FLchick3 Posted October 2, 2015 Author #76 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Tura Lura – On my recent Getaway cruise balcony cruisers were NEVER allowed in the studio lounge. We did not have access to the lounge for one hour a day. All get-togethers were at the Sunset Bar. My only issue was I could never write on the white board or read the white board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger-91 Posted October 3, 2015 #77 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I am mainly writing here to find out how the Studio lounge makes up for a missing mini-fridge in the room. There's no ice machine. (I usually store my own cans of cola and full ice bucket in the fridge to last all day.) There's no soda machine, and the liquor is served only a few hours in the evening. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perditax Posted October 3, 2015 #78 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I am mainly writing here to find out how the Studio lounge makes up for a missing mini-fridge in the room. There's no ice machine. (I usually store my own cans of cola and full ice bucket in the fridge to last all day.) There's no soda machine, and the liquor is served only a few hours in the evening. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk I suppose if soda is a significant part of your cruise, that would be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger-91 Posted October 4, 2015 #79 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I suppose if soda is a significant part of your cruise, that would be an issue. Maybe I should have just kept it simple. How does the Studio lounge help with lack of mini fridge? Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maywell Posted October 4, 2015 #80 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) Maybe I should have just kept it simple. How does the Studio lounge help with lack of mini fridge? Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Easy - it doesn't, it just a added perk for those in the studio room for not having a mini-fridge and/or coffee machine in their rooms. What you prefer - having soda and coffee machine plus the ability to put your leftovers in the fridge in your balcony room ~or~ having to walk to the lounge for soda and coffee but no bringing back leftovers that need to be refrigerated in a studio room? Decisions, Decisions.... Some people can actually not use the mini-fridge at all for a entire trip and some people need 1 can of soda everyday; whether its from the lounge, buffet or mini-fridge. Same with coffee and tea, the only difference is the lounge has free expresso/latte/cappuccino for studio guests only. Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk Edited October 4, 2015 by maywell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrobstad Posted October 5, 2015 #81 Share Posted October 5, 2015 The deluxe coffee machine makes not having one in your room ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perditax Posted October 5, 2015 #82 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I guess I'll chime in. I don't drink soda so it seems somewhat moot, but my steward kept my ice bucket stocked. The lounge was a few steps away and had hot water, tea bags, and iced ship water (I loved the GA ship water). Anyway, this combo enabled me to make iced tea. I am also not a big coffee drinker, but I had many cafe cremas that would have been, I assume, at least $4/ea otherwise. I have an upcoming solo in Dec on X, and the studio prices just dropped on a GA sailing leaving the same day from the same port. It is very very tempting to switch, that's how much I liked the studio setup. But I'm ... Probably ... Going to make myself continue trying different lines. :) (I have about 8 days to decide before penalty date on the X cruise.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger-91 Posted October 5, 2015 #83 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I guess I'll chime in. I don't drink soda so it seems somewhat moot, but my steward kept my ice bucket stocked. The lounge was a few steps away and had hot water, tea bags, and iced ship water (I loved the GA ship water). Anyway, this combo enabled me to make iced tea. I am also not a big coffee drinker, but I had many cafe cremas that would have been, I assume, at least $4/ea otherwise. I have an upcoming solo in Dec on X, and the studio prices just dropped on a GA sailing leaving the same day from the same port. It is very very tempting to switch, that's how much I liked the studio setup. But I'm ... Probably ... Going to make myself continue trying different lines. :) (I have about 8 days to decide before penalty date on the X cruise.) Thanks. Iced (or at least cold) tea in the morning sounds like a good option. Can't get that in any restaurant until lunch. a friend told me the lounge fridge has yogurt and milk too. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perditax Posted October 5, 2015 #84 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks. Iced (or at least cold) tea in the morning sounds like a good option. Can't get that in any restaurant until lunch. a friend told me the lounge fridge has yogurt and milk too. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk I don't recall seeing a fridge in the lounge on GA. But I wasn't looking for one. I just wanted water, caffeine and pastries. Maybe I missed it, or maybe it was on Epic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisercl Posted October 6, 2015 #85 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I have been on the Epic & Breakaway in a Studio cabin; the lounge did have yogurt and milk along with cereal and pastries in the mornings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrobstad Posted October 7, 2015 #86 Share Posted October 7, 2015 They all have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrieBajan54 Posted October 7, 2015 #87 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Yep. The fridge is there on the Epic. I am sailing the Gem in November in an obstructed OV and will definitely miss the Lounge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nameless_faceless_one Posted October 12, 2015 #88 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I just got off the Breakaway after spending a week in the solo cabins with full access to the solo studio. The studios lack a table and chair to eat breakfast in the morning. The lounge makes up for that. There is also no mini-fridge in the cabin. While the lounge had a bar, it was only available during the solo meetings at 5pm. The bartender typically served 3 drinks then locked up. There were pastries, cookies, and pound cake available most of the time which looked better than they tasted. Several married couples disrupted our meetings for a cup of coffee - you know who you are. All of the connected solo cabins were behind a locked zone, except during the meetings, with the entrance to the lounge at the end of the hallway. The concept was to reduce the feeling that you are sleeping in a closet by grouping the cabins together with the lounge. But, if you're not booked in the studio cabins there is just no reason to be down there. I found the studio cabin the size of a small bedroom with ample living space. I'm a big guy and found the head to be large enough. The shower stall, not so much. The temperature control was nice but I never felt clean with the lack of water pressure. I found myself supplementing my showers with a sponge bath. Since there is no table, I never ate in my cabin. There is a tiny shelf where I could use by sitting on the edge of the bed. The window with blinds and frosted glass is there to elevate the feeling of being closed in. In practice, I did not find it very useful. It let too much light in to sleep at night and was useless during the day. I also suspended a pendulum from the ceiling using a magnetic hook to judge how rough the seas were since I had no outside window. As for the dynamics - on Embarkation Day the solo travelers meeting was gathered at an easily accessible bar outside the lounge. We met each other and were escorted down the locked area by the cruise director to continue the meeting. Everything was well organized. There were sign-up sheets for all the shows for the week on the white board. We planned our activities based on popular days and times. The director compiled all the requests into a week-long itinerary for the week for shows with daily get-together's for dinner. Each evening, we received a written letter at our cabin stating which event we were signed up for that night. The group fragmented and re-combined several times. Sometimes we made our own reservations. Sometimes most/all/some of us went together to a show. We were often treated to reserved seating and little extra perks whenever possible. The door to the lounge area was left open each night, but you really could survive without coming to the daily meetings by calling the cruise director and asking him what's happening that night. Even more valuable than dinner and shows, our cruise director was our ombudsman to NCL. If we had a complaint or comment, no matter how small it seemed, he aggressively acted on all issues - from one in our group having no TV for 3 days to another in our group spotted by the cruise director at the omelet station waiting slightly longer than usual. He came to the rescue and ordered the chef to make her a "special" omelet while saving her the extra 30 seconds she would have had to otherwise wait in line. The only problem he was not able to resolve was one of our group complained that the area doors were too heavy and made a loud bang when they closed. He said, "I do not lighten doors." :) Had it not been for the cruise director, I would have become disconnected and locked myself in my cabin. But, he would keep us all involved and connected, despite our great diversity in personality. It was like having our own private cruise disassociated from the couples and families which dominated the rest of the ship. For anyone who has asked for access to the lounge and was denied, you are talking to the wrong end of the horse. Come to the first solo travelers meeting. Do not miss the first meeting. Reach out to the cruise director and explain your situation. He accommodated everyone's situation and would go to great length to keep you connected, even if you are not booked in the solo cabins, even if you found yourself locked out of the lounge, even if Guest Services blew you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nameless_faceless_one Posted October 12, 2015 #89 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Interesting, I never heard that the cruise director and not one of his staff members does the gathering. Was Silas Cook the cruise director on your sailing? The cruise director was only in charge of the "solo" passengers as far as I know. He had several jobs on the ship, from exercise instructor in the morning to performing in several of the shows in the evening. He was part-way through a six month contract with NCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrieBajan54 Posted October 12, 2015 #90 Share Posted October 12, 2015 The cruise director was only in charge of the "solo" passengers as far as I know. He had several jobs on the ship, from exercise instructor in the morning to performing in several of the shows in the evening. He was part-way through a six month contract with NCL. Actually, I don't think you are talking about the Cruise Director. The individual is a member of the cruise staff. The person has cruise staff duties which includes being the Solo Host. I had 2 different Hosts on my 2 cruises and I saw them doing different things as you described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tura Lura Posted October 12, 2015 #91 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Silas was the cruise director. The solo cruise "director" or concierge was Antuan. He was a doll. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retiredrn123 Posted July 13, 2016 #92 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) When you were on the epic, was there only one door into the studio lounge Edited July 13, 2016 by retiredrn123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Colby Pottinger Posted July 13, 2016 #93 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) When you were on the epic, was there only one door into the studio lounge My trip was a year and a half ago on the Epic. There were two doors on the upper level, and two doors on the lower (Main) level. Note: on each level one door leads directly into the corridor that services the studio rooms directly and the other two doors lead to the main stairs and elevators. Edited July 13, 2016 by Earl Colby Pottinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted July 14, 2016 #94 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I was a solo in Penthouse on Dawn and it never occurred to me they might let me use the lounge. If I go again, maybe I'll ask. I never even looked to seee where it was locatd on Dawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrobstad Posted July 14, 2016 #95 Share Posted July 14, 2016 unless things have changed, only yhe newer ships had a studio lounge, and recently, theyve limited access to studio guests only. Solo gatherings have been in one of the bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdoraBelle Posted July 19, 2016 #96 Share Posted July 19, 2016 On more than one occasion on the Getaway in June, someone had let kids into the studio lounge, where they were ransacking the baked goods (examine a piece of poundcake critically, set it back down on the serving tray, pick up a different one for your stash). I'm cool with restricted access. Especially as the studio prices rise and rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted July 19, 2016 #97 Share Posted July 19, 2016 (edited) On more than one occasion on the Getaway in June, someone had let kids into the studio lounge, where they were ransacking the baked goods (examine a piece of poundcake critically, set it back down on the serving tray, pick up a different one for your stash). I'm cool with restricted access. Especially as the studio prices rise and rise. to add to my point... I wonder if the preice fo in Penthouse? I doub t it. But ddontg know what it c osts for the cr cabin in. I sure know it was many thousdands for me alone in Penthousse.tyhough it is a v ery nice cabin. Edited July 19, 2016 by sail7seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Colby Pottinger Posted July 20, 2016 #98 Share Posted July 20, 2016 On more than one occasion on the Getaway in June, someone had let kids into the studio lounge, where they were ransacking the baked goods (examine a piece of poundcake critically, set it back down on the serving tray, pick up a different one for your stash). I'm cool with restricted access. Especially as the studio prices rise and rise. On my cruise one girl from a family that was cruise had a solo. I do not if they ran out of larger cabins or she just wanted some private space. But because she had a solo room the family used her key to get into the lounge and sample what they wanted, so here we have two adults, two teenagers(?), and three young children running about the lounge and taking all the cookies (and I do mean all the cookies). I told them the lounge was only for solo travelers and they gave me the old stink-eye. But on the other-hand I did not see them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdoraBelle Posted July 20, 2016 #99 Share Posted July 20, 2016 On my cruise one girl from a family that was cruise had a solo. I do not if they ran out of larger cabins or she just wanted some private space. But because she had a solo room the family used her key to get into the lounge and sample what they wanted, so here we have two adults, two teenagers(?), and three young children running about the lounge and taking all the cookies (and I do mean all the cookies). I told them the lounge was only for solo travelers and they gave me the old stink-eye. But on the other-hand I did not see them again. When I saw the kids in the GA studio lounge picking up poundcake, examining it, and putting it back down before grabbing different pieces, I violated my own 'do not talk to strangers' children' rule and told them to knock it off, that that was how people got sick. So they picked up the ones they'd already touched and took those too. I avoided the pastry display for the next few restocks. I've reconciled myself to the fact that the people who let their kids do this kind of thing aren't the kind of people who care what I think. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting_Cruiser Posted July 20, 2016 #100 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I loved my studio experience on the Epic and the studio lounge, but I wouldn't have loved the lounge if I'd seen that kind of behavior! Yikes! I'm booked on the Epic again next year and looking forward to it. I loved having a nice quiet place to go in the mornings to have some coffee and a pastry. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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