justhappy

1 hour ago, CDR Benson said:

 

Thank you for your kind words, ma'am.  Aye, we're only forty-nine days away from sailing, and we're looking forward to it greatly.

 

I've looked at Princess.  One of the positives of that line is that they put many of their premier suites and staterooms amidships and away from any noise-making venues above, a practise which eludes many other cruise lines.  Princess is on our list of potential choices for our 2026 cruise.

 

As always, I appreciate your graciousness.

 

I too look forward to hearing about your experience on the Joy, and I hope you  have a lovely cruise.

As my husband and I are booked in cabin 14778 for our 50th Anniversary cruise next year, I picked that cabin for the location near the stairs, and also the large angled balcony. I’m hoping the noise from the location is not unbearable.

 I like that it is not under a pool deck and only a few decks below the Haven facilities.

I love Dueling pianos and go to them on ships that have them.

Besides the wildly over requested Sweet Caroline and Don’t stop believing, I hear Friends in low places by Garth Brooks way too often. I love the song, it’s just over requested.

I really enjoy when the musicians do stuff they are good at, whether it is Back to Black by Amy Winehouse or a medley of 70s- 80’s commercial jingles or sitcom theme songs.

If I request a song it’s going to be a Journey song that’s NOT DSB, like Wheel in the Sky or anything by the Doobie Brothers.

I can’t wait to follow along on another of your great reviews!
Its been over 20 years since I was in Seward and did both the Sealife Center and the Major Marine Kenai NP tour so looking forward to seeing those two especially.

19 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Calling @justhappy and @vacation44. Yall gotta get onboard one of the 2025 voyages and #schmoopiefest2026!

I thought I heard my name?🧐

I’d love to join in the mayhem, but don’t know if the stars will align.

  We have annual January cruise plans with friends we met 11 years ago while on a cruise.

 I talked them into doing the Getaway this October since we missed out on January’s cruise at the last minute ~ remember her highness Miss Daisy?

And then we currently have the Getaway booked for next March during my birthday.

We have yet to determine this upcoming January cruise, I don’t know if we could convince them to do New Orleans again as they prefer sailing from Port Canaveral. We are meeting them next week for a short trip, I’ll bring it up to them.

Maybe they will love NO and the river aspect of the cruise.

For wrinkles in clothes on a cruise I have hung them in the bathroom as Ive taken a shower for a bit or just turn the shower to hot and let the steam do the job. It works for most wrinkles.

19 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Good for you!  I don't either.  But, if they ask how they should spend their money, I'll generally toss my two cents in. 

So accruing charges while on board and paying them at the end is "financing them?"  How so. I don't pay any interest.  If I can't afford the bill at the end (I can), I won't cruise.

Same for me re if we can’t afford it we don’t go.
But some people do end up with a bill at the end of a trip and they don’t pay off their credit card balance monthly. So in essence they are financing it. Paying for everything in advance helps some people budget. Myself included. We now have a 4K monthly vacation budget but I still try to save money in every way we can, but we don’t feel guilty when we do splurge. Not paying cc interest is one way that saves us money.

  After 49 years of marriage and living on a budget, some habits don’t die😉

Since we are splurging big time next year for our 50th wedding anniversary, I’m already prepaying for some items for those trips.

6 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why do you people give NCL money before you have to?  Do you make your house payments two months in advance?

Some people like to prepay items that are vacation related so when they travel they don’t have a big bill afterwards. I was taught growing up that wants should never be financed. But that’s just me.

I also don’t worry about how other people spend their money.

4 hours ago, odessy said:

Thank you so much...

 

My pleasure!

It should look like this, which is in the same location as 15226

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I received an email from NCL this morning welcoming us to our next Haven cruise.  Nothing really new.  The email informed us of  the on-shore concierge team and provided their phone # and email address and invited us to contact them.  It did state that specialty reservation were not available till 130 days prior to sailing.  

We've never received this type of email prior to any of our three previous Haven cruises.  Our cruise isn't till Jan 2025.

 

 

 

Same here and my next Haven cruise is in March. Maybe an email glitch or they have new phone numbers and email addresses?

18 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I know this works for you and I'm not one to judge your method! If it works for you, it works. And that's all that matters! Especially when it comes to tipping cruise staff.

 

For me, and me only, I choose to tip the server(s) at the end of the cruise. I'm a firm believer in tipping for great service. Typically two to three servers receive a tip. The others receive whatever portion of the onboard service charge that is reserved for them, in whatever way NCL actually provides it (please don't turn this into a debate...pretty pleeeeeease, y'all).

I also tip everyone at the end of the cruise. I treat all the crew with kindness and respect and they know that about me and I get great service every time. 

I saw on a social media site today an article that suggests that the Encore might be having cabins added on deck 15 forward port side in what is now the port Observation Lounge just like the Joy had done. 
Someone found that on NCL’s website forward port cabins on deck 15 are listed for booking in 2025. These cabin numbers are the same as the ones on Joy that were just added.

I checked and the deck plans on NCLs site still shows the current deck 15 plans, but sure enough shows the new cabin numbers.

I can guess the observation lounge is underutilized during Caribbean cruises but it will be missed during Alaska sailings.

Shouldn’t we be having this discussion tomorrow?! 🤔 😂

41 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Port Valet is actually paid for by airline and port fees, according to the Port of Seattle. If I were a Seattle resident, I'd be quite upset if my tax dollars were funding vacationers luggage transfers. 

 

Source: https://www.portseattle.org/news/190326-Cruise-Port-Valet-Release

 

Source: https://meetings.portseattle.org/portmeetings/attachments/2023/2022_02_14_RM_8e_Memo_Cruise-Luggage-Port-Valet-Program.pdf

I would not be surprised if the Port Valet Program was started to help with the horrible congestion at SeaTac on the weekends the cruise ships are in port.

No airlines would take your luggage until a few hours before your flights due to lack of space.

Security lines were hours long.

It is better at the airport than it used to be, thinking back to my experiences in 2015.

I also wonder if the plan was to also encourage tourists to spend a few more hours (and dollars) in town.

14 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

Kind of surprised they would charge extra for an additional small lobster tail.  I can stomach an upcharge in the MDR for something like that, but not the Haven restaurant.  

 

FWIW - Had a nice conversation with our PCC about the cost of the Haven and what you get out of it compared to similar lines and service.  Free at Sea should just be included in the Haven fare, not extra and the minibar should be stocked and possibly restocked in every Haven room.  Small things like that.

Back in 2015 FAS was included with no gratuities charged on it and no limits, you could eat at specialty restaurants every night if you wished and no price limits on any alcoholic beverages.

If I’m considering the nicest and least expensive cabin I’ve ever cruised in it would have to be the studio cabin I had for a 5 night cruise on the Getaway. Best sleep ever and since it was a group cruise it came with a lot of perks.

On the other hand the most expensive but definitely my favorite is the aft Haven balcony on deck 9.

  Over 3 cruise lines I’ve sailed in insides, ocean view,  balcony, Central Park balconies, club balcony and Haven.

It’s more about the fun you have and friends you meet vs what kind of cabin you’re in. So the nicer cabin is just a bonus.
 

6 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Well, that is upsetting! You shouldn't have to make the request more than once or twice. I'm sorry the service wasn't up to par. This is one (of several) reasons I mentioned I've given up on cruising NCL for the moment. I have no idea how long that "moment" will last. 

 

I do think there is a service difference between Breakaway and the other ships in the line. If you read enough lives/reviews you notice subtle differences. The reviews don't have to be folks staying in the Haven either. It just seems Breakaway (and maybe Jewel) have different senior leaders that do things differently, leading to a better experience than others report. It's just a gut feeling I have. No proof whatsoever, just me reading between the lines (that may or may not be there). 

 

 

I think this is a big part of it, regarding service and guest experience.

GM’s like Errol Bailey and Kivanc Ucar

worked their way from the bottom up and tend to be better for it, and the crew performance reflects how well they are treated imo. That works its way down to the guests.

13 hours ago, luvcruzing said:

To reach the Mega Store, you would cross the street and turn right.

This is true, but my directions were from the point of view that you were already across the street, as we were made to go across and through the port shopping area, before getting back to the street itself. Leaving the port shopping area we were made to go through it’s to your left if you’re facing the pier. Of course it could be different now. That’s why I included the map and satellite photo.

When you go @YVRteacher, be sure to visit the produce section, even if you can’t bring them back on the ship, I loved browsing the variety of fruits.

On the ground floor are various shops, take the escalator upstairs to the store 

I’m glad you can shake off the bad experiences and focus on the good.

if I remember correctly, about 10 to 15 minutes before a show starts in the Theater the Haven seats are open to everyone, at least that’s how it was a few years ago. Help yourself unless you’re worried about being heckled by the comedians!

 As for the Mega store, if the ship docks at Punta Langosta pier, you have to go through the folks waiting on shore excursions up to the second level and then back down unless they’ve fixed the broken escalator.

Then once outside the port area you head 

left and it’s a very short walk along sidewalks to the store.

17 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

We threw lines at 5pm, slid sideways from the dock, pivoted and were on our way by 

5:07pm. Sailaways are such a part of my cruise stories. When my dad and I cruise together in a warm climate we always have sailaway drinks in hand (beer for him, used to be a Mango Meltdown or Mudslide but these days most likely an Old Fashioned for me) and we always pull deck chairs right up to the railings.

Today I found an oversized snuggle chair on the waterfront until it was time for dinner at La Cucina. The rain stopped just as we left New Orleans so I got some great views of the bridge and the fuming smokestacks.

 

Had I known we would be so close to prime swampland and arable farmland I would have made a later dinner reservation. Cows! There are cows next to the river!

 

For dinner I was seated at 5:30pm, salad was served at 5:51pm and my half portion main course (I always order half portions of pasta) at 6:03.

I used a specialty dining credit from Free at Sea and no lecture was provided on what I could or could not order. The table behind me got the lecture instead.

 

This is by far the best Misto Insalada served on NCL. Fresh, crisp, quality ingredients. Delicious and so enjoyable!

 

My entree was the Fettuccine Alfredo Con Funghi. The sweet tangy smell of perfectly roasted garlic entwined with the gooey melted cheese and perfectly cooked noodles. The mushrooms were too mushroomy for me (not NCL’s fault-I just don’t like mushroomy mushrooms) so I didn’t eat them but I savoured the meal, twirling noodles on my fork while enjoying the shifting scenery.

The waiter asked if I would like another Bellini with dessert and I replied, “oh, yes!” The waiter brought the drink and said “I’m sorry. It’s a different bartender this time.” It looked (and tasted) the same as the first one.

Can someone with internet please tell me if the Mississippi has been dredged to allow for cruise ships or if it is naturally deep and just how deep is it?

 

For dessert I ordered the cannolis with no powdered sugar. For once I remembered! The cannolis were not very good as the shells were overcooked and the filling was just so off. Oh well. I licked the decorative garnishes off the ends and left the rest. The waiter came to check on me and asked why I didn’t eat them. I told him the shells were burnt and they didn’t taste good. He said they are normally covered in powdered sugar so he didn’t know they weren’t supposed to look that way. 😂

He offered to bring me new ones but I was full and I knew the filling would be the same.

Between dinner and the show I listened to Rob the musician in the Atrium and went outside to capture the sunset.

 

Overheard entering the theatre:

“Jeanie! I got your mom corked on two drinks!

Jeanie: “Perfect. She’s taking a nap now. Let’s keep it that way.”

 

To Jeanie’s mom: your family really loves you and is thoroughly enjoying your company and your vibrant personality on this cruise and they can’t wait to cruise with you again!

 

Overheard in the theatre from a charming preteen: “I’m the guy that can learn anything in 24 hours!” Love his confidence!

 

The comedy show was fun. As a single Canadian vegetarian teacher I am not the target demographic. There were hunting and Church’s chicken jokes I didn’t even get. People laughed and I had no idea where the funny was. I did get the snow jokes. I’m a good Canadian.

 

Overheard coming out of the theatre at 8:21pm: “Anthony, if you want any late night snacks now’s the time to get them!”

 

Also overheard at 8:21pm from a little girl: “mom! There’s a bar!!!”

 

Now I’m at headliners for Howl at the Moon.  I have been wanting to see this for YEARS!  For real!! I really want a drink but I can’t get up and leave my seat. What to do?

 

Howl at the Moon trio said there were 1200 kids on board last week. I’m curious to find out how many kids are on this cruise.

 

Jen, Alisa and Kyle made dueling pianos not only a trio but a treat! They were amazing. Kyle just joined the ship today so the 3 of them had never played before yet they had instant rapport. Such talent and energy! We were treated to songs from

Lizzi

Nickleback

Johnny Cash

Elton John

Taylor Swift

Billy Joel

Neil Diamond

Tina Turner

Jerry Lee Lewis

Queen

and so much more.

This was the single best night I’ve ever had on NCL!!!

 

 

 

 

We were at Howl at the Moon Saturday night, Jen was amazing!

She sang Back to Black by Amy Winehouse and, WOW!

On 3/17/2024 at 4:05 PM, YVRteacher said:

Tour of a studio cabin:

 

The curved wall is magnetic

 

 

Not surprisingly the studio cabin on the Breakaway looks just like the one I had on the Getaway. I loved it, it felt so cozy, but not at all claustrophobic to me. I think the white walls and bright lights helped.

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Don't worry! I'm used to not having a clue about pop culture references. My husband's working late tonight, so I'm going to see if I can find Captain Ron on one of the streaming platforms. Then I'll be educated in the way of 1992 yacht movies.

Those crowds are...absolutely incredible (and not in a good way). Wow. Just stunningly crazy wow! 

 

Are you a 3/16 and 3/17 baby? I'm a St. Patrick's baby myself. I used to tell everyone I had not a lick of Irish in me (my family didn't think I did)...then I did the whole ancestry.com spit test thing. Welp, I do have a wee bit of Irish! Happy belated to you! 

 

Last year, on my birthday I was flying to Miami to get on Joy on 3/18. Oh, how times change! I'd much rather be on the cruise...I remember being embarrassed by the Haven Restaurant servers singing happy birthday to me too! That muffin with berries looks incredible! 

 

I hope you are home and recovering from your restful trip. 🙂

DH and I were talking last night about how being born on a holiday, sometimes your birthday is overshadowed by the holiday. Not so with St Patrick’s day! Everybody just wants to celebrate and drink🍀

Glad to know you’re my birthday buddy!

My TA put down on the booking to celebrate my birthday on Saturday although it is actually the 17th.

Yes it was embarrassing after the first time they sang Happy birthday. On Sunday morning I told them I’m celebrating St Patrick’s day but I still got more Happy Birthdays. 

I just had to add that my adult drink total for the cruise was 18, and as DH pointed out, about 17 1/2 more than a normal week at home for me. 
DH had double the drinks I did, but he also has a glass of Tullimore Dew or Jamison’s a couple of times a week.

Our next cruise is on the Getaway out of New Orleans in October with friends. Back in a regular balcony stateroom, and a more active trip for sure. 

 Wishing you all fair skies and following seas! 🛳️

On 3/11/2024 at 11:44 AM, cruiseny4life said:

I'm a day late, but you're still posting, so I'm on time! Have a lovely time! I hope the meander down the river was fun. That's the only reason I want to sail out of New Orleans. The big muddy.

 

It's heartening to see you be on a cruise, enjoying relaxing, and each other's company without having to deal with the stress of every day living. Have a phenomenal time! And thank you for sharing! 

 

I'll be the first with a super annoying question: do you know if an alternate option for lunch was offered on embarkation day? 

First of probably 100 questions for you. I feel so special! 🍻

 Hey @cruiseny4life You are about 99 questions short 🤣

I hope your next cruise is as marvelous as this one was for me.

Sad it’s over but on our way to pick up Daisy so not too sad.