Gameck

We just took a Lyft from Bush yesterday.  $71.00 to Galveston and same guy is going to meet us at the Port the 21st when we return to take us back.  

Great Bay Beach is a water taxi ride from the pier at St. Maarten - they have many beach clubs that offer deals with chairs, umbrellas and beer for $25-$30 depending on which one - all about the same. Holland House Resort also located there - a little more expensive than some of the others but offers the same things - close to port

We took a taxi in St. Thomas - $10 p/p each way - took a water taxi ($7 r/t) to Great Bay Beach in St. Maarten (would not advise that again - nightmare getting back - four ships docked). In Nassau, again five ships there - went to straw market - can walk and some shopping downtown.

The wife and I just got off the Seaside from an April 13-20 cruise to the eastern Caribbean so I decided I would give a brief review. Reading the negative reviews has me a little skeptical about the Seaside. This was our second MSC cruise with the first on the Divina. Embarkation was easy and quick - arrived at port around 11 and on ship by 11:30. Beautiful ship - huge. Staff was friendly - has some problems registering a credit card at first but problem solved later in the day. We had a bella balcony room (10006) and got in the room by 2. We had he old deluxe drink package - one they discontinued - we loved it and the staff never had a problem differentiating between the new packages and old one - ours included mini-bar (which was awesome - refilled every day - even our room steward reminded us that it was included in our package. The chocolate shop (Venchi?) was also included which was great - espressos, chocolate martinis, mudslides all included in package. Understand that the new premier does not include it. 

Room was typical balcony - bathroom as noted by all was small - being on front of ship - wind from movement was bad - could not go on balcony while ship was moving - get blown over - know why it is a Bella Balcony. Room Steward was great - no problems all week - nice, clean, did anything we ask.

Bars were crowded - tips help, they will find you if you tip early in week. Masters weekend - sports bar was packed. All bar tenders very friendly - kudos to Alvin in the casino bar. No problems with drink package - they scan card with tablet and get you drinks - no signing.

Food - dining rooms were beautiful - had three dining times - 5:30-7:30-9:30 - the waiters are really under stress to get all three done on time - small portions but food good - comparable to RCI and NCL. I like ordering desert when you order meal - saves some time. Buffet was good - did not vary much from day to day - did notice a lot of crew eating at night from Buffet - much more than other ships. Cutting in line and language barrier caused a lot of problems that could be solved with ropes and exit and entrance signs.

Shows were good and short (maybe 30-35 minutes) - had to make reservations for each night and they scanned your card for each show - each show was packed. The app on phone came in handy - booked entire week the first day. Beerprov comedy was good and Michael Jackson show was good - another was the Peter Pan show - all used similar acts, just different costumes. Did not do slides or ziplines but looked like both were open regularly when at sea. 

Pools were crowded early for sea days - all chairs reserved by 9 - with 5000 on the boat, you better get up early to get a chair. Adult pool only on deck 7 was nice - no kids in pool - strictly enforced. Hot tubs are placed around the boat on different decks - they are usually crowded after 10 am. Dance lessons, yoga, games on 16 pool deck - staff did a good job with these.

Casino was good - slots paid better than tables - no craps - smokey but great dealers and bar tenders.

Ports - not a very good itinerary - the times were off just enough to ruin plans - San Juan (5:00 pm-1:00 am) - got off and ate some local food. St. Thomas - was there the entire day - enjoyed Sapphire Beach - best day. St. Maarten - only there from 7-1:30 (not enough time to enjoy the beaches. Nassau (12-6) again - short time - I would cut Nassau out all together and enjoy full days at San Juan and St. Maarten. 

I would say Americans made up about 30% of people on board - many people from Europe - all announcements done in five lanuages. Europeans were nice for most part - language barrier/ understanding instructions was an issue.  Debarkation was the only debacle - we did self serve embarkation - they wrapped the line to where the entrance to the exit line was near back of line - cutting to leave was a problem - many people that were in line were arguing with those that were cutting - no help from MSC crew. Could have gotten ugly.

Overall - would go again. As I see it - crew was friendly and worked hard - they just don't have enough help for that big a ship or that many people.. Many more foreigners than the other USA cruise lines but friendly for most part. Overall would grade the cruise a B+.

I got my $100 OBC with MSC today, two days after I booked with MSC. I called the casino number and gave them the confirmation code I got in the rewards email and now have the OBC. Easy. This is second time I have used it. First time was RCCL. I don't cruise till April 19

"Dingo" Dave was cruise director - had him earlier on the Jade.

Just got off the Dawn with wife and 18 year old son - overall trip was great, here is a review of ship, ports, excursions, etc

Embarkation - Tampa - three ships in Tampa at same time is crowded. Got a call the morning of cruise saying ship would be late to port and we could not board until 1:00. Looked on PLZ and saw ship in port at 8:00 am so we showed up at our normal 11:00 am time that we do for each ship and was on-board at 11:45 - heard the lines at 1:00 were awful.

Room - stayed in obstructed ocean view on deck 8 - loved it because O'Sheehans was right around corner - bathroom great - large shower with sliding door, plenty of storage in room, obstructed view but still could see water.

Dining - had the SDP for three nights - ate in Cagneys, Moderno, and Teppanyaki - all three were excellent, missed the steak and lobster at Cagneys however. Did the Venetian and Aqua the other nights - food in those not close to the quality of SD restaurants. Aqua had better service. OSheehans was good and plenty of room.

Entertainment - shows were good - Elements was highlight, disappointed no late night comedian, piano guy in Gaspys Bar was good every night but smoke from the casino and the cigar bar filled the air in the Gaspy's Bar. Country music singers good in the Atrium bar. Disappointed at no music by the pool on Lido until lunch time - very quiet from 9-12 each day, not even DJ music.

Pool - one pool for the large ship - it was always crowded - hot tubs full of kids, we found a hot tub in front of ship that was good. Miss the big video screens that are other ships - not one here. No chair police - chairs saved all-day, each day

Service - the service on the entire ship was excellent - from bar tenders, to servers, to hotel personnel

Ports - Cozumel - did the Cozumel Oyster Farm - if you have not done this, you need to try it - excellent excursion, Costa Maya - went downtown to beach - survived vendors and had good food and good beach - taxi to and from cheap, Roatan - did some shopping, heard from others that you have to be careful - taxi drivers will tell you one thing and cost you money, Harvest Caye - only there a few hours, pool is good - beach is not - tons of weeds and grass, course sand

Embarkation - self assisted in this - said we could not get off the ship until 9 - was in car by 9:15 - again long lines, others did not get off boat that check luggage until about 11 - small terminal - slow process

Overall - good vacation - never a bad cruise, just some that are better than others.

49 for us

I have had CAS give me my total on my reservation, pay it off, and a month later say they calculated it wrong and I still owe another $900

Divina is only MSC cruise I have done - just know there are no craps on it and shufflemasters on all blackjack and 3 card poker

No craps on Divina, Shufflemasters on tables.

You can watch with your internet minutes and IPAD - someone on board will have this, was on an NCL cruise last Thanksgiving week and in one of the lounges, someone had Auburn/Alabama on streaming it.

Had been away from RCCL for the last several cruises trying NCL the last several. Decided to come back to RCCL to see what was new. Cruised on a four night cruise on RC Brilliance of Seas with wife and teen son. Embarkation was excellent - arrived at port at 11:00, on board by 11:15. Overall, crew was excellent, friendly, hospitable. Ship was older but kept in excellent shape. Loved the sea views everywhere. Had an inside room on deck 10, room was typical inside although larger than some of the other ships we have been on. Room Steward Nicholas was excellent. Entertainment on the ship was good - only had one show, but it was excellent. Comedians were good - two different ones on two nights. Casino was always filled with smoke although games and dealers were good and friendly. Ate in the MDR for all dinners - feel like RCCL did like others, removed many of the good selections to either the paid menu or specialty restaurants. Missed a good steak or surf and turf in the MDR. Windjammer food was good, however. Bar service was crowded and not very fast, but all were friendly. Reserving chairs still a problem on seas days - people don't show up for hours. NCL does a better job policing this. Went to Playa Mia Beach Club in Cozumel. Had an excellent day - highly recommend this venue. Embarkation went smooth - off boat by 7:45 self assisting my luggage. Overall great cruise.

I got a $250 on-board credit with MyVegas and had no problems - just emailed the confirmation to club royal with my booking number - instantly replied and had credit within 48 hours. Have not done a free cruise however.

We have cruised both Royal and NCL - each have their perks, still love the RC service. NCL specialty restaurants are great. Both are priced about the same. The entertainment on NCL is better in my opinion. Think you cannot go wrong with either.

It was on ship in casino

Went on the Escape back in the spring and they punched mine for me.

I never have posted a review before but after reading so many on the Escape, I decided to post one. This is first time with NCL after many cruises (10+) with RC and Carnival We (wife, teen - 16) cruised 4/2 out of Miami and stayed in a Guarantee Balcony Room on 10th floor. We had the UBP and 4SDP.

Embarkation - very smooth, flew in morning of cruise, took MJS transportation from FLL to POM. arrived at POM at 11:30, on ship by 12:15, hardly any waiting time, everyone was super nice. Grade here was A.

Room - Balcony room 10112 (forward), plenty of room, two chairs and table on balcony, sofa/sleeper, storage space limited to closet, plenty of room for three. Impressed with size of bathroom, larger than other cruises. love the glass shower door - kept water off floor. Did feel motion throughout cruise and very noisy. Whoever posted about hangers making noise was correct. Grade here was B.

Food - specialty dining was great, ate at Cagney's twice, the Japanese Steak house once, the Modero (brazilian) steak house the other. All were excellent. Big difference from specialty to complimentary. Also ate in the Taste, Savor, and Manhattan Room. Manhattan was better than other two but none of the three compared to the specialty restaurants. Did enjoy O'sheehans and Garden Cafe. Plenty of selections and surprisingly not too crowded. Overall food quality was good and comparable with other cruise lines. Again the Specialty was well worth package. Grade B+

Beverages - we had the UBP, it was great. Bar service could not be better, did not wait for a drink even by the pools. Bartenders were excellent, friendly and funny all over ship. Grade A.

Ship - very large but spaced out well. Never felt crowded except on deck with pools. Sea days very crowded and tough to find chairs for people after 9:00 am. I was out there at 7:30 am each day - have learned over many cruises. Good to see NCL marking saved chairs and removing items after thirty minutes. They did this each sea day. Ship was modern, clean, and electronic maps were everywhere to help. Not use to having to schedule everything from entertainment to meals, but adapted. App helped but had some bugs. Overall ship got an A. Did not smell smoke except Casino.

Casino - spaced out - did not enjoy the Blackjack minimum of $15 - especially to watch dealer get 20 or 21 all the time, still say automatic shufflers and line up cards in sequence. Other than that, spacious and smokey. Grade B.

Ports - St. Thomas - did a shopping/tour/beach with Sunny Liston

Tours - awesome, had Sunny as driver, he was great, great music, went to Sapphire Beach - great beach, snorkeling, amenities, awesome views on tour.

Tortola - short time there so just did some shopping off the boat, not much time there.

Nassau - did a private boat for fishing and Snorkeling - awesome day - Bahama Boat Tours - basically had a private day to do what we wanted. Five of us on the 28 ft. boat. Ports grade B

Entertainment - We did the shows (Vocal Overdrive and After Midnight) and comedians and Howling at Moon. Comedians were great, did the 11:00 show, wish the room was bigger, very crowded. Howling at Moon was awesome, again same room, need more space. Vocal overdrive was a disappointment - they just were not good. After Midnight was good - could tell performers worked extremely hard and were having fun. Not much entertainment for a boat this size. Grade here was B.

Debarkation - probably the easiest on any cruise I have been on - we check our bags night before, waited at breakfast for our color and was off ship in 15 min. It was great. MJS transportation was there to get us to airport. Grade A.

Overall - Great cruise - good to see new ship - no major problems as people have described in other reviews. Bought two deposits for future cruises so NCL sold me. Very comparable to other lines. You can watch what you spend as far a "nickle and diming you". Overall experience: B+

Sorry so long