graphicguy

So, I'm in the thick of planning and will do updates here since some of you are doing the same. Perhaps we can compare notes. Booking this was something like traversing a roundabout without knowing which exit to get off on. At first, this trip was supposed to be a family visit with sisters, son, nephews, niece going to visit. For some (hopefully not me) this will be the last trip to the Mother Land, as age and physical inability will put a damper on another drip of this type. As we met to line up the trip to Cortolona we found we could rent the villa where UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN was filmed. Of course, the females in the group were all over that. Lining up flights, I noticed they were cheaper at the end of Sept. Originally, I thought I'd hang out in Rome and drive to Cortolona. Then, as I am always looking at cruise deals, wondered if I could do a transatlantic cruise from NYC to the U.K. and catch a flight from U.K. to Cortolona, Dates didn't line up. What did line up was the dates on the EPIC from Marseille, but that didn't get me to Cortolona. But, it did get me within a few hours ride on a train, a plane or a bus. That's when I started shopping fares on NCL, MSC, Royal and even Oceania. Oceania really had some good perks. But, given they paint themselves as a "luxury" line, the perks I really wanted was going to cost me more, even with an elevated fare structure. They were crossed off. MSC has been flaky, at least for me, the last few times I've tried to book. Long story but, I discounted them almost immediately as a result (plus, their fares at the time weren't all that good). Royal didn't line up on fares, on itinerary....the just weren't competitive at all. Back to NCL....They could get me close, and they had FAS, and I get a few "gimmes" as a Sapphire Latitudes. Fares were quite good. Originally, family was going to join me, but this trip will have me gone for nearly a month (with the 2 day flights to get there and 2 day flights to get back). I'm retired, so can take my time. Everyone else? Not so much. But, in the interim I had plotted out some family sized cabins as a result. Now that I'm solo (once again), I thought about just flying. Frankly, I'd be hard pressed to get such a good deal on a cruise, in Europe. So, I struck while the iron was hot. I keyed in the the Epic cruise.

I certainly see your point.

Have been to Rome (again family visit). But, that was about 5 years ago. I was in Barcelona right before COVID for relatives graduation and another ones' wedding. So, 3 years ago, roughly. The rest I've never seen. Which is pretty exciting.

Your wish.....my command! Glad to have you following.

Interestingly, I am looking to meet family in Italy (Cortona) after the cruise (that's where both my late parents are from). So, I'm actually looking for a way to get from the Marseille cruise port to Cortona. Open to suggestions. Train looks like a bunch of transfers. Bus? Maybe! Flight? Maybe!

Answer some questions..... -Flying into MRS (Marseille) Sept 30, which is a red-eye that gets me in 10/01. I had no reason to use NCL's flights, given I'm the only one flying. I have some (quickly dwindling) frequent flyer miles left over from my corporate days. So, while it's not a direct flight, it is made a little easier by cashing them in and flying Comfort Plus, allowing me liquor and a scoche more toe room. Not great but could be worse given the flight(s) are CVG to CDG to MRS (or for those who don't fly much, that's Cincinnati to Paris to Marseille). Leave at 7:00 p.m. on Sept 30 and land in Marseille October 1 at 2-ish p.m. Delta and Air France are the carriers. -no itinerary changes.... Oct 2 from Marseille departing at 7:30 p.m. Oct 3 arrive Barcelona at 8:30 a.m. Stay overnight! Departing Barcelona at 8:00 p.m. Oct 4 Oct 5 arrive Plama Majorca, Spain at 6:30 a.m., departing at 10:00 p.m. Oct 6-at sea (our ONLY sea day of the entire trip) Oct 7 arrive in Naples/Pompeii 6:30 a.m., departing 8:00 p.m. Oct 8 arrive Rome (Civitavecchia) at 6:30 a.m. and stay overnight, departing Oct 9 at 7:00 p.m. Oct 10 arrive in Florence/Pisa 6:30 a.m. and stay overnight, departing Oct 11 at 8:00 p.m. Oct 12 arrive in Cannes, France at 6:30 a.m., departing 7:00 p.m. Oct 13 arrive and disembark in Marseille at 5:00 a.m. I understand some of these ports can and have changed. My understanding is the cruise prior to this one was/is chartered. Not sure if that matters at all!

Not sure there's any interest in a cruise that is 3 months away. As I've done in the past, I plan on doing a live report/review with pics. But, given this is about 50% longer than normal 7 day cruises, and it's going to take me a couple of days of travel just to get to the embarkation pier, it takes more planning. Perhaps some would be helped by the way I booked it, how I'm getting there, and getting back? If not, I'll let the thread go dormant. Yay? Nay? What say all of you? Interested?

Yeah...I don't think any of us know how the tips are distributed. We know compensation with all wait staff is based on salary, bonuses for good customer service scores (fill out those comment cards for your favorite cruise personnel), barbacks, etc. I always tip a $1 or so (sometimes a lot more, depending on how long I've been at any given bar and how attentive bartenders have been). I don't know if the bartenders pool those cash tips or not. Doesn't matter to me. What I do know, I seem to always get a little better service once a bartender sees me coming to order if I've tipped them with some cash.

I have to look at the cabin number. It’s not forward facing, though. It’s one of the suites on the side of the ship. I know it’s in the hallway near the Haven Lounge area according to the outlines I looked at. There were only like 10 left on deck 16 and 17….six on one deck-4 on the other deck. Haven Spa suites were sold out. So, mine just opened up. Not sure about the rest of the ship, but it looks like the Haven will sell out with only 10-11 Haven Suites left for booking. Really looking forward to this (once I get rid of this “guilt” complex), as the Epic is supposed to have the best Haven in all of the fleet, and it’s just been redone. So, should be fun!

Had to give up the Spa Pass. Will see whether I add it! We only have one sea day out of 11! Will probably start a “live” review if there’s enough interest…with pics!

Correct!

That's it. I BLAME ALL OF YOU! I pulled the trigger on the Haven 2BR Suite on the Epic sailing 11 days in the Mediterranean....as a solo. I don't know if I feel lucky or guilty. But, my TA gave me the final delta between the Haven Spa Suite and the Haven 2 BR Suite. It was another $113.28 after applying the 20% COUPON. So, as they say....why not? So, I did!

I don't know if strip Vegas hotels do or don't allow smoking in their hotel rooms any more. My (former) company used to book us on the strip for conferences. It's been since before the COVID shutdown since I've been there. But, I know my hotel rooms had a placard talking about how much it would cost me if they had to clean my room if it was smoked in. Point being, the cruise lines have moved away from allowing smoking in cabins or on balconies for over a decade. It's not a secret. Matter of fact, they make several announcements on the cabin TVs, signs throughout the ship, and announcements over their intercom stating smoking not being allowed in the cabins, and certainly not on the balconies due to the potential fire hazards. Most of them are moving to make the casinos non-smoking, or at least putting the smoking section in an enclosed area so the rest of the casino does not have the "smoke" permeate throughout. Moreover, either I have not been too observant, but it seems like fewer and fewer smokers are on board these days. None of this is lost on me noticing they sell cigarettes in their liquor shops. So, on one hand they don't want you to smoke on board. On the other hand, they'll happily sell you cigarettes. Which brings up a story. My son took me to a restaurant for Father's Day. We had reservations for 2:00 p.m. and got there a little early. Our table wasn't ready so we went into their bar area to wait. In the bar area was a guy, who seemed inebriated, giving the bartender grief because he didn't have a lighter or matches that could be used to let the guy lite up....I guess outside the restaurant. The bartender tried to quell this guy's belittling by telling him the restaurant did not offer a smoking area anywhere within 25 feet of the restaurants perimeter. Well, that really set the guy off. He had to be escorted out and away from the restaurant. I got no dog in the hunt, other than I don't smoke. What anyone else does has nothing to do with me....again, unless it affects me.

Admittedly, I have not read through the entire thread, but unless someone knows better, I’d say their ships have to file some sort of itinerary well in advance of sailing. If for one reason or another, they need to change that itinerary, I would imagine they have to file the change of plans. So, to answer the question, I don’t think they post itineraries Willy-Nilly! Those itineraries can and do change, for a variety of reasons. If they were doing the itineraries which would get more bookings, just say every cruise is going to Tahiti and then change the destinations after the bookings have filled?

Just to reiterate, I know room service can bring you an entire pizza delivered to your cabin. Or, you can get one from LaCucina. As far as getting whole pizzas from the Garden Cafe? I've never seen that and don't think you can as they are served as singles. That would be tough to carry 8-10 slices at a time. I guess you could try carrying a couple slices and then come back in line to get more. But, that's not very efficient.

Trying to recall how long it's been since smoking was allowed on balconies on any mainstream cruise line. It's been at least 10 years, probably more. Not sure why there is even a question about it any more after an entire decade+ of it being prohibited. Smoking is a personal choice. I'm all about personal choices, as long as they only affect the person who makes that choice. But, as others point out, smoking affects others, too. I can't tell you how many times I've come out of the Cruise Casino having to change clothes because they smelled and were permeated with cigarette smoke. That doesn't even speak to the 2n hand smoke irritants. But, after so long, this really isn't even a question any more. You can't smoke anywhere on a cruise ship except in designated smoking areas. And, your balcony isn't one of them....just like hotels. You can't smoke in your room or outside your room.

I know it’s the policies of the company who runs the spas on the ships, but the spa personnel as well as the masseuses can give the hard sell on their elixirs and spa upgrades. I just stick to my guns and get a Spa Pass when I board and stick to the “spa pass” only purchase.

Sailed the Bliss, Encore, Escape, both “Away” ships and the Epic. I’ve also sailed other ships on different cruise lines. Away and Away + are more “up-to-date” ships. But, I liked the Epic….a lot. I’m finally going to sail her again this Fall. Epic bathroom is a configuration where there’s a compartment for the toilet, a separate one for the shower and the sink is actually in the room. I liked it as I could brush my teeth over the sink while someone else could use the toilet or take a shower without disturbing the other. IN all frankness, there isn’t a pool area on ANY cruise ship I’ve sailed in the last 10 years that was conducive to just “go swimming”. I’d got to Spice H20 to hang out if I were looking for a lounger near some water features. It’s over 16 (IIRC). But, it doesn’t have a pool per se. Epic is a fun ship, though. I like her. NCL does a great job of keeping her ships in good order.

One last thing, I check cruise prices daily. I keep a spreadsheet with prices of cruises I’m interested in!

No secret. I’ll say up front I have no idea how NCL chose who to send coupons to, but they sent me Alaska and Europe coupons that offered significant percentages off the fares. I took advantage of the Alaska coupon on the Bliss in a Balcony Cabin. These Mediterranean fares were attractive but really great deals with the 20% off coupons. That caused me to look at the Haven, as those fares are particularly attractive. My TA kicks in some of her commission, too. There are other tricks, but mostly surrounds using charge card perks. None of this is a secret, though!

Thanks! Y’all have given me great points to consider. TA is closed until tomorrow. Looks like there aren’t many Haven Suites left. So, will have to dance or let the band go home if I’m going to do this by tomorrow!

Thanks…good points I hadn’t thought about. Just spoke to my TA. She said prices dropped. The 2BR is now “only” $187 more than my current Spa Suite. Of course, I lose the free access to the spa in the process. Personally, I don’t mind waking to the Haven. I know it’s a couple of decks higher than the Haven Spa Suites. But, one thing I can always use on a cruise is a little more exercise. If this were a regular 7 day cruise in the Bahamas, I’d lean towards the Spa. But, this is an 11 day Mediterranean cruise, where I’d probably be less likely to use the Spa as much! This is a hard decision…not a bad decision either way, just hard!

Have used Dial 7 and Carmel car services. Also used NYC taxi and used NCL shuttle. All were uneventful. the only difference, Dial 7, Carmel and Taxi services are there, on demand. NCL shuttle, more easily controlled by the cruise line, but you may have to wait a few minutes after boarding to leave for the airport. None of the choices you can go wrong, and they’re all fairly close in price.

I had one decent lobster on a cruise in the last 10 years. It was actually in the Haven Restaurant about a year ago. Had lobster on Royal, HAL, and Carnival. Even lobster in LeBistro. None of them were good…except the Lobster in the Haven Restaurant!. I certainly wouldn’t make a special effort for any Lobster on any crisis line.

Hmmmm....as mentioned, the independent ones are usually ready to get to you as you come out of the terminal....4-5 deep. I ordinarily pre-book transport. And, those busses are fighting with the cabbies to get a spot to pick people up. In short, never saw anyone waiting for transport. Wonder what went wrong on the street. Were they restricting where the transport cars could park on the street?