jkbec101

We were in 17003 and the room was great. As for the forward facing balcony, it had a great view, it is enclosed, but the windows open and it can get windy. You can't go wrong with any Haven room on the Epic.

Thank you for answering my question.

Last summer, my wife and her mother were on the Spirit after the Sun cancelled due tot he growler. They were hoping for the park ranger to explain what they were going to see and were also hoping for the blanket and hit chocolate like others have discussed. They felt cheated, not in a give me cruise credit kind of way, just that they were disappointed and felt like they missed out. My question is when booking the next Alaska cruise, does anyone have any tricks or tips to ensure that these small perks are a part of the cruise? Is the park ranger (I think that's who it is) only on certain ships, is the blanket and hot chocolate a Haven/suite thing?

I believe you will be able to as it gets closer. If you decide to purchase the pass, make sure you are up there for sail away. They had passed hors d' oeurvers and champagne.

More than likely it is the housekeeping area.

I agree with the other opinion regarding Cagney's, my wife and I both sent our steaks back. The quality of the meat seemed to be really low. Now, my wife was on the Spirit in July and absolutely loved Cagney's, we were on the Epic in September 2022. We were also in the Haven and the service was very hit or miss. We both really liked La Cucina, the food was the best on the ship as was the service. Tappan was just ok, they overcooked the fried rice.

Sorry, you're nit-picking. We were on the Epic in September and the entire Ship was fine, clean and extremely well maintained. The crew was constantly cleaning and painting. Let's all remember that this is a metal ship in sea water, there will be rust and this isn't your 30 ft pleasure craft, it's a small city on water, it takes time to get to everything.

Thanks!

My wife was supposed to be on the Sun in July, but the cruise got cancelled after it hit the iceberg. We have a cruise booked (but not paid for) on the Escape in June. Has anyone been able to use future cruise credit for an already booked cruise, or this this credit only good for new bookings? Thanks!

All I'll say is that it worked for us when we flew from LA to Barcelona last month for our cruise on the Epic. We took the two day deviation and while I would not have personally booked the flights we had (WestJet out through Toronto and Air Canada through Montreal back), it worked and we actually arrived in Barcelona much earlier in the day than we expected. We're using NCL air for our cruise on the Escape in June and again arriving early. If I get a red eye, then I get a red eye. It doesn't bother me.

Per Facebook posts of the webcam, it looks like she's out of drydock.

Here are answers: 1. If you don't request a deviation no less than 75 days prior, you will be flown in the same day as embarkation. 2. Yes, but must be requested 75 days prior. 3. Only if you select seats next to each other. NCL does not assign seats. 4. We had a 3 hour layover in Toronto on our way to Barcelona and 4 hours on the way home through Montreal. You will want a longer layover rather than shorter if changing planes outside of the US.

In your opinion what was the best Restaurant on the ship (Non-Haven)? Best service? Best food? Best ambiance? What restaurant would you avoid if sailing on the same ship again and why?

We just returned from the Epic where we had Cabin 17003 in the Haven. Here are my observations regarding our experience. First off, would I cruise in the Haven again? Yes, definitely!! Haven Restaurant - Service was hit or miss. We ate in the Haven 4 times as a couple, my wife once alone (I was on an excursion). One Breakfast and one Dinner we were seated and then ignored by the staff and service was slow. On the other two occasions, service was perfect. I surmised that if you had the same server at Dinner that you had a say lunch or breakfast, service was definitely better, but if the server was new to you, not so much. When service was poor, it did not feel like a fine dining restaurant. For example, our last night, we ate dinner there and arrived to a nearly empty venue. Server had to be flagged down to take drink order. My wife ordered a glass of wine and I a beer. Brought the wine but not the beer (had to ask). Wife ordered appetizer of Lobster deviled eggs, a Caesar salad and surf and surf. I ordered the Caesar and surf and surf (twin lobster tails). In my opinion, proper service would have been to bring the appetizer first alone and then the salads together. We were brought the app and my salad, then her salad, then the main course. Servers in the Haven were slow even when told of time constraints (excursion, show reservations, etc.) At our last dinner, I informed the server that I had reservations to play in a poker tournament that started at 8:30 and we needed to speed things up, he looked surprised and offended. by comparison, server in La Cucina asked straightaway if we had plans after dinner or were we leisurely dining that evening. This is something that should have been asked at dinner in the Haven. Food quality was also hit and miss, breakfast was horrible, but that was across the board and not just Haven. Dinner was much better. The Cabin - We had the two bedroom family suite and it was great for the two of us. Our cabin was always cleaned and tidy whenever we returned. Never had an issue. The Butler and Concierge - This was by far the best part of the Haven. While in Rome, my wife injured herself on an NCL excursion and the staff handled not only cancelling the excursion the next day for her, but also switching out the excursions the day after to lessen the distance walking. Priority debarkation, embarkation and tendering were great. Probably could have utilized the butler more, but that's just not who we are. Everyone was johnny on the spot when something was needed and as a result we tipped above and beyond what we would normally do. The last piece is a very slight annoyance. With all the cleaning and tidying up of the staterooms, it meant that housekeeping carts were ALWAYS in the hallway, the only exception was very late at night. Hallways were not that wide, so had to sidestep them constantly. Not really an issue, but something to point out as we commented about it during the cruise. Embarkation - We boarded in Barcelona and had a transfer from our hotel to the ship. We bypassed the security line due to Haven status (this may be new as many have complained about this in the past). We arrived at the port by 11:00 and onboard in the Haven Lounge by 11:15. Given a tour of the Haven area and room was ready by 11:30 for all Haven guests. As I stated at the start, these are just my observations and opinions and someone else who was in the Haven with us may have very different impressions.

I like this thread as it helps manage expectations. We have a number of early morning excursions and I was wondering if we ask the butler to bring us coffee in the morning, are they also able to bring to go cups, so we can take our coffee on the run?

We'll be on the Epic here very shortly and I was wondering if the Epic Cigar lounge had Cuban Cigars? Technically, since the Epic is in European waters and not stopping at any US ports, there should be no prohibition from them selling Cuban Cigars. If they don't does anyone have a recommendation for a Cigar Shop in Barcelona?

I believe that there is a smoking area on the starboard side of the ship on the pool deck. I honestly do not know about any other areas.

Here's how the shore excursion credit works. Let's say you want to take an excursion in Rome and the cost of the excursion is $100. The first person would get $50 off the cost and the second and any subsequent person would pay full price. This is based on a per excursion basis.

Speaking of if you don't ask you don't get. Sometimes I have the pallet of a 10 year old boy and for lunch, I like a good old fashion grilled cheese and fries (we even have a grilled cheese truck that I follow on Twitter). I know it's not on the menu, but I should be able to order this at lunch one day, right? I mean it's not a complicated dish. Just curious.

I sail on the 18th and have not received a letter. Now that I have typed this up, I have jinxed it and will get the emailed letter later today. 😉

We have our flights through NCL on WestJet (LAX-YYZ-BCN). I have been very nervous given all the cancellations. So I have been tracking our flight from Toronto to Barcelona and it was cancelled three times since 8/22/22. Each time the flight was cancelled it was done 24 hours in advance. If your flight cancelled and you had 24 hours notice, would you (A) Call NCL to rebook; or (B) Work with the Airline? Second question, if the flight continues to be cancelled each week, would you reach out to NCL, present the proof that the flight schedule is unreliable and ask to be rebooked or would you just let it roll (we have travel insurance)? I'll be honest, all indications are the NCL won't do anything since the flights have already been ticketed. We're flying in two days early also. Just curious

This may have been said before, but I'm not going back through 700 posts to see. Here is my unpopular cruise opinion. People cancelling or rescheduling cruises because cruise line X will not be showing insert sporting event on the ship. All the big cruise lines carry the Super Bowl, the World Series, maybe hockey, but to cancel or refuse to cruise because you might miss a sporting event is just plain stupid. I'm a huge sports fan, but, (1) the dates for major US sporting events are well known in advance (like a year in advance), (2) so unless you played for an NFL team and that team is in the playoffs, watch the highlights and read about it on the internet later. Same for the Stanley Cup, the MLB All-Star game (I saw a post where someone was going to cancel because he/she could not watch the game), and college football. Again, I have multiple fantasy sports teams covering football and baseball, I regularly attend NFL and MLB games, but life is too short to worry about something like this.

For the record, I have searched this topic and read reviews, but there is nothing recent. We're staying at the Hilton Barcelona (through NCL) and have paid for transfers. Looking for recent experiences anyone has had with the NCL transfers in Barcelona. What time were you picked up, were you notified the night before, what time did you make it to the port, etc. Thanks!

I have been spending all morning trying to purchase tickets for the guided tour and tower (they're available and at times we like), but when I go to enter in my personal information, both the website and app are giving me error messages. I think it may be the telephone number, but I'm not sure. Anyone else having issues? For reference, we're using Chrome and I have an iPhone.

Anyone who recently disembarked willing to share the dailies?