complawyer

i agree, but then i dont ever book a cruise for the quality of their pizza. as a matter of fact, i dont recall eating a piece of pizza on any of my last 4 cruises. the upside,however, is if youre traveling with kids, they will always be happy with a slice of "za"

sometimes, convenience beats price. why dont you try and also book an inside cabin directly across from yours. the girls can get ready in that cabin and you and hubby can get ready in yours. also, during your cruise, a little "privacy" might be desired. it may sound like a great deal, but once onboard with trying to time getting ready, you may be disappointed with your choice, and there is only so much bar time your husband can absorb. also, if the 3 of you girls are anything like my wife when she tries to get ready, the poor guy will be waiting a long,long, long time in the bar, especially if the 4 of you all take showers before you start the day finally, sometimes i just like to chill out on my balcony, or in my cabin, 1 male and 3 females makes this a little tough

ive posted before that ncl has priced me out of the market on the new prima. regent is way,way, way out of my price range, and even when i book a haven suite, comparing one to the other is like apples to oranges. i would expect more on the regent based on costs/price alone.

just go to whichever cruise you are thinking about, go to the cabin selection of the categories balcony and club balcony suite. it will give you the room sizes for each. its not a lot, but with 4 people the little extra space gives a touch more breathing room , and i dont know about the "balcony" but we just got off the bliss, and had a nice enclosed stand up stall shower in the club balcony suite

i discovered the only real difference is access to the pool and sundeck. the price difference is $1500, but since this is the trans-canal cruise, i think we'll splurge & pop for the other $1500, and get a great view of the crossing from the sun deck. take away the "c" and youre left with anal, which probably well describes me for blowing the xtra $$$ ok, i acknowledge i'm dumb for doing it!

thanks for also the insight!

on our very 1st cruise, the muster drill went as expected. women, children, elderly and disabled go 1st when asked if there were any questions i raised my hand and politely asked "where's the bar" needless to say the guy leading the muster wasn't pleased and admonished me that this was a serious issue, and my question was totally inappropriate. i told him to look around at the other passengers . i was a 34 year old white male. i told him, based on the directions for getting off the ship in the event of an emergency, it looks like i'll never make it off, so i might as well drink to the end. at that point he understood

on our cruise the 2nd show was 930

YAY!!!!!

i dont cruise for the points either, but i do like the 2 extra dinners and the free bag of laundry!

best advice i can give, ducks, rocks, or anything else, JUST IGNORE! im not cruising to find hidden ducks, and i could care less!

ok chiefmatejrk, here's one where we will differ. it's not a matter of stupidity, some cars for the past few years do not offer a spare tire. you dont have a choice, and there isnt an option to purchase one. this is mostly true, regardless of make, model, or price.

rrraydon. to each his own, but maybe you should consider it to avoid situations like bluesskadoo has listed. it only takes 1 time for the drive to go wrong, to screw up your vacation.

i was responding to kylenyc #19 post. by the way, cant you upgrade to a different cabin as a diamond level latitude member. i thought you could upgrade to any next level cabin by the way, the cabin itself isnt bad, i just didnt like the closed in feeling on the balcony itself. im about 120 points away from diamond status, but looking at the perks doesnt seem to do much for me

sorry, id rather spend the little extra money to get a balcony then stay in a privasea cabin.

while i feel your pain, and sympathize with your position, if you know enough to write for answers to cruise critic, hopefully you will note that almost all cruise sites, advise to get into the departing city at least 24 hrs before the ship sails. instead of a flat, what if there had been an accident tying up the road for hrs. once i was driving into las vegas from los angeles (usually 5 hr drive) we hit the nevada boarder at about 9:00p.m. and it's about 40 minutes to the strip. there was an overturned suv about 15 miles ahead, and we didnt get to the hotel until after mid-nite. 3+ hrs to travel 40 miles. if youre going to drive, you should anticipate potential problems. im not criticizing, and i hope you make the departure time. but wouldnt it have been worth i t to spend extra money on a hotel for the night to avoid problems such as this

the service goes from s....l....o....w to almost non-existent unless you go to the bar itself. we were on the bliss last week, i was playing blackjack, and the guy next to me ordered a martini. we never saw the server again, and really, they guy had to get up, leave the table and get the drink himself. as for the type of drink, it's whatever you want(within reason). i usually order a chivas on the rocks

bunndtkate : if you can get into a haven, give it a try. im going to book the 2 bedroom on the ncl departing from panama city next jan. while the view from an aft cabin may be "unbeatable" the haven also has this huge sun deck. i can only imagine sitting on this deck at t he top of the ship, and watching us traverse the canal.

sthrngary: i havent responded to any of your well thought out posts in quite some time. however, i would like to comment on this one. i have commented before, that merely getting on board, to my cabin, sitting on my balcony watching the ocean go by, is enough to meet my expectations. sometimes, im not crazy about the food (since ncl is preparing meals for 1000's of people) it's not a major issue, ive had bad food in major restaurants on land, im rarely, if ever disappointed in any ncl cruise ive ever taken (19 so far). my only expectation is to enjoy what im doing while on the cruise. by and large, i have yet to be disappointed. you have posted mainly and often about life in the haven.to me, it's amazing! my wife and i took a close friend of mine on the jade last april and had a 2 bedroom suite. to say that she was blown away by the cabin/service, etc would be a massive understatement. my wife is so spoiled by the haven experience (as am I) that if i cannot book a haven, she wont go! we just got off the ncl bliss and had a club balcony suite. ( it was comped so we really couldnt b**ch about anything,) nevertheless, the difference is glaring and quite obvious.(LOL) i guess some people are just pompous and have heightened expectations (consequently, they will probably be disappointed) and then there is our good friend chiefmatejrk, who is as happy as i am just being on a ship. youve gotta love the guy for his honest and refreshing points of view and the subtle way he presents them! he has an uncanny knack for knocking the wind out of people that come on board with a sense/feeling of entitlement. i have a personal philosophy dealing with expectations "never expect anything from anyone! this way you wont be disappointed if you dont get it and pleasantly surprised if you do. good responding to you again!

gonna be a little cramped, especially bathroom time. if you can see if y ou can upgrade to club balcony suite. theyre a little bigger. and maybe just a tad more comfortable

see other post/ make life easy on yourself. give the large pieces to the porter at the dock and just bring your carry ons with you, other wise you'll be dragging them along until you get to your cabin, which may be anywhere between 1-3 hours after you board the ship

we were on the jade from athens last april, and there was no change in what people were wearing. i lived in jeans and tennis shoes throughout the entire 9 day cruise. bless ncl for its freestyle policy. the dress code may be entirely different on european cruise ships, but im sticking with ncl. on my 1st cruise about 30years ago, when y ou still had assigned dinner times, tables and other people at the table, i didnt know any better, it was a 7 day cruise and i packed 4 suits with the accessories, as well as a tuxedo for dress up night... NEVER AGAIN!!!!

the porters at the dock do an excellent and remarkable job of taking care of the luggage. although it's totally up to you, i think youre doing yourself a major disservice dragging a large suitcase around the ship with you, until your cabin is ready. remember, before you get into your cabin, you are directed to the pool area, or the buffet. imagine dragging a 26 or 28 in suitcase around. you need to get into an elevator, with other people going to essentially the same places. give the porter the luggage, give him/her about $10, and dont worry about it. you wouldnt drag these pieces on board a plane (and they wouldnt let you anyway) why drag them along on the ship. it's ok to bring your carry-on with you, we do it all the time. but the big pieces fahgaddaboutit!

mr jenner, thank you for the response. your answer is what i thought. you are 100% correct. access to the pool area is definitely "NOT" worth the extra 3k. most times when i cruise, i dont even remember to pack a bathing suit

chiefmatejrk. we may sometimes disagree, but i always enjoy reading your take on these posts. your logic is impeccable, and so spot on.