BaWBarmy

Sorry to bring up an age old argument but DSC isn't gratuities is it? Its a Service charge. I would have thought pre-paid gratuities would have been on the UBP and the SDP. Previous posters have spent a lifetime picking up anybody who confused the two.

I think people liked the idea of the DSC and any other gratuities included. The major problem with Premium All Inclusive was that you had to have it. Everybody had to pay the inflated prices unless they booked a 'Just Cruise' stateroom. Many didn't use all that the package offered and as a consequence paid a higher price for very little. Now you can book a stateroom of your choice and it's up to you if you want the £99 at Sea perks or not. The big downside is that the DSC is not included in the quoted price. I've just booked our latest cruise and it is slightly cheaper than before even with the £99 at Sea and pre paid DSC. I too can live without the bottled water, WiFi and speciality coffee with meals, and I get some WiFi and some water through the Latitudes program. :)

In theory the prices should be equivalent to those for US customers. Then two perks, but no gratuities, for £99 and the DSC. In the US the prices are lower but they have to pay gratuities on things like the UBP and SDP. If the cost of lower prices is losing the bottled water and Speciality coffee then I can live with that. You can get a WiFi package as one of your £99 at Sea perks. If however the price plus the £99 perks and the DSC is equivalent to what we pay now then I'd feel a little annoyed as we'd be paying more than the regular US price but have had parts of the All Inclusive package removed. It'll be interesting to see what the prices are come Monday.

Yes. I should have said scrapped for all bookings made after April 1 2019. If you've already booked then you'll still get the Premium All Inclusive deal that you booked.

I only found out about this last night. Premium All Inclusive is scrapped from April 1 2019 after that we can have the Free at Sea perks, any two for balcony and below and all 5 for Haven, Suites etc. This comes at a price and that price is £99 per person. In theory this should actually lead to a reduction in prices as everything that was included now isn't. However knowing NCL we'll probably find that prices remain the same and we'll have to pay DSC and £99 on top. We lose the litre of bottled water each a day and the speciality coffees with meals, there is still the option to choose a WiFi package as part of the £99 at Sea deal. I'll have to wait until April 2 to see if there is any difference in price.

I was a little disappointed. We sailed the Escape in September 2018. It was the first time we had used a speciality restaurant since using Le Bistro on the Gem on our first cruise. Although given a choice it seemed the Maitre'D would have preferred us to sit outside. Outside lacks any intimacy and is noisy with people walking past all the time. There was plenty of space inside and it's not as if we hadn't reserved a seat. We sat inside. It seems I'm the only one to have been really disappointed with the Escargot, but I was. The menu was limited IMHO but the food was delicious. The service was very good too. We also ate at La Cucina and I thought that was better.

Hi debgreg and everyone else. The NCL AlI Inclusive package purchased by UK cruisers includes the drinks package and associated gratuities, it also includes the Daily Service Charge (DSC) additionally you get 1 litre of bottled water per day per passenger, an hour of free wifi per person and speciality coffees when you eat in the restaurants (not the buffet). In theory you coul purchase the All Inclusive package and not have to spend anything else. So while it seems more expensive there are a lot of factors to be taken into consideration. You can fly to New York (JFK) from Manchester and sail from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. You would need to get to New York at least one day early because it would be a struggle to get through immigration etc. and travel to the cruise terminal from JFK and arrive 2 hours before sailing. Its a great chance to get a couple of extra days to see New York. We've been fortunate enough to sail from New York on both the Escape and the Gem and they are both great ships although the Gem may be a bit small if you prefer the RCI mega boats.

11212 if its available. Had to look back through my photos to confirm and then my booking and then remembered we got an upgrade. Wasn't too hard to find on the deck plan as we had connecting cabins with my daughter. If you take it from there you should be able to work out which cabins have which configuration, at least on that side of Deck 11. Hope this helps

Remember the Epic holds upwards of 4000 passengers per trip and there are probably no more than 10 bad reviews on CC per cruise. You should give the reviews a miss or take most of the bad ones with a pinch of salt. They don't like it but they go with a set of criteria which may differ wildly to your own. Go with an open mind and enjoy YOUR cruise rather than trying to relive theirs. FYI I really loved the Epic.

If it's noise that is the problem then you should also take account of what is opposite your door. Crew areas can be very noisy with crew members in and out for supplies and trollies etc. As well as cabins above and below I'd try and make sure I had one opposite too. We were deck 10 and officially mid-ship but it was more forward.

I didn't say you whinged. I said it is a British trait to whine after the fact. Which it is. You sort of proved this by posting in the first place. I will enjoy Christmas, got the Turkey in already. Don't think our paths will cross as my next cruise will probably be on NCL and I have no plans to visit Eastbourne. Oh by the way how long have you been married?

Can't really see the point of your post or the reasoning behind your eventual conclusion. The Gem was our first NCL ship infact it was our first cruise and we sailed out of NYC too. We loved it that much that two years later we did exactly the same cruise and took our kids with us. I don't know what you mean by 'cost cutting ship' and you do not mention any of the prettier ships you have sailed before. Entertainment is subjective as is food although I don't believe the waste on the Gem is any more than any cruise ship. I'm sure most TV shows that have married couples on usually ask them how long they have been married. It seems a strange thing to moan about. As for your last point I see you have done the usual British thing which is nothing, then whine about it later rather than reporting it at the time and getting something done. In much the same way that if you were served an awful meal and then asked later if everything was OK you would Oh Yes Thank You. We all do it but it's hardly NCL's fault and again I'm pretty sure you would find the same thing happening on other cruise lines. How did you find New York? (this question contains sarcasm) To any other posters I would like to say I haven't used Grammerly or Grammarly and if it shows, then so be it.

Headliners Deck 6 midship Menus available from all dining venues. Just approach maître d' and book any venue you want.

The prices for European cruises are unbelievable. The Caribbean prices don't look too bad. I checked out an Oz cruise and it worked out nearly as cheap for us to cruise for 13 nights out of Sydney as it did for 11 nights out of Venice. I've never used a US travel agent so I can't be any real help except to say to book your own flights rather than use the NCL fly-cruise option. You can save yourself quite a bit just doing that.