“One and done” NCL ships

[david_sobe]

I like all ships because any cruise day is a better day than a working day on land.  But I am game and will answer the question.  NCL Getaway.  While the Getaway is a fantastic and modern ship, I was a tad disappointed after sailing Epic twice before sailing her.  I felt NCL swung way too far the other way in trying to create a traditional cruise ship.  I found Getaway cramped and generic compared to Epic.  I would sail Getaway IF the price was right but I have no desire to sail on her again like I do for other ships.

[Kmkub]

4 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

  I was a tad disappointed after sailing Epic twice before sailing her.  

We can't sail the Epic. It's just too weird. 

 

What am I supposed to do if I have to poop while waiting for room service? Does my husband open the door just a sliver and tell the delivery person to leave it on the hallway floor and back away? 

 

Anyway, my husband and i don't really enjoy watching each other use the rest room. Shower is okay.

 

But, how do friends manage? One takes a shower while the other is out. The other person comes back and.... Oops.

 

Sounds like too much potential for awkward moments. 🙂

 

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, Kmkub said:

We can't sail the Epic. It's just too weird. 

 

What am I supposed to do if I have to poop while waiting for room service? Does my husband open the door just a sliver and tell the delivery person to leave it on the hallway floor and back away? 

 

Anyway, my husband and i don't really enjoy watching each other use the rest room. Shower is okay.

 

But, how do friends manage? One takes a shower while the other is out. The other person comes back and.... Oops.

 

Sounds like too much potential for awkward moments. 🙂

 

Its fine not to like the Epic but that is a hilarious reason.  There is a door on the bathroom.  You coordinating your bathroom breaks and room service is very odd 

[Kmkub]

6 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Its fine not to like the Epic but that is a hilarious reason.  There is a door on the bathroom.  You coordinating your bathroom breaks and room service is very odd 

A door you can SEE through. May as well not even have a door.

 

I'm glad you are able to schedule your body's need to pee and such.... I'm not able to do that.

[Seafan22]

I have to agree with what some other have said and vote for the EPIC as a one-and-done.  The bathroom setup in the balcony rooms is just not at all something that works for me. 

[SeaShark]

13 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

A door you can SEE through. May as well not even have a door.

 

I'm glad you are able to schedule your body's need to pee and such.... I'm not able to do that.

 

That is simply not true. The doors are obfuscated glass...NOT see through at all. (Unlike the bathroom doors in the Penthouse Suites on the Dawn, Star, Jewel, Jade, Pearl, and Gem) which ARE see through glass with a couple of obfuscation strips.

 

Besides, who would actually stand outside of the bathroom door and even try to look at the person using the facility? That would just be a really weird thing to do!  If that is going on, then a person needs to worry more about who they choose to travel with rather than what type of door is used.

[Kmkub]

6 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

That is simply not true. The doors are obfuscated glass...NOT see through at all. (Unlike the bathroom doors in the Penthouse Suites on the Dawn, Star, Jewel, Jade, Pearl, and Gem) which ARE see through glass with a couple of obfuscation strips.

 

Besides, who would actually stand outside of the bathroom door and even try to look at the person using the facility? That would just be a really weird thing to do!  If that is going on, then a person needs to worry more about who they choose to travel with rather than what type of door is used.

I guess I"m confused. I've seen pictures and you can absolutely see the silhouette of someone in the room, so you can see everything going on. Have they changed it so you can't see what's going on in there? If so, I'll reconsider.

 

I'm not really an exhibitionist, especially when it comes to using the bathroom. I never said people would stand and stare; more accidental "oops" moments - big potential for awkward situations. 

[SeaShark]

3 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

I guess I"m confused. I've seen pictures and you can absolutely see the silhouette of someone in the room, so you can see everything going on. Have they changed it so you can't see what's going on in there? If so, I'll reconsider.

 

I'm not really an exhibitionist, especially when it comes to using the bathroom. I never said people would stand and stare; more accidental "oops" moments - big potential for awkward situations. 

 

What you said was "A door you can SEE through" emphasizing the "see". You simply can't see through obfuscated glass. That is why you generally don't see obfuscated glass used on the windows of people's homes. Seeing a silhouette is totally different than looking through clear glass.

 

Again, that area of the cabin is separated by a thick curtain that you can close. Who would ever go around that curtain given that it being closed means someone is using the facilities? Who would ever even look at the glass to see the silhouette of someone on the other side??

 

If you are traveling with someone who would do either of these, then you have a much bigger issue with regard to selecting a proper traveling companion. Everyone should simply respect the privacy of others and there would NEVER be the need for an "oops" moment.

[Kmkub]

21 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

What you said was "A door you can SEE through" emphasizing the "see". You simply can't see through obfuscated glass. That is why you generally don't see obfuscated glass used on the windows of people's homes. Seeing a silhouette is totally different than looking through clear glass.

 

Again, that area of the cabin is separated by a thick curtain that you can close. Who would ever go around that curtain given that it being closed means someone is using the facilities? Who would ever even look at the glass to see the silhouette of someone on the other side??

 

If you are traveling with someone who would do either of these, then you have a much bigger issue with regard to selecting a proper traveling companion. Everyone should simply respect the privacy of others and there would NEVER be the need for an "oops" moment.

I didn't realize there was another curtain that blocks off the cabin door from the rest room area. Good to know.

 

[electro]

8 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

I didn't realize there was another curtain that blocks off the cabin door from the rest room area. Good to know.

 

There isn't as far as I remember. there is a curtain that separates the bathroom section from the rest of the room but not from the door coming into the room from the hallway.

[bam1957]

Getaway, one and done.

 

[GUT2407]

Only had one NCL cruise so far, but I doubt it will be my last, that was Jewel.

 

But another Jewel (P&O Aus, Pacific Jewel) is unlikely to get another visit by us.

[trish4bruce]

I don’t have a one and done but just wanted to say  we sailed Escape  twice and loved it!  Cruised the Getway after and was a bit disappointed as we really missed the DBH and some of the other food options on Escape.  We cruise on the Bliss next and are super excited to try it out.

[Kmkub]

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!

[All-ready2cruise]

I've cruised on Star (32 days), Epic, not my fav. but not b/c of the BR situation (I consider some of the situational issues really silly and unreasonalble, JMO),  Sun, loved it, Pearl, loved it, MSC Divina, loved it and Jade, loved it.  Did I tell you I love cruisng?   Would likely still cruise on Epic since DH is no longer around and he really was the one who disliked Epic immensley due to the size of the ship. YMMV

 

Enjoy your cruise no matter what ship/what line you choose... lots to choose from.  

[All-ready2cruise]

3 minutes 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!

You'll love the JADE, it's a lovely well manned ship and beautifully decorated. 

[NH Cruisers]

Caribbean Princess,  way to much propeller cavitation is felt.  Shaking and vibration all over.  I did like the Star Princess and the Sapphire Princess though.

 

While in port at Saint Maarten the ship (Caribbean Princess) was swaying at pier side with no noticeable sea.  Went on for hours.  Very rocky in mild sea states.

[chesswiththedevil]

1 hour 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!

Me too. Looks like we're on the same cruise (departs February 1st). Let's hope it's  a good one!

 

Back to the topic, I have only sailed on NCL once and it was the Epic. If I sail NCL again (after this upcoming Jade trip) I would try another ship if possible. The balcony staterooms were weird, the balcony was small, and the ship was just a little too big for my tastes. Perhaps when I have kids one day it will be better to have all that stuff, but for now "it's a no for me dawg". 

Edited January 17, 2019 by chesswiththedevil

[Von & John]

11 hours ago, LrgPizza said:

The one we were truly one and done with was Spirit. It was too small and boring for us.  Of course, we could change our minds at any time.  You just never know.

 

We enjoyed our cruise on the Spirit a Great Deal...

We sailed Barcelona to Morocco, Portugal, Canary Islands & Spain. 

4 Sea Days for a 10 Day Cruise.

Starting & ending in Barcelona - which provided us with 5 nights in Barcelona!

 

As far as a one & done - the only ship which comes to mind (other than those which are no longer in existence/in the fleet we sailed with) would be NCL Dawn.  The food & service were sub-par and the staff was unhappy/rude.  However - that cruise was 10 years ago.  We've sailed NCL 4 times since then & seen many improvements fleet-wide.  Therefore, for the correct itinerary & cruise - we'd happily try the Dawn again. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Von & John

[mugtech]

Based on what I've read, Epic is a none and done for us.  Would sail on Sun, Spirit, Breakaway, POA again.  Sailed on Gem 5 times, would sail her again.

[don't-use-real-name]

3 hours ago, NH Cruisers said:

Caribbean Princess,  way to much propeller cavitation is felt.  Shaking and vibration all over.  I did like the Star Princess and the Sapphire Princess though.

 

While in port at Saint Maarten the ship (Caribbean Princess) was swaying at pier side with no noticeable sea.  Went on for hours.  Very rocky in mild sea states.

The Caribbean Princess has had a checked past circa 2012-13:

Wikipedia LINK:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Princess

 

Checking the propulsion of the ship it appears that it uses electric diesel engines aka Azipods ???

 

Maybe our resident cruise engineer can add some comments - chengkp75

[mugtech]

14 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

The Caribbean Princess has had a checked past circa 2012-13:

Wikipedia LINK:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Princess

 

Checking the propulsion of the ship it appears that it uses electric diesel engines aka Azipods ???

 

Maybe our resident cruise engineer can add some comments - chengkp75

There are enough reasons to not sail Princess, but ever since I read about the polution infractions I have refused to sail their line.  Too many better choices.

[melehundele]

Jade is wonderful; sailed on her a couple of times.

 

My one and done is the Celebrity Century. A truly god awful experience. It seemed she was being used as a training vessel, so inexperienced and unskilled (and sometimes really RUDE) staff all the way to Hawaii and back to San Diego. And it seemed the stabilizing system was off, so I was actually seasick and immobilized for three days, nibbling dry toast and tea and looking at a television the size of a toaster. Much of the food was spoiled; people got spoiled milk, there were spoiled vegetables on the Mongolian barbecue area, etc. And the rest of the food was SUPER salted. There must have been something wrong with the desalination equipment. She has either since been sold or sunk, but it was absolutely the worst.

 

Now I am kind of concerned that people don't like Breakaway! I haven't been on a really big ship so this will be an experience!

[AL3XCruise]

If I had subscribed to the one and done philosophy, my first trip on the Breakaway would have kept me from ever setting foot on an NCL ship again.  Quality has varied a lot on other lines, but nothing ever made me want to get off the ship early until that Breakaway trip!  But I figured the bad service and other issues were likely an anomaly; there is no way NCL would have so many defenders if that was status quo.  A subsequent trip on the Escape was one of the best cruises I've had. 

 

Now if the issues is identifiable and attached to that ship or line, I get it.  If you don't like the bathroom layout, you go to another ship.  If you think the dining options don't meet your needs, you go to another line.  That makes sense.

 

Its harder when the issue is service.  Breakaway was at max capacity, Escape was closer to double occupancy.  Were the staff stressed by the number of passengers on the Breakaway?  Did the senior staff on the Breakaway at the time not promote as good of a work environment?  Was it something else?  I don't know, but I doubt it was anything that will impact a cruise two or three years later.

 

A bad cruise stinks--the time and money invested in them are not trivial--so I understand why people are hesitant to try a line or ship a second time.  But I try to avoid drawing conclusions I can't make based on a single experience.  I would have missed a wonderful NCL cruise if I did!

 

 

[Ronin23]

Bliss one and done. Just too many people.....everything overly crowded.