nyfltraveler

Wow!!!

 

If what you say is actually happening...and I don't think you would post if it weren't.....then ncl is totally responsible for any and all expenses for those left behind!!

 

On my jan ba 12 night I read the dailies word for word and saw that they stated that smoking WAS allowed on the balcony!!!

 

A newbie that does not live and breath cruise critic like we do would not know that smoking isn't allowed

 

Remember their are still pax who do not do any research and just go with a Ta suggestion

 

Well I showed guest services this and of course it took them 2 days to correct the dailies and they were blaming it on the ships printing person and they sent me a plate of apples and bananas 😒as a thank you. Lol

 

Before anyone starts in on my post....yep I love cruising ncl...usually buy the FCC...but I'm also fairly intelligent and there is something wrong when a company makes a major change and doesnt remember to fix the time change everywhere it is listed

 

They know pax watch the ncl updates on cabin tv s ....so why isn't it updated there?

 

It amazes me how little forethought is put into important things

 

 

And yes...I know to check for all aboard time before I debark....but not everyone does....again newbies....who just don't understand to do this and just don't listen to the crew telling them 3 pm....why? Because the tv video said 5! To many pax once they are told something by the ship...in this case the tv...they would not think to double check it.

 

I know to double check but that's just me

 

I'm from NYC and I assure you that probably close to 50% of the Bermuda pax are on their " trip of a lifetime" 👏and are clueless. This is obvious many times and by no means meant as an insult....it's just a fact that many are newbies. NYC cruises that reach a huge population with no airfare needed most certainly appeal to those who travel very infrequently.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

There are conspicuously posted signs all along the pier and the exit/entrance posting the departure time. Don't use the ships tv as an excuse. 4498 other people knew what time the ship left.

Is this from recent experience on the getaway or past experience? I ask bc the getaway is typically used for piloting new initiatives. This could be something that is rolled out fleet wide.

This was from last week on Breakaway.

You can order unlimited appetizers. In Cagneys, for example, we would regularly order double shrimp cocktails (6 pieces instead of 3), a salad, soup and sometimes something else (such as the short ribs app).

Part of dining on cruises is the ability to sample and experience different foods.

 

Isn't it true that while the Haven is family-friendly, Vibe is adults only? (Or am I totally wrong about that?)

 

Correct.

A mini-suite is sure not a suite, but is certainly "mini." Other than the larger bathroom its no different than a regular balcony room.

I can't imagine doing some random fad diet and expecting the ship to manage it for me. How selfish is that?

Agreed.

Yes.. Teppanaki is full of salt, oil, butter....there's no reason to pay the price for that if all she's going to eat is the salad!!

I do not eat anything with butter so at Teppanyaki they prepared my meal in their kitchen (non-hibachi) and brought it out to me when everybody else's food was served --- everybody else's food on the hibachi was loaded up with heaps of butter.

My MIL follows the diet touted by the Forks over Knives folks...can't remember the name but it's no meat, no dairy, very limited salt and oils. She follows it about 85% of the time, will occasionally have some chicken, a bowl of ice cream, etc.

We purchased us all a 4 day specialty dining package. We are doing Teppanyaki (for my son, he is so excited!), Cagneys, Moderno, and Le Bistro. Cagneys is non negotiable so I'm hoping she will find something that will work there, but I'm unsure about Moderno. I was thinking everyone keeps bragging up the salad bar and she could stick with that, but wondered if we should cancel that and go with 2 times at Le Bistro? I'm sure she could find plenty at La Cucina but with such dismal overall reviews I don't want to risk it.

She is very laid back and wouldn't complain no matter where we went, but want her to feel ok with everything!

Moderno is not worth it. Better off going to Cagney's again. Moderno was extremely disappointing.

Same for La Cucina. Its nothing more than an Olive Garden at-sea.

As for specialty diet, tell the maitre d' when you arrive and they will always do what they can to assist, even if that means bringing food in from the main dining room for the diner with special dietary needs.

More than one soda package is not necessary. There is no limit to the number of soda's one can get you can keep going up for more. You do not need to have the thermos to get soda. In any event, there is plenty of free juice/iced tea/flavored water on the ship which is healthier and I regret even getting the one soda package.

Why do you think you are entitled to an upgrade, credit, refund? You booked at the fare. If you buy a car and the dealer has extra inventory and sells the same make/model to your neighbor for $1000 less should you get a credit/refund?

In response to another post regarding whether there is a dress code for dining, I responded as follows which I will add to this review (and for which I am sure I will be attacked for):

At dinner time you literally had people all dressed up (suits/ties) sitting in restaurants next to people who were in their bathing suits and t-shirts and this included in the "specialty dining" venues.

I do believe that NCL should have a minimum dress code for dinner venues akin to what people refer to as "business casual" nowadays.

Just packing for our Getaway cruise this Saturday and I thought I saw that golf type shorts are ok in the main dining room. My 23 year old son doesn't like dressing up, but has several pair of nice shorts. Is this acceptable?

I let out a laugh at your post....... I was just on the Breakaway and you should see how some people dressed for dinner. You literally had people all dressed up (suits/ties) sitting in restaurants next to people who were in their bathing suits and t-shirts and this included in the "specialty dining" venues.

I do believe that NCL should have a minimum dress code for dinner venues akin to what people refer to as "business casual" nowadays.

I probably wouldn't have bothered either. It just seems a bit unfair to not give the restaurant a chance to to rectify the situation, but then come on CC and complain about it. Especially the sauce for the calamari. In restaurants in my town, marinara is usually served with calamari. I guess in your town too.

 

Harvey

The food in La Cucina was downright awful. The Olive Garden is better. Certainly should not be a UDP/upcharge restaurant.

Another helpful hint....... The surface of pool decks (by pools and in Vibe) get extremely hot. Do not walk barefoot.

If one wants to talk noise on this ship, put aside the music for a moment, which being on deck 14 we did not hear at all ---- but the flush of the toilets from other rooms (particularly those above) was extremely loud.

Thank you for your very good review...especially the excellent information on the food. :):):):)

You are welcome. I wish others would focus on the review and not the personal attacks.

 

Our shower had a very light stream of water most times.

I found that the water pressure in our cabin (Deck 14) was surprisingly good-- even better than my own home.

We chose Moderno for our platinum dinner and it was very good. View of the wake at the stern of the ship, delicious variety at the salad bar, and the meats were done nicely.

What did you like about the meats and the variety of the salad bar? I was quite disappointed with this restaurant. I was expecting much more. Other than the garlic infused steak, the meats we were served were nothing special (and in fact cold) and the salad bar was not that impressive.

There were some odd schedule changes you learned about once onboard.

Yes, I was annoyed by this. Schedules (UDP reservations) and time off the ship were formed around the pre-reserved shows. BY changing the show dates it wreaked havoc on having to reschedule reservations etc.

Second City was just ok

We were quite disappointed by the comedy offerings on the ship. We went into the "Improv" show and found it wholly boring and unfunny.

CD was Silas and he was very engaging and visible.

Agreed. He was visible but not overbearing in your face as some cruise directors tend to be.

Smoking on balconies. Hopefully NCL will more widely publicize (and enforce) their no smoking in cabins and on balconies policy which went into effect last year. I do believe some people just don’t know, and it seems the only place you’ll find this info is in tiny font on the Freestyle Daily. People still smoke on their balcony—even in plain sight of cameras and the bridge. NCL needs to announce no smoking verbally on each cruise or post a sign in the cabin somewhere. Other cruise lines announce the fire hazard and reminder of no smoking on balconies or in cabins at their muster drill. NCL needs to do more in this area. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. At the Officers' Q&A one person asked when ships will become non-smoking. (no clear answer was offered)

Agreed. Many of the smokers on board had no consideration for the other passengers. Very often smokers were smoking in areas other than the designated areas including around kids. Hopefully one day they will make these ships totally non-smoking. People may balk and gripe at first but they will get used to it just as this has become the norm in restaurants, airplanes and even many public facilities.

We had the most fabulous weather and calm seas that created just a gentle roll for the ship. The water was so calm on the return trip that it was shiny—and reportedly 87 degrees! Got some great photos of the sunset, and also later of the full moon which was reflecting nicely off the ship’s wake.

Yes, we were very lucky with the weather, particularly with the touch and go forecast just before the sailing. With the exception of a 10 minute rain shower the weather was great.

 

Here are some random observations in no particular order:

-Kids pool area was closed down several times.

Yes, there were a couple of "accidents" in the pool.

-Pool area way too small for this many passengers

Agreed. They should do away with the center bars and make one large free form pool.

-Tons of kids on this sailing and they would run up and down hallways and loiter in various locations. Even found several of them camping out in an elevator one morning as we headed to breakfast.

Yes, many teenagers would loiter in the stairwells in the evenings. As I mentioned in another post, I heard a handful of complaints that there was not much for teenagers (15-18) to do on the ship.

-This ship I have found to have the most noise from surrounding cabins, particularly toilets flushing.

Yes, very noisy at all hours of the night.

If you read my other posts I said to each his/her own.... I am nevertheless entitled to my opinion..........

Different strokes for different folks. However people choose to spend THEIR vacation, is up to them.

Agree 100% until it comes to the point that the actions of passengers (whether its based on intoxication, people just being plain old obnoxious or otherwise) becomes more than an annoyance and interferes with the vacation of others.

One other item I will point out is that I heard a woman complaining that there was nothing for her 15 yr old to do on the ship. I do not know if that is accurate, however at night I saw many teenagers (14-18) loitering/sitting in the stairwells.

Maybe they were offering you the room of the 2 people who missed the ship leaving Bermuda :cool:

By all means get a Vibe pass if you can. Much more tranquil than the mayhem at the main pool area.

Also 2nd city was in my opinion too few shows. We got shut out, and i regret that.

We saw the Second City improv show and were not impressed. If that was what you were looking for, in my opinion you did not miss much

Thank you for the positive feedback, as you said I reported as I saw it. It doesn't mean that somebody else on the same sailing did not have another perspective. I enjoy reading the reviews to get various takes on a similar experience.

If anybody has specific questions, feel free to ask.

You're welcome for the review. I am not going to get into a back and forth on the other item, that was not why I posted. While perhaps I should have said I observed - in any event, I can care less what others do, as I said, to each his/her own.

The point of my post was to provide a review which included my experience and observations.

if anybody has individual questions regarding the cruise experience feel free to send a private message.