dmwnc1959

Thanks! Not sure why, but I’ve always been an early eater, not just breakfast but for every meal. I’m also an ‘early to bed, early to rise’ kind of guy, so I don’t like to go to bed with the full stomach. Pretty much looking forward to trying out all of the specialty restaurants!

Very nice tip! THANK YOU! 👍🏻

The lack of promenade seating is a huge check mark in my ‘Negatives’ column. There are vast stretches of recessed areas along the Promenade Deck where NCL could put dozens of seating options along this sheltered area. Even if it were just large benches, which could also store life vests or other safety equipment. I do wonder if they consider it a safety issue? Coral Princess has replaced their padded steamer loungers with wooden slat chairs with a table in between, but at least it’s something. Other than the atrium coffee bar, are there other areas on Norwegian Jade to get specialty coffees, i.e. somewhere in the Garden Cafe buffet?

This is a fairly big leap for me - 25 nights - and definitely the longest single (non-B2B) cruise I’ve ever taken. I think that I’ve done enough research to choke a mule. 🤣 But my research is the biggest investment I can make so there aren’t any crazy surprises. So far I really, really like what I see in Norwegian Jade, and it checks off a lot of boxes for what I want in a cruise. I do think that this is going to be rather amazing. 😁

So if I order these in advance and have them delivered to the room on embarkation day, just out of curiosity are these baked fresh on board or are they from packaged cookies?

I’ll make sure to use my iPad and the online website. 👍

I’d love to be able to eat at La Cucina several nights! Found sample menus from there and Jasmine’s and it looked amazing. And eating outdoors while grabbing some fresh air breakfast and hearing the sound of the wake….perfection. 😎

@ricksurf @mcmomny Another question if I may regarding reserving specialty dining. When I make online reservations via the app, and I’ve purchased a 7-9 night specialty dining plan, will my reservation ‘know’ this and debit one night each per reservation, or is it charging me and I’ll get the credit of my dining plan deducted from my onboard account? I’m assuming this all shows up on my encoded cruise card? Hope that’s not too confusing!

all very good points! Thank you very much!!!

Just signed up for the card and got approved. Was wondering if anyone could tell me does the initial $1000 spend specifically have to be in NCL purchases or can it be anything? I guess I would have no problems using it and paying off $1000 of the current invoice, or maybe buying an onboard dining package and paying for the tips in advance. I did read back several pages but most of the conversations seem to be about upgrades, and I want to use it for the $250 OBC.

I used the same picture but cropped it tighter, and do see the large lip to step over a lot better in your picture. What I thought I was seeing in my attachment looks like a metal staircase going up. I had been looking at the deck plans and Deck 8 forward just appears to be passenger cabins, which is why I thought maybe it was from Deck 7.

Map received today! Time to lay out some Panama Canal tracks to keep me inspired, you know, just in case. 😁 As for the bow being open for the approach to the Panama Canal, does anyone remember when (or if) they announce how it’s accessed? I’ve seen some pictures of the bow that look like interior stairs coming down from the forward (enclosed portion) of the Promenade Deck at the bow? Appears they may open it at 6am-ish?

@ricksurf @Captain k @mcmomny I also wanted to ask about how difficult it was to make restaurant reservations, especially for extended cruises. I usually eat around 5:30pm and wanted to buy the 7-meal Specialty Dining Package (will have a total of 9) to try out some of the restaurants. Having never cruised NCL before, can you make dining reservations before embarkation on the app? Is this only available after final payment is made? Thanks again!

I cruised the Ruby Princess back in 2012 as part of a B2B with Allure of the Seas. It was crazy how Ruby Princess just always felt crowded and claustrophobic. Many years earlier I’d also cruised Dawn Princess and her sister Sun Princess in the Caribbean and Alaska, and never really noticed them being congested. That extra 1000 people really make a difference!

Still hemming and hawing between two ships doing a long (16-25 nights) Panama Canal cruise: Coral Princess and/or Norwegian Jade. For those that have done extended cruises (3-4 weeks) on the Norwegian Jade in the past year, using the Free at Sea promotions with drinks and dining, what were some of the things you DIDN'T like or thought could be better? What were some of the features and amenities of the ship that just didn’t work with crowds and onboard reservations (restaurants, atrium, shows, bars, promenade decks, etc.). I’m hoping to get some insight as to how the ship handles the onboard passenger experience when operating on longer repositioning cruises. THANK YOU!

PAGE 10!!!! 🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉 WE DID IT!

Well, I am VERY grateful for the 6 pages of pretty pictures on this thread!

What a truly remarkable image with the two of them at Miraflores, just magnificent! It must have truly been a sight. And you’re exactly right, it’s incredibly important to move all around and see things from as many viewpoints as possible when transiting the locks and canal. I can’t imagine being bored for a single second.

I’m guessing the only reason it’s done in the specialty dining venue itself and not in the buffet is to retain some resemblance of ambiance and being ‘special’? I remember doing the Crab Shack on Royal Princess when it first came out and it just seemed like an extension of the buffet with brown paper table covers. There wasn’t anything really special about the atmosphere.

PAGE 9!!! 🤣

THANK YOU for the update! My guess is that during the three week drydock coming up this fall all of the furniture will be completely replaced, especially in the public areas. Her space/passenger ratio seems to be one of the single biggest draws. I’ve never read a review saying the ship felt crowded. And the videos I’ve seen make her feel very intimate and elegant.

That’s a real shame, too. It would be nice to see them come back, but having been replaced that recently sounds like a more permanent setting.

I would think the uproar received and PR disaster Princess Cruises went through from that disaster would be enough to kill the idea of turning her into another Island Princess. I’m curious as to what makes you say “The unfortunate part is that you can't have a "casual" dinner as a pop-up in a specialty restaurant.” Is it that awkward for the venue and staff? Coral Princess was my first choice for going through the Panama Canal, that is until I found a superb itinerary on Norwegian Jewel that goes from Tampa, Florida to Whittier, Alaska. It’s turning out that the lack of casual dining options on the former is pushing me toward the latter. 🙂

That’s making me sad. However, the alternative sounds nice, and a place to put a drink instead of laying it on the deck. But those loungers, how nice would that have been. 😎

Now I’m going to have to find a menu. Your confirmations have peaked my interest @OzKiwiJJ