gopherhockey

Wow ... was there anything that you did like about the ship or your trip?

My cruise notes tend to come off negative because its easy to remember those things. After all that, to be honest, we had a good time. No cruise is perfect.

I mentioned a few things we did like. Deck chair availability was one of them. The normal chair hog issues really weren't present. I mean I saw many abusing the reserving of chairs, but because there were so many I think it was less of an issue.

Also, getting on and off was easy. I think when these ships use two locations to get passengers on and off it really helps things along.

We had a good meal at Cagney's. Great steaks, great value. This is a place that will continue to feed you until you explode with no question. I find steak places on most ships a good value, might have to start hitting them twice.

I mentioned the water slides and can't say enough how fun they are. The rope course was fun too - especially hanging out over a moving ship in the wind on the plank (and getting your photo if you pull down on the rope at the end of the plank)

I mentioned the drink flights. Relatively good value, and if you can find a seat out on the side of the boat on the boardwalk area where people aren't smoking it can be a really nice relaxing place for an afternoon drink.

I didn't mention we did Temppanyaki the last night and that was fun - they were all entertaining and you could witness other tables and how their chefs were different.

We don't feel like we had a *bad* trip nor that it was a waste of money even with my list of small issues. We just feel other ships and cruise lines offer more/better experiences in the areas important to us, like food quality. NCL isn't known for their food and we knew that going in. I'm surprised ships haven't matured more in the smoking category.. hopefully in time.

If you read my notes and are thinking of going on this boat don't let all that stop you.. I'd bet some of the issues will be ironed out by then. Even if you sail other lines regularly its fun to try out something new and different - its an exciting time in the cruise industry with so many new ships coming out. I have to believe they can't keep this up forever.

I just wanted to list out some things to expect... to look for, and look out for. Of course your experience will vary...

There's always one that no matter what is not happy.

Again, I didn't say I hated my time on the boat (despite the list).. but don't be so naive as to think only a small percentage have the same thoughts that I did. I've seen them here, in the reviews area, and had my ears open on the boat. I wanted to leave my remarks for others to take into consideration. I'm not one of those that feels the need to take negative remarks personally (do you own NCL?) nor do I expect everyone to have the same experience I did (positive or negative).

Though buried in the list, things like the water slides easily overcame a dozen or so other small frustrations. Maybe I should have made those bold. If you sail this ship and skip the drop slides, shame on you! Just be ready for it... 3....2....1... aaaahhhhhhhhhhh splash.

I wish I could be one of those people who "LOVES!" everything they do in life... I really do. I'd be wary of those reviews though... they are probably the same people on Yelp giving McDonalds 5 stars for the best meal ever. ;)

This is my 8th cruise, 2nd on NCL (Previously was on EPIC a few years ago). We wanted to try out the new class of NCL boats and love water slides, plus one of our party had a ticket "deal" so we chose the Getaway this time around. Here are my thoughts, observations, and some tips mixed in:

- Getting on the boat was easy. They were taking photos before embarking, vs. during, which I think helped. We got on just before noon. When you arrive at the port you will be given a group number, and any kind of standing with the cruise line seems to make no difference.

- Once on the boat we immediately went to get Chef's Table tickets. They were sold out already... or so they said. After speaking with someone else, they had enough for all but one of our party. With some pleading, they gave us the extra seat. This was nice - HOWEVER - we were told we could not book these seats prior to the ship, but spoke to many at the table that night that had gotten theirs via telephone prior to the cruise. Inconsistencies was a big theme on this cruise.

- Our first night was supposed to feature 2 bottles of free house wine for 6 of us because we booked a specialty restaurant the first night. We were told when we ordered that we didn't qualify, even though we had verified this with NCL prior to sailing. More inconsistencies. They apparently revoked that deal just before our cruise. With some arguing we got one bottle... but it set a negative tone for the cruise.

- The staff were not very mixed and were mostly from one or two countries. (you'll know which ones right away) We are used to cruises being a real mix of people from all over the world (including Europe). I don't believe we met one person from Europe working on board.

- This cruise featured the least amount of friendly smiles and service, though there were a couple stand-outs at the water park.

- We didn't meet our cabin attendant until day 2. Since that time we saw her maybe 4 times. We often did not get the daily news, and weren't provided disembarking information or customs forms. The worst cabin service we have ever had.

- We had adjacent rooms, but they would not open the deck divider stating it was now policy not to do it. (so why build it with opening doors then?) We opened our own... all you need is the cruise free pen - jam it in the square hold and turn.

- Deck chairs were not hard to find and there were very few chair hogs. Wow, did I just say that? This is normally a major point of frustration. This ship has chairs everywhere.

- The running track was ridiculously small. (8 laps = 1 mile) I do a 10k so ran just over 50 laps each morning. The biggest frustration were pairs of walkers (this elderly female pair in particular that walked every morning around 7am) that refused to go single file. The way the track is, if you block the path the chairs make it difficult to get around. This meant I was running into the lady on the left each time around. We even spoke to them but there was no changing their minds. Selfishness and ignorance has no place on a cruise ship.

- Cheapest and least amount of work-out equipment on any boat I've been on. If you are a runner you will not be pleased.

- Food was sub-par compared to other lines we have been on. (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity)

- We constantly compared the boat to the Allure, which is one of our favorites.

- The water slides were SUPER FUN! (and I admit a bit scary) You can't wear jewelry on the drop slides so be prepared to leave all that stuff behind.

- Cagney's gave us the best meal and value, even considering we had the Chef's table. That was a bit of a bust, but it was fun to see the Heaven area...

- The comedians were good.

- Legally Blond started late so we didn't go, but others in our party said it was not good.

- I liked the french toast with caramelized banana sauce in the mornings. I'm paying for that now even running 10k every morning.

- Decent beer and wine selection. Seemed like less exotic drinks than others, and all served in cheap plastic glasses.

- We put wine in our checked bag and were notified it was confiscated and we had to pay $15 a bottle to get them back, but then could take them wherever we wanted (dinner, etc.) Not sure I like that policy, but a bottle we paid $12 + $15 corking fee was going for over $50 so I guess its a savings. They did not confiscate my Diet Mt. Dew :)

- The ropes course requires fully covered feet, so not even sandals that *mostly* cover your feet. If your heel or toes are exposed they won't let you on. Don't forget that the plank features a camera (front and side shoot simultaneously) so its worth the scare.

- Pictures were way too expensive, with no way to buy just digital ones... so we bought none. They were watching for people taking pictures of their pictures, so no sneaking shots that way. Have they learned nothing from the app market where a few $ per item will get you more sales?

- Nickel and dime was how we felt wherever we went on the boat. Its like the Spirit Airlines of the cruise industry. Soon you will pay to go to the bathroom... I S#$()** you not :)

- SMOKING WAS TERRIBLE. Almost worse than our Princess cruise. They allow it not just on one side of the ship but at nearly every bar and of course in the casino, which ruins deck 7. They were out on the balconies as well polluting the air. I heard this comment from a lot of people, not just our party. For this reason alone we will not return to NCL.

- Look for the flights of drinks.. good value.

- Elevators were not set up well. There were often two separate sides, which meant everyone pressed both sides up/down button then only got in one... so lots of elevators stopping on floors with nobody getting in. Very poorly designed.

- Getting off the boat went fairly fast, though the front was let out before the back was so there were lines for those early walk-offs.

THE ROOM

Our aft balcony room was kind of a knock-off of the Allure of the Seas rooms, only cheaper. We had an aft cabin on deck 13. Decent room, but the cabins toward the middle have more (even if they appear not as wide, they are deeper because of how the ship is rounded).

- The glass on back gets full of salt and soot and they never once cleaned ours, though others seemed to get theirs cleaned only once. You can't see through them after the first day. Soot everywhere, worst we've experienced. The tan carpet was already getting destroyed by tracked in soot.. and this was like the 4th or 5th sailing. There was one lounge chair though.

- Plenty of storage, bed was ok, we kept tripping going into the bathroom because of the huge step up you had to make.

- The air conditioner kept shutting off on us until we realized NOT to press the air conditioner button as that means its just a one-time cool-down. Not very intuitive... just leave that button alone and you'll be fine.

- A lot of rocking motion on this ship. Odd compared to other boats we've been on.

- If you are on the aft, you will hear LOUD music late into the night coming from the aft deck above where they hold their nightly 70s, 80s or whatever else party. Take ear plugs and sleeping pills or you will not get to sleep until 2am or so. You have been warned.

- After this cruise, we are considering no more aft cabins. They just aren't worth the soot, loud noises etc.

- Smoke smell always present from other cabins around.

- Very little overhead protection on deck 13.

- Don't forget to set your cabin service/do not disturb lights correctly when you leave or you won't get your room serviced.

Here is your aft view through the crud.. good luck finding someone friendly and willing enough to clean it.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who has eaten at Ocean Blue and has left severely disappointed.

You aren't alone. I suspect people who sail on NCL have much lower expectations and would see this as upscale dining, while those that know better would leave disappointed.

Of all the place on the boat, they limited you to what you could order and the menu was really not that great. Nothing about this said it was done by a major chef. If I were Zakarian I would't be putting my name on it. Then again maybe its a hint of an overrated chef? Tough to say when you start talking about Food network or Bravo TV stars... often I think they got famous by cooking well, then their fame ruins them.

Our last NCL voyage. Even the chef's table, which we had to fight to get into, was sub-par.

Fortunately there were water slides to help us forget about the nickel and dining, especially at places like Ocean Blue.

Skip it and spend your money elsewhere... hit a place like Scarpetta in Miami the night before instead. Their tasting menu was worth the $.

What I don't like are the deck plans... and how does one know just how accurate they are? Take deck 13 aft... it looks like some of the aft rooms have no extra room for the bed and are smaller than others. It was like this on the Celebrity Solstice class ships. Dumb. If you want to be next to family, one of you has to give up space.

By this image, 13906 gets screwed.

Celebrity Equinox

Deck - 10

Cabin # - 1206 (go figure)

Class – concierge class, although I have no idea what value that really gave us.

Starboard or Port Side - in the middle really

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Quiet

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Was one of the bigger balconies which was nice.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - oversized

Was wind a problem? Sometimes wind was, mostly due to the noise it created with the huge flag overhead than actually feeling wind. It was quite calm on at sea days when the rest of the ship was a wind tunnel.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? Absolutely it was... as was the toxic ship exhaust smell and the noise from the flag on the back of the ship (mentioned above). I will post photos of the soot if people want.. every morning black soot on the balcony, and it was not washed off every day. When they did wash balconies they forced us inside our cabin as they soaked our balcony from above. The smell was toxic depending on the winds, usually leaving port was the worst. If you experienced rain it would dampen the soot making it way more noticeable than if it was dry, in which case the dust blew around more. Wipe things down before you sit!

Not sure its worth it for the view and aft experience, probably would not book aft on a Solstice class ship again.

This was our experience, others may vary.

Any specific problems with this cabin? Other than soot, no problems at all.

Any other comments? Consider the pros and cons before booking aft on this class of ship. Aft can sometimes give you great port views, but if you can't stand being on your balcony what good is it? I think wind and weather plays a huge part in why some report no soot problems... but it was so bad and obvious I think most are crazy to suggest you won't notice it. My wife was more tolerant because she loves the view but even she couldn't deny the issues as much as she tried to overlook them.

Getting anywhere from aft was a chore... we're athletic and even we were annoyed at how far the walk was to get anywhere. They need a rear stairway on the Solstice class.

Oh, and wireless signal fades out when you reach the aft balcony... don't close the door or you will lose it entirely.

P.S. Despite my negative aft comments, we LOVED our cruise... I know it doesn't sound like it but we did. The overall experience made up for some of the annoyances - it just would have been better in another cabin I think.

Ship: Solstice

Deck - 11

Cabin # 1592

Class – Aqua

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Cabin was below the forward area of the pool (about even with the bar). Could hear chairs being moved, carts, people walking. Chair noise woke us up early a few times.

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – great unobstructed view, but the overhanging deck 12 shaded us from any sun. View of lifeboats was mildly annoying.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal Size balcony, we had ours opened up to cabin 1590 (cruising partners) so it seemed even bigger.

Was wind a problem? Somewhat, but was quiet with the door shut.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? n/a

Any specific problems with this cabin? None