jgreenwo17

Does anybody out there in NCL nation know if the JOY or other ships in her class have self service laundromats onboard?  If not, how spendy is it farm it out while onboard?

Thanks,

Greenie in SLC

On 8/5/2019 at 5:50 PM, FranknBeans said:

One of the main problems is that the ship very easily be delayed and have its spot moved from the canal sailing

Thanks, makes sense.

I'm a newbie to NCL and am perplexed that there aren't a lot of shore excursions for the day we arrive in the canal zone.  Only one excursion!

All the other ports have many shore excursions.  I've read that there are a lot of fun things to do in a few hours.  Why aren't they there?

Thanks in advance,

Greenie in Salt Lake

Here you go, google helps a lot.

 

http://www.bankoncollegegreen.com/restaurant

 

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Thanks for the tip! Now I know where to go to lunch when in Dublin this June.

JG and JG

We were on the CP for the transatlantic after it came out of drydock. We have been on the CP twice before, and thought I'd post my opinion of some of the changes, good and bad.

Hits - New beds very comfortable, new layout for buffet area and it's much easier to get around, better wifi coverage on ship (although it's still not very fast), movie screen by pool much brighter and clearer picture,

Misses - main dining room menus I found disappointing many nights, steak is no longer available on everyday menu, and some nights no steak was available.

Planks and Steamers are two new restaurants that replaced Caribe Cafe. They have free breakfast and lunch, but charge $12 for dinner. Breakfast was good, lunch was very very disappointing, same couple items everyday. Did not try dinner, but never saw more than a handful of people there. But if you ate in the regular buffet for dinner, you could not eat in the Planks or Steamers portion of the area, so it limited available seating. I missed Cafe Caribe. I will also add that in February we were on a Carnival ship that had just put in a free BBQ restaurant that had great beef brisket and pulled pork. I do not see the need to spend $12 to eat BBQ. Steamers didn't appeal to us as they had no crab or lobster.

Sushi was available in Vines, but only if you bought wine. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but like sushi. It was available on the buffet everyday at lunch on HAL.

The Princess@Sea app worked pretty well, but there is no option to see what the dinner menus are. Disapponting.

As usual, they never get everything done during dry dock, so carpet was still being installed, etc. But more disappointing was the normal maintenance that didn't get resolved. When there are 3 toilets in the public restroom by the restaurant, but only 1 is working. Really? And there were several people who had no hot water the 1st day or two. But guess that is normal because they concentrated on the new restaurants, etc. getting finished.

 

We had a good time on the cruise, and still like the CP layout. Never felt really crowded, which we like. But found food many days disappointing. Entertainment was good. Last big production show was I think called Bravo or Brava, and was one of the best shows we have ever seen at sea on 35+ cruises. But I would like to see Cafe Caribe back, and a steak option back on the everyday menu.

I'm pretty sure for another $10, you can get crab and lobster on the Steamers menu.

I have been away from Princess for a few years. I hope the dining overall is as good as it used to be. We will be on the CB this early June. I chose the itinerary over the cruise line. With all the competition out there you would think that Princess would "up their game."

We shall see.

actually, i had not seen such definitive information about the whistleblower and appreciate you posting this shogun.

 

Honestly folks, not talking about this does not make it go away. We seem to have no issue regurgitating other topics on this board over and over. This one is far more serious and deserves any attention it is getting. Not everyone is on this board every day; some are altogether new and others (like myself) missed the discussion the first time around.

big amen

Awesome Possum! (Tastes like smoked chicken).

Can't wait to get aboard the CB Princess again this June!

Greeny

Great question! Sorry but I don't know the answer either. I am eager to find out as well.

Amy,

Going on this itinerary on June 6th, 2017. (DW birthday).

Awesome review and thanks for the may tips and tricks. We are going to try and pull off the Giants Causeway and the Titanic experience in one day only in reverse order. Please wish us luck!

JG and JG

In Belfast the port is a short 5/10min ride to the city center. Because of the highway situation it is not an easy walk, and may not really be possible. The Titanic experience is just across the harbor, but again you can't walk to it, we took the short cab ride. You can walk from the Titanic Experience to city center. There was a shuttle bus from just outside the pier to city center. Not sure if it was free, but think it might have been.

Dublin's port is about 1 mile from downtown.

 

Have you checked your roll call for your sailing? There may be lots of information there.

Good to know. I am on the same itineray but sailing on 06/06/17.

Hi Delorean girl,

I hope you don't mind having new devotees climb onboard your British Isle travelogue train!

DW and I did our Ancestry DNA tests a year or so ago and found out we are more British than most Brits. It gave us even more inspiration to see this area. (As if we needed more inspiration)! When I saw this special one of a kind itinerary my jaw dropped. When my wife said "yes," I swooned. (I swoon still).

We leave for the same itinerary on 06/04/17. The Caribbean Princess will be refurbished and good as new with a few new eateries.

Thanks for the best review I have ever read on CC. I will be referring to it often.

Your faithful new groupies,

Jack and Jill

No! Just right. We ate very well and did not gain as much weight.

I think portions were about the same as mdr. Food in Blu is not quite as heavy. You will be sorry if you miss it.

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You scored an AFT balcony! Be happy.

As much as I love Pacific Coastal cruises, I agree the Ensenada embark/disembark operation is disaster on many different levels.

 

However, now that Solstice is capable of entering Vancouver, in the future they can schedule one-way Coastal cruises (Spring/Fall) from San Diego, LA or SF without having to deal with Ensenada.

 

I like how Carnival gets their one ship to/from Alaska and LA for the seasonal repositions. They do something like 15 nights LA (Long Beach) to Vancouver via Hawaii. If X were to offer an itinerary like that, I'd be the first to book.

Sounds like another awesome itinerary. What Carnival ship?

Thanks,

jgreenwo17

We are tired of flying, we prefer Celebrity, but they have abandoned the west coast.

 

We are likely going to go back to Princess a try for a B2B -- 7 day Mexico then a 7 day coastal.

Excellent Idea! Good tip.

I was bored at work and when I am bored at work I often go onto X website to gaze at different itineraries, pricing, etc. Two things shocked me. The absence of California costal cruises and the cathouse prices on a lot of sailings where X sails. (With the exception of the Caribbean and Alaska).

DW and I were very fortunate to sail from Hawaii to YVR last May and were in A2 accomodations that were under $2k each. For a 10 night cruise I thought that was a square deal. A similar cruise next year is a whole heck of a lot more than what I paid for this year.

Is X in such high demand now that they can charge these outrageous fares? I love X but not that much. Their product is the best mass market product out there but not worth the way higher fares they are charging now.

Will they ever do CA costals or Mexican riviera cruises again?

Bottles are always useful, if you invite some fellow pax to the stateroom for drinks.

Bring the bottles of wine. I regret not doing so on my last cruise.

Bring wine that is not on the classic list.

We "only" have 6 cruises on X so far (but more than that currently booked). While it should be consistent across ships and cruises, there are a lot of people involved. Both guest and staff can impact how service is provided during a cruise. If everyone heads to blu nightly during the same 30 minute period, service will suffer.

 

Only one of our X cruises was less than impressive and that was a 3 day on Century. Sure the ship was "clean" but the water stained cabin walls were more reminiscent of Motel 6 than modern luxury, add in the average butler (being kind), and slow flushing/overflowing toilet and our experience was less than impressive on this short cruise. We agree, sure there are inconsistencies, but we're ok to speak up, its how they deal with the issues.

 

They didn't seem believe me when I reported the toilet problems early in the cruise. The icing on the cake was when we heard the maintenance person sloshing in the toilet water on the floor of our bathroom, tell his boss on the phone, "yes, it's really broken".

 

We do understand, things happen, and this has been (mostly) forgiven as it was a one off experience. We simply chose not to sail through the Suez Canal on Century's last cruise and book a different cruise instead as our feelings our disappointment was more from the cruise length and older ship.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

I have sailed on 8 different cruises, mostly 7 nights and above on 4 different cruiselines and have come to the conclusion that most mass market lines are far more similar than different. That said, I have seen quality and consistancy vary from ship to ship on the same line. The Century may have its charms but is not going to be the same experience as S class. Another thing I have learned is that short itineraries are not going to give you the same experience as a longer ones.

The OP should maybe try HAL or Princess. It might give him/her a better perspective on X. IMHO, X has the best mass market cruise experience for my tastes, but I would jump at the chance to cruise with others if given the chance.

Anyone had an AQ cabin just below the fitnes center on Equinox or some other similar ship.

Curious as to the noise level etc,

We were on the Solstice in room 1511. No noise at all from deck above. We surmized that we were below the persian garden or a changing room.

I got a new Celebrity credit card and received $100 in rewards after using it once and WAS planning to pay our final payment with it this week. Then I read all the fine print after clicking on the icon on the Celebrity page. It said that rewards could NOT be given if we had received any special booking price such as military etc. Doesn't everyone on CC get something special? I quickly switched and used another credit card since we had gotten a "special" price. Is the card useless? What about 123? We have that on our cruise next spring.Does that mean we won't be able to get any reward? If that is true, I might as well cancel the card.Please respond if you have been able to use the rewards. Thanks

I have used my RCCL visa to pay for final payment on got all the OBC. I'm pretty sure you can use for all things X and get your OBC. (Whether or not you have 123 and the like).

We are considering several cruises for our 50th anniversary next year, so we want something very special! There is a Celebrity Silhouette cruise we might like, and want your input about Aqua class--is it really worth the extra cost? What do you find you enjoy about it the most? Can you describe some of the food at Blu?

Thanks for your help !

Of 8 different cruises on 4 different cruiselines, AQ was the best experience. The cabin with all of the little extras and BLU made it worth the extra cost for us. (The extra fare was about $300 per person on a 10 night cruise).

BLU has its own dedicated kitchen on S class ships. We felt the service and quality were better than a MDR experience. Breakfast there was so much better than the oceanview cafe. Great food and superior service.

Sometimes the price for AQ is way higher than a standard balcony. If that is the case, I would book a non AQ cabin and splurge on a specialty dining package instead. You may come out better that way and have a splendid experience for your 50th.

As a loyal celebrity cruiser I would love to know how people would compare Princess ,in particular Carribean Princess ,with the solstice ships? I would not normally consider changing but as we are in Florida at a time when the Celebrity ships are still in Europe ,we don't have a choice. Have just been reading the member reviews on the Princess ship and am not filled with confidence to book it! Has anyone been on both? How would you compare them?

DW and I sailed on the Caribbean Princess about 3 years ago out of NY to NE on a 7 night cruise. I think the food overall is comparable. IMHO, Princess does better with fish and X does better with beef. I feel the service on Princess is also comparable to X. (Especially in the buffet areas). The only thing I did not like about the Caribbean Princess were the dead ends on some decks. X ships, especially S class are laid out so much better than Princess. The decor is better on X. Entertainment is pretty close on both lines.

I would not hesitate to sail on the Caribbean Princess again. It was my first Princess cruise and I have sailed two other times aboard their ships.

We also just got off the Solstice to Alaska two weeks ago. We have sailed Disney, Carnival and RCCL. My hubby and I agree that Celebrity staff were the friendliest! Everyone we saw greeted us. We loved the cruise!! I can't think of one negative thing to say about this cruise!

I cruised on the Solstice from Hawaii to Vancouver in late April of this year.

Out of 8 cruises on various line, this was my favorite.

There are a few reasons we have not tried Celebrity yet. The 123Go/pick your perk promotions are one of the reasons. We do not drink and do not want to indirectly subsidize the drinking of others. Is there a way to book without these promotions and just get a lower cruise fare instead. If so, how?

 

I should mention that we also do not drink juice, soda, or coffee. So the drink package is really of no value to us.

Book a transatlantic or transpacific. They rarely offer 123 promos and the fares are excellent!

Otherwise use the perks for onboard credit or to pay gratuities.

I am a surgical nurse who has been on 17 cruises and have NOT been sick.. Know why? I wash my hands before and after I eat. I also make use of the many hand sanitizers that are available on the ships. If people would use some common sense and not be pigs, there wouldn't be half of the sickness that are shown on national news!

My DW is also an RN and is constantly washing and sanitizing her hands as well. (7 cruises and not sick). On our recent 10 night cruise aboard the Solstice, my wife noticed on THREE different occasions, women, (You know who you are), not bothering to wash their hands after using the restroom. I asked her if there was ever a washroom attendant on duty and she said no.

The gents restrooms often have attendants on duty that steer you towards the sinks to wash your hands. This should happen with the gals facilities too! (IMHO).

People can be lazy, dirty, pigs!