nolatravelgirl

Love the photos. More photos around the ship please like the colonnade breakfast/lunch offerings  🙂 so we can live vicariously.  

32 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Most certainly was not my traveling companion's and my experience!  I don't remember what our lunch cost, but, it was reasonable.  We were in "France" and did not expect Applebee's prices.  

🙄 OMG! Someone has a differing experience than you so it must be false! Everyone's experience will be different. I am relaying MY experience and I had never felt so unwelcome in all my travel. I was not expecting Applebee's pricing but if I am going to chunk down my hard earned cash, I at least want to feel like a welcome guest. All the shop owners looked completely disinterested in us and before you comment, we were dressed in sundresses and leather sandals so it wasn't like we were the Beverly Hillbillies. At that point I was done being treated like a second class citizen so I headed back to the ship and was very glad to enjoy the remainder of the day and evening onboard.

On 6/19/2022 at 7:16 AM, Fletcher said:

If St Martin is downmarket bling central in the Caribbean, then St Barts is upscale bling central.  Gustavia looks pretty from a distance and when you get there it's like an airport shopping mall except that all the assistants are in the doorways puffing on cigarettes.  Gustavia isn't worth a minute of your time.

 

The island has some nice beaches but the best ones have hotels on them and they can be incredibly snooty and sometimes rude - quite right, too. If you are paying at least €3000 a night at Eden Roc or some other joint would you want a load of scruffy Seabourn passengers invading your space?  However, you can book for lunch and if you are prepared to fork out lots of dosh it can be a pleasant experience. 

I have to agree. I felt so unwelcome on the island. The restaurants were incredibly over-priced and it seemed like nobody wanted cruise ship passengers, including the shops. Save your time and money and stay on the ship to make it an unofficial sea day.

If you are eating in the main dining room, buffet or any of the complimentary dining venues (like O'sheehan's or the asian noodle bar) then kids can order off of the main menu for no extra charge. We would sometimes ask for sauces on the side to make things more kid friendly. 

Specialty dining is a different beast but you didn't mention whether you were concerned with specialty or complimentary dining.

Just because you had a direct flight last time is no indication as to what you may receive on a future cruise. NCL is only interested in the cheapest flight possible. There is no real rhyme of reason and just because person X gets a non-stop perfectly timed flight this week has no bearing on what flight they may book you on months from now. Assume that you are going to get the worst flights with connections and lengthy layovers and be pleasantly surprised if you get anything better. 

As far as having an airline credit card I would read the terms and conditions of the card. Many of them limit your ability to check bags on a flight complimentary only if the ticket was purchased using said card. 

On 6/6/2022 at 9:08 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Affirmative, cruise lines have standard recipes, but the Executive Chef has the ability to tweak.

 

When it comes to the menus, the Executive Chefs have some discretion to include additional items.  They have an overall cost per person to meet, but some can better manage waste and other factors, so they can include more gourmet items, within the same budget. 

I am not sure why you believe you are the absolute authority. The budget per person/per day on food is almost certainly lower when on shorter booze cruise type sailings than on specialty sailings that have a greater per night cost. People don't go on 3/4 night sailings for $349 per person (less than $100 per night for room and board) and expect gourmet meals as opposed to those who are spending for Med itineraries which are easily north of $200 per night for room and board)

they are using external contractors for all excursions. Just google the name of the excursion and you can likely find the exact same excursion and you can usually book it at as a private tour which means no big tour buses and big groups. If you list the excursion I am sure we can direct you to an alternative source.

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Special meals are again driven by standards of the Executive Chef.

 

Another factor is sea days often provide the extra time required for specials; however, this shouldn't be a factor on a Grand Meddy, which is usually port intensive.

I think you are misinterpreting my point. I believe that recipes are the same but there seemed to nicer and more diverse offerings on the Spirit. For example on the Sun/Sky the MDR lunch never changed AT ALL but yet on my Breakaway cruise a few months ago there was a variety of items everyday on the MDR lunch. Also on the Sun/Sky the buffet seemed to mainly have the basics such as chicken tenders, burgers, fries etc but there were less specialty items such as paella received on the Spirit. The burger and chicken tenders were of the same quality across the ships but there were definitely more selection of gourmet offerings on the Spirit.

Also note that if you have a non handicapped accessible room there is a small step up to get into the bathroom. It was mostly just a toe "buster" but could be an issue for someone with mobility issues. 

I probably don't have enough data points but I think itinerary and length of cruise could play into the food. I sailed on the NCL Sun and NCL Sky each doing 3 or 4 night "booze cruises" out of Miami. The food in the buffet really seemed to be limited, especially at lunch time. However, when I sailed on the NCL Spirit (similar sized ship) but on a 12 day Grand Mediterranean voyage and there always seemed to be some sort of special food presentation on the pool deck and the generally nicer food presentation. 

We were on the Breakaway in April 2022 and it did not feel old at all. I think the TA sounds like a great itinerary. You have 5 sea days and can see and do all the ship entertainment then it is followed by a lot of ports so you won't get bored. 

15 hours ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

 

Were you using a meal from your dining package or a Platinum Dinner?  Because the terms and conditions are different.

The T&C for the dining package do not have that restriction, whereas the Platinum Dinner does.

You can print out or have on your phone the T&C to share with the waiter or maître de.  

I am not platinum and was using the dining plan. Minor annoyance as we had plenty to eat. It wasn't like I was asking for two expensive items. I was just asking for soup/salad not caviar and lobster.

On 5/17/2022 at 9:35 AM, argyll1881 said:

I’m on the Getaway and was told I could have 1 soup/salad, 1 appetizer, 1 entree, unlimited sides and 1 dessert. That’s a LOT of food. 

Some waiters are real sticklers on saying that this is all you can order. I wasn't interested in an appetizer but did want a soup AND salad and asked if I could forgo my appetizer and get both soup and salad. He flatly told me no.

1 hour ago, Thunderbird19 said:

So Body lotion is available in basic cabin rooms?

No.

8 minutes ago, mkkao924 said:

Thank you! That’s interesting though. If we order from kids menu (for kids of course), is there a upcharge? Do we tip extra?

If kid's order from the kid's menu there is no charge. We had plenty to share with a kid if they will eat any of the adult food items. At Le Bistro and Cagney's they won't charge you extra for sharing with your kid.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pFQxbhcrCuFzyjjQ8

Here are the dailies from our Breakaway Spring Break cruise. Looks pretty identical to what has already been posted. Some of the magician/singers have changed but that is about it.

I did all privately booked excursions for my 12-day/10 port Mediterranean cruise. Every reputable tour operator knows that they need to get you back to the port on time. The best part of taking private tours is you are usually in a small van or SUV and those vehicles get much closer to the main attractions. There were several times we saw ship tour buses parking way further away and walking people to the attraction from the outskirt position. Also, realize that ship tours move at the pace of the slowest person in the group. Time is money in my opinion and I don't enjoy waiting on others. I did have one time in Belize where our private excursion van broke down and they were immediately on the phone arranging alternate transportation back for us and we still got back in plenty of time.  

some folks will try to scare folks into saying if you get stuck in traffic then the ship will not wait. Do you think ship tour buses have magic powers that never get stuck in traffic. I can almost guarantee if your private van is stuck in traffic then any ship buses are stuck in that same traffic jam. The majority of people who miss the ship are those that are just walking around town on their own and lose track of time in bars/restaurants. The point of a private guide is to keep you on time. Every private tour I have ever been on the first thing that they confirm with you is the all aboard time and they plan to get you back with time to spare. Their reputation is on the line and they don't want a review saying anyone missed the ship. Do some research on your own and see if you can find stories of people on private excursions who missed the ship because of the tour operator. 

Go to the 3min mark and you can see a tour of the shower.

I was really disappointed in Harvest Caye. The food and drinks are nothing special and you are paying extra for that. If you rent the clamshell shades they are $49 per clamshell and it is charged to your onboard account. Everything else on the island is paid via cash/credit. There are no complimentary food and drink, which is very different than other private islands. If I were to go again I would have done an early lunch on board and filled my water bottle with a few alcoholic beverages. (I am sure someone is going to admonish me for saying that but the drinks were expensive and I was annoyed that I had the included beverage package.) The zip line is one long zip and was astronomically expensive for only one zip. In comparison we did a zip line tour in Roatan that included 10 zips and was only $55 per person.  Most people were back on board by 1pm so rather than trying to be one of the first ones there, relax onboard and then head out later. You will likely be able to find a free umbrella shady spot later.

Seabourn did a great job acknowledging my birthday. I didn't request anything but apparently they

knew based on the manifest. I felt bad that the cake went to waste. There is always so much to eat that I couldn't find room to eat more cake that night. 

On 3/23/2022 at 3:32 PM, PaulaJK said:

Please believe the posts re: Marco Polo being a nightmare. They do,indeed, open their check in windows only about 2 hours pre

boarding. Otherwise you stand in a long line which since it

extends out the door, lets in the seasonal air. A few years ago, no 

seats, no refreshment kiosks. Perhaps someone knows whether

there is a concession where you could leave your luggage fir a

fee…then hop the water taxi and tour/dine,etc.

There is a baggage hold office near the people mover exit and I think it is was maybe 7 Euro per bag to hold for the day. The airport is not a place I would want to spend a lot of time and i was glad I spent my day in the city. The only airline lounge was the Marco Polo Club and it was not very posh. You can see the "hair dryer" that was available in the bathroom of the club if this gives you any indication of the level of service. 

The 3rd party excursions I have booked only require a deposit and the balance is paid in cash at the completion. 

On 4/11/2022 at 4:29 PM, GeezerCouple said:

There are little trays made that can be used for safes, with just short sides.  Some of them are made so those short sides snap into place, and the "tray" can be flat when carried.  (Also marketed for nightstands, etc.)

 

Or one could use an old shoebox cover or something like that.  Just put ANY small items (coins, jewelry, etc.) in those, and it should be all clear.  Still, always safe (uh, no pun intended!) to double check...

GC

I always use the little disposable cup covers to corral my jewelry so it doesn't accidentally get mixed up or dropped on the floor. It makes it easily visible and can pop it in the safe if needed. The white color helps it stand out in a dark safe.

I would just plan on visiting beaches on port days to get your water time. There are plenty of other activities on the ship to entertain families. Even though you can't drop her off at the kid's programming there are several times during the cruise where the kid's and teen clubs are open for family play. You can then take her in there to play/draw, etc. where you can play along with her.

We just got off the Breakaway March 13th assuming that the first night would be Norwegian Night Out. There was no mention of a dress up not at all in the Freestyle. The only dress code was the minimal dress code (pants for men) in the Manhattan Room, Le Bistro and Ocean Blue