brad0576

12 hours ago, njhorseman said:

No current or future NCL ship can replace Pride of America because in order to sail POA's itinerary the ship must be built in the USA. 

I would love to see NCL offer round trip LA - Hawaii like Princess and others do…. I would love to visit Hawaii but have zero interest in POA

The sky is falling that NCL is building 5k passenger ships lol

the breakaway holds over 4k and is 2/3 the size…. The newest Carnival ship is 20k tons small with a capacity much larger

NCL is still giving more space per passenger than any other mass-market cruise line…

On 3/10/2024 at 10:19 AM, BoatSkipper said:

We have id in and outside the bag.  NCL take control of the luggage the night before so they do have a duty of care.  It is the fact they will not talk to you post cruise that is annoying.  If course we reported to the police and yes we have insurance,  it is NCLs unwillingness to even have a discussion that is annoying. 

There is no duty of care as you chose to give them your bags as opposed to self disembark.

What is there for them to discuss?  there is no benefit for you or them to talk about it other than you might want to vent- I’d rather not have them waste the labor on that

I noticed Aqua no longer is listed as sailing from Port Canaveral summer 2025 as was previously announced.

any ideas on what’s happening?

3 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Was there anything special happening in the circus tent on board? Years ago they had a dinner show.

On day 7 they did a broadway themed show - it seemed like maybe something they were just rolling out as part of the new entertainment direction - otherwise it went unused

Was on this ship and itinerary feb 11-18

4 hours ago, pete_coach said:

 

OK, ya don't like tilapia but, it does not change my comment that says it is the 3rd or 4th most popular fish in the US 🙂

Tilapia is popular because it is readily accessible, versatile, and cheap.

As of this very moment I can buy a 10lb case for my restaurant from Sysco for 2.74/lb.

Fresh salmon is 9.68/lb, Grouper is 10.43/lb..... today's wholesale prices.

Any nicer restaurant would never have a cheap fish like Tilapia on their menu.  And guests should have higher standards than to allow a nicer restaurant (as I would consider the main dining room to be) to skate by serving lower standards of food.

I had Jerk Tilapia from the Buffet on The Joy and it was wonderful - it should not be the fish of the day in the dining room.

3 hours ago, pete_coach said:

OK. My comment was that tilapia was the 4th most popular fish in the USA today.

You may not like it but a lot do.

As  I said in my first post, food on ships is the most debated topic on this forums, regardless of what cruise line.

Sorry to be you. I would also choose different places to eat if I consistently did not like  the food

Tilapia is a buffet fish at best, I’m not saying we need Chilean sea bass nightly in the MDR but a snapper or grouper would be nice

even salmon would be better

FYI just got off the Epic today - most bars were out of captain morgan by Friday evening- the rest were out by Saturday evening.

5 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I call horse bullocks on that. My upcoming 7 day trip next week only has 2 sea days, and the meditteranean one we did years ago had 1. So one extra day at sea when most passengers just plop by the pool is making them that bitter?

Our stay in st Thomas was 6am-1pm, the other two ports were also half-day stays….. it seems most European itineraries are for the majority of the day 

5 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

 

The Epic switched ports and came to the US unexpectedly end of last year. No room at Tiano Bay so it is doing Amber Cove.

So in talking with a few bartenders this is a matter of contention with the current Epic staff - ultimately cruising the Mediterranean is fairly easy because the majority of they days are port days - so the crew gets more time off of the ship and has to work less - since the ship was repositioned they feel “this is not what we signed up for” and it appears many are working with a chip on their shoulders - mainly those that are newer to the job from what I can tell.  

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

We'll be hopping on board the 25th. Was curious about the Amber Cove vs Taino Bay - is everything there up and going (shops, pool, etc)? Has always thought that was a Carnival exclusive area.

What about San Juan - did you stop at the Pan Am port, or Old San Juan? NCL is telling me we'll be docking at the Pan Am port, but that just doesn't make any sense. I'm hoping they're wrong and we actually come in at Old SJ.

 

Yeah, as others have said as well our mini suite (club balcony) card was purple,. Haven is "gold" with a starfish. For the others, it all depends on your NCL status.

Everything was open at amber cove and we were the only ship in port - it’s a nice port

With plenty of shops - the pool area was pretty empty

in San Juan we docked at pier 3, carnival celebration and holland American new somethingdamn were at 4/5, nothing was at 1/2 

in st Thomas were were at havensight with same two ships from PR, royal Caribbean was at the other port 

1 hour ago, TenForward said:

 

A little surprised to see you docked at Amber Cover - I thought NCL was using Taino Bay now.   We're on the Getaway in April and really hoping to dock at TB.  Is it possible to taxi there from AC if that's where we end up?  Thanks.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

 

There itinerary specifically said Amber cove at the time of booking - not sure why at all - it’s a nice port, similar to mahogany bay in setup 

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

My experience is that club balcony suite is either green or orange

I had purple for club balcony suite

1 hour ago, pezgirlroy77 said:

So this is new to me. I have my first upcoming cruise with NCL. I assume the color is different for the number of cruises? Is Haven a different color as well? Thanks. 

orange - first time

green - returning guest 

purple - suite 

tan-ish (I think) - haven 

1 hour ago, ChiCruzr said:

 

Forgive me, but is an orange card?

First timer on NCL has an orange key card

Currently on the Epic - hello from Amber Cove 

compared to my last ship (Joy) the epic is a few steps below in service and food quality - the buffet just seems repetitive and limited - the dining room service has been spotty - and the food quality seems lacking.

for a cruise line that was trying to be known for its culinary - it has taken a step backwards 

on a side note the crowd on this cruise seems off to me - I have never seen more orange cards on a cruise.

The black cod skewers are my favorite but I think they may not be on the menu anymore

never had an issue splitting a FAS credit for multiple people 

19 hours ago, hallux said:

I'm currently on board that ship (got the dreaded 'you'll be leaving soon' letter today 😪) for the 3rd time.  I really like this ship and this class of ship.

The Bliss is my favorite ship…it just seems like they got everything right with it 

On 2/7/2024 at 2:58 PM, DCGuy64 said:

Anyway, the point is moot since OP has decided it's one and done with NCL.

Probably best for us that enjoy NCL - we are all on a ship together and have to accept a little give and take considering the staff is trying to accommodate everyone.

if I was NCL I would have forced a party of 14 to either dine very early or late - I would never take a large party during peak dining hours… or I would make them split their group.  

Also make sure your passport expires greater than 6 months from the disembarkation date - I had to get an emergency renewal as mine was 2 days short

Prima class is “different” and there is nothing the general population hates more than “different”

Working in hospitality and buying large scale food purchases I can tell you since 2020 the supply chains for specific items have been hit or miss - the fact that the entire US has only a few major industrial meat processing plants has caused unnecessary shortages in specific products - or price spikes that make certain cuts unprofitable 

I’d rather see a menu shift than a decline in product or increase in price

That would be great - maybe start offering Atlantic coastal or Bermuda cruises from Florida 

On 1/20/2024 at 8:16 AM, roger001 said:

Is it true that NCL no longer stocks Capt. Morgan Spiced Rum on their ships????

I am a captain drinker - was very disappointed that I spent 14 days on the Joy having to choke down Bacardi Spiced - luckily a kind bartender found a few bottles of Kraken and stored them for me under the bar.