CruisingOnBy810

Is anyone willing to get rid of a Cruise Next Certificate? I can pay via PayPal? Trying to pay for a surprise trip for my sister and her family. This would really help. 

This is our balcony handicap room on the Epic. That door is the bathroom and everything was in it.

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Yes!!!! The Epic Haven is my favorite one.

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Ha! Ours is big too :) so while I am hoping she'll sleep in a PnP, she may not fit by then! If you don't mind me asking, did she sleep with you, or on a sofa etc?

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!! I'm a bit nervous about it, if you couldnt tell!!

 

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She slept with us. I would also say to look at the family cruising forum as it was super helpful to me.

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Also - did you get off ship in ports? Did you bring a carseat for taxis etc? And do you recommend a particular stroller for the cruise?

 

Appreciate it, sorry for all the questions, it's great to get recent perspective from other cruising families!

 

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We did get off on the ports. Make sure you research the ports. One of our excursions was able to provide a car seat. We brought her car seat with us but it ended up being a waste of space as the taxis and buses didn’t have the seatbelts. Definitely bring an umbrella stroller. We prefer the Uppababy because it is lightweight and completely reclines so when at port I could change her in the stroller with no problem. As well as she would nap without issues.

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Do you have any insight/tips/advice on cruising with a young one? Ours would be 2 so a little older, but more curious of the experience - how she slept, if you brought a curtain to put around pack n play, did you "trade off" some evenings (ie one stay in w little one while the other enjoyed a show or dinner later, etc)?

 

We are a bit older (early 40s) and enjoy cruising but this would be our first one with the little one!

 

 

 

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Our daughter slept great. With the ocean movement and it can be dark even in a cabin with a balcony ( we had a B2 category). We did not get the pack and play as she is big for her age so I am of no help there. We did trade off for a little bit every evening. Sometimes he would go first or me. Sometimes we that for sleep in the stroller so we could roam the waterfront together.

Make sure you bring enough pull ups or diapers and wipes because they are expensive onboard and they do run out. Also bring any medicine you may need for the toddler. None is available onboard.

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My DD and I are booked in an angled spa balcony for her birthday next year. Did you ever go to the spa on this or previous times on the Getaway? What is the best thing you felt to do on the Getaway? DD is in 40's and I am well let's just say "senior" LOL

I previously went to the spa on the first cruise and we did enjoy the pool and heated chaises. There is a lot to do honestly I can’t imagine being bored. It depends on when you go as summer is more kid friendly.

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Sorry, something about this just cracked me up. I was expecting the usual chocolate covered strawberries, but an art auction invite kicks it up a notch :')

 

 

 

That's one of the reasons I never answer the phone on an NCL cruise. 99% of the time, it's something stupid or annoying.

If looks could kill lol. I had just put the baby down for a nap and trying to relax with a moment to myself.

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A little background information about us. We are in our late 30’s and cruising since 2010. We love NCL. This was our 3rd time on the Getaway. We have a 14 month old and this was her first cruise.

Food- I know this is subjective but we enjoyed almost everything we ate even at the buffet everything was hot and tasted fresh. My one issue was The Ocean Blue lunch counter open on sea days. I have always enjoyed the lobster rolls and chips. This time of not very good at all. Lobster Roll was skimpy on the lobster and the chips were stale and chewy.

Entertainment- We seen all the shows before so we did not go again. We normally enjoy the events around the ship but this time I did not care too much for the CD Zack. He seemed forced and like he was scripted. It was his first week on the ship so maybe that was the issue.

Casino- They did have some new games since the last time we were there but I definitely left more than I won. Staff at the bar was quick and I never wanted too long. It did fill up at night and I didn’t notice the smoking smell.

Staff- We enjoyed the staff. Some were just moved to the ship on our sailing but everyone was nice and pleasant. I did find some of the little things lacking. Such as the bartender remember you and the same drink after few days.

Issues we had- While nothing happened that ruined the cruise we did have a couple of things that made us question what was going on. First thing our room steward was friendly but awful. I think he cleaned our room 3 times the entire cruise. He had just transferred from the Sky so maybe he was overwhelmed. At one point the housekeeping manager knocked on the room and asked why we keep refusing service. I explained we are not but we leave in the morning and come back around 2 (baby likes to nap around this time) and the room is not cleaned and same happens at night. Another issue is the “Do Not Disturb” why have it if you ignore it? This happened several times by different members of staff. One person called the room and said “ you have your Do Not Disturb sign on and I have an important delivery “ I immediately go to the door and it’s an art auction vip invite. Annoyed to say the least.

Overall the condition of the ship was fine and we had a good time but it wasn’t anything special as all our cruises have felt before.

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Here is a video I saw of the damage made.

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I booked directly with Daniel’s Facebook page and they have zip line tours and snorkeling. Message them directly

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Looks like he couldn’t slow down in time. Not sure why. Doesn’t seem like anyone was injured. Wondering how this will effect cruises in the near future.

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No condo towers in Miami downtown/Brickell/Midtown allow short term rentals. Scammers list AirBnBs in the buildings, take people's money, then when the guests show up, they aren't allowed their accommodations.

 

It's always on our news.

Thank you very much. I will not be doing that.

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I agree, get two hotel rooms and stay downtown.

 

 

 

Whatever you do and no matter what anyone tells you, DO NOT do AirBnB downtown Miami.

You have got my attention. Why not AirBnB? I was thinking about trying it.

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Thanks—Are the ATMs considered to be US based (I have a bank account that refunds in the US only)

 

 

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Yes it is Miami based.

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Make sure you join your roll call for other helpful advice.

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We have stayed there several times and never had a problem. Also loved having a balcony facing the port.

FYI they offer a shuttle to South Beach for $10

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I spoke to NCL said not to worry that the website is wrong and it is a B9 category. Unfortunately that doesn't make me feel any better. We shall see tomorrow

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I called Casino at Sea last week and paid to upgrade from a BA category to a B9 spa balcony. It does say on my invoice BA to B9. Here is the issue I just check the Getaway deck plan and my cabin (13744) is listed as a BA. What do I do? I sail tomorrow and they are closed on the weekends. I am so confused as to why or how this could happen but please help. Thank you in advance

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We were on the Escape last week and for the first 3 days of the cruise you could not use the call feature.

Thanks for your review. We're going on the Escape in May and it's helpful to know what to expect. Discouraging about the casino because we really enjoyed the casino on Jade - the only other NCL ship we've been on. And I'll definitely take my Dramamine now!

We have been on the Jewel, Sky, Epic and Getaway and still think that the Escape had the worst casino.

Let me start by saying Dh and I are easygoing but do like to make our vacation memorable.. This was the first cruise bringing both our daughters age 17 and 18. I will separate everything in sections. Overall we had a nice time but we have no desire to ever cruise the Escape again.

Room(mini suite 14182)

Room was close to the forward elevator. I felt it was a good size room for all 4 of us and did not feel it was crammed. Loved the bathroom and shower. Perfect for 2 teenagers and their makeup. Room steward was Marissa and she was wonderful. Room was always cleaned perfectly.

Dining

We only ate dinner at the specialty restaurants and I have no complaints except in Le Bistro. Service was extremely slow which took away from the experience. Also Dh was really sunburnt so wearing dress pants was not going to happen so when he walked us to dinner the host very discretely advise you must have on pants. I said we are aware but he was only walking us down. I mention this because while waiting for our food they did seat and serve a gentleman in khaki shorts. We did enjoy the food but again service was super slow.

Margaritaville was great for lunch because we had the old UDP it was free. It was also busy on the day we went which was Tortola.

Food Republic was not we enjoyed. The food was ok but nothing spectacular. It was also busy but both Dh and I agreed it was not worth $35 we spent.

Shows

We did go to both free shows in the theater and enjoyed them although I did leave After Midnight early as I got a little bored.

Ship

We are big gamblers and spend a lot of time in the casino. The host was friendly but the casino was horrible. It did not have a good selection of slots and payout which it normally not so great on a ship was worse than any cruise I have ever been on. I did see one person hit $1300 but it was on a $5 max bet machine. Bar service was also hit and miss.

The crew was always polite and smiling. The ship was beautiful and clean but the two issues I had was the public areas of the ship seemed to be a similar size to the Getaway but a lot more crowded and rocking of the ship was horrible. I do not get seasick but it was a constant annoyance and conversation about why is it rocking so bad when the waves are small and weather was clear. I also felt we were crammed into everywhere. I still love NCL but not so much of the Escape.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I did not see this question here. Is there anyway to do Uber without a smart phone? still have old fashioned non smart (stupid) phone. I figure that it is probably not an option without a smart phone. Am I right? Hate to ditch the old stupid phone that still works at a low cost.

Not that I know of. Maybe a tablet or laptop

Were there any problems dropping off at the cruise ship terminal?

 

 

 

Nicole

I never had a problem

Can Uber pick up at MIA?

Yes. Just have to provide the terminal you are at.