schmoopie17

Surely/Shirley you can't be serious. Le Bistro is consistently one of our favorite NCL dining venues. Been four times...had Filet four times. Delighted four times. As I've so astutely pointed out in previous posts, if you want a great steak, go to Le Bistro. After all, Filet Mignon is French. Just be sure to get it without that goose liver crapola on top.

So, I'm confused. Do we blame NCL or the port staff for making people wait so long hanging upside down? I'm leaning toward port staff...but so many things are upside down in the world today, I'm not sure who to blame in this instance.

We always check our bags, but on our upcoming September cruise (r/t Rome) we're doing carry-on only. We will have a tight departure time out of FCO going home, so we don't want to have a later debark time and then have to wait to get our bags in the pick-up area after debarking the ship. Also don't want to drag two giant suitcases, plus other stuff, down four flights of stairs, (elevators will be packed to the gills) since we're doing self-debark to get to our private transport to FCO as soon as possible. Also don't want to have to waste time checking bags at FCO...rumor has it it can add a significant amount of time at FCO. Plus, checked bags = fees. So, in this instance, carry-on is the way to go. Although Mrs. Schmoopie is already fretting about not having enough room for all of her "stuff". Plus, we have bulkhead seats reserved both ways, which limits our onboard storage options. But I assume we'll somehow manage.

Can't tell from the picture...did you have the ashtray in front of the toilet? How about the sign that says "No smoking in bed"?

The Jade has two Main Dining Rooms...Alizar and Grand Pacific. We only ate in Alizar once in 14 nights...just didn't "do it" for us. We thought it had a "different" vibe...not horrible, just different. Not as elegant (or as "Grand") as Grand Pacific. On the bright side, you can wear shorts in there. Grand Pacific we ate in three or four times and I believe I needed to wear long pants (in my case, jeans). But don't quote me on that (although, this is CC, so someone will probably end up quoting me 😁)... Oh, one more thing. Baseball caps are not allowed in Jasmine, the Asian restaurant where we ate at least four times.

This is for cruise buffs only...

Bummer. Maybe on your next ship(s).

Nowadays when you go into a website they ask if you'll accept their cookies. I'll accept these...

Also the Local/O'Sheahan's...depending on the ship.

At least you didn't have a balcony wall/door vibrating/growling with the volume of a million cicadas (just trying to be topical). Even ear plugs, a sound machine and Mrs. Schmoopie's snoring (and that's saying something) could not come close to drowning it out.

In case you missed it, go back and read post #9 in this thread. I bought it on a whim, not expecting to make much of anything (except OBC). Anything else is gravy.

In this case, the Pearl and the Prima have the identical itinerary...with one exception. Prima goes to Liverpool. Pearl goes to Dublin. Since we've been to Liverpool and have done all of the Beatles stuff (we've never been to Dublin), that tipped the scale in favor of the Pearl. Plus we've been on the Prima and weren't exactly in love with it, while we were recently on the Jade (Pearl's sister ship) and loved it. Pearl it is...

For our upcoming cruise in September, we were originally supposed to arrive at Civitavecchia at 6:30am...just received notice from NCL that it will now be 6:45. Started sweating even more bullets than before about missing our 11:05 flight. Your post went a long way to decrease my stress level (actually considered canceling the cruise). I realize everyone's experience is different and that there can be unforeseen hold-ups, but I'm breathing easier now. Sounds like you had more than enough time to spare. We also have booked a private transfer and will only have carry-ons. Will also get the Fast Track. Fingers crossed...

Yep...I didn't buy this stock to be able to afford to retire. (We retired in 2015). Mostly bought it for ----- and giggles...and the OBC. And the entertainment of watching the ups and downs.

Hope you didn't have as much trouble opening those suckers as Mrs. Schmoopie did. You'd think they contained liquid gold for as hard as they make it to open.

Since the title of his post included the words "Rant One", I was breathlessly awaiting additional rants. I guess I can stop holding my breath now...

"NCL topped first quarter earnings estimates. However, shares dropped after quarterly revenue fell short of analysts' expectations." So...in other words...they made more money than was estimated, but because it fell short of what the "experts" expected, the stock tanked. Not being a financial whiz, I'm having a hard time reconciling those two things. In any case, my whopping 100 shares that I bought at $12.90 are still making a little money (along with our OBC benefit).

Saw "growlers" in the title and I got all excited thinking they were filling growlers in the District Brewhouse. But since you never included anything growler-related in the body of your post, maybe they are and you forgot to mention it. Fingers crossed...

Everyone says the Prima is not a cold/bad weather ship to be on when all of the passengers must remain cooped up inside. Given the issues being reported, it appears that "everyone" is correct. That's the reason why we choose the Pearl for our TA next April...even though the Prima was leaving at almost the same time with a nearly identical itinerary. Well, that...plus the fact that we were less than thrilled with the Prima when we cruised on her a year ago.

Apparently NCL cruisers don't like to be spoon-fed.

Rigamarole. One of my dad's favorite words...and I've never heard anyone else ever use that word in the 36 years since his passing. In the immortal words of Bob Hope, thanks for the memories.

The next time you're in the Local, see if they can make you a Matador. They had them at O'Sheahan's on the Jade, so they probably make them at the Local. It's a bourbon drink, but a little sweeter. If you order it and don't like it (highly unlikely), send it my way and I'll finish it.

There was another guy at the Whiskey bar (connected to the Martini bar) who was also very good. He made a Grass Clippings for us to sample (I loved it...will be on the lookout for it on our next cruise). Never got his name, but he was always smiling. Mrs. Schmoopie gravitated to Shane (as did many other women) so we always had our seat waiting for us at 4:15 in the Martini bar.

You Tube also has videos for most cruise ports and stuff to do in those ports.

You're looking at the Escape. Did a TA on her a little over a year ago...one of our favorite ships. So much so, that we're booked on her again in September. Having said that, we recently got off the Jade (smaller ship) and we both said the Jade is now our favorite ship. We often change our minds (see below). As for differences from RC, the refundable deposit is a big thing for us as we have been known to change our minds...several times, in fact. Also (and this may not apply to you), NCL offers a 10% discount to Veterans off of the base fare. We have taken advantage of this perk a number of times since it was instituted.