Jetsterkitty

LACUCINA and LE BISTRO we did not try. We HEARD GOOD THINGS ABOUT LACUCINA'S improvements. Wife won't go to Le Bistro with the casino smoke overflow.

 

Le Bistro is SO good! You need to talk your wife into giving it a try next time you sail. They offer totally enclosed inside dining options too, so no smoke issues. We didn't experience any smoke issues on Deck 6 at all.

Since most of the basics have been covered by other posters here are a few cruise-tips to consider as a fellow-Haven cruiser.

1. Ziplock bags are your friend! Pack some - you can put your daily treats in them and toss the treats into the fridge to snack on later.

2. My #1 Butler request - empty the fridge. There's no need to have a mini-bar that you get charged for when you have a full bar right around the corner. lol Plus it gives you more room for snacks (see 1 above)

3. The Haven restaurant has the BEST breakfast! *But if you like crispy bacon make sure you ask for it or it's kind of chewy.

While tipping is always subjective, I ALWAYS tip for good service. For me this includes the room steward and the Haven bartenders (who are included in the DSC) as well as the Butler and Concierge (who are not part of the DSC). I always tip on the last day before disembarkation and I always bring a pack of Thank You cards and write a little note to each one I tip. Yeah, I know... girly, but what can I say. lol

Make sure they are swiping your card whenever you gamble. My DH made fast friends with a guy and that was his #1 tip for gambling so they know how much you are spending. They definitely DO comp gamblers. I don't know the details, but the guy DH met told us that he gets comped for gambling and then he upgrades to the Haven, thus getting a Haven room for short money. One evening when the high roller area closed they pulled a dealer from another area and set up a private $100 table for this guy! So definitely worth checking into.

Hope some of these help. Enjoy your cruise!

Well stated from an educated cruiser.

 

And yes, we felt a definite difference on the Escape compared to the Breakaway 2 years ago. Not sure when DelRio took over, but we felt every area on the Escape last week was "lacking" -- both in quality and cheapness. That didn't help us be more accepting of all the other things NCL did or didn't do ;) After the flagrant stubbornness I witnessed at guest services onboard, and the apparent disregard for passenger loyalty I received when I called, I really don't think NCL cares about what people think or their reputation!

 

Honestly, I do hope they feel a pinch in their future cruisings -- maybe it will be a wake up call.

 

Oh, and we never received the survey!

I find this so intriguing as we had the exact OPPOSITE experience on the Escape last week. The staff was far better than what we had 2 years ago on the Breakaway. Of course we didn't go into our vacation with a negative attitude like some other cruisers did. ;p We booked in the peak of hurricane season and we got a hurricane... such is life. Instead of complaining we chose to eat, drink, get a couples massage, hit the spa, enjoy 6 warm sunny days and had an amazing vacation. Life is what you make of it! :halo:

I’m actually surprised at not refunding the port fees, were they actually charged? Were Bermuda’s removed? I’ve never heard of port fees not being refunded.

I was on this sailing and received a credit of $30 per person for the change in port fees for the altered itinerary.

I was on last week, it's Mandy Jones.

Has anyone that was on board the Escape last week received a post cruise email survey yet? I seem to recall receiving an email from NCL the same day we disembarked during our last cruise but I still a haven't received an email yet.

Yes, I received and completed mine today as well.

Is anyone else stalking their email to see if we get a last minute switch to NE/Canada? lol I'm obsessively checking it on my phone. We are leaving tomorrow and staying overnight in NYC before boarding Sunday and as of right now we are still packing shorts and t-shirts... though I did throw in a pair of extra jeans and another sweatshirt for the us just in case they change once boarded. I don't want to have to stop in Bar Harbor to buy clothes. lol Now that would be expensive!

My DH has no interest in GSC so hoping with the storm surge and waves they can't tender and we can go straight to Nassau. ;) Either that or we will indulge in the Haven and maybe get a couples massage that day!

At this point we are going to make the best of it no matter where we end up going. We can't change it and a cruise anywhere is better than a day at the office, that's for sure!

We’ve ‘been there, done this’ the Dawn will dock as scheduled and depending on how fast the storm is moving, etc. they will pull you out of Bermuda early to get in front of it. Bear in mind you may have a VERY rough day at sea, we did the last time this happened. If you are lucky they will haul butt down and get you into Bermuda earlier than scheduled, that happened as well for us. The best part was we were the last ship allowed in before Nicole in 2016 and literally had the island to ourselves for 2 days.

We are all hoping they go north. None of us want to go to the other alternatives mentioned in Florida or Nassau. I do hope they tell us before the muster drill, after we have paid $280 to park. If we decide not to go, I'm sure they won't reimburse my parking fee ;p

 

So their own island Great Stirrup Cay might be fun to see, but wondering if this hurricane may cause rough seas and swells even in that direction. Who knows -- Mother Nature is so unpredictable

If the seas are rough you may not be able to tender to GSC. That happened to us last year and it wasn't due to a hurricane, it was just due to rough seas. They sent us to Nassau instead a day early.

I don't necessarily care where we end up going (leaving Sunday out of NYC to Bermuda - not looking good!) but it would be nice if NCL could do us a solid and give us a head's up if we are heading North to Canada BEFORE Sunday when we board. We are packing for warm weather... the extended forecast for Halifax, NS is 60's and rain.

We were on the Boston to Bermuda cruise that "split" Matthew and Nicole 2 years ago. They got us around Matthew (I got some amazing storm wall shots of Matthew) and into Bermuda early on Monday. They then had to pull us out of Bermuda early on Wednesday (around 8am) as Nicole was right behind us. It was a VERY rough ride out of there and through that entire day and Bermuda took a direct hit from Nicole. Personally, I would have preferred it if they got us out of there on Tuesday night, but no one but the Captain can really say for sure why we stayed as long as we did. We got out fine... though I saw a few people with stitches on that Thursday! We spent an additional day at sea instead and it was fine. As luck would have it (or not have it!) we too are on the cruise leaving out of NY for Bermuda this coming Sunday the 9th. *Sigh* Hoping for better results this time around. ;)

I can't lie, the original post is cracking me up. I've cruised multiple times and have never had booze-cruise neighbor issues... but have had SEVERAL loud children issues over the years. ;)

It's a much more intimate experience than the shows you see at Cirque de Soleil in Vegas. It's scaled back and on a very small stage - but with the smaller venue you are very close to the action. As expected at a Cirque type show it was acrobats and aerialists and the type. The cast interacts with the audience during the dinner portion and they allowed us to take plenty of pictures of the kids with the characters with our own cameras (pleasant surprise!). Once the show starts they don't allow cameras, but the show was entertaining and the food wasn't bad. I felt the upcharge was reasonable and the kids really enjoyed it. They also made sure the kids were seated right by the action. Below are a couple pics to give you an idea of the size of the stage, etc.

You can buy it under the "Drink Packages" tab on ncl.com or call in and order it over the phone.

Entourage is more a meeting place than a hang out place: my kids never did any "organized" activities in Entourage, they used it on the first night as a place to meet, and they went up there to meet their friends, but for the most part, they hung out outside of Entrourage. During the day, I think all it is is video games and teens sitting staring at their little devices.

Two of my granddaughters were registered in Splash Academy and assigned to the Entourage group (13-17yo). We had to drop them off and they were not allowed to leave until we picked them up unless there was a structured activity led by the teen counselors that took them to another part of the ship. After the activity they returned to Entourage where the guardians picked them up. As for kids who aren't registered in Splash Academy I can't say, but if they are registered they are dropped off and must stay with the group.

Not attacking... just curious why the OP didn't do his work from the port in Bermuda? The Escape's 2018 summer route is Bermuda if I'm not mistaken and the ship is in port for 3 full days. I understand that duty calls and sometimes you have to log in while in the middle of the ocean... but the cell and data service in Bermuda is perfectly fine, so catch up on work on those days where you can and deal with the mediocre service for emergencies during the sea days. I've sailed to Bermuda and it literally costs me $10/day on Verizon for the international plan while in Bermuda and it's very good service. For a total of $30 I can post, chat, email, surf the internet, etc. for 3 full days without any issues (I don't stream on a regular basis so can't speak to that option with Verizon). I use the 250 free at sea wifi minutes if I have to use my phone on the ship. It's not great service, but it does the job in a pinch.

As a previous poster mentioned NCL is STRICT on the age rules, no bending what so over. We had 3 granddaughters with us last year and 2 qualified for the teen/entourage area and 1 did not and we requested they all be together and they explained that they can't bend the rules. The 2 that were in the teen/entourage group loved it; the 1 that was in the 10-12yo group wasn't impressed.

We did Snorkel Beach Park the last time we sailed to Bermuda. We had younger inexperienced snorkeler's with us (3 kids under 10yo) and it was the day before Hurricane Nicole made landfall in Bermuda. Horseshoe Bay and all South facing beaches were not safe for the kids as the waves were HUGE from the storm surge, so we opted for Snorkel Park where the water remained calm all day.

It's small and quaint, there's a snack bar, tiki bar, and a snorkel rental booth onsite and you can also rent chairs and umbrellas. Certainly not a show-stopper for beauty compared to Horseshoe Bay or some of the other top Bermuda beaches, but it's within easy walking distance of the ship and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves for several hours when we went. There were 7 of us and we were the only people on the beach from 8am until noon - after noon some more families started showing up but it was never crowded. The kids all learned how to snorkel in a quiet safe area and had a blast! The young men working the beach area even came out with crackers to bring in the very people-friendly surgeonfish for the kids and they loved it.

To say it's a "don't miss!" attraction would be going too far... but it's a nice clean beach with warm water for swimming and snorkeling and close to the ship. Oh, and the little tiki bar that will make you dark & stormies too. ;)

Here are a few pics from the last time we were there:

I can't confirm the price as I've never sailed on a 14-day cruise, however, I can tell you that if you pre-purchase (call in and buy before your cruise) it's $199/pp for a 7-day cruise. For budgeting purposes I would think if you planned on $400/pp you should be pretty close. :)

We were on the Dawn out of Boston to Bermuda in October 2016. We had two hurricanes heading to Bermuda. We docked on Sunday early. We were supposed to leave Bermuda Tuesday 5:30pm. Woke up Tuesday to captain saying we were leaving ASAP. Hurricanes coming. The ride out of Bermuda was very very rough. Worst I have cruised through. Quite an adventure! The waves at horseshoe bay were incredible. The best fun riding them ever.

We were on that same cruise! It was interesting to say the least. lol I believe it was the remnants of Mathew on the way down to Bermuda (I got some AMAZING early morning pics of the storm wall as we sailed around it) and a shortened stay in Bermuda due to Nicole approaching. That ride out was hairy!! I couldn't believe the conditions that port pilot boat had to deal with getting us out of there that morning - their skills are impressive!

I vividly remember seeing a few people with stitches on Wednesday and the pools were all drained and closed due to the waves as well. We were actually up at Snorkel Beach on Monday afternoon and you could feel the ocean swell and rising as you were standing there. One minute we were in waist deep water, 5 minutes later we were in chest deep water - it was pretty amazing!

I also remember seeing some video on the news in I think late 2017 from another ship going around a hurricane and people saying they were 'fearing for their lives' and I was like "Dude, hold my beer!". What we went through coming out of Nicole was WAY worse and we all survived. ;) lol

Following... we are on the same itinerary in early September. :)

Maybe this is a problem over seas, but in the States NCL's pricing still remain competitive - at least for the itineraries and departure ports I'm looking for. I booked NCL Escape - NYC to Bermuda for May 2019 a month back and here is a rough price comparison for similar ports and itineraries on other ships that sail out of NYC:

NCL - R/T NYC to Bermuda - 7 nights - Large Balcony Room - 2 people - UBP and 3-meal UDP: $3,380

RC - R/T NYC to Bermuda - 5 nights - Large Balcony Room - 2 people - RC drink package: $3,373

Carnival - R/T NYC to Bermuda - 4 nights - Balcony Room (they didn't have a large balcony option) - 2 people - CC drink package: $2,696

If you do the math and divide it out by number of days NCL is very competitive (and actually the cheapest for this particular itinerary). That doesn't mean that some itineraries they won't be the most expensive, but if you price shop you should be all set.

All of this being said the Bliss is through the roof right now for price. But my feeling it let the 'newness' wear off and book in 3 years out and see how they compare price wise. If they aren't competitive, I'll sail another line. :) Simple as that!

I always tip on top of the DSC. For the room steward, if they are adequate they get $100 for the week. If they aren't, well.... I've never experienced one that wasn't... but if I did, I'd probably drop it down to $50.

Oh my...

 

"Maniacal Cruisers" Eyeball is making me twitch way too much....

 

Gonna have to skip over all of those posts and hopefully regain good info. LOL!

Ha ha haaaaaaa!!!! :') I was just thinking the same thing... clearly "Maniacal Cruiser" is a chair hog offender. Bwahahahaaaaaa!!!! :') :') :')

I'm inside 100 days and staying in the Haven (on the Escape) and I don't see an option to purchase thermal suite passes. Am I missing something? Are they under a category I'm not seeing or understanding?

I have scoured the posts and they all say to book it under your account, problem is I can't find it to book it. :')

Any help would be great, thanks!