imlulu

Sorry to hear that your day started so frustratingly. This will be our first time to a rubs but have booked jeeps a couple of times in Cozumel. Are those available at the port rentals? 

Sailed out of terminal 29 on a RCCL cruise about 10 years ago. We waited outside to disembark and get luggage. It was definitely not updated then but seemed nicer than NYC terminals. 

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Wow, the waterfront seems to have turned into a sundeck 🤭

We were on 1/26 sailing and that was not our experience at all. People liked to sit on the side of ship with  shade during day vs sun. Sun deck was crazy and by mid week the section in photo for smoking was being used during day. I prefer sun decks that face  the sea if I’m going to spend time in a lounger. This was limited to deck 17. I just sat on our balcony for a little bit of sun. 

10 minutes ago, tx121 said:

A lot of reviews has said Cagneys was not that great. I may end up switching it to another restaurant.  Can I ask, what did you feel was missing? The seasoning? The service? Etc.. 

Thanks for the advice!

The steak was not the best.  I had the filet and it was not very tender. It was very tender at Le Bistro. The set up also is iffy. They have tables in what I would consider the foyer right along the bar and overlooking the Manhattan room. If bar is busy, it is very noisy. Service was fine. I know folks say it’s higher end steakhouse. I would not say that at all. I’ve had much better filets at Long horn. Hopefully, your steak will be better. You are on vacation and Enjoy is what I say. 🙂

We were on this past week. We had Carney’s,  , onda, and Le bistro. Carney’s was fine but I’d then 3 the least favorite. Onda we ate outside as it was very noisy inside. It was great! Le bistro was also excellent. 

RCI refreshment package would be the perfect option. RCI also will have sales on it on different sailings and times. My DH always gets it. This is our first first cruise with NCL. Originally I didn’t get the drink package in the free at seas but then changed  my mind due to number of days on ship. I also have Starbucks GC to use in addition to the app if needed. I’m thinking of taking water bottles vs getting the water for the room. Will see how I feel this week about it as we board Sunday. 

I cruised with my then 13 yr old. He had a passport and no questions asked. 

Thank you for the info. We too have been to St Thomas before and aren’t shoppers. We have never been to St. John and this the interest. I was under the impression the beach was Trunks Bay? 

We are in need of a break so am sure we will enjoy. Thanks again! 

Thank you for the review. DH and I (early 50s) are on the Encore and NCL for first time in 2 weeks. We have been cruising RCL lately and DH wanted to try something new. I wanted to try Celebrity but the price was steep.  We have already booked the Baths and are considering the St John snorkel and beach excursion. It is scheduled to depart at 1:15/1:30 which is weird as we have whole day in St Thomas. Could you provide some more info on both excursions ie tips, pros, cons?

thank you! 

We decided to try NCL Encore for a change. We had the option of choosing the free at sea options or not and could still choose cabin. Ended choosing all including the beverage package. When priced out, it came to cheaper than symphony. We shall see in 3 weeks if much  difference. To be honest, I would have preferred to  book celebrity edge if the price wasn’t way up there. 😳

On beverage package, if you go on website, it should be listed in your summary. All our free at seas are there including the OBC credit from TA. 

We have never been on NCL either but seems similar to other main lines. 

Tip: have fun..one I hope to take! 

I sent back into the document I received from TA when he booked the cruise. I do not have a middle name on passport and neither does document. My DH does and it is on document. However like others have stated, it is not in the NCL edoc nor can I change it. I am going to assume NCL received it as we have never cruised with NCL. We have not received a letter or any notification. I will print out the confirmation page from my TA Ann’s bring with me in just in case, but have never had this issue with other cruise Lines.

We take enough for the week. We just put in dirty pile. (1 piece of luggage gets all the dirty clothes..midweek and end).

I understand this is a family reunion. I would suggest having your ds rearrange his commitment or skip the cruise. Seems like a lot of stress for you. Best of luck in getting it resolved! 

NYC is a great city any time. Is it that you have to clear and reboard or you can actually go into the city once cleared?  For 3-4 hours, I would hop over to Hell’s Kitchen (close to cruise terminal) and have some dinner, drinks, and dessert. Hope you enjoy your time in NYC. Thanks for your cruise review and  safe travels home.

I was able to book Choir of Man online last week. Nothing else will actually book even though it is open. I figure once ship sails things will iron out. 

Same issue for us on our Jan salining on encore. Went on today at 120 days and the excursions to St. John were there. 🙂

Labadee: take trolley or walk over to Columbus beach . It’s sandy. The buffet is set up right there and bathrooms aren’t far. We walked there and took trolley back. It was pretty easy. If we went back, I would definitely do the zipline. My DH isn’t a big sit in beach and do nothing type of person. My then 17 yr old ds is. 🙂

SJ: it will depend on your times in port. We have walked on our own after doing a horse drawn tour. It was informative and easy. 

ST: we have done different excursions here and gone into town. This time around we are going to take a beach and snorkeling excursion over to St John. You snorkel from the beach which to me is easier than snorkeling off a boat. Would be easier for your ds. 

Never been to StM so can’t help there. 

Have fun! 

We are NCL Encore in January from 8-6. This  Excursion opened today. Departure time for excursion is 1:15. Wondering if other sailings have an AM departure and should just wait to book on board. TIA

Thanks for posting this. We will be at 120 days at the end of this upcoming week. I’m consideirng just waiting until the first reviews come in. 

5 hours ago, smplybcause said:

 

I agree. I didn't go in the pool much on other away classes because of the water features in spice, but I'm just having a hard time looking at encore and thinking it'd be fun on a sea day. 

 

I might end up on it if prices end up dropping if there's bad reviews, but it'd have to be cheap compared to the sister ships. I'm bummed because even though I was underwhelmed with the racetrack, I really loved Bliss when I was on it and was hopeful for encore. 

 

I'm intrigued to see what happens. 

This will be  our first time on NCL. If I had not booked early flight out of MIA and Cats with a western itinerary wasn’t on Oasis for the week, I would have changed ships due to all the negative posts on the NCL board. I paid final payment yesterday and am going into it glass half full. Looking forward to time away and trying something new. 🙂

We are on The Encore and our first time on NCL. ON RCI, once you book, most excursions are available in the Planner for  pre booking. We are 133 days out & still at 47 excursions total. We have been to 2 of the 3 ports but are specifically interested in going to St John from St Thomas. We know the DIY way but would prefer to just do a NCL excursion for this. Any one on earlier sailings and see a St John excursion as an option?

NCL Planner is definitely not as user friendly as RCI.

TIA 

Sounds like a fantastic but hectic cruise! Pictures are not showing up for me. 

Enjoy your trip and your retirement!

I guess I am the oddball hereI like to do short vacations as I get to go away much more often. I prefer shorter cruises. 5 day is perfect for me. 🙂 Sea days are ok but more than 2 is 1 too many for me. On our upcoming cruise we have 3 1/2 sea days(late arrival in PR). We chose to try a new line and chose the ship over everything else. If I had not booked tight flights out of MIA, I would switch ships. 

I’ve nevr been on either. Researching NCL (we are booked on Encore), I came across The regal and if I had not booked flights out of MIA in AM would have switched to princess. It all depends on what you are looking for. It’s just DH and I and we could care less about go karts, laser tag etc..if my boys (20 and 26) were joining us then NCL over princess. We are on Encore because DH wanted to try a new line and the idea of a new ship appealed to us. Happy Choosing!