First time on NCL, first cruise in 17 years!

[sld2727]

Hubby and I haven't cruised since we had kids so I feel like that qualifies us as newbies but we've also never cruised NCL. We are on the Escape in 4 days, with our teenage children. I have a bunch of questions! I believe a lot has changed and there's no more 'formal' nights but we can still dress up one night, right? Also should we bring Lanyards for the kids to hold their room keys? Most of what they wear won't have pockets. Since there's no cell phones, can we bring 2 way radios or will they not really work? Does it make sense to bring our own snorkels and masks to bring to the beach (not doing excursions). What about beach towels or Refillable water bottles? Finally, any suggestions on how to dress? I don't think it will be hot but should be warmish?? We're NY'ers so I know in NYC it will be chilly but how is it when we're out to sea? Thank you! 

[Ellis1138]

NCL hasn't had formal nights for as long as my first cruise with them in 2003. But I think there is a night where, if you want to, you can be dressy. Honestly, you can be dressy all week, if you like that. 

I think the old walkie talkies have been banned. Double check that on NCL's website. I would say get the internet package for the family and text your kids on their phones (set all phones to airplane mode and use the ship wifi). Why would you not have cell phones? Cell phones and the NCL app and eDocs make things very easy and the wifi in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal was good.

Yes to refillable water bottles, because the little known secret is that the water on the ship, out of the taps, is reverse osmosis and better quality than most bottled waters. 

I can't tell you the weather or what you consider warm and cold, but you could look up what it would be on the Weather Channel and bring clothing for that. Bermuda will be in the 70s, and the water will also be in the low 70s. 

I always bring our own snorkel stuff, but it's because my husband has prescription lenses in his. 

Ok, now with the towels, it depends on you and your family. NCL has a beach towel station and you can get towels to bring with you. BUT.... if you lose or misplace them, it's $25 a towel. I tend to lose and misplace things, so whenever I go on a cruise, I bring a few of those $5 Walmart or Dollar Store beach towels.

I was on the Escape in September for New England and Canada for 7 days. I brought 2 pairs of black cargo pants Wrangler ATG polyester that were practical and could also pass as "nice" pants. They also dry very fast if I have to wash them in my sink and hang them to dry. I brought 3 T-shirts, 1 black tank top and then 5 "overlay" thin sheer shirts that I wore over the tank top to dinner each night. The overlays took up very little space in my bag. I brought 2 two-piece tankini type bathing suits that were similar in color so they could mix and match into 4 different looks.

Bring lanyards for the key cards for your kids or maybe like a fanny pack or running belt. Sign them up for the Teen Entourage club. They might like the arcade too.

Hope this helps.

Oops, Edited to add that if you want to go to the glow party, most people wear white.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Ellis1138

[SoloAlaska]

First thing read the prohibited items list. Walkie-talkies are a big NO. Why are there no cell phones? 
 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/prohibited-items

[sld2727]

To clarify, we all have cell phones but I didn't think we'd be able to use them on the ship. I really don't want the kids to have wifi access while we're cruising although they are pretty responsible if I tell them no. No walkies make sense now that I really think about it. 

[stinkyharriet]

If you have iPhones you will be able to text each other through the ship’s free Wi-Fi.  The free Wi-Fi basically just allows you to access their app.  I don’t think you can text between iPhone & android, or android android.

[sld2727]

25 minutes ago, stinkyharriet said:

If you have iPhones you will be able to text each other through the ship’s free Wi-Fi.  The free Wi-Fi basically just allows you to access their app.  I don’t think you can text between iPhone & android, or android android.

That's great to know!!

[Grandmafreddie]

 For a one time charge of 9$ you can get each other via cell phones for your whole trip just sign up at computer station. It was great to keep in touch  oneed to pay for wifi.

 

 

[hallux]

12 hours ago, sld2727 said:

Also should we bring Lanyards for the kids to hold their room keys?

You'll need lanyards with a pouch - NCL won't punch a hole in the cards for you.  The cards have RFID chips and antenna inside them, a hole punched in the wrong spot will render it useless.  CAN one be punched?  Sure, if you're careful.  Just get a lanyard with a pouch if that's your preferred solution for carrying a room key...

 

12 hours ago, sld2727 said:

Refillable water bottles?

Absolutely.  Refill in the buffet (using a glass to transfer water from the dispenser to the bottle) or in your cabin.

[SoloAlaska]

11 hours ago, stinkyharriet said:

If you have iPhones you will be able to text each other through the ship’s free Wi-Fi.  The free Wi-Fi basically just allows you to access their app.  I don’t think you can text between iPhone & android, or android android.

You can if you use something like WhatsApp. It’s what we use when we travel or want something more secure. All my friends and family use it plus a lot of my business contacts especially overseas.

[mjkacmom]

If you don’t want them to have wifi access, just pay for the app for messaging. Have them go to entourage the first night to meet others, I’ve had a lot of teens on NCL and the teen club (for meeting others) was a highlight.

[stinkyharriet]

13 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

You can if you use something like WhatsApp. It’s what we use when we travel or want something more secure. All my friends and family use it plus a lot of my business contacts especially overseas.

Do you need internet access for that?  I didn’t have any internet on my first cruise last year but I was still able to text my family (we all had iPhones) by connecting to the free ship Wi-Fi.

[Russiamomm]

1 hour ago, stinkyharriet said:

Do you need internet access for that?  I didn’t have any internet on my first cruise last year but I was still able to text my family (we all had iPhones) by connecting to the free ship Wi-Fi.

If you all have iPhones, there is no issue.  I-Messages work without an internet package.  I’m not sure why, but they do.  I went to Alaska last month won’t a friend.  We both have iPhones.  No issue texting each other or our families the entire trip.   

[SoloAlaska]

1 hour ago, stinkyharriet said:

Do you need internet access for that?  I didn’t have any internet on my first cruise last year but I was still able to text my family (we all had iPhones) by connecting to the free ship Wi-Fi.

I’ve only cruised so far with unlimited wifi so I can’t say with any certainty. I’ve read conflicting information online. The only person I’ve cruised with so far uses Samsung when I’m IPhone but we always use WhatsApp while travelling. If I’m in Europe I just get a local SIM card for a month and everyone knows to just message me on WhatsApp instead of texting. It’s so much cheaper than paying the daily fee through my provider and I use my phone mostly in port wether to send photos, post on social, find directions, use google translate etc. At sea I will have to see how it works with limited internet in a few weeks. There’s 6 sea days on my cruise but I will try to mostly disconnect and relax.

[Smitheroo]

On 11/7/2023 at 7:48 AM, hallux said:

You'll need lanyards with a pouch - NCL won't punch a hole in the cards for you.  The cards have RFID chips and antenna inside them, a hole punched in the wrong spot will render it useless.  CAN one be punched?  Sure, if you're careful.  Just get a lanyard with a pouch if that's your preferred solution for carrying a room key...

 

Absolutely.  Refill in the buffet (using a glass to transfer water from the dispenser to the bottle) or in your cabin.

so its really ok to drink water from the tap in your cabin?  That's good to know.  I was imagining it was like airplane water

 

Macewank:  note the lack of arguing on my part

[SoloAlaska]

14 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

so its really ok to drink water from the tap in your cabin?  That's good to know.  I was imagining it was like airplane water

 

Macewank:  note the lack of arguing on my part

The water on ship is better than what I have at home or at my office. 

[Smitheroo]

4 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

The water on ship is better than what I have at home or at my office. 

that's good to know

[Ellis1138]

Cabin tap water in the Escape was fine, this past September. 

[hallux]

I've sailed on the Bliss, Joy and Escape - never an issue with the cabin tap water...

[fshagan]

9 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

so its really ok to drink water from the tap in your cabin?  That's good to know.  I was imagining it was like airplane water

 

The water in your cabin still has the chlorine in it, so it's good if you don't mind the taste of chlorinated water. It's the same type of chlorination most municipal water systems use to sanitize water, and nothing special or exotic.

 

We get our water from the buffet, where it's filtered and doesn't have a chlorine taste. You just use a glass to transfer the water from the dispenser to your water bottle (you can't fill your water bottles directly from the dispenser).

[Smitheroo]

7 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

The water in your cabin still has the chlorine in it, so it's good if you don't mind the taste of chlorinated water. It's the same type of chlorination most municipal water systems use to sanitize water, and nothing special or exotic.

 

We get our water from the buffet, where it's filtered and doesn't have a chlorine taste. You just use a glass to transfer the water from the dispenser to your water bottle (you can't fill your water bottles directly from the dispenser).

Thanks for the different viewpoint.  I ended up drinking a carton of the FLOW water that was in my refrigerator when I didnt remember to bring back a glass of water to my cabin before retiring (bedtime and morning meds)   I fully intended it would be charged to my account, but I didnt see it. Maybe it was and it was part of the expenses someone pointed out I hadnt included in my account breakdown in a previous post.   About not filling your water bottle-  I saw numerous people filling their waterbottle from the water dispenser in the Garden Cafe.  Behind one of them I thought of saying "you know you're not supposed to do that, right?" but then thought I might be accused to being a Karen (although it really was my business if I intended to use that water dispenser)  The FLOW water carton was listed as $5.50 which is not too much to worry about. I dont drink a lot of water although I know I should drink more than I do.

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 11/6/2023 at 5:57 PM, Ellis1138 said:

NCL has a beach towel station and you can get towels to bring with you. BUT.... if you lose or misplace them, it's $25 a towel.

Is this true?  Has anybody been charged $25 because they lost an NCL towel?

[Ellis1138]

14 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

The water in your cabin still has the chlorine in it, so it's good if you don't mind the taste of chlorinated water. It's the same type of chlorination most municipal water systems use to sanitize water, and nothing special or exotic.

 

We get our water from the buffet, where it's filtered and doesn't have a chlorine taste. You just use a glass to transfer the water from the dispenser to your water bottle (you can't fill your water bottles directly from the dispenser).

 

To get rid of the chlorine taste, leave the water sitting for 30 minutes, in an open container. The chlorine will evaporate.

[Ellis1138]

13 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Is this true?  Has anybody been charged $25 because they lost an NCL towel?

 

It is true. Just Google it. There have even been cases where people are certain they returned the towels, but maybe forgot to make sure the attendant wrote down that they returned it and they got charged. 

 

Call me Ford Prefect, but I will bring my own towels (and lose them) at my own convenience.

[Sailing12Away]

On 11/6/2023 at 7:26 PM, sld2727 said:

Hubby and I haven't cruised since we had kids so I feel like that qualifies us as newbies but we've also never cruised NCL. We are on the Escape in 4 days, with our teenage children. I have a bunch of questions! I believe a lot has changed and there's no more 'formal' nights but we can still dress up one night, right? Also should we bring Lanyards for the kids to hold their room keys? Most of what they wear won't have pockets. Since there's no cell phones, can we bring 2 way radios or will they not really work? Does it make sense to bring our own snorkels and masks to bring to the beach (not doing excursions). What about beach towels or Refillable water bottles? Finally, any suggestions on how to dress? I don't think it will be hot but should be warmish?? We're NY'ers so I know in NYC it will be chilly but how is it when we're out to sea? Thank you! 

You can dress up as fancy as you want as often as you want. Everyone will oooh-ahhh as you look all nice and pretty, then carry on with their tshirts and flippy flops. You do you - it's your vacation, do what you want (within reason).

 

Our last trip we had our 12yo niece & nephew. Gave them leftover lanyards/badge ID holders we had and it made it easy for them to keep their room key handy without losing it. 

 

My sister has AT&T as her phone carrier - she was able to buy a package that lets them use their phone at sea. So she and my niece had the plan so they could always check in with each other via text or a quick call. "Headed to the buffet...." "Don't forget we're eating dinner at 7 on deck 6....." Check with whoever your carrier is and see what they offer and how much. No need to get it for everyone if you use the buddy system.

 

Snorkels/masks - it's a personal choice. If you're doing an excursion or going to a beach area, they usually provide them or at least offer them for rent. Hubby has really bad eyes, so he has a prescription mask that we always bring if he's going in the water. Unless we're doing a planned snorkeling trip - we leave the fins at home. But if we know we'll be at a beach area with decent views, the mask/snorkel doesn't take up much room and we prefer our own. 

 

Towels you can get as you leave the ship - just remember to return them and have them check off that you brought them back. But I find these better - so again, if we're doing a beachy thing we bring our own. Much smaller and easier to pack/treck on/off the ship. Those NCL beach towels are nice, but get heavy and soaking wet when used. These suckers dry fast and pack light. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CB57QNZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

Refillable water bottle - absolutely. You can fill it in the buffet, or ask any bartender anywhere to fill it with water for you.

 

Packing - I'm flying out of JFK myself next Thursday. Planning on wearing my comfy yoga pants and a zip up fleece jacket on the plane, and then packing tshirts/shorts/sundresses. Our trip is headed to Cozumel from Miami - not sure where you're going. But if you're headed to warmer lands, the ship will be warm. You only need cold weather stuff for your flight down there or the first day on the ship if it's sailing out of NY.

[stinkyharriet]

6 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

 

It is true. Just Google it. There have even been cases where people are certain they returned the towels, but maybe forgot to make sure the attendant wrote down that they returned it and they got charged. 

 

Call me Ford Prefect, but I will bring my own towels (and lose them) at my own convenience.

Last year when I was in Bermuda they were handing out towels outside the ship.  We didn’t have to scan out card or sign anything.  I don’t know how they would possible know who hadn’t returned a towel.  When we were leaving Horseshoe Bay I saw an NCL towel on the ground so I picked it up and brought it back along with the ones we took.  When we got back to the ship we just dumped them in big bins they had outside.