mduffy1834

We will be arriving in Roatan on April 29th on the Magnifica. Our nephew is arriving on the Icon of the Seas the same day. We would like to plan a get together. Does anyone know which cruise port the Magnifica goes to?  Think RCCL uses Coxen. Thanks for any info

Thanks for the review.  We leave on 4/26 for a 7 night - first time on MSC.  

What experience did you have?  Favorite bar?  How was the pool area?  Pool chair hogs?  Dining room casual?

Glad you had a good time - we are about 2 hours from the port and embark and debark on a Friday.  How was traffic?

And..................dressing for dinner question.  We are attempting to have one medium suitcase between the two of us, plus a small carry on.  I wear sundresses all the time, very casual.  Hubby wants to bring shorts and polos and Hawaiian shirts.  I think we can do it - we are veteran cruisers but usually bring dressy dresses and chinos for dinner - wouldn't mind being comfortable.

Have fun - just watch the drop off at the shore line - have a funny video of my friend trying to get out of the water on the slope!  Enjoy

Thanks for your great review - we are leaving on 4/26 and can't wait.  New cruise line for us.  So......no drinks in the pool at all?  Not a game changer, but hubby does like to hold his beer in the pool.  Did you order room service at all?  Interested in breakfast as we have some early excursions (we will be Aurea if that helps).  What was your favorite bar?  Show?  Safe travels home

Think it was about $25 for chairs/umbrella - our friend had to go into the store to purchase so I was not there.  Taxis were plentiful, both coming and going.  Very enjoyable day, in spite of the rain!

Not sure if the balconies are that much bigger, just slanted.  Have done both and enjoy both, but, you're right about loving the wake.  Check out cruisedeckplans.com - they have some pictures of both cabins or at least same category.  Enjoy

Going on our first MSC in April.  We have cruised a lot and usually pre-pay our daily gratuities.  Can this be done with MSC?  Tried looking online and on their website but could not find anything.  Do I need to call beforehand?

Thanks for any help - please, no comments about removing daily service charges or how horrible these are.  We pay the charges and then give cash to those individuals who have made the cruise better (room attendant, servers at meals, bartenders, etc)  No judging - to each his own.

We ended up going to Sapphire Beach - lovely, comfortable, warm water, great restaurant.  A little rain, but did not "dampen" our spirits.

thanks for all the replies - makes sense but still bizarre.  Icon is geared to be a family ship - no problem with that.  

Did a mock booking for next January, balcony guarantee, on the Icon.  For 2 people, it was approximately $8000.  But, if I added a child in the room, it was $2000 less??????

What is preventing anyone from booking a room, saying there is a third person (probably child) and then not showing up with said person/child?  

Am I missing something?  I'm not a newbie - have been on 40+ cruises and have always booked directly with cruise company.  I know how to navigate the sight and get the discounts, if applicable.

Pricing is getting ridiculous

55 minutes ago, tonic8 said:

Quick question on when to make this reservation.. can you do it as soon as you board on the first day? Or does it only open up at a certain time?

We heard the announcement two days before - tried the kiosks around the ship but took until the next day to find the one that actually did it.  Hence the tender #15

1 hour ago, tokidoki said:

Thx for your honest review, I sail in May and was wondering how u found the entertainment, did u enjoy it? 

Choir of Man was fantastic - get there early if you enjoy beer.  They give it out for free before the show as part of a pre-show.  Very entertaining.  The Beatles show was also enjoyable - they did several different albums/time periods during the week, both in the main theater and in the Cavern Club.  Only saw one show in the theater.  You can get the Choir of Man reservations before you board; other than that, no reservations needed on other shows - first come, first serve.  Enjoy

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

@mduffy1834 do you remember who the General Manager was?

general manager or cruise director?  The cruise director was virtually absent the entire week so I have no idea who it is

Just got off the Encore and, for the most part, it was a great cruise.  Mother Nature could have been better to us but we made do with what she gave us in each port.  Had an aft facing balcony stateroom on deck 15 and loved it - long walks to the Observation Lounge but so worth it.  Observation Lounge ended up being very nice, not as crowded as what I read to believe during the Alaskan cruises.  Comfy chairs, great bar, morning coffee and light breakfast, tea time at 3, beautiful views, good entertainer at night.  Food in all 3 main dining rooms was very good and service, albeit a bit slow, was great.  Had breakfast twice in the Local and lunch one day in the American Diner, both complimentary and very good.   Had 4 specialty dinners (Onda, Food Republic, Cagney's, and Le Bistro) - they were just ok and would not spend the money again for the specialties.  Saw Choir of Man and the Beatles tribute band in the theater - comfy seats and great shows.  Ship is pretty easy to navigate, plenty of elevators/stairs, beautifully decorated, clean and the crew was welcoming and friendly.

Now the bad................................

Pool area:  In the 40+ cruises we have taken (mostly with RCCL and Celebrity), the pool area is the worst designed of any.  You are literally in a sardine can between two small pools - one is adult only; other is for all with kiddie area right next to it.  Chairs (not loungers) are crammed into the area making it impossible to get to the pools.  Making it worse is that people have pushed the chairs right up to the pool bench surrounding the pool, putting their feet, towels, belongings on the bench so.......nowhere to sit at pool.  When someone did get up to get into water, we took over her space since it is public common space - she was not happy to have lost her space but she did have a chair right up against the bench too.  Lasted about 20 minutes then left.  Was able to finally get 2 lounge chairs in hallway leading to gym area - quiet and was able to look out at ocean.  Pools are sandwiched between Garden Cafe (buffet) and the Spa/Fitness Centers - such a small area for a large ship with a large passenger count.  Not a fan.  Deck 17 had some sun loungers (which were all taken) but again most of the space was for the Haven, the race cars, two restaurants, and the Galaxy Pavilion, a virtual reality place.  Decks 18 & 19 were more for the Haven and the Vibe Club (for a fee sun loungers and private bar).   Norwegian used the majority of space on 4 decks to attract a small segment of the passengers, in my opinion. 

Great Stirrup Cay:  As with other reviews, tendering to their private island was a nightmare.  Thought we could make tendering reservations on the kiosks throughout the ship, but a kind crew member steered us in the right direction - kiosk next to the dining reservation desk on deck 6 (I think).  Using that kiosk was easy, but we got tender #15.  We got into GSC at around 9 am, our tender was called at 10:45 and we got onto the island at 12:30......ugh!  When your number is called, you are led into the theater, where you sit for about 30 minutes and then you are led to the tenders.  Horrible system.  Once on the island, there was no signage as to where to go or what was where.  We walked for about 15 minutes to find loungers.  Some is our group stood in line at the bar.  After 30 minutes of waiting for a drink, we left and got back on the tender back to the ship.  Quick lunch (no lines), got drink (no lines), and got a pool chair (no crowds).  Our friends said it took over an hour to get back onto ship when they left island about an hour after us.  Sorry Norwegian - it is a very nice island, but it needs to be avoided until a dock is built.  And please, put up some sort of signs/maps to let people know where stuff is.

Besides the pool and the tendering, everything else was great.  Would I book with Norwegian again????  Probably, depending on the itinerary and the ship.  Have come to realize that bigger is not necessarily better - we don't need the race cars, slides, virtual reality stuff.  We would prefer larger pool areas and great entertainment and good food.  

Just my opinion - others may disagree.  Feel free to ask any questions and happy cruising!

16 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

We were just in St Thomas last month:

 

thanks so much - read your blog about your cruise - it was fantastic.  Great pics.

2 hours ago, Ms411 said:

Yes to questions except taxi fare. Somebody posted a picture of the taxi fares from Havensight in an earlier thread so you might try narrowing your search to taxi fares from Havensight 2023.

thank you

Thinking of going here in February (NCL Encore, 2/7/24) for relaxing beach day.  Tried search feature but no real answers to my questions, so any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cost of taxi to/from port?

Chair/umbrella rentals available?  Cost?

Restaurant/bar/facilities readily accessible?

Love to snorkel - right from beach?

With 4 ships in port that day (Disney Fantasy and Wonder of the Seas being 2 others), want to be prepared for the masses - been to St Thomas multiple times and just want to relax.

Thanks

1 hour ago, vacation44 said:

Curious how much they charged?

I want to say it was about $100 - I was unfortunately on a time budget before the cruise so I opted to get it done day one, which I believe had a discount and could be booked online.  I also did another one at the end of the cruise (it was a 14-day TA and I was boarding another cruise the day after debarkation).  A bit pricey, but worth it, for me.  Enjoy

or make the switch now to either gel or powder - have had those done on NCL

Have loved your adventures so far.  But this is the leg that I'm looking forward to.  We will be in Amsterdam for 3 days in September as a starting point for a small group tour from Amsterdam to Paris.  Looking forward to any recommendations for dinner, tours, etc.   Will be going to both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum as part of the tour.  Would like to visit the Ann Frank House also.  Anything else you can recommend would be fantastic.  Enjoy!

Safe travels - weather here in Southern Florida is crazy.  We "only" got about 2" here in Fort Myers.  Just came back from a day trip to the Seminole museum, about an hour from FLL - it was pouring when we left.  You should be fine for your re-scheduled flight, fingers crossed.

Looking forward to once again following your adventures.  We did the TA last year on the Reflection - it was a wonderful experience - nice weather, good ports.

55 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

I would simply contact the vendor.  Those private shore excursion providers I have used for groups have always asked for the name of the ship and emailed confirmation of the dates, ship and time.

When I book as an individual,  once again the providers usually ask for the name of the ship and have a policy about refunding if there is a port change.  If not I usually book elsewhere.

As I already stated we have had ports changed or missed on our last 5 cruises with no notice until after we boarded.   The tour providers should get daily updates on port arrival details.

2 of those medical emergencies with zero notice.

 

agree.....all of our independent tour operators asked for the name of the ship when we booked.  

Thanks everyone for the clarifications.  I doesn't really matter to me, but we do have independent excursions booked in 3 of the ports.  Never really worried but I do hear about port changes every now and then - know it is in the contract and nothing I can do about it.  Definatly going to have fun and go with the flow!  But, again, anal me likes to have my ducks in a row - lol!