Duff Man

If inurance through NCL, isn’t it 75% credit on future cruise and not a refund?

I am having some trouble following because of dictation.  I assume a “soul cruiser” means solo cruiser?  Or is this a better version of the disco cruise? 😉. We loved the Getaway and I am enjoying reliving it through your recap.

We have used the ship phone in the cabin while at sea to call back to the U.S. a few times, once was while on a Med cruise. You do not need the concierge, just dialed direct. I was surprised at the good quality of the connection. It was better than when we've used a cell phone while at sea, although that is what we usually do. You didn't mention whether cost was an issue, only the "best" way.

There will be light,,,, not great for picture taking.

 

We did sail away sitting at the Waterfront Mondavi Wine Bar. Beautiful.

Thanks. Not concerned about pictures. We will be on our forward facing deck with bottle of sparkling wine, so I expect we will be heading into the darkness. :p

Haven't had a fly by like that, but when we were on the Dawn when it lost power in 2009, U. S. Coast Guard helicopters would come by occasionally and circle the ship for a bit. Under the circumstances, DW found it a little bit unsettling. :eek:

So, it appears that on 10/8 the sunset in Miami will be at exactly 7:00 p.m., which is the time Escape sets sail. Can we expect any light? Maybe Floridians can shed some light on this (pun intended :D ). I don't think we've ever cruised where the initial sail away was in the dark.

TIA. :)

No, getting married is not a good idea. :D

LOL! I thought the same thing. At first I thought the thread title was asking if it was a good idea to get married. :D :D

In 2014 we were on Getaway and the WS was on every night at the Sunset Bar.

We have stayed in 10504 on the Jade and it was a wonderful suite. I also looked at a video of 9504, and I agree with earlier poster that it definitely looks smaller. As someone noted, there is no dinner alcove, so the dining set takes up some other space that is open on 10. The bathroom is smaller. The front balcony looks quite smaller.

As for the forward facing suites on the Dawn and Jewel class, we have stayed on deck 10 a number of times, but not deck 9. We feel like we prefer 10 because it is higher and above, you feel like you are "on top" because you are looking down on the "smaller" balconies on deck 9. :D Nobody is above you. Knowing the bridge is there doesn't bother us (just remember no light on the balcony at night!).

We are big hockey fans and long time Blackhawk season ticket holders. I cannot ever remember seeing a hockey game on ship. :( If it isn't football, it will be baseball playoffs.

Often it is the first sea day. We dress up and have a portrait taken. :)

Thanks for the advice! Do you know how you can prearrange a taxi that will actually be there for you when you disembark?

Are you in a suite? We had the concierge arrange a taxi pick up for us in Venice and it was no problem.

The last couple times we received the letter by e-mail about 25 days out. Our preferences were taken care of.

We love it on ship for the social aspect. It's a fun way to meet people from other places. Once on a Med cruise DW and I were at a table where all other guests were from Brazil. Only one of them spoke any English, he said his daughter played soccer at UNC. We had a great time trying to communicate. A lot of toasting to Brasilia and America, and even Argentina for some guests at the next table. :D. it still stands as one of our best meals on any ship.

I am curious why NCL is not designating the Star for the Chinese market since it was built for Star cruises and intended for the Chinese market at the time it was built.

 

Many of the features are designed to fit that culture such as no room numbers ending in four. Four is an unlucky number to many of the Chinese people.

We were on one of the first sailings of the Star, it was originally built for Hawaii which we sailed over NYE. It originally had no casino for that reason.

The Spirit was from Asia. In addition to the numbers, we noticed the ceilings were lower. We loved the ship, it has a lot of charm and is laid out differently than NCL ships. :)

In looking at the deck plans, it appears that on deck 17 the suites back up to the courtyard area. On deck 18, it looks like you look down on the courtyard area. My question is, do you hear much noise on deck 17 or 18 from the courtyard area? How do you enter the suite. Is there another hallway I cannot visualize? Thanks in advance.

The courtyard is pretty much enclosed along the sides with walls & windows (just the roof is open). There is a hallway around the perimeter of the courtyard. When walking down the hall, the cabins will be on one side and the courtyard wall/windows on the other. We didn't notice any noise from the courtyard, staying on the same floor.i

Yes, we do that because we would never get through 3 bottles of booze! We go one liquor, one wine, one port.

There is a short list of alcohol of which you choose three. There will be a red and a white. On our last Getaway sail, we were contacted a few weeks before cruise by pre-concierge staff for our "suite selections" including bottle choice. The bottles were waiting for us when we arrived at the cabin (plus an additional bottle of sparkling wine, being Latitudes Platinum). Prior to that sail, when we had OS there was a little "menu" in the cabin where you check off 3 bottles and the butler would take care of it.

This is the list from our last sailing, but that was like a year ago so I don't know what changes there may be:

Beefeater Gin

Grant’s Blended Scotch Whiskey

Smirnoff Vodka

Jim Beam Bourbon

Seagram’s 7 Crown

Bacardi Superior Rum

Cazadores Blanco Tequila

Dry White Vermouth

Sweet Red Vermouth

Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry

Sandeman Reserve Port

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Kahlua

North & South By Norwegian, Sauvignon Blanc California

North & South By Norwegian, Merlot California

Have fun! :)

Make use of butler for anything in the cabin. Once we had a slow draining shower (I have no idea how prior pax put up with it). Called the butler and he took care of notifying maintenance and it was fixed within a couple hours.

Never asked butler to unpack. We travel heavy and it still only takes all of 5 minutes. :p

@Duff Man: They jockeyed the shows around last minute for our cruise so it's hard to remember exactly. I think the Brat Pack was showing on Monday and Thursday--maybe one more night too. I'm guessing someone else will post a Daily for a recent cruise. The key is to schedule the big shows online prior to your cruise, and the minute you get on-board you can add (I think 2) others like the comedy shows via the free iConcierge app. Oh yeah, be sure to download that app prior to the cruise as the Internet stinks on-board at the Port of Miami.

Thanks for the info. I'm familiar with the app. I was asking for purpose of scheduling our dinner reservations in advance. We prefer to dine late, but will schedule earlier if there is a particular show we want to see. Of the "big" shows, that is the only one that interests us. I'll look for some dailies. :)

Before it became a freebie, we paid for UBP. We saved a lot of money from our typical weekly bar & wine tab. So I guess we ripped off NCL. :rolleyes:

So, a person spends a few bucks at the auction on a piece they likey (and love in OP's case), and they are "getting ripped off." Pax routinely spend outrageous prices on marked up alcoholic drinks (we're guilty), and they are "having a good time." :rolleyes: If I should do both, then I am just enjoying myself. :)

Glad to hear you are enjoying your art!

We've been on the Spirit, and in the Med, but not on the Spirit in the Med. :p

You will not feel out of place. DW and I dress up regularly, and on night out I will wear a suit & tie or at least a jacket & tie. We like to get a portrait taken that night. Never felt overdressed. :)

Thanks!

Do you recall which night was the Brat Pack show?

We have had 10502 a few times and love it. When in cabin we leave the doors open often, sometimes during the night when we sleep. No problem keeping lights off to be on the balcony at night. One of our favorite trips was being in forward facing 10502 on the Jewel, sailing into Venice very early in the morning. I have to imagine it's great for Alaska. :)

Are you staying in a suite? You can have the concierge call ahead and make arrangements for a taxi. We did this on the Jade at the end of the Greek Isle cruise. We had an early flight to Paris from Venice and were concerned about getting to the airport quickly. It worked out perfectly, the driver was waiting for us at the terminal, and we got to the airport in plenty of time.