“One and done” NCL ships

[jpcdds6]

Luckily, I have never been on a ship that I would not sail again. And that includes the old guard Dream, Wind, and Majesty. Cruising is what you make of it, not just about what ship you're on.

[my3sonsnj]

21 hours ago, ksmcdonald said:

 

 

Could you elaborate on why you didn't like the Escape?  We've been on the Breakaway three times and have the Escape booked for March this year.  I've always heard when they built the Escape, they improved on somethings from the Breakaway design, just tweaking things to make it better.  We absolutely loved the Breakaway and was wondering what they could possibly improve the Escape!

 

 

 

Loved to hang out at Maltings (outside) and Shakers (inside) on the Breakaway, mainly due to the comfortable seating. The Escape just felt more crowded to me. It also seemed to have used more seating that was bar height. Something that is difficult and uncomfortable for shorter, older people. Even the sofa's and regular chairs in the District Brew were uncomfortable.

 

Then there was the fact that there was only two outdoor designated smoking areas and neither was covered or had enough seating, much less comfortable seating. That sealed the deal for me. 

 

I guess that on the Breakaway, I felt like the ship's furnishings and designated spaces tended to make people feel comfortable and enjoy their "home away from home".

 

The Escape just felt like a tourist trap to me, one where tourists comforts and needs were ignored.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 1/15/2019 at 7:35 PM, Kmkub said:

We leave in 16 days on the Jade. It's the smallest ship we've sailed, and we are excited to try that experience! 

Jade is definitely our one and done.

It was full of cigarette smoke. It was old and had nothing to do for our kid. And it freaking broke down on day 3 of our 10 day cruise and we got sent home. So, never again.

 

We did the make up cruise on the Getaway and really enjoyed it. It was sailing sold out, but the service was never bad or even subpar.

Edited January 17, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[ksmcdonald]

3 hours ago, my3sonsnj said:

Loved to hang out at Maltings (outside) and Shakers (inside) on the Breakaway, mainly due to the comfortable seating. The Escape just felt more crowded to me. It also seemed to have used more seating that was bar height. Something that is difficult and uncomfortable for shorter, older people. Even the sofa's and regular chairs in the District Brew were uncomfortable.

 

Then there was the fact that there was only two outdoor designated smoking areas and neither was covered or had enough seating, much less comfortable seating. That sealed the deal for me. 

 

I guess that on the Breakaway, I felt like the ship's furnishings and designated spaces tended to make people feel comfortable and enjoy their "home away from home".

 

The Escape just felt like a tourist trap to me, one where tourists comforts and needs were ignored.

 

 

We loved the Maltings outdoor area as well.  That is where we spent most of our time.  My husband is a smoker and, your are correct, that was a very nice comfortable place to hang out. 

 

 

[jpcdds6]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Jade is definitely our one and done.

It was full of cigarette smoke. It was old and had nothing to do for our kid. And it freaking broke down on day 3 of our 10 day cruise and we got sent home. So, never again.

 

We did the make up cruise on the Getaway and really enjoyed it. It was sailing sold out, but the service was never bad or even subpar.

I for one love the Jewel class ships. Never had a problem with smoke, the refurbs make the ships look new and fresh, and the crew to passenger ratio is great. Although my kids are grown now, when they were young, the ships had no bells and whistles like the Mega ships, but they always had a blast.

[BalconyGal]

Breakaway.  Beautiful decor but I hope to never sail her again. 

 

[JustAPilot]

Star, just felt out of date, a lot of rust in areas on the balconies and the cabin bathroom was tiny and dated. The Garden Cafe reminded me of a sorry looking cafeteria and complete gong show ie seating and layout. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, jpcdds6 said:

I for one love the Jewel class ships. Never had a problem with smoke, the refurbs make the ships look new and fresh, and the crew to passenger ratio is great. Although my kids are grown now, when they were young, the ships had no bells and whistles like the Mega ships, but they always had a blast.

my kid doesn't do kid's club, so the only blast he can have on ships like Jade is soaking in a hot tub. On the Getaway he enjoyed the rock climbing, water slides, ropes course, trampoline and the spider net. We also enjoyed most of these activities (some have a weight limit, limiting it to kids only).

[JJAuckland]

20 hours ago, Kmkub said:

I'm glad nobody has said Jade, yet, as their one and done. We've never been on Jade and we leave in two weeks!

 

 I loved the Jade. I am not so keen on the larger ships & the Jade is just right (for me).

[uconnWBB]

My wife and I started cruising in 2012 and started with the Jewel. Fell in love with NCL and getting ready for our 16th cruise with them on Jan 27th out of San Juan on the Dawn. We prefer the smaller ships having cruised on the Epic, Escape and Getaway. We have cruised on the Spirit three times and really enjoy that ship, others we have cruised are Dawn, Sun, Jade,  Pearl, Gem, Star. We will also be on a 14 day cruise from Rome in October on the Jade again. We wanted to try another cruise line so along with our friends from TN we booked a 7 day cruise on MSC in Feb 2020 and made it a B2B as the next week we are going on the Encore as both use Miami as their departure port.