lucksak

8 hours ago, Dina7 said:

Has anyone ever stayed in Balcony Room #8180 or similar, which is located right next to a public restroom? Just wondering if the stateroom would be more noisy or if there is a disadvantage to staying in that location?

 

Thanks in advance!

We are booked in the same cabin. I never noticed the RR next door. We have stayed in cabins next to elevators. We never heard noise. I don't think anyone will be using the RR in the daytime. Probably in the evening because of 2 bars around the corner.We will be out of the cabin then. 

On 9/26/2023 at 3:44 PM, schmoopie17 said:

First some background. Mrs. Schmoopie will normally only cruise with a balcony. Got it? But we're looking at a TA from New York for April, 2025 out of New York on the Pearl and the difference between an oceanview and a balcony is unbelievable. A middle of the road balcony is almost $2500 more than a middle of the road oceanview. Seriously.

 

Now, I should tell you on our last TA in November, 2022 we had a balcony and I would estimate that Mrs. Schmoopie actually stepped onto the balcony (maybe) twice in 16 days. But, again...she just HAS to have a balcony...even though it will probably be too cold to use it (again).

 

Don't tell her, but I'm thinking of booking an oceanview and then when we open the cabin door I can yell "SURPRISE!!". At which point, don't be surprised if you read of a man overboard on the Pearl in April, 2025. Although, she would have a hard time throwing me through the window...even if the cabin I'm looking at has a picture window.

 

So...is it worth $2500 to have a balcony that we will probably never use? I think you know my answer...

When we did a Baltic back to back Transatlantic. We were in the same situation. I talked my husband into booking OV because of the huge difference in price. NCL offered us to bid on an upgrade. I bid the minimum and we were upgraded to a cabin with a huge balcony. Not that we used it. Too cold . 

6 hours ago, wallyj said:

A little more info, on Thursday morning, before arriving Tahiti, all passengers had to ‘test’ . I assume the Tahitian authorities were informed of the number of active Covid already on board and if any additional passengers tested positive Thursday  morning. 

Princess has you ‘self’ test in your cabin, with tests provided by Princess, no other comments needed, as I can read your mind. You write down passengers name, date and time test was taken, and with phone or tablet, take picture to show your steward and then you are free to go about your business if negative
 

After docking, no other announcements were made and passengers were allowed to go ashore. 
 

It was the next morning, that Tahiti had a change of heart? If they were concerned about the spread of Covid, they already knew the numbers reported from the ship and passengers already flooded their streets the previous day and night. No additional testing was performed, so there was rumor this was a money grab/negotiation tactic by Tahiti. 
 

I did notice on day2 when were we allowed to go ashore, there were Tahiti personnel checking to make sure passengers were not taking any food items, fruits , etc. off the ship. This was the only change from day1 arrival.

We were on the Majestic Princess also.

The passengers were informed by the Captain that mask wearing was mandatory onshore. The Tahitian Heath Authorities required this. Most locals didn’t wear masks inside markets or stores.

The 116 pax. that tested positive were in quarantine. 

1 hour ago, kiwimum said:

Absolutely, I always have fresh flowers in our stateroom.  Have purchased in many ports.  We always carry a small vase with us which allows for a small selection. Photo from our May TA.  Picked up Lilly of the Valley in Cherbourg.  Freesias in the Azores, along with a white wine Sangria.

Gorgeous 

56 minutes ago, tls1007 said:

It's been a few months since my last cruise,. At that time , they had remove the ability to order flowers in the cruise personalizer pre cruise,. But as soon as we boarded they could be ordered at guest services and delivered same day 

Does anyone know if you can bring live flowers when you board a ship? 

4 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

I’m sorry, but you cannot enter Canada without providing your required information on ArriveCAN app.  Which cruise are you on?  Are you embarking or disembarking in Canada?  

For people without smart phones there is a long form to fill out.

I will never understand when people pay $$$$ to cruise why they worry about tipping a porter a few $. We are in our seventies . We are happy when we don’t have to touch our luggage till we get to the cabin. We tip the taxi driver at the airport , again when we catch another taxi and then the porter. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Tip for service. Enjoy your cruise. 

17 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

It is a service charge, who would buy wine onboard if you could bring all you want for free? 

We are talking about 1 bottle of wine each. No one expects all you want to bring. Corkage is for opening the bottle and the use of glasses.

3 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

Would you take a bottle of wine to a land restaurant and expect not to be charged a corkage fee?

Taking a bottle to your room is not the same as paying a corkage fee at a land restaurant.

We are on the Baltic & TA in October. I know the 1 st. cruise is port intensive. On the TA I'm wondering about the TV options for movies & TV programs. Another poster mentioned a fee for watching movies.

Very glad to hear about the good reviews about the ship and the food.

Thanks.

44 minutes ago, Simes123 said:

Some positive/negative observations - we were away 27 Aug to 5 Sep 19, Copenhagen - Warnemunde - Tallin - St Petersburg - Helsinki - Stockholm - Copenhagen.  Inside cabin, forward, deck 14.

 

Ship/Cabin:  Great - only sailed on the Epic before, but our inside cabin felt quite a bit larger on the Getaway.   Felt busy at times - it was a full ship.  Plenty of space up on top, but it was fairly port intensive, so we didn't spend a whole lot of time up there.  Great condition.   Very little noise in our cabin, apart from noises from the toilet system occasionally slurping from the bathroom above.  Bed - good size, mattress not the comfiest - gave me a bad back due to being a bit saggy.

 

Embark/Debark:  Swift and efficient overall - considering 4000 passengers needed to get off!

 

Russia.  Deluxe St Petersburg Tour with SPB - this was brilliant.  Kate our guide was excellent.  Debark was a little congested and chaotic on first day, but didn't take too long and we were through immigration without too much fuss.

 

Shows:  Bit disappointed overall.  Had a much better experience on the Epic.   Burn the Floor was good (has been edited down vs the Epic show we saw).   Millionaire Quartet: Talented singers, but the story was pondering and as a consequence was way too long we felt.  I was willing this to end, despite the competent singing.    Steam/Cirque show.  Was good given the limited size of the venue, and the accompanying meal was way better than on the Epic - could well have been an identical menu despite 3 years further on.  Banquette seating wasn't great and limited view of the action.   Wine Tasting Musical:  This was dire.  The show was really forced/pondering.  The wines weren't great, and the meal/wines were served out of sync, and we were past the starter and onto mains before we started the 3 x White varieties.  I'd give this a miss - wasn't worth the extra charge.   Comedy Magician:  Dire.   Overall, in the 9 days we had on the Getaway, we felt our 7 days on the Epic were more rewarding entertainment/show wise.  

 

Entertainment:  Pretty good overall, but the Duelling Piano Bar in Headliners (a highlight for us on the Epic) was depressing.  The guys playing were ok, but they lacked an energy that seemed to suck any enthusiasm out of the small audience that attended and their repertoire of music was very America biased.   We tried a few times, but it was the same throughout the cruise.  Other venues/bands were good/excellent.

 

Ice Bar:  Totally give this a miss.  $40 up charge on our UBP for the 2 of us, and obviously it's freezing even with the additional clothing they provide, so you can't stay in there long.  I managed 2 quick vodka cocktails, my wife 1.   Will never bother again - imagine entering a commercial freezer and paying extra for your "free" drinks to replicate the experience.

 

Speciality Restaurants:  We did Cagney's, Teppenyaki, Ocean Blue, Le Bistro and back to Cagney's.   (We didn't bother with Moderno and the Italian based on our experiences on the Epic).

 

Cagney's - still a hit.  Best on board by far in our view.  Teppenyaki - seems to have morphed into a loud, rowdy dining experience, rather than the Japanese eating experience it's meant to represent.  Food was good, but we hated the atmosphere - this might be boat/staff specific, but there was lots of forced shouting/singing and an especially rowdy group/chef with one group.   Ocean Blue - was good, but wasn't quite what we expected - I'd anticipated more fresh/raw seafood options.  Le Bistro - was good, but not a patch on Cagney's.    Aside from Cagney's which offered the same range of 4 courses as on the Epic, Ocean Blue and Le Bistro seemed to have cut back on the courses included in the SDP.  I might be misremembering, but I'm sure Le Bistro at least offered a starter and a soup/salad course on the Epic - it was either or on the Getaway.  But it was both options in Cagney's.

Overall, the Specialty Dining hasn't really moved on in the 3 years since we last cruised with NCL.  Menus have pretty much the same options, and are much more quality dining rather than contemporary fine dining in nature.   That's not to knock them - you know what you are going to get, and what you get is a good standard but it's very American dining rather than European in nature.   Buffet - only had a couple of lunches there, but what we ate was good and plenty of variety for fussy eaters.

 

Minor entertainments:  Usual Bingo/Deal or No Deal, Line Dancing, Trivia quizzes.  A bit uninspiring I felt, but others seem to enjoy this kind of fare, so I'm probably just getting older and grumpier.  It felt a bit like groundhog day after the Epic 🙂

 

Ports of Call:  Warnemunde/Rostok - we did both, Rostok by train.   Rostok the more interesting place to walk around.   Tallin - lovely old town, walk from boat.  St Petersburg - jewel in the crown, superb.   Helsinki - bit of a come down after St Petersburg, but interesting to visit - we caught the hop on hop off bus from the port.   Stockholm:  Good port of call - lots to see and do, but the distance from the port is quite far - we again got the Hop On Hop Off from the port, but it was an hour each way to the city, which limits time in Stockholm - we'll probably do a long weekend there to do it more thoroughly (we are based in UK so it's not too far).   Copenhagen - had a full day before and after our cruise.   Great destination - worth spending more time there.   Second sea day was the last day of the cruise - this aspect sucked a bit - it felt like we were on a really long ferry ride, rather than part of the vacation.   The itinerary is what it is, but we couldn't help feeling that a second sea day would be better interleaved between interim ports of call rather than as the last day of a cruise.  We'll avoid cruise itineraries that do this in future.

 

Overall, we had a great time despite any negative aspects noted above.    We still like the freestyle dining options that NCL offers, but think they need to refresh and modernise their specialty dining offering and entertainment options a bit.  Good if it's your first time, but a repeat visitor after 3 years might expect something a bit different.   We didn't note any formal dress up nights on this cruise, but that was fine by us - we tend to dress more formally for dinner anyway.   Staff were great by and large, apart from a poor experience I had with Guest Services one day through to evening - I was passed from pillar to post, got shrugs from some staff and it took several attempts until eventually someone owned my query and was able to answer why certain charges had appeared on my account.  It was a minor issue really, but for a while, I was quite annoyed about the lack of customer service that was being offered.

 

Clearly NCL are trying to appeal to a broad church and demographic and we felt they are largely succeeding.  It represents good value overall with the packages on offer in a competitive marketplace.  We are sailing with them again on the Spirit in December, and I bought a couple of CND on this cruise so view any criticism in that positive context.   We may try a different cruise line though soon to see what the other lines offer.

 

Hope that's of use to someone!

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

 

 

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on the Getaway in the Baltic Oct 11 th.

We were going to try the Ice Bar. I think now we will skip it.

Did NCL have a shuttle at the port for Helinski?

Were there any lectures on this sailing?

Were you able to watch movies or TV shows? Asking because we will be on the TA after this cruise and have a lot of Sea Days.

Thanks

The Norwegian Dawn made the Canadian National news tonight about being diverted from Bermuda. We usually sail with Princess. We are booked on the Dawn Oct. 5 th.. When I booked I understand it's hurricane season. Safety comes first. When we were delayed in Southampton for 2.5 days and ended up missing 3 ports. Princess gave us ( to our surprise) 50 percent off our next cruise. We thought that was a great gesture on their part. Mother Nature is in charge.

Ciao

Ollie

We missed the port for La Harve plus 2 other ports We stayed on the ship in Southampton for 2.5 days because of a hurricane approaching Southern England. This was on Crown Princess October 2013 TA. Weather is risky at this time of year. Decisions have to be made hourly to keep the passengers, crew and ship safe. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. Don't count on a cruise ship to visit a place you want to see.

Ciao

Ollie

We did the POA about 11 years ago. Great to get from Island to Island. Only time with NCL. 1 cruise with RCL. 11 cruises with Princess. The itinerary would have to be extraordinary for us to go with NCL again. I would do the sea days with Princess instead of NCL..

I'm friends with the neighbor of the family involved. The FBI is sending the girls home this morning. They're completely wrecked by this and have now lost both parents since the father is (obviously) in custody. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. They will need a lot of love, support, and therapy to help recover from this.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T337A using Forums mobile app

We are sending our prayers to the 3 young daughters . They have lost both parents and will have to remember this for the rest of their lives . Seeing their Father kill their Mother. Horrible tragedy.

People shouldn't worry about refunds or OBC. Be thankful for your blessings.

Ollie & Murray

My understanding is that the exchange rate at the time of booking remains, whether our Canadian currency rises or falls. When we booked at $1.30 it was a great exchange rate but I fear no matter how far our dollar might rise, the currency is fixed for our winter cruise.

 

I'm not sure if one could negotiate a new price if a lower one is posted when they adjust the exchange rate.

 

We had planned to give ourselves OBC but certainly won't now.

 

Ruth

I understand the rate is fixed. Last year on a 14 day TA we were paying 1.20 Yipee. We had booked a year in advance.. Just wondering how often Princess calculates their exchange rate.

Ciao

Ollie

Does Princess calculate Canadian rate at certain times of the year or is it random? The reason I'm asking is because of the last 2 weeks our Canadian $ has made steady progression . The rate yesterday was 130.20.We booked our 2017 TA at 1.30 w/Sip & Sail promo. That is fine. I,m wondering about the 22 day Baltic / British Passage TA. We have that cruise booked w/the Sip & Sail at 130 CAD. rate.

Ciao

Ollie

Hi, thanks for your great review. We are going Amsterdam to Budapest on the Monarch Baroness in October. Although its a different ship I assume they would be built identical. Could you please tell me what power plugs you needed in the cabins? Also we board in Amsterdam from 3 pm on embarkation day, stay overnight then head off the following day after the usual canal and Amsterdam tour.

As we will be travelling from Brussels the day of boarding the earliest train we can get is 9.50 am arriving into Amsterdam centrale at 11.45 am. Our plans are to go straight to drop our luggage then to the Anne Frank house I am hoping to book on line the tickets for around 2pm. Then back to the boat. Do you think this would work or should I go for later tickets? Do you recall when you actually began to sail out of Amsterdam on day 2.

Good to hear there were lots of Aussies on board, I was thinking our group of 10 could well be the only non Americans on board so hopefully we wont be.

We are on the Baroness Oct 8 Amsterdam --Basel We are from Canada.

Ciao

Ollie & Murray :D:D:D

Hi, we are Chris and Julie. We are also the 8 October Amsterdam to Basel. We are doing the land only and have arranged our own flights and accommodation. We arrive Amsterdam on morning to the 6th so have a couple of days to recover from the 22 hour flight.

We have also arranged our own accommodation . Flights are arranged by Ocean cruise we embark on Oct 21 . We're only coming from Canada. We arrive on the 6 th. This is our 1 st. river cruise. From Basel we take a train to Zurich to fly to Prague.Staying 5 days in Prague and then flying to Barcelona to embark on the Royal Princess cruise ship. 15 day Spanish Passage TA to Ft. Lauderdale.

We are Ollie & Murray traveling with our friends Maureen & Duffy.

Ciao :D:D:D

That's more than adequate!!

I think if I need more than 12 alcoholic beverages---I have a problem .lol.

Thanks for your help...we fortunately were able to take advantage of that...but still. A lot more money than before and the rooms are selling out. I wonder if this is going to be the new norm. I will have to find new ways to save for vacation and become more frugal!

I agree cruises have taken a big jump in price for 2018 and 2019. . Especially for us Canadians with our low $.. We will be paying $ 900.00 a person more for a Northern TA in 2018 compared to one we could of booked this year. We will have to wait and hope for a better sale.

AND if you get a mixed drink, they charge you for the liquor then sell you the soda to mix in. Water is as much as soda too. We got supplies and brought it on board..even picked up brandy for after dinner/sitting on the top deck coffee... it really was the only penny pinching thing we encountered ...

We will bring some on board also.

We're on board now...

Yes but it's very expensive. Almost €4...per glass..It's not included with your meals but beer and wine is. And when you order a drink with soda as a mix..it's extra. We picked some up in port...they provide 2 bottles of water per day and ask you to refill them from the tap if you want more...or buy it.

Wow soda pop is expensive. It's 60 % more for us since our Canadian $ is low.

I did the river cruise in 2007 Amsterdam to Budapest and had a wonderful time. Yes it was cold but beautiful. Snow in many places but dress appropriately and you will be ok. Think we left Amsterdam mid November and the Christmas markets were up and running in most towns.

Haven't been on gate 1 as they are not well known in Australia. However I just booked the same cruise on monarch baroness for October 2017 taking 7 friends.

Very happy to be repeating the same itinerary.

Can anyone give me some info on the company gate1.

It was such a great price we really didn't stop to think and now I'm worrying about what I have done. Absolutely recommend the itinerary for first river cruise.

We are going to on the Baroness Oct 8 th Amsterdam to Basel. First river cruise for us. We have done two Gate 1 land tours in Thailand & Vietnam. Didn't hesitate to book this cruise based on land tours.

After reaching Rudesheim at 6 we had 3 hours to wander the village before we left at 10 for Mannheim where we arrived at 7 the next morning

We did the optional Heidelberg tour leaving at 9 am so didn`t see anything of Mannheim

After the tour we had 1 1/2 hours free time to wander the town.

Back to the ship for 12 departure. At 3.30 we docked at Speyer where we could walk to town and visit the cathedral.

Sailed at 8 leaving someone behind. So many different departure times you needed your wits about you if you wanted to do your own thing.

Next morning Strasbourg 9 am city tour by bus, followed by walking tour 1 hour of centre and 1 hour free time before returning on the bus. We were given good instructions how to catch the bus between town and port and many took advantage of this,

Left at 10 pm.

Saturday was a change of itinerary and we docked at Schonau took a bus to Maginot Line museum and then on to Breisach where we had an hour walking tour up a very steep hill. Some felt it wasn`t worth the effort.

Ship arrived at Beisach moored just next to town.Left at 7.going to Basel where we disembarked at 9.30

Lot of the Aussies on the tour and they were all wondering <what`s the catch> and all were happy to find it wasn`t <too good to be true>

I always do lots of preparation but really didn`t know what to expect on my first river cruise.

Next time I`ll look at the towns and be more prepared for extra things I want to see.

We will be on the Baroness this coming fall. Is there anything like soda pop or juice to drink at dinner?