DrUrsula

On 5/28/2024 at 9:04 AM, G-DawgMN said:

 

 I'm starting the question the legitimacy of the post, it's been deleted on Reddit by the author, and I also saw that same post on Facebook, and it's seems to be deleted also.

 

  But if it was true, besides the full refund/FCC I would have been asking for reimbursement of my flights/hotel/food.

 

 

We once had an issue with an airline and I posted on Twitter with the @airline mentioned. The airline sent me a DM, we got the refund and they asked me to remove the Tweet. I did.

Perhaps NCL asked the person in question to do so.

35 minutes ago, AlaskaGoer said:

 

Interesting. 

 

They estimate the passengers for my ship at around 3k.

 

But it can hold between 4228 - 5074.

I saw the same for Epic and Getaway. Maybe they figure a certain percent gets off the ship?

On 4/30/2024 at 11:34 AM, TPS123 said:

Nooooooo, Burn the Floor is a great show and I will miss it if it’s no longer on the ship. Do the ‘collective’ know if Million Dollar Quartet will still be the main theatre show post cruise? Please say yes. 

We have enjoyed it multiple times on Getaway. So sorry to see it go.

On 4/29/2024 at 8:43 AM, Bulk-head said:

Enclosing casino smoking section.

On 4/29/2024 at 8:09 PM, roddy good boy said:

What does the Q restaurant serve? Is it specialty? 

Awful BBQ.

but that is just my opinion.

its not listed for our September Getaway...

15 minutes ago, roddy good boy said:

22 minutes ago, zqvol said:

22 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Curious what site you are using in Greece that shows the Santorini port schedule?

https://www.santoriniports.gov.gr/en/cruise-arrivals/2024/9

We are hoping to meet up with family that I haven't seen since I was 21 when we hit Thessaloniki. I warned them that it's really not firm!

We haven't had any excursion options offered for Santorini.

Traveling on Getaway 09/19..

There's been a lot of talk here and elsewhere about Santorini being cancelled when the passenger count of ships exceeds the island's imposed limit of 10,000 passengers.There are 4 big ships scheduled for 9/28 according to crusiemapper

We are scheduled for Crete on the 27 and Santorini on the 28. I went to the actual Greek websites and Santorini shows us arriving in the 27 and Crete on the 28th.

NCL has no answer. Actually , they had 3 different answers and not one was confidence inspiring.They also have not had any excursions in Santorini posted since we booked in January.

I don't really care about Santorini but have a Viator excursion planned for Crete. It's "book now, pay later" and fully refundable within 24 hours of excursion. I went ahead and booked it for both days.

Question: do you believe NCL or the individual port websites?

I know who gets my vote- I'm just curious.

Thank you! 

We love the "Taste of India" which has always been available in the buffet.

Please don't listen to those saying there won't be passes. Joy is a special situation as she recently came out of a refurb.
 

There will be many available passes. Joy only pre-sold passes based on the old capacity. They have doubled the capacity and did not pre-sell any of the new passes. One the March 2 cruise 75- 100 or so passes were available on the day of sailing.
 

once they start preselling them again it will be a different story.

5 minutes ago, njkate said:

Just booked Jade for a June sailing. There are 5 adults and two 7 year olds, thinking about booking this for the day at GSC in Bahamas!

Anyone do this and can you tell me how it was

It was amazing. It's like having your own condo

right on the beach and a pool just for villa guests.

Bar service

They will drive you to lunch if you like ( it's a short walk)

TV with free movies in case it rains.

Totally worth it!

we had a blast

YES! 

We just did this itinerary in December. 

In Tortola, take the Rebel\Yell excursion to Jost Van Dyke.

We snorkeled with sea turtles, rays, a vast assortment of amazing fish of all sizes. Most go to this venue to drink . We went for the water and it was all ours. There is another member  somewhere here on CC describing what we also experienced. We are SCUBA divers and the proximity and assortment of sea life here was some of the best we have seen in years. There were three other people in the water and no one near us!!!

YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP FOR JOST ASAP as it sells out fast! 

St Thomas has terrific snorkeling as well. We took a small group private-ish tour through Viator.

We had 3 stops and loved them all. Our NCL tour to ST John was cancelled and we did much better scheduling last minute .

I dont like DR so I have nothing to add.

YOu may see a fish or two at GSC.

But Jost Van Dyke at Tortola and St Thomas /St John had great snorkeling

but no sharks.

As for time- We left the ship before 7am and took a 20 minute ride from the dock to Jost . We had breakfast and hit the water. We snorkeled until "last Call". The sea turtles were absolutely stunning. Its a short day but the BEST excursion we have taken in the CAribbean in ages.

(If you want sharks- GO to Bimini! Shark snorkeling galore!!)

8 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

 

I’ve looked at the menu for Le Bistro and it looks fantastic, I just hear it’s more dressy in the evening for dinner? I’m not taking a suit or tux. Trying to restrict some of my clothing options due to the length of the cruise. I’ve also eaten at a Brazilian-Style steakhouse on Allure of the Seas and it wasn’t a good experience. Dining as a solo it’s kind of awkward. If it’s better on NCL it might be worth a revisit. 

No shorts; men in nice jeans or slacks and a collared shirt.

On 3/1/2024 at 9:57 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

Why would anyone even pay $229 for a 5-day access to a thermal spa with no thermal pool?!?!

So disappointing. 

NCL Joy turned back on Wednesday, February 28. A CArnival passenger posted some video from her vantage point  and the waves were crashing over the NCL berth and dock.

We have missed 2 of our last 4 attempts. Both failures to dock were NCL. 

I send a DM on the social media sight that cant be named to "Mayahual Red Shirts GOlf Carts. Tell them your date and ship and he will send back all the info to you.

4 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

It's Claudia. She's been the captain for years. 

I'm looking forward to seeing her again when we stop in tortola for our april 19th sailing on Getaway. 

YEs! We were the only sober couple on the way back and had a lovely convo.

5 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Both sides were open on the Encore two weeks ago but I do not remember how many bartenders there were daily. Vibe was hopping but the service was terrific as usual.

We were on in December and there were 3 bartenders and 2 waiters; ship was full full full.

service was amazing.

50 minutes ago, Shidah said:

If it was The Rebel Yell going to JVD, that is worth getting up any time for! Our favorite excursion that we do every time and would not miss it!  Definitely worth the early rise!

We were on Rebel Yell with captain -dang-Megan? Connie?

she was brutal to the inebriated masses in the trip back. They just didn't know it!!

2 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Not sure if this is where @DrUrsulawent but we had our breakfast at the Soggy Dollar Bar.   I just had a bagel but my husband had a breakfast bowl which he said was very good.

I honestly cant remember! I know they offered a huge range of coffees. It was either Soggy Dollar or to the left of Soggy Dollar.

You cant miss it. We split a gigantic burrito. Really good snorkeling if you travel off to the right ( facing the ocean) 

We also encountered the delightful sea turtles. Such grace and beauty. 

We have taken 6 NCL cruises in the past 18 months. Until about a year ago we cruised exclusively in the Haven. It is in the Haven that we have seen a very noticeable decrease in quality of service and overall "product". Not only have the prices become ridiculous; the service has really taken a dive. From snotty concierges to the pool area becoming a playground for the young and the intoxicated; complete with dirty diapers in the spa and cookies tossed in the pool; butlers who never introduced themselves before ignoring us

; exhausted suite stewards...we were becoming disillusioned with NCL.

While RCL has no suite pool area, their service at the suite level did not change from what we were used to.

Last year we had a chance to make a late reservation on an NCL cruise and no Haven suites were available. As it was just the two of us and not the whole family , we decided to give them another try and booked a club balcony and the Vibe. The cost was less than half of what we pay in the Haven. We also added the thermal suite once onboard.

NCL won us back. This cruise happened to be on the very day that housekeeping services were reduced to once a day . There was a certain amount of general panic among some guests. We did not really care. We found the service very good, the Vibe blows away the Haven pool area- and Vibe doesn't even have a pool! 

We have completed 5 additional cruises with the same set up since then. With a few exceptions, food has stayed at about the same level of quality as in the past. On our December Encore cruise, for example, Cagney's was awful. almost inedible. The barbeque place was vile. But our other meals were terrific. Getaway in Europe several months prior , we had terrific meals with the exception of the Brazilian steak house. 

We  do not like the changes to booking for the Comedy Cellar/Social. Previously, our Haven status or Sapphire status allowed us early access to prebooking. As there is no prebooking now for anyone,  we were unable to see a show in the club on Encore. Each of the 10 or so shows was SRO within minutes of opening the doors as families would place one person in line and 15 other close friends and uncles would show up just before door opening. We were offered a standing space  behind a pillar but opted out. When we saw the comedians later that week in the theater, we were quite happy not to have stood behind the pillar as they were awful!!! But Choir of Man made up for the meh comedy.

We have only had a few minor itinerary changes so no issues there. They were Caribbean and not of consequence. We did get a 100 dollar OBC when they forgot to tell us that Cozumel was cancelled. That was a nice surprise ! 

SO- we are not down on NCL in whole. We ARE getting a little bored of all the ships having the same personality, so to speak. Its been close to a year since we have been on a Royal Mega and we miss Central Park and the Boardwalk and the suite lounge happy hour.

Celebrity is our  favorite cruise line but our schedules and Celebrity's haven't meshed as of late.

We have 2 NCL cruises booked this year and that will most likely be it for a while. It is not due to a decrease in service or quality - we solved our Haven disappointment  - we simply need a change in ship scenery for Caribbean cruises. For European cruises we don't care which ship we are on as they are so port intensive. 

We have had bad meals and an occasional nasty waiter on RCL and NCL (Never on Celebrity) . RCL has better aesthetics than NCL and we get 6 free drinks and suite happy hour; their suite restaurant and the Haven restaurant are comparable. NCL has a great premium drink package and the other little perks ; we also get latitudes meals and laundry. Six of one, half dozen of another. Granted, NCL in non-suites is much more affordable. Probably going to downgrade on RCL as well .

We don't see the great overall  decline that some do except in the Haven. 

We have been cruising again  since the industry reopened; we were on Symphony of the Seas at 25% capacity and have stuck in there as ships filled up to 50,70,110% capacity.

(We have a spring break cruise coming up in 10 days . That MAY change our minds!!LOL!)
)

7 hours ago, zqvol said:

Private excursion?

Encore goes to Tortola from 7am-1pm. Excursions meet 6:30-6:45 am .

Totally worth it.

7 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

No way I'm getting up that early on vacation, that's also for sure! I think 6:30 am is more than reasonable for the average cruiser. I highly doubt most people are taking excursions at 6:45 AM. (Not saying no one, but I don't think it's typical, therefore the room service times likely suit most people.)

Its not typical but we did do it recently for Jost Van Dyke on the 5 hour, abbreviated Tortola stop. We skipped breakfast; had a Starbucks - which Is open at 6- and ate breakfast at the beach.

We did our research and read about the amazing breakfast on Jost and opted to eat there. It was a good choice.

Getaway 2023 Northern Europe

Sitting in the audience of Choir of Man ,minding my own business and got dragged onto stage for the "500 Miles" rendition. I had a blast, a few pina coladas and was "recognized" in the casino later that night. "Super Star" LOL!

But the absolute best part was being able to hear my husband's distinctive  laughter over the rest of the packed theater. What a terrific show and awesome memory.

On our last Encore cruise ( December) our neighbors said they just called housekeeping in the evening when they left for dinner and  "someone" came and took care of it while they were out.

This past December on  Encore they were checking key cards for status for priority tendering . This was in December for GSK. We were stopped and asked to show our "status" after being informed it was "priority guests only" The point was moot as we are Sapphire AND we had a cabana "excursion" and were on the first tender.

Just an FYI.