Miss Ellsworth

Definitely smaller ships. I really want a lido/promenade deck that lets you walk all the way around the ship, fairly near to the water. One of my favorite cruise traditions is to make 4-5 circuits of the ship immediately after dinner. Many of the newer/larger ships have done away with this deck (not sure about all of them). I don't want to walk a circuit on a top deck jogging track or in a straight line back and forth or behind lifeboats on lower decks I also think that the smaller ships may be or feel less crowded. Maybe they're not so heavily booked, or maybe the design doesn't allow facilities to grow at the same rate as passenger capacity. It seems like complaints about lines come disproportionately about larger ships Finally, while the larger ships add lots of clubs and dining options for adults, their biggest change has been the family and kid friendly activities - from race tracks to bigger arcades to laser tag to cool slides to swings and roller coasters and who knows what all. The smaller ships like Jewel class and smaller must look like absolute bores to those looking to book a family event that their kids will love. Bottom line is that I prefer a quieter and more relaxing cruise. Having a promenade deck and maybe less press of people and fewer kids all contribute to that for me. My favorite cruise by far has been a TA on the Star that was just over half booked. So there may be a division along the lines of preference, like more action and buzz = larger ships, more laid back = smaller ship. Of course, this isn't mutually exclusive. Lots of clubs and nightlife on smaller ships and definitely quiet corners on larger ships, but I think the premise holds overall

I think it was Confucius who famously said "never fly the day you sail." 😁

It drives me to drink that they can't list transfers without flight info! I did what a subsequent poster suggested and entered any flight number, but that's a very irritating change from how NCL used to display transfers I've used the NCL xfers for port-FCO twice now, and they're pretty nice. Comfortable, a little guide narration on the way For my last trip through there, NCL offered a separate xfer for ppl with later flights that was a really good option. They drove you through Rome, gave you short free time at a few locations, etc. They gave us a few hours on our own at Vatican City, and that's how I most unexpectedly got to see St Peter's Basilica (the line was pretty short that day). The Basilica was one of the best unexpected surprises in all of my cruising. I completely loved it, but had no particular interest in it before then and would never ever have seen it if not for the NCL "extended" transfer for later flights.

I happened to be watching the Miami port live camera feed on YouTube (for no other reason than that i saw it and thought "huh. I wonder what that is") at about that time yesterday. Maybe 5:00 or so. It was busy with cruise ships! There was one the has cleared the channel into the ocean and was traveling north parallel to the shore, visible behind and between the buildings. That was a monster ship! There was another that was in the channel and headed out - that was also decent sized Three were at the pier when I started, but two moved into the channel in the first 10-15 minutes I had it on. I think one was Icon of the Seas and the other Carnival Magic? Couldn't read them well, and I was just kind of idly (but with strange fascination that this is even a thing) keeping an eye on it as I got ready to go out Then there was one still at the pier, black between the water line and deck, maybe like HAL but I couldn't tell. That one hadn't moved when I left at about 530 I don't see how the terrible weather could affect only one of those ships. And maybe they can't just tell port control to let the next guy skip ahead in the departure line so they can wait for late pax. If they all had some level of ppl arriving late, there may have been no way to untangle the departures to accommodate Although ... I forgot to turn the TV off, so the Livestream was still on when I got home at 9:00ish, and those docks were all completely empty as was the channel. So maybe they all could have waited ETA: It's about 12:30 pm today, and it looks like there may be seven of them docked. Busy port!

I'm on the same Epic TA in October, and it does hit everything on my checklist for a TA!

This bottom is currently the subject of discussion in the air travel industry, particularly among flight crew and gate agents. Passengers want to lobby the employees close to boarding-door-closing time to give them first-class upgrades for a song. They suggest, in that moment, that the airlines should be economically literate enough to know that their low-ball offer should be accepted because of "sunk costs". Nope. The employees then go online and laugh. Sometimes it is indeed more profitable, long-term, to let a first-class seat (or cruise cabin) go unoccupied than it is to let someone sit in it for a ridiculously low price. They have to preserve the sense among customers that these spaces have enhanced value, and giving them away just to get "more than zero" will ultimately lead to changed perceptions of value and even expectations that they will be cheap or free (as with airlines no longer giving away most of the FC cabin for free via upgrades, even if it means empty seats.) And honestly, if pricing is still in the thousands the night before sailing, it's very possible that the ship is at high capacity. I think the ships are pretty good at pricing at the best price they think they can get and will continue to adjust that *subject to a floor price*, up until sailing

At least they didn't call them "steerage".

You were right - those cannolis were hammered! Even powdered sugar couldn't have hidden that

What time was your sail-away? If boarding was congested at 2:00, how far ahead of departure was that? I have a sailing in April and am in a conference until noon (15 minutes from the port) and thought I'd get there at around 1:00 for a 4:00 departure

The NCL site does not show a TA for Epic in April or anytime this spring. Def sold out. Egads. I'll be watching with fingers crossed that my October TA doesn't disappear from the NCL site sometime in September.

My fall TA is also on the Epic. I'm very interested to hear all of you report on how crowded the ship was when sold out with whatever mix of solos. I think the small silver lining is that a TA may my less likely to have a lot of triple and quad bookings with fewer families My second-hand take on the Epic is that it's not particularly well designed for either lots of people inside or lots of people outside. It's kind of crowded no matter what, especially now that pretty much everyone on the ship is lining up at bars for their free drinks. I've never booked a Thermal Suite and have never had the slightest interest in it, but I booked it this time for October so I have a less crowded place to escape to. I'm also buying two bottles of wine in Rome and then 1-2 in the Azores to bring aboard so I can have a quiet drink on my balcony without having to wait in what I understand are very long bar lines to do it Good luck on your upcoming Epic TA. I hope it goes well!

I'm on a TA later this year and booked with some trepidation about crowding. My last TA was in 2016 and sailed at 50%. A full TA is a very different thing than a less-full TA If they're full now, maybe it's temporary pent-up demand or maybe it's that people are finding out about them. But whatever the reason, a crowded ship seems like a bigger problem on a TA because it's a lot of days to be penned up with a gazillion other people and few to no port days as relief from the constant congestion. Maybe demand will cycle as crowds discovering TA's stampede en masse onto the ships until word gets out that TA's suck because the ships aren't really made for 6-8 consecutive days of crowding, and the crowds stampede right back out I'm going to mitigate against my sailing being full by booking a Thermal Suite pass and specialty dining every night

That should definitely be warm enough while you're in the Miami area and beyond. It may even be good throughout. I went once in April, and the weather didn't turn really cool until we got past the Azores (we were eastbound) and into northern Europe. You may have nice weather for longer in May

Thanks much! Exactly what I was looking for. I'll take the 1:00

I almost always do DIY, including taking a train from Alexandria to Cairo for $12 each way in first class rather than book the $600 NCL excursion. I have two exceptions: As noted above, if there is a long over-water haul to the next port, take the NCL excursions. I'm on a westbound TA this fall, and in the Azores I will get off the ship and walk Ponta Delgada, staying in walking distance. If I want to see more of the island, I will take an NCL tour. Last time in Azores I walked PD. But no way no how can I miss the ship leaving Ponta Delgada, because if I do, my cruise is literally over - next stop is Florida Second exception is when embarkation port doesn't have hotels and is far away. I'm out of Rome for the third time this fall, and I will absolutely take the NCL transfer on the hour+ drive from Rome to the port. Same reason. Uber or private bus gets a flat, the ship goes without you. NCL vehicle gets a flat, they wait. That is much more important on embarkation and on stops with several sea days following