Kenns10

I listened in on the Q2 earnings call today. Del Rio was essentially asked point-blank if the 2019 BA+ Ship was still going to be built for China and he gave what I'd consider a "maybe" answer. He absolutely reiterated NCL's commitment to Asia (didn't specifically say China) but didn't exactly say where the 2019 ship would be going. I think they are still giving the Joy some time and waiting to see how she does once the "novelty" wears off.

Hopefully it does get sent somewhere else, especially since the LEO ships aren't coming for several more years yet the competition will be unveiling several new ships during those gap years.

I too missed the deck plans but from reading some posts, did I see that Howl at the Moon is gone? Could it still be offered in a nightclub or venue?

I was recently on the Getaway and we went to Howl nearly every night!

Based on that pool picture - it looks like it's still a relatively small pool...didn't someone mention in an earlier post that the Bliss will have a "completely new pool deck" or something?

I bet there is a 50/50 chance that the BA+ #4 due in 2019 will remain in China versus redeployed to the US. I think the market softening and the fact that the first Leo ship isn't until 2022 and pretty much every other brand is building new ships, NCL will redirect this ship to the good ole US of A. But who knows?

thanks, Cookie! and everyone else for the suggestions!

Just saw that the Bliss (new ship coming next year) will have the Jersey Boys and other new venues - maybe we should swap our Escape trip for that? :)

does this mean the Jersey Boys performances on the ships (I know it's offered on the Pearl) will stop occurring?

Given this, it seems like the Bliss will just be a replica of the Escape w/new themed venues...hopefully another brewery like DBC - maybe an Alaskan beer company?

Great review! I have a few questions on the ports as I am planning a cruise on the Escape. It'll be me and the girlfriend, we are both 30 and no kids!

St. Thomas: I am thinking of doing St. John's on our own as well but I can't decide which beach to pick! Trunk Bay/Cinnamon Bay/Other, etc. I definitely want a beach that has a snack bar, place to rent a chair, bathrooms, etc. Do you think the 4pm ferry back would be doable? I'd like to grab a drink at one of the bars (e.g. Woodys) after the beach and before leaving the island

Tortola: was planning on doing what you did and do the Baths on our own, but given all the confusion I think I may want to rent a tour guide/catamaran or head to Jost Van Dyke instead. Or, are the Baths a must-do?

Nassau: I've been here several times and done Atlantis. What did you guys do?

Thanks!

Sounds like a solid cruise for you both. What did you do for excursions on the port days? This is what I am thinking of doing:

St. Thomas: head over to St. John (on our own) and go to Cinnamon Bay/Trunk Bay/other? then browse the town by the ferry

Tortola: take the NCL excursion to Jost Van Dyke - any other ideas?

Nassau: been here several times, not sure what to do this time?

thanks!

does this mean that the 2019 newbuild from Meyer (4th Breakaway+ ship) is not happening?

I'm sure NCL is aware that all the other lines are building bigger and some with LNG - but still very interesting as to why they are bucking the trend...maybe this is Del Rio truly inserting himself since these are "his" first real orders since taking over the top job

I will point out that Virgin Voyages is also building smaller and they are promising an innovative design as well - maybe they and NCL don't want to be the "biggest"

I forgot that they have the 2019 newbuild option with Meyer Werft, which would be the 4th ship in the Breakaway Plus class (2019 ship, Bliss, Joy, Escape)...or does this new order with Fincantieri put the 2019 ship to bed?

curious that they didn't go "big" or as "big" as Escape/Joy or that they didn't join the LNG party...also, I wonder if Meyer Werft is none to pleased, since all of NCL's recent ships were built by them...

when do you think NCL will release more info about the Bliss?

It's probably going to be like the Escape in terms of layout with new "branded" bars and spaces. I remember a while back that Kevin S. said that he wanted each ship to be different, to encourage people to try new ships. However, the newer NCL ships under Del Rio seem to all be relatively the same. (except for the Joy obviously)

it's been several months since this "news" broke...anyone hear of any updates regarding possible new orders, from Fincantieri?

Perhaps NCL is waiting to see how Joy and Bliss do (and maybe even the 2019 new build) before making an order?

the Caribbean run will be the standard eastern milk run: st. thomas, tortola, nassau...how come no GSC? Harvest Caye?

do you guys think the Bliss will just be the Escape with a few changes (for example, the large spinnaker-esk lounge at the front of the ship)?

Trying to decide if we will do Courtney Taylor for river rafting, beach stop, island tour and Scotchies for lunch. He quoted me at $25 pp for rafting and then $29pp for the tour/transportation, for a total of $54pp. I have emailed him back twice to confirm but haven't heard?

Anyone have experience doing a tour like this with him?

So I heard back from them again, and they recommend we take option A, as the meeting time is 9:20am at the Blue Iguana.

They are offering to hook us up with Captain Marvin for the Hell and Turtle Farm Tour right after our JetSki tour - they will drop us off at the meeting point for that tour - I guess they are sister companies.

Anyone have any experience with the Hell and Turtle Farm Tour? It's being offered for an additional $30 per person. Thanks!

Hi There,

Debating between the Escape to Eastern Caribbean or Breakaway to Florida/Bahamas and was curious about VIBE. (also considering the Getaway but wouldn't get VIBE since it's a 4 port day cruise) Does anyone know much the passes are going for on both ships and if they're truly worth it? Both cruises are sea-day heavy (only 3 port days) so it could be nice to get away from the crowds?

Thanks!

Thanks for the detail!

I am currently talking to Action Watersports about booking the tour. We will be on the NCL Getaway and are in port from 8am to 4pm. They offered me either the A) 10am-12noon, or B)12noon to 2pm tours

If we picked A, that would give us ~2hours to do something in the morning, then tour from 10-12noon, leaving about 3.5 hours to do something else.

If we picked B, that would give us 4 hours to do something in the morning, then tour from 12-2pm, leaving about 1.5 hours to do something else.

We would ideally like to step foot on a nice (would 7mile work or another one) beach and grab some local seafood. Give than, any suggestion on which tour A or B to pick?

Thanks again!

Hi There,

We are considering an NCL excursion, "Bamboo Beach VIP & Aqua Tubing Adventure" at $119pp. They have another excursion that is $109 and is called "Bamboo Beach & Aqua Tubing Adventure. Does the $10 difference in price really mean anything?

The VIP one says that you are brought to a secluded part of the beach and have unlimited food and drinks. Does any one know if this is true?

Besides these 2 NCL excursions, we are talking to Peat Taylor and Courtney Taylor (btw are they related?). Thanks!

anyone?

Hello,

Has anyone done this snorkeling, party-boat on a sand-bar excursion on GSC? It has 2 reviews on the site (ncl.com) and they are both very positive. It seems like this is a brand new option.

Thanks!

BUMP - Seeing if anyone has any experience with Action Watersports

Hi All,

Thinking of Mr. Sanchos AI but worried it will be super crowed or that the beach itself wont be that clean (trash, cigarettes in the sand, etc.)? Also thinking of Nachi Cocom but worried that it's too boring? Is transportation from the ship to either of these place included, or is a taxi required for both?

As a compromise, does anyone have recommendations for a clean beach that isn't super quiet or boring but has some "livelyness" to it?

thanks!

Thinking about doing the jetski tour with Action Watersports...since it's only a 2 hour tour, what did you do afterwards? Did you end up grabbing lunch after and then go to 7 mile beach?

Thinking of booking Peat Taylor to do the combo rafting and blue hole excursion, quoted at $60 per person. I assume this includes transportation from the ship to the excursion sites? Are there any other fees I should know about, I heard you have to tip the guides at blue hole?

Has anyone done this combo tour before? How long did it last, we are in port from 9am to 5pm. Do most people grab lunch afterwards and then maybe hit up a local/nearby beach?

Thanks!