terri910

We have sailed on the Epic twice and really, unless the cruise is practically free to us, we probably never will again. Just reading this review gave us flashbacks of our two weeks of dinners that were never under 2 hours long, concerns expressed to Customer Service that were treated in a dismissive and unprofessional manner....that was the case for us in 2015 and in 2016. If it is still going on in 2017, there is a managerial problem.

I just asked out NCL contact and was told that one Certificate could be used per cruise, and that it could be used as part of the final payment, and did not HAVE to be used as a deposit.

My husband and I both hated the "bathroom" design on the Epic, although it didn't stop us from booking and taking another cruise on it when the price/timing/itinerary were right. In addition to the other things mentioned (only barely-frosted glass as a visual barrier if one is using the facilities and the other opens the door to the corridor for some reason), considering how little counter space there is to begin with, putting a shallow sink and faucet near where someone is likely to (or would like to be able to) put their laptop or other electronic device is just really poor design and planning.

Although it wasn't asked, we found the closet to also be poorly designed on the Epic cabins. While I understand the curve at the end make it seem a little more spacious in getting around the end of the bed, it wasted a lot of space inside the closet shelf area.

We recently sailed on the NCL Jade, and smaller and older ship and liked the room MUCH better!

Spinnaker Lounge – Deck 13 Fwd

You will learn where this place is quickly as all the main events, game shows, latitudes rewards get together, lecturers, arts & crafts, dance parties, white hot nights, and the only movie screen on board. Thankfully, there is a bar at the rear along with wait service at the tables (slow, but it is there). If you only see 1 bartender and a line, you can expect to wait for a drink. Once they add the second or third bartender, drinks flow quicker!

My husband and I were also on this first Jade sailing out of Tampa, as well as the 2-week Trans-Atlantic before it.

I hadn't thought about it, because all the weeks sort of ran together, but I suppose during the Caribbean week, the Spinnaker may have been the only place utilizing a movie screen. But during the TA, there was a VERY large screen utilized in The Stardust Theater, for afternoon movies. We enjoyed that a lot...hated it the couple of times they showed the movie on the TV screen at The Medusa lounge. Not the same atmosphere at all!

I think I missed seeing The Medusa Louse on your list of bars/entertainment venues. Fire & Ice performed there a few times (over our 3 weeks), and it is where Karaoke always took place, which seemed hugely popular on both the TA and Caribbean portions of our cruises.

Oh....and we were VERY impressed with the Tampa Airport!!

I've enjoyed reading this review, since my husband and I (along with 5 other couples) were on this, as well as the 14-night Trans-Atlantic crossing.

We were glad that the Tampa/Caribbean portion went as smoothly as it did, since the TA crossing was a bit rougher than what we experienced two years ago on the Epic. There was a storm w/high winds that kept us from calling at Bermuda, and then a medical emergency that necessitated a quick stop at Nassau.

We liked Tampa as a port. It would have been nice if the shopping/restaurant area right next to the port opened just a bit earlier when a ship is in port. Since it was a Sunday when we first arrived, nothing was open until 11 a.m. But, we enjoyed a meal at Hooters and some free WiFi...*LOL*

We loved Cozumel also (always do)...we took a taxi to an area north of the city and found a secluded little area. We were the only two on the beach for an hour at least...Hubby did a little snorkeling, but also found the water full of little jellyfish, so didn't stay in long. Caught another taxi back to town, shopped along the Malecon, ate at Mar y Juana's (best nachos we've had in ages) and then went back to the ship.

We'd never been to Costa Maya and we just took a taxi into the little town. Walked and shopped the Malecon there, and then settled into a couple of lounge chairs under umbrellas hosted by one of the many restaurants. They charged nothing for the chairs/umbrellas, all they asked was that you order something. No problem for us....we ordered nachos (good, but not as good as Mar y Juana's) and a bucket of beers. We loved Costa Maya!

Our group chartered a catamaran for snorkeling on Roatan. I had come down with bronchitis on the last part of the Trans-Atlantic, but after starting on some antibiotics I thought I was feeling well enough to snorkel. Um, NO. So I was in the water for all of about 60 seconds before realizing I just didn't have the strength. The others enjoyed it, though, even if the water was not as calm as it might have been at other times of the year. The last time we were in Roatan was in the 90's, calling at Mahogany Bay. I liked the little port shops they had at Coxen Hole.

Harvest Caye was okay. My husband had the same reaction as the OP's husband! *L* He said it was like going to Disney World's World Showcase France pavilion and saying you'd been to France. He didn't feel like he'd actually "seen" Belize. We had been to Belize before (same cruise in the 90's that had included Roatan) and done Shark/Ray Alley and then a stop at Ambergis Caye and we loved that. I was fine with Harvest Caye because I was still recuperating, and the pool was great, but it could have been anywhere. We didn't get a t-shirt from Belize (which we had done at every other port on our entire 3 weeks on the Jade, and the 1 week on the Epic before that) because the prices were so high.

We loved the Jade and would definitely sail her again. Liked her MUCH more than the Epic -- I think our entire group agreed on that, even the couple that booked suites on both.

Terri

Those are really specific questions! It looked digital to me, but I have no idea about the rest. E-mailing NCL Customer services might get more of a response?

Good idea....!

Not sure why I didn't think of that!

bump in the hope that someone will have an answer!!

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of karaoke system is utilized on NCL Jade?

Are they able to change the pitch? How limited is the song library? And, is it discs or digital (and if digital, can you bring your own on a thumb drive)?

An interesting thread. It almost sounds like there is not -- at the moment -- a standard policy throughout the line, regarding lobster being available in the specialty restaurants??

Mind you, this has never been a big deal to me, because we have never bothered to spend the extra $$ to go to one of the specialty restaurants rather than the main dining room. But, I just realized that hubby will reach Platinum status in the first half of our 14-night Trans-Atlantic cruise on the Jade this coming Oct/Nov, and if I read the list of "perks" correctly, it looks like when his Platinum status is recognized (whether we are lucky and they recognize it during the Trans-Atlantic, or whether it is on the back-to-back Western Caribbean right after it), it looks like he gets a dinner for two in one of those restaurants.

Well, yay! Hopefully, we will be able to book a reservation once we know the ship recognizes his Platinum status.

33 Days until 7 days on the Epic in the Mediterranean.

40 Days until 14 days on the Jade Trans-Atlantic.

54 Days until 7 days on the Jade Western Caribbean.

Woo hoo!

Update:

I just logged in at the NCL website and the e-docs were available! (They weren't earlier today)

I know our group will be happy to be able to print out their documents!

Woo hoo!

I am on that Jade transatlantic and printed out my cruise documents a week ago with no problem. Sometimes the NCL site has glitches so if you continue to have problems you might want to give NCL a call and see what the problem is.

Well, that's disturbing!!

We are part of a group, and two other couples that are in the group and live close to us also haven't been able to download/print their e-docs, so I know it isn't just my husband and me.

I will give it another day or so, try again, and if still can't print it out may have to call NCL support or something. Will try to come back to this thread and update, if there is a change or info.

We are booked on three cruises one after the other: The first a 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise on the Epic on Oct. 23rd, then a 14-night Trans-Atlantic cruise on the Jade on Oct. 30th with a back-to-back Caribbean cruise on the Jade on Nov. 13th.

So far, we have been able to print out our e-docs on the Med and Caribbean cruises, but not the Trans-Atlantic cruise.

On NCL's website, when I look at our Vacation Summary for the Trans-Atlantic reservation, there is a place that says "e-docs" with a little question mark by it. When I put the cursor over that question mark it tells me that e-docs will be available for printing when various things have happened, such as the cruise being paid in full (check), online check-in completed (check), and your departure date is less than 60 days away (check -- it is 46 days). But, the e-docs are NOT available to download/print out.

Is this unusual? I find it odd that the e-docs are available for the cruise AFTER this one, but not this one. Is there a point I need to get worried? We, of course, want to have as much done ahead of time as possible to streamline the check-in at the terminal.

No one can answer this for you. Because what is "better" to one person, may not be "better" to you, at all. It is much too subjective.

Decide what, specifically, you prefer, and then ask about those quantifiable SPECIFICS of the various cruise lines/ships.

Just wondering if anyone has heard any "insider" ( ;) ) information regarding Harvest Caye after the hurricane that swept through Belize. Is it still on track to be in operation this coming November? (Heck, I would love to know what date in November it has been scheduled to open)

We will be arriving in Tampa on Nov. 20th.....after reading this, can we feel fairly confident that we would be able to make a flight at 2:25 p.m.?

45 Days and we will be on this great ship.:D

Enjoy your cruise and look for my review in June. :cool:

I will look for your review!

But we have sailed the Epic before....on a trans-Atlantic in 2014. Didn't LOVE the ship, but still had a wonderful time!

 

Thank you for explaining :) May I ask what issue it was that NCL could not resolve? Usually, I find they try to bend over backwards to solve problems/issues so I'm really curious as they didn't seem to do that with you.

 

Thanks!

 

Harrriet

I wish we had that impression. On our 14-night trans-Atlantic cruise Oct./Nov. 2014, on the Epic, there was a BIG problem with people going out at dawn and "saving" deck chairs by the pool, and then not showing up to occupy them until 11 a.m., or Noon, or later. After a few days of this, we spoke to the crew in charge of the area and were told they couldn't do anything about it because "it would upset those passengers" (by one crew member) and that "they are on vacation" (by another crew member). The fact that others were "upset" and also "on vacation" seemed to escape them. Checking the NCL website at that time, it said they had a policy of any deck chair empty for 45 minutes or more the towels/items on the chairs would be removed by crew. So we went to Guest Services and explained the problem. They took our stateroom number and said someone would contact us about it within 24 hours. Nothing. We went through the exact same scenario the next day. Promised call never happened, and there was no change in how things were handled. It got really bad...people who frequented that area (I think it was called H2O?) were getting really upset. I witnessed a LOT of arguments and yelling. Near the end of the cruise I thought two men were going to come to blows!! Finally, on the last two days, the crew started marking the time on empty chairs.

My point is that Guest Services and NCL crew didn't even lift a finger (to dial a phone), let alone bend over backwards to even discuss an issue, let alone resolve it.

Thanks for the quick replies. Guess I will be cancelling that expensive excursion. That just became a useless promo.

That's how we felt about the Drink Package Promo. When we booked a year ago, we chose the Gratuities Paid promo, which it looks like they dropped. Probably because there is no way to restrict it so they can make money off it...

Thanks! This makes me -------> :)

We are booked on NCL Epic in October for a 7-night Med cruise out of Barcelona. The first port is Naples, Italy.

I was looking at a map and just got to wondering....might the route between the two cities sail between the islands of Corsica and Sardinia?

Back in 2007, on a Med cruise, the ship passed between Sicily and the toe of Italy's boot, which was kind of cool, to me. Even if I haven't physically stepped foot in such places, I can say I have SEEN Sicily, and I have SEEN the Rock of Gibraltar, and I have SEEN Morocco. ;)

I wouldn't mind being able to say I have seen Corsica and Sardinia!

Anyone that's been on this cruise know the answer to this?

There is an extremely active roll call for the October 30 transatlantic on the Jade. You might want to check it out.

Have done and continue to do!

Just hoping for more info on the Jade from anyone that's sailed on her.

No, unless they rebook to get a more recent deal, the original terms of the April 2015 promo will continue to apply. (You can find the terms that were in effect between 4/7/15 and 4/30/15 here.)

Muchas gracias!

It makes a difference, in a way because back then they were not making customers pay this 18% on the price of the promotional beverage and dining packages (UBP and UDP). But in another way it makes no difference because you didn't choose either of those perks, anyway.

 

They still charge a fixed service charge for all passengers 3 and over. That is now $13.50 per person per day. It was less when you booked, $12.95, so you are entitled to this lower rate. But, since you chose the free gratuities perk, you don't have to pay anything anyway (for the first two passengers in your cabin).

 

For now you don't have to worry about any 18% service charge. But during your cruise, if you buy any drinks or go to a specialty restaurant, or get a spa treatment, 18% will automatically be added to your bill.

We chose wisely, then! We are the only two passengers in our stateroom.

If others in our group chose the Drink Pkg. or Dining Pkg. are they now going to be subject to that 18% service charge?