Jofishes

never cruised ncl

have used room service on dcl which was excellent

would order tea, coffee and pastry for breakfast but would not pay to do so

Yes, there are still those people who cannot seem to understand a buffet line, and the workers tried to help but there were always "cutters".

I was of the understating that the buffet on the epic was made up of pods/ sections rather than it being one long line is this not the case ? :confused:

people can be very rude :(

Now if your one of the types that think kids should sit in the corner and color or sit quiely in the pool while you have your adult fun and adult conversations. I am not one of those people . Most people who speak ill of kids dont want to be by them at all. They think the ship is for adults only. And if the kids are laughing and playing they are unrulely and the parents should tell them to behave. Kids would not want to go on cruises with there parents if they felt they had to contain themselves at all times its there vacation too. I ask the people who say that if I walked up to them when there laughing and talking loud and said hey be quiet I am trying to read a book. They would not like it. So all the old folks and prudes that want to bully kids and there parents to me are the rudest of all sorts.

no you have me very wrong i have no problems whatsoever with being around children enjoying themselves, laughing and playing as such but the OP mentioned children being unruly, becoming unruly is a different thing altogether, they also worryingly mentioned unsafe behaviour which was children jumping from the top of the hot tub into the pool, this would make me uncomfortable too

i haven't in any of my posts spoke ill of children :confused: i have mentioned what the courtyard is advertised as and i do think that as parents (myself included) we must and should take responsibility for our children when they become unruly or display behaviour that many would consider dangerous

i do have a problem if a parent switches off and refuses to take any responsibility for their child or worse lazily excuses any unruly or dangerous behaviour as the kids just having fun

it is about teaching our children respect and consideration for others no one said a child must sit quietly with a colouring book !!!

i have never once been so rude to ask a child to be quiet, i would expect their own parent to do this when they feel it is appropriate just like i step up to parent my own children if and when they get out of hand ;)

You should know they are diapers for elder adults.

i do think this remark is immature and rude :(

You might try HAL there are very few kids. You may see a depends floating in the pool though. I am amazed folks still think parents with kids that can afford to go into a suite should not be there with there family.

not sure what the above means ?

i'm not anti children, i have two myself ;) nor am i foolish enough not to expect them to be there especially with all those family suites but that does not mean the parents should absolve all responsibly for their little ones and their behaviour

the Haven courtyard is advertised as this "lounge in the serenity of our tranquil courtyard with private pool" so to me it's simple there should be some emphasis on a code of conduct to make sure all suite guests can actually use this area as it is described

the original poster stated that they avoided the courtyard pool because of unruly kids and i would ask why should they ?

Just on the Epic from 3/15-3/22 - our 42 anniversary on March 17th had a fabulous time - weather great - food unbelievable - butler fernando and stewart reggie amazing - we took this trip on the Epic one year ago and had a so so time in a regular aft balcony - so this time we got a haven spa suite and what can i say it was worth every penny. The only thing we did not enjoy was the unruly kids in the haven pool. So we went to the pool on port days when everyone was out and about. The best restaurants were Le Bistro, Le Cucino, Noodle Bar, Moderno, Cagneys was okay, Haven Restaurant was also good. Blue Man Group was amazing, Hypnotist was also good.

this is the one thing that really concerns me with booking the haven why oh why call it a haven if they do nothing about the courtyard area and unruly kids :confused::(

yes I can see there are a lot of family suites so children are to be expected in this area and of course they are not going to want to upset family guests staying in those suites by asking for some quiet in the courtyard but imo this is what that courtyard is for, if not then why those nice relaxing loungers in the water and not a kiddie splash area instead ?

I think they made a big mistake when they made so many of those haven suites "family ones" :(

Yes I accept you could get unruly adults too in the haven area but they really should have some sort of code of conduct for what is deemed acceptable behaviour in this area, they definitely got this area wrong and of course the video and pictures online shows very few children but rather a cosy relaxed couple who seem to be enjoying some peace and quiet

"Haven - Lounge in the serenity of our tranquil courtyard with private pool" they should add a disclaimer to this that says only if we have parents who are considerate of other guests on board during your sailing ;) :rolleyes:

it is there in the terms and conditions but it is very vague as to the actual amount and when it will be charged for example we're on a cruise from Barcelona over to the canary islands and my understanding is VAT will only be charged whilst in Spanish EU waters of Barcelona and Malaga but exactly when the VAT will end on day one as we depart Barcelona and start being charged again as we approach Malaga then goodness knows

it says this on the UK site under the UBP details

Please note that we charge 18% gratuity and on cruises from/to Spain and Italy

we are required to charge an additional VAT

we pre paid our dsc when it was offered at £7 per person per day we figured that was a good deal given the exchange rates at the moment

OP i have a friend in the UK who called recently about a drop in prices on her cruise and to enquire about a possible upgrade and she managed to blag a upgrade to a balcony from her inside room and the UBP for the price of her soda one, i'd go and make a super friendly polite call myself, expressing your concern about the taxes and you not being informed on making your reservation and ask if there is anything they can do, the very worst they can say is no but then you never know

to my knowledge it's an additional 10% for the Spanish and Italian EU tax :(

plus the 18% auto gratuity

don't know if useful but on the ncl.co.uk website it says under the pricing for the UDP

Dining packages are non-refundable and must be purchased for the whole cruise. It can be purchased for children 13 years of age and older and adults. Please note that we charge 18% gratuity

I cannot see this at all if i log onto the ncl.com website :confused:

If you decide to pursue this, ask NCL to give you that promise in writing. That way when you reach the ship and they refuse you can try to get them in the studio's. My guess is you will never get that promise in writing from anyone at NCL that has authority to grant it.

It was only ever our first and original intention and after much thought and family discussion we opted for two balcony rooms instead

My husband said he would consider it one time with our son but as for our daughter it is a definite no go

We originally looked at doing this with 2 connecting studio rooms for our two older children ages 18 and 21

We were told it would not be a problem and that we could also have an additional key to the area to check on our younger child

i really appreciate the information :)

maybe megacruiser will add this information to his fab cheat sheets because i'm sure many people just like myself don't want to go through the smoky casino ;)

You take the forward elevator to 6 then walk toward the casino (going aft) and take the escalators (also stairs) down just before the casino. If you take the aft elevators to 6 (which is where Manhattan is), then you do have to walk through the casino.

Thank you this is extremely helpful

I will add it to my notes :)

Hi

first can i say this is a fantastic review and i have found it extremely helpful

please can i ask just one question

you mention the elevators only going down to deck 6 ? does this mean we must walk through the casino to get to taste ? or can we walk further down to deck 5 using the stairs (either fwd or aft) our cabin location is close to those aft elevators

you had me curious there so i had to google Crown Royal LOL

this is the link for a photo review and trip report and mentioned earlier, i found it very informative and helpful (but be warned it's long)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2059296

OP I smiled at your post when referencing to Disney Cruise really I did because I have tried my hardest not to do this myself

After many Disney cruises we have just booked our first Ncl cruise on the Epic and after a little, ok I will admit it quite a bit of research i've already said to the kids " this ship ain't no Disney ship " it's huge for a start and the product itself is very, very different, the huge casino bang in the middle gave that one away

I've been looking at a lot of you tube videos and reading trip reports to prepare for what's to come, there is a great report on here about 24+ pages long which is very informative by a guy from Scotland travelling solo which is well worth reading i will try to find it and link it on this thread for you

not sure how my family would factor in all this and what we would ask of a butler either :confused:

we have cruised concierge in a suite with Disney Cruise Line (no butler) and that worked very well for us

on a bigger ship we would chose a suite for the additional room space, added privacy and access to a smaller more exclusive area and that quieter haven area for my older children who both have some additional needs

but personally for my liking with the exception of the stateroom host who is coming to clean the room and turn down at evening time i really would find it extremely intrusive if a crew member albeit my own named butler was popping into the room three or four times a day and i would most certainly not want that person sorting through my clothes, if i wanted them laundered i really would ask

yes i can understand that there would be coffee pods that needed to be replaced and barware cleaned but i would suspect that this is the role of the stateroom host and if it was not then i would ask for the butler to come just one time only each day, reading these posts it sounds like they just turn up when they please ! please tell me this is not so ?

for my family to have the most relaxed holiday the only time i would really expect to see a butler is if i asked for in suite dining or for him/ her to call anything else i would consider highly intrusive and i would not like that at all

Hi there

I posted on the duplicate thread but just wanted to add that if you do rig up additional privacy curtains would you mind posting a picture and reporting back (if you get the chance that is ?)

Would be very helpful to those looking for similar solution in the future :)

Hope it all goes well and you have a great holiday

I just booked an inside family cabin for a mediterranean cruise! I read a lot of posts about the bathrooms. I like that they are separated, but I hate that they are see through. What the heck? Anyway, we are ncl fans, so this wasn't going to stop us from picking the epic for this dream itinerary.

 

I remember reading about someone who was going to use suction cup hooks and a shower curtain liner, but I can't find that post anywhere. I was wondering if it worked or if anyone has thought of any other ideas that will allow for some privacy. It will definitely bother us, esp. My teen daughter, even if others can see an outline. I have seen pictures and even a video so I am aware of how it looks and really don't want to argue about whether or not we need to cover it :) How about draping a large towel over the shower/toilet doors? I could take two cheap lightweight beach towels and just leave them there.

 

Eta: in some photos, it appears there is a gap over the door, but not in others. Hmm..

Hi there

I get you mainly because i have a teen boy who even with the privacy curtain pulled across would not be happy or comfortable, he'd prefer us to leave the room, there's always that issue of trust with our kids at this age, YES we can pull the curtain across BUT if i forgot just once and went to go through the curtain then i know with my son all hell would break loose :(

so my thinking is that if a extra privacy barrier makes your daughter feel more comfortable and secure then isn't too bad an idea at all :)

the suction hook thing along with a cheap thin polyester shower curtain could do the job nicely i reckon or you could try large plastic pegs and attach to top rail

in the UK I'd find these easy in a pound store (i think in the US this would be dollar tree ?) perhaps would you could find something cheaply in here ?

hope this helps

It's tiny. It's oval shaped. About 1 foot wide & maybe 6-7 inches across. I suppose you could wash a small T shirt but not a men's large. I washed things in the shower with me. There is a clothes line to hang things dry.

thanks :) I will take a collapsible wash up bowl with me and use that in the shower

i wouldn't bother usually but we don't have a great luggage allowance and with a autistic teen that can change tops 3-4 times a day and then wanting the first top to be clean again by the very next day it's always a challenge keeping up with him

at the minute he is alternating between just two pairs of socks, he has many many pairs but only these two will be worn, its very frustrating

Hi! It depends on which ship you are looking at. I think the only one you would have issues with in the Epic which does have very small sinks in any cabin below suite class. Otherwise you should be able to manage a t shirt easily. By the way as you noted there is laundry services available but they are fee based. There are no washer/dryers available for passenger use on NCL ships. Enjoy your cruise !

Yes it is the Epic

do you think I would get a t shirt washed in the handbasin ?

irrelevant to many I'm sure but does anyone know how deep/ big the washbowl is in the balcony staterooms

I've read that it's small and it does look incredibly small in pictures :confused:

so if I ever stop waffling here what I really need to know is depth wise would it be big enough to wash and rinse a tshirt in ?

and Yes ! before anybody enlightens me i do know there's a laundry onboard

thanks in advance

OP here, looking to miss the last 3 days of the cruise, glad to hear someone has gotten permission to do this, will call NCL if unable to get the extra time off work.

This was our main reason " work commitments" :(

and we did in our initial email enquiry for a quote state that we would have to disembark early

hope this helps

we're booked on the 10 night Barcelona canary island cruise in jan 2016

before booking we asked if we could disembark on day 8 when the ship arrives in Malaga and the answer was YES

there is a protocol to follow but it seems pretty straight forward :) it's along the lines of NCL being able to prepare your bill and alerting the authorities on arrival at the port you wish to get off at that guests are disembarking so you can clear customs

Booked same cruise November and March 16, cracking deal !!!!

I'd love to do the same but sadly the only free time from work this year is June/ July and then late Dec/ Jan, it's great having the cruise booked and something to look forward too when it gets cold and dark

I've been super organised and within days of booking arranged my flights from UK and the hotel in Barcelona too :D