Greek Boss

2 hours ago, sford75 said:

So I was also on the July 2nd sailing. I have 2 videos on YouTube already for Days 1 and 2 and Day 3 will go up tomorrow. I also traveled with my 5 year old.

 

Cruise was amazing. I hate masks, but like the person before me said, they didn't take away from the cruise. It was so minimal. My son had to wear his more than I did because he had to wear it in the kids clubs at all times and he was fine. 

Coincidentally I watched your day one video before I found this thread! Your vlogs so far on Freedom are very helpful as we are strongly considering sailing on her over NYE!! Subscribed! 

On 7/4/2021 at 6:17 PM, linga said:

To clarify, we only have to wear them when walking down the halls near the rooms, when 1st entering the dining room & and on the promenade. You don’t have to wear them in the bars, show room, casino,  while dining, near the pools, etc.   as I said it’s really not much after all.  
 

I was so tired of wearing a mask, I was concerned about having to do it, but it’s been so minimal, it hasn’t been any issue or made the cruise any less enjoyable at all.. 

You don’t have to wear your masks in the bars at all? Does this include the nightclub as well?

6 minutes ago, AL3XCruise said:

 

Most ships in Leonardo's size range are to tall for the bridges entering Baltimore.  They haven't published enough info about the new ships to know for sure, but the template they are being based on has a tall, narrow superstructure.  Because of that I doubt it will be materially shorter than its 140,000 GT peers, but time will tell.

 

Still, even if a Leonardo ship can't fit, it could free up a smaller vessel to serve Baltimore, or they could try to attract Baltimore/DC cruisers with an itinerary out of Norfolk. 

 

But I agree, it would be nice if they manage to design the vessel to service Baltimore and other bridge limited ports.

Ahh, I didn't realize that regarding the new ships height but like you said hopefully it opens up smaller vessels in that market. Being from right near the Mason-Dixon line it isn't the most ideal to go to NYC for Bahamas/Florida on NCL. I know opening up Baltimore or Norfolk would really be enticing for those folks south of Maryland/DC!

51 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

I'm interested to know where they start putting the Leonardo ships when they are built.  It would have to be in an area where it would eat into another cruise lines business and not their own.  I'd have to think that another ship running in the Caribbean for the summer would be one area to consider.

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

That might be possible. If i remember correctly , the Norwegian Star did had a plan cruise out of Brooklyn, NYC that is going to these ports. Unfortunately that itinerary is in limbo with the issues the Star is having . would be awesome to see that this itinerary again  in the future 

I think Baltimore would be an excellent port of call for one of the Leonardo class ships to compete with the Carnival Pride and Royal's Grandeur of the Seas but ONLY if, as we have all said, NCL is willing to expand their itineraries instead of the same old Bahamas/Florida. I've seen the Grandeur have 8 day itineraries that include Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Labadee Haiti, and Charleston while Carnival throws in Grand Turk. NCL really needs to change it up!

Either do Option 2 or just don't cruise with them anymore. Best thing you can do is protest by not giving them your money. Let the market decide their fate.

They were discussing this sailing on the NCL Latitudes Group facebook page. I would keep an eye on your reservations because people were saying that NCL acknowledged it was an error and aren't honoring the prices. 

Don't get the pass. Tried the go-karts on Encore and one or two times was enough. If the racetrack is the only reason or Number 1 reason you are going then go for it but it just isn't worth the money.

4 hours ago, TTU cruiser said:

 

I meant that it makes it hard for me to justify cruising with Norwegian to go to destinations I have already been to.  I like variety in my vacations.  

I agree with you. One of my biggest complaints being from the Northeast is that NCL always has the same weeklong Bahamas/Florida Itinerary from New York whereas Carnival and Royal at least change it up. The last several cruises on NCL have been out of Miami for us and while we have grown to love cruising from there, we are beginning to get the same feeling from their itineraries down there too. It was a legit complaint I had and discussed with many within corporate while we were on the 2 Day Encore Inaugural in NYC last month.

They were never that weak for us. Only a few times, but honestly even in those cases I wasn't too concerned because the cost for the Drink Package as a free at sea perk was still worth it compared to other cruise lines. I will say some nights in Bliss Ultra Lounge we were leaving nice tips for some bartenders and at that point they would load our drinks up!

Sailing from Miami is my favorite, however I will agree with others in this thread regarding Miami Airport. While it is relatively close to the Port, we learned to always fly into Fort Lauderdale Airport with Southwest. It isn't too much further and the prices (at least from our departure airport) are much more reasonable than flying into Miami. We take a 30-45 minute Uber from FLL depending on traffic but we always fly the day before. 

We booked NCL Air for our cruise out of Miami this past November via Miami International Airport and it was horrendous. One of the worst airports I have ever been to. Security line was a disaster and the check-in lines were so clustered. Maybe others have had better experiences there, but for us, Miami Airport was an absolute no-go.

Like most, I have cruised on the same NCL ships multiple times. I am planning on changing it up in the future though!

The NCL ships I have been on are:

Gem

Breakaway

Sky

Encore

My favorite is the Gem. Maybe it is more of a sentimental pick just because it was the first NCL ship I have sailed on and it was the one that got me hooked and committed to NCL, but at least until now, it is my favorite (and most fun cruise). The Sky is really small and we will be sailing on her again for New Years in a few weeks. Breakaway has been a good ship as well. I was on the Encore Inaugural in NYC for 2 days and my first impression was it seemed to be a bit overwhelming - but I grew to like it.

On 12/18/2019 at 3:57 PM, Tyskie said:

We were on the Epic out of Port Canaveral - it will be 2 years this New Years!

 

We had a fun Bar Crawl which was organized by one of our CC members.  The BEST one ever!!  We all brought/wore white T-shirts and had colored markers.  At each bar, more funny sentiments were written on the shirts...…………….ya had to be there!! 

No, it was not NYE (for the bar crawl) but made the NYE cruise one of the best trips.

 

We found there were all ages, don't discount us "older folks" - we lasted longer than the "youngins" 🥳  But, as was mentioned above, after midnight, the deck party wound down. People were dressed in casual, chic to dressy attire. 

 

We did not encounter many families but then again, we did score POSH passes. 😁 

We would definitely do it again if it worked with our holiday plans.

Thanks everyone for all of your comments - I am beyond excited! Can't wait to spend the holiday at sea!!!

14 hours ago, Loucat said:

We have sailed on Dawn for NYE twice and just sailed on Pearl for NYE 12 18.

Very similar! Great dinners in the MDR. Parties around the ship, but we opted for the main pool deck celebration.

Go early and find a place to stay for the festivities. They pass out noise makers and party hats for ladies and men.

The crew has a giant ice carving of the outgoing year that goes into the pool at midnight. Good music and dancing on the pool deck. Ship's officers present and join in the fun.

There is a bar at the top of the pool deck seating area. We were able to grab a table on Dawn and had a great view. Tables were already taken on Pearl so we lined up along the upper deck.

They also have a balloon drop in the atrium area but we like being outside. 

Dress is all over the block. Some casual; some more dressed up. Not many in formal attire but again, it is the pool deck. Some dress for dinner and then change into more casual outfits.

They serve post midnight food in the buffet area. Lots to choose from!

It is a great way to spend NYE. This year we are doing Christmas on board but would be happy to stay for NYE!

 

Lucky you! The Pool Deck festivities sound like they will be the most entertaining for the countdown especially with the ice carving. Does the party on the Pool Deck go on until a certain time after the countdown and then continue down at Bliss for the remainder of the night or do they continue separately? Thank you all for your answers!

8 minutes ago, Vyhanek said:

Then put on your winter coat and hat because the next 1.5 days will be freezing.   Same for the return 1.5 days of really cold weather even thru mid April..

 

I've sailed out of NYC and defiantly don't recommend it.    It might save you money in flights to Miami but you will have to embrace a freezing cold cruise.   

We live in Pennsylvania so for NCL cruises NYC is the closest port for us. Sailed on the Gem end of April/beginning of May in 2017 and the last day it was FREEZING. Since then we have just been cruising with NCL out of Miami because the weeklong itineraries to Bahamas/Florida from NYC have gotten so overused and repetitive. Hoping the new Leonardo class ships are small enough to sail out of Baltimore with hopefully different ports of calls.. 

It is always enjoyable reading reviews like this. I feel like people are more inclined to write reviews and leave comments when they have bad experiences on trips so this is very refreshing. Glad you had a great trip!

18 hours ago, Vertigirl99 said:

I did NYE on the Escape a couple years ago. It was less families than Christmas and WAY more party people in their 20s/30s - a lot of people got stuck in ship jail because their behavior was so bad. But that's also NYE and the amateur night aspect of drinking around a big holiday.  On Escape they had a few different NYE parties, but the best one was in Spice H2O. Not sure about Sky's demographics, but given the short trip and NYE being involved I would guess you're going to have a lot of younger people on board. Plenty of people dress up for that night, but it's not required. If you want to make sure you have champagne before the midnight toast, tip the bartenders at the bar you are going to party at early and often.

Thank you for the response! Sounds like it will be very similar to the MDW cruise - there were way too many people stumbling around on the way to the Muster Drill! Do they give out champagne prior as a party favor or do you have to purchase it? 

Dining Venues that are included in your cruise fare:

The Manhattan Room

Taste

Garden Cafe

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

Shanghai Noodle Bar

Great Outdoors

O'Sheehans

Yes however it won't be as quick as other venues.

Being over Spring Break/Easter I feel like it legitimately could be sold out however if it is on the Star I would be a little concerned based on its past engine issues. 

Back in November the Breakaway had squares in the casino for the SNF game between the Patriots and Ravens.

Last month I was turned away from the Manhattan Room on the Breakaway for wearing shorts. They have definitely been enforcing it on that ship.

On 12/15/2019 at 4:55 PM, gizfish said:

Personally I have seen no Bahamas Florida itinerary from  NY that the pants rule was in effect on.

On the Gem in 2017 we were turned away from the Main Dining Room for wearing shorts. It was a Bahamas/Florida Itinerary. Maybe it has changed since then?

It happens to me. Sometimes when I am entering everyone's address, it will change every guests to the same one when I click save. It can be frustrating, but when I called NCL 's regular number (not Tech support), they were able to enter everything in no problem.

On 12/9/2019 at 10:50 PM, gmbhardy said:

 

Sounds like you had the A/C in energy saving mode. If you pressed the button with the snowflake (I know it makes no sense), that’s what happened.

And here I always thought that button was to turn on the AC instead of just blowing regular air... LOL no wonder it would always turn off!

On 12/12/2019 at 9:12 PM, sunny aurora said:

 

They have mentioned the new class, in time, may allow them to have new home ports.  I believe they did mention Baltimore.  

I hope so! This would be great! I just hope they wouldn't *only* replicate Bahamas/Florida itineraries. Hopefully they change up the itinerary a bit.

On 12/12/2019 at 8:52 PM, shof515 said:

 

i agree.New York is my homeport, i always sail out of this port. My biggest grip with Norwegian is the lack of Caribbean cruises, they only do those in the winter months like now. i would love love to do a Caribbean cruise in the spring/summer months like what i can do on other cruise lines that sail out of NY.

It does get annoying honestly! I love NCL more than any other cruise line however I have sailed on RCCL and Carnival before mainly because of the itinerary. Sailed on the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore because it sailed to Turks & Caicos as well as their Private island. While I haven't sailed on Royal out of the Northeast (only out of Fort Lauderdale and Galveston), I know a lot of their itineraries from Baltimore and Bayonne often throw in Charleston SC, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Labadee as ports of call for 7/8 day sailings! NCL needs to step it up!!!