruisers perceived value.  We do the math and leave our perceptions at the door.

 

For us, $900 for "free" drinks was too much.  For other people they perceive value and don't mind paying more.  

If I were going with my husband, we would pick our cabin, seeing as he would buy the UBP anyway, that would be a great perk, we would book a mini-suite or higher, and that would be that, I would think I was getting a bargain with the free perk. This is a trip with someone who is much more budget conscious, and we need to keep that in mind. Thanks for all your help, because some of the fine print before you book doesn't tell you all of this. The difference in price is a minimum of $80 for the 4 nights, add that to the $79.20 for gratuities, it adds up. We'll take the cheaper package, I'll have 2-3 glasses of wine, she will have whatever she wants to drink, and decide if she wants to spend the money or not. 

Thanks RTkenmore, very helpful info.

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

There might have been a recent price reduction, but two years ago Dark n Stormys were 16.95 on NCL and only 8.50 on Carnival. Some martinis on NCL are 16.95 and over the 15.00 limit on the UBP, whereas most martinis on Carnival are 10.95 and even the ones with Grey Goose VX are 20.00 and all are covered by their drink package.

I don't consider Carnival an option, so that doesn't matter. My sister-in-law drinks Cosmos, so if they are not going to be covered, then it's irrelevant.

That's the thing, if we take the sailaway, we are paying a lot less for the cabin, so the drinks are free, but we are paying the extra price plus the $19.80 a day. I don't drink soda, have water during the day, wine with dinner, and maybe after. Anyone know what they charge for an average drink or a decent glass of wine? Hopefully they have something like a Malbec from Chili that's good and not expensive. I know whatever I normally drink at home would end up being $18 a glass. For the gratuity on the specialty dining, not sure what they charge. I think the food is generally much better in the specialty restaurants, but I can manage in the dining room too.

2 questions about the Unlimited Beverage Package, and the Free at Sea. Am I crazy, or am I seeing that the cost of the unlimited beverage package is now $99 a day? I saw this on the NCL site. If you take the Free at Sea, do they charge you the gratuity based on what the UBP would be, or for whatever you order?

We are trying to decide whether to book the guarantee cabin, or a level that will give us the beverage package and specialty dining for free. When they charge the 20% gratuity, do they do it on the amount of the per day unlimited beverage package, which is an unbelievable $99 per day (We didn't cruise that long ago, last year on Celebrity, and it was definitely nowhere near that). Or, do they charge you based on what you actually drink? 

OOPS! I got something wrong, that cheap price on the Guarantee does not include the perks, so now we have to decide. Still a very good deal, if we go with Obstructed view cabin it would cost us each just over $500 to get the perks, without the gratuities and the per person/per day tips.

1 hour ago, njkate said:

At that price for only four days, they can put me anywhere lol

That's what I was thinking. Now my husband is mad that I am planning this, I told him if he would go for this kind of cabin I would plan with him, but I know that would never happen! Not to mention he doesn't like NCL. He remembers cruising from the old days when he was a little kid (more than 50 years ago), when everything was top notch, the food and service was like a Michelin starred restaurant. That's not happening in our budget for sure.

     I was thinking about the gratuities, so will discuss that with my sister-in-law, and maybe that will be a reason to take the oceanview. The difference would be the gratuities.

Thanks, I just thought I might find out someone's experience. I see there is another thread, where either the person was misled, or was counting on something that might not happen. I know it's a crapshoot, but we might decide to try it anyway. 

I asked a question about this yesterday, and see a lot of answers here (haven't checked my own thread yet), but am addressing this to the OP, you have specific needs, so it sounds to me that you should have paid for the particular room you wanted because you are quite specific. From what I can see, the GTY categories are for inside, outside, balcony, and they tell you what deck you will be on. I personally am a little hesitant about just outside, because I know I could end up on deck 4, which I would rather not be on. With balcony, it says only 8, 9 or 10. Have you tried calling NCL yourself? You might get a nice agent who will change you to a different cabin. A few years ago I was going with a few friends, last minute, and they already had their cabins, so I decided for myself, seeing as I was paying double, I would take inside. The price dropped before sailing, I called NCL, and they moved me to an outside. 

I am looking for an inexpensive get-away with my sister-in-law, and they have very cheap deals on a 4 night on the Jade, late January. It works perfectly because of her set vacation time she has. I am trying to decide whether we should go with Oceanview, or Balcony. If we take the guarantee, we don't pick our cabin, obviously, but has anyone done this so they can tell me if it is likely that we would get Deck 4 if we took Oceanview? Balcony is all 8, 9 & 10. I don't care if it's obstructed view. Just as background, I have been on about 20 cruises, quite a number of NCL, and when I go with my husband I book a suite, but have been in a regular cabin for a few nights with a friend, so know that it will work. It is particularly appealing because it is only $229 plus charge and fees, so $368, and includes unlimited drinks and specialty dining. Too good a deal to stay home. 

Thanks so much Satx, you understand exactly where I am coming from and explained everything perfectly. I am hoping my husband agrees with this idea, it just works out so perfectly, especially leaving from Ft Lauderdale.

As for why I said "what do they get you for", it's because I think they have gotten way out of hand as far as add-ons for specialty dining. The Tuscan Grille on Celebrity is $45, maybe more now. I am from NY, I am used to paying a lot for dinner, however, paying an extra $45 for what is not the greatest anyway, when I can eat in the dining room, is not worth it in my opinion. If I were going on vacation only for the food, I would pick a city and dine out. $29 is reasonable. I do think the specialty restaurants on cruise ships have better food overall than the dining room, I do have my limits, regardless of what I spend at home for a very good meal out.

Why we go on a cruise, if we don't care about the ports? It's relaxing, everything is there for you, there are things to do, if I am not with my husband every hour of the day I am perfectly happy, people are generally friendlier to each other than you would ever get at a resort, and you can't beat the price, even for a mini-suite it's a bargain.

We have been on about 20 cruises through the years. Only 1 on Princess over 10 years ago, most have been Celebrity, some HAL more recently. To start off I will say that cruising now is not what it once was, neither the service or food is like the old days. The Crown has a 5 night that will work perfectly for us because it brings up back to Ft. Lauderdale exactly when we have to be there for a family event. I don't care about the ports, we were in Roatan the first year a ship was allowed there, and have been since also. Don't remember the other port, Cozumel maybe? I've been there probably 6 or 7 times, so same thoughts. Tell me what I am going to think about Princess. How is the food? How much do they get you for on the specialty restaurants and are they worth it? I remember them having a bigger variety of shows than Celebrity or HAL,is that still the case? I am thinking of the mini-suite.

How about looking for something with AirBnB? There are a lot of people who rent there for the winter months, and not the summer, so you might get something reasonable. I stayed at a Best Western on Collins Ave last year because it was inexpensive. It was clean, and had a free breakfast. It was fine, and had an open air bar/restaurant attached that was decent. Good location for the teens. I agree that some sort of everglades boat trip would probably be best for them, they are too old for Monkey Jungle and Parrott Jungle, and too young for Viscaya. If you think I am wrong, you can check those out too.

It seems that Celebrity staff doesn't even know the right answer. As I was walking off the ship, after having been on 18 Caribbean cruises, someone behind me asked about ID besides the ship card, and they were told to take their passport "just in case". I had to go back to our cabin to get ours. As far as the "just in case" goes, we do have to remember something, and not think about what used to happen, our country (assuming you are from the US), is now now working on all kinds of directives about who gets let in here, and what will happen. There might be some possible retaliation on the part of other countries so personally, if I were getting off in other ports, which I think might be more true of the non-caribbean ports, who knows what they could decide to do, or if they want to spot check at the dock.

Global Entry is something you pay for. You get finger printed, they do a background check and interview, and you can use it at possibly all ports of entry that lets you just go through.

We came off in FLL Saturday and needed the form. The line getting off the ship was backed up, but a woman was leading suite passengers off so we just joined that line. Luggage was in small groups, so easy to locate, and then line through immigration was easy. We had nothing to declare at all though.

I know you asked about excursions, so I will give you some ideas, as I have been at the various ports you mentioned. We used to take our kids once a year until they went to college.

In Key West, you can do one of 2 things on your own that are good, one is a self-guided walking tour. I am sure you can download something on-line from a site like Frommer's. The other thing is to rent a scooter and drive around with her on the bike with you. She might get a kick out of that.

In Cozumel, I would recommend either Mr. Sancho's Beach Club, which used to be known as either Playa Sol or Playa Mia. You can take a cab there and buy an all day pass. It is a lovely beach where you can snorkel. There is a restaurant, too. There used to be stands set up for shopping, but not sure if there still are, and that takes care of any shopping you or she might want to do. There is also Chankanaab Park, which does not have as nice a beach, but better snorkeling, so you can decide what would work best.

Costa Maya is really a man-made port in my mind. You can go to see Mayan ruins, and can either do that on a ship's excursion or through an outside company. On the Ports of Call here you can get good recommendations for outside companies. We have used them and have always been happy. The last time we were in Costa Maya with my younger son, who was probably 15 or 16 at the time, we did a dune buggy excursion through the cruise line, and although pricey, he had a great time.

In grand Cayman, there are a few fun things to do, but the top I would say is Sting Ray City. When you get off the ship ( you have to tender), you will find people selling this type of excursion. Although I hear there are now areas that you can just walk in, what they used to do was take people out on a boat, give you snorkeling gear, and have someone go into the water with bait, and the sting rays would come up and swim around you. There is also 8 mile beach, which if your daughter is more of a beach person, she might like. You can go onto the beach by a hotel and have a nice lunch on the beach as well.

I don't think anyone would give your daughter a hard time on the ship in any adult only areas unless she sits down at the casino, or orders a drink. As far as smoke goes, and I am very anti-smoking, there was very little of it when we were just on the Summit, and there is no smoking allowed in cabins, so you don't have to worry that much. We did not go to the specialty restaurants, and I don't think many choose to go if they are getting charged the $45 cover, plus more for the better steaks in the steak house. You can get a decent meal in the MDR, and can ask for things not on the menu, and various courses rather than just a started and a main. If you want soup and salad, it's not a problem. French fries or baked potato with your entree is fine too. Or, the vegetarian entree with a piece of plain chicken or fish.

One thing I will say though, wipe most of what you remember that was so special about Celebrity 11 years ago from your mind, start over, and you will enjoy it. I am sure your daughter will have a great time too.

We just returned from the Summit, although this was a charter by Star Vista because of the theme cruise. We have been sailing with Celebrity since 1996, the first year the Century was sailing the Caribbean, and after 8 cruises with Celebrity, comparing it to all the other lines we have sailed, it was our favorite. Although it's possible that all lines have declined in quality, we definitely felt that Celebrity has, and from what we heard, it was not because of the charter.

Check in was a breeze, and although they were not using our Celebrity Elite status for check-in, we did have priority because we were in Concierge Class. When we checked in, the cabin areas were closed off, so we could not drop our carry on bags in the room. We headed for the buffet lunch, which wasn't crowded at all. The ship, upon arrival, seemed to be in decent shape. The buffet had numerous stations, and plenty of offerings. After 5 days however, they became quite repetitive.

We were not able to book a Sky Suite, as they were all taken when we booked, and our Concierge Class cabin with veranda was fine, although definitely not as nice as the sky suite. We also could not book aqua class when we first booked, and did not realize that we would not be able to eat in either Luminae or Blu, as they were reserved for suite or aqua class guests. We had a mix up with our reserved table, so ate on deck 4 the first night. The 2nd night our original assigned table was given to someone else, but we were happy with the one we were given. We had an excellent waiter and assistant, and a roomy round table for the 6 of us. The menu is divided into starters and main courses, with much more limited offering than they used to have. However, we found that although there were not 3 categories, we had no problem ordering a salad plus another appetizer or soup. We also learned that they could be extremely accommodating. If we wanted the vegetarian entree with a piece of fish on the side, no problem. One person wanted french fries for each meal, and even though they were not on the menu, that was no problem. A change with dessert was also easily accommodated. The first night, one person snagged a waiter to get a glass of wine, but the waiter did not ask anyone else, which was kind of annoying. After that, we had great service from the sommelier. The 3 men all had the beverage package, the women did not. When they ordered wine, they were charged the small difference between what was covered by their package, and the price. After the 1st night, they didn't charge extra. We tipped the sommelier after the 2nd night, and had even better service after that.

As far as cabin service goes, the cabin attendant no longer has an assistant, and although the cabin was kept clean, the attendant was not very pleasant. As mentioned by others, there was some wear and tear in the cabin. Although there initially was an odor in the cabin, it seemed to have abated after the first day. I cannot say the same thing about the restrooms around the ship, and that was where I had the biggest issues. Some of the restrooms had a terrible odor, even when an attendant was in them. They were not crowded, so that was a plus, but the odor did bother me.

Because this was a theme cruise, the regular price of $45 applied to the specialty restaurants, and that, to me, is just not worth it, especially when there is a surcharge for the better steaks in the Tuscan Grille. Towards the end of the cruise, they had a hard sell to get people to book the restaurants by offering discounts, but by then we were so happy with our dining room service, we decided not to bother.

I can't say too much about the bar service, and there were plenty of servers in the theater and other venues, however the size of the drinks were small. Good thing my husband had the premium drink package. On the day when they had all drinks by the pool at $5, we noticed that they used very cheap vodka for those drinks, while they used better vodka when they charged $7.50. Made no sense really.

I'll add more comments later.

We will be on the Flower Power too, I hope Sarah will be on board singing those tunes.