drpclarke

Hello travel friends!

Helping a client with her Princess Royal cruise. She upgraded to Princess Premier, and gets two specialty dinners. A few questions for you (as I'm on everlasting hold with Princess customer service)..

1. It says two specialty dinners. Is that two for two people, or just one dinner for two people together?

2. The client tried to book specialty dining today, and she was asked for her credit card number. If she has Princess Premier, what is her credit card being charged for? 

Thanks, everyone!

Rachel

I have a client asking -

the cabins next to elevators on the Norwegian Prima - do those cabins hear a lot of racket from the elevators?

Thanks!

Rachel

My first Celebrity cruise!

For reference, I've sailed several times on Carnival (never again), Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. Went on my first Norwegian cruise back in June and loved it so much I booked several more.

...and then came this Celebrity cruise.

EMBARKATION - what? Ten minutes? If even? SPEEDIEST EMBARKATION EVER.

CABIN - a surprise upgrade was awesome to get. Balcony cabin, spacious and plenty of storage. My only gripe was the lack of outlets. 3 of them, all by the desk. My husband and I were continually fighting for outlet use. No outlet in bathroom, so had to dry my hair there by the desk.

OVERALL SPACE: I was told that this cruise was fully booked. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but hey, I WAS NEVER IN A LINE and NEVER IN A CROWD. There is plenty of creative and cozy seating throughout the boat, and I could always find a seat on deck too.

BAR: The martini bar is pretty crowded and loud, it's right in the atrium. My room wasn't far, but I couldn't hear the noise. Martini flight was not included in drink package but got it anyway and it was yummy. Smaller martini glasses, but that was okay. Bar by the specialty restaurants was quiet and nice.

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: didn't hit any except for "Le Petit Chef" which was just precious, and the food was pretty good too!

MAIN DINING ROOM: my only complaint about this cruise. The food was uninspired, bland, and the menu just wasn't appetizing. Two salmon dishes on the menu? NO thank you. (however, I will say the escargot was teeny but good, and that is offered every night)

THE BUFFET FOOD: I make a practice of staying away from all buffets, but I broke that practice on this cruise. In the words of Stefan on SNL: "This place has everything": salad bar, mexican, indian, carvery, hummus bar, pasta bar..I don't even know what all they had and I appreciated the fact that things didn't stay the same throughout the cruise either. I thought the quality here was better than the MDR.

CASINO: Penny slots with the lowest bets at 50 cents. Some bad seating by the "Huff and Puff" machines...too many machines, not enough space.

ENTERTAINMENT: SIlent disco is a must. I did hear a bit of the "LIFE" Musical and my ears bled, so I ran off.

DEBARKATION? Ten minutes, tops!

SERVICE: SMILES EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OVERALL? I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to go on another Celebrity cruise!!!!!!!! I hate that I'm late to the Celebrity life!

Oh y'all...

I have a client who wants to take his wife on a cruise for their 69th wedding anniversary! The cuteness of it is killing me!

He wanted to go on Celebrity, but he just can't make that work financially. Pricewise, it looks like Enchanted Princess or Caribbean Princess are the best bets for him. I looked at reviews, and it looks like there MAY be more children on Caribbean Princess, but I'm not sure. 

I imagine he and his sweetie want a nice, quiet, and relaxing cruise without tripping over little ones.

Anyone know these ships well enough and can offer an opinion?

Thanks so much!

Rachel

Please?? 😁

I am a travel agent and I have booked a group on Royal Princess. Unfortunately, I haven't been on this ship, so I'm at a disadvantage in answering their questions!

One of the clients has many questions, and I'm hoping you all can answer:

1. This is an Alaskan sailing going Seattle RT. He thinks the port side is the best side because he'll have views of the glaciers, etc. more often than he would should his cabin was on the other side of ship. Thoughts?

2. He wants to do Penthouse suite. They are available on decks 12, 14, and 15. However, he has heard that on deck 14 and 15 that those on penthouse balconies can look up and see people above them looking down. Anyone have thoughts on that?

3. In addition, he has heard that soot is a problem on the ship, so the upper deck (especially in the back of the ship) can get a light coat of soot and it can be problematic. This was the first I've heard! Anyone know anything?

If you have any opinions on where best location of penthouse suite would be, please let me know.

Thanks!!

Rachel

Hello all-

I must be losing my mind. I can't find out when Adventure's dining times are for the late seating. It looks like early is 5:30, there is something called "My Time", and then there is some later seating. I'm sure I am overlooking the obvious. Can someone help me?

Thanks!

Rachel

Hello travel friends!

I will be on the Norwegian Encore in June. It's my second trip to Alaska, so the only things I want to do are DOGSLEDDING and WHALE WATCHING. Looking at the price of the shore excursions offered by NCL, I'm hoping some of you can recommend something a bit less expensive!

Our ports are Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.

Thanks so much!!

Rachel

Hi everyone!

Looking at balcony cabins on the Norwegian Bliss - and want to avoid the cabins with bunk beds.

I went on this page https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/bliss/staterooms/Balcony to look at the various balcony plans, and the same pic is posted for all of them. Am I to believe that there are no bunk beds in any cabins? It looks like all of them have a sofa bed instead.

Thanks!

Rachel

Looking at having a group of four share a cabin on Norwegian bliss.

Knowing that balconies vary in size - if there are 4 people in a balcony, do they have 4 chairs on a balcony so everyone can be out there at the same time?

Thanks!

13 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

They are really identical except that the Encore does not have Spice H20 and Bliss does not have Onda (the specialty restaurant). I have sailed Encore twice and Bliss 3 times (and both to Alaska). I give the slight edge to the Bliss...can't really explain why but you can't go wrong with either one.

 

I have been on the Jade also and it's an entirely different ship experience....much smaller and without all the bells and whistles. I loved it too but it was a port intensive Greek cruise so we didn't spend much time on the ship.

Thank you so much! Can you elaborate on SpiceH20? It sounds glorious, but then I question if that is something I'd love in Alaska!

I THINK.........if you booked with a cruise agent, that agent is able to get the better price for you. I just saw something about it two days ago - I should have paid better attention. Ask your agent!

Setting up a June 2024 Alaska cruise with friends, either on the Bliss or the Encore. I only see one difference in the itineraries (no big deal)..but I'm anxious to hear y'alls thoughts on the ships, especially if you have been on both. I just went on Jade last week and loved how even though the boat was full, it never seemed crowded. However, I'm wondering if that is the case with these ships - I have seen that Encore can feel crazy crowded. Help!

Thanks!

Rachel

10 hours ago, sunnydreams said:

Thank you! It does help to hear the multiple steps. I'm confused about customs because we are visiting 6 Greek ports and will have passed customs to get into Greece already. We do go to Turkey one day and I don't think they are full members of the European Union- maybe that's why? Just very confused that we have to do customs to get on the boat in Greece? 

Anyways, yes, we are going to just try and go early. 🙂

Honestly, it was confusing to me. We went to Athens a few days prior and did customs at the airport upon entry...and then had to do it again at the port. You are probably right about Turkey as we did not go through any sort of customs there. Have fun!

On 7/5/2023 at 3:43 PM, sunnydreams said:

Have a quick question about the Jade since we will be on in a few weeks. I'm not sure what time to put in as Check in time? Did you have to wait a long time between checking in and boarding? I don't know if I should just throw my luggage in a locker for a couple hours or get to the pier early and just board. I don't want to spend a lot of time waiting at the pier if they won't let me on for awhile. 

Thanks in advance! Loved your review!

 

I'm not sure I can help you with this...so let me share my experience. First, we stayed in Athens for a few days prior to the cruise, so we just took a cab to the port so we would be ready at our "assigned time"...not that it mattered. Once we got there, we were given a number, and when they called our number, a group of us that were all assigned that number went up to do the first part of checking in. That went quickly, and we were excited..then we had to go into another room in which they gave us a COLOR. We waited about 15 minutes for our color to be called and we went through whatever the next step was (I"m sorry, I just don't remember)...and then we went to customs. Aargh. They took forever!!! 

So...my thought is....just get there early and it probably won't matter about your check in time. Hopefully customs will have straightened their act out (we were in line for customs for about 45 minutes...aargh...so frustrating, especially after NCL had been so speedy).

I hope this helps!

On 6/28/2023 at 8:07 PM, mcmomny said:

Thank you drpclarke for the review!

 

I was wondering if you have any idea about days and times for shows as we will be sailing on The Jade in July and were hoping to see Blazing Boots.

 

Thank you!

I didn't keep all of my little "Freestyle daily" bulletins, but from what I can tell...shows are at 7 and 9 pm FOR THE MOST PART. There was one day it was 7 and 9:30, and two days that it was just a vocalist show at 8:30.

1 hour ago, genealogyfan said:

Thanks for the review. We will be on Jade in Nov, doing a transatlantic cruise from Lisbon. Any tips for the Jade? Did you use the Thermal Suite?

no, I did not...I'm sorry!!

I've gone on Carnival (ugh) and Royal Caribbean...so you know where I am coming from in this brief review of the cruise of Norwegian Jade, week of June 18 2023.

CABIN - we opted for inner cabin - I love how dark it gets and I will sleep so well. Surprisingly spacious compared to other cruise lines..plenty of storage space, and the bd was high enough for me to shove suitcases underneath. Bathroom was bigger, too...my experience has been that bathrooms are small enough so that you can sit on the toilet, wash your feet in the shower, and brush your teeth all at the same time. That was not the case with this cruise and how wonderful it was to have some space!

SPACE ON THE SHIP -I've been on cruises in which I feel like I'm part of a cattle drive...people everywhere. Not the case with this cruise, and it's my understanding it was nearly sold out. There was no major crowding, and there were always deck chairs available (and there is a LOT of deck space on this ship!)

ACTIVITIES - I can't offer much here as I spent the days in port and didn't do much with activities...

MEALS - buffet food is well, buffet...and I appreciate the diversity in that there were always Indian, Asian, and British dishes available. Salad bar not comprehensive but did have rotating items offered. Large variety. Asian restaurant (Jasmine Grill) was complimentary and offered OKAY food. Cagney's (not complimentary) can make some amazing steaks. Side dishes were okay but the steaks were great!

EMBARKATION - smooth, but long. NCL had their ducks in a row, just customs took forever.

DEBARKATION - ridiculously smooth. Ran AHEAD of time...we weren't supposed to get off the boat until 8:45 but they called our group at 8:15.

SERVICE - here's where it gets interesting. Those working in housekeeping, dining, etc. as servers, cleaners, etc....all very pleasant and smiled and were on top of their game. Other employees, like working in guest services or wearing a uniform - not nearly as pleasant. Got the impression that those who made more money cared less.

CLEANLINESS - this ship was the CLEANEST I've been on, EVER.  I can't say it enough. EVER.

We'll be going on NCL again! Let me know if you have questions about the Jade.

Rachel

YVRTeacher, we are on the Jade. This are great hints...thank you!
(and mmm...a mojito bar!!)

Rachel

Thanks, ColeThornton!

Hello all!

Going on Jade in a few weeks...have seen some reviews,mostly about the ports. Tell me the good, bad, ugly about the boat itself and what is offered. Thanks!

Rachel

Hello fellow cruisers!

It has been so long since I've done a Mediterranean Cruise, and I've never done an NCL cruise...only Royal Caribbean and (gasp) Carnival.

What helpful tips do you have?

Digging through my memory - I'm thinking I need a surge protector so I'm able to plug everything in that is needed.  

Anything else? It's been so long and I'm embarrassed to ask this because I used to know all of the little "things" that were needed.

Thanks!

Rachel

Hello cruisers!

Getting ready to pack for my cruise, (7 days Greece/Turkey on the Jade) and would like to keep things as minimal as possible..

so, if I was to get laundry done on the cruise, how much does it cost and how long does it take (and what's the chance of not getting the right stuff back?)

Trying to decide if the lesser evil is to bring more stuff or do laundry on the ship. Thanks!

Rachel

Hello fellow cruisers!

Going on Jade in a few weeks and just heard about the priority pass from another cruiser. I looked into it, and gosh, it doesn't look like it's worth $179, so I wonder if I am missing something. I did a search on the boards about it, but the most recent thread re: priority pass was from 2020.  What has been your experience with this?

This is for the Greece/Turkey cruise. Thanks!

Rachel

Sigh.

My son is going on a cruise in a week and a half. He has paid for the ticket/cabin/etc. for himself and his grandma, as a gift to her. :0)

My mom has a tendency to back out of things, and sure enough, she started laying the groundwork today...her knees hurt, etc. This is pretty typical; I had just hoped she would not do this with a cruise given to her as a gift.

I know we can CANCEL the reservation - and get no money back. My question is...can we send someone in her PLACE, such as my husband??  

Thanks all!

17 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Will she be solo in a cabin?

No, he and my mother will share the cabin.