Macadian

18 hours ago, shof515 said:

it is very strange how NCL is the only cruise line doing yearly increases compare to other cruise lines 

They do have a reputation of being the ' nickel & dime' cruise line.....

Would help if final payment date was reduced to 60 days out rather than the current 90 for our Baltic Cruise in August. May is our current final payment....another month could make a difference to our decision, depending what's going on.

Concerning....stay home might be a plan...the stress of possibly  being caught up in the above would ruin my cruise.  I have a cruise booked for later in the year.  If this kind of thing is still happening to cruisers, I will cancel.  That's just me.

My sympathy for those who have crossed the pond for this cruise....😕

We have a Baltic Cruise later this year and crunch will come when final payment due.  Not confident at this time....

I often wonder....due to the aggravation of quarantine on testing positive, and all that entails, if any cruisers, perhaps experiencing only mild symptoms, don't present for testing. Irresponsible? Sure it's is, but........

With regards to wearing masks in public areas indoors, unless everyone complies it's doubtful anything other than an N95 type mask will offer

protection. They afford more enhanced protection to the wearer and others.  just a thought.

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Thank you for starting this thread and sharing...hope you arrive home safely and in good health!  Same for all thread contributors.

 

Our cruise is Nov 2022...hope things improve. Would hate to be sick on board or required to  wear a mask...

We too have a European cruise booked August 2022. Almost 8 months away and much can change. Final payment is May and if any doubt in our minds at that time, we will cancel before booking flights from Canada to Amsterdam,  hotels etc.  FFC is of no interest to us so cancellation before final payment is likely as things stand. Ultimately being stuck somewhere in Europe, trying to get home is pretty daunting for this Senior. We pays our money, or not, and takes our chances. This cruise has long been on our bucket list and we have hopes it will be doable for us.

Prospect of being quarantined in an inside cabin for X number of days, paying thousands of dollars for the privilege, puts me off cruising at the moment, more than catching COVID on board.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but my cruise is some months away...and will decide then before final payment. If I had one booked in the next few weeks, nothing  would induce me to do anything other than cancel. But that's just me🤔

I wouldn't hold your breath.

For ages now, I have been asking for a brandy, (cheap will do), to be added to the list, without any success.

I presume that the people who make these decisions drink one of the sprits that are on the included list after dinner so, the lack of brandy does not bother them.

I also note they don't appear to include a dark rum either....even a cheap one ;) Seems I will have to pick something up in Barcelona for state room tippling before boarding our T./A next month.

It was late leaving last Saturday on our Alaskan cruise. A combination of the large crowds and the inadequate security scanning stations plus there was an operational issue along to port side that they were working on right up until we left about 7:40pm.

 

Paul

Yes, boarding last Saturday from Vancouver was little better than organised chaos! We were two and a half hours, most of it standing, and we arrived early. Three ships boarding at the same time, the bottleneck seeming to be U.S Border Agency not coping with the numbers....Three cruise ships at same time? Poor planning somewhere! Never again will I commence a cruise from Vancouver. As for the cruise, it was great and we had more than our fair share of "Weather luck".

Escape is larger than Breakaway, she's a Breakaway Plus. :) One extra deck, extended Waterfront, more hot tubs and many more extra's.

And passengers, crowds, line ups , noise etc. Depends what you like from a cruise I guess, no one size fits all. If you enjoy relaxation, quiet time, and smaller quieter public areas, perhaps a smaller class of ship should be investigated. Just an opinion based on our February cruise on Escape. No more mega ships for this cruiser.

What ? Pretty much anything booked on NCL is "no frills" - that's why you have to pay extra for Haven if you want uncrowded common areas and pay extra for specialty restaurants if you want a chance at decent food and service.

Amen to that...

In my opinion the running track on the Escape is pretty much useless. It is located in a fairly high traffic area and it is quite narrow. Also, from what I remember, the flooring is wood and the track goes past a couple of areas that are access points for the slides and as such the flooring could be wet and slippery.

 

I've seen much better running tracks on other ships that were actually a track-like material and were dedicated running tracks.

 

If he has to run it would be better to use a treadmill in the gym.

Would agree 100%. Unless you use it very early morning or late evening it is all but useless due to it becoming a bit of a zoo on sea days particularity. As has been pointed out the surface in places gets pretty wet.

On Escape (deck 9) balcony, we found the sound insulation pretty poor. Our state room was not an adjoining one. Late night music from one adjoining state room was a problem which we, after a few nights, complained of with guest services. They dealt with it quickly and effectively. 10 out of 10 on that. Their was no re occurrence. Sound on a day to day basis from adjacent state rooms was noticeable but not a big deal.

I wish they would just have a low price with no add on perks, etc. and allow us to pick and choose how we want to spend our money. I also wish they would make the DSC mandatory.

That would work for me too!

Noticed the smell of stale cigarette smoke on embarkation immediately as we entered the ship (from deck 8?) To the Atrium area. and during the cruise on atrium area decks 6,7 and 8. Most unfortunate...and far from pleasant.

Me either. It is standard on the NCL Mega ships...because the passenger load far exceeds the capacity of many of the facilities....Hopefully Celebrity will never design their future ships like that.

When they offer a free cruise on their mega ships I might consider it. On second thoughts, they would have to pay me. Once was more than enough...lol 😎.

A good deal for those that it appeals to.....enjoy!

The port itself is under construction and on our short walk round the smell of sewage was encountered more than once. As has been suggested, take an excursion, otherwise stay on board and enjoy the ship. IMHO, this port is not suitable at this time for large cruise ships.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is whats known as "thread crapping"...

 

Was this post really necessary right after the OP's innocuous message about a nice cruise, and a room on deck 14?

Well hush my mouth for daring to offer a contrary opinion to that of the op, an opinion i respect. Like I stated in my post, each to there own. N CL Cheerleaders, carry on cheering....:) Incidently, this was my fourth NCL cruise, the previous three being excellent.....but not on mega ships like the Escape. Once again, each to their own.

A major difficulty with this cruise for us was our state room. We had the balcony state room 9256. Our first night on board revealed that the room creaked, groaned and cracked most of the night resulting an almost no sleep night in all but calm conditions, sea state wise. It was like being in Captain Jack Sparrow's sea cabin aboard the 'Black Pearl'! We approached Guest Services the following morning but to no avail.

We were told the ship was at capicity and no alternative state rooms were available.. Our cruise was far from restful as can be imagined, getting a nap in the afternoons whilst in port the best we managed to attain. We get it that it's a new ship and a degree of 'settling in' might be required.... but not at the guests expense!

One member of staff we spoke with was of the opinion that our state room should not be sold, however we suspect NCL will follow the money. So beware state room #9256!

A busy noisy cruise for us. Mega ships no more! As for the pool deck area at sea...a zoo! Each to their own I guess. The first cruise of a number on various lines we have been on where we have not regreted the cruise coming to an end....it was almost a relief! This was our fourth N C L cruise, previously on the Sun and Spirit...great cruises! We are obviously not Mega ship cruisers!

Welcome to the Norwegian nickel & dime cruise line...😎

I see this as a great opportunity to convince my wife we should take the Gem cruise to Canada this year, when her US $ will buy more in Halifax, help out our neighbors of the north.

Agreed! Surprised more of our southern cousins don't take advantage of the current Canadian Peso....lol. If I didn't laugh, I would cry....:)