erdoran

I usually tip extra, in cash....but for something fun I like to do oragami with the bills (do them at home prior to the cruise).

 

Here's a link to some of the designs I've tried...

 

http://www.origami-resource-center.com/money-origami.html

 

 

The crew love them, and you can make them with any denomiation of bill.

Now THAT is a wonderful idea for those who want to give a gift to the crew in addition to paying their full DSC--it's a combination of the gift that is recommended (cash) with a personal touch besides! Can't go wrong with that type of gift-giving!

I have no idea where the sandwich station is...um ask #1travelmom.

Ummm....I kinda was, by posting publicly. I don't think she has an email address available here, this is the only way I know of to get that info :>

#1TravelMom

 

- Don’t miss the grilled panini, made-to-order, at the sandwich station.

- TIP: Convenient to the pool area, clean restrooms are also located just past the slides

 

- Taste and Manhattan Room: They both have the exact same menu (very good) but make sure you take note of the left hand side of the menu. The right hand side will stay consistent throughout the week

 

- The food was very good at both restaurants. Make sure you take note of the left hand side of the menu. The right hand side will stay consistent throughout the week

Where is the sandwich station?

NCL EPIC and the POSH Beach Club

 

The HYpe: Adult guests who purchase a POSH pass for the day or the week, will take a private glass elevator to enter this luxurious and exclusive outdoor entertainment complex styled with Mediterranean flare. During the day, guests can lounge on white-cushioned day beds and in private cabanas and cool off in the 35-foot long cascading waterfall while the POSH VIP Host and crew cater to every whim.

 

The New Facts: The cost is $15 per day or $59 weekly and it will be open from 8 am to 6pm. There will be bar service, the Courtyard snack menu and the butler will be through when time permits.

 

--------------------

And add to the new facts....no waterfall or other water feature! In the pix (I haven't been there yet but have seen lots of pix) the cushions are red.

No--I had booked this trip directly through NCL and only thought about doing an exchange after I had the cruise all set. I have booked another cruise thru RCI previously, but I can't go into detail because we aren't allowed to recommend travel agents. If you want to email me about them you can email madhatterdinners@gmail.com.

Use packing cubes to pack! Sort them by clothing type--undies in one, shirts in another, bottoms in another, etc, etc--whatever makes sense for your packing. You don't even really need to unpack them, other than for things you would hang. This is especially useful for the studio cabins--it was difficult to access half the closet space and there was a safe in there anyway, interfering with the long hang! I lived out of my packing cubes--hung up my shirts, everything else I just pulled out the cube it was in and selected what I wanted!

You can order the wine package at the Atrium Bar any night of the cruise. We looked into it on the 2nd night and decided the selection was too limited. Not sure if you can order pre-cruise. You could just go there as soon as you get on board. We've done Disney and RCL where you could order the package the first night you dined at your dinner table. Not so on the Epic. We sat down the first night and were told we would have to go the Atrium to order a package.

thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KmxoCezEUbCZ2322QleCNA?feat=directlink

Correct--you have a view up and a view down. Personally, I liked not having a roof because I wanted what little sun there was, but that's just me!

The above link shows the view above--I shot it standing on my balcony pointing the camera up!

I was in 8101 and had a wonderful view down to the water, wasn't over lifeboats at all...see http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Dcctd7cOUUJ0NCU0KR1NbA?feat=directlink

We looked into the wine package, but the list was very limited. You did have to order a minimum of 6 bottles to get the discount. We just decided to order of the menus in the restaurants. If we had a bottle we liked in one restaurant and it wasn't on the menu where we were eating, they were still able to get us the kind we liked. Just ask!

Was this wine pkg something that was offered on embarkation or did it have to be purchased pre-sailing? And was it 20% discount? thanks

Carol, thanks for the assist! I'm still uncertain what I want to do. Here are the exchange options at the moment, subject to change:

Albir Garden (#2827) 4 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

Bahía Azul (#2587) 1 available unit

Alicante

,

Spain

Club Atlas Nou Espai 1 (#2441) 6 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

El Palmar Holiday Club (#1265) 6 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

El Retiro Holiday Club (#1471) 6 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

Flamingo Benidorm (#2803) 1 available unit

Alicante

,

Spain

Gruphotel Ogisaka Garden (#2928) 5 available units

Alicante

Parque Denia Club (#3053) 5 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

San Vicente Holiday Club (#1461) 3 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

None of them are very highly rated. They actually all seem to be some distance from Alicante, even though they all say they are Alicante. Some seem to be in Denia.

I saw the downloadable list of wines on the NCL website, but I don't see any "wine package". Is there such a thing, or am I better off to just pre-order specific bottles? Short of smuggling or bringing my own and paying corkage, what's the most cost-effective way to have say, five or six bottles of wine aboard Epic for my cruise? I'm thinking of consumer-type wine, not the boxes/Ripple type of thing, but not $50/bottle (shore price!) stuff either.

thanks!

Lusitanica, I can't figure out which stateroom has the wonderful-looking wraparound balcony pictured in http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cmB8imSApifoKOFcxsMGUA?feat=directlink. it's on the 14th floor, and looks like it is just below the Garden Cafe (as far as I can guess) and before the Mandara Spa on the port side. To get perspective, the album is http://picasaweb.google.com/erdoran and this specific picture is #59. #61 and #55 are closeups of this balcony, and you can see it in some other distance shots like #68 as well as others. From http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/Main/Norwegian+Epic-deck-plans.html it looks like it is part of the spa, but from the photo it looks like it is part of a room, perhaps 14118. I would think if it is that this would be a wonderful room to have because of the great balcony. It's either an SD or M9 depending on pre/post May 2011.

What do you think?

English, I'm considering a timeshare exchange before my cruise and I think Alicante is one of my options. This will be mid-October, right before October 23, 2011 TA. Is it too cold for the beach? How about swimming? Are there beaches/areas of Spain that might be warm enough for swimming then?

I'm cruising out of Barcelona October, 2011 and was thinking of trying to do a timeshare exchange for the week before to somewhere in Spain. At this point there are resorts with availability in

Alicante.

Almeria.

Castellón.

Gerona

Ibiza

Lerida

Malaga

Pas de la Casa

Tarragona

Since I have a long time until my cruise, obviously the availability will change. If it matters, I exchange through RCI using weeks.

Any recommendations for location and resort(s) for a weeklong pre-cruise stay? I cruise out of Barcelona Sunday 10/23/11 so my plan is to arrive in Barcelona no later than 10/22. One thought I had was Ibiza, and then the ferry to Barcelona, but I'm only beginning to consider what to do. I'd really like recommendations from anyone, either with RCI exchange recommendations (even if not on the above list) or any thoughts in general about things not to miss in Spain.

For what it's worth, I like local culture rather than international glitz, and prefer country to city. I love beaches but am guessing late October is too cold for swimming.

Or would I be better off staying in Barcelona for a few days pre-cruise and exploring? Or can anyone recommend a 7 day or less tour of Spain & area that isn't overpriced and that could be tied in with the cruise? Or--are there relatively unknown flight options with interesting stopovers? (e.g. Flying to UK via Iceland without extra airfare cost)