Sir_Randy

NCL abandoning Freeport? I am booked on 11/27/17 Sky and just got a letter from NCL that they canceled my Freeport excursion do to operational issues. Just spoke with the tour operator (Diane from Pat and Diane) to book direct and she informed me that she is suspending her tours when NCL is scheduled to be in port because word on the street is that NCL is going to stop going to Freeport!!! I know the SKY is now going to Cuba, but they were going to keep the Thanksgiving/Christmas cruises going to the Bahamas.

NCL abandoning Freeport? I am booked on 11/27/17 Sky and just got a letter from NCL that they canceled my Freeport excursion do to operational issues. Just spoke with the tour operator to book direct and she informed me that she is suspending her tours when NCL is scheduled to be in port because word on the street is that NCL is going to stop going to Freeport!!! I know the SKY is now going to Cuba, but they were going to keep the Thanksgiving/Christmas cruises going to the Bahamas.

On a different note, I am booked on 11/27/17 Sky and just got a letter from NCL that they canceled my Freeport excursion do to operational concerns. Just spoke with the tour operator to book direct and she informed me that she is suspending her tours when NCL is scheduled to be in port because word on the street is that NCL is going to stop going to Freeport!!!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147420-d1775228-Reviews-Calabash_Eco_Adventures-Freeport_Grand_Bahama_Island_Bahamas.html

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you, we will check them out.

Interesting. We snorkel at both Freeport and Nassau. And much preferred Freeport. The boat, snorkel equipment, and reef were much nicer. The crew was much more friendly and helpful. The people selling things were less pushy and rude. We much preferred Freeport over Nassau.

 

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

We are giving Freeport a 3rd chance. Now is the time for Freeport lovers to tell me what I should do and who I should do it with so I feel the way you do about it! We love to snorkel!

While the options in Freeport aren't what they are in some other ports, we have been to Freeport three times and had a blast on each one. Granted, we are beach people and enjoy beach bars, snorkling and the like.

 

I think alot of it is what you make of it.

We are giving Freeport a 3rd chance. Now is the time for Freeport lovers to tell me what I should do and who I should do it with so I feel the way you do about it! We love to snorkel!

The best snorkeling excursions I have ever done were in Freeport.

We are giving Freeport a 3rd chance. Now is the time for Freeport lovers to tell me what I should do and who I should do it with so I feel the way you do about it! We love to snorkel!

Ignore it. When folks decry something as bad or a waste of time with absolutely no supporting evidence, it is useless.

 

We have been to Freeport twice and there are tons of options. Very nice

I have there twice in the past 4 years, so I can speak from experience. 1st time we were limited because we took our Mothers with us and they held us back. Went to Port Lucya and it was deserted but the weather was crappy. Went back this time just the 2 of us wanting to hang out at the beach bar behind the Police Station only to find out it was washed away (not their fault), so I am 2 for 2 for not enjoying Freeport.

We will be going back, we like the all inclusive and the reasonable rates, and will try one of the snorkel trips which will hopefully change my opinion of Freeport.

When will cruise lines ditch Freeport?! Waste of time and money!

Port Lucaya public beach access Billie Joe's next to the Police Department has been washed away thanks to Hurricane Mathew. Was just there 11/23 and only thing there are drug dealers.

This past week they showed Monday Night and Thursday Night games in Longboards.

Thank you!

Will the Sky have Thanksgiving football, specifically Thursday night Colts vs Steelers? If so, do you know which bars/screens? I would assume Longboard. Thanks!

Can someone recommend a really good tour for me in Nassau? These are the

things that I would like to do on the tour. Sightseeing, Spend some time at the beach, shopping for souvenirs, and eating some good Caribbean food.

We are doing a self guided walk-a-bout tour over Thanksgiving: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Nassau+Walking+Tour/Queen's+Staircase/Fort+Fincastle/Government+House/Graycliff+Hotel+%26+Restaurant/St.Francis+Xavier+Cathedral/John+Watling%C2%B4s+Distillery/Junkanoo+Beach+(a+beach)/Goldie's+Conch+House/Straw+Market/@25.0762651,-77.3574568,15z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m62!4m61!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d04505130c5:0xf28d547dad31a7c3!2m2!1d-77.3404288!2d25.0782955!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d06abee5961:0x6338d56dc6c38c3d!2m2!1d-77.3378179!2d25.0738372!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7ce546d4bd2d:0xf10fbc5cdc90cf7e!2m2!1d-77.33852!2d25.0735953!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1caf44c6fd:0xe14903e94241c8e6!2m2!1d-77.3445849!2d25.0758295!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d191ad5ef75:0x5054a8994ba1f6d2!2m2!1d-77.345546!2d25.075836!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1c72c1f705:0x29794928365647dd!2m2!1d-77.3481455!2d25.0758643!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1c41380a5f:0xbb69f09798099186!2m2!1d-77.3491412!2d25.0741003!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1bd7293e6b:0x107f4905755613a7!2m2!1d-77.349341!2d25.0789552!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d239ade5fdb:0x8b2219302d247d34!2m2!1d-77.3597681!2d25.0798706!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f6321140b93cf:0x61c54bcad60e3aed!2m2!1d-77.3433899!2d25.0784597!3e2

Yep, I did know that Carnival owns it (or leases it) and thought it was strange that NCL goes there too. I don't know if they normally go there or if it was just during the remodel, but I do know that it was on their excursion list prior to our cancellation of going to GSC and heading to Nassau instead.

 

We're not really interested in doing any of the swims. I'm sure they are pretty expensive and we have done them before in Cozumel. Just interested in going to the island. I'm just looking for those that might have been before that can comment on if it's nice or not.

 

Of course still looking for other suggestions on places to go.

 

NCL doesn't usually stay over night at any of the ports, so we are there from 8-4pm.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope they keep it to so that you are able to enjoy a day there with the new upgrades. I guess I'll have to "try again" another time. This will make the second time we've tried to make it back there and it has been cancelled (last time was due to the waves). I haven't been there since 2012 I believe it was. Then before that, it was 1989 when things were MUCH DIFFERENT. :D

We are doing a self paced walk-a-bout in Nassau. There is a pirate museum along this route the kids might like, but we are not stopping, https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Nassau+Walking+Tour/Queen's+Staircase/Fort+Fincastle/Government+House/Graycliff+Hotel+%26+Restaurant/St.Francis+Xavier+Cathedral/John+Watling%C2%B4s+Distillery/Junkanoo+Beach+(a+beach)/Goldie's+Conch+House/Straw+Market/@25.0762651,-77.3574568,15z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m62!4m61!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d04505130c5:0xf28d547dad31a7c3!2m2!1d-77.3404288!2d25.0782955!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d06abee5961:0x6338d56dc6c38c3d!2m2!1d-77.3378179!2d25.0738372!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7ce546d4bd2d:0xf10fbc5cdc90cf7e!2m2!1d-77.33852!2d25.0735953!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1caf44c6fd:0xe14903e94241c8e6!2m2!1d-77.3445849!2d25.0758295!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d191ad5ef75:0x5054a8994ba1f6d2!2m2!1d-77.345546!2d25.075836!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1c72c1f705:0x29794928365647dd!2m2!1d-77.3481455!2d25.0758643!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1c41380a5f:0xbb69f09798099186!2m2!1d-77.3491412!2d25.0741003!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1bd7293e6b:0x107f4905755613a7!2m2!1d-77.349341!2d25.0789552!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d239ade5fdb:0x8b2219302d247d34!2m2!1d-77.3597681!2d25.0798706!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f6321140b93cf:0x61c54bcad60e3aed!2m2!1d-77.3433899!2d25.0784597!3e2

We were scheduled to be there the week before you.

 

The information as of now is:

 

At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and comfort of our guests and crew is always our number one priority. Our team has completed the assessment of

Hurricane Matthew's impact on Great Stirrup Cay, our private island in the Bahamas,

which has been closed since August

25 for enhancements as a part

of The Norwegian Edge program

. Due to the storm'

s effects on the island and the resulting delays in construction

, the island will remain closed for an

additional four weeks to complete the planned upgrades. Great Stirrup Cay will re-open to welcome guests on November 20.

Thank you! Hope they keep to that schedule, we should be the first to enjoy the remodel?

News to me. When are you going to Bahamas? We are going Nov 21 on the Sky and are looking forward to going to NCL's private Island. Can you share some info you received on it being closed? Thanks, Randy

I'm glad I took a look at this thread because I had planned on doing at least $1 tips for the drinks I'll likely order on my first-ever cruise scheduled for October. All-inclusive to me doesn't imply that tipping just doesn't happen even though I had to pay up front a separate fee for what seems to be that purpose.

 

I have often traveled to Reno and Las Vegas, NV to hit some of my favorite casinos and enjoyed immensely the buffets. Especially the breakfast one. I somewhat expect a cruise buffet to be of similar quality (I am not exactly a snobbish foodie). The comments I have read in the last couple of weeks have been mostly negative. I can be happy with an entire plate of nothing but scrambled eggs and bacon or a nice fat ham and cheese omelet. Can I not expect at least that? I've never cruised before and have read bad reviews on food over a wide variety of cruise lines and ship types.

 

Give me at least some decent eggs and bacon..... please?

A tip a lot of peeps do not know: 1st the fresh omelets are the way to go with whatever you like in them. The tip is: you can also order fried eggs (over easy?) from the omelet boy.

My Wife "NEEDS" Gatorade in the morning after drinking at night. With the no liquid carry on and our NCL Sky "booze cruise" coming up, and not wanting to spend $3-3.50 a bottle on ship, we are taking powdered Gatorade and a couple empty hiking bottles and mix it with water from the buffet.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gatorade-G-Series-Perform-Fruit-Punch-Powder-Packs-1.23-oz-8-count/20970547

In response to some of the comments to my original post:

 

All drinks were free. We did not pay for anything either before, during or after our cruise. Only once was a drink a bit weak. Otherwise they were good pours. We liked not having any charges on our bill. We did tip $1 for each drink and service was superb. Most people did not tip.

 

The food on all ships is not what it was years ago. However, we have sailed NCL before and the food on this ship was not comparable to any other cruises. We ate in the MDR and the Garden Cafe and both were very bland.

 

Disembark was a breeze. We waited until about 9am to leave and just walked off the ship. We were getting a taxi within a few minutes. Very smooth. Not sure how fast early disembark was.

I am a firm believer that dollar tips go a long way any time you a do an all inclusive. Did you tip bills or just add to the check?

Just got back Saturday from Cozumel, someone suggested: "Driver for the day: Hire a van and driver for the day and have them take you to the PUnta Sur lighthouse, hit some of the wild side of the island for beautiful beaches and really fun little beach bar retaurants."

We spent 5 hours touring Cozumel with Crescencio of Black Hat Tours and HIGHLY recommend! Crescencio will tailor his tour to whatever will fit his guests. His van will hold the family, and he charges by the hour not per person. 5 hours was around $150 plus any food/trinkets you buy, and entrance fees of you go to the Eco Park, ruins (not impressed with Mayan Ruins on Cozumel.

creslopez41955@hotmail.com

You could wait a long time on the pool deck, where everyone hangs out. Just go inside to one of the "quiet" bars and get a drink with no waiting. The casino bar was also a little slow, as the bartenders seemed to take care of the roving waiters first.

Do they have roving waiters on the pool deck? I have always treated the pool waiters well and they have always taken good care of us. Hope this has not changed just because of the booze package?

They offered a one day drink package on the last day. The cost was $55 I believe, not sure if that included the tip or not as we did not purchase it

Thanks again...may have to do that....Bloody Mary's with breakfast...a couple frozen foo foo drinks poolside...a couple Mai Tai....glass of wine with dinner....a couple Goombay Smash at the piano bar...a couple White Russians at the casino....One thing I like about cruising...do not have to worry about drinking and driving.

AHHH!! Drink prices/packages! I forgot to mention those!! So I found the drink prices to be high on cocktails, not bad for beer/wine. I did not do a drink package. I can not for the life of me figure out how people can handle the calories alone from drinking enough everyday to break even on buying a drink package, so I just can't do it. I typically drink more on vacation, but I max out at about three drinks a day.

 

For the beverages I did buy: I got an amaretto sour one night, that was $13.68. I think that was my most expensive drink. I had a few other cocktails, they mostly were around $12.00. I bought a bottle of wine one day, $43.00 that I shared with my group. Glasses of wine were anywhere from $7.00 on up. I also had brought on two bottles of wine, so that is another reason a drink package didn't make sense for me.... buckets of beer were $37.00 for 6 (pretty sure it had 6 in it). My friend drank bud light, not sure if they prices are different for different kinds. What I found very odd about the buckets of beer is each bar seemed to have their own price. One bar charged $41.00 for the same bucket of beer! Another charged us somewhere in between those two prices. That was a little weird. There were margarita specials in Rita's Cantina, but I didn't see many other drink specials other than that. But they did offer a "one day beverage package" purchase on our last sea day. A few members of our group bought it, but they all found that they likely only broke even.

 

I often see a lot of folks justify the drink package by saying "I don't want to have to worry about my bar bill, I want to just have it all included". Well fiscally for me that makes zero sense. I am not going to pay more than I will use only for the ease of not having to deal with a bar bill at the end. For me, I would have to drink 5 adult beverages to about break even, over that to see a return on my investment. I simply can't drink that much and fit back into my pants at the end of the cruise!! :)

Thank you live2vayk! I would be interested in that last day drinks package if you would have more info on that? I would not mind having 1 day at sea where I did not have to worry about how many Mai Tai I had to pay for.

Thank you live2vayk!

Boarding March 7th, excited! Did they offer daily drink (adult) specials (discounted prices)? I heard their drink prices have gotten stupid expensive, and trying to decide if a drink package would be best? Thanks for the review!