Cruising Lynne

How did the customer eat the loss? You were refunded for the excursion. The excursion partner had an accident. Accidents happen. That doesn't mean they are a crappy tour operator. Do you even know that the accident was their fault? Your alternatives after the cancelled tour could have included going to the local beach or shops and restaurants in the port area. Or enjoy the less crowded ship. All I can determine from this thread is that you actually disagree with the terms and conditions that you agreed to before sailing. Itineraries change. Boat tours are often cancelled. Make the best of it. I am sure you still had a chance for a fun trip. If you were miserable on this cruise that is your own fault. You were notified of the changes to the cruise as you boarded the ship. An alternative itinerary was given, which I am sure was a challenge for the cruise line to arrange due to the hurricane and other cruise lines also needing new ports to go to.

We had cocktails from the drink package so we brought our bottle back to the room for later. We ended up bringing the wine home since we had driven to the port. We got the Shades of Blue Riesling which some one on the elevator said they really liked. If we drink it this weekend I will come back to tell you what we thought. Thanks again to Bird Travels for such a thorough review. Now I know where to find the Diet Coke in The Food Hall. Some how when I order Diet Coke at one of the bars a shot of Bacardi ends up in it!😉

That is a mystery. For us they only retook our photo once out of the past 4 cruises. One time, during on line check in, I had a hard time getting an acceptable photo. I was wearing a shirt that had a colorful leopard print on it. My husband suggested changing my shirt. After that my picture was accepted. Also, watching out for a glare helps. I got to the point that I did not care what I looked like, as long as it was accepted. Because it does not matter. Think about how you look when you re-board the ship after a windy catamaran ride, snorkeling trip that included unlimited rum punch!

My husband votes for Getaway because he likes the waterslides, bigger gym and Spice H2O.

We have been on both ships twice, and unless you wanted to see Million Dollar Quartet and Burn the Floor, I would go on Gem. It has a decent pool area and a nice thermal suite. I can not remember what the gym was like on Gem. It would definitely be smaller but would have any equipment you could need. On Gem you do not have to reserve any of the shows, which I really like. Others have mentioned the Great Outdoors which has a bar and a buffet. You go through the main buffet to get there. I like to go there on embarkation day since some people won't have discovered it yet. This is also where they set up late night snacks. As others have mentioned it has a Spinnakers Lounge which has quite a bit of seating for entertainment and events that are held there. There is also the Bliss Ultra Lounge for dancing etc. I feel like the Gem has a nice flow and everything is easy to find. I prefer the OSheehan's on Gem. I find it more relaxing than the ones on the Away ships (Unless there is a really loud person running trivia in the atrium below). I also think that you would enjoy checking out a new ship class, and not another Away ship. I saw that you have been on Escape which has the Spice H2O I really like. Just so you know, there is no H2O on Gem.

Hi Aubrey. I thought I saw some people walking around with something that looked like a mojito, but I do not know what bar they could have gotten it at. It seemed to me that there was a push toward more of the sustainable options and drinks made with Norwegians own brand of rum. I did not see any menus that had painkillers or mudslides listed, but I could get them at certain bars. Atrium bar, pool bar. and The Local seemed to have the most ingredients for the cocktails that I am used to on other NCL ships.. I did enjoy quite a few of the new drink Bananarum-ble. They were yummy and did not taste too much like banana which I was worried about. There are a lot of different bars to try on this ship. You may find a new favorite at one of them. I feel like the ship had more pluses than minuses so don't be afraid of the "meh" reviews. After reading Bird's live you will know what to expect, and I am sure you will adjust accordingly. I had fun and for the first time in a long time I came out of the casino ahead!

I am glad you are enjoying your first cruise. Please let us know how things are in Sydney? I think it may have had some damage from one of the recent storms. I am hoping to do this itinerary next year. I was a fan of the Anne of Green Gables books as a young girl and would like to go to Charlottetown, PEI, and we have never been to Sydney, Nova Scotia. We were on Pearl in May. After sailing on Prima last week I realized I missed the simplicity of a mid size ship. Not needing to reserve shows makes it more relaxing. Of course you do not get Broadway shows, but the shows on Pearl are still enjoyable. I also missed going to the Spinnaker lounge at night.

Your cat is very cute. Some cats definitely have more personality than others. I used to have a black cat with green eyes that I was very attached to. She would greet me at the door every night and liked to play fetch. Now I enjoy coming home and not having to vacuum right away.

It seemed to have enough choices for me to create a good meal a few times per cruise. It worked for us because we had two other nights in specialty dining. I might get bored with the apps if I had to eat there every night. I also felt that it needed another chicken option. You could get chicken with your pasta or roasted chicken, but I would have liked to see something like chicken cordon bleu as another chicken dish. It also helps if you enjoy seafood. My favorite apps were the coconut shrimp and the crab cakes. I also had a Caesar salad both nights. There were plenty of seafood entrees to choose from.

That is what I am hoping for. Adding more seating to the atrium should be easy. More hot tubs may have to happen on future ships.

To say there is no good beer on an the entire ship is ridiculous, especially a ship that has a District Brew House. I only mentioned Bud Light because I knew it would tweak the craft beer aficionados. Different people enjoy different things. It's all just beer after all.

I miss my My Pillow. I used to miss Diet Coke. I am so happy they have it now on NCL!

Exactly.

I am not a fan of crap beer. I mean craft beer. I prefer a Heineken or if I am on a diet, and it is a really hot day, ice cold Bud Light. If I am on a diet and not in the mood for beer I like Grey Goose or Tito's vodka and soda with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime garnish. If not on a diet, Painkillers or Mai Tais. Frozen Mudslides for dessert or by the pool. On the latest cruise I enjoyed the Banana Rumbles.

Overall we really enjoyed our trip on this beautiful new ship, but there were some things that I think they could have improved upon. First, some of our likes: Our balcony cabin felt roomy and light, and had a great bathroom. The couch was comfortable to sit on. We were two decks above the glass walkway on the port side, and had fun hearing some of the people who were afraid to walk across squeal and laugh at themselves. Indulge Food Hall. This was a great place to get lunch, a quick dinner, and grab and go breakfast options. Loved the Pad Thai and the food from the Latin section. Only bad thing I had was some very tough duck, I do not remember which section it was from, but it was wrapped in bacon. I was able to grab the tablet and quickly order something else. The food came out very fast. The husband brought breakfast sandwiches back to the room when I was moving slowly a couple of mornings. The ham, egg, and cheese croissant was very good. Loved that Hudson's MDR had windows all around, and you could see out from almost every table. Service was quick and food was very good. Also really enjoyed Le Bistro and Los Lobos. Food came out hot and well seasoned from both of these specialty restaurants. We enjoyed the Donna Summer show and were lucky to have picked the show that was right before they converted the theater for the Studio 54 party. They invited the first few rows on stage after the show to dance on the stage while the theater was converted. We had a lot of fun dancing to the DJ up there. Even got to dance with Simon for a minute. The Noise Boys show was much better than I expected and I thought that 45 minutes was the perfect amount of time. This was a show that featured tap dancing and two very talented beat boxers. Some dislikes and places for improvement with future ships: The buffet was too small for the size of the ship, and was a cut through to get to the pool, which made the area too busy and noisy. The lay out and some of the food placement was not well thought out. For example, the smoked salmon and cream cheese were not near each other, and neither one was anywhere near the toaster where I would toast my bagel. One toaster was also not enough. The pizza had a tasty crust, but was a little too thick. I also think that they should add pizza to the late night snack options. The grill section should be closer to the end that leads out to the pool for people that want to grab a quick burger and fries. It was convenient to the Vibe, but what about everyone else? Washy washy leading into the buffet was basically non-existent. There was one sink by one of the entrances, and I think only two sinks at another entrance. Almost no one washed there hands because there were not enough sinks. The staff did not really push it. I think this is because no one wanted to wait in line to wash their hands. The hand sanitizer was on the opposite wall and no one directed anyone to use it or the sinks. I washed my hands, but did not observe many others following my lead. The atrium was nice, but while the music could be heard on all three levels, there was not enough seating on the level that had the performers (6th floor). How have they not figured this out by now?? The Penrose Bar on the 6th floor should be bigger. Syd Norman's. It was not big enough on Breakaway or Getaway, and this was the chance to make the space better. It is still not big enough, and needs a better layout with more seating. The new MDR menu did not have enough dessert choices. This part of the menu should have more choices or have some desserts that rotate in addition to the ones that area available every night. Some parts of the ship had low ceilings. I am short so this wasn't a problem for me, but I could not help thinking that some of the tall people were probably ducking a lot. Some of the dislikes don't seem like a big deal, but every little thing can add up after a while and deter from your experience. I was frustrated with the layout of the ship at first. I guess I am so used to the layout of other Norwegian ships. As the week went on this got better. I liked ocean boulevard and the infinity pool areas. I felt that these areas could benefit from the addition of hot tubs. The ship only had two hot tubs that were available to everyone without paying extra. These were by the main pool area.

We did the 9 hole golf on this trip and it was free. My husband paid the fifteen dollars for the go-carts, and really enjoyed it. We did not play any of the games that you had to pay for. There were quite a few games outside that were free, and the area seemed to be enjoyed by a lot more people than would use the basketball court on other ships. It is too bad that they could not find a way to have kept the Observation Lounge a little bigger. We were able to find seats in the Observation Lounge, but I will admit that we did not go there very often. I thought it was a lousy place for the Latitude's party, but this may have been due to the fact that this cruise had such a large number of Latitudes members. We had to sit so far away from the bar area during the party that it was difficult to get a cocktail.

Hi Bird. We were on the same cruise, and I found Hudson's to be an enjoyable experience, except for the dessert choices. I think they need more choices or a rotation there. The only dessert that I wanted was the lava cake, which was excellent. I also tried the apple pie, but that was not very good. We ended up going to the buffet later so I could get a better dessert. Also, my husband said the carrot cake is a lot better at the Local.

We checked in a little before ten, so maybe they weren't available yet? Thanks for the reply.

Hi Pete. We were also on this cruise, and never received any notification of the change. When did you get this letter? I was okay with the change because I knew it would make getting off the ship Thursday morning go a lot smoother. I was only upset that we were never notified and I had to hear it through the grapevine.

For now, with the Free at Sea drink package, I am very satisfied with the varieties of drinks I can get that are included. I am not a NCL cheerleader, but can do basic math and determine what is a good value for me. I realize nothing is free and the total cost of a cruise on any line has to be taken into consideration as well as what you pay for drinks. I have also sailed NCL without a drink package and just a Casino at Seas drink card. I did order some drinks out side of the casino and found that the pricing aligned with the drink prices in my local area (Central New England). I also ordered some drinks of the day which are a little bit less expensive. Do whatever works for you. For any trip, it is good to compare different cruise lines that you like before booking.

BirdTravels, Wow!! Those pictures are making me hungry. My husband and I were just talking about the possibility of them re-stocking all the food for the next batch of VIPs. I am looking forward to at least trying some of the new items in the Indulge Food Hall. The first night will be an old stand by, Le Bistro. Looking forward to checking out the fancy decor, and not having to live vicariously through you. I do enjoy all your reviews and pictures.

I seem to remember a thread a while back that was about a shortage of some liquors, including Bailey's. Although, they still had it in the duty free shop on board. It may be the higher price right now due to a supply issue. I like graphicguys idea of experimenting with other things that are included.🍹

They were first come, first serve when we were there in March.

We went to the seafood night recently on the Breakaway. I always refer to it as shrimp night, because it has shrimp cooked at least four different ways. I really liked the garlic shrimp and the cold shrimp with cocktail sauce. They had fried fish and baked fish dishes and seafood paella. It was good but not like the Extravaganza in the video. I am hoping they will still have a more extravagant seafood night on the next Prima sailing on the 10th. I could go for some crab legs!!

If I am understanding correctly, for people with the regular drink package on NCL or Celebrity, Bailey's Irish cream will cost you a dollar? I have to say that I on my most recent NCL cruise (September 2022), I ordered a mudslide. It was made with Maloney's Irish Cream. I found out that I preferred it over Bailey's. Bailey's sometimes upsets my stomach, and I found that did not happen with the Maloney's. I do not know how it would taste straight or in other mixed drinks. I do not like Irish cream enough to ever drink it straight. Unrelated to Irish Cream: I have sailed on Celebrity in the past and enjoyed it, but for now prefer NCL. I really like Freestyle dining and the entertainment on NCL. It is really hard to compare cruise lines. Even within the same cruise line your experience can vary depending on the class of ship. I like that on the smaller ships I do not need to reserve any shows, but on the larger ships I enjoy the Broadway shows. On Celebrity and Royal, I like that some of their ships have an included indoor pool and indoor hot tubs. People really need to do research before booking on any line to find what cruise will align with their personal preferences.