disfan13

By the way I was in Taste lol. 

6 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Tony, lol 😆 where are you ...Other folks still coming in at 9:55 am for breakfast. 

 

4 of us are still sitting in Savor by the entrance as well.  Crews looked busy & disorganized, indifferent and hardly anyone smiling at all. A very subtle & different feel than a year ago on the Getaway.

 

 

We are the two bald guys sitting right behind the wall near the wines. 
 

it took 66 minutes to get breakfast 

Good morning. Also on this sailing.  Check in was a breeze. we dined at Le Bistro last night and the service was great. Lunch in the main dining room Was pretty good. We waited and had champagne until it opened. 
 

having breakfast now in Savor and the service is terrible. So far almost an hour and no main course yet.  Took at least 20 minutes to get tea. The crew are all lovely but truly overworked. I’m wondering if there are new contacts here. Many walking around not really knowing what’s going on. 
 

At the end of the day, we’re on vacation so it’s all good. See you at 10:45 as long as we get breakfast by then lol. 

14 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I'm on the 1/8 sailing.  The risotto and the pasta besides the lasagna was good at La Cucina, but the pizza absolutely should not have been served (my son chose it and didn't eat it, a first for him not finishing a pizza. he'll eat the pizza at the buffett to give you a sense of the quality of that).

 

Moderno has sushi on its salad bar, and good cold cuts there.  The lamb was overcooked, so it wasn't as good as it could have been.

 

At Cagney's, the steak was perfectly cooked but served slightly more than lukewarm.  The garlic mashed potatoes were ice cold, and they ran out of risotto.  The scallops were really rubbery.  

 

Teppanyaki was good teppanyaki food (though we picked it so our kids could watch the show which once again wasn't the best but good enough to keep kids entertained). 

 

Tonight is Ocean Blue so I can let you know how that goes.  If you have access to the haven restaurant (and we don't) you might just want to stick to that. 

 

We sailed the NCL Star precovid, and back then the specialty restaurants served really good meals.  Now, they are generally serving something slightly better than should be served in the MDR.  

Unfortunately this was our experience as well on the Joy in November. Le Bistro was our favorite but not one "great" meal. 

@mking8288 I wonder if that car service covers NNJ. We used to use ground link but they didn't service the pandemic. I'm going to look. I may chime in once in a while as well. Looking forward to getting away. 

8 minutes ago, cruiseinfoseeker said:

Ok. So I like to keep it positive because...well, hey it is vacation; right?

But here is my criticism:

 

These are our tax on drink charges last evening after returning from PR and before we hit international waters again.

I knew they were going to happen, I am in no way surprised or annoyed about the actual charges. 

 

What does bother me is that there was NOTHING telling passengers that there was going to be tax charges, nor did any of the various bartenders advise. No signs anywhere. If it's somewhere on yesterday's daily, I certainly couldnt find it.

 

It's like they are setting themselves up for a bunch of angry passengers going to guest services when they see these as many won't even know that it was tax and just think they have random charges. 

 

 

 

 

hmmmm... I wonder if it will be the same in St Thomas? I don't remember them doing that in PR but it's been a couple of years. 

7 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

I'm so conflicted on upgrading for my next cruise.  I was all set to upgrade specifically for the Macallan.  then I started reading the posts about items not being available and boy would I be pissed if the only drink I'm upgrading for is not available.  For me, it's a even bigger cost because I've always declined the included drink package so I'd have to take the drink package as well as the upgrade.Happy you had the Macallan for most of your cruise.

I had the Macallan the entire cruise - the Atrium bar ran out at about 9:00 and they were so busy. I could have walked my fat butt to Maltings but had another Macallan. Was fine. 

We had the Plus package last month on the Joy, it was a packed cruise. We had plenty of options for wine (I see one missing from the list that someone posted above). As long as they have The Macallan Quest I'm good. Loved the Starbucks and water and sparkling water. The Atrium bar ran out of quest the last night, they were swamped, I didn't question anything. The package was well worth it for us. We have it for a 12 night next month. Will be interesting to see if there is a difference for us!

On 12/26/2022 at 7:07 AM, Tutone56 said:

We are booked on the Escape for a New England/Canada cruise the September.  This will be our 6th cruise.  The 5 previous cruises were on smaller ships such as the Pearl, Jewel, POA.  I'm looking forward to cruising on a large ship.  My wife is concerned with the amount of passengers, which I understand.  I'm looking at booking the Escape again for March 2024.  She wants to see what the large ship experience is like before we book again.  I'm not sure how to alleviate her concerns. Also, at what point would I loose money if I booked now for March 2, 2024 and we decide to cancel in mid September 2023?

You can cancel up until final payment. When are you looking to travel over the summer? You may want to consult with a knowledgeable travel advisor. They may be able to answer questions that may or may not help your spouse's concerns.  

When we sailed the Joy in November - there were none - many were sick the week prior and there was about 6 people who weren't coughing on our cruise. We always pack our own cold meds just in case. Who would go on vacation and not think to bring aspirin for a hangover. NOT that aspirin helps.  If you thought there was a chance you would be hungover... We bring honey. two advil and a tablespoon of honey 0 viola - no hangover. 

20 hours ago, WIBadgerFan said:

Agreed, but having just sailed on X, their wine selection for the premium package was abysmal by comparison to NCL.  My local gas station has better wine options than Celebrity includes.  You will never see Veuve for instance.  Decoy is the best you're going to get for a red.  Oh, and no wine bottles and only one drink per card.  They do charge a bit less than NCL.?

Wait - X's premium upgraded beverage packages no longer give you a bottle of wine if you want?

We upgraded to premium plus last month and it was worth it for us. Otherwise the wines available and scotch were horrible in the premium package given with the free at sea. We upgraded to the free at sea plus for our 12 nighter on the Getaway for January. It makes sense for us. Otherwise I thought we would be paying upcharges every time we wanted a cocktail. 

about 22 1/2 hours! Then 63 days

15 hours ago, mondello said:

Grand Turk reopened in Dec. We were there 12/28.

This doesn't mean all excursions are up and running. 

In all of the cruises I've been on - I had this happen once. Like some have said - look at your account every couple of days. NEVER wait until the last evening to check your account, otherwise you will be in a long line. For those that state this should never happen - it must be nice to be perfect. Even scanners can read an incorrect number, or spit out the wrong info. 

On 1/29/2022 at 4:57 PM, njhorseman said:

The hotel is slated to close effective Feb. 15.

https://ewnews.com/iconic-landmark-shuts-doors-british-colonial-hilton-to-close-indefinitely-on-february-15#:~:text=NASSAU%2C BAHAMAS — The British Colonial,100 employees out of work.

How sad - we've done the day pass there in the past and enjoyed it. 

14 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

This may be a no-brainer but I just got a call to upgrade to 4228 Vista Suite from inside room on a four day cruise on the Miracle for $250. I'm thinking that's a good deal?

YES! No brainer

take it! 

9 minutes ago, Brew12 said:

Would you say they fit properly? Snug on your face without gaps? I was given 2 of the first Hanes masks that looked like cut up t-shirts, with the 3 slits on each side and they felt nice on but didn't stay in place. Never tried the more traditional ones they released. No doubt that material is nicer feeling than most.

The masks I've switched to have a much better fit on the face and are comfortable for around 6 hours. After that my ears start to hurt. The extenders give my ears relief if I have long flights or waits in the airport.

I would say so- i throw them in the wash as well. They may feel a little tight at first but they stretch. They also have the metal piece that over your nose. 

1 minute ago, Brew12 said:

I did Disney fully masked, even outdoors, for 3 days and it was brutal. Not the breathing through them part, just the act of wearing them so long. I doubt that it will be as bad on a cruise ship since there many more places you can take masks off. If you are more sensitive or plan on being masked even when not required, this is what I learned. If you want a well fitted mask that you need to wear for long periods of time, don't rely on ear loops. After 3 days the backs of my ears were extremely tender and in horrible shape. Either bring a few masks to wear that tie or get any of the variety of devices that connect the ear loops together behind your head. 

Second thing was to always bring at least 2 masks. Again, not too much of an issue since going back to your room on a cruise ship is relatively easy compared to a Disney park, but might be something to think about. Masks can get nasty. They can get wet. Have a backup. 

 

That's a good point about being uncomfortable. We found Hanes masks, they feel like t-shirts and are extremely comfortable all around. We wore them for 10 days in Disney!  

We went to Disney last November - December - we had to wear masks outside and inside. Quite frankly, it wasn't awful at all.  For the cruise - you will wear them in the terminal and while inside. You will remove them while dining or at the bar drinking etc. We have no problem wearing them, especially if it means keeping others possibly safer, as well as ourselves. have you seen what people do on vacation??? It's gross!   Anyway even in Alaska, you are so port intensive, you will be outside more than in.  We are planning to sail in late November again - no issues with protocols. It would be easier without them, but if it means we can travel and have a great time - we are all for it. 

We're booked on Carnival Mardi Gras November 27th out of Port Canaveral, And a carnival Pride cruise next March for their Sailabration 50th birthday cruise out of Baltimore. 

Hi folks! Any other family on board? This will be our 4th attempt to cruise since Sept of 19!!! Had 3 cancel so far. If we're not sailing by November we're all in trouble lol! 

Hoping there's others on here with us. 2 guys together 26+ years from NJ. 

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Idk even if my sailing qualifies. That's why I wanted to click on it to check. 

 

Well maybe people will post what sailings qualify they have. 

It probably won't do it for you, can't hurt to reach out to your TA. It shouldn't be an issue. 

17 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Can you get to cancel if you booked thru a TA? I cant find where to cancel to see.

Contact your TA, they will be able to assist. 

There is not. The Loft on mardi Gras looks nice, but it's still not the Haven.