SpringBreakMom

The website has been down for over a month. I also have read that the ticket machines at Hagia Sofia itself also are broken. If so, we will visit in the late afternoon to avoid the lines.

Thanks so much Pam! I have been able to find very little on how to get tickets other than via the broken website or joining a tour. I didn't even know they had ticket machines. I am hoping they get one or the other fixed in the next two weeks!

It usually depends a bit on the port.

 

We were on a different itinerary than you are likely to be on, but we generally disembarked from around the mid stairway, often at a low deck. There were a couple of ports (I think just the ones where people were joining the cruise) where it was via the promenade.

 

Based on this, I'd suggest meeting near the midship MDR, but be aware that disembarkation may not be from there and you are unlikely to find out until the day.

 

Another option would be to meet in the Atrium. That's quite close to the mid stairway.

 

 

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Thanks so much for the input! Based on what you say the Atrium would make a lot of sense. I was just worried it might be too busy a place. The entrance to the Garden MDR might be a great alternative.

Hello,

I was just wondering what is the most economical way to contact your family while on a cruise. I would like to be able to call my sons and receive calls but am wondering how to do this without it being a huge amount of money. Any ideas what is the best way to send and receive calls. Thanks for any information you have.

Going on Carnival Magic in June.

The answer is very dependent on what ports you will visit and who your cell phone carrier is. Call your carrier to see what options you may have. Verizon has a planning guide on their website. On board ship you have very few options. In port, it may not be hard to find wifi. You can email or post to Facebook for free. That is what my daughter did on her trip to Europe last month. In most cases, texting will be much more affordable than calling. If you really want to make a phone call, there are several apps, like Skype that you can try. They will be very dependent on the strength of the wifi signal however.

With so many options I am sure you will find one that works for your family :)

What area do you disembark from when the Spirit is in port? We may have some tour groups that will meet on board so they can disembark together. I don't want to set up a meeting place in the aft if we disembark near the bow :) Thanks!

We didn't buy tickets in advance for the Hagia Sophia or Topkapi Palace. We just turned up and paid. Didn't experience a queue.

Well that is encouraging, thanks :) I have just read so much about long lines there. I am hoping if we go there first thing we can at least minimize the time in line.

The official website for buying tickets to the Hagia Sophia has not been working for some time. Is there any other reputable place to purchase them on-line? I would really love to avoid the lines if possible. Thanks!

All posted is great advice. My opinion: Epic is large but crowded. And while 12K allows for a very nice itinerary, remember to take into account the cost of excursions as you will probably want to experience the local culture of each port. Private excursions with a Guide can be expensive (but well worth it).

12K doesn't go quite was far as one would think on a Med cruise. It depends if this is total budget, cruise only, or cruise and airfare.

As for private excursions, almost without exception, they are LESS expensive and a better experience than ship's tours if you put together a small group (8) from your roll call. Even so, the average expense is probably $100+ pp/per port. That can add up quickly :eek: Well worth every penny though!!

Just a few more hints and tips. My luggage finally arrived at my home sometime after 2:00 AM and found my notes!

. in Cagneys stay away from the macadamian ice cream sandwich, looks very nice, but simply has no flavor at all.

. indeed they still have the pretzel rolls daily for lunch in Raffles and the wonderful chocolate cruisants at Raffles every morning. ( you can also order them for room service for breakfast.). For room service breakfast you choose a time, but we found that it always arrived 15 minutes early, they will call you about 2 minutes before it is delivered which is nice.

. On level 7 you can walk around the entire deck and they have a couple of mile markers.

. Very few outside photo opps, but a ton inside, more than I have seen on any ship.

. You will need to ask for a copy of your statement at customer care, it is not on the TV.

. Take a flashlight....always a good safety precaution. But the little shelves for clothes in the closet is very dark and hard to find things.

. There is one US outlet and one Euro outlet, if you have a cheap (got mine at Amazon for under $5.00) take it so you can use both outlets or take a small power strip.

. IF you take an iron they will confiscate your luggage for around 4-5 hours and you have to go and pick it up. We didn't experience this, but over heard it twice. Staff will loan you a iron, so don't bother packing one. The little spray containers of Downey wrinkle release are your friend!

. On our plane there was no standard electric outlet, but they do have the USB slots on the arms so that you can power your iphone or kindle for instance.....so take your cords in your carry on case.

. Dress is casual, but honestly didn't see any real slobs. Two dressier nights, some folks wore gowns, but a dress or slack or crops are ok too.

. no bar soap in the rooms, if you want one for your bath you need to bring it. They still have bath gell and shampoo in the shower.

Ok...for all of you sailing soon on the Spirit have a wonderful trip. I am now unpacked and back to the grind!!! Lydia of Ohio

PS yep central Ohio got snow again, but only 1/4 inch, but it is dang cold.

Thanks for all of the great tips Lydia! Is there really only one outlet available? We are looking forward to sailing on the Spirit in just about 4 weeks.

BTW, we did get a bit more snow up here, about three inches. Just enough for us to break the all time snow total record :eek: It was in the teens this morning just for good measure. I think we may need to go to the Med just to get away from winter :)

From what I have gathered, intentions and reality for the sail away are mixed.

 

Folks get tied up with dinner, drinks, unpacking, dealing with stuff.. and, well.....

That's why I said "if" everyone shows up ;) Stuff happens :D

Yes!

While under no obligation to do anything, in the past NCL has been great about helping plan Meet-n-Greets.

With 60 people, it's hard to just "show up" somewhere and not disturb other passengers.

 

Most Roll Call groups contact Group Events for their sailing. The NCL Team can set up a meeting location for you, and may even provide light drinks and snacks, along with providing members of the crew to welcome your group aboard.

 

Don't hesitate to let the Group Events folks help make your meeting a success!

 

 

 

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They are great about the Meet & Greets :) Unfortunately, they are usually the first sea day. As for us that would be day 5, we wanted a chance to get together prior to that.

Our roll call is doing an informal get together on embarkation day. If everyone who has replied shows up we will have close to 60 people :eek:

While we expect nothing from NCL, should I contact them just as a courtesy as we may be a large group?

Thanks!

Freestyle First Timers

 

I'll admit, when I first heard about freestyle cruising years ago, I thought it was not for me. I like having dinner at the same table with the same waiter. I like getting dressed up. My husband and 2 male children own tuxes. I value structure and organization. I have a lack of faith in people's ability to organize themselves. This "free to do whatever" sounded too relaxed and chaotic for me.

 

Well, now I am a convert. With the airlines' ever-increasing luggage fees, it really helps not to have to bring all the extra clothes and shoes. I feel like I gain an extra hour in the day by not having to dress for dinner. On port days, I just kept my jeans or crops on, changed from sneakers to flats (though that wasn't even necessary at most of the restaurants) and, voila! Ready to go.

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This "control freak" :D is having the sames issues you did regarding dining and dress. Based on our intensive port schedule, I am hoping it will be the perfect fit with Freestyle Dining.

I am still not comfortable about how to handle my wardrobe however. My mind defaults to having at least two outfits per day, one for the ports and one for evening. Can you really wear the same outfit day to evening? I too would love to save both luggage space and time. Regardless, I still plan to bring some nicer outfits for the specialty restaurants as it is still fun to dress up! Thanks! I am looking forward to the rest of your review :)

Well the night started off like a High School Dance, no one knew anyone and there was lots of small talk. We were all waiting for something to happen if you know what I mean lol. Then the Champagne came out and before long we were all like long lost friends, of course the Wine pairings for each course certainly didn't hurt ;).

We all were having so much fun that one of us had to tap the Wine Glass to get the rest to be quiet so that the Chef and Sommelier, could describe the next course for us.

It turned out to be an unforgettable evening for both the Food and the Company, a good time was had by all. I highly recommend this night to anyone, it certainly was worth the $80 pp. We all drank more than that for sure and don't forget, the wine that was poured was not just a glass to sample with each course, it was always being "topped up" so be prepared if you go. Having said that, if you wish not to have more wine a simple no will not offend anyone.

As for the menu?, it's the same fleet wide. Hope they will consider a change as we would reserve this in a heartbeat. I recommend if anyone is interested, you should book asap when you board. We were the first ones for our sitting and because we had a 12 day cruise, there were 2 sittings. On a 7 day there is just one night.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

I can only hope that our experience will be half as much fun as the ones you both had :D We will be booking as soon as we find that table in the waiting area!

I am not the one who you asked the question to, but I got off the Spirit two weeks ago and thought I'd weigh in as well. We found Le Bistro to be better and more romantic than Cagney's. In fact, it was our best meal of the whole cruise, which we weren't expecting. Highly recommended. I also have a review started and I'm adding to each day.

 

As for timing, we did have one issue getting into Cagney's and they ended up putting us in the private dining room because the only available time that day was 9:00. Otherwise, there seemed to be availability the rest of the cruise. In fact, the specialities closed earlier a few nights.

Thanks so much for weighing in! It is great to hear from everyone who has been on the Spirit so recently. I am actually subscribed to your review as well :) Thanks for confirming my impressions about Le Bistro. Did you happen to try the Teppanyaki restaurant?

Just got off Soirit today :-(. Had the UDP and made all reservations in advance, but most nights there was lots of room in the specialty restaurants and many nights some crew, dancers, singers, officers, etc. eating in them. I think if you are willing o be flexible on times, you will get a spot.

 

However, I would not wait until the day of. There wer a couple of nights when we had 8:30 reservations and I went in the morning and asked if we could change it to a little earlier, and they were full. 6-7:30 is very popularl.

 

I will have my full review up soon. We ate at the main four specialty restaurants, so I can tell you about them. I also have dailies that may help you plan when you want to eat.

Thanks for the tip on timing! I will make reservations now for the places I know we will want to try. I am debating between Le Bistro and Cagney's for hubby's birthday dinner, but kind of leaning towards Le Bistro as it sounds just a bit more special. Any thoughts? I would love to hear you impressions for the food in general. Did you eat at all in the MDR? I am really looking forward to your review :D

Here's some pics we took of the Chef's Table, enjoy.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

Oh my that all looks wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing the pics :D

We loved our med cruise on the spirit!! We would never sign up or reserve specialty restaurants before hand for every night. We where exhausted by the time we returned to the ship. We did le Bristol with roll call friends one night and the chefs table another. We stopped for sushi and buffet a couple nights the rest were in the MDR. We had absolutely no complaints.

 

Signed up for chefs table in waiting area B4 boarding and did a lot of shopping in the duty free shops:) also!

 

You will love! Love! This cruise! Amazing!

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! We are really looking forward to both Le Bistro and the Chef's Table :D

We were on the Spirit in March and we thought that the specialty restaurants were fairly busy by seven o'clock. Le Bistro seemed popular. The Spirit only has one Teppenyaki table which holds ten, so if it is something you really want to do, keep that in mind. They also offered Teppenyaki for lunch on sea days, but again make sure you have a reservation. We ate at the Italian restaurant on POA and thought it was very good. Unforunately it wasn't very good on the Spirit, though some of the seating was by the window so we had a nice view. We enjoyed the other specialty restaurants. Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks so much for the info! We have a comped meal at the Italian restaurant so we will at least give it a try :). There are no online options I have seen for reserving Teppanyaki which I would imagine is due to limited seating. It is very helpful to know to try and get to places early. I just hesitate to make too many reservations as after a long port day we might just want to hit the buffet! Did you try Le Bistro or Cagney's? I would like to book somewhere special for DH's birthday :). Thanks!

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It was the same set up in Malaga - we checked in - saw the dining reservations desk and booked the Chef's table before we were on the ship.:D Well worth it - a superb evening.

Thanks for the feedback! This is our first time sailing NCL, but we just loved the Chef's Table on Carnival.

I think you can book it in the cruise terminal at Barcelona......thru security, past the check in desks, just before the duty free......oops there goes another Barcelona secret!!!

I won't tell anyone else if you don't :D BTW, I love your signature!

If you want to do the Chef's Table then book that straight away.

That is the one thing I do know to do :) As soon as we walk on board that is the first thing on my to do list!

The Chinese and le Bistro were both excellent in December, and neither was more than half full. However as above, that was before the UDP came along.

Thanks for the info! Le Bistro for me and Chinese for hubby :)

Up until now, there has not really been a need of pre-booking any of the specialty restaurants. But that might change now, after they started selling the UDP's (ultimate dining packages). But if you can be a little flexible regarding dinner times, then I would still believe that it is no problem waiting until you are on board.

 

Just a tip regarding the Sun though:

The Italian restaurant on board is actually the nicest designed restaurant on board, with all tables having a window view. We were on board the Sun both in July 2012 and January 2013, and after 15 NCL cruises on 7 different ships so far, my DH and I both decided that the Italian food served on the Sun was even better than the rest of the fleet. And the crew on the Sun the friendliest crew (and officers) that we have ever met on any NCL cruise.

 

This was a year ago, and I know they have changed one (or maybe both?) captains since then - but hopefully the rest is like it was then. If so - you really have something to look forward to! :)

 

Our favorite NCL specialty restaurant - on any ship - is Le Bistro.

I hadn't even thought about the impact that UDP might have! As we have a very intensive port schedule, I was hoping to have some flexibility with dining times. I will have to take another look at our schedule and perhaps do some advance booking.

Le Bistro is the one I am looking forward to most!

We will be sailing next month and would like to try some of the specialty dining options. Do we really need to reserve ahead? I know Teppanyaki books quickly, but what about the rest? Not sure if there is a difference with sailings in the Med. Thanks in advance :)

Does anyone know of an app that has public transportation maps? We'll be travelling to the Mediterranean this summer and I'd like to have color maps quickly available that don't need to use an internet connection. I'm specifically looking for Venice's Vaparetto map, Rome's metro map, and Barcelona's metro map. Thanks for the input.

That type of app may be hard to find. I just saved pdf files of maps to my Dropbox account. As long as you have opened them on your phone or tablet previously, they should be available off-line. Easy enough to try at home to make sure everything works :) Useful for other documents as well.