kirsty_r

Last year I wasn't able to prebook seats via BA at all on a NCL booking, the reference wasn't recognised and it had to be done manually at the check in desk rather than by the machines. I was doing the transatlantic flights, not sure if that makes a difference, or if the system has changed within the last year.

Thanks for your review of the Star… I'm thinking of taking it on the Baltic cruise in September 2014 and just wondering if I'll like it because it's an older ship. But it sounds like it is pretty good shape. And that the crew is nice.

 

Do you happen to know anything about the spa onboard?

I visited the spa with a friend - I had my hair cut, which was absolutely great. My friend had a massage which she thought was almost as good as the place she normally goes to onshore. We didn't use the spa relaxation areas though.

looking forward to seeing these on the EPIC!! :)

Its a group booking, so its all done at check in unfortunately.

I can only compare the Star and EPIC, but last year i thought the hand hygiene before meals wasn't enforced. On the EPIC they didn't let us enter buffet or dining areas without being attacked by handgel. This just seemed to be optional in all areas on the star.

Other than that i had no other complaints about the star. (it just isn't the ship for me)

Maybe on sea days? It was open several days for lunch on my TA in 2012 but not on the Star.

The person you're replying to was talking about being on a river cruise in Russia, not on an ocean-going cruise ship making a port call. If they had been on a cruise ship they would have been required to carry their passport with them while ashore. It has nothing to do with cruise line preferences or "controversial ports"...it's the Russian government's laws and regulations that govern the situation.

 

Having been on many, many NCL cruises, I can tell you you are absolutely wrong. The only time NCL recommends taking your passport ashore is when you are required to by the particular country you're visiting. At all other times they advise taking a photo ID, such as a drivers license ashore.

On the European cruises, and on the transatlantics for both stops at Miami (from new Orleans) and European ports it says on the dailies I have kept 'don't forget to take your passport ashore'. I know people opt to not take the passport ashore and to stick with photo ID, but if its on the daily I would always carry it ashore.

All the passengers on our Holland America ship in the Med turned their passports in at the beginn7ng of the cruise. Also, they were kept on the boat diring our river cruise in Russia we were given a card that was all the identification we needed in Russia.

 

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they didn't take mine on any TA.I'm guessing if your visiting controversial ports like Russia they may need to? I'm sure NCL usually recommends you take the passport onshore for ID purposes.

Usually board through 2 terminals if your ship is full - on the last TA I did through Miami they only used one terminal as the ship was sailing half empty.

defo the cheese selection from the buffet. On the EPIC there was popcorn available at every movie.

I also enjoyed the pizza from the buffet most times. I found on the EPIC the buffet either indoors or outdoors seemed to be available almost constantly from 7am - 11pm - they alternated the indoor/outdoor one throughout the day.

they will do their best to speed you through the airport and onto ship. its possible they've booked a few on the same flight.

I didn't enjoy the star as much as the epic, but i'm a cruiser in my 20's who often sails solo. I found the clientele on the Miami to Copenhagen cruise to be of the older generation, and many activities were geared towards this, for instance ballroom and swing band, often ran over leaving very little time at the end of the night for the DJ music the younger generation had requested.

Otherwise I enjoyed the star, it is one of the older ships but had everything else I was after, places to relax, different musicians in different areas, very good shows.

We've previously cruised on Princess, RCL and Carnival. Princess is probably our favorite but we enjoyed all of our cruises. I will be traveling with my 74 year old mother. We go on cruises mostly to relax, so we spend a lot of time on our balcony, but we enjoy a good show and also love to play the slot machines in the casino. We never pay to eat in specialty restaurants - in fact, we often just choose to eat in the buffet rather than spend several hours over dinner.

My main concern here would be there are only 2 elevators on EPIC (forward and aft), so there could be a lot of walking for your mother. She may be a fit 74 year old though!

How does NCL compare to other cruise lines? Will there be more kids than other cruises? How is the entertainment? And the service?

Depends on your cruise - on the TA older folk, less kids. On my European one, a lot more kids. (theres lots for kids to do on EPIC). Maybe try and avoid school vacations. I wouldn't say there are more than other cruiselines - but maybe more than say ships like the star in the Baltics which appeals to older folk. I enjoyed the entertainment - Blue man, howl at the moon, and cirque are unmissable. I like the service, but this is something which is subjective. I can only say I felt the service on the epic was better than the star. I also felt the officers tried to get to know you more on EPIC.

The price for the Epic is similar to Carnival. Does that mean NCL is more like Carnival and less like RCL? Not that it matters, but it's nice to know.

I can't really compare - I think NCL is unique - with freestyle approach.

Also, a few questions specific to the Epic: Is the buffet located at the front of the ship? We usually try to book a cabin in the back to have easy access to the food, but if the buffet is in the front we'll book a cabin in the front.

Yes - front. Look for the elevators when booking your room, and try to aim for close to the elevators.

Also, does the ship feel crowded? We haven't been on a ship that big before.

Personally I haven't felt crowder, but probably base this on your specific cruise. The TA I hardly saw anyone. ON the European cruise, there are quieter spots e.g. spice H2O (Adults only) and some sneaky nooks and crannies that will be quieter than the main deck. I enjoy looking down on the atrium from the deck above when looking to relax inside.

You might find a NCL approach of freestyle dining much easier to manage with the large group, but you may also find it helpful to book the table in advance at the dining room (you can do this with a large group - speak to the relevant officer!) But you will be able to eat at a different time each night, so that is more flexible than other lines.

I have no experience with kids, but people I know love NCL - particularly EPIC - for their kids programmes. I think the Nick at sea theme goes down extremely well.

and with any cruiseline - the novelty of cruising is everyone will find something they enjoy doing on ship.. because there is sooo much to do onboard.

Enjoy picking and enjoy your trip! :)

and your on my next cruise! :) (off topic - sorry!)

They did the Baltics for a few years from Dover. At the time, they were 12 nights. A couple years back they made the switch to embark at Copenhagen.

that was before the increase in popularity in cruising in the UK - it was before I started cruising. All my friends cruise out of UK where possible - NCL is missing a trick. I'd do the Baltics from the UK. Didn't dover do the refurb of the cruiseport around the time NCL left it? I know the star TA can disembark and have embarking guests in Dover.

i'm led to believe carnival is more of a party than NCL, but it does all depend on the clientele on the specific cruise.

I'd love NCL to do a UK embarking port at somepoint too, would fit in well with a Baltic or northern france perhaps... works well for other cruiselines.

I guess it depends on your particular cruise, and other cruisers. There is opportunity and if there is a group of you, you never know you might keep it going till the wee hours. It was relatively quiet on my last 2 cruises, but we did dance till around 3am. But yes, a lot of people just spend time in the open bars/O'sheenans etc, rather than bliss,

never cruised anyone else, but I love the freestyle nature - eat when you want, where you want and do whatever you want, when you want, and pretty much dress up or down to your own preferences. I also liked the younger ages on the EPIC.

This is exactly what DW & I do.

 

 

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also to add, some cruise ports (definitely UK ones) will check passports for all passengers!

on my last cruise there were prayers.... led by lay-people.

Can't believe Richard is still Cruise director! :) I liked Richard. Hope he is on my TA.

looking at some of the threads depends who you talk to too at ncl uk.

Phoned NCL to ask about mine and asked about EU tax, there's 15% VAT added on for cruises to/from Spain even if prepay. Might be different if getting on elsewhere? It also mentions this on NCL'S EU page under gifts& more.