Mlake09

I joined the face place group for the Joy 8/30 cruise just to see what was happening. Captain announced last night that all aboard was 6am today, departing at 10am. That plan was obviously aborted!

We booked last year and booked under triple points. After the cruise, we noticed we only received double. I went back and forth with NCL but they will not honor the original triple points, even though we had the email and confirmed that our sailing date matched the promotion. It was really disappointing, as our last cruise should have knocked us to Sapphire, but we’re still 6 points away. A few years back we had something similar happen and NCL did ultimately credit us the points, but in that case we had booked over the phone and asked them to pull the tapes to listen because we knew the agent had specifically said we’d be getting triple points.

For what it’s worth, the Bahama Humane Society has been working to regulate these activities for years because there are so many issues and complaints. Many of the pigs have bitten people, and they also poop all over. In my opinion this is a giant tourist trap and not worth it.

In my experience the port pages have been updated well before NCL notifies customers. We cruised out of NYC in February and saw on port schedules that Bermuda was replaced with Miami. Multiple people (including myself) called NCL to verify, but their answers were mixed- the live person told me there was no itinerary change while the chat agent said Bermuda was replaced. Others talked to PCC’s who verified the change while others denied it. It was hit or miss. We did go ahead and cancel our car in Bermuda prior to the trip, in order to ensure we didn’t lost the money. It was a good thing we did, because NCL didn’t announce the change until days into the trip.

When we were just on Getaway and I called about a large group of older teens in the next-door cabin, someone came within 20 minutes. I only called because it was the second day in a row with them all in there, and they were so loud and we could hear all their remarks (homophobic, sexist, racist- you name it, we heard it) through the walls. When they left the room I counted over 13 kids!

I’m sorry to say, you are sailing during the spring break season and are very likely to have many young people on your ship. I hope that you’ll go in with a better outlook- it’s your vacation, and cruising is what you make it. If you let yourself react to the behavior of all the spring breakers, and “bad things” happen, you’ll find yourself off the ship with a ruined vacation pretty quick. I know it’s frustrating to have tons of kids/young people on your cruise. I always sail during winter break and two weeks ago we were on the Getaway, which was sailing well over double occupancy, and instead closer to life boat capacity. There were thousands of kids. Most were fine and behaved as expected, and it was only certain groups who were overtaking the stairs, throwing food, swearing, etc. If you find yourself encountering that behavior, just call guest services. Otherwise, go into your first cruise with a hefty dose of patience and understanding that you’re sailing during spring break. It will save your trip.

I was also on last week, but one difference is last week Getaway was still doing twice a day cleanings, and this week is the first sailing that has swapped over to once a day cleaning. All of the room stewards are now responsible for more rooms, and service will take place all day up till dinner time.

When we were on last week I saw multiple different packs for butter, and on two days in the MDR, there were just slices of open butter on the table.

Thanks! We just got off Getaway on Sunday and we had over 4,800 (many kids!) due to school holiday.

Yes on the Getaway…we just got off this morning. The asparagus was good though!

We just got off this morning and they aren’t on the menu any longer…now it’s asparagus, Cole slaw, mixed veggies, au gratin potatoes, and I think fries…

Enjoy! We’re on the train home after jumping off the ship this am around 9am. We had a great 8 day trip and hope you will too!

A bunch of people will bring small rubber ducks with tags to hide around the ship. We bought our ducks and tags on Amazon. It’s fun to find them but we also really enjoyed hiding them! It was our first time buying them to hide. I don’t know how it started but many people hide (and then post) the ducks they find!

Getaway February 18-26 I didn’t have great internet on this cruise so I’m posting everything now! We booked this cruise over the summer for a great price with triple points! We knew ahead of time that there would be MANY kids, as I’m on the school schedule and a good chunk of New England schools were on vacation this week. Early on I heard there were 4,853 people on board, which is well over double capacity. Prior to the cruise we also heard there would be an itinerary change, dropping Bermuda and adding Miami instead. That was fine with us; in January when we sailed to Bermuda on the Gem, we had terrible weather and waves, and our two days in Bermuda was changed to about six hours. We did not want a repeat of that and hoped for the change to have more time in the warmer weather! It was a super smooth embarkation and we were through the terminal and seated for lunch within 30 minutes. We are Platinum but are bumping to Sapphire after this trip, and definitely appreciate the priority embarkation in NYC. After lunch we went and signed up for the platinum behind the scenes tour as well as the wine tasting, changed some of our dining reservations, and shortly after that, our rooms were ready! We had a balcony cabin on the 11th floor and even though the balconies are comically small on the Breakaway class ships, we really enjoyed having the fresh air and views. I did wonder when they would announce the itinerary change (thanks to whoever posted it from the CrewCenter page ahead of time), but they did not announce it until Tuesday. Pros of this trip: the crew were all super friendly and hard working. Staff in Taste and Savor were very attentive even when it was clear they were swamped. The latitudes reward staff were also great, and we were psyched to do our first behind the scenes tour (I recommend it!) along with our second wines around the world. We also appreciated the clear communication about priority tendering to GSC, and loved our extended day there (7:30am-6pm). We also enjoyed the day spent in Miami and did not mind the itinerary change (you can find my review of the stormy January 11th cruise on the Gem out of NYC to know why we weren’t anxious to repay that experience!). The specialty dining meals were all fantastic. We ate in Ocean Blue twice, and once at La Cucina, Moderno, and Le Bistro (the filet has the $10 fee even without the foie gras). We used our two platinum vouchers (can be used anywhere now) along with our two FAS meals, and for the fifth meal we applied the $200 on board credit we received for the itinerary change. We ended up with a small balance at the end of the trip but felt it was worth it for the better meals. We also liked hiding, and then also finding some ducks. There was a big variety of ducks on the trip; someone hid duck earrings and duck Croc charms, and others hid tiny bead-size ducks. People were definitely creative! We hid 15 over the first few days of the cruise and hope they made some people excited to find them. Cons of this trip: traveling during school vacation weeks can be a little challenging. There were a lot of kids and teenagers, and we had a large group of teens that were hanging out near our room for the last few days and causing some disruptions in the hallways and by the elevators/stairs (blocking stairs and door ways, blasting music, and dropping f-bombs every other word). I know that kids this age need a space to hang out, but I do wish that they wouldn’t block the stairs and not realize the negative impact they are having on everyone else around them. We also had a couple in the next room that smoked SO MUCH POT on the balcony. I don’t mind if people want to use marijuana but I think it’s important to be considerate of neighbors, and perhaps consider bringing edibles instead. We were in the warm weather for days but often had to close our balcony and move inside due to the smoke. The only other negative was that at GSC, I was stung by multiple jelly fish larvae (Google thimble jellyfish or “sea lice”) and will likely have my current itchy spots for another few weeks. This also happened to me when we cruised in February a few years ago and it took a month for all the spots to disappear! Luckily we were able to buy some hydrocortisone cream on board and that held to take the edge off. Many people are not impacted by these tiny stings, but for people who are allergic like I am, the rash can be awful- it is so itchy! To be clear, I would absolutely get right back in the water for another epic day of snorkeling, even knowing this could happen again! I saw a squad of squid, multiple rays/skates, a queen Angel fish and some Caribbean lobster among other fish. Overall this was a great school vacation trip. We walked a ton, had some wonderful meals, had incredible snorkeling on GSC, and enjoyed the sunny weather in Florida and GSC. The two sea days back were relaxing and we had no problem being patient with wait times, etc. It was also nice to see that the exhaust/smoke issue on the Getaway has been somewhat remedied from last year when we travelled. Cruising is what you make it, and this week was a great vacation for us!

We were just there a few days ago and they did have Platinum and above report to a specific location (on the Getaway it was the Illusionarium). It was very easy and a great perk!

Hello! We were at GSC on Wednesday and used the priority tender without issue. Someone called and left us a message the night before and said we could report to a specific location in the morning between 7:30-8:30 for priority tender. When we arrived, they just had us jump the line. We were settled in and snorkeling before 9am! it was our first experience with priority tender because the last few cruises we took were not full due to COVID. It was definitely a perk!

Hi, whenever we have had overnight stays, we have been able to stay out as late as you’d like. The all aboard time time is always posted. I’m headed on a cruise next week with an overnight in Orlando and I know others have booked Disney hotel for that night. Hope this helps!

Bermuda is not typically a winter cruise destination. It’s new with COVID. I did the 5 day NYC to Bermuda trip a few weeks ago on January 11th, on the Gem. We were supposed to be on Bermuda for two days, but due to predicted stormy weather, we only stayed on the island for 6 hours. The weather on the island was great but windy (about 68 degrees and sunny). When we got back on board the pools had already been drained in anticipation of the storm, and we noticed other precautions as well (top deck chairs all removed, etc). That night we hit the weather: gale force winds, sea waves over 25 feet, and pouring rain. All outside activities and spaces were closed, including the hot tubs. The sea days back were challenging, especially because everyone had to be inside, and because the wind caused intense rocking of the ship. Many people were sick and didn’t make it to the vomit bags in time. It was definitely an experience. Personally, I think I would have preferred the cruise you took, which had nicer weather and the option to be outside or use the pools, etc.

Just have to ask, what’s your background with captaining cruise ships? Sorry, I couldn’t resist! I do always appreciate Cheng for his insight into the industry and don’t mean to make light if you actually have a maritime background too!

Thanks for the update. 4,570 people seems like a huge undertaking, especially if the ship is understaffed. We are on this ship for Feb 18 itinerary- which is school vacation week. I have an idea of what to expect (full! Kids!) but if you are ever in a spot where you can ask how many are predicted for that trip, I would appreciate it!

On Gem two weeks ago, there was an up charge at Le Bistro but not at Cucina. We asked on our sailing if the supplement would be removed if we skipped the foie gras (we don’t like it anyways), but they said no. I’ve since seen others have some luck avoiding the supplement if they skip the foie gras. Hopefully that will roll out fleet wide. We’re on the Getaway in a few weeks and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks for a great review. I’ve never been on the Escape. We were on Gem last week and noticed those menu changes too, however, we asked about ordering the filet at Le Bistro without the foie gras and our server said we’d still have the $10 fee. I figured the supplement was for the foie gras since they didn’t add it to Cucina filet, but this seems to confirm that. Thank you! We will try again next month on Getaway!

Thanks for all your updates- I love this thread! We are sailing Getaway in a few weeks and I appreciate your observations. Can you tell me if the dinner with officers has a special menu? We’ll move beyond Platinum after this next cruise and I was under the impression that the dinner with officers was typically held in a specialty restaurant. Did that used to be true? I know there have been quite a few changes (we were on the Gem last week) for 2023 and I’m wondering if this is one of them? Thank you!

If you’re platinum or above, that would make sense- platinum or above get an additional two bottles per stateroom. We had 14 total on our room last week on Gem. Hope you’re enjoying your trip!

Hope you have a great first night and smooth seas! Is the dinner with the officers in the MDR or in a specialty?