kenns

so based on this list, Makers Mark and Buffalo Trace are not included in the Ultimate Beverage Package? In other words, they are above $15?

Also - your typical beers are listed as being included - what about the craft beers in the District Brew House - are they included?

great idea! thanks, blue_water

Per the website:

At Virgin Gorda: snorkeling at the Baths

There are 3 different sandy beach coves within the Baths and we will visit two of them – Spring Bay and Devils Bay. 
 

After exploring The Baths we will go to Cooper Island Beach Club.  After lunch you can either snorkel right off the beach at a uniques "shallow reef" or just relax in the beach chairs provided for you onshore. After exploring and snorkelling and relaxing at Cooper Island, we will once again set the sails and enjoy another amazing sail as we head back to our location at the Hodges Creek Marina. 
 

Hi All -

I have a similar question to the OP. We are in St. Thomas from 8am to 6pm.

My GF and I were hoping to visit St. John (visit Trunk Bay and then either Cinnamon Bay or Honeymoon Bay) and also do the Paradise Point ride as well. Was thinking of the plan below:

1. Get off the boat at ~8am

2. Grab a taxi to Red Hook Ferry

3. Catch the 9am ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay

4. Grab a taxi from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay

5. Possibly grab a taxi from Trunk Bay to Cinnamon Bay or Honeymoon Beach? (would love to see multiple beaches)

6. Grab a taxi from beach to Cruz Bay

7. Catch the 3pm ferry from Cruz Bay to Red Hook

8. Grab a taxi from Red Hook to Paradise Point

9. Do the Paradise Point SkyRide and Bushwacker from say 4pm to 5pm

10. Back on ship by 5/5:15pm

Questions

1. Is it possible to squeeze in a visit to St. John's and Paradise Point?

2. Besides Trunk Bay, which of the two other beaches would you suggest?

Thanks!

Hi There, 

My girlfriend and I are heading to Tortola on NCL and want to do something that is a mix of activities and not just snorkeling (I enjoy it - she's deathly afraid of sharks) or siting at a beach all day (we aren't people who like to sit on the beach for 5 hours to bake in the sun!).

Can't decide between these three tour options:

1. Patouche - Baths and Virgin Gorda with lunch at Cooper Island (lunch not included) 

2. Patouche - Norman and Jost Van Dyke (see the Soggy Dollar and do some snorkeling)

3. Kuralu -Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Spit

4. Other? I heard Aristocat is good too but I think they just do Norman and Islands (mainly snorkeling)

Thanks!

I was just looking at RCCL and their fleet renovation plan "Royal Advantage" and I am impressed (new concepts, new pool areas, etc.) and Carnival is "re-imagining" the Triumph and Victory into 2 essentially new ships.  Perhaps we will see some "new" layouts and ideas with Project Leonardo? But the first ship isn't due until 2022 - a good 3 years away!

I was curious if anyone has heard of any "re-imagining" of existing NCL ships (say older ships: Dawn or Jewel class) on a similar scale to what RCCL & Carnival are doing with their older ships. Yes, NCL has been "renovating" ships with the Norwegian Edge plan but these projects are substantially minor (i.e. new carpets and USB ports in cabins) and in no ways on the same scale as these "re-imagining" enhancements going on at RCCL and Carnival. I think this 3 year lead-time before Leonardo would be the perfect time for NCL to re-imagine some of the older ships so as to not fall behind the times or look stale, especially when the big 2 are actively doing this and we have Virgin coming on-board. 

I think someone else above may have mentioned this, but it looks like the Encore will have 8 hot tubs whereas Bliss has 10. This is due to loosing 2 of them with no Spice H20. I know the lack of/change of Spice is being discussed but I personally just noticed this additional change. 

As the ship is due to launch in about a year (Nov/Dec 2019) - when should we expect to hear about dining and complete deck plans?

Echo the sadness about no Howl at the Moon - it's extremely popular on the ships that do have it. I assume the remainder of the ship will be nearly identical to the Bliss?

Do you think the loss of Spice H2o will result in a lack of deck space for people to lounge/sun bath? I think they should have always had a "real" pool there (a lot of Carnival and Princess ships have this design) but now it's totally geared for solely just the laser tag. Someone above made a great point how just a small number of people can do laser tag at the same time, so this is a TON of space to allocate for a small number of passengers at a time...I too wonder what will replace the space where the laser tag is on the Bliss - probably just more public sundeck area to make up for the loss of space? A water feature there would be nice or some shade. 

Is it me, or are there 2 "bigger" pools than what is found on Bliss? I know pool size and lack of more than 2 "real" pools is a common complaint for NCL. Does NCL have an offering for adults-only like the Solarium on Royal? Or is the pay-to-play VIBE area the only comparable option? 

lol - nice one!

I bet they use the smaller ships to get into new ports like others have said - it's about expanding the map

I am also very curious why they switched from Meyer Werft - and also why they aren't going in the LNG direction like most every one else is...

That basically means it will be there until midnight- 12:00 AM

so this port visit is really a night time visit - that means no beach type excursions? What does one do at night in the port, get dinner at a local restaurant, see a local show, etc?

I think the Leo ships are going to be smaller than the other new ships coming out from Carnival/Royal, etc. but I think they're doing that on purpose so as to be able to visit certain ports where a huge ship wouldn't fit or would require tenders.

Nonetheless, I totally agree and think NCL should join the 200k party - perhaps their own spin of a Leo/Oasis class combo of some sort? who knows...

Seems like the Encore will be very much the same layout as Bliss - agree with above, they probably aren't moving the spa especially since Encore will have observation lounges. Expect some tweaks here and there...

I just noticed that the itinerary for Encore shows Puerto Rico from 5:30pm to 11:59pm - is that a mistake?

not much really - it's a figure of speech

I totally understand why some people are so upset since NCL seems to be continuously raising prices all over the place

It's an extra $3-$4 for a 7 day cruise. If it's going to the crew then I think we can afford these extra few dollars. If however, as many have suggested, that this is going into NCL's pockets then yes - we should be up in arms.

any idea when we will find out? :)

hopefully sooner rather than later!

I very recently saw an article on another site that mentioned a possible name being Norwegian Paradise for this ship and as of a few months ago, the plan was for it to still be custom built for Asia, like the Joy. However, things could change.

I personally hope they do change their mind and allocate this ship to North America, especially since all the other brands will be launching new ships (many new classes/designs) and the Leo ships don't come until 2022 which is pretty far out.

Anyone have any updates or new theories on this?

Does anyone have any update on this? I know several "big" ships such as Anthem of the Seas and others routinely come to Boston as port of calls during Canada/NE cruises. I too hope we get a new ship. I know that the Dawn is often booked solid for the Bermuda run, so a larger/newer ship makes sense. My money is on a Jewel class - I'd be shocked if they put the EPIC up here - but then again, it would certainly stand out.