teachberry

We were on the Sun in Alaska in September.  I personally carried at least 2 plates of food to our room. I just covered the food with a paper towel and walked to my room. 

It seems like all the NCL ships have that one main dining room that is hard to get to, like your description of Taste.  And, any prior research on the Epic would disclose the bathroom arrangement, as it is a common talking point. And, that letter from NCL...that's just too generic. It didn't really specifically mention any of your complaints. The Epic seems to be one of those ships a passenger either loves or hates!

We loved the thermal spa on the Star!  However, we were on the Iceland-Greenland cruise this summer, with cold weather and lots of sea days. I don't know if we would use that much if we were in a warmer climate. Besides hot tub, heated lap  pool, therapy pool, saunas and steam room (separate for men and women), and heated loungers there are also 2 "quiet relaxation lounges" perfect for reader or napping.  The men also have personal hot and cold tubs. Beautiful aft location.

At least you're not in my position...cruise in March, Mexico in June, cruise in October, Christmas Markets cruise in December and back in Mexico in January, 2024. And my passport expires June, 2024. Right now, my plan is to renew immediately after Mexico trip in June.

We were on the Sun in September for an Alaskan cruise. Everything looked great. I'll see if I can load photos...found my photos... apparently I didn't take a lot of the ship!

We enjoyed lounging in the thermal spa on the Star this summer.  Probably because we were cruising Greenland and Iceland and the warmth was welcome!  Also the location on the Star is the aft of the ship so the view is wonderful, and the "quiet lounges" were a great place to read or sleep. 

We were on the Escape earlier this month and visited with a man in the elevator...he tried to eat at O'Sheehan's but was told he needed a shirt on over his tank top. 

On 11/9/2022 at 9:11 AM, Always Cruising said:

Is the thermal suite on the smaller ships (we're going on the Star) worth it?  I know it doesn't have the bells and whistles of the larger ships, but peace, quiet and relaxation are what we're looking for!

We were on the Star this summer and loved the thermal spa. If you like a quiet spot to read or nap...the thermal spa's relaxation lounge is the place to be! 

On 10/15/2022 at 12:06 PM, Denise T said:

Quick update. Seas have been a little rough throughout the night. Last night we watched the Joy and the Seabourne ship sail way. The Pearl followed shortly after. We enjoyed the sail away party at 4. Spent the evening walking around the ship and enjoying the night sea air. 

 

Day 2: Sea Day

Started with breakfast at the buffet. Had a massage. Seas still choppy and cloudy today. The sun is trying to break through the clouds. Lots to do. Trivia followed by a scavenger hunt and walking the ship. The staff is awesome, so very friendly. Hope to get some pictures up soon. Having trouble with Internet. 

 

More later! Having a fantastic time!

If the seas are rough, you need to use the elevator.  I know...from experience!!

On 10/10/2022 at 5:52 PM, Sailing12Away said:

Not even close. I drink in what may be considered excess while on cruises, but have never felt drunk once. Guess they water down those cocktails more than I thought.

 

A mimosa with breakfast, beer with lunch, glass of wine with dinner, and cocktail after and you're way ahead of the game. Not even counting soda and juice, etc. If you don't like any of the above, just substitute with what you do enjoy.

 

With the FAS drink package it's a cost of about $20/day. Very well below AA levels.

We were on our first cruise with our adult daughter...lounging in the sun around the pool, when she ordered her third beer. I exclaimed (as only a mother can), "Is that your THIRD beer??" And she said yes, and explained that the cold beer warms up quickly in the sun, so she is not drinking the whole bottle. When the beer gets warm, she orders a new one. That's one way to use the drink package!

3 hours ago, ljrfrm said:

Us too.  Definitely a bunch of us on this sailing came home positive.  Such a great trip though!!!!

We were on this cruise, and, fortunately, did not get Covid.  And, it was a great trip!

Four cruises since April, and, fortunately no Covid!

We were really lucky for our 10 day Iceland/Greenland cruise. We paid $139.00 for the thermal spa pass. And, with the cold weather and extra sea days, it was worth every penny. 

And...I guess my husband is one of those "elderly" you are referring to...lol!!

I agree with you about Skagway. When we visited in 2019, we didn't get to explore the town, so I was looking forward to it. Instead we were disappointed! All of the "jewelry" stores set off a rip-off vacation vibe. Very few stores were open. We did find a nice rock shop (of all things!). Granted ....in 2019 there were at least 3 huge ships here (we were on the Joy) and there were people everywhere! Sunday, the streets were literally empty.

On 9/11/2022 at 2:54 PM, Analog187 said:

The wife was looking at jewelry too long so we missed most of the Elvis show but we caught the last few minutes. It was not that great so we didn’t miss much.

 

Dinner didn’t work out so well. I ordered the baked ziti and while I knew it wasn’t going to be baked or ziti, I thought it would at least be decent pasta. As the waitress was bringing it over, I saw before she even got to the table that there was a problem. It had mushrooms in it. I’ve never heard of that before in my life nor was it on the menu. This has been and continues to be an issue with this cruise. I told her that I don’t eat mushrooms so I asked for it to be remade. When she came back, I started to eat it and noticed an odd taste. It had carrots in it. On what planet does someone put carrots in baked ziti? This was also not on the menu so I just kinda bailed on dinner.  

I spoke to two supervisors that came over and explained to them that regardless of what type of wild things they want to do with the food, it should be on the menu. They list all sorts of other things so why leave out some? Just doesn’t make sense. I had this issue 3 nights in a row where something is on an item and it’s not listed.  It's very frustrating and it causes more work for the crew as they have to run around to get questions asked or to have food remade.  

 

The Frank Sinatra show was the best show in the theater so far. Very well done. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was everyone’s favorite.

 

Day 5 – Glacier Bay

 

After breakfast, we spent almost the entire day looking at the amazing scenery. It was unbelievable and will surely be the highlight of the cruise. I’ve been on glacier tours before but this was just incredible. If you’ve been on an Alaskan cruise without going to Glacier Bay, you haven’t been on an Alaskan cruise. What made it even more special is that we had the most amazing weather. The park rangers couldn’t get over how nice it was. The ship’s crew liked it as well. I’ve never seen so many on deck taking pictures.

 

Few things to note – I thought the back of the ship was the best place for pics most of the time. Other times, our balcony was the best spot. The rangers point out some wildlife but not everything so don’t rely on them. They pointed out some whales and bears but didn’t point out the seals at all and there were a lot of them but most people missed them. I would time out your meals to not miss anything. Eat breakfast and lunch early. That worked out well for us.

 

We saw a ton of otters, whales, a few bears, dozen of seals and a few mountain goats.  There was even one bald eagle.  

 

Once again at dinner I had an issue with something not being on the menu. Once again, two different supervisors came over. They take this stuff seriously and were very nice. I don’t know who writes these menus but hopefully they’ll fix it at some point.

 

We had an issue with a ton of water in our balcony. We gave it half a day and the water didn’t drain. It was like a pool. We called up to get it fixed and our room steward and a supervisor were up in minutes. They got it taken care of right away. Another person came back an hour later to make sure it was handled. Really amazing follow up.

 

The Wheel of Ill Will was a lot of fun as always. The cruise director staff is awesome.

 

Tonight’s show was Rock You Tonight.  I thought it was gonna be like Rock of Ages but it was mostly 70s songs. Whether you like this or not will depend on how old you are; the older you are, the more you’ll like it. The crowd seemed to really like it but the average age on the ship is probably 74. I don’t like 70s music and that’s mostly what this was so I’m not really the person that should be reviewing this. I never even heard of two of the songs and I know music even if I don’t like it. My wife was a DJ in college and worked in theater for many years. She had so much to say about this one but the short version is that it was done all wrong. While I’m sure the singers and dancers did the best they could, some people are just not cut out for certain things. The problem here is that you are asking people to do something that they are not equipped to do. Regardless, I heard a lot of people saying how good it was (and that it was so much better than the Marvin Gaye show). So again, opinions are going to vary here I suppose.

 

Afterwards, a bunch of people came out and wished JC a happy birthday. He’s probably my favorite cruise director. I wonder what other people think about him because he’s not your typical CD which is probably why I like him. Seems like a normal guy and it likely a lot of fun to hang out with.

 

Day 6 - Skagway

 

Our tour to the Yukon got canceled because there was not enough people.  It seems like half of the town is closed up for the season.  I assume that's because of the rock slides impacting the ships that can stop there.  So we just walked around.  There are two good museums here - the National Park Klondike museum and Corringtons museum which is in the back of a store.  Both are free.  

 

A lot of the shops here are very touristy and the stuff they sell is very cheap.  Be careful about that.  Most people did the train tour but at $140 a person, we didn't bother.  None of the restaurants seemed that good so after walking around for a few hours, we came back to the ship.  Waiting for us in our cabin was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries to make up for the baked ziti disaster form the other night.  That was really nice.

 

The hamburger at lunch was actually kinda good today but that's because it was freshly made.  I swear they sometimes cook these early and just let them sit there.  When we had lunch yesterday, we got there just as it opened and the burger was already cold and dried out.  Impossible if it was just cooked.

 

Gonna go in the hot tub again and relax.  It's so nice with the cold air.  The guy that did the Marvin Gaye show is doing another show tonight.  I might not bother with that.  

 

Few things about the buffet - There are two sides and they meet in the middle.  Mostly the same stuff but one side seems to have a few different things sometimes.  Out back there are different things like hamburgers and hotdogs.  Across the hall in Moderno (for lunch only) they have pizza and a noodle station.  Kinda bizarre set up but they gotta work with what they have.  

 

We continue to have a great cruise and the service continues to blow us away.  

Re: the buffet. Don't forget about "The Great Outdoors" which has a mini-buffet.

On 9/6/2022 at 4:49 PM, Analog187 said:

I should have added, we needed a covid test to get on the cruise.  We didn't know that and neither did 20% of the people on the cruise.  They can give you a test before you get on - at $75 each!   Guess I know to call ahead and double check next time.  

We are also on this cruise and knew to take the Covid test (required by Canada) because it is clearly stated in NCL's sail safe info under "Canada." We also received emails telling us it was required. However I do understand how you could be confused because everything you read starts out with "no testing required." 

We are currently on our 3rd cruise since July 25. One thing I've noticed is there is very little "dressing up" for dinner. We ate at Cagney's last night and there were only 2 men (one was my husband) with sports coats on. 

6 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

We were on the Star last week and their pass for 10 days was $250 pp with pre booking.   It is an older ship and their thermal suit a bit smaller and less grand than the new ones but all the necessary elements were in place.  The thalosso pool is not overly hot, but the sauna was far too hot.  The heated loungers are so soothing to my aging joints.  If you DH isn’t a spa person, than treat yourself and send him off to enjoy his special interests.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 🤗

We were on the July 25 and Aug. 4 Star sailings and paid only about $135 each/per sailing for our Thermal Spa passes. Both were 10 day cruises. 

On the Star (both cruises we were on), I received a $25 OBC for Latitude perks not provided. I had to ask for them. The perks not provided were the ship tours. 

We just finished a back-to-back on the Star, for a total of 20 days. We loved our thermal spa pass. I paid $135 for each cruise for the pass. I heard the spa tell a lady a day pass was $70.We used the spa almost everyday, however we cruised Greenland and Iceland so the colder weather made the spa even nicer. One nice thing about the spa are the 2 "quiet lounges" where you can read (or sleep) and enjoy the beautiful aft view on the Star.

3 hours ago, nhtravels said:

Typically they offer a 1 bag special (mid-week, maybe?) for just under $30 I believe.

On the Star now, and can confirm the mid-week laundry special is $29.

On 8/7/2022 at 10:00 PM, cameronp12 said:

Appreciate the response. I figured given the relaxation of requirements in general.

We also are on the cruise, as well as the previous one (Greenland and Iceland). It may say masks are required, but it definitely is not enforced. We were given masks on our arrival on the first cruise, but not on the current one. Also, they tried to encourage social distancing by labeling every other chair as "do not sit here."  Those signs were missing for this cruise.

Thanks for your information. We will be on the July 25 and Aug 4 Star cruises. Is there an "observation lounge" or a place to sit inside and view the beautiful scenery?

We have back to back cruises planned next month. I plan on ordering water for the first cruise. If we have extra left over can it be moved to our new room for the second cruise?