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BRENT AND DIANNA

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    NCL Luggage Policy

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Keep in mind that you are going to have to tote those full size bottles everywhere on the ship until the rooms are ready-probably 1pm or so. It gets really annoying having everything with you as you are trying to explore the ship.

     

     

     

    We put our large shampoo, conditioner, etc in the bags we leave with the porter, so you don't have to lug it around.....

     

     

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    NCL Luggage Policy

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    THE LINK you requested:

     

     

     

    https://www.ncl.com/faq#how-many-suitcases

     

     

     

    The luggage (baggage) policy is some what different from the airlines.

     

    Your carry on luggage is TSA restricted on the airplane.

     

    Carry on luggage with NCL is similar and yet less restricted except for:

     

    WMD - weapons of mass destruction - knives spears guns hazardous chemicals alcohol AND WATER !

     

    The airlines may charge you a fee for each baggage piece or waived the charges if an affinity customer.

     

    NCL does not charge anything for the handling of two pieces of checked luggage per person and I have

     

    never heard of any cases where extra luggage being charged - simply if you can haul it to the pier and

     

    tip the porter adequately it will be at your cabin door as usual.

     

    Carry on luggage is the same if you can man handle it to your cabin - have at it.

     

    The weight of baggage on airlines is controlled by charging for overweight oversize baggage.

     

    NCL has (LINK) a weight limit of 50 pounds but this generally is ignored if your luggage has wheels and

     

    can be wheeled about - hint don't expect tender loving care for baggage that takes two porters stevedores

     

    cabin stewards to tote to your cabin. So don't bring the kitchen sink along !

     

    Wheel chairs scooters and other medical aids are NEVER charged and are not part of the luggage limits

     

    on both the airlines and NCL ships.

     

    You don't need to bring your weight lifting or exercise equipment - most ships have all of that and then some.

     

     

     

    Closing comments - don't bring along your Titanic steamer trunk - are you crazy !

     

    Ya gots to haul that stuff around with you to the cruise and home - take it easy - don't pack more luggage

     

    than you can handle !

     

     

    One of our suitcases was over 55 pounds and

    We took six pieces of luggage for two people on the ship with no issues at all' date=' so they do not enforce the weight, or number rule.

     

     

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    NCL Luggage Policy

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    One of our big suitcases that will be checked in is very heavy. I have no way of weighing it at home. If it is indeed over 50 lbs what do they make us do? Start throwing away some clothes? How strictly enforced is this weight policy?

     

     

     

    I had a piece that was 55 pounds and there was no problem... Until I got to the airport and then had to repack.

     

     

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    Infant on Cruise

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Hi Everyone! We have a 2 month old boy and are thinking a cruise in summer 2018 might be a good option for us. From the looks of it Royal Caribbean seems to get good grades regarding sailingwith kids. I am still a bit nervous as he we still only be 7-8 months old. We would likely take advantage of the onboard babysitting options. We figured we could have a few nights out and maybe even leave him onboard at one port while my wife and I could enjoy a relaxing beach day. We have cruised on NCL 3 times and Princess once. We are dying to set sail again and have always wanted to try RC. Am I nuts? Would love your feedback, especially if you have sailed with kids around this age group. Thanks in advance!

     

     

     

    You cannot leave your child on the ship and leave the ship without the child. Against the rules.

     

     

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    Getaway- Western Carib Just came back, can try to help to answer any questions

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    If you are traveling on Southwest there is a brand new terminal that is very nice. Each seat has its own charging port and there also is a very spacious area with work stations, tables and it has tons of natural skylights/windows as well. It is after you go through security.

     

     

     

    Another thought also..I am not sure how early you can check your bags at FLL but perhaps you can do the baggage check in and then take an uber to get some lunch. There are several restaurants fairly close to the airport.

     

     

     

    Just flew Southwest and there if a four hour time limit as far as checking in your bags.

     

     

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    Review: NCL Escape 11/4/17 - Jamaica/Cayman/Cozumel/GSC

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    WHO WE ARE: We are a male/female couple in our 40s with a 7-year-old son. This is our 5th NCL cruise, and we've taken one every year since 2013. This will be a fair and unbiased review. We know what to expect from cruising (the good and the bad), and are not NCL cheerleaders by any means.

     

    ITINERARY: We originally booked an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Escape for 11/4/17, departing from Miami to Tortola, St. Thomas, and Nassau, and back to Miami. Unfortunately, a hurricane in September changed those plans, and our cruise was changed to make port in Falmouth (Jamaica), Cayman Islands, Cozumel (Mexico), and Great Stirrup Cay. It still departed from and returned to Miami.

     

    OUR STATEROOMS: We are not big fans of stuffing in like sardines for a week, so we usually get 2 staterooms. Often we have the casino certificates to support this, and when we don't, I can usually bargain shop to make the 2nd stateroom happen at a very reasonable price. That wasn't happening this time, and that 2nd stateroom -- even an inside -- seemed ridiculously expensive. However, the itinerary change left NCL with a glut of Western Caribbean cruises, so they had a hard time selling staterooms in the final 2 months. We were going to squeeze in to a single balcony room, which I got for just the taxes and $140 admin fee (being a Caesars Seven Stars member). As we got very close to sail date, we noticed the ability to buy a 2nd balcony stateroom for $549, with no single supplement fee. Even better, my wife got another $70 off for being a Caesars Diamond, and her removal from the first room freed up another perk, so I was able to add on the 250 minute internet package (more on that later). So it was a no-brainer to add a second balcony room for just $479 PLUS getting the 250 internet minutes. Unfortunately, since it was a Sail Away, we happened to get assigned on opposite ends of the ship. On the plus side, they were also facing opposite directions, allowing us to view whichever side was more interesting at the moment.

     

    EMBARKATION: We got a notice from NCL that there would be a boarding delay because of some Coast Guard inspection, and nobody would be allowed on until 1pm. Well, our time to board was 1pm, so I said, "Screw this... we aren't showing up at 1pm and standing in a huge line which will have clearly backed up from all the people who showed up earlier." Instead, we showed up at about 2:30, and last boarding was at 3:00. This was a pleasure. We breezed right through, with virtually every passenger already on board. No lines. No crowds. It was lovely. We will be doing this again in the future.

     

    NORWEGIANS GET CONNECTED: Our two balcony rooms were on the 14th floor (aft) and 12th floor (forward). The one on the 14th floor was the "better" BA category, and the 12th floor was category BE. However, the 12th floor room was mostly superior. The 14th floor room had a connecting door (I foolishly didn't check on this when CAS assigned it to me, until it was too late), and the 12th floor room did not. Both were near the extreme ends of the ship, despite the 14th floor room supposedly being "midship". Had I paid extra for being "midship" on that one, I would have been angry (I didn't, thankfully). As I feared, the 14th floor room had occasional noise, as the connecting door does not contain the neighbor's sounds nearly as well as a regular wall. (This is also true at hotels.) Fortunately the neighbors were fairly quiet, and it was only an issue about 2 or 3 times, and never for very long. However, I would strongly suggest that you AVOID connecting-door rooms unless you need one. In the future, I will make sure not to accidentally book one.

     

    WELCOME ABOARD! HERE'S SOME DIRT AND HAIR FOR YOU! The 14th floor room was about as clean as you'd expect a cruise ship room to be. I realize that these are not perfectly clean, since the stewards have so many rooms to clean in such a short time between disembaration and embarkation. However, the job done on the 12th floor room was a disgrace. There were small pieces of trash on the floor. The bathroom was full of hair on the ground and in the shower. The shower door was dirty. The bathroom smelled like urine -- more than cruise ship bathrooms already typically do. It was gross. We called and the housekeeping supervisor came over. Surprisingly, he admitted that the steward did a poor job, but stated that it was okay because "The Coast Guard inspected today, we had very little time to clean, so this is the best we can do." Well, that's a load of crap. The rooms should always be clean no matter what, and NCL needs to staff more people if that is a problem. Also, somehow they were able to clean my 14th floor room just fine. After telling him this was unacceptable (and his excuse was unacceptable), the supervisor went to work cleaning himself. Within about 20 minutes, the room was clean. I did not bother complaining further about the matter.

     

    UPGRADING TO UNLIMITED INTERNET: As mentioned earlier, one of my selected perks was 250 minutes of internet. I like having internet on the cruise ship, for many reasons. I'm not one of those guys who wants to completely unplug. 250 minutes disappears very fast over a period of 7 days. I wondered if I could upgrade my 250 minutes to unlimited for a reasonable price, but it seemed this was ship-dependent. I'm happy to report that the Escape is one of those ships where they allow it. Internet manager Ninoslav was very nice, and happily gave me my full value for the 250 minute internet package ($125), making the normally $245 "fast" internet package just $120. Great success! I will tell you that you shouldn't bother with the "fast" internet package over the "regular" one, unless you're doing this upgrade. When you upgrade, that's all you can upgrade to. If you're buying it outright, you might as well stick to the regular one. They claimed that the "fast" one could watch video, but in reality it was usually too slow to do that. Anyway, I was thrilled that I was able to get $125 off the unlimited internet package, thus making my decision to get the 2nd balcony room that much better (since it freed up the 250-minute perk).

     

    THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT? I was very disappointed by the entertainment situation on the Escape. I had heard that the large ships had Broadway shows, and I was looking forward to this. Perhaps I had heard incorrectly. The shows onboard were fairly limited, and none seemed like they were anything better than I had seen on the smaller ships. We ended up going to just one show -- a comedy jugger -- and it was cute, but pretty much standard stuff for a cruise.

     

    RUSSIAN TOILET ROULETTE: The toilet in the 14th floor room had a weird problem. When you'd press the flush button, it would only sometimes work. Other times, you would hear a quick "air" sound, and then nothing. Sometimes I would have to press flush about 10 times to get it to go. Other times it would flush right away. I battled with this the entire week. Whenever I called an employee to look at this, of course it flushed on the first try, and I looked like an idiot. Finally I was able to prove it to the steward. However, the promised repairman never showed up. Then it seemed to fix itself for a day or so, and then it started happening again. Finally got a plumber up there, who of course coudln't replicate the problem, but told me he had a feeling what it was. He changed the vacuum pump (I think), and told me it was probably fixed. Sure enough, it flushed great.... until about 5 hours later, and the problem was back -- probably not fixed in the first place! I gave up and just dealt with it. The 12th floor room had no maintenance issues.

     

    NORWEGIANS DON'T ROCK THE BOAT: I've been on only 5 NCL cruises, but I've been on many other cruises in my life. This was, by far, the smoothest ride I've ever had on a cruise ship. Was it because of the size of the Escape, which is a monster? Was it because of the calm seas of the Caribbean in early November? Was it both? I don't know, but most of the time I forgot I was on a ship, and very rarely did I feel any rocking motion.

     

    BEATING THE WATER POLICY, TWO BOTTLES AT A TIME: I used to bring my own drinks onboard -- soda and water. I brought enough to last the entire week. Then in 2016 the policy changed, and that was no longer an option. I could do without the soda, but the lack of bottled water was immensely frustrating, as was the terrible pricing that NCL gave for their bottled water plan. However, both myself and my wife get drink cards from CAS (a Caesars perk), which entitles each of us to drinks from the Skyline Bar (next to the casino). I took my wife's card (she never charges anything anyway), and every time I would pass the area, I would stop at the Skyline Bar, and ask for 2 waters. Occasionally I would get a Coke or some other drink, but usually 2 waters. I accumulated enough water for the trip, including our port stops. Was it worth my time? Certainly not. But NCL's obnoxious water policy irritates me so much that I wasn't going to give them a penny as a result of it. What can I say? I'm a man of principle.

     

    CONDITIONING SHAMPOO -- IF BY "CONDITIONING" THEY MEAN TURNING YOUR HAIR INTO A STRINGY MESS: There's nothing I hate more in hotels than finding a single bottle of shampoo labeled, "Conditioning Shampoo" That translates to, "We are too cheap to give you conditioner, so we are calling this cheap shampoo 'conditioning'." NCL does the same crap, and it's just a killer on your hair. Keep in mind that neither of us are obsesed with the way our hair looks, but this shampoo is just brutal. Fortunately, you can ask for a bottle of conditioner, and they will provide one to you at no charge. You just need to ask your room steward. We knew this from previous cruises.

     

    MAIN DINING ROOMS: We did not dine at all in the Main Dining Rooms. Therefore, I cannot review them. Sorry!

     

    CAGNEY'S: This was a pretty standard Cagney's (the NCL speciality steakouse restaurant). Everything tasted pretty good. Was not particularly memorable, but we enjoyed it. We went two different nights, and used our specialty dining package.

     

    LE BISTRO: I rarely rave about individual employees at NCL, but this time I really have to mention someone who did a superb job. Le Bistro manager Fortunata is an extremely nice, customer-friendly woman who did a fantastic job making us feel welcome and happy. She was especially nice to our son. Any issue that came up there was more than corrected. We enjoyed eating at Le Bistro so much that we dined there 3 of the 7 nights. I actually submitted a compliment on the NCL website for her (apparently that's preferable to the staff over the "Hero" forms, because the corporate office gets it). Great experience there, and I encourage you not only to eat at Le Bistro on the Escape, but to speak up if anything is wrong, and Fortunata will definitely take care of you. Great employee. Wish there were more like her, but honestly everyone at Le Bistro was very nice. One odd complaint: They take pictures right outside Le Bistro (unrelated to the restaurant), and the flash ends up bouncing off the mirrors and hurting your eyes if you sit by the window. So try sitting more inside the restaurant to avoid that.

     

    LA CUCINA: I wish NCL had a higher-end Italian restaurant than La Cucina, because Italian food is fairly easy and cheap to prepare, and honestly they could do better. This was actually the best La Cucina we've been to, and it had a very nice area outside where you could dine, and it was fairly protected from the wind. Really enjoyed the setting on a warm Caribbean night, and the food was decent, albeit not wonderful. We knew this going in, but go one night to La Cucina anyway just for variety.

     

    FOOD REPUBLIC: This was a new one for us. We don't like Moderno (it's a very poor man's version of Fogo De Chao), and Teppanyaki isn't really our cup of tea, either. So we wanted an interesting 4th restaurant, but unfortunately those 5 restaurants (the three I just reviewed, plus Moderno and Teppanyanki) are your only choices under the dining package. However, on the Escape, there are three other specialty restaurants with a la carte pricing. One is Bayamo (Latin Seafood), one is Pincho Tapas (tapas), and one is Food Republic (Asian tapas). We decided to go with Food Republic. I have to say, it was great. We really enjoyed every dish we ordered from there. Kinda sucked to have to part with $45 when we already had dining packages, but it was a nice change, and we left feeling very happy with our choice. We will definitely return if we find it on another cruise ship in the future. Highly recommend. Only downside? The restaurant was unusually cold, and they said they had no control over the temperature in there. Oh, and I wish that this was somehow available as part of the specialty dining package. There should be some sort of allotment of food you can order on it.

     

    A WORD ABOUT THE SPECIALTY DINING PERK: If you take the specialty dining perk that is one of the "5 choices" of perks in most bookings, you get 3 specialty dining packages for each occupant of the room (unless you have 3 or more people, and then it only goes to the first two). But what if you have one adult and one child, and your child doesn't really like the specialty meals? All specialty restaurants will let the child order from the kid's menu, without using their "specialty dining" credits. But then what do you do with the kid's three specialty dining credits? You can use them yourself. The 3-per-person is actually 6 per stateroom. They don't tell you this, and it's not the official policy, but it's a "soft" policy to let one person in the stateroom use the other's specialty dining package if the first person has run out. Simply inform them of this when you order, and if you're told no, ask for the manager, who will always allow it. Even if you are refused (you won't be), you can always order for the kid (or whoever else won't be using the specialty credit) and then just plate-swap. But that won't be necessary, as all managers will authorize it.

     

    SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS WANT YOU TO LEAVE HAPPY: This is another lesser-known fact about NCL ships. The managers in the specialty restaurants are typically very accommodating, and want you to leave happy. Was something wrong? Speak up. Portion too small? Speak up. Anything else bothering you about your experience? Speak up. They are very gracious, and want to help. Do not just grumble and walk away frustrated when something isn't to your liking. I'm not saying to complain about every little thing, but just understand that they have the power to fix many issues, even ones you'd expect that the answer would be "no" (and it turns out to be "yes")!

     

    HERE'S YOUR SPECIALTY PACKAGE... NOW YOU CAN'T USE IT: I figured I would make my dining reservations for the first 3 days, then eat at an a la carte, then do reservations for the last 3. This was fine at the beginning, but when I tried for the final 3 nights, they were all full. This led to an interesting dilemma: If you paid for the specialty dining package (as I did for my wife, who got no perks), and they can't accommodate you, are you due a refund? I would say yes, and I started to argue that with them. Just as I was demanding the restaurant manager to make a decision on this, they managed to find spots for us, so crisis averted. But I really do believe that legally they need to do something for you if you buy a package and, for whatever reason, they cannot deliver the service.

     

    NORWEGIANS CAN TAKE A PUNCH: A freak accident occurred onboard, and the victim of it was my son. As we were walking to the Escape Theater to board the tenders to Grand Cayman, an NCL employee waving his arm in the manner of, "The Escape theater is this way" didn't see my son (who is 4 feet tall) and elbowed him in the face. The man was very apologetic, and we moved on. My son was crying at first, but we though it was just fron the shock of being hit like that. But then when we got in the theather, I noticed a bump forming under his eye! Uh oh! Unfortunately we had a private tour booked and had to make a tough decision. Should we go to the doctor and miss our excursion, or assume it's something that will get better on its own, and go on? We decided to leave it up to our son, who said it was hurting, but he felt okay enough to continue. However, the bump worried me, and I thought of another problem. As we were just about to leave the ship, I didn't want them believing the injury occurred on shore. If my son ended up needing medical care onboard (or after the cruise) in relation to this, I definitely wanted NCL to cover it. Getting this approved was actually a hassle. One female employee was acting annoyed with us for showing concern about this. Another employee was dismissing us and not listening to our requests (we were asking for both ice and for them to guarantee that we would not have to pay for any subsequent medical care onboard reated to this -- and we got non-answers). Finally we got them to agree to this, and they finally got the ice pack after about 5 requests for it. Poorly handled, to be honest. By the time we got back, the bump was gone, and my son said he didn't feel it anymore. We didn't bother going to the doctor, and I didn't mention it again. This was purely an accident and I didn't want anyone getting in trouble for it. If anyone deserved to get in trouble, it was the employees in the theater who handled it poorly, but we just let it drop.

     

    GARDEN CAFE: The buffet at the Garden Cafe was pretty much the usual. It was acceptable as far as cruise ship buffets go. I still don't like how NCL closes the cafe from 3pm-5pm, and that's especially inconvenient on embarkation day.

     

    CASINO: As usual, I avoided the casino because of the poor odds, rules, and rake of their games. I know this is common in the cruise industry, so I won't complain about it too much. I wish I could have played poker, but the rake at the $2/$5 No Limit game was 10% up to $25, which is just horrendous. I did play the blackjack tournament, which I do every year, for $20 entry fee. Most people in the tournament have no clue what they're doing or the proper strategy to utilize (most play it like a blackjack cash game), but sadly two players ran really hot and I didn't. I still would have won the first round if the dealer beat everyone in the final hand, but everyone beat the dealer, and I didn't move on. Oh well.

     

    PROPERTY OF NCL KIDS PROGRAM: On the 4th day of the cruise (Tuesday), we took our son to try the kids' program. He liked the program 2 years ago on the Dawn, so we gave it another shot. I was surprised to find out that the kids' program had a policy where the kid would be forced to wear a wristband, and could not take it off for the duration of the cruise! How uncomfortable! Well, you could take it off, but you'd have to pay $5 each time to replace it. What a load of crap. The girl up front treated me like I was crazy for not liking this policy. She finally compromised by making the wristband loose enough to where he could slip his hand in and out of it if he really tried. He spent about 2 1/2 hours there, and told us when we picked him up that he didn't enjoy it. We didn't bring him back.

     

    POOL SCENE: One of the pools was closed for a portion of the first day, "due to an unforeseen circumstance". I am assuming it might have to do with the act of violence that we heard occurred onboard the previous cruise. Either way, it was reopened later that day. Still, I didn't enjoy the pool scene on the Escape. There simply weren't enough pools to accommodate the huge passenger load (about 4300), so each pool was a crowded zoo. The waterslides looked impressive, but we didn't ride any.

     

    ROPES COURSE: There was an interesting ropes course on the 18th deck of the ship. At one point, you end up gliding over the side of the ship, where if you were to fall, you'd land in the ocean. We didn't do it, but if you're into that sort of thing, you might want to try it.

     

    PORTS REVIEWS: I wrote separate reviews for each of the ports, aside from Great Stirrup Cay, which I will review here. Oherwise I will link to the review posts, and you can read them separately. You might wish to read the port reviews if you're looking for things to do in Falmouth/Ocho Rios, Cayman, or Cozumel. In Falmouth and Cozumel, we picked some unusual choices which aren't known well by most tourists. We never do excursions run by the ship.

     

    FALMOUTH, JAMAICA: There isn't much in Falmouth, and you need to drive (or get driven) to Ocho Rios, over an hour away, to do most things. If choosing a cruise to Jamaica, you're better off picking one which docks in Ocho Rios. Here we chose to go to Konoko Falls, Scotchie's Restaurant, and Green Grotto Caves, with a private tour through Courtney Taylor. Read about it by clicking here ***.

     

    CAYMAN ISLANDS: Here we did what almost everyone does -- Stingray City. But we did it with a private tour operator which keeps their crowds small, and it makes a huge difference. Read about it by cliking here ***. One thing that bothered me about NCL's stop at the Cayman was that the ship was departing at 4pm, yet the last tender went back at 3pm. This was highly unusual, as usually the last tender is 30 minutes before sail time -- or at least that's always been my experience on NCL. I wish this was made clear prior to sailing.

     

    COZUMEL, MEXICO: We were in Cozumel four years ago, and did Dolphin Discovery. We wanted something different this time. We didn't just want to go to the beach. I found a little-known destination called Punta Sur Eco Park, about 30 minutes south of the port by car. Read about it by clicking here ***.

     

    GREAT STIRRUP CAY: I was not excited about this port stop. It's supposedly in the "Bahamas", but it doesn't feel like the Bahamas. It's an artificial wannabe-resort set up and entirely owned by the cruise ship. Originally our itinerary called for Nassau, and I would have much preferred that. My fear was that this small cay wasn't suited to handle a ship full of 4300+ tourists descending upon it at once. I was correct. We took our time getting out that day, figuring we wouldn't need all day there. When we got to the beach (you had to tender to the cay), I couldn't believe my eyes. Tons of people everywhere -- especially in the water. Just looked so unappealing and the opposite of relaxing. There were a few other places to go which were less crowded, but they also weren't as good, especially for kids. A little bit later, I tried snorkeling. There were no fish to be found in the immediate area, but snorkeling off to the right, toward the rocks, and going a bit deeper, I found some. Nothing spectacular, but there was at least a decent variety of fish. Interestingly, NCL put some concrete structures in the water, on the ocean floor, to serve as makeshift coral, and it was kinda working. (You will only see this if you swim out somewhat -- not if you stay in the shallow water.) I would recommend a life jacket and fins (only if you snorkel), as there is somewhat of a current, especially as you get closer to the open ocean. Up until this point, I was having an okay time, especially because I ditched most of the crowd by swimming into the deeper water. But then... I was interrupted by a guy on a sea vehicle yelling at me. "Time to go in! Time's up!" Huh? I knew it wasn't too long after 3, and I knew that the last tender back was at 4. Well, apparently they rush everyone out of the water starting at 3:15, and they kick everyone off the beach by 3:30. Nobody is warned of this. They believe that the last tender is at 4. Guess the result yet? Everyone abruptly leaves at once, and there's an insane line to get to the tenders. Then once you get on the tenders, you're waiting forever for it to load, and then another eternity to get off. Then once you're off, you're in a long line to get back on the ship. What a nightmare! If you go to the cay, make sure you get out of there at least one hour before the "last tender", or you will be sorry! Overall, I did not enjoy the cay stop very much.

     

    WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE LARGE ESCAPE SHIP, COMPARED TO THE REGULAR NCL SHIPS: It was newer and more modern, so that was nice. It felt like I was cruising in 2017, and not 1997. The additional specialty restaurants gave some extra choices, though it would have been nice if they were on the dining package. Going up to the 20th deck was a novelty. The Ropes Course looked interesting, even though we didn't do it. The ship didn't seem as huge because they put the staterooms mostly in one area of the ship (floors 9-15 were staterooms and nothing else). Large capacity led to us getting the great deal on the 2nd room.

     

    WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THE LARGE SHIP: Entertainment should have been better. Pool scene was way too crowded. Harder to get into specialty restaurants. Cay was a complete zoo and a nightmare to get off.

     

    DISEMBARKATION: Easy, for the most part, and went pretty well. However, I have one complaint. I hate when you sign up for a certain time to get off (in our case, 9:35), and they call your "color" 20 minutes early. This stinks because, if you're not ready (which you aren't expecting to be), your luggage sits out by itself for those 20 minutes, and anyone can steal it. I understand that these times are "approximate", but there's no reason to be 20 minutes early. Also, if you are looking for a shuttle to the rental car places at the airport, it's across the street from where you get out. This is not clear from the signage there. Those shuttles will drive you to the airport for free if you show them a reservation for their rental car company. One trick to get a free ride back to the airport is simply to make a free reservation and then no-show (the rental car companies don't care about this, as they get no-shows constantly). We actually had a car waiting for us, but I thought about this trick as we were on the shuttle.

     

    OVERALL: We enjoyed our cruise on the Norwegian Escape, and will be returning to cruise again on NCL in 2018. While we had a few minor issues as outlined above, this was probably the cruise which went the smoothest, as far as onboard issues went. For the most part, the staff was friendly and had a good attitude.

     

     

     

    I was on this same cruise and had a great time. Sure seems like you had a lot to complain about.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Gratuity Removal Too Easy?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    I just cannot imagine someone's crude being so bad to warrant removal of gratuities. The staff work their butts off and even if you run into one ride person, why punish the entire crew? Maybe it's because I live in a city where we tip for everything, but I just don't understand. We also tip cash for a job well done in addition to the prepaid gratuities.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Prepaid Onboard Credit

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    That was my thinking as well. Some Canadian cruisers replied on another thread that it helps to get their money across the border to use in the casino. I hadn't thought of that reason. Otherwise, why would one want to give use of their money away and then worry about getting it back, just as you said?

     

    We put everything on the credit card that gives 3% back on travel which is a great deal if you pay the bill on time and don't accrue interest.

     

     

     

    Not all of us have credit cards. I pay it in advance so that I don't spend it and I don't have to worry about having enough.

     

     

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    Prepaid Onboard Credit

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    As far as I can tell, you bought it and therefore it is refundable. It is your money.

     

     

     

    Somebody, somebody will convince me why it is a good idea to give somebody your money in advance and then worry if it gets lost somewhere along the way, or there is some silly rule you have to deal with.

     

     

     

    It's works for me as I would spend it otherwise.

     

     

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    Gratuities

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    I just cannot believe how cheap some people can be. How would you feel if you were in the employees position? Don't be a cheapskate. If you feel any others went above and beyond, then give them an additional tip. These people on the ship make such small wages to begin with. Maybe it's just me since I live in Las Vegas, but I tip for everything and budget accordingly.

     

     

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