ShannonSC2

23 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Here is my report of the Veterans "tribute" from my trip report on the Jade from last month. If you miss it, you won't be missing much...

 

Attended the official Veteran's reception in the Spinnaker. Every seat was taken in anticipation of a memorable event. In a word it was...disappointing. They played the National Anthem, asked who in the crowd was in the Army, Navy, etc., brought up a few senior crew members...and then adjourned the event. Ten minutes later. Seriously. Seriously disappointing. NCL does a great job of recognizing Veterans with the discount, medals, pins, etc., so it was surprising how this event went down.

 

 That is disappointing.  We have been to 3 of them.  The Prima in 2023 was one of the first ones when they started the military program.  There were only about 10 veterans in attendance and they announced each person and we got a picture.  It was really cool how they did it and it lasted about 45 minutes.  Some vets were able to talk about their experiences.

On the Joy there were a lot more.  They did the National Anthem, group pictures, someone cut the cake and even had the military spouses for a group picture.  

On the Epic in December there were so many they had to split the group pictures up.  National Anthem, recognized each branch, cake and pictures.  

We will be on the Escape this coming week and I will be interested in seeing what they do.  

For some people it may not seem like a lot but I am very proud that NCL has stepped up with honoring the Veterans with not only 10% off but also doing something special while on the ship.  

Hey Ken & Cheryl.  Thank you for posting this review as we will be traveling on this cruise Feb 18 from Rome to Barcelona.  It will be our first time on Windstar so we are looking forward to this.

We just got off the Epic yesterday.  Once all the ships left port we were able to dock for the night.  I was wondering how it was going out of port on Saturday.  I know when we came into port it was rough.  A few wine glasses falling off people's table at dinner.  

Also will be on the Escape in March.  I haven't sailed on her yet.  Looking forward to seeing more of your review.  

Your pictures are beautiful.  

I know during the Basketball championship game (can't remember the year) they played the game in the Atrium.  It was fun to watch with other people even though we had no ties to whoever was playing.  I don't know if they will do it or not.  There has been limited channels on the EPIC (on it now crossing the Atlantic Ocean).  I was hoping to catch some of the SEC/ACC championship games but it was only soccer!  I wouldn't count on it being played.  If you get the streaming internet package you may be able to watch it on your phone or computer.  

We cruise Prima from NYC to Bermuda in April.  Nice ship but one of those either you like it or you hate it.  🙂  I have been curious how the outdoor space will work in colder weather destinations.  I did find that the rooms are spacious and lots of storage space.  

Thank you for sharing.  

I am following along as we are doing this in Sept 2024.  We are arriving 2 days before the cruise and added 2 days at the end.  We have been looking at the Golden Circle Tour.  I am glad to see it includes the Blue Lagoon.  

On 6/22/2023 at 2:49 AM, SakeDad said:

The other issue most are unaware of is the people you talk to are not in a call center if old days where everyone has the same information. Most are home based and in countries around the world and don't have "supervisors" in the room to reach out to. It makes it much easier to get incorrect information they will swear is correct.

 Yep one person will tell you one thing while someone else will tell you something totally different.  No one is on the same page.  And this is for all cruise lines not just NCL.  

Sorry the OP had a disappointing experience on the Pr1ma.  I was on her in May and absolutely loved her.   Either you love it or you hate it.  

First of all we have had issues at the port in Tampa one time.  We were delayed getting in the port due to some crazy delay of the ship arriving late.  The baggage porters weren't even there to take our luggage so that created a mess.  When we arrived in Tampa the line was wrapped all around the building in the heat.  But we just pushed through and laughed at the experience.  We sure as heck didn't let the delay make our cruise "a bad experience".

I have been on about 10 NCL cruises.  I have also been on Royal, Princess, Holland, and Carnival.  Each cruise line has their own set of issues.  I keep going back to NCL because of their staff, their activities and the food.  

I have been on ships where we had to change courses because of storms.  Even circled an island a few times before the captain said the heck with it we are having a sea day.  Been through a tropical storm system that formed and that was the worse experience ever but it was the memories that were made during that cruise.  I guess with every cruise there are good and bad but that doesn't mean that I will never cruise on that ship or even the cruise line again.  

My husband and I sailed from NYC to Bermuda in May on the Prima.  The ship has its issues.  The observation lounge is too small compared to those on the Breakaway Class ships.  
The Price is Right was a lot of fun and people did win some prizes during out sailing.  We didn't even have reservations until the virtual cue opened and it wasn't an issue getting a seat.  

The music on the ship was fabulous.  I am not sure if they had the same people or not but it was fun.  The cruise director was fun and she interacted with the passengers.  

The parties at night were great.  We had a great DJ who really enjoyed his job.  The staff was great.  I know some people don't like that night service has been taken away but it doesn't bother me.  Those people work so hard.  

Overall I am sorry you had a bad experience.  If you want to try again do a Breakaway Class ship (Encore, Getaway, Breakaway, Bliss).  We have a Iceland/London cruise on the Prima for Sept 2024.  It will be interesting to see how the ship does in cold weather.  

@redsox1584 thank you for the information.  Great pictures.  

On 9/16/2022 at 10:31 AM, redsox1584 said:

On Wednesday, we ended up doing the Mercado & More tour from Flavor Teller. It was one of the best tours I’ve ever done. It was very easy to get a cab to the meeting spot as well. 

How long did it last?  What was the highlight of the tour? Trying to find something for our cruise in November. 

Thank you so much for all the wonderful details.  I am so excited that cruising is finally back! 

On 5/29/2021 at 5:19 PM, jetsfan58 said:

Has Covid mysteriously disappeared? I don't think so when there are still people being hospitalized and unfortunately dying each day. This is still real folks so please wear your masks. 

Mask doesn't protect you.  I was the most careful person in my family wearing my mask everywhere I went, using hand sanitizer when getting in the car, changing my mask everyday and washing my hands when I got home.  I still got COVID while no one else in my household got it.  

22 hours ago, Mike_DeA said:

Thank you for your review.  I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, it seems like the Encore is not the ship for you.

 

I don't care about pools, hot tubs, smoking or bar service, so maybe the Encore is a good fit for me. 

  I agree with you Mike_DeA.  I can't handle the sun or the smoke.  I loved the Encore.  Beautiful ship and a great areas to people watch.  

So the porters were so confused in the luggage and told people to go all the down to the door with their luggage.  Needless to say people had their luggage with them going through screenings.  It was crazy!  
 

once you got through security they checked you in fast.  We are suppose to have mister drill at 3:30 and they are trying to get everyone on board now.  Looks like we will be about 45 minutes behind schedule.  
 

Heard that cruise came from transatlantic and some issues with customs.  That is what delayed everyone getting on.  
 

Looking forward to great cruise!  
 

The line to get on the ship is long.  It is very unorganized and no one seems to know what is going on.  I have a feeling we won’t be leaving port as scheduled.  

On 8/17/2019 at 2:20 PM, mitsugirly said:

Now normally I go into a review about each deck and pictures of everything you'll find on the ship. However, we've already been on this ship and I have already taken pictures of each area, so I decided this time around to forego taking pictures of each area and just refer everyone to my previous Breakaway cruise. As far as I could tell, nothing has changed WITH THE EXCEPTION of the UPTOWN BAR & GRILL. It has changed to Margaritaville instead and you now have to pay to eat there (I think it was $14.95). I absolutely loved eating at the uptown grill. When there was a hectic rush at the buffet, you could always go up to the Uptown and eat breakfast and it was pretty amazing. There wouldn't be a lot of people up there and they had breakfast sandwiches that were amazing!

 

From the previous cruise:

 

 

 

 

You can find the complete tour located HERE.  Or you can find it on my Smugmug pictures located HERE.

 

Another reason I didn't bother to take a picture tour of the ship is this ship was the MOST CROWDED ship I have EVER experienced in my entire cruise history....EVER!! I was the worst! Like I've never seen anything like this before. It was very uncomfortable and it was nothing but a sea of people everywhere you went. You couldn't move half the time. You stood in line, back to back people just to get from one end of the ship to the other. It was terrible! It made me not want to be on the ship. I don't know if it was just because it was during the summer and that's the only ship they have cruising the Caribbean or what it was. But, I have cruised during the summer months and never experienced this. I have cruise when all the rooms were booked before and never experienced this. They did say that we were cruising at capacity.

 

Now, I'm going to go into this right now and hopefully I'll be able to remember most of it. If not, I might remember during the review...

 

This was not a very good cruise (other than the ports). I would go as far as saying it was the worse cruise experience I have had to date...for many reasons.

 

Everyone knows I was a loyal NCL cruiser for many years. Then I branched out and started cruising with Carnival and Royal. For the most part, I felt like there are more similarities in all 3 lines than not. Some things better with each cruise line and some things not as good. But after taking a few years off from NCL and then coming back...I have definitely noticed a lot of changes...and not for the better IMO. I don't know, maybe it was just this particular cruise but things have changed.

 

The service was terrible this cruise...absolutely terrible! I don't think we even met our room steward until maybe day 3 or 4 and even then I wasn't sure if I was talking to the right person. He wasn't very friendly and didn't make himself known or really talk to us like every single cruise we've ever been on in the past. 

Our last NCL cruise we had a room steward who wouldn't hardly speak to us.  He didn't go out of his way for us at all.  Also it was the last cruise before heading to Europe.  My husbands passport disappeared but we had no proof it was stolen (we didn't find out until we are standing in line at the port).  There were some papers and we could have thrown it away by accident but I still think it was stolen.  

On 8/17/2019 at 2:20 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

 

 

The service trying to get drinks was just ridiculous. We had several instances where we were highly pissed about not being served and the bar tenders aren't pressed about giving you a drink unless you are standing there with a $5 bill in your hand flashing it at them. It was just crazy! Even trying to get a pop/soda was a task!

 

 

I think they stopped pool service.  Last time I was on NCL I had to get my own drinks at the bar and yes I agree they aren't quick to wait on you.  I honestly wonder if the drink package promo have hurt their service.  They don't get as much for tips now and they aren't' providing  like they use to. 

The pool towels we went through the same with RCCL.  They didn't have pool towels in your room and we had to go to the pool and sign them out.  Then you had to return them but I still don't understand that system as they don't mark your name off the list when you return them.  

We have done 3 RCCL cruises and 7 NCL cruises.  Each cruise line has their own personality as many have already pointed out.  I think it all comes down to what you like and enjoy.  

We like the Freestyle dining because some nights I don't want to eat at 8:30.  Our last RCCL cruise in June our dining time was late dining which was at 8:30.  Of course having Freestyle dining you usually don't get the same server.  Our RCCL server was wonderful and knew what we wanted to drink each night without asking.  

Formal nights are more casual on NCL but you will see people wearing full length gowns and tuxes.   

Entertainment:  Both cruise lines have amazing shows. RCCL has some great broadway productions such as Grease, Cats, etc.  They do a fabulous job.  I also loved Legal Blonde and Burn the Floor on NCL.  The Piano guy on RCCL is fun when you see him in the elevator.  RCCL has the great diving shows and ice skating.  I find that the comedy on NCL is much more funnier but it could be my own personality.  

The Sailaway party on NCL is the best.  People are on the outside enjoying drinks and the DJ.  Also 80's night with NCL is the best.  We actually closed down the 80's party on our last NCL cruise which is unusual for us.  🙂  Also the White Out/Neon party is great.  

I do find the Casino to be much more smoky on NCL than on RCCL.  And yes the Casino is much more open on NCL.  

The pool deck seems larger on RCCL with lot more chairs and space.  I always find the pool deck is too small on the Getaway.  But SPICE H20 is a great place to hang out without kids running around.  

Getaway is one of my favorite ships.  You have to do the rope course at least once.  Make sure you pack closed toe shoes.  

Make sure you go in with an open mind and have a great time.  It is fun to compare the differences in each cruise line.  What appeals to you may not appeal to someone else.  

On 9/19/2019 at 10:21 AM, jancl57 said:

I've been on 2 NCL cruises, both on the Dawn and just booked the Getaway for May 2020.  I've only been on 1 , RCCL , the Jewel.  I thought Royal Caribbean was more formal then Norwegian, which we were ok with.  We actually like the formal nights.  We cruised in 2016 and at that time RCCL allowed only 1 person in cabin to purchase the beverage package.  Not so anymore. We found the service on both to be wonderful.  We thought the food in the main dining room better on RCCL and the specialty restaurants were amazing.  We have only gone to Moderno on NCL.  Had reservations at Cagney's, but somehow NCL "lost" our reservation and we wouldn't be seated until 9:15.  2 hours after our original reservation, despite the fact I had my reservation slip with original time. So we nixed it.  No real big deal, things happen.  Didn't ruin our cruise.

 

 We did comparison shopping for our upcoming cruise in May of 2020, and got the best bang for our buck with NCCL.   

 

Bottom line, in my opinion, is both cruise lines have pluses and minuses.  Go with the notion that you are going to have  a great time!

I agree that RCCL seems more formal.  NCL is more laidback.  

Probably a rule follower who was new on the job.  🙂  

I have never heard of them pulling anyone but I am sure it was better to be pulled before getting off the ship!  

Thanks for the post as I will keep an eye on this for future references.  

We did a Disney Cruise in the Southern Caribbean this past Jan.  as a couple only for our 24th anniversary.  I was amazed how many kids were on the ship (2 weeks after winter break) but it didn't bother us.  We hung out at the adult pool area and in the clubs.  The shows are fabulous and enjoyed meeting other couples.  

I don't think I would do it again though as there are other ships that have nicer adult areas and the entertainment is good.  

We have sailed on RCCL 3 times and NCL about 6 times.  I find that the cruise lines have a lot of similarities.  

Dining: 

NCL:  I do like freestyle dining.  But it makes me eat more at the buffet because I forget to go to dinner until it is too late.  🙂  

RCCL: You have My time dining which you can pick your dining time.  I do like having a set time and the same waiter/waitress each night.  

Entertainment:
I think both cruise lines does a great job with entertainment.  I think it really depends on what you are looking for.

Activities:

NCL hands down has more activities happening especially on sea days such has different trivia, games, etc.  

TV Channels:

NCL has a more variety of TV channels and selection.  Also if you want to catch up on your movies in your staterooms movies are free.

RCCL you have to pay $11.99 to watch a movie in your stateroom.  

Pool Deck:

RCCL has a much larger pool deck with lots of places to sit.  

Staterooms: 

I find RCCL staterooms (at least balcony rooms) bigger.  Lots of drawers and storage.  Bathrooms seem to be a little larger on RCCL.  

Beds I find much more comfortable on NCL than RCCL. 

Staff:

Both cruise lines have amazing staffs members.  

Food:

NCL has the best french fries while RCCL has the best pizza. 

If drink package and dining package aren't a concern I think Pride of America is your best bet on seeing and experiencing Hawaii.  It is on my bucket list but haven't been able to do it yet.  

I tried to find it but they were only showing Cricket.  Also the men soccer had some game last weekend and they were showing those games.  I couldn't find anywhere on the ship that was showing the women's world cup.  I did see that I missed a great high scoring game last week with the USA women scoring 13 goals.  🙂  I did catch the last half today while eating lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.  

Have a great cruise.  We had a great cruise!

On 6/8/2019 at 12:24 PM, OCSC Mike said:

 

Thanks.  Men's WC was shown in the Caribbean as well.

No World Cup games are being shown.  But if you love cricket they are showing it.  The TV selections are very limited!  

11 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Please let us know if they show it.

 

If not, you should be able to watch it via the FoxSports app if you have WiFi on the ship (live or on replay later).

I will let you know.  I know when we cruised in the past they have shown the men's world cup games but we were in Europe.  

Thanks for the reminder of the app.  I need to download now.  

If you go into the cruise already thinking it is going to be bad that isn't a good sign.  Go in with a good attitude.  

Example:  We were going on a cruise with another cruise line.  I read all kinds of negative reviews about the staff being rude to the ship being in horrible conditions.  I actually wasn't expecting a lot from this cruise.  We get on the ship and had the best time.  All the staff was amazing.  We have actually been on that ship again.  As someone said people may post more negative reviews before they post positive.  

Have a great time.  Sounds like an amazing cruise!