CAKEisgood

Yesterday we enjoyed the Old world v New world wines paired with tapas wine tasting in The Cellar. First, this is our 2nd time doing this tasting and we loved it so much the first time, we signed up again. 
 

The whites were Sauvignon Blancs.  One from New Zealand and the 2nd from the Loire Valley, France. I’m not a Sauvignon Blanc fan. My husband is and he enjoyed them. 
 

the middle reds were Pinots. They were both from Burgandy region. I enjoyed them both. 
 

the third row of reds were Cabernets. The lower was the NCL proprietary wine East West bottled by Michael Mondavi winery in Napa (Robert Mondavi’s son). The upper was from the left bank of Bordeaux (Medoc region) and was bottled by Rothchilds (but not the estate wines which are $1000+ 🤑). I enjoyed both. I prefer wines that are primarily cab and not Merlot, which come from the right bank of Bordeaux. 
 

We bought a bottle of the East West wine to take home (can’t buy it off the ship and we got 20% discount with our beverage package). 
 

my only not so good comment is about the tapas. They paired it with almonds, cheese and bacon with fig. This is not tapas, in my opinion, this was bar snacks. In February we did the same tasting with Som D on the Escape and the wine was paired with tapas from Pinchos. It was fabulous. NCL really scaled back the “tapas” and that was a disappointment. The other guests at the table had the same opinion. 
 

The Som is from South Africa (name starts with “S”, sorry I can’t recall his full name), and he is very knowledgeable and willing to answer all of our questions. 
 

I am going to feedback to NCL about the scaled down tapas with the wine pairing. 
 

The wine selection was good. I would have preferred a Chardonnay to taste, but that’s my preference. The reds were pleasing, easy to drink and had nice flavor and scent. My favorite was the Cab from Rothchilds vineyards from the Medoc region. 
 

My point of view is just me. I’m not an expert on wines. I drink what I like no matter if it is inexpensive or pricey. I prefer Old World wines (wines from Europe) over New World (US, NZ, South Africa) because it includes a taste of the minerals ((dirt) and is normally lower in alcohol. 

I have to apologize for some of the misspelling and grammar. Writing on an iPhone in the CC website and sometimes not so good internet connection can be challenging.
 

Thank you for your questions and please keep the coming. 

33 minutes ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

We board Saturday!! Started heading south from Ohio this am… 

Have a safe trip to Port Canaveral. And woo hoo time to enjoy vacation. Have a wonderful cruise 🚢 🥳

Good morning. It is day 6 and it is a SEA DAY! Freestyle Daily 

16 hours ago, cat shepard said:

Have you ever visited the Salt room? I was thinking that might a good activity on a port day, when fewer folk were on the ship.

 

My app does not show the charge to visit it. I could not find it listed on the Dailies. Any clue?

Hello. I love the salt room. It is in the spa and so you will need a thermal suite/spa pass  

The salt room has Himalayan salt blown (not sure if that’s the correct term) into the air. The tiled bed is heated and a joy for my aching back (I can feel the muscles relax against the heated tiles). The salt in the air is not too overbearing (I don’t cough from inhaling the salty air) and gives a feeling of calm.  I have lived and so I have a few injuries that cause some aches and pains, and the salty air is like an anti-inflammatory. 
If you really want to enjoy the spa, get a pass to experience the sauna, steam room, saunarium, salt room, and whirlpool, then relax in the thermal suite tranquilly. It is very peaceful. ☺️ 

8 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

What the heck is this constant jiggling motion tonight with the ship? 

Not sure. We are also mid-ship. I felt it too, and do now as I enjoy the morning on our balcony. I have felt this motion on other cruises and figured it was normal motion from the sea. 
 

and for those not on the ship, the seas have been fairly calm. About 1 footers, 2 at most, wind is currently 7kts. Perfect cruising weather. We are heading to Great Stirrup Cay speed is 22 kts, heading WNW. On the TV in the room go to channel 21 for navigation information. There is also a channel with a view from the bridge. 

19 hours ago, firstimer2009 said:

Do you know the name of the Som?  In 2019 we had one on our ship named Michael.  He was a winemaker in South Africa and such an interesting person. 

Hello. We didn’t catch the name of the Som in Le Bistro. I didn’t catch a South African accent, but it’s possible it was Michael. I hope you get to see Michael on your next cruise! 

We have been to Spice H20 on embarkation days and it was fun and the weather was cool. We ventured over to Spice H20 to check it out and relax for the afternoon before we leave Tortola.  It is located aft on deck 17 (above the Garden Cafe). It has a nice bar with fun waterfall/ caves to cool off. The deck has a gazillion lounge chairs and about 4 or 5 shade umbrellas. There is very little shade, and so we left after a few minutes.

Spice H20 looks like a fun spot for those that can endure spending hours in the sun. I’m not one of them. Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of sun bathing, but that’s not for me anymore. I’m fair skinned, freckles and red hair so I sun burn easily  

7 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

Looking over the dailies for show times and such so this helps me plan! 

We walked passed the Pour House last night when Rumours was playing and it was not nearly as packed as we have seen in the past. The female singer has a beautiful voice. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

We have unlimited thermal suite access and my observations of the spa, so far. 
The days we are in Port the spa is empty until about an hour the ship embarks. They offer one day passes (I think) for port days only and the spa really fills up after people get back from excursions. That’s about the time we leave and go enjoy other parts of the ship.
 

on sea days the spa has many people, but not nearly the number on port days. We can easily find a spot to relax, read and watch the ocean.  
 

We might go back late evening for one last turn in the sauna, salt room and snow room. 
 

The staff are very attentive at keeping the spa clean, the water and tea freshened and towels available. 
 

my only minor complaint is that it can get loud in the spa when many people are in the whirlpool and are talking above the sounds of the water fall and jets. But I do t fault them. It’s a big room and sound carries. 
 

I love the spa and will be back! 

On 11/25/2023 at 12:54 PM, www3traveler said:

 

When you can, could you please post a list of the current Officers?

Hello. I have seen the pictures you mention on a board on my previous cruises, but the Escape has the officers pictures posted as a slide show on a screen near the theatre. The officers are listed individually and it wasn’t practical for me to stand there and take a pic of each slide as it scrolled. 
 

the day 2 daily lists some of the officers. I hope that helps. 

Day 5 Tortuga BVI. I was able to post this as a saved PDF from the NCL app. I have found the paper Daily more reliable because the NCL loads the daily really slow at times and I just gave up. Today we are in Port and the internet speed is better. Posting the pics, too for those that prefer that option 

Day 5 Tortuga .pdf

We walked around Charlotte Amalya and got to look at all the bling. I did splurge on some bling. It was a fun walk from the ship to the town, about 30 minutes, and the weather was perfect. 

Dinner last night was at Le Bistro last night. It was amazing. We have dined at Le Bistro on all of our Norwegian sailings and this was by far the best. The Chef came out often to check on guests to make sure they were enjoying the food. The Som was very attentive and recommended a nice Rose from Sixth Sense winery to pair with the coq au vin. The coq au vin was fabulous. I also had the onion soup and endive salad paired with the 66 Prosecco. Delicious. 
Dessert was a custard with meringue and raspberry on top. Sooooo goood. 

13 hours ago, prince319 said:

 

Question though....with the construction at the parking garage is it a major hassle to just drop off luggage? 

Hello. It’s hard to tell. It looked

like it was easy to get to the area to drop off luggage, but coming out you would be dealing with the traffic (and it looked bad) of those coming off the ship. Sorry, I wish I had more info. You might just have to be flexible when you arrive. It’s possible the traffic won’t be as awful. Good luck! 

On 11/20/2023 at 5:39 PM, cat shepard said:

Am very interested in your wine experiences. 

We have the premium beverage package which allows unlimited drinks that are $15 or less. In the past there was a broad selection of wines by the glass that we enjoyed within our beverage class. However, we will buy a glass of good wine (or 2 🤩) that is more than $15 and pay the difference. On this trip there aren’t as many wines offered by the glass and the quality of wines by the glass in the premium package are more like an economy package.  that great. We are selecting our wines, mostly from the premium plus package list and paying the difference. 
 

The Som in the Wine Cellar told us that NCL contracts with wineries to provide enough wine for a full year. If the vineyard can’t supply enough wine by the glass for the whole year, then they might only offer it by the bottle. Wines by the bottle don’t go as fast as wines by the glass (makes sense). 
 

My opinion, the up charge for the premium plus wines and bourbon, for us, doesn’t come any where near the full cost to buy the premium plus beverage package. We are averaging about $10/day for beverage up charges (~$70 for the whole trip) and that is not anywhere near the $500 price for us to purchase the premium beverage package.

Tip: There are a lot of excellent cocktails in the premium package ($15 or less) and if you enjoy mai tais, margaritas, mojitos, and any other fun cocktail, then the premium beverage package should be fine. You can splurge on a good glass of wine or bourbon in the evening (which is what we do). 

On 11/19/2023 at 8:25 PM, DublinFC said:

If you are able to could you mention how many regular outlets, not USB, are by/near the bed area?

There is a USB outlet on the light on one side of the bed and there is one outlet on the other side of the bed. I bring an anker power strip to plug in all my gadgets on the desk. No problems with that. There are no outlets in the bathroom. Blow dryer is supplied in the room underneath the desk in a holster. 

We are enjoying breakfast at the Garden Cafe. The Garden Cafe opens for full breakfast at different times each day, so check the Daily the night before (it’s delivered to your room and at Guest Services)

a few pics of garden cafe and a pic from my seat.

we are here early. The crowds show up around 8:30. Highly recommend getting to breakfast early. Same for lunch. Arrive just as they open for service. There is always food out, but full service for each meal is listed in the Daily. On Page 4 of the Daily it lists “Today’s Dining Options” with hours of when the restaurants are open and which complimentary restaurants are open for morning, afternoon and dinner. 

Good morning. Day 4 and welcome to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. This port is a picturesque scene from a Caribbean movie. I recommend being outside on your balcony or the waterfront or one of the top decks as the ship docks. You will be impressed 

Cocktail after dinner we went to Tobacco Road and enjoyed rusty nail with Woodford Reserve bourbon and Drambui. 
 

Before dinner cocktail was a mojito at the Sugarcane bar. 

Drinks were amazing.

PS I don’t know why the pic of my rusty nail cocktail is upside down. On my phone it’s right side up 😝
 

Good night 💤😴 

Dinner at Cagney’s steakhouse.  I enjoyed the bone in pork chop that had a nice peppery/ Smokey rub with sweet potatoes that were diced and seasoned with maple syrup. My husband had the shrimp cocktail to start and the filet mignon with creamed spinach for main course. Filet was perfect medium rare. 
we were so full that we had no dessert 

Good evening. It’s a full Beaver moon and the seas are calm 

picture from our cabin balcony of the moon. Gorgeous night. We have had perfect weather 

18 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

 

Are the freestyle dailys being delivered to your cabin the night before, or do you have to request them or get them at guest services? 

 

Hello. The Freestyle Daily is placed on top of our cabin number each evening. It arrives around 7 pm. It is also located at guest services.
 

Also at Guest Services is a spot to make restaurant reservations and to review the menus from all the different restaurants. We did not have dinner reservations at La Cucina last night, but I walked up to the hostess around 7pm and asked for an 8pm seating with no problem. MDRs don’t require reservations. Cagney’s and Le Bistro might be more difficult to get a reservation same day. 

Today is Day 3 and we are in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Freestyle Daily 

Dinner was at La Cucina. We met a very nice couple waiting in line to get into the restaurant who also live in Florida. Their first NCL cruise. We told them La Cucina is under rated and when they left they stopped by our table to tell us we were correct and they enjoyed the food. 
 

we had the Pork Scaloppini with mushroom Marsala sauce. It was delicious, just a tad too much salt, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I started with a insalata with walnuts, sliced pears and gorgonzola cheese, olive oil for dressing.  
 

I paired my dinner with an Italian Chardonnay. It was fruity, but not too acidic   My husband had the Prosecco that I enjoyed before dinner. 
 

I had a lemon cheesecake with lemon cello neat for dessert. . Delicious. 
 

I can’t say enough kind words about the wait staff. Our waiter really went out of her way to make sure my food was prepared separately so no cross contact with seafood. Revi, the matri di, gave me her card and asked me to call her if I need anything specially prepared. This is was so sweet and really put me and my husband at ease. 
 

I can say of all the NCL cruises we have been on, this is by far the best staff we have experienced. All are so kind, always willing to say hello, good morning. NCL does a great job at hiring and retaining good people (spoken from a 30+ years HR professional).