meandmaboy

16 hours ago, GINNY L said:

I put this out there for people to know thinking I would be helping some.  I can't help what information they do and don't put in their email.  I would think most people would know that a dentist, a veterinarian, psychologist etc could not signed the paper.  I am a licensed medical person who has a state and national license.  However, I can not sign those types of letters/notes. 

I think you have been very helpful posting this, there are some folks who disagree for the sake of it.

Well done & thank you very much.

evie

15 minutes ago, erdoran said:

The reason UK is excluded from the ban:

https://apple.news/A3m3r38byRmG30u9xeGA29A

I thought you were going to say ' its because his mother was scottish'

1 hour ago, wayneb1973 said:

I have a cruise on the transatlantic on the Epic April 18th, I have decided to cancel but haven't yet as I was holding out to see if the situation changes. I also considered whether or not NCL would cancel the cruise themselves which may seem likely now as I'm sure a refund would have to be given instead of FCC. Also  my flight to Miami is with Norwegian Air so may be cancelled anyway. 

Wayne,

Carol & I are in the same position as you & on the same transatlantic trip, we are holding out for them to cancel as well, luckily I paid with credit card deposit & balance.

We are flying out with BA from Glasgow to Miami, so we are expecting the flight to be cancelled by BA it looks like the odds on everything being cancelled for us.

As they say in Glasgow 'its been nice knowing you '

evie

1 hour ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

The replies from so many are now becoming a little repetitive. All I wanted to know was if anybody on here had gone to guest services on board and asked for the DSC to be removed as I have been advised by NCL UK to do if I so wish. However, that question to so many seems difficult to comprehend, so I will take the only decent answers from Keith Jenner and Liverpoollad and call a halt to any more posts. I see now why so many criticise Cruise Critic for having very difficult posters

Hi John, 

On our Jade transatlantic cruise 2017, people(uk) did have the grats removed by filling out a form & giving a reason, then it was removed from account on last evening.

Ncl guest services were not happy buy it was removed.

5 hours ago, liverpoollad said:

John, because the replies are from US folk who are used to paying grats.,

 

Here in the UK  in 2017 NCL changed the gratuity rule & stated that to attract more UK cruises the gratuities would be included in the all-inclusive deals. I too have just booked a cruise with them & find that this is not the case & there is a charge.

This is most annoying & do not know when this changed, you get no help from NCL on this issue.

What our friends in the USA don't understand that most Brits & Aussies hate the paying these gratuities & would prefer them included in the price & then we get a better idea of the end price.

The last three cruises I have done the gratuities were included.

Hi Liverpool lad, 

The all inclusive deal changed in the last 6 weeks for new cruises.

Our Getaway transatlantic cruise in April still had the package including the water. Now we are booking for next year & we having to pay for UBP etc & back to paying gratuities again.

This does not bring cruise price down.

Evie

On 1/5/2019 at 1:55 AM, peg013 said:

On our Gem cruise in Nov/Dec of 2018 a bunch of us playing LCR  on sea days got a couple pitchers of orange juice and I got a large glass of apple juice since orange isn't my favorite and we all brought our bottle of sparkling wine to the last LCR gathering.  It really actually was half decent mixed with the apple juice and we all enjoyed our sparkling wine together. We should have thought of it earlier so we didn't all have to worry about bringing drinks to LCR with us. 

 

We did that also on our seadays on our TA. 

As it was a big rollcall the bottles appeared everyday @ our LCR. 

A few other Scots we met gave us their bottles as well, some of the days we got pastries & cookies.

We always swapped wet towel @end of day at towel station for clean dry one for next morning, worked for us saw a lot of people do that on the Jade.

We take them back to cabin & leave them along side beach bags & we are ready to go next morning.

This way we cut out steward having to faff about getting us clean towels

Not at all, when going thro security, I just point out thats my meds & blood testing equipment, there has never been an issue. I keep a little empty strip box to put used lancets & test strips in.

If you run a cup of water through it with no pod in the basket, it will heat the water for you. Here is a link to the actual coffee maker on Amazon, so you can get an idea of how it works:

 

http://a.co/ciw2dwu

many thanx for the info:), would it take the ordinary teabags from the buffet ?

Hi,

Have sailed twice in an inside cabin on the Epic, as you come into the cabin, the toilet & shower are opposite each other, then as you walk forward there is a thick heavy curtain which pulls across that area. If Carol was sleeping I often pulled the curtain across when I left the cabin, as no one can look in when opening the door on my return.

Evie:cool:

hi

we are sailing the epic on august 5th - and we took a bet by getting an inside guarantee with the hope that we would get an upgrade prior to sailing - as we approach three weeks out, i noticed we have already been assigned an inside cabin, and from what i have heard the cabin space itself is smaller than the balcony cabins - has anyone had experience with the inside cabins on the epic - is there a lot less storage space? is there a chair/couch or only the beds for seating?

 

thanks

Hi,

Have had inside twice on epic, it is compact & wouldn't imagine it was the same size as a balcony, we liked the arrangement of the toilet / shower. There was no sofa /couch not enough room there is a stool next to a sort of vanity unit. We found the space okay, as we dont spend a lot of time in our cabin.

We also had an inside on the Jade last year& again found it okay.

HTH

I immediately thought of ' Jack Vettriano ' painting

The Singing Butler.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

:cool:

It's been another month and we still have no clue about what the Jade will be doing After Nov. 7, 2019. Anybody with inside connections willing to share? We are sooo hoping to have a TA back to the States.:)

 

Come on, NCL!!! Post your plans for the fall of 2019 for all those Jewel class ships... please!!!

Can feel your pain (:()

I am still waiting to see how jade is getting across the pond april / may 2019. Still live in hope that the T/A is going to Southampton.:loudcry::loudcry:

After our transatlantic crossing, DH and I are going to be bumming around Spain/Portugal for 3 weeks. With this in mind, I need to bring my immersion coil. Since it is a “fire hazard” I will not use it on board. Will I be allowed to bring it in my luggage? If it is confiscated how do I get it back before getting off the ship in Barcelona?

 

Thanks

A girl after my own heart, have had this problem before :

Hi folks,

Greetings from sunny Glasgow.

Got a bit of a problem & would like your spin on it.Hotel in Barcelona does not have kettle teamaking facilities etc. So I will take my little hot water element to boil in the cup.

Fine so far however, this will be a prohibited item & shouldn't be taken on the ship

Just to be clear i've no intention of using it anywhere else:

Should I pack it in my case & wait for me to be called to the NAUGHTY ROOM ?

or Will I pack it in my carry on, but I'd be worried its confiscated @ the port & not returned to me (I want it back as it has sentimental value to me)

Would appreciate anybody's thoughts on this.

TIA

Evie

I packed it in my case along with a 'sad note' explaining the sentimental value it held for me. Carol still laughs @ the pathetic note I wrote.

NCL transatlantics to the Med usually stop at Barcelona.

 

I haven’t looked at the Jade at all for 2019, but am aware that the transatlantics aren’t fully released yet. My guess, based on what you have said is that there will be a transatlantic to Rome which will take 20 days in total. It will probably be about 12-15 days to get to Barcelona, with a Barcelona-Rome option following that.

 

NCL usually run at least two transatlantics each spring/autumn between the Med and the US. They are more common than U.K. ones.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Keith,

Thanx for the speedy reply, I guess its a bit of a waiting game to see what will happen.

Evie

I was on Gem a few years ago, and I remember the speed of service here was terrible, even when we were the only ones there. I was hoping it was an isolated issue because I loved going there for a quick drink or snack, but I keep reading reviews and seems like same issue fleetwide. Anyone have good reviews for o Sheehan’s? I was hoping to make this my go to when getting the munchies.[/quot

 

Used on the Epic both times & service was fantastic both times food warm & friendly staff @ all times.

On Jade T/A last year it had only arrived on the ship, based on that experience will never use the again, main meal arrived whilst eating starters, so they left food lying on side table & served it 'cold' wasn't very busy (wonder why !!!!!!!!!!!) but they coralled everyone into a tiny section, which in turn left staff standing about with nothing to do.:mad::mad::mad:

Hi Folks,

Anyone care to guess where the Jade will be during this period:loudcry: ? She re-appears in Citivecchia on 12th May.

Nothing advertised for 22/4 - 12/5. I assume she has to get across the 'pond' from Miami to ????????????

Did T/A last year & we were hoping to repeat in 2019. But NCL seem to think a T/A trip to the Med, is the same as sailing into 'Blighty' in my humble opinion a transatlantic is simply USA to UK / UK to USA no other way round it, as Spain / Italy are miles away from the atlantic. Hopefully Keith will come along & give us some insight.

Anyone know what bingo is like in the Jade? Cost to play and prize amounts? On other Ncl ships cost vs. prizes was terrible. Not worth playing.

Hi,

Don't remember the prices on the TA last year, but friends compared it to epic year before very expensive & so not worth it.:eek::eek::eek::eek:

I am assuming its the same price on all NCL ships.

evie:cool::eek:

I want to find the bartenders name that was on the Norweigen sky . I just got back from a cruise . He was a funny nice young guy and was from i believe From somewhere by Greece and his name i think was Bobian or something like that . He was younger , wore glasses . I’d like to be able to find him on facebook

Hi,

You do realise this thread is about 7 years old :confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:& your post maybe better suited to the upto date threads on the 'sky'.

Did you not ask him his surname ? or if he had a facebook ?

Hi Mrs Tabs,

I dont smoke but partner does (GV) anytime in europe they have an abundance of the stuff, its sold @ a set price which included tax & was cheaper than Spanish tabacs.

This year on the JADE (transatlantic to Southampton) they said in the shop they would be stocking up, I trailed back & forward to the shop & they never had any, by about the 3rd day the cellars ? and found 3 x 5 packs. I was sold 2 as someone else had been asking & they kept 1 pack for him.

Cant remember the price but it was duty free price & very cheap :D.

My suggestion to you is to make yourself known to the shop staff & if there is any then it wont be a problem for you.

HTH

We did the transatlantic on Jade this April from Tampa to Southampton. We had a fab time on the ship & really enjoyed our seadays / entertainment was fine also.

The only thing that troubled us was O'Sheehans, as it had only just opened after the refurb, they hadn't got their act together. left us waiting not taking drink orders / brought out starters & then 5 mins later brought mains & left them lying on a side table. Didn'f find those members of staff friendly at all (grrrr)

I loved O;Sheehans on the Epic & was so disappointed on the Jade.

Fab ship , despite it being smaller we loved that it had a wraparound deck for walking.

Next year we are doing Transatlantic from New York to Southampton on the Breakaway & looking forward to being on a big ship again.

Quite right too that we Scots (my wife) & English (me) should be upset at getting inferior deals!

 

We are still fairly new to cruising and are taking our first cruise with NCL in mid-January 2018. A major bugbear across most cruise lines is the inability to look at a cruise and know the basic costs that I will have to pay without the aid of a spreadsheet! Forgive the inelegant comparison, but when I visit our local supermarket and buy a loaf of bread, the price sticker reads £1.25 and that is what I have to pay at the till - easy.

 

If the supermarket used a sticker that said £0.75 and then produced a Till Receipt that added 'Checkout Operator Salary Contribution £0.14, Cleaner's Wages & Materials £0.10 Local Taxes £0.10 Store Manager Bonus £0.15' etc etc I would take my business to a competitor - I just want to know how much I have to pay without kickstarting an abacus.

 

I am the customer - it's not my responsibility to pay the staff wages! Pay people a living wage and build it into the product or service price - grrrr! Rant over - blood pressure falling - and I know nothing will change and the final cruise price will be about 1.5 times the advertised figure (without optional excursions and additional items that I choose to add).

 

I'm just waiting for the Captain to tannoy for my credit card to help with the cost of refuelling (I have seen 'Airplane' too many times :D).

 

Lastly, if anyone here is on NCL Sun 20th January 2018 to S.America, I'll be the miserable toad muttering about service component costs - you have been warned ;)

Well said, that just about sums it up ;).

I do sometimes feel we get a bit of a raw deal here in the UK :eek:

Has anyone done either? We are trying to decide based just on the ease of embarkation/disembark not on sightseeing Rome vs Barcelona. Thanks.

Hi Peachyboo,

My last 2 Epic trips, we joined in Barcelona, we had the option of joining in Rome, but decided it was more awkward to join there.

As prev posters say, the port is on your doorstep, both times we had hotel near CC monument, it was easy to walk over & get the port bus.

On the recent Jade transatlantic crossing the four of us swapped cabins & NCL just gave us extra room keys, these keys could only open the cabin door & nothing else :):)

There was no problem with guest services sorting this out for us.

Hope this helps you.

On that cruise 2 of us had 2 cards each & the other 2 only had the proper keycard with credit card attached to it.

Had anyone had an inside stateroom on the Epic and had trouble with two people getting ready at the same time? Looks awfully small. Please share your experience.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Friend Carol & I have had an inside cabin on both trips, space it tight but it is doable with the bathroom setup as the washand basin is in the cabin area, 2 people dont need to be brushing teeth @ same time.:cool: