nadeki

We were on the first cruise of the season on the Jewel two weeks ago.

We saw lots of flying fish and a few turtles in the water on our way home.

A couple whales but not much. This was throughout the week and on the way home.

We love the Las Caletas excursion in PV.

We do the Stone Beach day with a private company.

In Cabo, two bay snorkel was lot of fun.

We did not spend time watching shows, we were busy eating!

I did not get on the cruise I was supposed to yesterday. Long story but this time I had not bought insurance. Do I need to apply for a refund of taxes and port fees or does it happen automatically?

Only reason I am not sad as I am catching up with the ship this Sunday. Good thing booked as two separate trips :)

Our shore excursions have gone up $25. This was done in two turns the second being the day after final payment.

We have been 100% loyal to the line.....referred more than 50 people to NCL and am now so disappointed.

It is crazy the lack of communication. It would be easy for NCL PR or even CEO to come on this site and do a little clarification.

As they host a shareholder meeting I wonder it they brag about all these booked cruises, increased restaurant reservations etc..... will they then say they also cancelled all these trips? Or will they once again claim bookings are up as every one has to rebook?

Really it was not hard to stop selling these cruises weeks/months ago when they knew they were going to be cancelled. However they lured people in with perks they will never be able to use.

Our shore excursions went up another five dollars this week. That is now $25 higher. I had not wanted to book this far out as it is giving $800 of money for others to use for months.

The costs are seeking up. This is just one day and the only way to do this trip is through ncl.

I think NCL can justify the daily service charge increase now. Since they have shortened the time in ports we are on the ship more hours and are getting more service.

I am kidding but would not be surprised to see their spin on this silliness.

I am waiting and wondering what crazy thing is going to happen next.

I got emails for my two upcoming cruises. One I have made the final payment on as it is due in two days. The other is due in a week.

NCL does not allow me to make the payment online.

If I don't pay by July 31st I am at the new rate?

Thanks for the five day warning! And a website working.

As always it is not the amount of money but the way it is introduced.

HA HA HA ... I had the same reaction. As I sat in my club chair with my cigar and snifter of brandy, I said to myself, "what a fine young man to write so well!" I'm a middle aged fogey.

Yes, yes, yes.... it is so much more enjoyable to read when I am not trying to see/read past grammatical silliness.

Please come back and tell us more about your adventure.

Old folks listening in!

Thanks everyone for your advice. I think I may wait and hope and hope for the best.

My back up plan is we are doing this as a B2B and the second half I have a suite. So if need be I might search out the concierge ahead of time and ask a favor. I was just getting worried as I have read that even the concierge can't get people in now with so many on the dining package.

I am sailing in less than 100 days :) and will be with my parents. We all are platinum and will receive the voucher for dinner for 2. I realize we are three and each night we will pay for one meal.

I have been reading that the restaurant reservations for earlier/more ideal times are filling up long before sailing dates.

Therefore if I understand this correctly I will have to pre pay all our dinners and hope to get refunded once on board.

The additional kink in the plan is we are 3 and reservations can only be made for even numbers.

Therefore I am putting out about $300 in hopes of getting reimbursed?

Does anyone have experience and know if this is accurate? If I call NCL will they make the reservations for me instead?

Thanks

Your group is the perfect size to have a private tour with a company such as Romecabs. They have mercedes vans which seat 8. Therefore you would be altogether and be able to personalize the day to your needs and likes.

They fill up early so make your reservation soon.

It is cheaper than all of you taking NCL excursions and your day will be amazing.

And you can also pick your own restaurant (Coconut shrimp at Lety's is fantastic. 130 pesos last Feb).

 

I think the water taxi is $3 round trip. 10 minute walk down the beach and your there.

That shrimp looks amazing....

I can recommend King David. We travel to Maz every year and have tried all the tour companies. King David has some great guides.

Thanks, this is who I am going to book with.

Looking forward to this day as we had so much fun last time.

We did the Baltics five years ago..... I was so tired of hearing my husband talk about going to Russia every day since ( so it seemed). Last year we did a Med cruise and now he talks about that one all the time.

They are both port intensive and amazing and different. For sure you won't regret it.

I would cheerfully go back again. Our favorite port was Tallinn and we did not do anything beyond walk around and enjoy the town.

The ship is not important on this trip. We were in the haven and did not use it at all. You are off the ship almost all day.

Thank you for your review. I'm taking the same itinerary this August, so I have a few questions if you don't mind:

 

1. Do you know if the main dining room was open for lunch during your embarkation in Rome?

 

2. I'm taking the exact excursion you had in Naples (Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento), but I'm travelling with 2 seniors and and 2 children (ages 8 and 11). Do you think the itinerary is too hectic for the young and very old? NCL had also shortened the port departure time from 7:00pm to 6:00pm so aim a little worried if we have enough time. Do you remember what time had to get back at the boat?

 

3. What was the latest time you had to leave the ship on debarkation day? Our flight leaves at 2:30pm and I'm hoping to leave the ship sat late as possible.

 

4. What do you mean by the free Cirque dinner? I thought Cirque is no longer free with the UDP on the first day?

 

 

Lastly, is it okay if you post the dailies?

 

Thank you!

 

:)

We did this trip last year and I had my in-laws(one in a wheel chair) and my kids 8 and 10 with us. You just can't push yourself. We had our tour drivers take us to anything they could before lunch. After lunch it was usually one more tour, a gelato and back to the ship early. They were always surprised we wanted to go back around 3PM.

Our kids are decent travelers and have seen a lot but we never push our luck and that way they are ready for the next day's adventures.

Having private tours was the best choice we made and the entire party is still talking about our fantastic trip.

We had pre-arranged taxis from airports, hotels, port and reserved airport parking spaces etc.... The more things you can pre-plan and pay avoids frustrations at having to make too many decisions in languages you might not understand.

We used Barcelona Day Tours.

For Italy ports we used Romecabs

Both were extremely professional and just made our trip perfect. The private tours add so much value to this cruise.

I've also been looking closely at this cruise, and would want to embark in Rome, as well. Having a few days pre-cruise to tour Rome is very appealing.

 

I have a question for those of you who have done this. (I hope the OP doesn't mind.) All of the NCL shore excursions for Barcelona say that they are only available for those guests on the round-trip Barcelona cruise. Who did you book excursions through for Barcelona? :confused:

Oh, don't cancel your cruise.....we did this one last year and it was amazing. We boarded in Barcelona. As someone already said the entire experience on the Epic is different as the ship is an anomaly in the cruising world. GO for the ports and experience. We really did not do all we wanted on the ship and if I had not pre-booked the shows we probably would have taken a pass as we were so excited and tired each night from our excursions out. We used all private tours and loved them.

Think of getting on board with just a few people a treat as your cabin will be ready and most of the passengers will be on shore. You can freely explore.

This cruise with 6 out of 7 ports and passengers speaking many languages was a trip where I did not spend as much time talking with others. It was the nature of the trip and had nothing to do with where we boarded.

I think you are luckier as your sea day is in the middle of the week and you are really going to need it to regroup. This trip made my head spin with all we saw and learned.

We did this trip last year boarding in Barcelona. It was so port intensive that we really did not do the ship justice. We LOVED this trip and talk about it nearly every day since. We did all private tours.

Be sure in Barcelona to go to the La Sagrada Familia. This was the highlight of our trip.

Just planned a land based trip to Hawaii. The no food from buffet has us very worried about not being able to enjoy our balcony.

Beer is WAY under $11, and 99.9% of any alcoholic drinks you can create on the ship are under $11. It is not an issue. If by some rare feat you do find something that has a base price over $11, you would only pay the difference. In 2 cruises with UBP, I've not found anything yet.

Thanks, I guess it really does not matter. We would never be able to drink enough to buy the package. As we have it included..... I don't want some weird rules to cause us not to use it correctly and still end up with a big bill at the end.

Does anyone have a bar menu of drink prices? Or know the price of a glass of Baileys on ice?

And are most beers included as they are less than $11? Or is it on beer not in a bottle?

Thanks

I have not responded to all the posts lately and have been trying to digest some of the changes. It will be a bit before this all shakes out and we have some firm answers. Our next cruise is in October and we will go despite the changes. I had not wanted to share any of this with my spouse as he laughs at my CC obsession. Last night I mentioned the no food from the buffet and he got upset and said " this is very important to our trip." Ordering room service is not the same as quick stop in the buffet to look at a much larger selection of items. And, we can get them quickly. Too often when you order room serivce something is forgotten, late, cold etc.

I started to think about the domino effect IF this is strictly enforced. We are in suites 50% of the time but still do this for ourselves. No need to bother the butler for a cookie.

1) We would not need a balcony any longer as we would lose our time out there having a snack an enjoying the view.

2) We have to all get up earlier and fight the larger crowds at the buffet for breakfast. Often there are not enough seats now so what is to happen in the future.

3) If we left NCL we would take a steady group of followers with us. We always end up with other cabins of friends or family when we cruise. As well as always talking about NCL has encouraged others to try the line. If I choose another vacation venue may will follow.

4) We would probably not cruise anymore or rarely as I am the instigator of vacations and have felt loyal to the NCL product. Don't know if I am ready to start a new relationship with a cruise line. We just love the staff on NCL and hate to think they are going to be constantly abused by upset guests.

5) I am still wondering why the suite gratuity is different. It still does not cover the butler and concierge tips. We pay more in the initial rate so why pay a larger DSC? We will pay and continue to tip extra but how is it rationalized?

I will study this forum and listen to all sides. Will decide in October for ourselves how our vacation experience is effected.

Thanks, sorry we will miss you.

I will leave you some beer.......

Swedish Weave I knew you would be the one with the answer!

I also found the name of King David and will probably book with them online.

THANKS.

Will you be joining us on this trip Oct. 4th, 2015?

We are returning to Mazatlan this October and I am trying to track down a vendor we used in April 2014. He gave me his card but I lost it. I am counting on he or his company to still be there.

I am putting this out in case anyone used them. I think they had an actual desk in the port shop area when you first walked in. However we met this guy to the left of the entrance.

So, he was on the left side of the entrance once you walked through. He carried a clip board ( I know they all do this) and was selling his excursion.

I think we paid $25 per person. He had a van which took us up the street to the "pier" and onto a vessel that took us across the water to what he called the "mexican limousine" which was pulled by a tractor that took us to the beach. He stayed with us all day and included 2 activities such as horseback riding and banana boat. Food and drink were also included. He stayed with us all day and did all necessary translating. At the end of the day he gave us a tour of the city in his van and back to the ship.

I want to do this again and not the NCL tour to Stone Beach. They also had "offices" in the other ports and I would like to use them there also.

If anyone knows their name or if they are still there I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Did you miss having a balcony in the family suite? The DH and I felt the price was right for this suite but I think I will go nuts without the outdoor space. The DH does not care for sailing aft, so the Penthouse aft is out of the equation. We loved the sound of a smaller ship since we love them.

I had one of these really great suites last year on the Mexican Riviera cruise. I loved the suite and space but would not do it again due to the lack of a balcony. I think you will really miss it if you book this suite.

We are platinum and have any perks we might need without the suite perks.

This was one trip where Cagneys just did not seem friendly, never remembered me or used my name. I was not sure if I was a second class citizen in these suites. I grew tired of the same menu each day.

The suite was done with light colors so there were numerous carpet stains, torn sheer curtains and a few design errors ( lack of soap dish in shower and water all over). I did have things fixed that I needed for my own comfort but was not happy to spend my vacation time with wet carpet and the crew in and out of my suite. The hallway was being recarpeted outside our room very early one day and the glue smell and workers everywhere was not ideal.

None of this ruined my trip. We went this summer on the Epic and had the trip of a lifetime.

Long rant.... not sure what did it but this lackluster trip on the Star probably would have been a lot better with a balcony!!