barric

I am looking for an MSC sponsored transfer. I had an NCL transfer from NYC Manhattan terminal to Newark airport last year. And I know that many cruise lines, including MSC, provide airport transfers, for a fee of course.

Does MSC offer transfers between ewr and the Brooklyn port? We just had our car service cancel us because of the 11/5 closure of the Verrazano.

This will be our maiden voyage on RCL. Not sure how redeeming obc works. We will have credit from our travel agent, applied to our account. Terms are non-refundable for cash. Can I download this cash for play on a machine in the Casino? Do I get 100% credit to play or does the casino deduct a fee? I presume I have to play the download amount once through and can then cash out. ??

This will be our maiden voyage on RCL. Not sure how redeeming obc works. We will have credit from our travel agent, applied to our account. Terms are non-refundable for cash. Can I download this cash for play on a machine in the Casino? Do I get 100% credit to play or does the casino deduct a fee? I presume I have to play the download amount once through and can then cash out. ??

We seniors will sail for the first time on RCL in a Grand Suite and have obtained Diamond status from being Celebrity Elite. Our ship is Vision of the Seas. Here are my questions: 1 Is there a dedicated restaurant for suite guests? Does Vision have the "Coastal" venue? Or do we just get the main dining room? 2. Diamond Lounge. RCL info says there are foods and cocktails in the evening. Are the drinks complementary or do we have to use a voucher? The information I have read so far is not very clear, so I appreciate replies.

Oooh. We are Elite on Celebrity, so I believe this translates to Diamond on RCL? And then, how many drink certificates does this entitle us?

We are frequent cruisers but have never sailed Royal. I see reference to drink vouchers. What are these and how do you get them? Thx for help

We have sailed Breakaway and Getaway recently and in the past. I do not expect to sail either of these ships again for a long time. Here's what to expect. 1. Buffet is ok 2. Entertainment is POOR. The few lounge acts are crowded. Impossible to get a seat. The talent is variable, often not so good. Events in Syd Normans are supposedly good, but the venue is small and you have to wait in a long line hoping to get in. NCL is cutting back dramatically on theater shows. Expect comedians and not much more. Howl at The Moon is Great. 3. Service on the ship is good throughout. 4. Poor outside viewing areas. They have converted the front lounge area into rooms, so there is no good inside forward viewing anywhere. 5. Main dining room service is OK. Ranges from fair to outstanding. Menus have gone off the deep end. Just cheap dishes with a quality that I can get in my local diner. Lots of menu items are now an extra charge. 6. Room service was very good, with once a day tending. Our steward learned we were typically out of the room from 6am to 10:30 or so, and got the job done then. If you sleep in late, you may not get service until late in the afternoon. 7. NCL retains their title as the nickel and dime cruise line.

We were on Getaway in March. On at least 1 night Illusionarium had the puzzle solving event. It was not a dinner happening, just the riddle solving. We were seated with 6 other couples to play the game. It was intense, FUN, and well worth the time. Pretty sure Getaway ran it on a another night.

DW and I seniors had a family suite on this cruise. No balcony but floor to ceiling, full room windows. Excellent. Overall, suite perks and features were as expected and quite good. In general, we see many things not up to expectations and not as good as before. After our March curise on Getaway, I will know better if we will decrease our interest in NCL. Here are some of our observations: Main dining was OK. Appies were excellent, but main course selections not as good as our previous NCL experiences. Just not much quality beef or lamb selections. One night I had a strip steak with not one tender bite. Roast beef was chewy. A definite downturn in our opinion. Service was good. On day 1, the Daily showed prime rib at O Sheehans. NOT. They did have it in the buffet, but there was only one station and it had a huge line. Come on NCL. That was ridiculous and cheap. Lounge entertainment: good performers but not satisfactory venues. Prior to dinner, there would be only 2 lounges, Gatsby's and the Atrium. Gatsbys does not have enough seating and was always jam packed. Why did they not have some entertainment in the Bliss lounge, which is big. Later at night, Bliss had karaoke. The disappointing early evening entertainment matched our experiences on our Oct Breakaway cruise. Dawn: We liked this smaller ship. Everything about it was satisfactory for us. The ship was clean and attractive all over. Service and staffing excellent. Cagneys: 1 dinner. Excellent Le Bistro night 1: Only ok. A steak tartare never came. A veal chop was so so. Menu showed upcharge for filet. Mushroom soup (i don't care for mushrooms in general) was Fabulous. Night 2 for Dinner with Officers: As good as it gets. Everything generous...the best of what was in the kitchen. La Cucina twice: Osso Bucco great. Filet (no upcharge) only ok. Other items very good. We like this restaurant and can often get in at time we prefer.

The dispensers are refilled by the cabin steward. Both shampoo and body wash will have preservatives included to protect against mold or bacterial contamination. But they are NOT disinfectants. A pump bottle is a relatively sanitary way to dispense product into ones hands without contaminating the contents. Now if you are concerned about the bottles on wall being contaminated during refilling, consider that the juice dispensers in the buffet are also hand refilled. Same with the mix that goes into the ice cream machine dispensers.

Actually, neither one is "soap". They are liquid surfactants which include synthetic ingredients like sodium lauryl ether sulfate and thickening, foaming agents. They work equally well in hard or soft water. The shampoo will have a small amount of conditioning agent, but is otherwise fairly similar to a body wash. Many people would not notice a difference in how they work. SOAP is a solid, anionic surfactant created from lye and fat...sodium stearate for example. It does not work well in hard water, forming insoluble soap scum. But it lathers particularly well and has a special feel. Fragrance is an additive to liquid "soap" and bar soap. Has no affect on performance and does not identify one product from another. The same perfume can be used in all three.

Our Dinner with the Officers was a home run. Just off a Dawn 11 night sailing in a penthouse suite. I had prebooked 2 of our specialty dinners and was holding 2 waiting for an announcement of the Dinner with Officers. On departure, we went to the Cruise Next desk who confirmed it would be happening, but no date set yet. Eventually, our concierge booked our last 2 dinners. We finally got notice delivered to the room that the dinner would be at Le Bistro. Had to have our concierge rebook a specialty due to the conflict. All this worked out great because of the effort of the concierge. So, this gave us five nice restaurant dinners, 1 at OSheehans, and 5 in the MDR (none real good). The officers dinner at 7pm included the ship GM and another staffer. 5 guest couples were treated exceptionally in Le Bistro. Food that came out was the creme de la creme of what was in the kitchen that night. Wines were a California cabernet and a Pouilly Fuisse. Both good. Interaction with both of the NCL staffers was comfortable, fascinating, instructive. The GM was skilled at directing conversations, answering questions, accepting comments and listening to any complaints. We and the others LOVED the occasion. A great invitation and perk.

$15/day confirmed by phone. Whether paid in advance or on arrival. Thanks.

We arrive 1/28 for sailing on Dawn, terminal 2. The Car Park website says rates are $15 paid in advance. This is for the lot at 810 Channelside Dr. Anyone know what the rate is if paid on arrival? And is this the only lot which is very close and convenient?

Don't expect to be comfortable with furniture in any of the lounges, the atrium and hallways. Classic form over function. Good for REALLY tall people...7 ft or so. We loved Howl at the Moon in Oct, but lounge entertainment early evening was almost non existant. Except in the crowded, uncomfortable atrium. Event in Syds had lines forming an hour early for few seats. We like Cagneys, LeBistro and La Cucina (twice).

It now shows as a sapphire perk. But based on these replies, not worth bothering with. Thanks all

This is our first sailing with Sapphire. Can anyone advise what this latitude perk is?

Thanks for the reply. I guess I will try to request a dvd player. Otherwise, I will have to bring my small Sony DVP. If I can contact the concierge prior to boarding, I will request a player.

We have a family suite for Dawn Jan 28. Can anyone tell me if the suites have DVD players. I like to bring some boring dvds to watch when going to bed. OR Can one access the TV using AV inputs?

DVD players? We are booked in a family suite Jan 28 on Dawn. Can anyone tell me if a DVD player is in the suite. I would like to play media that I bring myself.

We were on the 10/26 Breakaway sailing and could not agree more with OP. For example, the 2oz of shredded beef "short ribs" was awful. Even the Maître Dei had no comment when we summoned him. I really dislike the fact that they turned the forward observation lounge into cabins. Now there is no inside forward viewing area anywhere. We also were very disappointed in the lack of lounges and lounge entertainment early in the evening. And the furniture. Geez. Who did they get to design the chairs in lounges? 7 foot tall people? Form over function. We have sailed on Getaway and Breakaway previously and had much better experiences then. Now, we will avoid both ships unless reviews change for the better.

We are 63 days out from our Dawn sailing. For 11 days, the Thermal Suite pass is $259. Is there any history of the price going down as we get closer to sailaway?

We got a good price for a Family Suite without balcony, on Dawn. Never sailed on this class of NCL shlp before and am not familiar with its perks. I see that Dawn does not have the Haven. So does that mean no dinner restaurant for us? I believe we get the specialty restaurants for breakfast and lunch. I am considering upgrade bidding to other suites. Advice can sure help me with decisions. Our SP suite is quite large, over 400 sq ft. The SN AFT suite with balcony lists Total Size approx 360 and the balcony is about 70. Does the 360 include the 70? If so then the Aft suite itself is under 300. Much smaller than our current room. Also, I assume there is not much extra in the way of perks for better suites, other than size and furnishings ????

In an older youtube video, it was stated that the Family suite rooms have a dvd player. Can anyone confirm? Normally I bring a small portable player. Sometimes I can connect to the tv, sometimes not. Sure would be nice if the room had the player so I can watch boring stuff when we get in bed.