MCAT48

6 cruises and I'm deeply saddened that I do not have one booked this year. I'm annoyed by the changes but would have to see first hand how it may or may not affect me. If I hit the lottery tomorrow I would be booking a cruise with NCL.

I'm having a hard time deciding between the two myself if I'm able to do a cruise this summer.. I like both ships though.

Breakaway: h2o during the day. Great place to relax away from the main pool area is my number one. Get soaked by the waterfall if it's too hot to cool off...would wake up way too early to get in the hot tub and watch the sun rise! But if I bring the kids this doesn't really apply. Osheehans is great on the breakaway but not sure how it compares on the remake of the gem.. I'm not sure it could be the same due to the limited space the gem has where the blue lagoon/modernos was. The kids club. The shows on breakaway are good but I don't think I could sit through rock of ages again. Seeing once on Broadway and twice on the breakaway is enough for me. Then again I don't wAnt to see fountains again either.

Gem: the great outdoors. Eating breakfast or drinking coffee back there always makes the day! The shows I've seen on gem are great for the most part. The pool area is a better layout than the breakaway I think.

It's not so closed off like the breakaway. The spinnaker is great late night shows. I can't stand having to see shows on the breakaway in the atrium because there is not enough seating to actually see the show or activity that's going on.. Many times had to stand around. And it was often Lou's when eating in osheehans when something was going on.

The moral of the story is everyone has different experiences and expectations while on vacation. Just because someone had a poor experience doesn't mean they are wrong or being a "troll". Seriously. That terminology is so ridiculous to me. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and does not have to be attacked for it.

I will say I have experienced on my cruises...never meeting my room attendant.. I've also had one that was pretty awful. She'd leave her cleaning supplies in the bathroom most days...I've also had cold food..waited over an hour for a burger at the outdoor grill...but nothing that would make me say I'll never cruise NCL again. But that's my opinion I won't analyze and take apart what the OP said like some have.

If NCL is not for you that's fine! I hope you find what makes you happy and remember we are all blessed to be able to even take a cruise!

I don't consider people with legit concerns about this to be self righteous. Who wants to wait in line for an unlimited time only to be turned away or wait until another kid leaves in order to get their child in the club. Considering the limited times the club is actually opened during the day...that's a lot of waiting around.

It would work better if they extend the times the club is open and not close it so often during the day.

76 is such a low number. I've never seen the kids club on the gem only the teens center. The breakaway I would assume is larger than the gems so I wonder what their cut off may be? If this is going to be happening it will make me reconsider taking the young one on a cruise this summer. He really enjoyed the kids club but if there is a possibility he wouldn't get in it wouldn't be good.

I wonder if the number will rise once school is out of session and there are even more kids on board..

I get that there is a limit to people in a room but that's such an odd number. Also it should be broken up between age groups . No 11-12 year old would want to stay in camp if a majority of the kids that got in were in the lower age groups.

My DH and I just booked an NCL cruise. This is our 2nd NCL cruise since our first one about 20 years ago.We are long standing Princess customers.

Since we are " new" to NCL, I was asking many questions while speaking with an NCLrep so that I would know what to expect on this cruise.

I asked about the room service fee. Breakfast is delivered without a fee until 9:30 in the morning. It also seemed to have quite an extensive menu of hot cooked foods including eggs, breakfast meats and oatmeal .

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The hot foods will not be free only the "continental" breakfast items, coffee and Danishes.

We tried to use it in our last cruise on breakaway and they wouldn't take it. Never had a problem with finding an open spot either and we tend to get to the terminal fairly early.

How are you paying twice? NCL's website clearly states that complimentary restaurant staff gets the DSC, it doesn't say a thing about those that server in the specialty restaurants getting the DSC.

 

 

Why is there a service charge?

The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional

I've seen staff working at the free dinning options during the day and specialty restaurants at night so does the staff not get tipped for serving lunch or just dinner? Or will they take the servers who worked both and only have them in one place?

I Would get motion sick in my stateroom most nights on my last cruise. Luckily I had brought zofran with me. I'd suggest asking a dr about getting some if you get motion sickness bad..

I wouldn't worry about the ship sinking. Maybe some glasses breaking in rough seas.

Thank you for that link. I'm still a little confused. I guess I'm used to just selecting the early dinner time and being "done" with choices! We are going with two other families. So would we just pick the complimentary restaurant we wanted to go to that evening and put our name in? Or can we book reservations in the morning for one of the complimentary restaurants? We most likely won't be doing many restaurants that cost extra.

When you are ready to eat you just goto the dining room. No need to make a reservation. If you want you can. Our last trip they had it so you can prebook main dinning rooms online. Not sure if they are still doing this?

The waitstaff in the specialty restaurants also work in the main dining areas so they are covered. If we have great service we leave extra. Our last trip we ate at the Italian restaurant and the waiter was great. He made jokes with the kids and was very personable. He did not charge us for our two kids so we left him what would be the cover charge for one $15. A few days later we saw him in the Main dinning room at lunch and he came over to say hello and joke around with the boys. I find it amazing how the staff can remember so many people...

Our last trip to bermuda on breakaway we stayed on the ship except to go play mini golf and shop for a few souvenirs at the dockyard. It was one of my most favorite vacations because we just relaxed the entire time. We spent most of the days in spice lounging and reading, occasionally going under the water fountain to stay cool. We even went in the pool for the first time cause there was no one in it except maybe 1 or 2 others.

I'm quite confused as to why the anger? What amazing promo is ending today that cannot be extended? The one I see is for all of February.

You can switch once onboard by going to the reservation desk, calling the reservation line or by going to the actual dinning venue.

Have a great cruise! I'm so jealous!! :) say hi to Gede at shakers Martin Bar inside, ask him to juggle, he's the best :)!!

You have to purchase on the ship.

They are first come. If you purchase one get there early to pick the one you want.

It's driving me slightly crazy. First there is one for awhile stating the getaway for $0 per person. Now there is also one that states book breakaway and get a free bahamas cruise plus $100 obc. When you click the banner it goes to Hawaii itinerary page and nothing about this deal!! It's really getting annoying...what's with the fake ads??

I once stayed in a balcony room on our first cruise and I did enjoy it but I don't have a long attention span so I wouldn't sit there for too long. I do like insides because they are cheap and I love the darkness. The only downside is over sleeping! We just stayed in a family oceanview on the breakaway and it was a nice room with lots of space. There was 4 of us so it was great I couldn't imagine being in an inside with all four of us! :)

No charge to download the app or use there features like checking the dailies or making reservations. Only charged if you wish to use the messaging or call feature. The app is pretty good. Used it often on our last sailing with kids. Used it to see the dailies and make reservations for the specialty restaurants. Do not Know about the other app that was in question.

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I know that some cruise websites may actually be pricing the 3rd passenger lower, but when they display the prices they split it up equally across all occupants. The only way to see is to price it out for 2 people first and see what the per person cost is, then price it out for 3 people and compare the per person cost.

They do this on the NCL website. They divide the price per person but after you select the cabin category and the price is shown on the right side there is a "view details" link under the price and it shows the actual price for each passenger.

I've been to moderno, le bistro, la cucina & i think 15-20$ per person for a 3 course meal is pretty darn cheap. We can't go out and get all the apps you want main course and all the desserts you want for this amount of money on land.

Also I've seen some pretty obnoxious people in specialty restaurants. I find those who think highly of themselves and think they deserve more attention to be more annoying than those who are just loud in general.

They give out the dailies at the terminal for the first day. There will be people handing them out & they should/may have them at the check in desk when you get your room card.

Your invite should be in your room the first day.

Maybe it's just bad luck for me but the phones they provide in the suites never work or if they do not very well and only keep a charge for about an hour. Have you had success with them? I think I will get the iconcierge this time but have a question. Do we pay for it and download it to our phones and we can text each other (those on the ship) at no charge?

Downloading the app and everything in the app (ship dailies, making reservations) is free except for text and calls. In order to send texts or make a call through the app you have to pay a fee per device. 7$ and change.

Dawn, Star, Dawn, 2002 - 2003 Frankie

 

Dawn, Dawn, 2004, two cruises, Gede

 

Both of them were great, especially at the Martini Clinics. Very knowledgeable and very personable. As a former scotch drinker, first J & B, then Dewars, Frankie introduced me to Johnny Walker Blue. It's a special occasion brand, but the Green is more affordable. Though my brother is a diehard JW Black fan, I never tried JW at all, let alone the Blue, until Frankie mentioned it a one of clinics. He apologized for the $8 snifter charge on the ship, but have since seen it priced at $49/snifter, and heard it priced at $69 from a reliable family source at a local upscale bar in CT.

 

Has anyone had any contact with these gentlemen of late??

Is this the Gede you are speaking of? If so he's on the breakaway working at the martini bar. He's our favorite since 2010. Cruised with him 4 times now. He's the best!

Is there a way you can tell me the FB group without breaking the rules. I'd like to see the pictures.

I'm not really sure what the rules on this are.

Look up Norwegian gem/breakaway

Should come up