david_sobe

I think its only 2 bathrooms. But there is one cruise site that does show a third bathroom. I could be wrong but does not the NCL site say 2 bathrooms? I think the bedrooms upstairs share a bathroom. I like the use of space. Many RCCL suites have a similar layout but its loft style which takes up space for a high ceiling in the living room. I wish they were aft. I always like to sail port side but this time I picked starboard because no slides on that side.

Me too. I will be excited to see it. They are less expensive than an owners suite. Its either going to be out of this world or meh.

The beach the taxis drop you off at has chairs for rent and a bar and grill. Its not affiliated with any cruise line. I think we paid $15 for a chair which was insanely a great deal plus the cost of the cab fare. The drinks were so affordable and was floored they allowed people to drink from beer bottles on the beach. I sat in this beach chair at a secluded beach with a bucket of Corona. I was in a dream.

If you do go to Long Beach Bay, stay away from the cruise line touristy excursion. It costs money and they have the chairs stacked on top of each other. The taxis take you to a much more secluded part and its free. They will charge you for a chair and it includes wi-fi. They have a bar and grill there. There must have only been about 20 people around us. It was heaven.

New ships under construction a price drop will never happen. Its one of the few times that booking early saves you money. Once Aqua debuts many of the premier cabins and especially Haven cabins will go up in price. Its almost not worth checking. My cruise is 2 years away and my Haven class of cabins is already sold out.

I board one month before you so be sure to come back for the review 😉

I have done the Long Bay Beach on my own. There are numerous cabs that will take you there. One of the best beaches in the Caribbean. Gorda is over rated IMHO. Big rocks on a beach. The beach day at Long Bay Beach was probably my all time favorite beach excursion. Not touristy, not crowded, friendly and affordable chairs and accommodations, and beautiful.

Antarctica always has them. But this is distraction and is not logical because other cruise lines continue to sail there. This is also probably why NCL did not list it as a reason to their passengers because it was not true. Logic tells you that if NCL was going to bound itself to a go slow order, passengers would be notified of this reason. None of this is logical or makes sense. This is the last comment I will make on this thread because too many are using fake reasons to explain a non-explanation. In Public Relations you never put something in writing that is NOT true. NCL would only say this change was to "enhance their guest experience." They will not lie or tell fairy tales because that is dishonest and would come back to bit them. Clearly there was a reason for this change.

I used to cruise twice a year then once per year. With prices and other priorities its not as much anymore. When I retire it could be much more again.

Then why are other lines still going there? Why would NCL not put that in their statement to the guests instead of "enhancing the experience" For the love of God, if a hurricane is churning out there, there is clear explanation why the itinerary changed. We can agree to disagree but I still vote bull. People bend themselves into pretzels defending such a laughable statement. That's the only part of this story that annoys me. I don't think anyone is entitled to compensation. I'm a big boy and can accept unfortunate facts in front of me. Sadly so many others cant which is why we get these fairy tales.

Yes. That makes it even worse. That go slow order had been in effect for years. NCL still advertised and sailed there for years. If it was in effect and NCL was going to honor it then why advertise a cruise and then when your passengers board tell them that is the reason they cant to. Also other lines continue to sail there. We are smarter than that.

Thank you for sharing that. I would not expect anything else to be said. Their lack of honesty here tells me (IMHO) that something in the ship changed. While still safe to sail, it cant make the longer itineraries in that time frame. Other ships from other lines continue to go there and the go slow order existed for 3 years yet NCL still booked cruises there. The process of elimination tells you what the issue may be. IMHO this is part of cruising. I may be in the minority but I would be defending NCL all the way on this thread if they honestly explained the change. We all realize a cruise can change any itinerary or ports. But there is always an explanation for good reason. When the highlight of the trip is cancelled to "enhance the guest experience" tells you everything you need to know. NCL's defense would be if they offered compensation to your cruise then all the other cruises would be entitled to the same. I suppose its the sad reality in the cruise business. We all have different opinions on this. I may not be for offering compensation to guests. But a little truth goes a long way to the customers. But sadly I think I am in the minority on that and NCL is in a defensive posture. They can still do 80% of the trip and give a few hours more in ports. It works. I hate being lied to no matter how small. That is my only issue with this.

My Encore cruise was booked about 1.6 years before my cruise while the ship was still under construction. My Epic cruise was booked about 9 months before sailing but it was under construction. I will never forget when NCL let cruise critic board the Epic when it was leaving France for its first mini cruise and had all these reports from the ship. I love the unknown aspect of a new ship especially since Aqua is a Prima-plus ship. I booked it during Xmas so its really 2.2 years prior to sailing.

Guess what? Only 2 more years till my next NCL cruise on the Aqua. God willing I will boarding today February 22, 2026! Please feel to check back for my semi-live report. Will I be able to find cookies or hash browns? Stay tuned! Has anyone ever booked a cruise this far out?

Did it really serve breakfast such as hot or grill items? Was it not a continental style breakfast with muffins, fruit, juice, and coffee? That's in the Haven Observation lounge. Just trying to clarify because I dont remember hot cakes, French toast or eggs there. Or was it there? No snacks even in the afternoon or evening either? Someone reported there were cookies in the Observation lounge recently. I suppose they are gone too. NCL continues their war on cookies. It must be stopped!

No cookies No Antarctica Now this 🙈

That's true. But with only 2 users at a time the line is going to be HUGE. We remember things like Margaritaville being free until it was overwhelmed and a fee was then added. NCL charges to play darts so it would not be surprising to me to have a fee for the roller coaster slide. The Go Kart tracks kept getting bigger and bigger with each ship. Its a huge revenue maker for NCL. How will the Aqua make up for that shortfall? I agree that if NCL charges for a waterslide they will get flamed.

Since this thread has gone full circle everything about cookies now, who remembers the Nieman Marcus $250 chocolate chip cookie urban legend? I remember the chain letter being circulated in high school in the late 1980s. The internet and email made it reappear in the mid 1990s. From what I remember the recipe was fake and had wrong ingredients and amounts. For the record my favorite chocolate chip cookie is from Double Tree Hotels.

The Go Karts are a big revenue stream for NCL so my hunch there would be a charge for the waterslide roller coaster.

The first time I had Crumbl cookies I thought there was something wrong with me. I love all cookies even stale cookies. But I thought the cookies were not good. Sure enough my neighbor brought us 6 Crumbl cookies for Christmas. They were horrible. I could not understand why they taste like playdough with all this fake icing. I googled them and found out they were made famous by Instagram. They look amazing. They are works of art. But its all visual. They are horrible tasting. A good pastry is about the taste, not the look. Try them and see. They are made to catch your eye.

🥶

You may have solved this crisis. This is what I cut and paste: The word Antarctica is a proper noun, i.e. the name of continent. Example: “Shackleton attempted to traverse Antarctica.” The word antarctic is an adjective, which means ‘pertaining to the south polar regions’. Example: “Fossils of marsupials have been found in antarctic rock.” The word the Antarctic, capitalized, is a proper noun, and the name of the south polar ecozone. In a sentence the word is always used with the definite article (“the”). Example: “The Antarctic is home to a number of whale species.” Based on this, would it be correct to bring all sides together to state: NCL is offering cruises to The Antartica?

I think NCL answered that question for everyone. They advertised and sold cruises to Antarctica on the Star. The itinerary used the word "Antarctica." Now the word has been scrubbed from all future cruises on the Star. Its not this board that has redefined what a cruise to Antarctica is, its the cruise line.

The port is a hop, skip and jump from the airport. If ship is on time and no major problems with disembarkation it should not be a problem.