Just Jo

19 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Yes, I have used the fly-by pills in conjunction with the rebound patches, with good results... There's also another pill I've used called Detoxx, that I've had good luck with as well...

Perfect thanks!  We might get those for him too..

Hey Sid,

Remind me if you "layer" the Rebound Patch with the pills (FlyBy?) or do you just do one or the other?  We are ordering both for a friend who gets some bad hangovers and want to follow your lead since you've had such good results with them.  

P.s. I'm another who mails an occasional check for bills.  I like have special edition postage stamps though - makes it more interesting.

Our favorite cruise so far was on Escape.  Your pictures were gorgeous, thanks for sharing!

20 hours ago, FreestyleNovice said:

Is it odd that the ship's name font is either slightly different or just larger for ENCORE compared to NORWEGIAN?  Are other ships like this and I've never noticed?

14 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

 

 

Rick and Morty!  I was going to give a shout out when I saw your DVD in an earlier post.  It took me a while to warm up to the show, and now I'm a fan.  Great to see you settling in at your new place.

Hi Sid,

Congrats on your new digs!  So happy you're feeling the upswing of life.  I celebrated my 50th last week and it was terrific.  Hoping the same for you in September.

Jo

12 hours ago, tomservo said:

Its simply a matter of perspective. Don’t think of it as cold, runny mac and cheese, think of it as an elevated ironic hipster Chilled Soft Mac ‘n Cheese Soup. It’s not a side, it’s a statement. 

OP - thanks for sharing.  Cagney's has become my least favorite specialty dining restaurant over our last few cruises.

Thanks for this hilarious and informative review!  It's making me rethink my idea of cancelling our December sailing in favor of another cruise line (trying to speed up the tier climbing).  Looking forward to reading more.

Great pics - thanks for sharing!  Very good lighting, whereas most of my food pics turn out dark.  What kind of camera/phone did you use?  

Hi Sid!  Love the food pics and hearing about your updates.  I think you have a huge fan base growing rapidly.

I am newly in love with Korean food.  Even though I am Korean I'm not familiar with the culture at all and just recently found a small place about 30 minutes away that is pretty awesome.

Sending good thoughts your away with your impending changes and hope you get a cruise booked soon!

Joey

• There was no swimming required.  Perhaps they have to list that warning since you're in a boat and/or if for whatever reason they cannot beach the RIB. 
• They did not weigh any of us in our group, and I don't think any of the other passengers either. 
• Getting in and out of the boat wasn't graceful for some of us but it wasn't difficult (I'm about 5' 3").  The captain and other passengers were right there to help you however you needed it.  Yes, I think certain mobility issues would make this harder. 
• I think we had around 90 minutes on the beach. 
• We love speed boats too, and that was another draw for us with this excursion.  The RIB felt very fast at times and with the water spray it was a lot of laughs and a great time.  We would definitely do this tour again.

Our group of four did the Ultimate Adventure and Jost Van Dyke using the RIBs, and we loved it!  There was no swimming to the shore, as the boat was beached, essentially.  Be forewarned that this was not a smooth or dry ride.  If you don't care about those things then I highly recommend it.  The captain stopped frequently to share information and history about the island and to point out landmarks.  There were eight passengers and the captain which was part of the selling point for us.  It was a completely different experience than what the Rebel Yell seems to be, and I think you can't go wrong either way.  

Thanks newmexicoNita.  We have the Dawn booked for next year, and it will be our first time on a non mega NCL ship.

Safe travels Sid!

Sid!  Sorry to read about your unexpected job change - how is the new job going?  Hopefully you like it??  Justin and I send well wishes your way for a great new year full of everything you want.

Btw, have you tried Patron XO Cafe?  It's sweet but great.  Even friends who don't like coffee or tequila love it.

We've been on Epic three times and loved it.  A friend just sailed on it last month and didn't like it ("too big").  You won't know until you try it yourself.

Bravo Sid!  Thank you again for going through the effort (and aggravation) to satisfy your captive audience.  I hope we get to sail together again one of these days.  And yeah, I'll mention the Encore inaugural T/A again just in case!  Be well!

Hello Sid!  How great that Rommel and Michael are in Vibe like last year's Escape.  I'm obsessed with your tequila libations and want to replicate each one.  Thank you for another awesome tag-along.  Enjoy!

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 2:29 PM, Bchgrl33 said:

 

Photographers were laughable. So funny we made a nightly game of watching them. The poses they put people in were ridiculous! We called one Smash your wife's face into a wall.

We were also on this sailing.  This was hilarious to watch!  We even walked by one of the photographers to try to ask the purpose of a person facing the wall and the language barrier made it impossible to get clarification.  He actually thought I wanted my picture taken that way.  No thanks!

 

Horribly uncomfortable and awkward looking. 

We caught part of the Perfect Couple / Not So Newlywed game on tv from the first or second sea day.  Watching the CD try to squeeze out funny anecdotes from a couple of the female participants who couldn't or wouldn't come up with anything was so painful to watch.  Just move on already!  It was like a train wreck that I couldn't turn away from.

 

Drinks were terrible. I never had a single good drink on the boat other than the wine at night.

Our group of four have deemed this to be the most inconsistent bar service of any of our cruises.  We attended two different mojito tastings (they had different flavors) and each one was fantastic.  All other mojitos ordered (from the mojito bar!) were far worse.  We even brought it up to Gerli, the ship head mixologist.  She said she would look it in to ... but she seemed busy, like all the other staff.  Other bar issues too, that were a pain, but did not wreck our week.

 

Sharps containers? I've never seen that before and they were everywhere! How many people are using needles in all the bathrooms? Maybe this is an important thing and I just am unaware?

My husband checks his blood sugar on a regular basis.

Thanks for sharing your review.

We, too, were on this cruise with you.  And we also preferred last year's Escape cruise more for a myriad of reasons.  Lovely pictures!

Great thread!  I was on this cruise also and love reliving the food. We ate at most of the specialty restaurants but only visited the MDR for breakfast (sad I missed the Croque Madame!). 

Thanks for the mini review. We'll be on board in 12 days, and we also have an aft facing balcony. On which deck were you?

Hi Sid! Someone on RC or NCL mentioned your review here. Love the amazing pics as always. Thanks for taking us along and helping the next two weeks till we board the Getaway go by that much easier. Have a blast!

I concur with Tralfie. We decided last minute to try for Vibe passes on Escape when we got boarding group 1. It was worth every penny and helped make that sailing my favorite so far. The area was quiet during the day but livened up late afternoon/early evening with shot o'clock. The service and staff were phenomenal (Rommel, Vince, Michael), and we made a few friends too. It was so perfect for us I'm on the fence about trying for Vibe passes on Getaway - I don't know that it could live up to how it was on Escape. Plus I wonder if our friends will find it too quiet for their liking. As people have said, it's not for everyone.

Thanks so much for the review. I appreciated hearing your take on Vibe. We're still on the fence about trying for passes in October. No one mentions the Getaway Vibe bartenders like they do for Escape so we wonder if it will be disappointing after experiencing Escape Vibe firsthand last year.