schmoopie17

On Escape, O'Sheahan's has a ring of seating overlooking the Atrium. Those seats were always available on our cruise.

On several of the Prima pages on "the site that can't be mentioned". there are numerous comments about the hot tubs not being hot. People were not happy. I'd say they were steamed or boiling mad, but not due to the heat in the tubs.

The beer choices at most of the bars are pretty limited. However, we saw that the Luna Bar in Indulge has something like 16 beers on tap...most of which aren't available elsewhere on the ship. That's where we'll be doing most of our beer drinking.

Clam shells were never listed on the Excursions section for our upcoming Prima cruise. Of course, with the odds of actually getting to GSC probably 50-50, it might not matter.

We checked in last Sunday and link for our docs our docs appeared the next day. Never received an email. (Maybe because we accessed the docs via the link?)

On our November TA, we missed a stop in the Azores due to weather. A day or two later, two credits of $41 each appeared on our account. Was this due to the port fees? Probably, but when someone hands me $82 I don't question it.

Complicating things even further, even though it says water is included on our summary page for our cruise in two weeks... Unlimited Open Bar Package Includes a selection of beverages by the glass (premium cocktails, beer and wine up to $15) as well as unlimited soda, juices, and one 6-liter case of Flow water when checking our e-docs, it says this... Does not include Wine and Spirit Experiences, tastings or flights, Starbucks, Ice Bars, room service, package sales, bottled water... HOWEVER...I just finished an online chat with NCL and I was told that while BOTTLED water is not included, the cartons (not bottled) are, in fact, included. From the chat: The case of water is included. That'll be delivered to your stateroom on embarkation day. If you were wanting additional cartons or bottled water, your onboard account would be charged for it.

The 250 WIFI minutes is practically useless if you're doing a Transatlantic cruise. We did spend more than half of the cruise in the Mediterranean, as well. For most days we could barely access anything...including Cruise Critic which supposedly doesn't count against your 250 minute allotment. The guy at the Internet Help Desk on the Escape couldn't even get us into Cruise Critic. When we did try to get into the internet, we ate up the majority of our minutes attempting to connect. So...I'd say the Dining Package has much more value by a long shot.

We had previously booked a January cruise on the Prima but canceled it. Later, we decided we wanted to go on that cruise so we rescheduled it on November 20th. Our Free at Sea summary, below, shows the water promotion. Apparently canceling and rescheduling doesn't count as "repricing"...I guess we'll see when we board in a couple weeks. FREE AT SEA Your Current Offers Unlimited Open Bar Package Includes a selection of beverages by the glass (premium cocktails, beer and wine up to $15) as well as unlimited soda, juices, and one 6-liter case of Flow water (exclusions apply) Click Here for details.

We usually bring full size suitcases and check them at the port. Our next cruise we're taking two carry-on size bags (the kind that fit in the overhead bins on planes). Are those bags typically small enough to go through the x-ray? We'd like to keep our bags with us, if possible.

Maybe not "techincally", but they're still screwing the customer who paid extra to choose a particular cabin. That customer could have paid less by choosing a guarantee cabin and have NCL choose the cabin...which is essentially what NCL did in this case.

Thanks for the review. You mentioned $29 for an umbrella on GSC. Where do you rent that...on the ship or on the island? If on the ship, where do you go to do it...and by renting an umbrella do you get priority tendering?

I'm not a Bailey's expert, but on our recent cruise NCL had Maloney's Irish Cream as part of the regular beverage package. We ordered it several times and it was just fine. I'm sure fans of Bailey's could probably tell the difference, but it certainly sufficed.

Our upcoming Prima cruise has this listed: Unlimited Open Bar Package Includes a selection of beverages by the glass (premium cocktails, beer and wine up to $15) as well as unlimited soda, juices, and one 6-liter case of Flow water (exclusions apply)

Apparently so...that almost sounds like an entirely different entree. I don't touch liver or mushrooms (unless I can tell them to hold the fungus...I mean mushrooms). As for the upcharge, I would never order anything with an extra charge. And I know there was no upcharge because I check the receipt at the end of every specialty restaurant meal and there are never any additional charges...on the bill, nor on our onboard account (which I also watch like a hawk). In any event, to get the discussion back to the original topic...the filet I had was fantastic.

Funny you should ask. On our recent 16 day cruise on the Escape, most of time the place was empty. Yes, this was during dinner time when all of the other restaurants were busy. In fact, it became a game to see if anyone would ever go there. In 16 days, we only saw a total of four people eating there. Maybe we just walked by at the wrong times, but we did walk by it a lot in the evenings. It may have been due to the fact that we had four Spain ports and authentic tapas were readily available off the ship.

Cruise ships are a microcosm of society. Go to a grocery store and you will see some people wearing masks. Most don't. On our recent cruise, some people wore masks. Most didn't.

That's why I originally said do away with Freestyle Dailies and "inserts"...the same ad insert was inside the Daily every day of our 16 day cruise. At least I assume it was the same...never read it.

I just had the filet at Le Bistro on the Escape in November. I saw no signs of liver. Either they left it off or did a masterful job of removing it. In fact, I would have never ordered it if I saw on the menu that it had liver, fois gras, pate, or whatever they call it (like you, I also despise liver in any form). In any event, it was fantastic...better than the tiny filet I had at Cagney's a few days later. Also no upcharge or else I wouldn't have gotten it.

Better than Cagney's.

You don't have to WATCH any of them. Let the video start and go do something productive for the next minute and a half.

I almost got seasick looking at those Onda Prima pictures with all the wavy lines...and I'm not even on the ship. Probably best to avoid anything with mushrooms. They might be the same type the designer was smoking...

Hit the nail on the head. Which is why they don't refund your money. Instead, they appear to be doing you a favor by moving money you already paid to partially pay for another cruise. That means you either book another cruise (more money for NCL) or you don't book another cruise within a year and they end up keeping your money. They win either way.

Wishy-washy? This being the NCL board, I believe the correct term is washy-washy. In any case, if they offer it, it would be foolish not to take what they offer.

Bliss has our all-time favorite waiter/bartender in the District Brewhouse. He also works the pool area. Keep an eye out for Carlo...he's funny, sarcastic and an all-around great guy.