TPgal

"With three ships now in port including the Breakaway, the pier was full of passengers still coming and going,"

 

That was us on the Jade.  We were pretty shocked to find that indeed you CAN see into the fancy bathroom windows in the suites/haven.  (We made sure to close ours up for the remainder of our trip when we were in port.)    Thanks for the show!

 

We only had 30-40 kids on our ship and while my kiddo loved the kids club they didn't have enough to do the clown/circus show at the end of the cruise.  

 

In Costa Maya, we went to the waterpark and based on your review we clearly did not make the right choice.  Thank you for sharing your photos and your review.   We'll be on the Breakaway next August and are counting the days (and trolling CC to kill time. )

I was on the April 1 Jade partial Panama Canal sailing and opted for the "Panama Canal by Ferry excursion.  We ate a big breakfast and then tendered off the boat to the "Yacht Club" which is really a place to meet the buses and use the restroom.  Then we drove for about an hour or more with a brief stop at a very clean gas/rest station.  We were encouraged to use the restrooms and many of us loaded up on snacks.  Our guide gave us lots of information about the areas we traveled thru, the history of the locks and about Panama.  

 

We continued on and met up with the ferry on the other side of the lake.  Then we spent the rest of the morning and afternoon on the ferry going thru the remaining locks to the Pacific.    The boating portion of the day was great.  There were different folks on the ferry giving information as we went, but it was easy to ignore them.   On the ferry, there were a couple of vendors selling adult beverages - American cash only.   

 

They offered sodas, water, and a buffet lunch.  The lunch was more church basement than las vegas buffet.   I brought lots of snacks from the ship that "you're not supposed to do" but as the person in charge of getting the groups to their meetup places on the ship absolutely did not *wink* say "I would do it!".   

 

The ferry does have covered seating, but not for all passengers.   My group was the second bus to arrive and we had to split up and some of us were in the sun and some in the shade.   I griped about having to take the last row of seats on the ferry but it turns out they were the best seats in the house (and sun).  Bring a hat and SPF clothes!   The restrooms on the ferry were clean. 

 

There was plenty of room to move around the ferry if needed.  We did experience a major rain event for about 20 minutes and it was crowded undercover we all managed to stay reasonably dry.  That was actually pretty fun, the rain was intense.

 

Going thru the locks is an exciting thing that takes a long time as you're at the mercy of the tankers and larger ships who are going thru with you.  Hurry up and wait seemed to be the theme of the day, but we were happy to experience it.

 

On the Pacific side, you'll get a great view of Panama City and become immediately thankful that you aren't commuting in their traffic.   The ride back to Colon was long and thankfully our guide didn't feel the need to talk the whole way.    Driving thru Colon is not something they want you to focus on because the poverty and the state of that area are frankly horrendous.  (There's a clear reason why they don't recommend anyone leave the port area in Colon.)   In spite of that, I can wholeheartedly recommend this excursion.   I mean - you're going to the canal, why not get off the ship and really get IN it.  

 

Tips:   

Bring food and water

sunscreen, spf clothes, and hats - a must

if you can't go up and down a flight of stairs, re-think this excursion.

Camera!

 

Have fun

 

 

22 minutes ago, silyse said:

Did you ever figure this out? We're sailing this week and I have the same question. I just spoke to customer service at NCL to ask, and they said there's currently no way to text with a minor, and that when I get on board I should ask to speak to the manager of the internet cafe. Has anyone successfully communicated with their minor children? My son is only 10, and according to the website, they'll allow him to check himself out of kids camp, but there's no way for him to contact me to tell me where he's going? Seems a little off...

 We are just off the Jade and bravely left our 8-year-old who hates breakfast in the room with one of our phones.   She was able to text as needed for the brief times we were separated. At 8, she wasn't wandering around alone but it was easy to stay in contact.    (We also set the door notices to do not disturb, so the staff wouldn't find her alone.)

2 minutes ago, BalconyGal said:

 

 

HOLY SHIP!  That's my cruise....700!!!!! 😩

 

 

 

Thank you for your review. 

 

 

I would take this number with a grain of salt (and a shot of tequila).  With ship capacity at 2200; that would mean one third of the pax are kids.  TBH it doesn’t seem possible.   Let us know what it was like when you get back.  

 

TBH, after a certain point the number of kids is moot, they reach critical mass and become like Tribbles.   You’ll find them in the air ducts and cupboards.  

1 minute ago, purpleally said:

Sometimes NCL will give Haven perks to the organizer of the meet and greet

that is why you had breakfast with a “regular “ person. Lol

I'm more regular than anyone - (that sounds bad)  but based on our transgression, I certainly was only attempting humor in mentioning it.  I thought it was nice that the M&G organizer was offered the perk.   I've read on other threads that folks have been given invitations to dine in the Haven restaurant - heck - it belongs to NCL - so why not? 

1 minute ago, wwwfla said:

Did you go to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet? Was wondering how well it was attended.

Thanks!

 I did, and I dragged the other four adults with me.  I gave the kid a pass. 

 

On the whole, it seemed well attended.   The crew members who were there stood up, introduced themselves and then split without taking any questions.  Kudos to the organizer who had a couple get to know you type mixers ready.   Most folks participated or at least helped those who were actively trying to complete the task. 

 

I am sadly tucked into my Seattle area home office wrapped in a sweater and a wrap attempting to readjust from incredible weather during our 11-day cruise out of Miami to the Panama Canal and points beyond.

 

About Us: We were a group of six in three cabins, a 2BR suite, a mini-suite and an inside cabin (deck 11).   My DD, DH and I shared the suite, while my in-laws stayed incredibly organized in their mini-suite and my mom enjoyed the dark, quiet of her inside cabin. 

 

Our Cabin (11030) The 2BR Suite was great, the bed in the master was extremely comfortable but a bit tight against the wall on the forward side.  The faux columns were attractive, but the first couple times I woke up I had was startled thinking that someone was standing over the bed.  Also, they made getting around the bed a bit of a struggle.   There were USB ports in the lamp fixtures on both sides of the bed and a single plug on the aft side – DH brought an extra-long power cord and we were able to plug the “I’m over 50 and can’t sleep without this silly” c-pap.   We had no trouble with the cabin stewards unplugging anything in our room. 

The mini-room was ideal for the DD (aged 😎 and she enjoyed the fold down bunk until the night of significant rolling and rocking.  The creaking and bangs were enough to make her want to sleep closer to the floor.   She opted to move to the couch below (but didn’t want it pulled out into a bed.   Our steward kindly left the bunk open as the kiddo had fashioned quite the fort using the extra sheets.   I’m not exactly sure how a cabin like that would work for two people.  (Especially if the cruise fare had been split evenly between the parties.)   The closet in the mini-room was the depth of a reasonably large suitcase,  the three drawers were tall, but not deep.   Thankfully I’ve got my Marie Kondo certification and was able to keep things a bit organized (until day 7 when it all fell apart).  The adjoining bathroom in that area was the same size as the inside cabin that mom was tucked into.   It was great to have a second, more private place to potty – more on that later.

The bathroom in the master area really sells this cabin.   Double sinks, a rather large shower with 8 shower heads (a fixed rain shower overhead, a wand, and six wall-mounted jets that can be adjusted up, down, left and right.)   It is too bad that there is only one drain in the shower as when the ship was docked the water would pool on the far side of the shower and during one of the more exciting sea days sloshed out of the shower pan onto the floor in the main area (there is a wet area with two drains so the carpet was not in much danger.   The bathtub with huge picture window was a draw to DD and myself who are bathtub people, but sadly, it didn’t hold water and functioned much better as a place to hold towels and the many swimsuits that served us well. 

NCL does offer “Seven Luxury Bath” Packages that you can order from your butler (awkward).   Most were $99 and included a cocktail and special things scattered in the tub.   The pinnacle item was the Mediterranean Soak – a French verbena bubble bath, and eye mask and a bottle of chilled Dom Perignon champagne with sturgeon caviar “beside you”.   Grand total:  $499.     Hard Pass.

In Costa Maya, Mexico we were docked next to the Breakaway and I was able to view the bathroom windows from the outside and I would like to report that you CAN see into the shower and tub area from outside.   These windows come with shades, and not being nudists – we used them.

 

Storage, as reported in the 2BRs is plenty.  A full closet, ample space under the master bed to shove the suitcases (opened), three drawers and a shelf for use next to the closet.   Two safes (handy – if you’re sharing the cabin with friends with whom you don’t trust.)  In the master area around the TV, there is an upper cabinet with a shelf and a lower cabinet of similar configuration.    Had I known that I, the short person in my party was going to have to use the lower cabinet for most of my non-hanging things I would have managed to work in better storage cubes.  The proximity to the bed made it challenging to see what was in the cabinet on the lower level.   

The vanity had three smaller drawers, and loads of space under the sinks. 

Out in the “kitchen/bar” area, the storage was quickly taken up with our bottles of water and the one storage drawer that we used to house the games, decks of cards and arts and crafts (these things are obviously optional).

One more thing to note – the walls in the main cabin were not magnetic and a roll of tape would have served us well.   Again – not a deal breaker.

The deck was adequate, we enjoyed our chairs and “never ever” used our towel clips to hang our wet gear to dry.  This is forbidden and we never (wink) ever did it.

 

The Suite Life:  We didn’t take advantage of all the perks of the suite as we were traveling with non-suite people.  However, priority boarding was delightful and it was easy to connect back up with our travel mates when they finally got onboard.   The Haven/Suite area in Miami – terminal B was small, but the staff was friendly and my daughter reported that the orange juice was the best she had ever had in her “entire life’.  So there.

We used the priority disembarkation for one port and on the last day, as my mom was traveling with us our awesome concierge Bruno had no issues with her getting off the ship with us.   It was fun for the DD to see the inside areas of the ship as we zipped thru secret passageways and I was only a bit horrified when Bruno halted lines so his “priority VIPS” could jump lines.   (Where is Bruno when I’m online at Costco?)

Our butler was not asked to draw me a bath, much to his delight I’m sure, but he did keep us in M&Ms and cookies.   The little sandwiches that arrive on a daily basis were not popular with any of us, but the fruit that showed up was.

We didn’t order room service but did order in breakfast rolls and coffee one morning and that was very nice.   I over ordered food at La Cucina and our waiter called the butler to bring the extra pizza back to our room.   I would have been happy to bring it to the cabin myself, but he wouldn’t hear of it.    Perhaps I am not the princess I think I am. 

Being in the Suite category on a ship without a Haven Restaurant entitles you to dine at specialty restaurants for breakfast and lunch.  Due to the mixed nature of our group, and our preference for a casual breakfast we ate only twice at Moderno for breakfast.   I had the crab cake benedict and thought it was spectacular, and the second time I had the omelet – which, to be honest, was equal to the buffet made-to-order omelet.   The breakfast bar in Moderno was lovely with fresh fruits, yogurts, cold cuts, and cheeses.   We did not ever make it to Cagney’s for the suite/haven lunch.   I would say that having an alternate option to go was nice, but even on sea days for our busy group, it was hard to want to take an hour or more to eat during the morning and afternoon.    We did make a blunder and in light of the fact that we weren’t taking advantage of the breakfast/lunch services on a daily basis, my DH went to breakfast in Moderno with my FIL, while I happily stayed with the breakfast hating DD.   Our flawed rationale was they were expecting 3 people times 10 days times at 2 meals (60 sittings), and we had only used the service twice for 1 meal for 2 people (4 sittings) – so what would it matter?  They were kind about it and didn’t charge us for FIL’s breakfast, but DH was discretely told that swapping was not allowed.   Whoops.  They only wanted to do the special breakfast thing once, and I believe no true Haven/Suite passengers were harmed, or even aware of our blunder.   I did see that the kindly gentleman who organized our M&G and his lovely bride who were not in a suite were invited to breakfast, so I’m pretty sure that the Haven/Suite people were dining on the regular with “normal people”  GASP. 

We did call Bruno a couple of times to help work out some restaurant reservations and he was able to make the changes that we could not.  I pre-booked everything and couldn’t see the value of a concierge, but I was wrong and happy to tip Mr. Bruno for his services.

 

Ship Life:   The age of our fellow passengers was quite a bit older than our previous summer cruise to Alaska.  At times there were scooter mishaps in the hallways and getting around required some attention to those of different physical abilities.   The downside to this is that there were only about 35 people under the age of 18 on the entire ship.   My DD was sad to not find friends.   There were only two gals around her age – one seemed to be happily tucked into the Haven at all times (her brothers attended the kids club) and the other gal didn’t speak English.   After a tearful chat, my daughter rose to the challenge to use her skills in art and making friends to figure out how to communicate.   At the end of the cruise, the two girls gave each other a big hug.  YEAH!  

The upside to the demographics and the lack of kids is that Splash Academy was ours for the taking.  Even without a plethora of kids, the DD loved her time there and the staff was superb.    They told us that on the previous cruise there had been 300 kids and on the next full cruise (not the Bon Jovi thing) there were 700! Registered.   I love my kid – but 700…WHOA.

The other awesome thing is that on sea days it was actually possible to get chairs by the pools and with the exception of a couple of offenders the chairs that were claimed were used.   We weren’t always able to get chairs together, but if we went out to sun/swim for a few hours a single chair would work for us, then as the day went on we were magically able to get a couple together.   A miracle occurred on day 3 when the waiter actually came and took drink orders so I didn’t have to schlep “all the way to the pool bar” for a cocktail.  It only happened once, but when it did, it was magical. (Princess status restored)

 

Nightlife:  I’m not a “show person” so we skipped the formal shows, although my mom went twice and thought it was fantastic.   As a single, she was able to squeeze into seats in great locations.  DH and I did head to the spinnaker lounge and bliss for live music and enjoyed ourselves even if the bands were cheesy.   To be honest, the band at the pool was far better.   We got caught in show traffic outside of Jasmine one night and it was clear that plenty of folks were enjoying the theatrical offerings. 

 

Dining:  Most mornings, our party would get their preferred breakfasts and meet at a table in the Great Outdoors.   The buffet gets repetitive, especially if you’re picky but in the end, it’s an efficient way to start the day with a large group and everyone is happy.   For the most part, we saw folks being very diligent about food/tong handling.  Lots of washy washy!

Our lunches were primarily at the pool area as well.   This is probably not a shocker with the kiddo who is part fish. 

We had 9 specialty dining nights for our trip.   This was too many for the Jade, as when we got to the point where we were repeating we were rather over it.   In hindsight, it would have been better to have 4 or 5 and spread them out, but this is the vacation we planned. 

 

Night 1:  Cagney’s – the service was off, and the steaks were frankly terrible.  We weren’t offered a wine/beverage list and I think it would have been nice for the first night at least for the server to offer to explain how the restaurant worked for the new cruisers amongst us.   My FIL (the vocal one) did call attention to the fact that his steak was terrible, but our server seemed ill-equipped to respond.  I ordered creamed corn as one of my sides and it was visually awful and tasted worse.   It was a disappointing kick off to our cruise dining adventure.

 

Night 2: La Cucina – what a huge improvement.   Fun service, and an enjoyable dinner.   For those expecting olive garden or pizza tavern type Italian, La Cucina is not it.   It is pretty close to the types of places I enjoyed in Rome, Venice and in Sienna.  I had the carbonara noodles and wanted to pour it all over me – it was so good that I had to stop eating so as not to hurt myself.

 

Night 3: Teppanyaki – everyone must do this at least once on an NCL ship.   The show is fun and the food is pretty good and extremely plentiful.    Once you do it once, going back is really only necessary if you LOVE the food.  The show is EXACTLY the same (and I don’t just mean between night 3 and 7 of this cruise, but between this cruise and the one 2 years ago in Alaska.)  

 

Night 4:  Le Bistro – my in-laws love this place and when we dined here on the Pearl I was unimpressed, but that must have been an off night, because we had a delightful meal and the gentlemen LOVED and I mean lick the plate loved the special T-bone steaks.  They raved.

 

Night 5-no reservations and due to our extremely late arrival back from our excursion thru the Panama Canal – we all just foraged for food on our own (which means we somehow all ended up in the Great Outdoors with a plate of buffet food.)

 

Night 6: Moderno – so I had low expectations for this place after reading the reviews on CC, but we had a great time.  We liked the salad bar and didn’t over indulge on the skewers of meat that were offered to us.   The chicken offerings were a bit dry, but the lamb, pork and beef were very good.  No room for after dinner treats.

 

Night 7: Teppenkayi – same show, different meal.  Had the chicken and noodles.  The noodles were HUGE and should have been a meal on its own. 

 

Night 8: Grand Pacific /MDR   My FILs meal what a total and complete fail.  He would like to pull you aside to tell you all about how the Swedish Meatballs were in fact NOT Swedish Meatballs, but dry noodles and steak with a “blob” of sauce on top.   He was very unhappy and I will agree that calling that dish “Swedish” came with expectations.   However, the plate looked amazing and if it tasted half as good as my own plate then he was a winner.   Our night in the GP was lovely, and in spite of complaints from DH and FIL about having to put on long pants, it was as good or better than the specialty dining events.

 

Night 9: La Cucina – I love Italian food and decided to open with the “small” portion of the carbonara noodles as my starter and then move on to the “lighter” pizza.   This was a terrible mistake.   I ate all the noodles and when the pizza came I didn’t even want to put a slice on my plate.   This was the night our server called the butler to take the food back to our room, which he did.    I do like cold pizza and did enjoy a slice later on in the evening, but I really chalk that up to the extra prosecco that was enjoyed on the back of the ship after “walking off” dinner.

 

Night 10:   Le Bistro 2.0 – This time 4 out of the 5 of us ordered the t-bone steaks and again there were raves.   I’m the standout and ordered lamb and it was also very good.   By now our waiter knew us well and came back to the table over and over with Prosecco which we happily enjoyed.  We ordered the crème brule to split and loved it. 

 

Night 11:  Celebration night for us at Cagney’s.   Thankfully, the service improved from night one and this was a much better meal experience.   The food was perfect and the side selections were more in line with expectations.   We finally saved room for the chocolate cake and it was gone in a heartbeat.  With this meal, Cagney’s was once again crowned our favorite place for the last night on the ship.  (We’ll see you on the breakaway in 2020)

 

Where is the kid in all this dining out?   Well, she was on a culinary experience all her own.   After the first night at Cagney’s she wanted to go to Splash Academy as soon as they opened up – so she was dining on the limited kids menu (plain burger and fries) or in the buffet on hot dogs and fruit.  I normally aim for variety and balance, but this “old people” cruise required some adjustments on all of our parts.   She was eating, she was happy and pleasant to be around – WIN, WIN, WIN.

 

EXCURSIONS AND PORTS  (we’re almost done)

Due to our travel agent and NCL perks we received $100 per shore excursion booked thru NCL, so we booked exclusively NCL activities.  Our TA offered guarantees about getting back to the ship, but the only excursion they offered that we were interested in was on the second to last day, so the risk of not getting back to the ship meant missing the last sea day and meeting the ship in port in Miami – so we went the NCL route.

 

Cartagena, Colombia:  “Old City and Spanish Fortress” tour.   Oh my, what can I say about this LONG day?   The hike to the top of the fortress was good, but it was already 90 degrees when we left the ship and the street vendors were literally in your face.   The tour agent did not give our kid a ticket and we had to argue a bit in pigeon Spanish that we were not going to go without our daughter.    After about 30 minutes on the fortress, we got back on the bus and went to a shopping mall, where we had 15 minutes in “shop 11” to look for souvenirs.   Then it was onto the Naval Museum where we watched a 4-minute dance and then wandered around the one-room museum.   From there we walked thru the old town to the Inquisition Palace by way of the Slave Market.   In 30 minutes I had to explain the slave trade, the Spanish Inquisition and murder to our DH.   We had been working up to these topics, primarily slavery, but were trying not to break her heart in doing so.   This isn’t a complaint about the tour, but I was ill prepared for the rapid-fire topics and questions they raised.  There was a brief segue to a church which DH wanted to skip so we waited with our guide outside a park.   The walk back to the bus was long and we made an apparently mandatory stop in an emerald shop.   My DH fixated on a lovely bracelet that was $3000.00   Um NO.  Finally, back to the bus and back to the ship.    The port shop at Cartagena was nice, and we spent some money there on silly trinkets and coffee to bring home.    All in all, I felt like the day was designed to encounter people to tip (the museum dancers, the museum people, the street dancers that we “happened upon”, the photo op guy on the fort, and of course the bus driver and our guide.)

 

PANAMA!!!  This is the reason we picked this cruise in the first place.   We selected the “Panama Canal by Ferry” excursion.   We tendered to the “yacht club” where we met 6 buses and started our trip across Panama.   There was a brief but needed stop at a very clean and large gas station with a mini-mart and restrooms.    It was only day 5 of our cruise, but I’ve never seen American’s go so crazy for chips and soda before.   We were guilty of it as well, and even though I had a bag full of snacks, water and energy bars the chips and soda we bought were handy.  

After about an hour we arrived at the ferry and I was pleased to see that only two of the six buses were there, but alas – nope the other buses arrived shortly thereafter and every seat on the ferry filled up.    As reported half the seats were not under cover from the sun but with hats, spf clothing and sunscreen we braved it at the back side of the ferry which turned out to be a perfect place to be to watch the other ships in the locks.

This excursion was a lot of waiting for something exciting to happen.   It took all day and it was hot and at times WET (a crazy rain occurred) and the lunch on the ferry was unappealing.   All that said – the boating portion of this excursion was a once in a lifetime event and I am thrilled we did it.

At the end of the canal, we docked outside Panama City and boarded our buses for the trip to Colon.   Traffic in PC was horrific and I’ve seen terrible traffic.   On the freeway towards the bridge (we were going the opposite direction), there were vendors on the freeway selling the folks in their cars food and water.    Of our two lanes headed away from the bridge, one lane had been taken up by commuters also heading toward the bridge. 

When we finally arrived in Colon I was horrified by the state of that area.   Buildings with no power, but people living in them, babies in the street and the buildings were crumbling.   When we finally turned the corner to the port the difference was striking to say the least.   Everything at the port was lit up, painted, pretty, clean…while a block away it looked like a war zone.   We were tired after our long day and happy we did the excursion, but have mixed emotions about our full experience.   

 

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica:  Caribbean Train, eco-cruise and countryside.  This was our least favorite excursion.  The time on the canal was fun and the pontoon captain was superb at spotting wildlife.   Seeing sloths and spider monkeys in the real world was thrilling.  Driving through the banana plantation was interesting and we learned a lot, but the train thing was really strange.   It might have been my mood, but I did not enjoy it and really hated that there were private vendors on the train to sell us things and a man with a banjo who played and then walked the aisle for tips.   I will not be recommending this excursion.

 

Roatan, Honduras:  Dolphin Encounter.   Oh my, aside from going all the way thru the Panama Canal, this excursion was the most wonderful thing we did as a family.   The crew at Anthony’s key were organized, focused on the safety and happiness of the dolphins and were a delight to be with.   If I could quit modern life today and go do their job I would.   What an amazing place.    The encounter with the dolphins was controlled, quiet and really fun.   The dolphin seemed happy, and it was an honor to be in close contact.   They took photographs during our brief time in the water with Callie (our 5-year-old pregnant dolphin) and they charged by the person in your group.  We were a large group, but the price was $129 and totally worth it.   I had my underwater camera which was nice, but the professional photos are superior.   I have a new happy place.    The other excursion they offered was like ours with the encounter, but then there was time to snorkel.   We’ll do that next time when we go without the water-phobic grandma.

 

Harvest Caye:   So, from the in your face poverty of Colon, to the groomed Disneyesque shores of Harvest Caye, you have to simply set things aside and enjoy a beautiful day.    We rented a cabana and enjoyed a luxury day atop cushioned lounger, a private beach area, in-cabana dining and a cart service to save us the trouble of walking everywhere.    Because it was ala carte we toned down on the beverages but did have lunch brought to us.    The total cost for lunch for the 6 of us plus 7 adult beverages and one virgin daiquiri was about $150.  The zip line experience was $69 per person and my mom (77) and the DD (8) had a BLAST.   I only cried a little when they were doing their thing, but – how could I not let the kid and the grandma have that experience together.    Harvest Caye was everything I had hoped it would be during the long long weeks of waiting for the cruise to come.   Even though we had another super crazy rainstorm in the afternoon it did not detract from the memories we created.

I am surprised that of all the things that NCL has managed to charge for, that they didn’t have photography available for the zip line experiences.  Like Roatan, I probably would have been happy to drop extra $$ for the picture of my kiddo and mom exiting the “lighthouse”.

 

Costa Maya, Mexico – Maya Lost Kingdom waterpark.  Even after swearing that we would NOT do the zip lines in Mexico – the kid and the dad did it and had a high old time.    I’m a solid no, but I’m a chicken.   I did a couple of the high slides and thought it was fun although as previous folks have noted the slides are a bit rough and I wished I had had a rash guard.   The park has a shuttle that runs to the port every 15 minutes and we didn’t eat in the park, so when it was time to eat we zipped back to the ship, ate and then spent the afternoon in the clean ship pool.    We were at the park by 11 am or so, and waited in no lines the entire time we were there.   As we were leaving around 2, a third ship had arrived in port and the park was getting much busier.     The park was a good choice for the kid, her dad and I and I am equally happy that the grandparents did their own thing.  It is not a place to “relax”.   

I would strongly recommend bringing water shoes and rash guards – they have them for sale in the park and you cannot get into the park without going thru the gauntlet of extremely skilled salespeople.  We contributed to their store and now have a cute Maya Lost rash guard for the little to wear this summer.  

 

Oh, there was one very unpleasant thing that happened.  Our last night on the ship it was clear that the ship was starting to wind down and prep for the next cruise – which was a 3-4 day Bon Jovi cruise.   During dinner at Cagney’s, we saw staff roll heavy equipment toward the pool area and by the end of our meal they had drained the family pool. 

Our room was under the pool area near the towel swap area and for the most part, we were never bothered by any noise from up top.   We would hear chairs moving during the AM cleaning, but it wasn’t disruptive.    But, this last night it felt like a complete construction crew was above our heads.   We did call guest services and even went up to the desk to complain.  I know that the ship swap has to occur, but construction at 10 pm until well after 2 am was awful. 

In the morning we went up to the pool area and they had built a stage area over the family pool and set up a complete bar where the towel swap station had been.   Clearly, the people getting on the ship after us would not be of the “going to bed at 6 pm” variety.

I wish that NCL would include time to swap the ship set up in between sailings rather than disturb folks on a previous sailing who have no interest in the upcoming event, but I suppose – a quick swap is money.

 

BEVERAGES:  We all had the regular 'premium"  beverage package.  The two times I wanted a more expensive wine I gladly paid the upcharge.  Other than that we enjoyed the free-flowing cheapo prosecco and Bahama mamas.  When we ordered mixed drinks we specified the brand of liquor we wanted and it was never an issue.   @kfnesq posted a very nice review of the Ultimate Beverage Package.

 

So… that’s it.   It’s a novel and I’m sure I left something out.   All in all a fantastic trip. 

I'm interested to see if this works for you.  I asked if my mom could board with us (suite) and was politely told no.  

We're on the Jade 4/1 in an SC suite and have all the amenities you mention but no Haven access. 

 

We priced the same room type (2BR) in the Haven and it was about $2k more.  

That's quite the swing - I looked on a couple of nonCC sites and they are equally vague.   The best I could recommend is figuring out which cabin you're looking at and seeing IF there is a review for that exact cabin number on the boards.  

 

We booked a 2BR haven on the Breakaway for next year and it is my understanding that the balcony is 58 sq. ft. and while that's pretty small we are happy with the location and all the Haven space to enjoy.   Plus, the in-laws will be in an aft-haven cabin with a monster deck so we'll have the best of all worlds. 

 

Good luck!   The Alaska cruise is lovely! 

Nicely done!

My family took the Pearl to Alaska from Seattle in 2017 and loved it.  We were on the starboard side (midship) and felt we had a spectacular view of all the sights, but on itineraries where you go on the inside passage, there are views on both sides of the ship.   On this itinerary a balcony is important.  The scenery is stunning and we enjoyed the ports as well.  

 

Out of Seattle, you'll have the choice of ships so I can't speak to what going to Alaska on the Bliss would be like, but my in-laws who are also in their mid 70's loved the smaller ship and thought getting around the ship was easy.  We booked adjoining cabins and it worked out nicely.  

 

One thing I would say is to pay attention to your packing - it might only be truly cold one day on your journey, but it will be really cold.  My plan was to bring a rain jacket and wear layers under it, but standing on the deck in Glacier Bay was COLD and I wish I had a warmer clothing option.   I'm not a wimp - but whoa.  

 

I hope you go, it was a great trip.

I did not create this, but a fellow CC person posted it on his page and welcomed people to view it.   It's a 1-page guide of what you can see during sail away.  It's AMAZING.  

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11wyIxX76io-a4tg3fq0lMDXC2s_ZDEHA/view?usp=sharing

 

25 minutes ago, tugtraveller said:

We have a 11-day Panama Canal cruise on the Jade in April, our first time on Norwegian.  From what I have read on these boards there are no formal nights right?  Hubby can wear a sweater, not a jacket?  And I can wear slacks & a pretty top, like I was going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, right?  I also read no formal nights, no lobsters on Norwegian unless you pay for them.  True?

 

Thanks for posting all this great info.  We will be in a 9th floor balcony on the Jade, but closer to the front of the ship.  I will be very careful about ALL the doors!. Finger crossed that we do not have a bed that goes bump in the night!

 

--- Rene

 

 

 

Are you on the April 1st sailing?  If so, come on over to the Roll Call. We're less than 2 weeks away and it's too quiet.

On 3/19/2019 at 1:02 PM, pbenjamin said:

I've seen excursion reservations mentioned as things that they can do.  We were planning on booking on board as we want to use OBC and if you make there reservations by calling the shore excursions desk you have to pay by credit card when making the reservation.  Can a pre-cruise concierge request get the reservation made and booked against the suite?

I tried this avenue with dining reservations and was told they could only book things that were available to book on ncl.com, and they also gave me the excursion phone number.   As I'm a person who can book online, I did that...

 

I sent an email to see if my 75-year-old mom (who isn't in our suite because she snores and refuses to use her c-pap) could board with us and was politely told no.  I get it, it's not fair to those who have to wait, but I wasn't asking to bring an extra team onboard with us but it also seemed like a pretty small concession.

 

Thus far, I'm not too impressed with the early services, and I don't really have any asks for onboard but I'm still excited to see what the suite life brings that is unexpected.  

7 minutes ago, realcindylouwho said:

We have been locked out on the balcony of our aft suite on Jewel class ships before also. Luckily we had neighbors enjoying their balcony as well and they were able to get the steward to lend us a hand.

Although I have no way to explain it, I've had items go missing and they ended up right where they should be. There have been stories about certain NCL ships being "haunted" 👻 but I can't recall the ships or the deck area. Maybe someone else can chime in with a link?

Google says it's the Dawn that is haunted, also this thread - but it degrades to pure speculation pretty quickly. 

 

 

But one night we came back to our cabin and went to sit out on the balcony and the handle locked when we closed the door, locking us out!

 

How terrifying!  Glad you kept a calm head and worked the problem rather than waiting for a neighbor to pop out onto their balcony. 

4 minutes ago, saphir said:

I booked with a TA with the  Beverage package......and I received my invoice and no Gratuities on the package is mentioned... is it necessary to pay each drink we take ?

 

thank you for your help. 

 

Your TA has either comped or included the gratuities on the UBP.  You can, for good service, tip in person but one way or the other NCL got their 20%.  This charge, unlike the daily service charges, is paid on the upfront and included in the original booking fee.  

 

 

3 minutes ago, RedRover96 said:

My mistake I believe it's called Link Light Rail that runs from airport to Seattle downtown not the monorail. 

Correct!  Normally I would not jump in, but imagine the OP trying to drag their luggage on the monorail.  

On 3/16/2019 at 7:01 AM, RedRover96 said:

Airport is more like 10+ miles from the port area!  If you are staying in town and near the monorail it takes you directly to the airport.

The monorail does not go to the airport, it goes between downtown and the space needle. There is light rail to the airport but you pick that up near the stadiums.  

 

I would not not stay at the airport if seeing Seattle is the goal. Folks above have suggested great places.  Have fun!

14 hours ago, tumblew467 said:

Access to Sundeck restricted to age 16+

Thanks!  I did not read that, you saved me from being one of “those” people.   

 

I’m a rule follower so you won’t find me arguing to make an exception for “my perfect angel”.  

5 hours ago, softl said:

I hope you're right. Doing the Bliss Haven later this year. I don't like kids.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....in Adult areas.

 

I feel you, but I’m going to be pretty irritated that my well behaved kid is prohibited from sitting with me on the sun deck in the Haven that we booked specifically to be together.   It isn’t listed any where area as an “adult area”. I think the vibe and spice 2O and smoking zones are the adult only outdoor spaces.   

 

I wouldn’t dream of letting her hang there by herself as she’ll only be 10 on our havenly booked trip.  But, under a parents supervision (and considering the retractable roof doesn’t seem to open) being outside in the Haven area should be allowed and frankly IS what we have paid for.   I’ll take the glare of the kiddophobics until they see we’re chill.  

 

If she were an a-hole I’d be with you.  😜

 

I hope you you have a superb time in the Haven. I know we are looking forward to it.   

18 hours ago, Jembeccatoo said:

 

So according to this, I can get a small glass of Oberon Napa Cabernet, multiple times at dinner under the beverage package?  Wonder if the waiter would just bring me a large glass, because I can easily drink a bottle at dinner....LOL  

 

In my limited experience it would be a miracle if you could get the wait staff to come back for more beverages.  Only at Cagney’s have we been offered more.  In the MDR we achieved a second glass but it came across as an imposition.  

 

Now, grabbing a pre-dinner bev and walking into the MDR with one in hand has been done.  

 

I think ink it’s obvious I am not going to lose money on the PBP 

3 hours ago, Jembeccatoo said:

The Riesling I enjoy on the list TPGal posted costs more for a glass than I pay for a bottle at the store.

This is true of the Chateau ST. Michelle Washington wine as well.  In a true restaurant situation I would neverthink about ordering it (if it were my jam) at that price.   

 

I think they they are expecting that we will subtract $15 from the list price, but I’m only fooled by that with wines I don’t know.  So..it works on me in some scenarios. 

Here's one from page 20-something in the angry thread about grey goose.   It's a tidge blurry, and I only see two sparkling wines - the extra try that looks to be $10.95/glass or the brute Rose at a whopping $29.95 - I mean please....

 

I'll choke down the extra dry but they'll get me once for the brute rose...or the French Rose.  (I've got a rose problem)