Jean2065

Yes we were thinking the same thing. It's a vista view even tho the aft has a great view and my husband isn't particularly happy sometimes with a small back and forth motion. I'm used to it but this is a short trip and it might give us more options. The aft books up a year or so out. 

Thanks for replying actually the suites on the back make sound too. Soot is a minor problem and drink cups and hats land on the balcony regularly.

Ncl sky fwd penthouse deck 9

We are booked in a forward facing suite on ncl in four weeks. I've always booked on the aft balconies. Does anyone have any experience with the usability of the balcony at sea.

I live in Florida and it has been windy for two months. We are going in June on Sky and it's the start of hurricane season so I'm planning different things we can do on the ship just in case we can't dock. The harbor master will make the call. When your at sea nature takes over. 

14 hours ago, Daniel A said:

DW and I are active seniors.  I didn't know we were required to eat dinner at a particular time.  We generally eat dinner when it fits into our active lifestyle.  What time are we supposed to eat dinner?

R

4 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

The way Princess runs it?.....😁😁😁

 

Bob

(p.s.) Just a little Saturday morning humor....

We're active seniors and go on cruises to take a break from our schedules. All and all we really like Princess. We have been using them since the 90's. I have no complaints .

On 4/22/2019 at 9:14 AM, JimmyVWine said:

Yes and no.  The physical line may not be as long, but your wait will be as long, if not longer.   That big line you see at 5:30ish will probably fill the dining room and there won't be any room for additional diners until that wave finishes their meals and vacates the tables which will never be by 6:00.  So if you show up at 6:00, there might not be a long line, but the people in that line will have to wait 30-45 minutes for a spot to open up and for the table to be cleared and reset.  While Anytime dining really is "any time",  crowd behavior and "group think" turn it into "wave dining" with the first wave being at 5:00-5:30 and the second wave being at 7:00-7:30.  

 

Think of it this way.  Lets say that a dining room holds 400 people.  At 5:00 a line begins to build and by 5:15, 150 people have been seated and the line out the door has 260 people in it.  You see the line of 260 people and decide not to get in it.  By 5:45, 250 of the 260 people in that line have been seated and the line shrinks to just 10 people.  At 6:00 you see that short line and decide to get in it.  While you are only the 11th person in line, that line is not going to budge until a table of diners finishes their meal, departs and the staff can clear and reset the table.  This could take close to an hour.  During that hour, the line builds again until it has 400 people in it.  At around 6:30 or so, wave after wave of early diners depart and the tables get reset.  Soon after, all of the 400 people get seated rather quickly and the line shrinks to nothing again.  So one wave of diners gets seated between 5:00-5:30 and the second wave of diners gets seated at 6:30-7:00.  It some respects, you are better off being the 390th person in line than the 11th, (if you are in the second wave).  The 390th person actually waits less time than the 11th person because the 390th person joins the line just as it begins to move into the dining room.  Indeed, the person who waits the longest for Anytime Dining is the very first person who missed the cut for getting in to the first wave.*** 

 

Crowd behavior on a cruise ship is always going to work this way as long as there are enough people who want to dine at 5:30 to fill the dining room.  And when this happens, Anytime Dining becomes "any time except 6:00".  With ATD, you pretty much have to decide if you want to dine at 5:00-5:30 or at 7:00-8:00 and pick your spot.  It is for this reason that when you call to make a reservation for Anytime Dining (on ships that take reservations), you are always offered "before 5:30 or after 7:30".  There is no way for them to accommodate 6:00 or 6:30 because all the early diners will take those seats. 

 

***This is how it works in theory.  In reality, there is always a trickle of people who get seated now and then as someone in the dining room may have only wanted a salad, or a single course and dined for only 15-20 minutes.  So the first person who missed the cut for the first wave will probably get in earlier than the math suggests.

Yes in theory but do the people at anytime dining given let's say a table of 6-8 all eat at the same time or just order when they sit down? I'm guessing you all realize I have never done this. I guess I'm a traditional gal and probably too old to change. Guess that will leave two slots open for AD.

On 4/21/2019 at 7:24 PM, oskidunker said:

You bet. I would never do anytime and line up with a pager. Traditional every time  no wait. Same great waiters who know what we like every night. We have always been seated with interesting people 

 

R

On 4/21/2019 at 9:51 PM, joybook said:

Wow! These are really 1st world problems aren't they? I wonder if there are any people from 3rd world countries watching and reading? Just enjoy the benefits of being fortunate enough to be cruising.

I like the fact in TD our waiter always knows what we like to drink. I haven't made up my mind this cruise if we're going to TD on formal nights, we've always done it in the past. I have cruise in March and April. The one we're going on now is freestyle:( I guess they allow shorts in the dinning room on NCL? Well it will be interesting.)

Since we live in Florida it is just a three and a half hour drive to Port Lauderdale but over the years we have had the most amazing table mates and since then have booked cruises with them. That would seldom happen with anytime dining. They have to fly over from Europe. One time two guests didn't speak English but we made it work. I have kept in touch for many years with all of them. This next cruise we're down for Traditional dining and at least will go the first night and use the international cafe if we have a late excursion. 

I bid on the NCL Sky owners suites and the forward and aft penthouses. A months later I hadn't heard back from them. My bidding was quite aggressive and ended up about 400. Less than the posted price. Last week I booked one of the penthouses with large balcony. My main reason is I'm on crutches on an off and the mess they seem to have when your embarking scared me. I didn't feel I could stand that long in line. Good luck , I probably wasn't patient enough.

MmWe are booked on Sky Princess in March and April 2020 and noticed the traditional dining time changed. For us it's fine and I hope they do not take traditional dining away in the future. Because it's our 50th Anniversary in June we booked a 4 day with ncl sky and I'm not happy with their freestyle dining. I think Princess has a good track record so far. As for the medallion, I think you can still get a regular room key card, I'm going to if possible. If I still had younger children I might think it was a good thing to locate them on the ship. 

Thank you all for the updates. I'm hoping my forward balcony won't require strapping myself down. I figured this is a short trip to do a test run. We always have booked on the aft. There you get soot once and awhile. 

I asked the same type of question about the Sky. Two users posted the rooms have new carpet, pictures, and lamps. They used the word refreshed not refurbished rooms. Same furniture and bathroom. Hopefully a new mattress. 

Thanks for the update. It is what I thought it would be. We have been sailing on Princess the last 30 years and know what to expect from them. They do not do the quick weekend cruises except if they have a new ship they are introducing. Princess just refreshed an older ship we we were on many years ago and there is new mattresses and carpet but the rest of the cabin looks dated. For us this is also an experiment with a forward penthouse. If we find the wind an issue it's only 4 days not 28-30+. In the aft suites there is a soot issue we have become use to. We're not going to keep our expectations too high. Glad the carpet was replaced. 

Hi Everyone,

we have booked a Penthouse on NCL Sky for June 2019. I have read numerous articles about the ship refurbishment this year ( stem to stern ) but I can't find a lot of information about cabins in general being updated except an USB port being added. The pictures looks like they need improvement. I was wondering if anyone has sailed since Feb.2019 on this ship.  We usually sail on Princess and know what's going on. Living in Florida helps getting away for a long weekend and this ship does that.