dreamr

I am very, very anxiously awaiting news of entertainment on the ship. Come on, NCL!

I had originally booked a cruise on the Getaway because I looooove "Legally Blonde: The Musical". NCL canceled that cruise and turned it into a 12-day cruise and encouraged those of us who had already booked the canceled cruise to switch to the Escape. I took them up on their very generous offer...

However, it means I will no longer get to see Legally Blonde. :(

I'm definitely not complaining, though...since I'm getting to cruise on a brand spankin' new ship at a very nice price. And, as I've told myself many times before, I can always take my next cruise on the Getaway and see Legally Blonde.

Even so, I still can't help but be a little anxious (and excited) about what the main entertainment on the Escape might be.

Any guesses as to how far in advance the announcement might come?

It seems like news about Legally Blonde on the Getaway was announced in May 2013...and the ship went into service January 2014. Sooo...that's about eight months before the first sailing. Which means that if the Escape goes into service in November 2015, we won't hear any entertainment news until...February or March 2015? Oh my! How am I going to make it that long? lol

The movies seem to constantly change. I've been on the Epic twice and saw different movies each time. They also play several different movies over the week of the cruise. Some were on the aft big screen and some were on the big screen in the atrium.

However, they DID have the "Fabba" party on both cruises. :)

Congrats! Enjoy the Epic, she's a great ship. I'm going to miss her. :(

Who knows, maybe it'll inspire me to look into European cruises. XD

Btw, have fun in the studios. I LOVE the whole studio concept. <3

Like others have said, the food was decent, but nothing spectacular. Hopefully, you're there for the show anyway, so the food doesn't really matter all that much. At least it didn't to us. We thought it was a fascinating show.

We sat in the balcony and looooved our view. Didn't miss anything. In fact, there were several moments when the performers came to stand right beside me during the show and would wave at me and my friend. Which we thought was awesome. XD

I remember seeing post from people on here that ended in "posted by using tapatalk" or something like that before. So, I decided to download it on my phone to use. All I can remember is that I hated it and just wanted to be able to see everything as if I was on a regular PC. I deleted it and never looked back. :D I still get the pop-up asking me to download it and quickly get out of it to go to the full version. I'm really not sure the need for it? Maybe I'm missing something?

Same here!

I installed it and could instantly tell I didn't like it.

For one, it seemed to sign me up for a couple of random forums I've never heard of and I couldn't figure out how to remove myself from them... and then I didn't see anyway of navigating CruiseCritic to the specific forums I wanted to visit (such as the NCL forum, of course). It seemed to just randomly show whatever thread was posted in most recently, regardless of which forum it happened to be in. And since there are a gazillion different forums here...

So yeah, I also deleted it and haven't looked back. lol

As far as solo cruisers' ages are concerned, I've found that there's a pretty big spread of ages...and you never know what you'll see on your particular cruise.

I've cruised solo twice. The first cruise, there was a nice group of 20-to-30-somethings and we all dined together each night and went to a few shows together, went to the ice bar together, etc. It was in November and the ship didn't seem as full as the second cruise. There were some older solos as well, but there were plenty of younger ones, too.

My second cruise, the median age was a bit higher and I was one of the youngest in the bunch. However, this cruise was a special 8-day cruise, and there were TONS of solos at the nightly meetings. This one was also in January, and I'm not sure if that (as well as the cruise being 8-day) affected the age range or not.

Basically, I guess it's just luck of the draw of whether the median age will be older or not.

I haven't been on the Breakaway, but I've sailed solo on the Epic twice (in a studio cabin both times). I loved it!

I've heard the studio section on the Breakaway and Getaway operate in much the same manner as the studio section on the Epic. You have a staff member designated as the "solo coordinator" that will plan activities for the solo travelers, as well as getting groups together for meals, and help people mingle and meet each other during the nightly solo travelers meeting.

As for the ages... it seems to be a mixed bag. My first cruise had a lot of 20-30s (myself included), but my second cruise seemed to skew a little older. However, the second cruise was a special 8-day, so I don't know if that affected things or not.

I highly recommend giving it a try. :)

If JC is JC Sanchez, I had him on my last Epic cruise and I thought he was great. I danced with him at the FABBA party. XD

Our hostess was the one who obtained the additional cards. They were true solo travelers who missed out on booking a studio because they were sold out.

However, not all the hallway doors completely locked - unless you pulled them tight. It was easy enough to get in without the card.

I'm not going to hold my breath, but you have me hoping I will be able to get one of those 'additional' cards next year.

I had a studio booked on the Getaway for next Halloween and the cruise was just canceled by NCL. They moved my reservation over to a sailing on the Escape (yes, I'm excited!), but since there were no available studios, they put me in a regular inside room.

I feel like I have no right to complain regardless of whether or not they give me access to the lounge, since I'm getting a bigger room for a very nice price, but I sure will miss having access to the lounge. :(

I know! My luck usually sucks! So I was very happy with this outcome. :)

I was a little disappointed at first (I was sooo looking forward to seeing Legally Blonde :( ), but I can always sail on the Getaway some other time (probably not until 2016 or so, but I'll get there eventually). lol

Btw, the only reason they gave me an inside was because all of the studios on that cruise were booked. And since they were the one canceling the cruise and not me, I guess they figured putting me in the next category up would be fair. I agree with that. lol

My 10/31/15 NCL Getaway cruise has been changed to an 11/14/15 NCL Escape cruise, due to NCL deciding to turn the 10/31/15 cruise into a 12-day Southern rather than a 7-day Eastern. However, they have made me a very happy girl with how they've handled the change.

I won't be in a studio (which is what I had booked on the Getaway), but they gave me an inside room for the rate I had booked the Getaway studio (yes, without any solo supplement!)...and gave me some on board credit! I'm thrilled. :D

Anyway... anyone going on the inaugural NCL Escape cruise from Miami on November 14, 2015? :D

I've stayed at the Marquis. It was gorgeous! The room was huge and beautiful. There was a television in the bathroom mirror, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a really large flatscreen television.

There is also a full size computer desk complete with a computer and free wifi that you can use. I don't take my laptop on trips, so it was really nice to be able to sign into facebook and update all my friends that I had arrived in Miami, etc.

Oh, and something that amused me? My room had a doorbell. XD

From what I've seen, it seems to be every few months.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, though.

I, too, would love to see some different ships (NCL in particular) in Charleston. Being that I live in SC, it would be sooooo great to be able to leave from there. However, the Carnival Fantasy just holds no interest for me.

I also have a few friends who would love to try out a cruise but don't want to fly (or drive for hours). :/

Well, I guess part of it will depend on how early you want to get off of the ship. If you're one of those who wants to be off the ship the moment you dock...I have no experience with that. XD

But my experiences getting off of the ship have all been very, very quick and painless. I tend to sleep in a little (though, not enough that I would miss my excursions, of course) and had no trouble simply walking straight off the ship.

Likewise with getting back on the ship. Walk up the ramp, stick your card in the slot, and you're back on.

Like I said, though, I'm not one to want to be among the first off the ship, so that might be a different experience.

Hope that helps a little. :)

P.S. I've been in studios twice and LOVED them. Gonna be in a studio on my upcoming Getaway cruise, too. :D

Approximately 420. So. Far. Away! Hopefully, the next year will fly by! :P

Nope, never been on a Halloween cruise before, so I'm excited. Not as excited as I am to be seeing Legally Blonde: The Musical... but excited nonetheless! I don't know if I'll wear a full costume or if I'll just slap on a wig and funky jewelry or something. We'll see! I want to do something, though. :P

Going on the Norwegian Getaway on Halloween 2015. Staying in the studios. Can't wait! I've stayed in studios on the Epic twice and absolutely loved it, so I'm excited to stay in one again. :D

That's awesome. I can't wait to see him in a few days! Getting on the Epic in the morning!

I'm 35 and will be going on my second solo cruise in about 6 days! Both cruises on the Epic. I love their studio concept and the solo gatherings. I had a blast last time and met lots of friends that I still keep in touch with.

Of course, I have no idea what kind of group will be there this year, but the group we had in November 2012 was awesome. Most of us were in our 30s, with a few older people in the mix.

If you haven't checked out the Norwegian Epic yet, I'd encourage you to do so. I loved it so much that I booked it a second time within a month of being home. From what I've seen, they do more to cater to solo travelers than other lines (and they don't confuse 'solo' with 'single').

No matter what you decide, hope you have a great time! :)

Thanks for posting I was wondering the same thing. Called NCL and the person told me 300.00 a day for my cabin. I think i just about fell out of my chair at that.

Hahaha! I bet that was a shocker.

I'm about to go on an 8 day cruise next week... so that'd be $2400 for me! I'd NEVER spend that much! I would have DIED if they had told me I'd have to put down $300 per day! LOL

I bet that representative got the old policy and the new policy confused.

The old policy was "$100 per day per person" and the new policy is "$300 per person" (no "per day"... just $300 total per person). I bet that's why they told you "$300 per day". lol

Until recently, their site claimed that "$100 per person per day" was required, but when I went on the Epic last year, I only put $150 total on my account and they didn't say a word about it.

I believe I read on here a while back that they have since changed the "$100 per day per person" line on their website, but I cannot tell you what it has been changed to.*

However, they did allow cash last year and didn't make me put any specified amount down.

I had prepaid my DSC, though. So if you have not prepaid your DSC, then you will at least have to put enough cash down to cover that... plus any extra that you would like to spend.

* I went to the NCL site and this is what is there now:

Cash/Traveler's Checks Procedures

You can deposit cash or US Traveler's Checks into your onboard account.

A cash deposit may be placed on your account in the following amounts:

 

7 day cruises - $300/person

Less than 7 days - $150/person

More than 7 days - $450/person

 

Once you have exceeded the deposited amount, your account will be closed to further charges. You can deposit as much money as often as you'd like throughout the cruise, however, refunds cannot be made until the day of disembarkation for any excess. US Traveler's Checks can be cashed onboard and are the same as cash.

**Personal checks will not be accepted, nor can they be cashed onboard.

Not sure how firm they will be with these amounts... since they did not enforce the old "$100 per day per person" rule.

The solo gathering was held at different times and often at 8:00. This was the biggest complaint of the solos in our group. The gatherings were no well attended due to the time. There were other changes as well like no organized dinners, no guest entertainers, etc.

Oh no! I hate to hear that. 'Cause the dinners were among the best parts of our experience last year. Why would NCL go and screw up such a good thing? :(

You have some awesome pictures! Thank you for posting! :D

I loved O'Sheehan's, too. Yummy chicken pot pie! lol

Btw, I hate to ask this, because I'm sure it's work for you, but would you mind posting the other dailies? At least the pages that have the lists of activities. I saw some dailies last month that showed the solo travelers gatherings being at like 8 PM and I'm just kind of curious if that's an ongoing change?

Last year, we had the gatherings around 5:30 PM and then went to dinner afterwards. 8 PM seems a little late for the gatherings... unless they aren't planning any dinners. :eek: lol

They didn't reserve them when I went to see the show last year. My friend and I sat front row center and had a great time.

But the front does fill up fast... so I'd go early, if at all possible.