MBMGWM

Hi,

We like to relax, enjoy good meals and have good entertainment.

What has been your favorite NCL ship & Itinerary and why?

For entertainment my wife & I enjoyed the mega-ships (Escape/Getaway/Epic) the most. We took in a show or a band on most nights and were rarely disappointed. Good food and relaxation are available, but sometimes you've got to look for them.

But our fave class of ships overall is, like a few others here have already mentioned, the Jewel class ships (Jade/Jewel). Big, but not huge; easy to get around, but a lot to discover & do; can almost always find a little solitude somewhere onboard to escape the crowds.

Hard to pick a fave NCL cruise, but I'd go with our Mediterranean cruise on the Jade a few years ago (Italy/Greece/Turkey/overnight in Egypt/Malta/etc) - - really glad we did that one before the area became more politically problematic. But even back then we had automatic-rifle-toting guards on the bus with our shore excursion parties in Egypt wherever we went. GREAT trip, though!

Not freebies, but if anyone else enjoys putting together their own playlists of island/tropical-type songs for a trip, this is one I did for my wife a few cruises ago. Maybe a few of these might inspire someone else to do one too:

Tropical:

1) Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Voila! An American Dream

2) Loggins & Messina: Vahevala

3) Mike Nesmith: Silver Moon

4) Amazing Rhythm Aces: Emma-Jean

5) Beach Boys: Kokomo

6) Clay Walker: Then What?

7) Jimmy Buffett: Island Fever

8) Blondie: The Tide Is High

9) Tom Rush: Joshua Gone Barbados

10) John Prine: Let’s Talk Dirty In Hawaiian

11) Toots: Almost Heaven, West Jamaica

12) Harry Nilsson: Lime in de Coconut (Witch Doctor)

13) Keith Sykes: I Wanna Go To the Islands

14) Marty Robbins: Devil Woman

15) “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid soundtrack

16) Leon Russell: Back To the Island

17) Nicky “Mighty Whitey” Russell: Shame and Scandal

Looking at the drinks on offer with the UBP , apart from the spirits and perhaps a couple of the shots what drink/cocktail would your man drink?

This reminds me of the flip side on the food end of things. My wife & I are a "Mutt & Jeff" couple - - I'm a big & tall and she's short & small. But she's got an appetite for heavier fare when it comes to food choices when we eat out, and I tend to go for the lighter fare. When the food arrives the waitstaff will inevitably try to place the, for example, grilled reuben sandwich w/fries in front of me, and the seafood salad in front of my wife. We sometimes still have a little fun with my wife's "trucker's appetite" after all these years.

Regarding drinks - - I drink whatever I feel like. That might be beer & whiskey one night; frozen margaritas (with a Grand Marnier floater...mmm) another night; and a few grasshoppers on the third. We're on vacation and it's the UBP - - so drink up!

My wife & I sailed on the Jewel years ago and remember her as one of our fave NCL ships. Since then we've done the Epic, the Escape, and the Getaway on NCL. We'll be back on the Jewel for a Panama Canal cruise in early 2017, and while we'll probably miss all of the entertainment options that a mega-ship can provide (and which we thoroughly enjoyed), it'll be nice to get back onto a smaller ship, with the Spinnaker Lounge forward and the Great Outdoors aft.

While we're confidant that we'll enjoy the Jewel, it's the Panama Canal and the other destination ports, none of which we've ever visited before, that is the real reason for this cruise. Plus once we've set foot in Cartagena, Columbia we'll have set foot on every continent except for Antarctica. But that's another bucket cruise.....

We use the Off insect repellent wipes that come in individual packets. They are super easy to pack. I just throw a couple in my tote bag on our excursions. They sell them at Walmart.

We went on Holland America's Maasdam about three years ago. It was a longer cruise (12 nights) where we celebrated Christmas and New Year's. We don't have children (well our little furry girl is our "baby") and there were families onboard, but we commented on how rarely we saw the children. We were shocked at how many we saw on Christmas morning and wondered where they were for the majority of the cruise. We really enjoyed seeing them visit with Santa and receive their gifts.

The ship was beautifully decorated and there were special events. The tree lighting with gingerbread cookies and hot cider was lovely! It was just such a nice way to relax. I felt that we missed all of the holiday "madness" and also the cold weather, which was okay with me!

I say go for it and see for yourself.

We thoroughly enjoyed this show on the Escape last Fall.

The person playing Jerry Lee Lewis was on point and hilarious as well as musically awesome.

The other 3 musicians were very believable in the rolls and playing the music.

I would love to see it again.

Lynda

My wife & I saw this show on the Escape in January of this year. Probably my fave cruise ship show.

I'm sure it's been discussed but can someone tell me where the best seats are to see the show for Illusionarium?...Any advice welcomed. Thanks.

First, definitely go and see the show -- it's excellent. Second, my wife & I were lucky enough to get seats in the center section of the front row right at the stage, for the performance we saw. I was a bit worried that sitting that close could possibly ruin some of the magic tricks/illusions because we might be able to see how they were done. But everything was fine, with the tricks and illusions running the gamut from fun to truly baffling. I'd say closer to the stage is better, but if you end up with a seat farther back, don't worry about it. You'll be entertained!

Has anyone been successful with receiving an upsell deal on the Escape when calling the 1-800 #?

Just curious to hear feedback!

On the Jan 2, 2016 Escape sailing my wife & I called in and went from an Oceanview cabin to a Spa Balcony (with full spa privileges) for $150/pp.

We tip what seems to be less than most are posting. But my guess is it's more normal.

 

We start with a base, for 2 people on a 7 day cruise, of $70 for the butler and $50 for the concierge. If we ask more from either we tip higher (this is usually the case for both but not always). If we ask for nothing we tip the base.

My wife & I were 1st time Haven cruisers (but long-time NCL'ers) on the Getaway last month as a result of an amazing last-minute upsell price. We too struggled with the extra tipping guidelines, and finally made a decision on the morning of departure. We got advice of the types represented in this thread - - everything from extremely over-generous (imho, anyway) tipping to "don't tip 'em unless you really get some good use out of 'em"-type tipping. We ended up close to the figures in the quote above (a little higher in both categories), but also handed out additional cash tips to individuals who had gone the extra mile such that we wanted them to know individually that we appreciated them (in particular our room steward, and one assistant concierge who always seemed to be johnny-on-the-spot whenever we needed something minor).

We didn't use the butler much at all, but he was always available and gracious on the few occasions that we did want something so we felt he should be tipped. We had pre-booked our shows and some dinners, but did have the concierge make a a new reservation when a show we had booked completely slipped our minds one evening. We also went to see the Illusionarium show one night and didn't make it in time to join the escorted group, but the concierge had saved us a couple of good seats anyway. And also, the staff (bartenders/pool attendants/etc) were great whenever we used the pool/hot tubs/sun deck). So we felt both general tips, and some personal ones, were warranted.

By the way, we thought the Haven was, in fact, special in a "go-one-time-to-see-what-all-the-fuss-is-about" kind of way. The ability to escape the public pool deck and sun deck mobs was a welcome relief when we wanted to do that. Our takeaway, though, was that short of a lottery win (or another incredible upsell), we'd never pay the normal going rate for a Haven room. It's great in it's own way, but not "thousands of dollars more" great. Your mileage may vary!

I'll be on the Cayamo cruise this upcoming weekend. It's my first music charter. I've been very discouraged by the lack of information/reviews of past Cayamo cruises on the forum boards. But I'm hoping for the best, and greatly looking forward to this weekend.

I tried to book this year's Cayamo cruise back when it first became available and received a "time slot" to book, but unfortunately was away from my computer at that assigned time. By the time I made it back (just a few hours later) the cruise had sold out. I DJ a radio show in Richmond, Virginia called the Lost Music Saloon where I've aired a lot of music by the artists who are on this year's Cayamo, so this cruise would be right in my wheelhouse, musically-speaking.

Write a review if/when you get a chance!

We just returned from a wonderful trip on the Escape and then the Getaway. When we were in St. Thomas, we docked at Havensight. The other dock is at Crown Bay. I believe there is a site that tells you where the ship will dock, but I can't remember it right now.

There were drink stations in the Garden Cafe where you could get water, iced tea, lemonade and some flavored waters. As always, the buffet food was very good.

I hope you have a wonderful time on the Escape. She is beautiful!

Can anyone who prefers NCL over another line tell my why? I need some encouragement since I guess if I cruise this year it will have to be NCL.

I've been critical about some of the changes NCL has made (most recently the Margaritaville change on the Escape), and it seems to me that the tipping/gratuities/daily service charges/whatever are now tending towards the excessive, but on the whole my wife & I still view NCL as our go-to cruise line for what we look for in a cruise - - informality, casual dress, many dining & entertainment options onboard, reasonable cost overall, etc. We've cruised other lines (Carnival, Royal Carib'n, Oceania, Regent, Holland America) and we've enjoyed them all, but we've cruised NCL the most. Whenever I start getting riled at the negative changes NCL has made, I (eventually) stand back and realize the positive changes they've made as well (for example, including the ultimate beverage and dining packages in the cruise fare; multiple high-quality theater shows instead of just one; even the occasional upsell deal that blows me away), and I remember why, overall, I still like NCL.

Not that they won't eventually drive me away if they continue making further changes that irritate me, and it doesn't mean that I won't make the occasional negative post here in the future, but for now, on balance, NCL still gets most of our cruise dollars. I'll see if anything changes my mind after our two (b2b) NCL cruises coming up next month!

Former St Thomas resident here. There is probably not a better place equipped to handle the crowds. We had nearly that many when I lived there & then the Eisenhower carrier group arrived, so add 3,000+ drunken sailors on shore leave to the mix:eek:

 

I was there on the Escape last month for the first time in decades & heard no complaints about the crowds with a passenger load of about 17000.

Another former St. Thomas resident (8 years) here. Agree that St. T. is a pretty well-oiled machine for tourists, but DEFINITELY leave plenty of time to get back to the ship if you're not on a ship's excursion. My wife & I almost missed the ship on our last visit there due to some incredible traffic. We were in a rental car and could have walked the last mile to the cruise ship faster than we got there by car. I had to call the car rental company and arrange to just leave our rental car on the docks for them to pick-up while we scrambled back to the ship. But...all's well that ends well!

>>>Secondly, the product NCL delivers doesn't exist anywhere else, according to anything I've read, or anybody I've spoken with. Their ability to provide service while not seeming obsequious appeals to me greatly. Combined with their LGBT-friendly approach (FoD in the Freestyle), the dress-code & dining flexibility, and the ship-within-a-ship design.....they have everything I want. And I really DO prefer a la carte pricing, because if things are NOT a la carte, then I'm paying a higher price to subsidize others' inclusions.<<<

I've been critical about some of the changes NCL has made (most recently the Margaritaville change), and it seems to me that the tipping/gratuities/daily service charges/whatever are now tending towards the excessive, but on the whole my wife & I still view NCL as our go-to cruise line for what we look for in a cruise - - informality, casual dress, many dining & entertainment options onboard, reasonable cost overall, etc. We've cruised other lines (Carnival, Royal Carib'n, Oceania, Regent, Holland America) and we've enjoyed them all, but we've cruised NCL the most. Whenever I start getting riled at the negative changes NCL has made, I (eventually) stand back and realize the positive changes they've made as well (for example, including the ultimate beverage and dining packages in the cruise fare; multiple high-quality theater shows instead of just one; even the occasional upsell deal that blows me away), and I remember why, overall, I still like NCL.

Not that they won't eventually drive me away if they continue making further changes that irritate me, and it doesn't mean that I won't make the occasional negative post here in the future, but for now, on balance, NCL still gets most of our cruise dollars. I'll see if anything changes my mind after our cruises coming up next month!

Garry

How were you billed, if I may ask? Did you pay through your NCL account? Did they take your payment info over the phone or something and email you a confirmation? Thanks!

The NCL upsell dept took my credit card info over the phone; we got an emailed confirmation minutes later; and my NCL online cruise info was updated a short time thereafter. When I let my travel agent know what we'd done the next day, he confirmed and sent us updated documents also confirming the change. We double-checked that everything else remained unchanged (OBC, etc) and there were no discrepancies. All smooth as silk!

Garry

Well, just returned from the NCL Breakaway.

.....

I'll answer any questions

My wife & I are longtime NCL'ers and will be in the Haven on the Getaway for the first time next month. We got an incredible deal of an upsell from our oceanview cabin to a Haven Penthouse w/balcony suite yesterday.

We actually have a lot of questions as Haven first-timers, but we're getting many answered by reading thru other threads here. One quick question, though: We've read that the Haven pretty much shuts down by 11 p.m. each night in regard to the services (bar, restaurant, etc); but do the private Haven common areas remain open all the time? If we wanted to take a 3 a.m. swim in the Haven pool, or go up onto the Haven sundeck to stargaze in the middle of the night, can we? Or are the Haven common areas locked down at night?

Thanks, and "Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!" to all CC'ers.

You must go through your TA, the cruise line won't speak to you usually.

That wasn't our experience, at least with the upsell department. We booked our Jan. 2016 cruises thru our TA a year ago. We called NCL upsell directly today to see if we could upgrade to a balcony or mini-suite from our oceanview cabin. We ended up getting an upgrade all the way to a Haven penthouse balcony suite! We paid some extra, of course, but the total of what we had previously paid plus what we paid today was still well under half of what NCL was advertising those same Haven rooms for on their website today. Now...if you call the normal NCL customer service number, they usually will refer you back to your travel agent. But the upsell department can and will bump you up without any involvement at all with your travel agent. In fact, come to think of it, I guess I'd better give my agent a call to let him know about our cabin change.

I like choice C, but if everyone does this and NCL gives the obc, the venue will still be too crowded.

Perhaps. But not everybody will bother to complain and seek the OBC, while others might accept the OBC but then choose to use it elsewhere on the ship, rather than at Margaritaville, thus thinning the herd.

And by the way using the "if everybody does this" argument also cuts against the alleged reason for the a la carte charge - - because if everybody pays the extra charges, then Margaritaville will also still be too crowded!

>>>Originally Posted by hpecorari View Post

That's fine. But do you care or have any feelings about NCL claiming something is complementary, taking your money with that being the case and then changing it to a 'pay' venue after the fact?<<<Harriet

Harriet,

One thing I've learned in life is that change is constant and I either adapt to it or I don't. I certainly don't think NCL was nefarious in changing Margaritaville to a non-complementary restaurant and personally, I’m glad they did if it will alleviate the long wait. NCL made the change out of necessity and you will either pay for it or you won’t. It’s no more complicated than that and it’s your choice.

I've been sitting this one out for a little while to collect my thoughts about the Margaritaville change. My initial thoughts were two-fold: (1) The free Margaritaville restaurant wasn't going to make my upcoming cruise on Escape a total success, just as having to pay (or skip) Margaritaville isn't going to ruin my cruise; BUT...(2) This is bait-and-switch on NCL's part, pure and simple. Something that was included at the time we reserved our cruise, and was still included at the time of our final payment, is now an added-fee attraction. The options seem to be: (a) just shrug our shoulders and accept the extra fees; (b) skip going to Margaritaville entirely (thus eliminating at least one meal there that we surely would have taken); © approach our TA or NCL directly about the situation and request some onboard credit (OBC) to compensate us for the "lost" included meal (I figure a $25 cabin credit would cover the food charge for a reasonable meal for two people there, and if we decide to go there more than once, then we'll cover the additional cost ourselves); or (d) failing that, deduct the cost of one Margaritaville meal from the onboard service charges (OSC) we pay at the end of the cruise, or deduct them from gratuities over and above the OSC that we would have otherwise given to the staff during our cruise.

Quite frankly, option (d) is not an attractive one to us, because it places the burden on the hard-working folks who deserve to receive their tips, gratuities, and share of the OSC's. We have never deducted anything from such funds on any of our past cruises, and we'd definitely prefer not to go that route on the Escape. The best option, to me, would seem to be © above. Many passengers will either use (a) or (b), and that will help solve the "overcrowding" problem. But for the folks who feel strongly that NCL has taken an unfair tactic, and who approach NCL calmly to discuss their displeasure with the turn of events, NCL would be doing themselves, and their passengers who feel this way, a favor with some good customer relations to relent and grant an OBC. But if NCL refuses to make any sort of an adjustment, then we're back to (a), (b) or (d). If a passenger goes with (a), then the passenger forks out extra money for a formerly free meal *AND* NCL gets rewarded for its bait-and-switch tactic with extra revenues. Not an attractive option to some, including me. If a passenger goes with (b), then NCL isn't rewarded with extra revenues (but it does get "rewarded" with smaller crowds), but then the passengers lose out on a venue they may have been looking forward to as an included feature of their cruise.

Reading thru some of the posts here it's obvious where some of you come down. I wonder, though, if enough passengers go with option ©, while holding out the possibility of option (d) as a threat if they don't receive satisfaction (whether or not they would actually use option (d)), if it might pressure NCL enough to relent on either the a la carte charges entirely, or to at least make it an official policy of giving out a $25 cabin credit for those who insist upon it.

So...where do you come down???

Just off phone with NCL and was able to add the dining promo in addition to the bev package promo we already had. Only added service charge of $18.72pp to our reservation and we now have 6 nights specialty dining for our 10/30/16 transatlantic on the EPIC! Base fare stayed the same, so this was a steal of a deal!

Ditto here for our (first) Panama Canal cruise in 2017, except that our cabin fare jumped up just a few dollars. We had to do the "cancel & re-book" thing, but no prob - - we kept the same room and all other items (UBP; OBC; etc) stayed the same. For the very modest price of an interior room booked a year in advance, we now have unlimited drinks and a 6-meal dining package too. By the time we reach that Panama Canal cruise we will have also accrued enough trips to reach the Platinum Latitudes level, so there'll be another specialty dinner thrown in as well. As a final bonus, that sailing is on the Jewel in 2017, our favorite mid-sized NCL ship.

All in all, just a little something extra to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Originally Posted by MBMGWM View Post

>>>Supper club was one of the best shows I've seen but for me after midnight and million dollar quarter just wasn't my era. Still don't know who that Carl bloke was...<<<

Aiiiieee! The music lover in me can't let this go by without comment. That "Carl" would be Carl Perkins, one of the foremost rockabilly artists of the 50's and a big influence on guitar playing in rock music of the 60's and onward. Maybe the two best things to know about him are: (1) That he wrote "Blue Suede Shoes", the song that Elvis sang and made so popular; and (2) That the Beatles recorded more Carl Perkins songs than any other songwriter's, not counting themselves.

Thanks. A couple of decades before I was born. I did ask my folks when I got back [emoji3]

No problem - - I was just havin' some fun. In that company (Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash & Elvis) poor ol' Carl was pretty much the most easily forgotten one, justified or not. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Million Dollar Quartet show on the Escape in January.

For some reason, I'm think of Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces. You might have to order a vodka and club soda, skip the vodka.

Ha! Great scene. Thanks for the random memory.

>>>Supper club was one of the best shows I've seen but for me after midnight and million dollar quarter just wasn't my era. Still don't know who that Carl bloke was...<<<

Aiiiieee! The music lover in me can't let this go by without comment. That "Carl" would be Carl Perkins, one of the foremost rockabilly artists of the 50's and a big influence on guitar playing in rock music of the 60's and onward. Maybe the two best things to know about him are: (1) That he wrote "Blue Suede Shoes", the song that Elvis sang and made so popular; and (2) That the Beatles recorded more Carl Perkins songs than any other songwriter's, not counting themselves.

You may now resume your normal cruise ship programming.....

I find reviews valuable, I rely on them heavily. .....Reviews in a month will be much more telling

While the desire some folks seem to have to be the first on board a new cruise ship (or first to try a new restaurant; or first to see a new play; etc) is understandable, we've always been content to wait at least a few weeks to allow the initial kinks to get worked out. Any new project that relies on the cooperation and teamwork of human beings, whether it's dozens, or hundreds, of workers, is going to take some time to operate smoothly no matter how much training or practice is done beforehand. The real world is simply different than rehearsals. We're reading the early Escape reviews with interest, but we'll put much more weight on reviews in a month or so as we get ready for our January cruise on her.