DedeM

Hmmm... other than Vibe and Spice H2O during the day, I think children are allowed anywhere. The thing about the sundeck on deck 18 is that it seems far removed from the rest of the ship -- in other words, a long haul for people toting children and their accoutrements. However, as we discovered in Vibe, childfree does not necessarily mean quiet and relaxing -- there were times when I think it might have been quieter next to the single chair shared by four people that you described.

thank you too!

I posted this in another thread, but it works here, too. The areas I marked "open to all", when I've asked others about them, I've been told that it's usually easy to find open lounge chairs there. This photo is from Breakaway, but same difference.

 

thank you!!

great review and pics, thank you!

Great post!

 

Once upon a time, I checked into my cabin and met my steward, then she left. I looked in the shower, a lady's bathing suit was hanging in there. I was like, um, eewwww, I grabbed it by the straps and gave it to the steward and laughed.

 

I decided not to think about what that actually meant. When I told my sister, she immediately said "that means they didn't clean your shower, you should go complain to guest services".

 

I didn't want to think about it. It's too much to bear lol. I didn't want to stand in line and wait to complain about something either. I am not really a pollyanna type person, most people would say I'm pretty negative, but I'm on vacation and I don't feel like starting off on the wrong foot. So just call me Cleopatra, I had a fabulous time in spite of the "shower incident".

I literally thought the guy was going to pass out from screaming so much:eek::eek::eek::)

LOL best laugh I've had all day!

The guy in front of me (mid 30's) feel off the plank. He thought he was going to be really cool and jumped straight up. We he came down he slipped off the plank and dropped about 2-3 feet. In my 51 years of living I've never heard a human scream like he did. It was so funny I almost peed my pants, he got himself together and came down.

:D

Why does Darwin come to mind?

Since we had a Vibe pass, I didn't pay too much attention to this (and believe me, the Vibe wasn't exactly quiet!). There is a sundeck on Deck 18 above the Vibe. I would assume that since it's out of the way, it might be relatively quiet, but I didn't go there myself.

I should have been more specific lol. For me, quiet means no screaming, crying, boundary-less children. Once on Epic there was a family of FOUR (yes, 4) sharing one deck chair. FOUR. Right next to mine. It was awful lol. Almost comical really. So I tend to want to stay away from the pretty pools.

Since we had a Vibe pass, I didn't pay too much attention to this (and believe me, the Vibe wasn't exactly quiet!). There is a sundeck on Deck 18 above the Vibe. I would assume that since it's out of the way, it might be relatively quiet, but I didn't go there myself.

 

Great, I'll look for it! Thanks!

I was a pretty devout RCCL cruiser, as you can see. I was perfectly happy on NCL in December too. My mom took me on HAL and Celebrity, I was pretty happy on those as well. In fact, I'm just pretty @%$ happy on any ship. :D

 

I found few differences between RCCL and NCL overall, except for the dining times. You will have a wonderful time!

Well my weight certainly won't make me stall on the zip line, I may try that.

 

The plank, I don't know.... :eek: Those videos! I may need a drink (just one little bitty one) for courage.

I have another question please :)

 

I like quiet pool decks, but I'm not getting the Vibe pass. If Spice is full, what other decks are quiet and unknown? Did I see public decks next to Vibe and Haven?

 

I know Epic had one and didn't know about it until the last night lol.

 

Thanks!

Yes and no -- our cabin did not have bathrobes when we arrived, but we asked our cabin steward for them and he brought them to us -- they're very nice!

 

Thank you, good to know. I now have extra room in my suitcase :)

Hi, I have a question please.

 

Do balcony cabins have bathrobes for each passenger or is that a suite thing? If someone already asked that, I apologize, I did a search on bath and bathrobe and didn't see it here. I read another Getaway thread, but it wasn't clear there.

 

Thanks!

Thank you for your review!

 

I was on the ship just for the one day sailing out of Miami and loved it. That's why I'm going back on 3/15. It's a beautiful ship!

 

I'm disappointed to hear about the food at Illusionarium though, as I want to see the show. You're not the first person to mention that.

 

I can't believe Allure and Oasis are twice as much. That's crazy! I would have liked to try one of them one day, but they are going to have to drop their price point!

Just a bit of info I just learned. If you book a cruise within 45 days of returning from an NCL cruise they will let you buy the $250 credit for your deposit and give you $75 OBC towards the cruise you are booking, so $75 net savings. Still a good deal if you want to book something and forgot to get the FCC onboard.

This is great!

I've only heard of a few problems in Grand Caymen. Sometimes they just can't get tenders to the ships due to rough seas. Otherwise it's pretty tame. Larger ships have less motion, so that would help you as well. Dramamine, non drowsy?, ginger ale, green apples, wrist bands, patches...

I love NCL and Cruise Critic and the whole world! Based on a recommendation on CC, I got my studio cabin upgraded to a balcony for $13 during Easter vacation week!! In a primo location! I love that NCL will upgrade you for price drops! I'm diamond on RCCL, but I may just become exclusive to NCL!

 

That is amazing! It sounds like those airlines that booked peoples' round trip flights for $15. I hope that happens to me on future cruises when I plan on sailing solo.

When I was on Epic, this is how I understood it.

 

$250 credit goes towards future cruise

$100 towards your current OBC

 

It's transferrable too, I believe.

That's my sailing!! See you there Barney!

 

I always got confused with the sailing time changes, and eventually ignored them, unless I went on shore obviously. ;)

There were always some kids in the upstairs outdoor Haven sun deck, but the Haven pool and the deck around it seemed to always be full of kids on our sailing. So much so that we weren't able to use a hot tub even one time kid free - the pool and especially the hot tubs had 6-8 kids in them every time we checked, even at 11pm or so. It gets loud because of the echoing - not as much as the Jewel class Havens, but still loud.

 

I would think the kids would prefer the main pool deck too, but I think it's the parents that keep them in the Haven with them. With several families doing this, it turns into it's own "kids zone pool" area.

 

Robin

Oooo, not much of a haven then lol.

Thank you for posting the wine list :) Decent price points - I'm happy!

 

Can anyone please direct me to more info on Viva Vino? Thanks!

I'm going to do it (assuming I get tix), I'll let you know how it is. :)

I kind of like that it's interactive (tasting wines) instead of just passively watching.

People take their kids to the Haven section? I'm surprised the kids aren't bored out of their minds and preferring the kids zone pools.

 

I'd like to maybe get a Vibe pass on my upcoming cruise, but with 3900 passengers and only 60 passes issued, it sounds almost hopeless unless I am the first one on the ship and I know that's never going to happen.

Thanks for your reply, Hammybee :)

Well, I can't read all the previous pages but the last two were helpful.

In the past my mom preferred 2-top early dining. We always bicker about early because I can't get ready fast enough and I like to have a drink in the cabin and sit out on the balcony blah blah blah...

This time we booked our cruise kind of last minute and got open seating. So I have two questions please:

1. Who gets the tip at the end of the sailing, whoever you get as servers that night? I bet the servers don't love this too much. They're unlikely to receive extra. (sorry to bring up the dreaded "T" word)

2. If we show up for dinner around 7:00 will that mean a long wait? (southern carribbean Westerdam 3/28 sailing)

I don't understand why Princess lines had such a hard time with long waits with open seating. Why wouldn't all the cruiselines have problems?

Thanks :)