Manbo

Why Uber and not taxi, we'll need two vehicles (7 passengers, bags).... just curious

 

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Uber is at least $10 to$15 cheaper. When we got off the Getaway in January, my Uber driver picked us up within 2 minutes! Nice, clean car.

There were 4 of us and bags, we got an Uber XL. If you get one XL and one regular, you will save a lot more!

We did easy walk off in January. We got in line at 7:30, which was 30 minutes earlier than they scheduled. we didn't get off the ship until 9. Friends made the mistake of taking the elevator from the tenth floor and couldn't get out. So they were stuck in the elevator for quite a while and didn't get off the ship until after 10.

SO get in line very, very early!

And, I would Uber instead of taxi.

We were there a few weeks ago, i don't believe they had wifi. We just used our phones, unlimited data and voice throughout the Caribbean.

Since we are staying an extra night in Miami, I guess we will wait for most of the madness to subside before attempting to get off the ship. Where could we hang out as a group in the meantime? What are the breakfast options?

Savor was open for breakfast, not sure about the buffet.

I would wait outside if possible.

Where does the line for disembarkation start? On which deck? We have a fairly early flight out of FLL (11:50) and knew we would have to get in line early to get off as quickly as possible.

 

 

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I believe deck 7, same deck as O'Sheehans.

Totally agree with this. We were on the Escape. We picked a very late afternoon non-stop flight. We had a leisurely breakfast and walked off about 9:15-9:30. And we had our bags out the night before so we had was carry on. So much less stress.

 

I believe too its the impatience of people. You really think the process will go fast with 3500 of your closet friends, with the majority also carrying bags?

The information flyer handed out the night before directed ALL walk-offs to be off the ship by 8:30!

I have seen college football stadiums clear out easier then the Getaway!

Our the Getaway last week, the Burn the Floor dancers were in the Tropicana room twice (in addition to the theater show) and it was the full cast.

get there early to get a seat by the dance floor. :)

Food Grade A

By far the best food we ever had on NCL. We sailed with first time cruiser friends and they were also very impressed with the food. La Cucina was our only specialty restaurant, all other dinners were at either the Tropicana Room, Savor or Taste. We loved them all.

Condition of the Ship A

Everything was very clean and in good repair. This was the first cruise where I experienced public restroom doors being propped open. I think it is a good idea! Reduced spread of germs!

Entertainment B

We loved Burn the Floor, Million Dollar Quartet and the Comedian Scott Henry. Sabor Latino was great, as was Alis & Pedja. Howl at the Moon was good, but it was more about the money and less about the music. It got old pretty quickly. We really enjoyed Island Notes and Aliah Sheffield but they both need to improve their connection with the audience, however they are very talented and we were frequently at their shows.

Check In C

We went through the platinum line, and were on board within 30 minutes of arrival. It took our friends about 1 hour.

Service D

It was difficult to get a drink and generally I would spend way too long standing at a bar hoping to get waited on. Extra hard to get a drink at Spice H2O. Wait staff was somewhat slow at every meal. Our tables were often out of creamer, water, butter, etc.

The safe in our room was broken when we came aboard. It took 3 days to even get someone to look at it. Our friends never got their disembarkation flyer and as rookies, they needed it! Our room steward was pretty forgetful and if you tried to call him, it was frustrating as you couldn’t leave a voice mail.

At two ports, there was no washy-washy as you came aboard which I thought was odd.

It seems that the staff is overworked and spread too thin. Probably the least friendly staff we encountered.

The ship D

This is probably our least favorite NCL ship. The pool area is way too small and as a result, very overcrowded.

Spice H2O didn’t have the small pool like on the Epic and we were disappointed. Instead they have a silly water feature which nobody used.

The entire ship seemed narrow to me. It was difficult to walk through the buffet area and O’Sheehan’s.

Our balcony was about 4’ deep, way too small. In Cozumel, we were docked right across from the Dawn and you could see their balconies were considerably deeper and more inviting.

Disembarkation F

A complete zoo. We did easy walk off and headed for the gangway by 7:45 and it was after 9:00 before we got off the ship. While waiting in these long lines, the cruise director continued to make disembarkation announcements releasing additional passengers to leave the ship. Our friends, who had a forward cabin had a harder time and stood in a mass of angry passengers from 7:45 until 10:00 AM, much of the time stuck inside an open elevator as they could not move off the elevator due to the mass of passengers trying to get off the ship. It was total chaos. With only a few crew members on hand to try and manage this process, no signage, and announcements which were not broadcasted into the cabins, it was too difficult to know where to get off the ship.

It was very disappointing way to end a great week.

Overall C

My wife and I had a great time and we would sail an “Away” class again, but it would be our last choice. I would never recommend this ship to a first-time cruiser.

The laundry service is something we do quite often and we like it. BUT the bags are very flimsy so you can't just toss all of your dainties in like a hamper. And they are not that big (the bags, not your dainties).

Very carefully roll up the things you want washed and strategically fill the bag. You will get a bigger bang for your buck.

We sailed the Epic in September and loved it!

The entertainment was awesome, Spice H2O was fantastic!

We had no complaints except I wasn't too impressed with Specialty dining. But that is not the ship, I always thought the specialties were overrated anyway!

We were on the Epic in September and had concerns. But, we loved it

I respect your differing opinion, and will only offer 2 things that may help.

1. The App. The Norwegian Iconcierge made making reservations and finding things to do super easy. I highly recommend it.

2. While, not possible for everyone. We rarely take the elevators. the stairs are faster, less likely to catch an illness and helps burn off the extra calories!

Sorry, your experience wasn't very good.

Check out WOW airline. Flies through Iceland, but great fares and ratings.

FYI...we paid $1,000 round trip non-stop from Philly in September on American. Non stop, about 7 hours in the air.

get off a cruise (take your time on that last morning) and pick up a rental car..../quote]

 

Hank,

 

We will be driving to KW from 3 nights after our cruise in January. Can you tell me the best way to pick up a rental car?

I heard Alamo has a free shuttle from POM. What do you suggest?

Thanks!

Thanks. How would one find out about it if they weren't invited?

When we got in our room there was a letter already there inviting us to the Latitudes Party. It was the first time we had ever participated and would do it again. It was nice.

Sounds like you and Mum are in the same room. If so, I believe every adult in the cabin must have the UBP (they don't want you slipping Mum a few drinks).

As for the shuttle, you can save big bucks finding another transportation. Do some checking at the Florida Ports board and you can find plenty of options.

FYI, we loved the Epic, hope you do too!

yes, there are hangers in the closets.

We were on the Epic in September in the western Mediterranean and found the best entertainment of any ship we ever sailed.

Burn the Floor was not a dinner show (except when they did a show in the Manhattan dining room). We never made Queen of the Desert, so we can't weigh in. Cirque Dreams was a dinner show, and it was ok. Dinner, not so hot.

But Howl at the Moon, a Motown Show, 2 different Burn the Floor shows were all great! Not to mention Axel, Duo Mar and a few other that I can't recall.

No, You need to do your research beforehand.

You can generally do a short walking tour on your own at most stops. but there are not a crush of taxis or peddlers trying to sell you an excursion.

We sailed on the Epic last month and loved it.

The only thing we were disappointed with was the specialty restaurants.

If you have a positive attitude, you will have a blast!

We were able to get from the port to the Airport in 20 minutes last Sunday morning walking off the ship at 9AM. The problem was the security lines. Took us an hour to get through security. Folks that arrived later had a much longer line. 2 hours at least. We watched several people running to their gate and often times it was too late.

I would not book a flight before noon.

My wife and I were in Naples last week and we loved it! After a few hours in Capri we decided to check out Naples.

We stumbled upon Via Toledo about 3 blocks beyond the port. The shops and cafes and people were amazing. We highly recommend it and I hope we can return again soon!:)

During our November cruise on Sky we will go from Gold to Platinum. Following that cruise we will be on the Escape. Will our information be updated by then to reflect our new status? Was thinking of printing our our new information at the Hotel the night before the 2nd leg of our trip.

 

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

We earned Platinum on our cruise on Sept 18 to 25. I went on-line Sept 26 (to re-book the messed up Next Cruise we booked earlier that week) and it was updated to show us as Platinum.

So, I predict you will be updated right away.

1. the ground floor of a building is "0", not 1. so what we would call the second floor is 1, and so on...

2. Fixed price for taxi from the airport to the pier is 39 Euros.

3. The taxis take credit cards.

3. Almost everyone that works with the public speaks English.

On our last couple of cruises, they didn't distribute port guides to every cabin with the Freestyle Daily. They are not very detailed, but you can still get them at the front desk or probably at the excursions desk. We don't generally buy ship's excursions, so we don't expect any service whatsoever from the excursions desk. Just wondering, what kind of help did they refuse to give you?

We asked the desk for a map of the port and they said they didn't have them.

In the past they would inform you of other transportation options, such as taxi or bus stands to help get around.

It was obvious on this cruise that unless they were less helpful and we weren't alone with this opinion.

A lot of folks found the old port info insert helpful. As a customer service, I believe it should be provided.

Is Marseille within walking distance of the port? Shuttle price does seem steep so would walk instead if it's an option.

 

Thanks

 

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Not really an option to walk. A few folks did, but the port is in a pretty industrialized area and had trouble getting back. I think a taxi might be the only alternative, but even getting a taxi was not really easy.