CazV

4 hours ago, eroller said:

I'm guessing prices for the just added SPIRIT Med cruises will be quite attractive, as there is little time to market.  Might be the perfect opportunity to sail on her.  

The new itineraries are great and prices are very good if you're not a solo cruiser. 

Looks great! Thanks for sharing! Have a great cruise 🙂 

6 hours ago, MadManOfBethesda said:

 

Yeah, I posted about that earlier today on our roll call thread, as well as the response I received from NCL, which was basically that they knew nothing about it and it was probably an IT glitch (yeah, right).  

There were other unrelated cruises showing the same thing yesterday. One I saw was an Encore sailing from NYC to Bermuda that said At Sea for the full itinerary, so I'd not read too much into it. 

Their IT sucks! 

Thanks for taking us along. Safe travels home. 😊

10 minutes ago, jfio1021 said:

what time did the hot tubs close

That information is in the Freestyle Dailies posted on previous pages. 

4 hours ago, enyliram said:

 cruising on ncl escape,  sharing cabin with a teen. he will do his own thing. am i able to go to solo meetings? i am single.

Yes... You are more than welcome. 

I'm both. Some people who travel solo get really mad when referred to as single. In the UK I think this is less of a deal than the US for some reason (just my perception). 

I got on when you got off. Enjoyed reading about the christening and seeing all your photos. I'm going back in 4 weeks 😁

5 hours ago, SunnyTahitianDaze said:

 So excited!!!  See ya at sea!!!!  

😛

Yay! Glad you got booked... See you on board 😎 Four weeks from now I'll be en route to Miami 😁

6 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

My goodness. I’m staying in a studio for my March flroida cruise. Can you imagine being quarantined to a studio for 14 days? That’s the size of a jail cell. Makes me consider wanting to pay for a balcony upgrade. Not so concerned about myself getting seriously ill, but I’m travelling with someone elderly. Really hoping that they can keep all the infections within country borders. I’m coming from Canada so who knows...doubt they would close our border but who knows. 

Having some similar thoughts here... I think I would go stir crazy in that cabin if confined for 2 days never mind 2 weeks. 

6 hours ago, tx121 said:

Day 3- San Juan

6 hours ago, tx121 said:

One of the benefits of having a late departure is that you are able to get nice pictures at night with the cruise ship all lit up! Usually ships leave before sunset so seeing a ship at night was a treat! 

 

 

Great shot of the ship 🙂 Also thanks for sharing those lovely photos of San Juan, and well done for snagging those poolside chairs after the rain shower... smart move! 😉 

Really enjoying your review. I can't wait to be back on board in a few weeks and I'm making notes of things I missed out on first time around. 🙂 

6 hours ago, SunnyTahitianDaze said:

 

Howdy!  And I am in for a shot o clock for surrrrrrre.  Anyway I wanted to ask you, since you seem to be a seasoned cruiser, do you think the prices are going to drop in this sailing?  We haven't booked our actual room yet (I have a balcony on a courtesy hold until tomorrow pm) but we have our flight etc so we are for sure going haha.  Lmk what you think!

I'm not really a seasoned cruiser by the standards of many on here, and being from the UK I have never booked last minute. I've read that March is a popular month due to Spring Break and it's a less likely month for price drops. I've kept an eye on the balcony price for the last 6 weeks and they've stayed pretty consistent. 

41 minutes ago, Cheesegirl23 said:

Hey Caz, how would that work then? I'm new to cruising NCL - if you saw a balcony come within reach, would you then cancel your current, even though you're ostensibly paid in full? 

Pay the extra to upgrade... I've been told this is possible... I've never done it though, and I suspect our UK T&Cs might prevent it... it's nice to dream though haha  

28 minutes ago, SunnyTahitianDaze said:

 

Omg I was literally going to post how bummed I was that you wouldn’t be on our sailing and how I am so glad that there are cruisers that enjoy things like drag brunches (this is our first cruise ever and tbh I was expecting a lot of old people and a lot of little kids haha) but then I saw you’re sailing March 8th!!!  So I hope we get to meet at one of the meetups. We are not springing for vibe tho haha, I think this ship might be a bit on the lighter side judging from the vast availability still on ncl’s website. Anyway hope we can grab a shot o clock on our sailing!! 😆😆😆🍻🍻🍻

Hiya! Come join our roll call! I'm organising a Meet & Greet, so I hope you'll come! 😎
https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2716066-ncl-encore-march-8-15-2020/page/3/#comments

The solo studios have been sold out for ages, but I'm watching for price drops in case a balcony cabin comes within reach of my budget... if it does then Vibe will not be happening for me either lol I know the very man who will do us a shot o'clock elsewhere on the ship though so that can definitely be arranged 😉 

You picked an awesome ship for your first cruise! 🙂 

14 hours ago, McFins said:

  Did you feel a lot of movement/rocking?   I’ve seen that mentioned in some posts  without indicating weather being a factor so i'm wondering if it is always rocky. 

 

I sailed on Encore in November for Thanksgiving. We had one day/night of rocking that was no worse than any other ship I've been on with similar weather and sea conditions. 

17 hours ago, dreaming girl said:

We had purchased vibe passes on a previous cruise for $59 and found it a waste of our money. Prior to this cruise I couldn’t image paying $159 for a pass (I think that’s the going price).

Just want to point out that Vibe passes are $209 per person for a 7 night cruise. 

I ate lunch in Food Republic one day. Think it was open on sea days only. 

Current Encore Senior Officers from a post I saw on Social Media

I know of people who have done this. 

5 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

I have heard about that.   I hope it's true even on the older NCL ships that don't have the solo studio cabins.   I would do that, and if it's early, that's fine with me.  This itinerary has a lot of ports, so I envision easy conversation about port activities. 

Yep all ships have them... how they turn out is dependent on the solo host and the particular group of solos on board. I've only sailed on the big ships with the studios but I know from chatting to others that sometimes the groups on the smaller ships can be just as good. 🙂 I'll be honest and say my experiences with the solo groups haven't been great on my last couple of cruises, but it hasn't mattered because of chatting to people pre-cruise and having arrangements in place. I already have dinner arrangements for 3 nights of my upcoming cruise with someone I've been chatting to online... but I'll still go along to the first solo meeting to see who shows up. 

On 1/29/2020 at 12:58 AM, Joanne G. said:

 

Since you brought it up . . . 

 

After 20-some cruises, mostly with my sister plus a few with friends, I am going solo for the first time this coming May.  It's an itinerary I am really excited about - around the British Isles - but the closer it gets, the more concerned I get about feeling lonely.   I do a lot by myself, such as visit museums or go to shows, and once I spent a week alone at a beach resort.  But this will be a long time to be alone - a 14-day cruise with one day pre-cruise and one day post-cruise, plus those long transatlantic flights.

 

I think I will be busy enough in the ports - and there a lot of them - not to feel lonely.  I am mostly taking ship-sponsored  excursions, so I will be with other people, and I expect some casual conversations about what we are seeing or doing.   But I am not sure what I will be doing during the sea days and the evenings, when my sister or my friends and I can gab for hours over coffee or wine.   

 

And then dinners - that's what I am most apprehensive about.  The cruise is on NCL, so no option for assigned seating.  For all that I do alone, going to a sit-down restaurant alone is not something I do.  

 

Any advice from the experienced solo cruisers?   I am introverted, but I don't want to spend too much time reading in my cabin.

Have you joined the roll call for your sailing? I make an effort to chat online pre-cruise to ensure I have at least one new friend to meet on board and this has worked well for me up to now.

NCL have a nightly solo meetup and they arrange a dining table for those solos who wish to dine together. It's usually early, so I generally don't eat with the group. The group itself can be a bit hit or miss from cruise to cruise and that's why I try to get to know a few people pre-cruise. 

Chat to people on your excursions too and look at the Freestyle Daily for activities that you can join in with. I like to sit at the bar and then if there's a quiet moment the bar staff will chat to you... and generally just smile and be approachable and you'll soon find yourself with company. My last cruise turned out to be really sociable and I had very little time alone... to the point I had to take myself off to a quiet space just to have some me time lol 

Re the comments about not being able to book a speciality restaurant online with Royal Caribbean... I booked one last year via my online cruise planner. It was the best experience of the cruise... I hated the main dining room and felt really out of place. 

Packing male clothes etc would mean less space for my own clothes... erm nope!!! lol 😂 

I find this really bizarre behaviour. I have read of many solo females wearing fake wedding rings and thought that was strange too. 

Yay! I'm so glad you had a great time! I didn't doubt it for a second lol 😄

I had to smile to myself at your comment about there having been few kids on board... I literally just read the exact opposite elsewhere from someone having a gripe! I know who I believe 😉

I ate in Onda, Q, Food Republic and Cagney's in November.

Onda was my absolute favourite. 
Food Republic was the only one I had been to previously on another ship and I thoroughly enjoyed it again.

Q was good but nothing to rave about.

I was underwhelmed by Cagney's and expected much better after reading so many people praise this restaurant. Service was the worst I experienced on the ship too (this was the first sailing out of Miami back in November though so may be relevant.) I wished I had gone to Teppanyaki instead, which was my original plan but I changed it to dine with some new friends. 
I'm going back on the ship in March and have booked Onda, Teppanyaki and Los Lobos. I will probably go to Food Republic for lunch.