hrbtaxman42

Does anyone know what port is used in Roatan?

Don't think it is worth having the stock just for that small perk. I do have stock, looking money and the box not that great

My wife is a knitting teacher at Michaels and we will be on the Sky November 26

$100.00 OBC have to send in proof that you own shares.

would like comments on The Cirque Dreams show and Dinner. Thanks

I contacted: specialeventsbreakaway@ncl.com Someone got back to me in 2 days. This was for a group of 21

Does anyone know if they have baby cribs on the breakaway?

We are booked in a suite on the Star. I logged in 100 days out to make reservations, and the Teppanyaki wasn't listed at all to make reservations. I logged in again today (89 days out) and it still isn't listed. Did they remove this restaurant from the Star? Is it only available to book onboard?

 

Also, we have the unlimited dining (the original one that allows us to eat in an upcharge restaurant every night). Would you book an upcharge restaurant every night? I understand that it is almost impossible to decide the day before or day of that you want to eat in one of the surcharge restaurants anymore (this is what we most loved about NCL when we cruised a few years ago). Which restaurants woud you book twice?

 

Thanks for the input!!

Very small restaurant; therefore, can only book on board

My family is a huge fan of cruising and have enjoyed our two cruises on NCL (plus many others). So when the family decided on a vacation to Hawaii this upcoming summer, I naturally started to price the Pride of America - and have frankly been astonished with the cost. For four of us the cheapest balcony and inside would cost over $10k for the week we are looking at in July (interestingly, the obstructed view family suite is $8400 which would probably be my choice).

 

Now thinking that Hawaii is just expensive, I checked online and found that for the same week, I can rent a two bedroom condo in Honolulu, or a small house outside of town (both ocean front) for between $200 and $250 per night. Now with a budget of $2000 for a place to stay, I'm wondering what on the cruise would justify the $6400 price difference? (note - saw that two oceanfront hotel rooms in a resort would cost $3000-$4000 for the week, maybe a better comp).

 

The obvious answer is the transportation between the islands, plus dinners and shows, and the convenience of being able to sleep in the same room every night justifies the price difference. But we could do a lot of site seeing and eat some nice meals for that much money.

 

I do understand that the POA is more expensive to operate than other ships, plus we probably chose a popular week, so I'm not complaining about the cost of the POA. Obviously NCL fills it up.

 

So all that said, I'm looking for advice on how I can justify the cost of this cruise to my wife?

 

Thanks

We used the ship as a hotel and rented a car in each port. Saw different things than what was offered by any group.

I have cruised more on Royal but have done Epic and 2 upcoming NCL cruises. Here are my 2 cents.

 

Ships: I prefer the NCL ships when cruising with kids for the water slides and kids programs. I like the feel of Royal ships (not the mega ships) for the open feeling and accessible views to the ocean.

 

Food: I for one like the structured dining when cruising in a big group that Royal has however the food on Royal for me has always been better because NCL pumps out food all day long.

 

Private Islands: I LOVE Cococay, but will be visiting Great Stirrup Cay in November and even more looking forward to Harvest Caye next year.

 

Entertainment: NCL wins hands down for me. I loved all of the shows on the Epic.

 

It all comes down to Price point and right now with the Freestyle Promo's NCL has my business. I do have another Royal cruise scheduled in April 2016 but that was based on the ports of call that NCL does not sail to.

 

If NCL could get into some of the more exotic ports, I would exclusively sail NCL.

I have done about 8 RCL cruises and my next cruise will be in October on The NCL Spirit. I am not a fan of the anyti e dining. Our first experience was in Hawaii and when we wanted to eat we had to wait. We have selected dining times on the Spirit and will compare the Spirit to Pride of America.

Since DH and I don't have kids, we have never "had" to sail during school holidays but DB and DSIL want to do a family cruise next year over the Fourth of July holiday on Getaway.

 

The prices seem outrageously high...yeah, yeah, I know, "supply and demand," "find what you are willing to pay and don't worry about pricing," etc. etc. Over my years on CC I have posted all those things...but just wondering if anyone has any experience with Fourth of July pricing? Think it will fall or continue to go up? Would really love to know what anyone who sailed this past year experienced.

 

TIA

I have a group for the Breakaway, leaving 7/2

Background:

 

It was just my husband and I on this cruise to celebrate our 17th anniversary. We left our three boys – ages 8, 10, and 12 – home with their grandmothers for this trip, and although they love cruising and wanted to come with us (couldn’t because they were still in school), they had a great time with their grandmothers, who spoiled them rotten.

 

My name is Carolyn (39), dh’s name is Dan (38), and we live in Massachusetts. This was my 6th cruise, his 5th cruise, and our first cruise on NCL (the previous cruises have all been with Carnival). This was our first 12-day cruise. We have done three 7-day cruises, one 5-day cruise, and one 4-day cruise. We went back and forth for months, trying to decide between Alaska or the Mediterranean, but obviously, in the end, the Med won out.

 

We originally booked this cruise in October 2014 in a big inside cabin – #6535 – with no amenities. I was really looking forward to enjoying this spacious cabin, but in January (before final payment), I discovered that a different online travel agency, which we have used in the past, was offering an ocean view cabin with UBP, UDP, and OBC for less than what I was paying for the inside with no amenities, so I cancelled and rebooked under the new promo. Then, about 3 weeks before our cruise, I noticed that the prices had dropped significantly, presumably to fill the ship at the last minute, so we were able to upgrade to a balcony guarantee for the free and keep all of our amenities – YAY!! We were instantly assigned cabin #10632, which was quiet and conveniently located between the aft and mid-ship elevators.

 

We had an active roll call here on cruise critic of about 50 people. Most of us chatted for over 10 months as we planned our cruises, and many of us planned small group excursions together. I ended up keeping an updated list of people who were interested in a Meet & Greet, so it made sense for me to contact NCL to schedule it. We ended up getting a bunch of perks for organizing the M&G which we were not expecting, but greatly appreciated. They definitely enhanced our cruise experience. These perks will be discussed later in the review.

 

We debated whether to get euros before we left Boston or use ATMs once we got to Europe. In the end, we decided to use ATMs because the exchange rate was better than what we could find in the US. This worked really well for us.

 

Our Itinerary:

 

May 14 – Flights to Europe

May 15, 16, & 17 – Paris, France

May 18 & 19 – Barcelona, Spain

May 19 – Spirit embarkation

May 20 – Toulon, France

May 21 – Cinque Terre (from Florence/Pisa)

May 22 – Rome, Italy

May 23 – Naples, Italy

May 24 – Sea Day

May 25 – Mykonos, Greece

May 26 – Istanbul, Turkey

May 27 – Ephesus, Turkey

May 28 – Athens, Greece

May 29 – Sea Day

May 30 – Venice, Italy (overnight)

May 31 – Spirit disembarkation

May 31 – Venice, Italy

June 1 – Flights (and train) home

______________________________________

 

Grand total = 20 days in Europe/Mediterranean

 

Overall Impressions:

 

This was by far our BEST vacation – cruise or land-based – ever!!! It far exceeded our expectations, although admittedly, we spared no expense on our excursions. We did everything we wanted to do regardless of the cost. The perks we received for organizing the M&G had a lot to do with our enjoyment of this cruise, as did the beverage and dining packages and the length of the vacation.

 

There were a few things that didn’t go as planned, but they were so minor that they did not detract from the cruise in any way. I will mention them, however, when appropriate.

 

This review will not be a direct comparison between Carnival and Norwegian, although I will likely make a few comparisons and suggestions.

 

Between the two of us, we took thousands of pictures, some of which I will attempt to include in this review. I won’t specify how many thousands of pictures for fear of sounding like a freak, but trust me, we have a lot to choose from. ☺

 

This is my first time posting a review. I am a full-time grad student (after a mid-life career change), so I will post as quickly as time permits. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them. I know how excited I was to read reviews of the Spirit before our cruise so I hope this will be helpful to those who are planning this cruise sometime in the future and will bring back fond memories for those who have been fortunate enough to sail this itinerary in the past.

We go 10/12

Hi Guys

Any advice you can give on shore excursions. going December 26th. Love sightseeing and the water.

Thanks:;)

I rented a car and did my own thing in each port. Went to places that were not on any tours. If you are going to Hawaii.

So I'll be a first time visitor to San Juan on my November Gem cruise. Has anyone taken the guided tour of San Juan? Is it worth it? Can one just get a map and do a self-guided tour?

 

For reference, when I do an excursion I like to get in at least one "historical-cultural" one.

If you are able to walk, walking distance from docks to the forts. We did that on our own. Also took the ferry and went to rum factory, also on our own.

If a 10 minute fireworks display is going to be the highlight of your 7 day cruise I might suggest saving the big bucks and book a dinner cruise around NY Harbor on the 4th to see the Macy's fireworks from the water! ;-)

My daughter is on the crew that does those fireworks, and would like to see fireworks on the 4th of July, especially if she is not setting them up and off.

I am not loyal to any cruise line. Do I prefer some over others...of course. But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try others. When I choose a cruise, it is based on what we want out of our vacation, regardless of the cruise line. I try to find the ships that meet our wants the best for that vacation and then compare prices for what I am willing to pay for it. That is all based on what is being offered today, not yesterday. All cruise lines make changes. Change is a normal part of life. It is up to the consumer to decide if what the ship is offering today is something they want at that price. It is so simple. If it is not what you want, then don't buy it. Go find what will make you happy. The cruise lines can not please everyone. That is impossible. We all want different things. It is not the cruise lines job to make you, specifically, happy...that is up to you.

I agree, the cruise is what you make of it. Also no favorite line.

Maybe to you and others that don't like that's happening right especially with fireworks show being canceled, but to others the show is not one of the main reasons for booking a NCL trip. Me personally, when I booked Breakaway last year; I did it mostly due 1)to sailing from NYC so I can take the subway there 2) the others shows onboard like Burn the floor and 3) the dining options, not necessarily free but I like that there was alot of options . I didn't bother to see the fireworks show when it was on because Burn the Floor and Rock of Ages was more entertaining to me those evenings than that.

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

Don't get me wrong, not picking on NCL, the fireworks were only a small factor. We wanted our entire family on a cruise for our 50th annivesary. Asked for input and this cruise was the best. This was to be our 3rd cruise on NCL, the first was Pride of America, not one of our best, but we knew that before the cruise and used the ship as a floating hotel. We are booked on the NCL Spirit in October for a 12 night Mediterranean cruise. Not partial to any line usually look into the itinerary.

It's a short list.

 

Disney

 

prepare to pay nearly triple for those fireworks.

More than that when you add the air from Newark to Fla. No air if we leave from NYC

I'm really hoping that is sarcasm...

Not sarcasm, one of my daughters is part of the "Pyro Spectaculars" crew. They set up and set off the NYC Macy's July 4th fireworks show. She told me that if she can NOT set up the show (Plan to be on the Breakaway for July 4th) then she wants to see them. Chose that ship because of the fireworks. Right now she is getting ready to set off fireworks for the NYC Broadway opening of Hamilton.

Check out the latest Norwegian Cruise Line news from Cruise Critic:

 

Fireworks Ending on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway

We booked a group of 12 rooms because of fireworks for July 4th. Might have to change lines to find one with fireworks.

Anyone have any Intel on what the HUGE announcement could be?

Maybe sail now pay later no interest.

I don't know about those. If you visit the Cruise Critic store they have tag holders that are specific to each line. They are pretty cheap and hold up well. :)

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/store/product.cfm?ID=46

Thanks, I purchased them

Anyone have a link that will show all the MDR menus on the Spirit?

I made a PDF of all the dailies from the 4/25/15 Med cruise on the Norwegian Spirit. Its 33meg in size.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iz7c2aimbld0gpk/Dailies.pdf?dl=0

 

Hopefully the Dropbox link will work right, let me know if it doesn't.

Very glad that you took the time to do this. Harold

Curious, I was told by some "seasoned" travelers to get the euros here in NY. Doesn't ATM's charge you a processing fee? Do you remember your exchange rate for the ATM ?

I got my euros at Santander Bank.