cantthinkofanythingfun

From my experience, sailing on NCL's newer ships is not that much more than a Carnival cruise, unless you go on one of those Carnival ships that Kathy Lee Gifford used to sing about. Those are pretty cheap. I have sailed on both NCL and Carnival more than once. On NCL's newer ships, the entertainment blows Carnival out of the water. You get real Broadway shows, and the lounge entertainment is top notch. I also really like the Freestyle dining and the choices in venues, even if they cost extra. I hate eating at set times and sitting with strangers. Since I book late, Carnival's anytime dining is always booked. I end up eating in the buffet every night and hit the steak house one or two nights.

Quite honestly, the only reason I sail Carnival is because the Pride is literally a 10 minute cab ride from my house, and it's less than half the price of the RCL ship at the same port. This winter, The Pride was in Tampa after a dry dock. I looked into sailing out of NYC which is 3 hours from me and found great deals on the Breakaway. In my opinion everything from the ship to the staff with NCL was far better than the Pride. I'm not saying the Pride is awful, and I probably will sail it again when it comes back to Baltimore just for the convenience, but if we had an NCL ship here as well the decision would be a no brainer.

BTW, hope you enjoy your visit to Baltimore. I have lived in and around this city all of my life and would be glad to tell you ways to spend your money while you are here.

Take the OBC and go right to the casino and put it on black. Tell us how that works out.

I have sailed out of Baltimore a couple times and have never heard of that rule, but I never tried to use my cell phone in the terminal either. I'm sure you can use it outside and inside before you go through security. Maybe you can't use it in line while waiting to check in, and I'm sure you can't use it after you have checked in. They try to get people on board fast, and they are pretty good at it. They don't let people linger around long in the area after check-in and before the gangway. I know you can use it on the ship. One of the benefits of sailing out of Bmore is that you will have good (and free) cell service for the first day as the ship sails down the Chesapeake Bay.

I don't know if this has already been posted, but I just got the email today where you can vote on an ad for Carnival brands. The Cruise Virgin ad is brilliant and hilarious. If they run that ad during the Superbowl, Carnival will be talked about for quite a long time.

http://www.carnivalmarketingchallenge.com/?cid=Em_PG_20150109_CRUISENALITY_6230

I thought it was silly to re-name all the bars with a person’s name in the company to begin with. Why not call it the Red Lion Pub or something like that and keep it without a name. Now to change it will cost more money and we know that NCL will not do that in the near future. Maybe Kevin wanted his legacy to live on in the ships long after he resigned? Now his legacy will be on almost ALL of the NCL fleet.

 

I, personally, saw nothing wrong with the Blue Lagoon on the older ships as the late night menu was far better than the late night menu in O’Sheehans. I was dreading the day Sheehan would change the older ships over and now he has and re-done the entire area all for the sake of driving revenues. It’s not the first time he touched the older ships for the sake of revenues either (adding suites to the Dawn and Star to name just another).

 

Was the company better off under his management watch, yes? Could the company have turned itself around without being so in-your-face about needing revenue? TOTALLY!

 

I wish him luck on whatever caused him to leave and all future endeavors but I’m VERY excited for change at NCL. :D

I don't think most people even pay attention to that. When I first got on the Breakaway, I just thought, "cool, the boat has an Irish pub". I think it may have been after about the tenth time of watching the Undercover Boss episode in the cabin that I made the connection that it was named after the CEO.

I think you also need to read the promotion more carefully. You get a choice of one of those items with a mini-suite, not all 3. You get all 3 with an actual suite.

Just make sure you book your dining early. I always book late, and the two times I have sailed on Carnival, anytime dining was always booked. I absolutely hate being held to a set schedule on when I am supposed to eat and being stuck at a table with a bunch of strangers. I end up eating in the buffet all week on Carnival, or pay the difference for David's, which is an incredible meal.

I might also go on the 12day caribean on jan 18.

getting an extra $100 is icing on the cake.

 

ugg.. whats wrong w/the ports on the bahama cruise? (I'm going on Feb 15 on the BA.)

Well there isn't a lot to do in Port Canaveral outside of the Kennedy Space Center. I don't think you are there long enough to really see Disney, and I'm not a big fan of Cocoa Beach. I lived in Florida for a bit, and it's all old hat. Great Stirrup Cay is nice, but the ship has about a 50% success rate of actually stopping there during the winter. Nassau is a dump, and becoming a dangerous dump. Unless you want to pay through the nose for Atlantis, it's just a bunch of jewelry stores, and the deals are not very good. I've also been there about 15 times, so again, it's old hat. The other issue is that the weather this time of year can sometimes be a little cold even down there.

The ship is still a blast though. Last time I went I didn't even get off except at GSC. This southern Caribbean cruise is appealing because it will actually be warm down there.

1.) I think the drink package is worth it, but I do drink a lot. They are currently running a promotion where you can get the drink package for free. I don't know NCL deadlines, but you may be able to cancel and re-book and get the drink package for free.

2.) The only show that costs extra is the Cirque show. It does include dinner. If you get the dining package, you can go on the first night as part of the package. Otherwise it's like 40 bucks. I didn't think it was worth it, but I don't like Cirque shows. You can book it online before your cruise. All other shows are free, but they do recommend you make reservations ahead of time. I never had an issue getting in the day of the show.

3.) I don't think Vibe is worth it, but I have only cruised in colder months. I think it may be worth it in July.

4.) Cagney's. I love steak, and they make a good one. Teppanyaki is also very good and a lot of fun. I would take everyone to Teppanyaki before doing the Cirque show.

I jet got an email that if you book today or tomorrow (Jan. 1-2) you get an additional $100 onboard credit to go with the Freestyle Choice promo. It is really hard for me to justify not booking that Jan. 18th or Feb. 1st 12 night Southern Caribbean sailing on the BA. The prices are a steal, and I would be saving another $700-$800 on the UBP that I always buy. It would actually end up being far less expensive than the 7 night Florida Bahamas cruises that I just went on in November and December, and those ports are pretty awful.

Why don't you drive 3 hours South on 95 and sail out of Baltimore? We have the RCI Grandeur of the Seas and in March the Carnival Pride returns from a dry dock and winter stay in Tampa. The parking is less than half what they charge in NYC. I prefer the Breakaway to other of the ships in Baltimore, but I hate traditional cruising and just eat at the buffet every night if I am forced into set dining times with strangers.

I have a question. I have done some mock bookings for a last minute cruise on the BA for this January. I type in the code for the UBP, but when I get to the summary page it is just giving me $200 OBC. I am toying with booking a balcony room, and it is a 12 night cruise. Is there a restriction I don't know about?

While i agre they are entertaining, what is distasteful is their constant request for tips. Why should they be the only entertainer on a cruise ship that asks for tips numerous times..

Howl at the Moon is a chain of piano bars around the country. NCL only purchased the name. Asking for tips is part of what they do, and actually part of the fun, but NCL doesn't allow them to get too crazy with it. I have seen hundreds of dollars get tossed around for one song at real dueling piano bars. Usually it will be with playing college fight songs and someone pays them more to "make it stop", and then play their college fight song, and then they are outbid, etc.. It's really a lot of fun, and you certainly don't have to tip if you don't want to.

I also heard Great Stirrup Cay coming back on the tenders was a 2 hour wait. :(

The line was incredibly long and I was at the back of it, but it was actually a 45 minute wait.

Is the EA Sports bar where the casino bar used to be?

By the way, how could your expectations be sky high for the Grandeur of the Seas because it would have costed $5,000, but absolutely no expectations for the Carnival Pride because it was $1,500? Surely you at least expected to have the basic necessities to live and be provided with safe/secure living conditions.

Perhaps I should have said, you get what you pay for. Of course I expected the basics and maybe a bit more. I did not expect great entertainment. The Pride certainly didn't deliver that. I did not expect the food to be anything to write home about. It was slightly better than I expected. I expected the room to be clean, and it was clean, but it was in pretty bad shape. The laminate on the countertops and tables were cracked and chipped. The mattress was terrible. Even the cheapest hotels now have flat screen televisions. The Pride did not, and cruise ships really benefit from flat screens with the limited space. It is my understanding that nothing was done to the staterooms during the recent dry dock.

I was on the same cruise, but I do have a question. Do you know why we stopped and dropped anchor about an hour after leaving NYC? There was a helicopter with sirens circling the ship at a very low altitude (eye level with my balcony on deck 16). Some sort of large jet with 4 engines flew over us at a very low altitude, and shortly after we stopped.

For once, I'm going to keep my mouth shut and let the above speak for itself when you are paying for a product/service.

Let me explain what I am talking about. My last sailing on Carnival was February of this year. We have two ships that leave the port of Baltimore. The Carnival Pride and the RCI Grandeur of the Seas. Both ships are about the same size. The Grandeur was built in 1996 with a complete refurb in 2012, I believe. The Pride was built in 2002. It just had the 2.0 deal done in October. When I priced the two cruises last February, the Pride was $1500 for two people in a balcony room. The Grandeur was $5000 for two people in a balcony room. That is quite a huge difference. My expectations for the Grandeur would have been sky high for that price. I just got off an NCL Breakaway cruise in a suite with 4 people that wasn't much more than that $5000. Obviously I wasn't expecting much for such a huge price difference. Honestly it was a nice cruise, but other than the sewage smell, I noticed many of the things that the OP mentioned. There was a lot of smoking and drinking, and this was a seven night cruise. It didn't bother me because I was partaking in it. The bed was hard as a rock. If you were on the Serenity deck for any amount of time, you were covered in soot from the smokestack (maybe the new scrubbers will fix that). Looks are subjective, but I don't know what Carnival was thinking with the Renaissance look of the Pride, but that really isn't going to affect my good time. My girlfriend at the time actually fell and broke her wrist on the last night of the cruise. The medical center was closed and a nurse called my room and told me to put ice on it. The next morning I asked if we could get a priority disembark so I could get her to a hospital, and I was told no. Despite all of that, if I could sail the Pride again for $1500 for a balcony when she comes back to Baltimore, I would probably do it. Any more than that, and I will drive to New York and get on the Breakaway.

Is NCL the Sprit Airlines of the Seas?

My point is that Carnival is incredibly inexpensive, and that is a big reason why people choose them. Basically, it's what everyone else is saying as they make excuses for what happened. When people say things like, "Why would you book a suite on Carnival?", that kind of proves the point. Why does Carnival offer suites if they are going to have uncomfortable beds and smell like sewage? Nevermind the perks. The price difference between a Carnival suite and one from NCL or RCI should be fair warning that many of the perks won't be there, but is a comfortable bed and no sewage smell too much to ask? Carnival seems to be embracing being the Southwest of the Seas. They aren't building new ships. They consider throwing a burger joint onboard and some EPA mandated scrubbers to be a rehab to their aging fleet.They are cheap though, and that's not a bad thing, but it is going to attract the booze cruise crowd. I enjoy sailing on the Pride when it's in Baltimore. It's a very cheap getaway and I will partake in the Cheers program. I don't go in with any expectations, so I have never been let down. The ports are awful. The ship is a bit tired and dark, but after the 6th drink you really don't notice it.

Carnival is the Southwest Airline of the Seas.

For that money you could stay on the ship and go again. The Haven is fantastic, but it really isn't worth the huge price difference that NCL charges, especially if you don't spend a lot of time in the room. You get a little bar, a little restaurant, a little pool, and 2 indoor hot tubs. The rooms are great, but it isn't like the regular rooms are flea bags. You also get some additional staff (whom carry a considerable gratuity if you're being fair). You'll get some chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of champagne, a bowl of fruit avery day, and some canapés. Hardly worth the nearly 5 grand difference. If you have money to burn, or you get an amazing deal then maybe the Haven is worth it. I just got off the Breakaway and payed just under 6K for the 2 bedroom villa in the Haven for 4 people. I only booked it because they were sold out of adjoining rooms, and it really would have only been about 1200 more than 2 separate standard balcony rooms. Take that money and get the beverage and dining packages and do some awesome excursions. It will be a lot more memorable than having a butler.

I would guess that they will keep them up through New Years Day, but I will forewarn you that they really aren't that impressive. There are like 3 or 4 small trees and some garland on deck 7. I was on the Breakaway for Thanksgiving week when they put them up and I thought that maybe that was just a start, but I was on again last week, and that was it. I'm not complaining. It didn't really impact my experience in anyway.

I just returned from my first Haven experience on the Breakaway. I don't think I will have any trouble going back to regular balcony rooms. I could take two balcony cruises for the price of one Haven cruise. I never really used the concierge except to get on a tender to GSC. The butler was fantastic, but I could certainly get by without him, and he comes with an additional substantial tip. About the only thing I would miss is having the private indoor hot tub and pool area, but I wouldn't miss that if I was cruising in the warmer months.

Great review! You're adorable and English. Such a winning combination.