springfire

Great review and photos!!! Thanks!!!

One more yes food, I enjoy trying new food!

I have never been a fan of this site!

I think I will attempt to do a boat tour to avoid so many people being in port.

Looking forward to eating at Chops!

GEEZ!!! If you want to dress up for formal nights (and I do) do so. If not, don't. If you want to get all "duded" up, that's okay. If you want to look like a slob, that's okay. It's your vacation, enjoy it!

Now, let's get down to a less controversial subject like smoking!

 

Elvis

I agree! We enjoy dressing up but it will not kill my vacation for those that don't.

Bring your defib with you and enjoy!:

 

Looks Good!

530 is so early for a cruise!

I thought the spa services were very reasonably priced if not lower than what I have by where I live.

We have always found them very expensive compared to where we live!

When I am on a cruise, I need those steel drum bands playing by the pool! It really sets the mood.

I also would say oceanview!

Out of the triple digits and into double digits 99 days to go........

Please no Nassau! I always love cruising out of South Florida! Hopefully we can cruise for a longer time and visit some different ports!

Here is the history of the Nordic Prince to the best of my knowledge:

1) From 1971 to 1995 she was the Nordic Prince with Royal Caribbean

2) From 1995 to 2005 she was the Carousel with Sun Cruises

3) From 2005 to 2006 she was the Aquamarine with Louis Cruise Lines

4) From 2006 to 2008 she was the Arielle with Transocean Tours

5) from 2008 to 2010 she was the Aquamarine with Louis Cruise Lines

6) from 2011 to now she is the Ocean Star Pacific with Ocean Star Cruises

She is laid up now as far as I know. I have heard everything from turning here into a hotel, to getting her back to cruising to just being scrapped. The fact that she has been laid up is not a good thing as it will take a lot of money to get her going again.

The beautiful Nordic Prince will likely never cruise again.

Since you're flying in from Calgary, why don't you just fly into New Jersey instead of Florida?

So much nicer cruising out of Florida!

OMG how did I miss my favorite thread:D!!

 

OP-first day or any other day/night you can go, get them removed and or stopped. Easy Peasy and ignore the 4 pages of people calling you cheap or assuming you are stiffing the staff!!:D

Great Post!!! I so agree with you!

Wow, so sad to hear this. One of the best ships of her time.

101...........

Thanks to the recommendations from this thread and other mentions of Capt. Bob for St Martin excursion recommendations on CruiseCritic, my husband and I had the BEST DAY EVER on Oct. 31, when Allure of the Seas docked in St. Martin!

 

We had Fab, who is indeed fab, and who really knows how to maneuver that speed boat! My husband and I snorkeled (saw a barracuda!), ate delicious food (mahi mahi, rice & beans, grilled chicken, french fries,) got soaked while grinning like idiots at the back of the power boat, gawked at mansions, yachts, mega-yachts, beaches, water, goats, planes, etc., and had just all around the best day of our whole cruise.

 

Capt. Bob is just so easy to work with that even as first-time cruisers, we were able to get to and from the pier on time and without incident. We had an early daylight-savings time change on the ship, and Capt. Bob emailed me back super-quick when I contacted him to let him know. I was worried about finding the place and getting back late and missing the ship, but Fab had us back with plenty of time to spare -- and we didn't want the day to end by the time we got back! This tour is just the best, so thrilling and took us everywhere, and everything about it just made our whole vacation, seriously. St. Martin was the last port I made plans for because all the ship excursions seemed so bleh -- now it's the one port I want on our next cruise itinerary so we can do another Capt. Bob/Soualiga Destinations tour!

 

Unless you just physically can't handle the power boating/waves/wind, do yourself a favor and just go on this excursion!

 

Can't wait to go back, and we most assuredly will. Thank you, Capt. Bob and Fab, for taking our vacation from great to amazing in one awesome day!

Nice review, we are going with them in March!

103 days and counting..........

If we order late at night, we always put outside our door when we are finished. If we order breakfast we would leave it in our room when we are done. I would not want to sleep in a tight cabin with dirty dishes. It would be nice if they had a better way. Seeing all the dirty dishes outside cabins is never nice to look at but it is much better than having them in your room.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. Leaving trays in the corridor is something that everybody does. DH and I ordered room service quite a few times on our honeymoon with RCI and left the tray (or trays if there was more than one) out every time. If this is a problem for staff, surely something would be said?

 

And we didn't just pile everything on trays. We made sure plates were stacked and everything neat to minimise any movement. And the trays never stayed long out there anyway, someone would always pick them up.

 

I understand it may be a safety thing, but unless I see it being brought up by one of the staff while on the cruise I don't really see the problem.

We always put them outside with no issue. I am in agreement with you.

105 days till our cruise

We will be on the first cruise after they have fixed this issue. Sure hope no issues!

Never, ever prepay tips and never will. We have been on somewhere around 18 cruises. 'Back in the Day' when staff members depended on your tips at the end of the cruise service was far superior to what it is today. That is just the was it was. The service we recieved was far above excellent and we always, always, always tipped above and beyond. It was deserved.

If 'prepaid tips' is to become the norm, put it into the cost of the cruise bottom line. Then we'll decide whether to continue to cruise or not.

It has been our experience that going the pre-paid route on ships has severely hampered the service rendered onboard.

I know there are exceptions to the rule, but we have yet to experience them. Possibly because we remember cruising back in the 80's when there were very few ships and the experiece was different.

I agree with your post!