evitacruiser

One of my sons who was on the trip has been really ill with a chest infection and sore throat since we came home. He is just about feeling better now.

I checked the OP's post history and it appears the cruise is on the NCL epic from Barcelona. I have a similar cruise booked for later this year.

 

If the OP's NCL invoice includes flight and transfer details plus a single ATOL certificate which has the item "Who is protecting your trip? - Norwegian cruise line - ATOL 2752" on it then I believe the OP has booked a 'package holiday' under UK regulations. The contract is with NCL and there is not a separate contract with the airline. NCL have to deliver the contract!.

 

If this is the case hopefully they can relax, they will get to the ship :)

This is the same trip as we did and those details appeared on our invoice.

The OP says they are not impressed with their TA, nor were we, I suspect it may be the same one (now amalgamated with another operator) Solar system and Eskimos come to mind;)

Thanks for the suggestions. We have visited Florida several times in July/August so we are aware of the heat/humidity issues, an air conditioned bar usually does the trick!

So it seems that most people are advising a Southern Itinerary rather than one departing from Florida?

As a UK cruiser who fly cruises every year the basic question I would ask the OP is. Did you book the cruise, flights and transfers as a package?

 

I think if you booked a package and the ship sailed without you because of a travel delay they would still get you to the ship at their expense, but only if it is a package as defined in UK regulations.

 

All my fly cruises so far have been packages and on a couple of occasions the ship delayed departure by hours because an incoming flight was delayed.

 

I have a travel agent booked NCL cruise from Barcelona and the invoice from NCL includes the flight details, departure time, flight number, airline (British Airways) etc.

 

To be honest a delayed flight would not matter as I am flying in the day before!

We have been on several cruises where that has happened. The Captain made an announcement to that effect.

However, we almost always fly in the day before too, apart from this year where, as detailed above, it worked out fine.

We have never done a Carribean cruise so we have no idea which are the most interesting ports.

We are tied to early July for various reasons.

We lean towards RCL but are open to other lines.

Can anyone help with suggestions for which routes would suit us best? East/West/Southern?

We would be flying in from the UK.

We like to wander around small interesting ports or take excursions.

Whlst we love to see beaches we are not "beach lovers" who want to lie there all day.

Good weather is important to us. Is July a big hurricane risk?

Is there anything we should be aware of that may be common knowledge to regular cruisers in the Caribbean?

Any help would be really appreciated.:D

We flew into Barcelona from the UK the same day that we sailed. We had a 9am flight and transfers. We were onboard for 2pm, sailaway was 7pm.

Our TA told us that as it was a package approved by NCL there would not be an issue if there was a delay. It isn't something we have ever done before but the price swayed us and it worked out well.

Also, airlines in Europe do their utmost now to keep under the 3 hour flight delay window as they are now required to compensate all passengers if that happens. At a cost of 400 per pax they move heaven and earth to find alternatives arrangements if there is an issue with the plane. Obviously, weather is outisde their control so they have to suck that up and pay up.

You do realize that children under the age of 18 are allowed to watch R rated movies is accompanied by a parent, right? I've heard many people comment on how many kids went to see Deadpool.

In the UK it is illegal to sell a ticket to someone under the rated age whether they are with an adult or not. It must be different in the US.

Not sure what the rules are in Europe (where Epic was)

We sailed o the Epic twice in two months and it was a different kid both times. One of them was much better than the other; maybe the second one was a holiday replacement, or they sign child actors on for shorter contracts than the rest of the cast.

 

Anyway, the fact that one performer is a child doesn't mean that the performance is suitable for children!

The one we saw was really good. I agree that him being there doesn't mean the show is suitable.

I suppose NCL don't want to be heavy handed and "impose" the rules, but as I said previously, kids wouldn't be allowed into an adult film so I can't see the difference. They made several announcements before the show started so no parent could have been under any illusions.

I agree, we were on the same trip. There was a row of six or seven kids just in front of us, ranging in age from 4 to 12. Kids of that age would not be allowed to see an 18 film so NCL really should enforce the rules on the door.

That said, the child in the show was quite young. I wonder how tha works with school? He was very good though.

I got off Epic this morning and tbh I found the ship really crowded. Unlike others ships we have cruised on and I include big ships such as RCL Independence and Celeb Eclipse , Epic did not seem to have any quiet spaces.

We went to O'Sheehans for lunch on boarding and it was heaving, and, as we didn't have great weather it remained that way for the duration of the cruise. Many times the Garden Cafe was like a scrum, no tables.

We have just returned home from the Epic and the bathroom layout is awful.

The worst point for us was not the internal privacy (although this was an issue with some in our party who were sharing with older relatives) but the fact that if you are showering or on the loo and someone knocks on the door you can't answer or ask them in, because despite the frosted glass, the shower cubicle and toilet cubilce are still see through. The fact that the sink is external is a hygiene issue too in my opinion.

It would have been far better to have the sink and toilet together at the very least, and with a solid door and then put a curtain around the shower in addition to the frosted screen.

The cabins do have a lot of storage though. Four people would be very tight in my opinion.

Does anyone have a current price list for the spa?

Also a hair salon price list.

Yes, it is ...might need a holiday afterwards!! Have you seen the roll call thread for this cruise? Loads of friendly people on there. Have a look.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49508380#post49508380

Our booking was cancelled but I managed t rebook online for 4th April but it did take a few tries.

We are heading to the Epic on Monday as well. My MIL was almost a no show too, now she has been allowed to travel but we have to take a wheelchair. I empathise with your stress. We are from the UK too.

I thought it showed his real opinion on the renewal of vows at sea and as such was applicable to all couples he officiated for.

I thought it was inappropriate.

Hi

 

Captains comment was made to the TV crew and in fun,

 

have renewed vows with Princess and would do it again great experience,

 

have also sailed and chatted to Captain Perrin he is a first rate Captain.

 

yours Shogun

I really did not find it funny nor did several friends who also watched it.

If I had renewed my vows I would not be happy that the Captain believed we were doing so because one of us had broken them. I am surprised you are so sanguine about it. I suspect you are in the minority.

Perhaps he was joking, but he clearly had thought it, and I wouldn't want to renew my vows before someone who had such thoughts.

He was very unwise to express those views on TV.

Hi All

 

Good show tonight,

 

Captain doing wedding vows

 

Employee of the mouth, senior crew pick buy secret ballot, hundreds of crew attend big party, good looking food, they get a lot time off, money, deck privileges, diner, etc

 

Crew work hard every day for months, pics of crew galley,

 

Shows how we get fresh water from the sea,

 

Still too much Tim

 

Biggest issue show is to short

 

yours Shogun

I was horrified.

I felt the comment by the Captain re those renewing their vows was awful. Along the lines of he always wondered "which one of them had been naughty"

If I had been the couple featured who had been married 50 years and seemed devoted to each other, I would have been extremely upset by such a cynical remark.

He might have a point on some occasions, but it is one of those things you might htink but really shouldn't say.

He has a position, and he let Princess down I felt.

As I posted earlier, NCL have now admitted they gave my TA the wrong information, but as the cruise is now sold out there is nothing that can be done to rectify the situation.

I have lodged a complaint but the reality is that unless that cabin opens up again or one very close to it ( I wanted to be close to other family members on our booking) then we will not get what we want. Such is life I suppose, but I am disappointed.

I wouldn't have thought it was such a complicated question or one they haven't been asked before. Probably a training issue.

I have just contacted NCL and it seems they gave out the incorrect information to my TA and that the promo is still valid with an upgrade.

Unfortunately, the cruise is now sold out......

Yes, we are in the UK.

Yes, it can be right (not saying that it is, I have never had such problem but times have changed). Current price can be for new bookings only and also the promos are not available for bookings made less than 30 days before departure.

I could understand it if it was a free ugade but we are offering to pay a not insignificant sum to do it.

Also this (see below) is taken from a website where I could book today so the promos are still being sold with the current prices less than a week out.

Included in the cruise price:

• 1 bottle of water per person/per day in your stateroom
  
• A choice of beverages (soft drinks, water, juices, coffee specialities, spirits, cocktails, wine in a glass, bottled beer/draught beer up to 15 USD)
  
• All meals on board
  
• Baggage transport on embarkation and debarkation
  
• Entertainment program on board
  
• Insolvency insurance for tour operator
  
• Service charge on all all-inclusive services + tips for the crew
  
• Taxes and port charges
  
• Use of most onboard facilities
  

We are sailing in a week and I have noticed a lot of cabins have opened up. I called my TA and they said we could pay to upgrade but that we would lose our UDP. Can this be right?

I will be calling NCL direct but just wondered if anyone had any experience of this. Seems crazy to me.

On the UK cruise forum press release it said new bookings.

We did select dining on our last celebrity cruise and in addition to the pre paid tips we tipped in cash on the last night as we had been seated at the same table or at least in the same section every night.

We had the same wait staff every night. We did request that which sometimes meant we had to let another party go before us when the next table became free, but we prefer to have a rapport with staff and also refer select dining so it worked well for us.