cantthinkofanythingfun

Great review!

 

 

 

 

This and many other awesome statements make me convinced that there is a good lady for you out there. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I've been married twice, so I'm not so sure, but I am certainly enjoying the search.

I actually have a question. I never knew you could get rated on a cruise ship. On my last cruise two weeks ago I didn't intend to gamble, but I was dying for a cigarette, so I sat at a blackjack table, and that turned into a 2 hour $50-100/hand session. I presented my sign and sail card when I sat down to get cash to play. Do you think I was rated? I know that's not a lot ion the grand scheme of things, but I am going back on the Breakaway tomorrow. This time I will be sure to get a card if I decide to gamble.

You folks should be thanking the gamblers on board. Not only are they getting perks, but they are lowering the fare for your cruise. Look at the one popular cruise line that does not have casinos, Disney. Their cruises are about 3 times the price of other lines for comparable rooms. Is their experience three times better? Their overhead is actually less than other cruise lines. They only have 4 ships. NCL and RCI pump out ships like Toyota pumps out Camrys. Disney has these amazing characters and experiences, but they own all of that IP. NCL writes a fat check to Nickelodeon as does RCI to Dreamworks.

The gamblers are going to gamble anyway. On the sailings that NCL give away, they would have empty rooms if they didn't give them away, but their staff is under contract and there regardless of capacity. It makes perfect sense to give away that space to someone that may drop some money in the casino. That makes rates less for those that may not be inclined to gamble. Nobody is gambling to get more free cruises. Cruise lines know you have a lot of options now with gambling. They have an advantage in that they have you captive on the ship, and you can't walk to a casino next door, so they can really lower their payouts on slots. Table games are kind of hard to toy with, but I do see things on cruise ships that you rarely see in land casinos. Little things like constant shuffling of a 6 deck shoe in blackjack.

Like it or not, gambling makes cruising more affordable, provides newer ships, and more activities on board. Smile when you walk through that casino.

Two weeks ago I left my stateroom at 8:30 and was in the Lincoln Tunnel at 9:15. That was with 2 checked bags. I think it's doable, but risky. There are many things, mainly customs, that can hold you up.

You'll see employees carrying signs that say "Haven" all over the terminal. Kind of like limo drivers at the airport. Just go to one of them. I'm in the Haven too on this Sunday's sailing.

That sounds fine if it's a long cruise and you use your butler but why not decide after you see what services were provided and make a determination with the facts. When's the last time you went to a restaurant and decided the tip before you experienced the service. Your butler may dote on you or ignore you, wait and see.

I'm just trying to get a general idea of how much cash to bring. I can always make adjustments

I may request a bowl of M&Ms with all of the red ones removed, in which case I will throw him an extra 50.

I didn't mean to start any major controversy. It appears the answer is anything from stiff him to provide him a retirement in a Park Avenue Penthouse when we arrive back in NYC.

If I don't ask him to do too much would $200 be a good tip for 2 adults and 2 young children?

The Norwegian Night Out is the second day of the cruise, which is the first at sea day. Dressing up is optional. On my BA cruise over turkey day week I would say maybe 30% of passengers got completely dressed up. Another 20% may have been moderately dressed up. I brought a suit and did not wear it. I typically wear a sport coat with jeans every night. I wear sport coats because it makes it easier to carry things around and I would look like an idiot with a purse.

I will say that NCL's iConcierge app was a great tool on my last trip. It's free, and also free to use the ship's WiFi while using the app. I made all of my dinner and show reservations from it.

I'm pretty sure the hot spot only works off of a cellular connection.

Thanks for sharing the prices on those data plans. On my BA cruise two weeks ago I paid Verizon $25.00 for 100mb on a lousy connection, when I went over I was automatically charged another $25.00. I'm going back on the BA this Sunday. I'll definitely buy a plan from NCL.

After checking out the OP's other threads I would love to take a cruise with her. It would either be the best time of my life or one of us would be thrown overboard or end up in a third world prison. Either way, it would be a great story.

I prefer the mega ships for the entertainment, but it is super convenient for me to sail out of Baltimore and we have nothing but mid-sized ships. We have the Carnival Pride which is getting rehabbed (most of the passengers could use a little rehab too), but was still pretty nice before. We also have some old Royal Caribbean ship that is ridiculously expensive and looks like Francis Scott Key may have written the Star Spangled Banner on it.

I have a Haven Villa on the BA next week and I have no clue what to tip a butler. I don't want to look like a rube or anything. I don't even know what I would need a butler for, except to maybe call him Mr. Belvedere and have him teach my kid life lessons. I usually give the room steward 50 on the first day of the cruise because towel animals are the next best thing to balloon animals. I assume with a butler you wait until the end of the cruise?

I wasn't able to book online without being charged 2 weeks ago on the Breakaway. The show was booked that night, but they still got us in. I'm going back on the BA next week and skipping it. I'm not doing the UDP this time.

I am amazed that with the size of these ships that they can't land a chopper on the ship. I wouldn't want to be winched up in a chopper like I just barreled back to earth in a space capsule. I can't imagine how frightening that must have been for this woman.

Pretty sure we had different Howl players/singers but what bar in Baltimore will your Brian be playing at? Howl is always my favorite entertainment of the cruise. I know we had Ben, who was a bald guy and Nikki but it was her last week. I cannot remember the other's guy name but he looked and sounded a lot like Garth Brooks. They were all great!

He's playing in National Harbor at a place called Bobby McKeys (Ha! Get it). There is a Howl at the Moon in Baltimore in the Power Plant Live complex downtown. From what I was told, Norwegian just bought the name to use on their ships.

Loved your review, I hope you get your son on that next cruise, No drinking package for that one, I was watching the Web cam while you were in Fl. I thought I was just watching a great lightening storm, didn't know that was you and your X setting off all those sparks! Glad you had a great time, I'm on the ship on the 4th Of Jan ... Can't wait!:p

Ha! Yes, it was quite stormy on and off the boat that night. Actually work is piling up a bit and I may not make that December 14th cruise, which means there is a good possibility I would be on the January 4th one. If you see a 6'4" guy with a 3'4" miniature version of himself walking around, that would be me.

Your review is hysterical!!! Def get the hat!!Wear it on your next cruise!! lol I agree with all of your observations...food, entertainment and crew were all great!!

 

ps Didn't want to get in trouble for "hijacking" the smoking thread so I figured I post over here...Thanks for your comments about my daughter singing with Howl at the Moon...It was soooo nice of them to let her sing!! It was the highlight of her cruise!!

Thank you. The hat is a done deal. I need some sort of mid-life crisis. The Howl at the Moon crew were super nice. Brian (the bald guy) just sent me a text telling me he's playing at a piano bar here in Maryland this weekend. I'm going to try to go see him.

A little about me. I'm early 40's from Baltimore, and this was my 5th cruise, but first with NCL. I always book last minute and always get good deals. Maybe the price I pay has a lot to do with my perception of the cruise. I'm not overly picky. I drove to NYC in 3 hours and then paid a ridiculous amount of money to park, but that's not NCL's fault. Honestly, I think NCL would let us park on the ship for less. I went on this cruise with my girlfriend. She became my ex-girlfriend on or about day 5 of the cruise, but I still had an awesome time and nobody was thrown overboard. Do you know how awkward it is breaking up with someone on a cruise ship? Props to NCL for spreading the fun around and really making it where we only had to bump into each other in the very limited smoking areas.

Let's start with embarkation. It was a breeze for us. My girlfriend's arm was in a sling because she had surgery earlier in the week. One of the NCL staff members got us into priority boarding. Amazingly, my girlfriend wasn't even complaining about the arm at that point. They just saw her in line and insisted on getting her on the ship quickly. Considering we had the Ultimate Beverage package, getting her on the ship quickly probably ripped through NCL's profits like that iceberg ripped through the Titanic. I highly recommend the Ultimate Beverage package for couples that truly want to learn the person that their significant other really is. We had a mini-suite, 14156. It was nice. The steward kept it clean. We got towel animals every night. The towel animals are great. Not just for the terry cloth menagerie aspect of them, but for the fact that it gives you an extra towel. They only put two in the bathroom. I was unfortunately forced to euthanize a penguin and a monkey to take a shower. I will say that rooms in deck 14 seem to fall victim to quite a bit of noise from all the goings on up on deck 15. If peace and quiet is your thing then I would probably recommend a lower deck. Anyone that met my ex on the ship will know that peace and quiet obviously isn't my thing, and I was not bothered by any noise coming from above.

On to the food. Read a lot of complaints about the food before going. I started to think dinner might be like an episode of "Fear Factor". I thought the food was fantastic. It's not Tavern on the Green, but it's not a corner hot dog stand either, although they do have one of those onboard if that's your thing. Invest in the Ultimate Dining package. Just pretend it's part of your cruise fair. It is so worth it. All of the specialty restaurants are great. Cagney's is awesome, and Teppanyaki is really fun and good for a Japanese steak house. You can see the Cirque show for free on the first night as part of the dining package. We did that, and it was cool, but I would be mad if I actually did pay the 40 bucks for it, but that's really because I don't like Cirque shows. That meal wasn't the best, but it was better than popcorn and cotton candy. Look, they are trying to feed you a three course meal while you watch a show. There are limitations. As others have said the portions are small, but I noticed all these free restaurants on the ship where you could feed your face after the show if you were still hungry. I did the Garden Cafe everyday for lunch, and found it to be quite good. I was never up in time for breakfast (you can thank the Ultimate Beverage package for that), so I can't comment.

Entertainment. This is where the Breakaway really shines. I didn't even see a lounge singer that disappointed. Rock of Ages is great. I saw the movie and hated it, but fortunately, Norwegian couldn't afford Tom Cruise and that totally changed my opinion of it. It's actually quite amazing to get a show that good on a cruise ship. Sure beats the Carnival Dancers. Definitely go see Howl at the Moon, the dueling piano show. It's more like snuggling pianos, but very good. Joel and Lori are amazing talents. Brian was great too, but only onboard for that week filling in for someone else. See Howl at the Moon every night you can. It will be your fondest cruise memories. There is a Blues band in Fat Cats that goes by some Nawlins Frenchy name. Sorry, I can't remember it, but they were incredible. Some passenger brought a saxophone on board with him (and I always think I overpack). They brought him on stage and just yelled out a key, which of course was B flat, and they just jammed.

How about the ship and crew, you ask? Well it's a big boat with 6,000 people, but it never feels congested. It wasn't hard to navigate your way around. Design is subjective, so you can make up your own mind there. Plenty of pictures for you to check out on the web to see how you like it before booking. The crew was great. All super friendly and helpful, especially the bar and wait staffs. Tip them well. A lot of people like to comment about the captain and his personality. I don't quite get that. We got through a seven day cruise and the only mustering we did was during the drill, so he gets a thumbs up from me. There were some rough seas, but unless he deliberately steered us into them to take this 150,000 ton ship wake jumping, it wasn't his fault. I think the cruise director was new. His name is JC Sanchez. He's an interesting little fella. I only saw him a couple times. Once during the Newlywed Game, and at the close of Rock of Ages. I like his hat. I think I could pull a hat like that off myself. I'm going to try it. We didn't have great weather, so I really can't comment about the size of the pool or amount of deck chairs. There were plenty for the Canadians on this sailing that thought this felt tropical.

Disembarkation- Let me just put it this way. We left our room at 8:30. I was in the Lincoln Tunnel at 9:15. That was with 2 checked suitcases. Fastest Disembark I have ever had.

Ports- This is the first cruise that I really didn't get off the ship, except briefly in Nassau to get some pictures of the ship and run to a jewelry store. Apparently my room key fell out of my pocket in Nassau and I was questioned by both members of the Bahamian Navy before being allowed back on port. Also walking the streets of Nassau alone, I was offered all sorts of contraband. It made me feel like I was back home in Baltimore.

Due to severe weather we arrived in Port Canaveral late. I stayed on the boat, but I have been there before and highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center tour for anyone that thinks we actually landed on the moon over 4 decades ago and are now scratching our heads on how to go back.

In summary: Broke up with my girlfriend. The weather wasn't great, but NCL still made this one of the best vacations I have ever had. I am trying very hard to come back with my 5 year old son in two weeks. He always tells me he wants to go on the Mickey Mouse Boat, well money is a little tight right now, but I think he'll like the Spongebob boat.

Just back from another solo trip on the newly renovated Pride Nov. 16 cruise...with disastrous dinner seating. The first night I had late seating and was seated at a table with 3 other single ladies and a very older couple doing a back to back. During introductions, one lady said she was from Columbia and the man from the couple asked her how many uzi's she'd brought! Everyone gaped at him, including his wife. This man continued to berate or turn off everyone at the table.

 

He complained he paid $3000 for a back to back and had talked to a lady who had a free trip and how unfair that was and he was going to demand an explanation and some sort of remuneration.

 

The next night, I was the only one who showed. The maitre 'd came over and told me everyone had asked for new tables. Said he couldn't repeat the horrible things the man had said to him about all of us!!

 

I ended up with early seating. I missed a night due to the excursion not coming back until 30 minutes into dinner. When I made it the next night, which was elegant night, I was seated with 3 couples, all friends in their 80's. None seemed to have brought shampoo or a razor for beard trimming...however they were very nice. They explained they were reenactors, so I thought Civil War but they explained 1830's. One was a shoe maker, one a barrel maker, one said he was the town drunk.

 

I've had such strange luck in dining companions with both early and late dining. Once I didn Your Time Dining and it too was odd, sometimes being seated alone and sometimes with others.

 

For the next trip in March I've once again signed up for YTD, hoping I can get a table alone and enjoy a book, I'm getting PTSD from this!!

I guess on an unrelated note, how were the renovations on the Pride? I live in Baltimore, and she's coming back here in March. I sailed on her in February and there were definitely signs of age, especially in the rooms. Was the whole ship redone, or did they just add some new restaurants?

As far as solo cruising, I never understood it, but I just got back from a Thanksgiving week cruise where I broke up with my girlfriend on Day 5. Those last two nights were the most fun I have ever had on a cruise. I hung out with so many people. I was even offered places to sleep. I drank with most of the entertainers on the ship and had a late dinner with the cast of Rock of Ages. It was awesome.

My wife and I are doing both our first night on the ship. We did the UDP and then signed up for the cirque. My questions are.....

A- Because we got ours included with our UDP, are our seats farther away than most , the same or random selection?

and

B- Do they serve Drinks at the dinner show?

 

T- 12 days and 15 hours and 26 mins till we leave NYC on the BA (Is that called Embarkation?):o

It's random seating, but it's a small theater. You can see everywhere. My girlfriend and I had the UDP and got in as a standby on the first night. They gave us one of those circular booths to ourselves.

They serve drinks, but be patient. The waiters basically have to get the three courses out to everyone at the same time, and they are also part of the show.

Throw the bartenders an extra buck or two every now and then and they will stack drinks.