firstimecruiseronncl

Looking forward to your review. I've been on the Breakaway five times, Getaway once. I loved both of them but after sailing the Escape last July, she has become my new favorite. She is the Breakaway with a few extras. Have a great trip. 

16 hours ago, Bitten10 said:

Thanks for sharing this!  Do you remember which apps you used?  I tried to call NCL customer service and they were ZERO help at all 😞

I use Whatsapp and I am able to make phones calls and message on it (as long as the person I am contacting has the app as well). I also use Snapchat. 

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Wanted to give everyone an update. I spoke with my PCC today and she said that there is no flexibility with flight dates for the New Orleans cruise whatsoever. I would have to fly in and out the day of with no option to pay extra to extend my stay. She also said that both cruises offer a $100 per person "discount" if you opt out of the airfare. So, taking that into consideration, pricing out flights, hotel, ground transportation, and additional food/drinks for the NOLA trip versus just tolls, gas, and parking for NYC, the Escape cruise comes out quite a cheaper. Made the decision pretty easy. I'll be calling my PCC back tonight to book the Escape. Will be interesting to see if prices drop some after this free airfare promo ends. I will have until December 8 for final payment, so if the prices do go down, I can always re-book at the lower rate.

I was going to vote for the Escape. I absolutely loved the Breakaway and sailed it 5 times, but we just did the Escape in July and it is the Breakaway but better! 

I've been on the Breakaway 5 times. I really enjoyed the ship and the convenience of leaving out of NYC. 

Hello my fellow cruisers, I'm heading out on the Getaway on 16th and was wondering if I would still be able to use my iphone to imessage (text) if I sign up for the social media plan. I don't believe I will be making any phone calls from the ship but want to make sure I can still be reached by imessage in case of any emergency arises at home. Does anyone know if they were able to text or call for that matter by using the ships social media internet package. Thanks all

With the social media package can call and text using Whatsapp. The phone stays in airplane mode and their is no cost other than the package.

I had a mini-suite on the Escape for our July 15th cruise. I bid in May and received my upgrade acceptance on July 10th. We were upgraded to the Haven Spa Suite.

There are threads here about:

 

Bidding - How much was bid or would you bid - etc.

 

But in search I did not come up with:

 

The day/date of the bid award - how many days between 80 and 2 days before sailing was your bid accepted.

NCL puts out an upgrade email at about 80 days before sailing

You can bid on cabins two categories above your present cabin level

You can bid high low or not at all

 

So this thread is about after you have bid when did NCL accept your bid and move you to that next level cabin.

 

Most likely it was not at the 80 day mark but somewhat closer to the 2 day before sailing mark.

 

What was your experience - bid amounts not needed but type of cabin upgrade would be interesting ?

Also did you get exactly what you wanted - something close - I shouldn't have bid at all ?

I use Whatsapp and Snapchat and both of them worked great. I was able to call home (and receive phone calls) from Whatsapp and I was also able to text and send pictures and video. Snapchat was great to send the short video also (as well as text).

Standard. Maybe one time we did not noticed the contents anywhere, but that could have been us and a good room steward (or perhaps a storage room across the hall...).

 

Same as with bringing in the embarkation sheet cover and such on the second last day to make the work easier.

Ours were stored inside the seat by the vanity (the seat top lifted up).

Were you able to make video calls through Facebook?

I used it on the Escape two weeks ago. It worked great. I only used it for Snapchat and I used Whatsapp to text message and make/receive phone calls.

Congratulations! I'm waiting on an Escape Haven Spa bid too. Fingers crossed:D You definitely made out better than just booking it direct.

Good luck! When are you sailing?

Congrats, Haven on Escape is fantastic!

Thanks! We did the Haven on the Breakaway in March and it was nice but the Escape Haven does look even better.

My bid was accepted yesterday for my NCL Escape sailing this Sunday (July 15th). We were upgraded from a mini-suite to Haven spa balcony room ($1000 each) No great bargain but cheaper than paying upfront. Plus, we now have access to the Spa. I'm very excited. I didn't think we would get it because I thought they were almost sold out and our bid wouldn't be high enough.

Has anyone received an acceptance from a recent Escape cruise?

I'm glad you stated it b/c it is not obvious to some fo

 

I don't understand the policy of letting kids in the hot tub. The hot tubs were unusable when we were in the Haven due to toddlers using it as their swimming pool. They were in there with their swimmies on.

Hello again, thank you for all the replies. That link was very helpful esm. I am trying to figure out the best way to stay in touch with the family back home. I was planning on getting the social media package and using messenger but when I saw this on the dailie I thought it might be better and cheaper, but with per minute charges I might just stick with messanger. If anyone has experience with both I would love to hear which works better.

I've used iconcierge to keep in touch with home. It worked great for me. I was able to receive calls and make calls without any issues.

My last cruise I had unlimited internet and I kept in touch using whatsapp and snapchat. You can make and receive phone calls through whatsapp as well as send text message and send pictures and videos. You can do all of this with just the social media package too.

I was also curious about this too since I am going on the Escape next week to Bermuda. I only found one image from 2016 which obviously isn't helpful now but enough for you to get an idea. Maybe I can snag a shot (if it is on an iPad) if I remember. It is run by the Robert Mondavi winery group so nice to see it isn't too Mondavi heavy.

 

Most of these are under the $15 max per glass for the premium package which definitely works for me

 

That looks like a nice selection. Thanks for finding it. Might not be exact but at least it shows that they have a big selection. I can't wait to see it. Have fun next week. I'm going in July.

 

 

Answering my own post. I found a video on Youtube that shows some of the menu on the Ipad. Not sure if the link will work. If not, I searched "NCL Escape Wine Bar Menu". Here is the link:

I was also curious about this too since I am going on the Escape next week to Bermuda. I only found one image from 2016 which obviously isn't helpful now but enough for you to get an idea. Maybe I can snag a shot (if it is on an iPad) if I remember. It is run by the Robert Mondavi winery group so nice to see it isn't too Mondavi heavy.

 

Most of these are under the $15 max per glass for the premium package which definitely works for me

 

That looks like a nice selection. Thanks for finding it. Might not be exact but at least it shows that they have a big selection. I can't wait to see it. Have fun next week. I'm going in July.

I doubt you'll see it online, as it is presented to you on an IPAD I believe....a tablet for sure....not really an easy to take a pic of the menu....you drill down on the tablet using filters....

Oh, that makes sense. I couldn't imagine why I couldn't find a menu. Too bad.... Thanks :)

I've tried searching for a menu, but I can't seem to find one. Does anyone have a menu from Cellars Wine Bar on the Escape? The wine by the glass option on NCL is limited, so I just want to see the options in Cellars.

I'm cruising with my mom on the July 1 Escape sailing with my mom. We have a Haven Spa Suite confirmed, but I just got the email to big on upgrades to H2, H3, or H4. Thoughts about keeping that or bidding on upgrade? She really liked the idea of the jacuzzi en suite. But will it be too tight for the two of us? I think I read that the Spa Suite comes with access to the Spa. Does that not come with other Haven suites? We like using the Spa when traveling. What are advantages (besides space) of the upgrade categories? Any advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks and happy cruising!

I would keep the Spa Suite, otherwise, you will lose your access to the spa.

BTW - just tried to make a reservation for my Platinum meal, and the glitch seems to be fixed.

Yes, I just checked and the glitch is fixed. Thanks for letting me know.

Dining reservations for your cruise opened in mid-March. More likely that the restaurants are sold out for pre-book. Good that the agent on the phone was able to help you, normally they see the same inventory as you do.

Oh, could be. I think I'm just going to book them as soon as I get on the boat. She was able to do Cagney's for me, so that was good.

I just booked the NCL Escape for July 15th and when I try to make a dining reservation on ncl.com, it only allows me to make it for 1 guest (going with my husband). I called NCL and instead of fixing the issue, she wanted to make the reservations for me. Has anyone else ever had this issue?

I'm looking forward to the cruise. It will be my first visit on the Escape and I'm excited to see that they have a wine bar. The wine options by the glass are always so limited so I'm hoping there are more options in the wine bar.

The deal, $50 per person, choose two bonuses (drinks and excursion credits), no taxes, cool itinerary, how could I say no. Newer ship and style and I'm willing to give it another try after a very disappointing:cool::cool::cool: experience on the Pearl many years ago. I'm looking forward to it!

 

Anyone have a change of heart about NCL or any other line and are glad you gave them another chance?

My first cruise was on the Star. I swore I would never sail NCL again after that cruise. But, we received a "free" casino cruise and it was too good to pass up. So, we sailed on the Breakaway and loved it. We have since sailed on the Breakaway 5 times and the Getaway once.

did you upgrade to a suite both times? I was told (and have read here on cruisecritic) that you can get the perks for suites if you upgrade to a suite. Otherwise you get the perks associated with the cabin level you're comped if you upgrade to any other cabin level. I was actually ready to upgrade to a suite until I was told that you have to pay double for a suite (I'm traveling solo). You're not charged a single supplement for any other cabin. I'm actually not sure if this is for all suites or specifically the Haven. They don't have non-haven suites on the breakaway, which is what I was checking on.

We were offered an inside cabin both times. Last year we booked a balcony cabin and got the upgrades for that category (2 Perks). I thought they made a change because on previous cruises we didn't get the extra perks. We had always gotten whatever was offered for the inside cabin.