kodiac

I will reply to the main forum with a full review, but we are just hope from the Getaway - was on the 15 day RT from NYC to the Southern Carib. 

My honest opinion: I didn't like it as much as the NCL Joy. I feel the service in the dining rooms including all five (5) speciality restaurants that we went to were sub-par. Food was OK to good. We had one excellent meal in Le Bistro. We never had a long wait time to sit down or grab food from the buffet, but the dining staff was just not great overall. The buffet had some really good eats (and we are not buffet people). We didn't really like the layout of the ship, but we worked it out. Overall, liked the Joy much better than this ship for everything, food, service, layout, etc. 

So I'm a bit disappointed to have found the NCL website changed the kids program to a minimum age of 5 and have no services for 3 & 4 year olds.

I'd like to know if anyone knows when this change was made? I was on the NCL website when I booked our upcoming cruise on the Joy. I was told by a NCL rep that the change was made sometime in the May 2022 timeframe. Would've been nice for someone to reach out to us, knowing we have little ones that fall into this category. 

In any case, the upcoming cruise was going to be our 1st on NCL and I "was" looking forward to it. For 7 days, it is not a deal breaker. However, the longer cruise for 12 days I was looking at for next year is a 100% "no" if they don't have a kids program. Disney, Carnival Brands, and Royal brands mostly have kids programs open now starting at 3. 

Bummer for sure... 

I hope not. I have several cruises booked with my almost 4 year old and my almost 2 year old. Our pediatrician is not suggesting the COVID vaccine at this time until we visit for their well visits to discuss in person. 

15 hours ago, quattrohead said:

Yeah they need to knock this testing on the head, because as per another thread it obviously does not work.

I concur. They should start to remove testing. It does not make sense how they have it rolled out. My almost 2 year old daughter didn't have to test at all prior or during the cruise. We can also get COVID while on the cruise from people that didn't have it and got it during travel to the cruise, while out on an excursion, etc. 

Here is a picture of the railing on the 12th deck Cloud 9 rooms.

3 hours ago, spsarrocco said:

Also with that said, I did not love the ship, it just wasn't my favorite.  It could use a little work on maintenance but I wouldn't call it rundown or anything, but I just didn't love the layout either.  I much preferred the Glory, a much older ship, or the Horizon, a much newer ship.  Just didn't think that middle ship had anything special for me.  

 

 

You would not call it "run down"? There was rust everywhere. The railings were showing bare wood with no varnish, and the seats in the MDR were cracked and ripped. I had a picture off the wall in our room, a broken light, a hinge that caused an injury to my son (broken), and a balcony door that would not work due to a bent piece of metal on the handle. Not sure what you call run down, but I've seen Holland America ships near 20 years old and Princess ships near 20 years old (both owned by Carnival corp) that are in WAY better shape. 

Sorry, but you may not have seen these things. We certainly did. Here is a picture attached of the MDR seats on the Carnival Magic.

4 hours ago, ladychater said:

Looking forward to your review!

 

Thanks. I'm waiting a few more days to cool off a bit so I can provide constructive criticism and point out the positives and negatives. I expected a bit better in a lot of areas. Some the cruise line is in control over, some they are not. 

Was in NYC for the 6/20 sailing of the Magic. No priority until after security. It was an absolute nightmare and took almost 2 hours from the time of arrival until we got on the ship (with priority). 

So we just got off the Magic yesterday. Muster drill - a breeze. Go up to the check-in point without your life jacket. Scan in, listen to a few minute drill and you're on the way. 

Was the ship full? YES! Lines like crazy and people everywhere. A huge communication issue on the ship itself with staff members, officers, and other employees. I honestly have to say I've not seen anything like this in all the cruising that we've done. There are many other things that need repair and fixing, but I don't want to post off topic here - that is for my review which I will post later.

I really, really hope they sort things out (for future passengers). After our cruise on the Magic, we will very likely not board this ship again. We really are thinking about not booking another Carnival cruise ever due to this sailing. As you can see, we've been on quite a few. 

I've not been on this particular ship, but they normally with have the narrators broadcast from the bridge and it will be on the TV station. That is how we listed from our Princess balcony.

Enjoy your cruise!

I normally will laminate my tags, punch holes in them, and zip tie them to the bag (using 2 zip ties). They have never came off during flight and/or getting onto the ship.

There are also holders available on amazon which are nice and I've not had any issues with these either. I've only used these a handful of times, so time will tell.

The laminating I've used for many cruises.

I would say give Princess another chance based on your review. The service staff for us are usually very good. We had one very bad service staff on Princess just once and this was years ago and toward the beginning of us sailing.

As for the food, I can agree somewhat. We have some chefs in the family and we also are great cooks. Sometimes, the food is bland for me, but I still enjoy it. I normally will talk with the wait staff ahead of time and make some special requests. As far as alternatives, we love sushi and wine, so the Wine bar on all ships is great. The IC is also a great place for great food. And last but not least, the lido deck. I was not a fan of the crab shack (will probably never go back to this one).

I would say for me, Princess is a great value considering cost and all considerations. I've been on some lines that serve fake eggs, fake coffee, and while they are a good value for some - not a good match for me. I like that all Princess ships are similar with venues so I know what to expect.

Please give Princess another try in the future, but I can agree it is not going to be the same experience as any other line (less expensive, or more). They are all a little different.

Watch the Princess Patter for movie details. Unfortunately, to find what's on TV in the cabin, there is no printed guide so you have to endure the scrolling thing :(

We were on the Crown recently and asked for a TV guide which was provided that same evening. Has this changed?

Hi,

 

I'm a craft beer fan and wondering how the reviews are on Princess' craft beer offering of "Sea Witch"?:)

The wife and tried this IPA on the Royal Princess. It was ok, not excellent. I would order it again, and in fact may do so in October. I think the wife liked it more than I did - go figure.

You're missing the point. It's about freedom to do what you want on your vacation.

You hit the nail on the head. Thought it was advertised as "freestyle". Not saying this is a deal breaker, but I'm not going to have someone tell me what I can/can't do on vacation (within reason).

Hi - I noticed Princess says there are "drinks" available - is it just a welcome drink --- or is it open limited bar? Just curious as we may book this trip next month.

October 2014 marks a 10 year anniversary with my DW. I'm still kicking around this cruise or a 30 day b2b Southern Caribbean (3 legs) with Princess. In either case, we're going to select Princess. We've been on the Crown and she is AMAZING.

If I could get a copy e-mailed to me that would be great (kodiac_@ureach.com) - that is kodiac underscore @ ureach.com

Thanks in advance!