2spring

23 hours ago, mfon1 said:

Yes, we sail on June 4th and are anxiously awaiting our flights booked through NCL. I guess if you haven't received yours yet, I won't get mine soon either. We are hoping to go to Pearl Harbor on debarkation day. This Saturday is the first day we can book on the national parks site, so we'll go ahead and book a morning time and hope our flight home allows us time to do so.

You should be getting your flights in a week or so.  We were told 35 to 45 days out and got them somewhere around 48 days.  We are flying home to the East Coast and our flights are true Red Eyes, going out between 8:30-9P.  I wouldn’t be surprised if yours are similar.  It DOES give us a day of touring though.

I was on this cruise but wasn’t part of the rebellion.    I recognize the passenger in the video you are talking about from seeing him around the ship.  I believe the person he was yelling at was the Captain who was trying to speak to the crowd, evidently getting shouted down.  

10 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Thanks for that.  Bergen, Aselund, Flam and Geiranger would have been a lovely 7 day fjord cruise, but you didn't sign up for that, so it is understandable that this was quite disappointing over two weeks, with the omission of the other countries and the uncomfortable sailing conditions.  

Bergen, Flam AND Geiranger WERE on our original itinerary!  They were beautiful!  Alesund & Hellesylt Norway were added when it was determined we couldn’t go to Iceland because of sea conditions.  These two ports were also spectacular!  I feel that all the changes for safety were warranted and I enjoyed my cruise, changes or not.  

6 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Could someone who sailed on this cruise please help me out, as I was really confused by a NY Post article (note:  the NY Post is really a terrible newspaper so they might have just completely screwed up in their article)

 

Their article on this cruise included the following statement:

 

"Some of the 2,000 passengers said the ship eventually stopped in the remote Norwegian villages of Flåm and Geiranger — far from the promised “mystical fjords.”"  This quote is really confusing to me since I was under the impression that Flam and Geiranger are two of the most beautiful heritage fjords, and they were the highlight of my Norway cruise.  Was the tourist infrastructure closed in those ports since the cruise visited in October?    Could someone please list where the original cruise was supposed to visit and what stops were used to replace them (I do understand NCL had the right to substitute ports, but I'm wondering how much worse the substitute ports were, as I really loved my visits to both Geiranger and Flam.   

I was on the cruise for the entire 2 weeks.  The ports of call were originally Amsterdam, then Bergen, Flam, and Geiranger Norway 3 days in succession, Akureyri and Reykjavik Iceland, Belfast and Dublin, Ireland.  LeHavre was substituted for Amsterdam, but by the time we got there, the weather was too rough to dock.  We sailed to our 3 ports in Norway and I shopped at the stores and had 3 beautiful excursions!  Flam even had “The Mall of Norway” right adjacent to the port.  It was announced while we were in Norway that the weather would have high winds & waves on our return itinerary from Iceland, so for safety of the passengers, Iceland was cancelled.  Instead, we sailed to Hellesylt, then Aselund, Norway, again with stunning beauty!  The only light rain I remember (with the emphasis on light) was on our walking tour in Bergen.  Next we were to have 2 sea days then stop in Greenock, Scotland to also make up for missed ports.  We sailed into the harbor and it was announced that a Naval vessel was at the dock we needed and it needed repairs.  They said they figured our new arrival time would be 1-1/2 hour later.  As we waited, the seas became really rough and the fog rolled in.  I believe we had the port pilot onboard.  It was announced to be too dangerous to dock.  That’s when all the rioting began.  I hear calls of “REVOLUTION!” In the stairwells.  My husband and I chose to stay away.  We had 1 more Sea day, then arrived in Belfast, Ireland.  It did have some rain for a bit, but by the time we arrived at our tour destination, it was gone.  The following day was Dublin, with partly cloudy weather to beautiful blue skies and , later, a few drops of rain.  We had one Sea day as we sailed back to Southampton.  Hope that clears it up for you!

I AM on this cruise and the information we received verbally and written was quite clear.  Not sure where you are coming from, but definitely not the case for a rebellion of any sort.  I am disappointed we didn’t make all the stops in our itinerary, but the explanations and updates from the Captain and crew about weather conditions and safety of the passengers & ship were acceptable to me.  I don’t ever want to be put in a dangerous situation on a cruise just to make a port.  We were refunded port charges, all excursion costs for ports we didn’t stop in, plus 25% of the base rate of this cruise to use for a future cruise.  I find that very generous!  I did not find any stale food never missed a meal and never had any sewer issues in my cabin, nor did anyone else I talked to.  We DID get a letter mid cruise about not throwing anything into the toilets other than toilet paper.  Perhaps there was a problem then?  I, for one, am very happy with my cruise.

I heard that the people who left in Norway were made they weren’t going to Iceland.  I would say that many of the passengers on this ship told me they booked this cruise because of the Iceland stops.  So when it was announced during our initial stops in Norway, some people were upset.  The Captain said they expected 20 foot waves there. I just heard yesterday that it ended being even more, with 30 foot waves!  So I think a good decision was made.  I also think we were taken further up into Norway for the next 2 stops so we would be able to wait out the storms fury in safe places so we could get back to our original itinerary of Belfast and Dublin.  Greenock, Scotland was not on the original itinerary.  Even had we been able to dock there, it was so foggy out that it was hard to see the shoreline. I was booked on a scenic loch tour and was thinking I wasn’t going to see much.  Then the wind picked up again and the waters became rough, finally becoming too much to dock safely.  To answer someone’s reply, the Captain came on each and every time we had a change in itinerary to explain the reasons for it.  He is a little hard to understand, so the Cruise Director came on to reiterate what was just said in plain English, so I don’t know why people are saying they didn’t understand why changes were made.

First of all, I am presently on this cruise, so I will give you my perspective.  On departure day from Southampton, it was so windy that it took two strong tugs and the ship’s thrusters almost 45 minutes to just pull out from the dock.  We were told that there were gale force winds in Amsterdam so they were substituting LeHavre, France for that port.  All excursions were changed and we sailed into what I would say were gale force winds out in the Channel later that night.  As we approached the port of LeHavre, the winds continued and it was deemed too dangerous to dock.  So we sailed NE towards Norway for the ports of Bergen, Flam and Geiranger.  It was announced that Iceland was going to receiving bad weather with high seas and Ireland & England were being hit, so for safety reasons, Iceland was cancelled.  Instead, we also went to Hellesylt and Alesund, Norway (loved the ports!). We were also going to Greenock, Scotland after 2 sea days.  Weather conditions deteriorated inside the harbor for Greenock while we were waiting for the Naval Vessel to be repaired and move from our assigned dock.  Conditions became bad enough to abort our docking for safety reasons.  This put some, but certainly I did not see hundreds of people,  rioting.  People sat and blocked the steps, grabbed any piece of paper they could find, and wrote their protest notes and put them on the floor for all to see.  I was at the Shorex desk trying to ask an excursion question from personnel when an older man came over quite distraught because he apparently stepped on a piece of paper and slipped, almost falling over.  He was calling for security to get the papers off the floor.  Some people were loudly protesting and calling out insults about the captain, cruiseline & Hotel Manager at almost deafening levels.  Security was present in the lobby but just kept a careful watch over the events which, I thought, was done in a respectful manner.  I heard a rumor that a couple of passengers were put in the brig earlier in the riot, but I wasn’t there then so can’t confirm it. The Captain came down to try to speak with the protesters, but he couldn’t speak over their shouting.  Another crew member also made an attempt to speak to them, with the same results.  

Honestly, I think the Captain made decisions for everyone’s safety.  I have had no problems with overflowing toilets (first I’m hearing about this) or bad food.  I have enjoyed plenty of great meals, wonderful service, and give great credit to all the crew for their professionalism.

I’ll admit I was disappointed by the ports missed but wouldn’t want to risk my life trying to get into a port with extreme weather conditions.  People have the right to protest, but we all need to mind our manners.  The protests could have been made in a more peaceful manner, including non-heated conversations with the Captain and management.  It was like a lot of toddlers having a hissy fit.  But with close to 2000 passengers on board, the rioters were just a small fraction of them.  Many of the passengers I came into contact with just stayed away and shook their heads about the bad behavior in the lobby.  

I was very satisfied with the 25% off the next cruise booking given to all passengers.  All shore excursions missed were completely refunded.  They did their best to make things right.  I am already booked for another NCL Cruise and have no fear of a repeat experience.  As for those with I’ll feelings, go on another cruiseline or don’t cruise at all!  Thank you for the patience of all the crew of the Spirit through a difficult time!

that is exactly what my wife suggested....what are they gonna say? no?

 

The safes in the staterooms are all the same size right? was just curious..

The safes are plenty big to store a couple iPads, iPods, a camera or two, wallets and jewelry. I stayed in an aft balcony, but I think they must be the same from room to room.

I sailed on the Breakaway Nov 30 through Dec 11th, 2015. It was my 20th cruise, and I was really impressed on the great job they did with so many passengers. We only had cool weather the day after sailing and the day before we got back. Otherwise, the pool was being utilized. I've never been on the Escape, but I usually book by ports and price, not ship. If airfare is not too expensive for your family, you might want to go on the Escape just for the ports and extra pool time for the kids. However, if you want to save money, definitely go on the Breakaway. I've never seen a ship's Captain around on any cruise as I did on the Breakaway. He cared about his passengers AND staff. He also was truly amusing in his responses at question and answer sessions! Just remember, a bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work.

Honestly, just ask the room steward if he could leave one for your child. I'm sure he'll be glad to oblige!

Before 11A or after 1P seem to be the best arrival times. With a toddler, I'd choose the later so you might be able to walk onboard without a wait.

Hi, Lollygil. We were on the Breakaway 11/30-12/11/15 and had the same concerns as you prior to sailing. Even though the ship is HUGE and holds around 4000 passengers, Embarkation was very smooth. They do a great job with crowd control. We chose a time of 10-10:30AM and ran into only light lines. I think it really starts to pick up after 11AM, so if you wish a seat in their lounge, I would suggest getting there on the earlier side, or arrive after 1PM. with the later arrival, you might even walk right on board and skip the lounge. The ship was definitely built to accommodate the number of passengers so, although it felt crowded at certain times, I never felt it was more crowded than smaller ships. As for dining and excursion ressies, you can do them online. They usually show up sometime after final payment is made. Definitely make reservations ahead for Specialty Restaurants, but you can go to the included restaurants at any time. It is always first come, first served for the regular restaurants, even if you do make a reservation. The Specialty restaurants are a different story. They might be able to squeeze you in without a reservation, but often may not. Of the regular dining rooms, The Manhattan room opens for dinner at 5P, although if you make a ressie online, the earliest is usually 5:30P. Taste and Savor open at 5:30P for seating. I made shore excursions online but switched to another that sold out online once on board. Both the Excursion desk and restaurant reservation desk are located on deck 6. You can also book onboard by touch screens near many of the elevators. I would also recommend you booking your entertainment online ahead of time. Shows get sold out. If you don't, there is a box office I believe on deck 7 forward where you can also book you entertainment. Have fun!