bedfordmom

On the Getaway last year, not only did the fisherman platter come with the fries and micro size Cole  slaw but was able to get the two sides. In last months Escape they said no extra sides they let me substitute the eye drop sizes slaw  ( even smaller than last year) and fries for my favorite potato au gratin and asparagus so maybe it’s an Escape thing.  Really.. this is the ultimate in nickel and diming in dining. 

On longer cruises 9 plus days we tend to book towards the latter half as the menu starts becoming repetitive to us. Like others prefer sea days but a port day with an earlier  departure works. The only issue is if we get back on the ship hungry and then hit the buffet for ‘snacks’ it ruins our appetite for our specialty. 

17 minutes ago, brookie848 said:

We're doing a red-eye out of JFK on a Saturday night and will get to Heathrow Sunday morning. Our cruise leaves Tuesday. I thought about staying in London, but factoring in the time of year and our bodies adjusting to the time difference, I decided to just stay in Southampton.

 

I'd love to do Windsor again, but then I think...December...this may not be the best time to tack on a tour.

 

I have looked at the boards and TripAdvisor, but I appreciate your recent first-hand knowledge.

 

Now...if anyone has any suggestions for what to do in Vigo (besides going the pilgrimage site), I'd love to have them. NCL has nothing offered for shore excursions to help guide me in making plans and there just doesn't seem to be a lot of options here.

Last October on the Getaway we did NCL Castles tour for Vigo which was disappointing. We went to the border of Portugal ( Valencia Portugal not Spain) to a mid evil area that sold identical linens. No tour there then onto Tui for a walking tour with the guide who had minimal English skills. The cathedral there was closed and the bus was late picking us up. No bathroom or food stops. Would not recommend that tour. I heard that Vigo itself is a lovely town to walk around. Unfortunately the tour took too long for us to see that town. 

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

@UKstages  Will do a post-cruise summary & put some final thoughts into this trip, allow for a day of rest ... been a long day for us.  Norse non-stop departed LGW a few mintues early and wheels down @JFK almost 30 minutes early, tarmac delayed due to gate at T7 not being available and then issues with the jet bridge aligning with the B789.  A very quick walk thru CBP w facial recognition, waited 10 minutes for luggage & zip thru USDA inspection, nephew got our text and drove over from cargo ops to fetch & drive us home.  

 

A few thoughts on Norse Atlantic Airway, nice B789 & even bathroom is "larger" than expected, maintenance & cleanliness in-flight below average & in need of improvement.  Aircraft staffing level is higher from minimal services in-flight, being a LCC.  Airport check-in open and opens 4 hours prior to scheduled departure. even carry-on luggage are weighted and tagged.  Gate assignment info wasn't available until 80 to 90 minutes before gate departure and with early boarding (we're in Zone 2) - leave little time to buy food, beverage and/or snack for the flight (highly recommended) - the economy "box lunch" is small (with a choice of soda, juice or tea/coffee included, no refills offered - and NOT worthy paying upcharge for.  

 

No WiFi onboard offered, only some of the USB ports worked  & good for charging.  Overhead storage bin size is generous and bags are stored vertically to maximize space.  

 

We paid extra for extra leg room, forward section of cabin and priority check-in & boarding.  Ended up having use of 3 bulkhead seat (11 D, E and F) but seat width being reduced -  a  tight squeeze. 

 

Bring a water bottle to refill airside, post-security and food/snacks for a long flight.  

So glad that your flight with Norse  went smoothly. I also had taken that airline from BOS  for the Getaway TA  from Southhampton last fall. Although it was a great experience in flight but between their impromptu cancellations of whole flights weeks before and horrible face book feedback not sure I would fly them unless I had a lot of flexibility. A moot point now as they no longer fly from Boston. I had purchad their classic economy and upgraded for like 200 for premium that day. A frequent flyer on Norse told me that on boarding you can upgrade like for 50$. So premium was great. There was few in economy so I could have stretched out there as well. 
 

Welcome home!

@mking8288 looks like a nice relaxing day before debarking. Is there much to do there. Is Susan interested in French skincare as Caudele is half the price than in the states. Last two trips I stocked up and now my kids are putting in their orders. 

Does the Prima have an ice cream section? I would ask there on the Escape and would receive  for my desired number of two to make an ice cream sandwich. Only choice of one type they were not very good especially the ‘cookie’ which was a chocolate chip cookie without the chips so not missing much. 

I found that on the TAs that local authorities did the Xray and could care less if you were bring on alcohol or soda. I think they had more important things to search for. In fact in Lisbon there was a very busy duty free shop after xray and there was it nothing NCL could do lol. The exception for my cruise was Bermuda (expected that from past cruise) Ibiza and believe it or not Florence. As the latter was out last stop NCL didn’t care to confiscate the liquor only to give it back one hour later

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

A little shopping trip in the late evening at one of the few grocery stores that's open till 11 PM on a Sunday - 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you get anything at the grocery store. Most interesting things to bring home ( or eat ) are chocolate and all types of  black licorice and salt. There is even a Costco located near the airport if you are a member that had just opened when we were there in 2019. Just loving your review as well everyone else’s experiences. It is helping with my TA withdrawal. 

Have fun in Iceland. Three tips; #1Watch your car doors from exiting the car. Huge gusts of winds come out of no where and literally tear the doors off at the least door serious damage to the car next to you. #2 Be sure to sample Icelandic hotdog #3 Best place to get food souvenirs is the local supermarket other than the airport duty free ( which obviously you are not going there)  Thrift shops have the best deals on those sweaters and there is a flea market downtown on the weekends. I was there in 2019 on a land vacation and on one of the last flights before WOW airlines went bankrupt 

1 hour ago, Fogfog said:

Good morning.

We enjoyed Rumors last night though thought the a Rock the Pour House was more fun. Dinner in Commodore after the 7:30p show

Did go by the 80s event at 10:30p looking for @Sugar Magnolia and posse yet didn’t see anyone from Cc group or those we’ve met onboard.

 

Flatter seas so the click in the one corner has subsided. Normal creaks 

Hear that it’s a WD 40 thing 

 

we get it..Heavy seas, pitch, roll. 
we do wish we had gotten an answer…If it comes back I will ask the direct question.. if it was looked at.

 

 

 

 

How were the lines for Rumors? We waited one hour in line on the Escape for standing room ( actually hanging over table) I swear I saw people eating their buffet supper in line.  Rock the Pour House on our late sailing was empty. And their last show at the end was also a walk in for a fair seat. 

Just ask at the ice cream counter and they will surreptitiously hand to you in a covered plate - generally only one type. I would make ice cream cookie sandwiches with them. 

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Half & Half for coffee 

 

 

MDR lines not as bad at 8:40 but not enough staff to escort to tables, still pack full of pax not rushing to go anywhere.

Really dislike that fake half and half but better than the plastic ones last cruise. They removed cream from the buffet dispensers.In the main dining room always asked for whole milk for my coffee and they gave me a whole glass so I got a lot of calcium. 
 

Does it always rains in Halifax. I was there in 2012 June and it was pouring. We rented a car to go to Peggy Cove and couldn’t see a thing and then went to a hole in the wall for lobsters where we selected our lobster and they cooked it in front of us. Now that is the place for lobster!

What is the deal with these late departures. The recent Escape TA was basically a ghost ship coming from Cape Canaveral and that too was late coming in like around 11am. They said that they were late because they wanted to reprovision in Florida but my theory is that they are trying to save on not providing the first lunch LOL to half of the passengers. 

Just off of the Escape tender tix were available at midnight two days prior. I have Sapphire status so got the first tender. . Ours was particularly chaotic as we were 6  hours late leaving Barcelona due to being last in queue to fill up w gas so all ship excursions ca

Ok just figured out you’re leaving today. Forgot to mention that Norse will do upgrades to Premium during boarding for as little as 40$ though more importantly for the red eye in the other direction. 
 

In terms of food: smoked salmon bagel was plentiful in terms of salmon even giving the other half of bagel. Cookies are available in the ice cream section by request like a secret handshake. 
 

Our cruise director was Richard Matic who is a ball of energy with his daily rainbow collection of sparkly blazers. I know him from years ago from the Dawn. He is subbing from the Bliss. 
 

safe travels. 

Hello 

Just off the Escape. Some glitches primary in Shore Ex but overall a good cruise. I am catching up on your excellent semi live as I get ready or my flight home after 3 days in Rome First  embarkation was delayed by 3 hours as well due to provisioning in Port Canaveral. We ignored the changed time showed up at 11am and was in Osheehans eating at 12:30

we also took Norse Air in October BOS to Gatwick for the Getaway TA. It was one of the best flights ever. I was very concerned about cancellations which was their MO. We actually upgraded to Premium the day of the flight for about $200 more making our 1 way flight to England for about 400 for an international first class experience. 

Cruise has been fantastic. In Bermuda now with perfect 70 degrees. Using my husbands hot spot as he got the Verizon month long.i got cookies yesterday at 3:30 by asking for it.. they gave me 4 choco chip but only  took 2 maybe i will be sorry.No hash  browns just cold country potato’s at breakfast. Food is relatively good 

Ah the Prima! We are scheduled to depart at 7pm. The late check in has passengers a little flustered given Mondays eclipse. So rather than enjoying itgr eclipse with drink in hand most will be trying to check onto the windowless Port of Manhattan. Perhaps later check ins may be a new norm who knows. Safe travels to you and to the Prima and prob read your review after my cruise. 

How  ya doing Henry? Which TA are you on ? Are you doing another semi live? 

Didn’t consider that option. Thanks. 

Wonder why the passenger less Escape is arriving later on Monday, a couple of theories:

1)they are going slower to save on fuel.

2) they need a ship fix 

3) skip  1st passenger lunch to save money

4) crew doesn’t want to end their eclipse party

5) because they just feel like it. 

Any other ideas? 

Although Cadillac Mountain is beautiful, you are not missing much in Bar Harbour. It is an overpriced tourist trap. They want tourists on day trips so that you can pay their parking fees. The entire town is metered so you have to pay to park even for five minutes to get a cup of coffee. Boston is a much better choice unless you are from there. 

8 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Breakfast was…interesting! It was very rushed, which is understandable as they were close to closing. I began by ordering a Starbucks Latte - this came as I finished my last bite of breakfast food. There were no waiters circulating with pastries - maybe that’s a thing of the past or maybe we were too late in the morning to warrant it. DS was sad about not getting his danish fix.

 

DS ordered the open faced salmon bagel. He gets this pretty much every time we eat here. His face was absolutely stellar when it arrived- it was a third of the size it usually is. I get that NCL is trying to cut costs but there are better ways to do it. In this case, the one side of a tiny bagel that was piled high with expensive salmon made no sense. Half the amount of salmon and both sides of the bagel would have made much more sense.

 

I ordered the banana waffles with a side of sausage and bacon. The bacon was perfect. Crispy and yummy. The sausage was good. The banana was missing from the banana waffles. The waffles themselves were ok - soft and soggy as opposed to crispy but tasted fine. But I kind of feel that if you’re serving banana waffles then bananas are pretty important!

I always order 2 salmon bagels and make it one sandwich. They have been serving 1/2 bagels for a while and salmon has been decreasing in size. 

I remember how the Cayman Island  full day NCL excursion was like an hour late with everyone cheering as 40 of us boarded. I wonder if our delay helped other late comers. Anything with an element of risk of being unable to get back to the ship on our own I will take a ship sponsored  excursion. If I do independent I make sure I have my credit cards contact lense stuff and  - one day meds just in case. I am finding ship excursions are not that much cheaper now with FAS but certainly less people. 

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

and yet things seem to be changing.

 

on my most recent cruise on the getaway, the very large buffet had a collection of items for lunch and dinner repeated at three or four different stations throughout the eatery.  in other words, the available choices were cut by 50% or more. (at breakfast, it has always been common for items to be repeated in mor ethan one place on the buffet line.)

 

and the indian food was extremely limited.

 

there are too many reports fleet-wide, across all ship classes, of severe cutbacks in the buffet... too many to toss this up to the size of the ship. if anything, the array of food on the smaller ships now looks better because they are not repeating items as they are now on the mega ships.

 

bananas on request?

 

BANANAS?

Totally agree about limited Indian food. One entre along w white rice. Would have loved a second entre even an appetizer kind samoas. Same thing with Chinese - one vegetable entre with two types of rice. Where is the beef . I’m someone that doesn’t like to mix types of food I.