tel2

Two other thoughts. One, I know the date matters because I have called them before and they have offered me different level rooms for differ dates on the same itinerary. I was inquiring about next June. Second, I assume they combine my play and my husband's play for the purpose of comps if he is traveling with me. He had just over 5000 points. Maybe that is the difference.

The only way to get the theo is to ask. Every game has a different house edge and a different theo percentage. Your entire trip is calculated with all of the games that you played combined. Your actual is what you actually lost out of pocket. It is much easier for the casino to track you on the machines. As long as you put your card in every time you play, they will know to the penny how much you won or lost in the end.

 

You are getting a much better comp than me, congrats. Your comp is based on your theo or actual, whichever is higher. My theo was higher than your actual and I am getting less. I am just having bad luck with my comps with CAS. I played through over 1 million dollars in March, winning in the end(CAS hates that), only to be comped a balcony, Oh well

So if I just call and ask, they will tell me my actual and theo loss?

Congrats on the couple of wins. On my last cruise in March I earned just shy of 15000 points, like you did. I play mostly tables($700 ave at Black Jack) and hit one $2500 hand pay on a slot machine. I had a theo loss of about 8000, but I actually won a few thousand for the week. I called to book the Breakaway to Bermuda in Sept and was only offered a balcony(I usually get minis or full suites). Do you mind telling me what your theo or actual was? I am just very confused with CAS lately. Thanks

I have no idea how to calculate actual or theo loss. As much as I gamble, I should pay more attention to these things, but I don't. When I count actual loss, do I count in the money we won but then played back? If so, actual was around 14,000. If it is only out of pocket, i.e., what I brought with me and lost, about 5000. On theo, I know the "formula" is (Casino Advantage) X (Total Wager), but I have no idea how to actually calculate it and I didn't ask them what it was. I generally play video Ultimate Poker, at 15.00 a spin, for 5-6 hours a day.

Thanks! Thursday, Friday and Saturday? I will see if I can leave early Friday and come down Friday night. You girls seem to have much more flexible work schedules that I do :-(

Terry

Update on CAS Aftermath:

Called yesterday to check on my points. None of the points from my last night, after check-out, were carried over or reported to CAS. So the points earned in the extra hour or two I played after check-out seem to have vanished. They will check on it.....

A couple people have reported in other threads that when they won jackpots, they found their comps /discounts for future cruises decreased. That has not happened for me. I called yesterday to see what might be available for NY_Bermuda in June 2017 on Breakaway, and was offered an H9.

ARGHHHHH. I cannot take vacation in December. Managing Partner, and it is the close of our fiscal year, so my management committee would have a heart attack if I took a week off in December. I hope you guys make this an annual event and I will eventually get a shot.

And for future reference, no, smoke doesn't bother me. Smoked for 30 years, husband still smokes. I switched over to vapor about two years ago, but still love the smell of real cigarettes.

We go to Harrahs in AC pretty frequently, so if you ladies plan another weekend there, I'd love to meet you all.

terry

Just returned from Epic. We were on a CAS comp. Original comp was for a penthouse suite; we upgraded to a 2 bedroom.

The casino was very "tight" although I did end up hitting a fairly large quick hit jackpot on the third night, which allowed me to increase my gambling budget. Video poker, which is what we usually play, was abysmal, so I started playing slots. And I read on here that a lot of people really liked quick hits, which I had never played, so I tried it one night, and hit 7500. on a quick hit bonus. On a penny machine.... It took more than one full hour to get paid the jackpot. My husband hit a smaller jackpot - just over 1200 -- and he too waited close to an hour to get paid. Very annoying.

The casino manager was unfriendly and non-communicative from the start. When I approached the desk a few times to inquire about something or other, he often didn't even look up from his computer screen and left me standing there waiting until he felt like addressing me. I did not receive a single treat in my room from the Casino all week (got them from the captain, the concierge, for platinum status but nada from the casino). Neither he nor anyone else from the casino staff sought me out or interacted with me throughout the cruise -- no offer of dinner, or wine or anything else. I earned 14,428 points on this cruise alone.

Now, the backstory might be relevant to some, though I don't think it should be. I was VIP status for multiple consecutive years, and in the years I wasn't VIP, I was always at least golden. We usually take two cruises a year. But timing wise, last year we took our cruises in January and March, and this was our first cruise this year. So, I was " "lucky" when I boarded since their earning year goes from April 1 to March 31. So, I get that based on my low tier status, I might not have been on the radar screen when I boarded, but probably should have been since they comped me a suite. But surely they have my history, and surely when they saw the level of my play, someone should have been paying attention, right? I moved up to the next tier level on the second or third day, and still no one approached. I ended the cruise just short of golden. I probably would have played longer to get to golden for my next cruise if anyone had told me I was that close, but they re-set the points at Barcelona, the homeport, and so you had to go ask because it doesnt show a cumulative number on the card reader.

I had UDP and the UBP, so I didn't really care about dinners and wine. It would have been nice to have been offered a spa comp, or sent a plate of strawberries, or just some acknowledgment.

On the last night, I waited in line to speak to him about my points, and specifically asked that they comp at minimum the roughly $240 in "convenience fees" I racked up for withdrawing from my shipboard account. He first told me I had used my point comps for tiering up (of about 100.00 I think) to play, and that, because of that, he could only take another 100. off my bill. I am not usually loud, and am not usually pushy, but I pretty much flipped out. On all my prior cruises, the casino has comped every single onboard expense I had -- spa, gift shop purchases, liquor purchases etc. I made a big fuss, and was probably a bit obnoxious, and there were lots of people behind me in line listening, so in the end he comped off an additional $450. in onboard expenses. In any event, he was neither pleasant nor friendly.

Since I did play for a bit after I checked out on the last night, I called yesterday to get my point total. It was exactly the same as when I checked out even though I did play for about another hour or so. In any event, the speculation that getting a WG or hitting a jackpot decreases their offers to you did not hold true for me. As I mentioned above, we had a couple of jackpots, one pretty large, and when i called yesterday to check on what I might be eligible for on NY-Bermuda on Breakaway next spring, they offered me an H9 suite.

Terry

I was VIP for a couple of years, and gold for a few others, but our final cruise last year was in March, and our first cruise this year was 2 weeks ago, so I was back to lucky since I ahd not cruised in the earning period. I am now hot -- when I checked out last week on the Epic I had earned 14478 for that 7 day cruise, but then I played another hour or two, so I thought I would be gold. But I called yesterday and they have me showing at 14478. Should have taken a picture. ARGHHH.

The casino manager on Epic was AWFUL -- didn't get a single treat, or acknowledgement, or anything else, and when I checked out - with 14000 plus points -- I had to argue with him to get him to comp off a couple of hundred dollars in convenience fees. Sorry, I had calmed down, but your question got me riled up again.

In any event, when I called yesterday to see what I may be able to book for Bermuda next spring on Breakaway, they offered me an H9.

Sorry this is much more detailed than your question, but I figured you really wanted to know whether I has a heavy player or not, and figured the detail would help.

Terry

If you are looking for a less expensive options, last week we used Can't Be Missed Tours for Pompeii and Sorrento

http://cantbemissedtours.com/naples-to-pompeii-sorrento-the-amalfi-coast

And Barcelona day tours for Barcelona.

https://barcelonadaytours.com/barcelona-shore-excursion/

Both were terrific and I wouldn't hesitate to use either again.

I followed this from the beginning of the first one, and would have been one of the first to respond that I was interested but for the fact that you were looking at a time frame during which we already were booked on another NCL cruise in Europe. If you ever need more people beyond those in your now established group, please consider me.....

Terry

Hi!

 

Thanks so much for the review!

 

Do you remember what time NCL held the muster drill for people boarding in Rome? We're boarding the ship in Rome on June 1 and have heard conflicting reports.

 

We're also guests of CAS, so it was disappointing to hear about the casino manager. Maybe we'll get lucky and have a different guy on our cruise. :p

 

Thanks again for sharing your experiences with us!

I believe it was at 3PM. It took like 30 seconds. Nothing was closed.

Terry

My unlimited internet package also "expired" In Barcelona, though I embarked in Rome. It was a pain, they had to reset it about 5 times because it kept reverting back to an expired error code. Other than that, I had no real issues. The dailies were confusing because day 1 was Barcelona, and Rome daily, when I embarked, was day 4. I was on the epic last week.

You are lucky....by the time you got on board in Rome they (NCL) had things pretty much figured out with the folks from China. I got on board in Barcelona and it was a nightmare on our port visit to Naples. I felt bad for the crew and the tour guides. (our guide in Pompeii got so frustrated that they wouldn't pay attention to meeting times and places (constantly talking and on their phones) that he just wrote down a time and said be here at this time or you get left behind.:eek: Our tour of the ruins had about 8 people and it was nice..alomst like a private tour. :D ) After Rome they broke up the excursions into English and non english speaking groups.

 

The internet was pretty much useless as well. They were sucking up so much bandwidth you couldn't get on.

No, not lucky. We boarded in Rome the Wednesday BEFORE they boarded in Barcelona. And I agree the Naples port, particularly getting back on the ship, was awful. Thankfully, I used CBM Tours for Pompeii/Sorrento, and it was all English speaking folks on our tour. The sea day, the day after Barcelona, was also problematic in terms of communication problems creating long lines and lengthy waits for everything....

The bottom line is that NCL did a massive promotion in Asia -- which apparently will be ongoing for the next several weeks -- and then was completely ill-prepared to deal with accommodating the very people they were promoting their brand to -- and they probably managed to PO a fair number of their regular customers because it was sooo poorly planned. How could NCL take on 3000 non-English speaking vacationers and only have 5 staff members on the ship that could communicate with them in their language? Poor planning, poor execution. I assume we managed to escape the brunt of the issues since we were in the Haven. I am not sure I would have thought the cruise was as terrific had I not had the ability to escape the circus into the Haven.....

Thank You so much for the review. I've been saving up for a Western and then an Eastern Med cruise then the transatlantic back in October 2017. So the trip would be like a month long on the Epic. I would love to do the Haven on one of the trips but hopefully need to save just a little more [emoji12]. The casino have what type of games/slots? I only asked bc u said y'all booked thru CAS. Did y'all tried the thermal spa area? I did them on the Getaway and Escape....were among my favorite a few hours a day. Still waiting to hear more and thanks again for any info.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi. No, we did not do the thermal spa on Epic. I usually do, and have several times on Breakaway. But since we were in the Haven, with long port days and only one sea day, we didn't think we would get much use out of it on this cruise.

Continuing on...

The second spa provider completely ignored me and continued talking even after I said I was not interested in product. I was very irritated.

Entertainment

I saw Priscilla and the Beatles. I thought Priscilla was excellent. The actors were talented and had amazing vocals. The Beatles were also very good. I also went to Howl at the Moon, and found it funny and very entertaining. My husband went to nothing, so I went to these alone, and felt very comfortable. I had not done that before on prior cruises, and now I am sorry I didn't.

Haven Pool/Hot tubs

It was chilly most of our cruise, so there was little opportunity to use the pool, but the hot tubs were frequently occupied. I had read reviews about children running wild in the Haven. We did not experience that. While we saw a few children at the pool, they were quiet and well-behaved. I layed out on the sunbeds a couple of times to read, and it was quiet and relaxing.

Concierge

I already forget her name, but she was very helpful. I made/changed all my own dinner/show reservations, just because I find it easier, so I didn't use her for that, but two aspects of her services made our trip much more enjoyable.

First, I paid for unlimited internet, which worked flawlessly and relatively fast for the first three days. Then, I kept getting error codes which prevented me from getting online. The first time it happened, I went down to the internet desk where I patiently waited in line for more than 20 minutes. The next upteen times it happened, I decided I wasn't doing that again, and I simply called the concierge and said "It happened again" and she got it fixed promptly, even when the internet desk was closed. That alone made her worth it to me because I needed to check my work email every night -- I am the managing partner of a law firm -- and of course, the internet desk was closed at night when I would discover that it was broken again.....

The second thing she did that we found useful was the escort through the back exit at every port, even tender ports. No waiting in line, just off at whatever time we wanted to leave.

Casino

As I mentioned above, this was a CAS comp. The casino was very "tight" although I did end up hitting a fairly large quick hit jackpot on the third night, which allowed me to increase my gambling budget. Video poker, which is what we usually play, was abysmal, so I started playing slots. And I read on here that a lot of people really liked quick hits, which I had never played, so I tried it one night, and hit 7500. on a quick hit bonus. On a penny machine.... It took more than one full hour to get paid the jackpot. My husband hit a smaller jackpot - just over 1200 -- and he too waited close to an hour to get paid. Very annoying.

The casino manager was unfriendly and non-communicative from the start. When I approached the desk a few times to inquire about something or other, he often didn't even look up from his computer screen and left me standing there waiting until he felt like addressing me. I did not receive a single treat in my room from the Casino all week (got them from the captain, the concierge, for platinum status but nada from the casino). Neither he nor anyone else from the casino staff sought me out or interacted with me throughout the cruise -- no offer of dinner, or wine or anything else. I earned 14,828 points on this cruise alone.

Now, the backstory might be relevant to some, though I don't think it should be. I was VIP status for multiple consecutive years, and in the years I wasn't VIP, I was always at least golden. We usually take two cruises a year. But timing wise, last year we took our cruises in January and March, and this was our first cruise this year. So, I was "hot" or "lucky" or whatever the lowest status is when I boarded since their earning year goes from April 1 to March 31. So, I get that based on my low tier status, I might not have been on the radar screen when I boarded, but probably should have been since they comped me a suite. But surely they have my history, and surely when they saw the level of my play, someone should have been paying attention, right? I moved up to the next tier level on the second or third day, and still no one approached. I ended the cruise just short of golden. I probably would have played another hour to get to golden for my next cruise if anyone had told me I was that close, but they re-set the points at Barcelona, the homeport, and so you had to go ask because it doesnt show a cumulative number on the card reader.

I had UDP and the UBP, so I didn't really care about dinners and wine. It would have been nice to have been offered a spa comp, or sent a plate of strawberries, or just some acknowledgment.

On the last night, I waited in line to speak to him about my points, and specifically asked that they comp at minimum the roughly $240 in "convenience fees" I racked up for withdrawing from my shipboard account. He first told me I had used my point comps for tiering up (of about 100.00 I think) to play, and that, because of that, he could only take another 100. off my bill. I am not usually loud, and am not usually pushy, but I pretty much flipped out. On all my prior cruises, the casino has comped every single onboard expense I had -- spa, gift shop purchases, liquor purchases etc. I made a big fuss, and was probably a bit obnoxious, and there were lots of people behind me in line listening, so in the end he comped off an additional $450. in onboard expenses. In any event, he was neither pleasant nor friendly.

TIPS

I constantly read threads on here asking about tipping in the Haven, so I will just tell you what we did. I'd be interested in knowing if folks think we under-tipped.

Room Steward - was excellent and we tipped him an additional 50.00

Butler -- as I mentioned above, our first Butler left for vacation on Day 5, and never mentioned it to us that he was leaving, or we would have tipped him before he left. Our new butler arrived Sunday in Barcelona, and we disembarked Wednesday in Civi, so she was our butler for 2.5 days. She was good, checked on us frequently, and served us dinner (all courses at once) in our room once. We tipped her 50.00, which we thought more than adequate for basically 2 days. If she had been our butler for the full week, we would have tipped 140.00 but we sawe no reason to tip her for the full week.

Concierge -- we made/changed all our own dining and entertainment reservations. As I mentioned above, she was helpful with my internet issues, and with escorts for port exits. We also tipped her 50.00. My husband thought that was a bit light. I thought it was fair.

Summary

In conclusion, it was a terrific trip, and we very much enjoyed the ship generally, but despite its large size and choice of machines, we liked the casino least of any NCL ship we have been on. I think maybe the manager had a lot to do with that....

We're on the Epic next year from Orlando to Barcelona and then flying to Rome. I'd love to know which apartment you rented. If you would be so kind you can PM me at mckenzie@valliant.net. if you don't want to put it on here. Thanks for the great review! It sounds like you really had a fabulous trip.

Just emailed you.

Food

Buffet -- I saw lots and lots of complaints about the food and the service. We experienced none. We ate in the buffet for breakfast, lunch or a snack 3 times, and once for a very late dinner. Breakfast and lunch was fine, there was plenty of variety, and there was no problem finding a table for 2. The people that I saw having a hard time finding a seat were groups of 6 or more people who were all trying to find a place to sit together. The one night we had skipped dinner and went there at about 10PM tog et something to eat was not very good. Most of what was out appeared dried out or looked like it had been sitting out for a long time, and it was average tasting at best. It was our only not so good food experience.

Cagneys -- Ate there once, and it was delicious. Food served promptly, hot, and with good service. I had the filet. I cannot remember what my husband had. We were both happy. We didn't get dessert, went up to buffet to get crepes. Yum.

Le Bistro -- Also ate there once. We both had the escargot and lobster. Both excellent. Again, good, prompt service. We shared the chocolate fondue for dessert. Yummy!!!!

Haven restaurant -- We had 3 dinners in the Haven restaurant and multiple breakfasts. The food was the best on the ship. Lobster and surf and turf were available every night, and we had one of the other every time we ate there. We also had room service from the Haven restaurant one night for dinner, and it was delivered promptly and hot.

Spa Services

Two massages and a facial. All services were very good. I was annoyed that on both visits I noted on my questionnaire "no sales", which has always worked before, and which was completely ignored by both service providers this time. The first time, I pointed to the "no sales" statement on my Q, and she stopped instantly.

Sorry, worked is interfering -- I will finish this in a bit.....

Cannes

Our next port was Cannes. Cannes is a tender port. We slept in a bit, then tendered in. Took the little train around and saw the major sites. Took some photos. Saw the stars handprints. The Film Festival starts this week - bet it is much more crowded now....Didn't really do much of anything else. We needed a break day.

We are not in shape athletic people, and I sit at a desk all day long. I truly think I walked more on this trip than I've walked in the last two years combined. In fact, despite that I ate constantly, and I ate delicious but nutritionally BAD things constantly -- a diet for two weeks that consisted of carbs, wine and sugar -- I was amazed when I got home and stepped on the scale and saw that I had LOST 6 lbs. Never in my many many cruises have I ever lost weight on a cruise -- but never have I walked as much.....

Marseilles

Did not get off the ship. Thought about it, but my husband didn't care, and I could use my 25% platinum discount to get a massage and a facial..... Pleasant relaxing day.

Barcelona

Took a tour with Barcelona Day Tours, which was fantastic. Picked us up at port and took us to Montjuic, then an outside visit to Sagrada Familia, brief stops at other architecturally significant sites, and then inside entrance to Park Guell. Very reasonably priced.

Following the tour, they dropped us at Sagrada at our request (you could be taken back to port or be dropped anywhere inside city). We had timed entrance tickets to Sagrada Familia which we obtained in advance and spent some time there, took lots of photos, had lunch, walked around area a bit, and then headed back to port. Took a cab which was a mistake. Cost 22E, and public transportation would have cost about 6E. But we were tired and irritable, and didn't feel like trying to figure it out.....

There was a special entrance line for those mid-cruise, so we didn't have to deal with the thousands checking in.

A special note here for those cruising in the next few weeks. In Barcelona, 3000 Chinese passengers boarded, the majority of whom spoke no English at all. NCL is apparently running a promotion in China and Thailand for the next several weeks (I was told by some staff members that beginning with Sunday May 1, the promotion would be for 4 consecutive weeks, where the large majority of passengers would be Asian as part of a promotion to establish the brand for the launch of the Joy).

NCL was clearly ill-prepared. One higher up officer told me that they had seriously miscalculated the number of Asian passengers who spoke no language other than a Chinese dialect, and they had on board only 5 staff members of the entire crew that spoke fluent Chinese. Although some passenger groups had an interpreter with them, the communication issues were evident from the moment passengers boarded in Barcelona.

The security line to enter after port stops was insanely slow, as security officers were trying to explain to non-English speaking passengers that they had to empty pockets, or put cell phones and cameras in tubs, or check alcohol purchases. The staff was clearly frustrated. It was a bit comical -- the security officers pantomiming what they wanted, and the non-English speaking passengers trying to comply but not fully understanding the pantomime -- like playing charades with someone who is really really bad at it.

In front of us, the security guy couldn't make himself understood regarding putting their cell phones in the tub, so he took his own out of his pocket and placed it in the tub to go through the xray machine. So the Chinese elderly gentleman, who had gone through the scanner several times and kept beeping, because he had a phone in his pocket, picked up the security guys phone from the tub, walked back thru, and placed the security guys phone in the tub again. My husband and I were hysterical, as were a number of passengers behind us. But within a day or so of the day the Chinese folks had boarded, NCL had taped numerous Chinese translation signs in elevators, at venues, etc to try to deal with the issue, but it was obvious the staff was very frustrated.

Other than slowing down the lines on a few occasions -- guest services was also a problem, several non-English speaking passengers ahead of me in line with issues to resolve and no one behind guest services desk that spoke Chinese resulted in me waiting forever to deal with a very simple issue -- it did not impact our vacation.

Sea Day

Another massage for me. And I made my husband get a haircut as he said he hadn't had time to get one before we left (Really??? I said. Remember, he is retired!!!! I work a 60 hour week every week and I managed to plan this vacation, pre-book our tours, pack for both of us (because if I let him pack all he would bring would be sweat pants and t-shirts), book the apartment, arrange all of our transportation and shared tours, get my hair cut and colored, and get my nails done, but he didn't have time for a haircut???? Arghhhhh)

Naples

Booked Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano tour through Cant Be Missed Tours. It was excellent. Bus, very comfortable and clean, was outside port terminal at specified time. Guide was very good. Went first to Positano for brief photo stop, then about 2.5 hours on our own in Sorrento, where we walked around, shopped a bit (including buying an extra carry-on suitcase to take home all the stuff we bought), had lunch at the place the tour guide arranged, which was optional -- yes, I know he probably got a commission, but it was extremely reasonable 12E pp for pizza or pasta, a drink (wine or beer included) and dessert, which was very very good -- and then on to Pompeii for about 3.5 hours.

I did not realize Pompeii was so expansive. But the headsets were good, and we could hear the guide clearly. Unfortunately, I stopped to take a few more pictures at one point, and then couldn't find my husband and went back to look for him and lost the group -- I then lost radio contact so I couldn't hear what they were seeing and try to find it on the map. I was completely lost in Pompeii, which for those of you who haven't been there is 30 plus acres.....

Our tour guide had given us all a meeting place and time in case anyone got lost, and warned everyone that the bus would leave on time whether or not everyone was there. It was less than 20 minutes from the designated meeting time and I was absolutely panicked. I was more concerned about my husband because I had money and credit cards and figured worse case scenario, I could take a taxi back to ship, but my husband had given me his wallet and passport to hold, so he had nothing - no ID, no money, no credit cards.

I finally found someone who spoke English, who directed me to the correct exit point that was our meeting place, and I got there about 5 minutes before the designated time. I just waited there, and as my tour group got closer, I began to pick up the radio signal again. And then I hear my husband telling the tour guide that I was lost, and he should just leave me there to teach me a lesson because I always wander off and he knew I had money tog et back blah blah blah. Of course, he had absolutely no idea I could hear every single word he was saying, and believe me, he paid dearly for it....

Despite this, the tour was terrific -- but I missed the best part -- the castes of the people. My husband saw them, but I had his camera. Ugh.

Back to the ship to pack.. cannot believe it was almost over.

The next and final post will comment on food, entertainment and the casino, as well as anything else I can think of that people might be interested in....

Embarkation Day

I arranged a Share a Shore shared shuttle through our roll call, and there were 8 of us, so it was 30E per person to port from Rome, with pick-up at apartment or hotel. I know the train is much less expensive, but I am not a fan of starting a vacation hauling luggage up and down steps, down endless train platforms and then on a train. The shuttle was on time and uneventful.

The check-in at the port in Civi was the easiest I have ever experienced. It was literally 15 minutes from the time I got out of the van until the time I was being escorted to the Haven.

I read a fair number of reviews where folks that had embarked in Civi complained that everything was geared to a Barcelona departure. No real sail-a-way party. The dailies said "Day 4" instead of Day 1. Generally, there was very little "welcome" to the few new passengers embarking in Civi. I think the trade-off was more than worth it. I was onboard enjoying my cruise in minutes. No lines. The staff, butler, concierge etc were not overwhelmed with the influx of new passengers and changing over rooms. In fact, we boarded at about 12:05, and our room was ready when we boarded. And when I saw the endless lines to embark in Barcelona, I knew we made the right choice, especially given the chance to spend a few days in Rome.

Our Suite

Regarding our accommodations -- we had a 2 bedroom Haven suite. My sister-in-law was supposed to come with us, and was unable to go at the last minute. She ended up being a no show at the port. We were booked through CAS, and they had comped us a penthouse suite, and we paid to upgrade to the 2 bedroom. At the time we booked, the promotions were much better than they are now: we had UDP - specialty dining for ALL nights; daily service charge; UBP (no service charge added); and $300 onboard spending. We also booked during a friends sail free promotion, so the charge to add SIL was minimal -- just port charges. She didn't have insurance, so I am not sure if she will get the port charges back, but she only paid a total of 240. so it wasnt a big deal.

The room was beautiful. I love the wall of glass to the sea in the master bathroom shower. It was, by far, larger and nicer than the bathrooms in my house. The bed was very comfortable. Our butler, Roy, the first half of the cruise, was terrific. Odd thing -- Roy was leaving to go on vacation in them middle of the cruise, at a different embarkation port. We would have tipped him if he had said anything, but we didn't know he was leaving. The night we got back on the ship in Barcelona -- Day 5 of our cruise, we had a new butler - Teresa -- and she said Roy had left on vacation. I wish he had said something. Teresa was even better.

Pre-Concierge

We made a number of requests through the pre-concierge desk. Some were done, some were not. We asked for certain pillows, including a reading wedge - we got extras, but not of the type we asked for, and there weren't any reading wedges left when we boarded. We also asked for our fridge to be emptied, a pitcher of cranberry juice to be kept filled in the fridge, and 6 cans of Pepsi to be stocked in fridge. This was all done pre-boarding. I expected to pay for the Pepsi. It was never charged to me, though we used it.

Florence

Our first port was Florence. We did not do any ship tours as they were grossly overpriced. We either DIY or arranged private tours through our roll call. For Florence, I arranged a shared shuttle for transportation only to Florence. No tour, no stop at Pisa. Just transport to Florence and back, with one stop for photos. We again used Share-a-Shore. It was 59E per person, far far less than what NCL was charging for the same exact service. Plus, because it was a small van, we were dropped and picked up in a much more central location in Florence, right by Duomo.

I had been both to the Accademia and Uffizi, and my husband was not even a tiny bit interested. He likes architecture, but hates museums.... So, we went to Duomo, and walked around a bit, did the secret behind the walls tour of Ponte Vecchio (very cool), and I then spent a fair amount of time in San Lorenzo market buying an obscene number of inexpensive leather items, and one or two good pieces. Now, before anyone says anything, yes, I know the stalls in San Lorenzo are mostly cheap quality items made by non-Italian workers. And some aren't even real leather. But you have to know what you are buying, and you can usually get a decent deal on real leather. We then went upstairs to the restaurant area of the San Lorenzo market and had a terrific lunch. It was a fun relaxing day.

Continuation of Day 2 in Rome

On Sunday night, I had pre-reserved with Food Tours of Rome, with Bruno as our guide. I have done several food tours in Rome previously, but I keep going back to this one because it is absolutely the best. It was 85E pp, but well worth it. We went to 7 different restaurants, beginning in the Jewish Ghetto and ending up right near Largo Argentina, with Bruno giving us a tour enroute. The stops started with heavy appetizers with wine, then pasta, pizza, beer, more wine, expresso, gelato -- I know I am forgetting more courses. We hadn't eaten all day and were stuffed at the end. it started pouring rain just as we exited the last stop for Gelato.... since we were only about 5 short blocks from the apartment, we walked back in the rain.... stopping for another expresso to get warm along the way....

Day 3 in Rome

We had tickets for Vatican Museums, followed by the Scavi Tour. Again, I didn't realize it was Youth Ministry week. The Vatican Museums were absolutely packed. It took much longer than planned to get through them even though we went very early. Still worth it. Then I did the Scavi Tour, but my husband bailed -- he had enough. He sat in a café and ate pizza and drank craft beer while he waited for me. For those that aren't familiar with it, the scavi tour consists of a visit to the necropolis underneath the Basilica, where the tomb of St. Peter is located. I had never done it before, and it was quite interesting. No photos were permitted.

For dinner, we ate at Roscioli. It was the one restaurant that we went to that was reasonably expensive and required reservations well in advance. Most nights we looked for out of the way cafes off the main squares that had good trip advisor reviews and found many of them. But I had heard about Roscioli from several friends and wanted to try it. Glad we did. Roscioli is a deli and wine shop during the day. At night, they have tables squeezed together and serve dinner. They have two seatings -- you must reserve for one or the other.

The trip advisor reviews were pretty uniformly excellent regarding the food, but there were numerous negative reviews regarding service and "snootiness." I don't know why. It was, without question, the best meal I ate in 14 days, and I had a bunch of very good meals. And the service was perfect. And, it wasn't as expensive as I expected it to be. My husband and I both had appetizers, entrée, dessert, expresso and a decent bottle of wine, and the total including service charge and small tip was just over 100 E. -- less than I would pay for a good meal in Philly. Roscioli had, without question, the best Buratto appetizer I have ever eaten. I got it with anchovies, because I love them, but there were other options. Thinking about it now is making me hungry.....

Day 4 in Rome

Tuesday, we had early morning tickets for the Underground and third tier tour of the Colosseum. The underground was not yet opened last time I went to Rome, so I wanted to see it. It was cool and worth it. The views from the third tier were amazing.

Following the Colosseum, we walked over to the Forum, and walked around a bit, and stopped for a rest and lunch. Then we went to the Capuchin Crypt Museum. No pictures allowed. It sounded cool, and I wanted to see it -- a number of rooms completely decorated in artistic arrangements of human monk bones. It was very interesting, but I also found it very depressing.

Back to the apartment to do laundry, pack up our belongings, and sit on the terrace with another bottle of wine and listen to the music in the square below.

The week so far had been uncharacteristically cool for Rome -- 50's f most of the week -- it was much warmer the prior two weeks according to the weather reports I was checking incessantly before we left, but in my view, it was still far preferable to the heat of July and August.

I wish we had a few more days there, but my vacation time is limited. Did I mention my husband is retired? So jealous that his days are now one big endless vacation.....

Next up, embarkation and our cruise

Hi Everyone.

We are a 50 something year old married couple traveling alone. We are both Platinum on NCL, but have also cruised Celebrity, RCL and Costa in the past. This will be a review of our pre-cruise stay in Rome, as well as our Epic cruise out of Civi from April 27 to May 4.

Rome

We flew direct from Philly to Rome on 4/22, arriving 4/23. We had arranged an apartment rental through Homeaway for our 4 nights in Rome. The apartment was on the third floor in an elevator building on Campo De Fiori, and had a balcony overlooking Campo De Fiori. I wasn't sure if this would be noisy, given the activity on the square, but the apartment was pretty soundproof unless we left the terrace doors open. The apartment was perfect, and at 170E a night, was a good choice for us. While you give up some amenities, i.e., breakfast and room service etc, we had a great deal of space, a kitchen to make coffee in the morning and store snacks and lunch that we bought, a dining area, a huge bathroom, a large bedroom, wifi, satellite TV, a DVD player and a washer. The terrace was terrific for an evening glass of wine, and was especially good for my husband, who is still a smoker. He was able to just step outside on the terrace for a smoke. Having a washer was a godsend, and allowed us to pack reasonably lightly -- we still brought too much stuff, as usual, and ended up purchasing a carry on bag in Sorrento to bring back stuff that we had purchased....

My husband had never been to Rome before, but I had, so I wanted him to see the things that I most thought he would enjoy. Unfortunately, that does not include museums..... so no Borghese this time. I had arranged Vatican, Scavi Tour, and Colosseum tickets in advance, as well as a few other things.

Arrival Day

We arrived in Rome at 9:30 AM on Saturday morning, and the apartment owner had arranged for transport to the city at slightly less than a taxi rate. The folks leaving the apartment that morning had a very early flight, so we were able to go directly to the apartment, even though check-in time was officially much later. We unpacked, then immediately went down to the square to purchase essentials, i.e., coffee, wine and lunch to eat on our terrace. Perfect start.

I know the common wisdom is to power through the jet lag on the first day, but I just cannot do it. Maybe I am just getting too old.... but I needed a nap, because we had a tour scheduled that evening. Two hour nap, shower, and we were off to do an evening golf cart tour. We used My Best Tour. It was 175E for a two hour tour, which I know is a bit pricey, but it was worth it. I have been to Rome several times, but had never really seen all of the monuments lit up at night, and now I have. They were willing to customize the tour as we wanted, and I just said we wanted to see the monuments lit up. It was incredible and it helped me re-orient myself to Rome.

I cannot figure out how to attach photos -- it keeps telling me it is an invalid file -- but if you are interested, all of the photos from this trip are on this site: https://tel2016europe.shutterfly.com/pictures/

On Sunday morning, the Pope was saying Mass in St Peters Square, which we did not know. We headed over to Vatican City early planning to get something to eat, and then attend the Pope's Apostolic Blessing at Noon. I had failed to pay attention to the fact that we were in Rome during Youth Ministry Week in a Jubilee year, and Vatican City was insanely crowded. Could not even get close to the fountains in the Square, as it was an invitation only Mass, and half of the square was blocked off. But we stayed anyway, and heard the Mass, and saw it on the jumbotron screen. Good thing we had a good zoom lens....

More later....

I think the reason why e-cigs have to be smoked in designated smoking areas is because they look pretty realistic, and people might assume you are smoking a regular cigarette and complain. The receptionist in my office used to smoke her e-cigs while sitting at the front desk answering the phones and greeting visitors, and received several comments from employees and visitors alike. Now she can only do so on her break and in a conference room, lest people assume the office allows smoking.

Yes, my office has the same rules, but I live in a City where there is a local ordinance that prohibits e-cig smoking indoors in commercial space. I also get that people still have many concerns about whether the vapor has toxicities. It only annoys me because I went to great lengths to research and find an e-cig that 1) carried a cartridge that was nicotine-free; and 2) doesn't contain anything that isn't FDA approved for use in food. So, for me, it was just an issue of dealing with the oral fixation. But I understand the issues.

I dont smoke , but my daughters boyfriend does . So I said I would try to find out if he can smoke on the ship .

Can you smoke and where can you smoke e-sigs on the ship ??

Room ? Balcony ? Etc.

You can only smoke cigarettes or E-cigs in designated smoking areas, which include multiple areas on various decks outside (not near food or childrens areas), the casino, only if you are playing, and the Cigar bar, if there is one on the ship. They are all pretty well marked, and you will see large ashtrays in the smoking permitted areas. No smoking in room or on balcony.

I do not quite understand their policy that treats e-cigs and regular cigs alike, but that is the policy. I am certain, as my husband still smokes regular cigarettes (yuk) and I smoke e-cigs.

$250 fine for smoking in room or on balcony if you get caught..... and folks on neighboring balconies are quick to report transgressions I have heard (no first hand experience, I follow the rules....)

Terry

Or you can buy tickets online and print them out before you leave home. Coopculture.

When we were with my elderly mother, who was not able to walk any measureable distance, or stand for very long, we used a tour company that picked us up in port, and then did a 6 hour golf cart tour in rome, and then took us back to port. It was customized for us, because their regular tour was 4 hr golf cart and 3 hour vatican tour, but my mom couldnt do vatican and we didnt want her sitting outside in sun for that long. So, they worked with us. It was very pricey, but worth it.

terry

Terry