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Thank you all so very much for trying to help out. Truly, a wonderful group. I finally figured out that the only source for financial information (deposits, final payment etc) is through my agent.

I have booked a premium Deluxe Balcony aft on deck 15. So the MDR it is, and most probably the Chef's table (BTW not offered on NCL).  For us, cruising is a luxury since travelling to and from the departure port involves significant airfare costs. So no suite, and for specialty dining, it all depends on the package, if any, price.

FWIW, my initial feeling is that Princess is considerably lower priced than NCL (drinks, water, specialty dining). A happy camper here. Take care all.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. The TA trip cost too much (airfare mostly - not the actual cruise) but the idea of sailing on a brand new ship was too enticing. 

Hi everyone. Just booked a 2024 cruise on Sun. 2nd time on Princess, but 1st time was in 2011 (an RCL cruiser but now trying other lines as well). And the brand new ship was too interesting to pass. So: 

1. Does Princess have the 2 standard dining times or is it like NCL Freestyle? This year we did the 15 day TA on NCL Epic and the waiting lines for the MDR were really long and not appreciated.

2. Checkin: is the checkin open this far ahead or is there a rule similar to NCL 21 day rule?

3. Checkin is only through the Medallion app, or can I do it through a PC as well?

4. Can a kind soul direct me to where the cruise financial info is located in the personalizer? I booked through a TA, got a 6 letter code, I can login and see everything but for the life of me, I am not able to find this info.

5. Wife and I do not drink that much at all, an occasional drink here and there. So the drink package is out. Any thoughts on the non-alcoholic package? It says fresh juice... are they really fresh? Also specialty coffees? Is Starbucks or any other major coffee company on board or does Princess handle the coffee costs? 

 

Looking forward to sailing on a brand new ship. Thank you all for your patience and help.

 

 

https://www.franciscanhealth.org/community/blog/weather-changes-make-you-sick#:~:text=For some people%2C a change,Bast said.

For the resident doctors here. So before calling someone a wimp or weird, you might consider that probably there are people out there with a weak heart, a defibrillator implanted, taking 16 pills a day and still trying to enjoy life.

I gave NCL a review based on my past cruising experiences and the experience on board the EPIC. We did have a good time, but my point was it could have been a lot better had NCL paid attention to detail. Guest services had me standing in line many times with 0 results. Detail. They left a message on my cabin phone.mpicked the headset up, pressed the envelope thingy button, and message was deleted.  Same thing next day. So I asked guest services. They simply said...oooh you need to press 3333 to listen your messages. Why not write the instruction somewhere? Am I supposed to guess? A minor detail indeed, but an issue that could have been easily avoided. Similar, lack of customer relationship management minor issues were voiced by other cruisers, way more seasoned than me. So, if writing an honest review makes me a weird wimp with a weak immune system, so be it.

Couple  (59M, 53F). 8th cruise so far, 1st on NCL. 15 day TA on NCL Epic. Here is a bullet point summary (if anyone cares) and the main grievance/complaint.

Embarkation: NY port. As smooth as possible. 5 minutes to reach waiting area. 10/10.

Boarding: fast and efficient. 10/10

Ship: strange layout but who cares. You get used to it. Old but well maintained and clean. 8/10

Cabin: aft mini club suite cat. MA. Spacious with lots of storage space. Sink ridiculously small. Bathtub too high to enter. 8/10.

Room attendant: brilliant, always trying to help. 10/10.

Food: the buffet in Garden Cafe was the worst. For my taste, I found it inedible. Cold, salty, fatty etc etc. 0/10. The food in the main dining room was good, almost on par with other cruise lines, however last cruise was in 2018, so I do not know if other lines lowered the MDR quality as well. 8/10. Specialty restaurants were really good with Le Bistro being the top ranking one and the Italian coming last because the food was okay but not impressive. 9/10. The Chinese complimentary restaurant was surprisingly good (some of the dishes).

Entertaiment: plenty but lacking in quality 5/10.

Guest services: the weakest link. 0/10. The 1st day the room was freezing cold. Thermostat n9t working. Duly reported it and it was fixed. Lasted 24hours. Again reported. Again fixed. Lasted 5 hours. Reported again (BTW, caught a cold as a result) and they tried to fix it at 11PM. Next day same game, same result. Reported it again. Fixed. When going to sleep, the fan noise was so loud, it was like trying to sleep in a plane. Repairmen came again at 12 midnight. Solution: everything disconnected. No noice, no access, but at least we could sleep for the remaining 10 days. During the 5 days, guest services personnel was either indifferent or downright dismissive and rude. I repeatedly asked for a manager and she was either on a break, away, meeting....

0/10 and if I could I would give them a negative score for wasting my time standing in line.

Small details: many smaller issues that could have been avoided if NCL paid a bit more attention. Not deal breakers, but one would expect better performance. Case in point: unclear wifi instructions, late laundry service ( clothes returned after 2.5 days), inexperienced staff....Notable detail.: they sent to our room the chocolate covered strawberry. Yes, singular. A single strawberry. This made us smile.

Overall: 7/10 from me, 8/10 from the wife. In short, given the lack of recent experience with RCL (maybe they downgraded their quality as well) I can not reject NCL. But we were not impressed, and to sail with them again the price should be just right and the itinerary a gorgeous one. Just our subjective opinion.

 

 

 

Thank you all for your time and for clarifying things up. I was in the wrong I guess, but also right in coming here for answers. Take care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi to all. Getting close to our 15-day TA, NY to Barcelona on the Epic. Explore/Plan only shows 3 entertainment options (Howl at the Moon, Burn the Floor, Cavern Club). Is this all? No Broadway-like shows? Am I mistaken? If not, it's not this kinda limited for a 15 day cruise?

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 minutes ago, SunshineGal2022 said:

Can you upgrade to a spa room for less than $758 ($379×2)? 

 

If yes, I would do that.  

 

You'd get guaranteed passes for both of you.

Interesting thought. I will get my TA to give me a quote as we kinda customized the booking by dropping the beverage package (health reasons).

TY

Hi all, and Merry Christmas.

I asked a question on Thermal Suite pass a few days ago because the website said "too close to sailing date. Book onboard". It seems that it was actually too early, and booking the pass is now open. So for my question.

15 day TA in April in the Epic. Price shown is 379usd. But....it only allows me to select only 1 person for the booking (it is just me and the wife). If I try to select the 2nd person shown, the 1st is de-selected. Do I need 2 separate bookings, one for each person? From posts here it seems that 379usd is per person. Anyone who knows if this is normal booking process?

 

Thank you all

Thank you all. I escalated it to my TA, and I will let you know of his answer. We are past final payment, that is why I tried booking it. Take care all

Hi ev1. Tried to book the pass for the Thermal Suite but it says we are too close to the sail date and I should book onboard. We sail in April 2023. Strange glitch, normal, or possibly they have sold the maximum? Ideas?

Thank you

On 9/18/2022 at 7:43 PM, DensolandMouthy said:

Sorry just catching up as been away. I changed my cruise from TA to New York to a very nice 11 night Canary Islands cruise for a fantastic price and ports Ive never visited. The NCL staff member said a few people are changing because of Bermuda and promised to pass my feedback upwards.
 

I have another TA on the Epic going back to EU in April. Keeping an eye out and hoping Bermuda either changes their rules or its dropped from the schedule. If not Ive got my eye on an alternative that avoids Bermuda and Canada. 
 

Its good to read that cruise lines are starting to drop Bermuda. Testing 4,000 onboard for 6.5 hours ashore is madness. 

Hi. It seems we are on the same TA in April 2023. I too hope they drop Bermuda, as the hassle for doing the test in a city unknown to us at a considerable cost JUST for one stop seems absurd to me. If the test was required by NCL for the whole cruise, or required by many other countries, then IMHO it would be okay. The whole world is trying to recover from the pandemic and to me it seems Bermuda is trying to cash in. Just my 0.02

5 hours ago, spanishguy1970 said:

I believe we are on this same cruise if this is the TA on the Epic next April, we also liked the price. We have been on the Epic 5 times and we enjoy the ship. As i said before, peoples reviews and opinions are subjective and should be taken as such. The epic is not that old and i believe is been refurbished. Enjoy your cruise.

Thank you very much. Looking forward to it. The price for a 15 day cruise was quite right for me. Lol, still looking for a NY hotel. Much more expensive than the cruise. Really!!!! There is already a roll call for our cruise. You might want to check it out. Thank you again.

Thank you all for contributing to this discussion. When everything is factored in (itinerary, cost, duration) along with some of the useful input here, the negative reviews on NCL, and Epic become quite less significant. Thank you.

15 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

I stopped putting stock into the opinions of anyone I don't personally know about the food onboard years ago.  First of all, it's subjective.  Second, read any review on CC for the exact same sailing and this is what you see:
- First review:  the food was wonderful and the portions were just right.
- Second review:  I wouldn't feed the food to my dogs and the portions were tiny.  (Yep, I've read reviews like this.  They didn't get enough of food they didn't like.  🙄)
- Third review:  the buffet and MDR had wonderful selections.
- Fourth review:  Golden Corral would be preferable to the buffet and the MDR would mess up a PBJ.

And on and on and on...
 

LOL. Point, game match. Best comment so far. Thank you

2 hours ago, KKB said:

We are in our early/late 50s & have sailed DCL, NCL, RCCL, Celebrity & Princess.

(interesting that Celebrity was your lowest satisfaction...its our top)

 

We love the entertainment options on NCL.

If you are foodies, I recommend adding specialty dining most nights (buy the package before sailing).

The MDR was better than I thought after so many bad reviews. But honestly nothing memorable.

(PS you won't get lobster in the MDR on NCL)

On our ship one dining room had bands or dancers during dinner--not our usual taste but we truly enjoyed it! See if your ship has it.

 

We find cruise lines to be more alike than different. We have never had a bad cruise with over 20 under our belts in 18 years & would sail any line again.

 

We find that attitude is the key. We expect to have a good time no matter where we are and so we do.

Relax, enjoy your lovely TA & 30 years (we are close on your heels!).

Thank you  for your time and reassuring words. Celebrity ranks low in our preference because we felt that we did not exist the whole cruise. Everywhere on the ship we felt like we were burdening them and we did not really appreciate it. RCCL and Princes, based on our experience, were leaps and bounds above. I do realize however that others might have different opinions and certainly accept that.

By "foodie" I tried to convey that as a couple we truly enjoy good quality and well cooked food. During our travels, and cruises, we always try the local cuisine if any, and certainly as many different dishes. We had exquisite dinners at Michelin star restaurants and also many hidden little gems. My point is that we consider food an integral part of cruising and we enjoy the MDR and the specialty restaurants. We also always attend the chef's table, if any. We certainly do not expect the buffet food to be top notch. 

Thank you all once again

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Help us help you.  What are you tying to do?  Are you having 2nd thoughts about your cruise?  Call your TA or PCC and find out how to cancel and what (if any) ways to cancel.  30th anniversary is special.  If you don’t believe this cruise fits with your anniversary, find a cruise that aligns better with what you’re looking for.

 

Best of luck and happy anniversary!

Thank you for all the help. Time difference btn Europe and USA makes it difficult to synchronise reading/replying.

Yes, the negative reviews re service, food quality, entertainment made me have 2nd thoughts. Have already talked to my TA who was quite helpful. However, all you guys here helped me realise I was overthinking things and all things considered it will be a great cruise. If a few minor things go  wrong, we will not let it ruin our vacation. New York, cruise, Barcelona and a few ports/cities we would have never visited on our own. What more can we ask for? Thank you all

2 minutes ago, nferr said:

I did the same cruise last year, 15 night Epic to Barcelona. I absolutely loved it. Long sea days so relaxing. I went solo, booked a studio, and bid on a balcony which I got. The food was great, when I booked it was five nights specialty included, now it's two unfortunately. But the MDR was very good also, as was the buffet. I loved the ship overall and transatlantic cruise is awesome. Will do again.

Believe it or not, your kind comments sealed the deal. No more worrying. Just planning and looking forward to it. Thank you so much 

Thank you all. You just confirmed that my OCD-loaded brain is acting up.  We are fairly easy going and we do appreciate the crew effort and all. Looking forward to a great cruise. Thank you once again.

Hi all again. First time on NCL, found the perfect cruise to celebrate 30 years of marriage (15-day TA from NY on Epic). Price was and still is quite right. However, I keep reading dissatisfied customer comments (especially on customer service, quality of food etc) especially on other sites. Travelled on RCL, Princes and Celebrity ( listed from higher to lowest satisfaction). We are a couple in our early and late fifties, do not drink that much and consider ourselves as foodies. I know it is a general question, but do you really feel that NCL has gone downhill compared to the other mainstream lines (service, entertainment, and food wise)? Is Epic really that old?

P.S searched for alternative cruises but no other cruise offered the interesting ports this one does, at the price we could afford.

 

Thank you all

Hi everyone. I found a lot of posts on bids but could not figure out when the bidding starts for a cruise. We booked a TA from NY to Barcelona in April 2023 and would like to have the chance to try for an upgrade bid. 

 

Thank you all

To all those who asked what I expected: definitely not money (since all such issues were perrception-based) or future credit since my financials / distance / air travel cost do not allow me the luxury of cruising every year - hence a waste of the future credit. I do realize that all these are minor issues and I was not about to go to Customers Relations on a daily basis or call them on a daily basis. But at least I expected more than a typical "who cares" response. As I said, the issues were bypassed and we enjoyed our vacation, what made me angry is the pathetic response from Celebrity that clearly indicates to me they did not value my business - hence the vent here. No intention at all to question the fact that other cruisers have a superb time. We did not. I politely raised the issues to Celebrity. They "empathized" with me and failed even to ask what was wrong according to my perception. End of story.

Okay, yielding to popular demand::)

Usually if my wife says to me she has a complaint to make, I ask her to tell me what the complaint is. I try to avoid telling her that I empathize with her, or that I hope she does not let the negative outweigh the positive and that she will still stay with me...... Celebrity did not even bother to ask what the problems were. They simply said they "empathize with me" (what???), felt sorry about the misinformation I received (from aliens I guess, not from Celebrity itself), but they are still hopeful I will travel with them again. Here is a small sample of the overall issues that if seen separately they are all very minor, but you do not expect so many to happen in a single cruise.

1. One time room service took 1:20 mins, food was beyond inedible

2. Ordered breakfast in cabin. Time slot 9:00-9:30. Called me up at 9:45 to ask me if everything was to my liking, but breakfast was not even delivered yet.

3. Do Not Disturb Sign was not respected by the cabin attendant. Kept knocking to ask if he could tidy the room. What is the sign for?

4. My daughters like to sleep late. The cabin attendant asked about 2-3 times every day if he could wake them up to make up the room.

5. Service at Bistro on 5 was hit and miss. One time both the steak and the potato dish were hot on the outside, completely cold inside. My daughter asked then for pasta instead which came after we all finished our lunch and when she asked for grated cheese, they did not have any.

6. Pool chair policy never enforced by the pool batlers.

7. Every night I had to ask in the MDR for an extra glass with ice - I like my drinks with much ice. Usually I had to ask twice, and one time I had to ask three times and eventually tracked down the other table waitress to get the ice.

8. Purchased 4 non-alcoholic drink packages (premium) and the description said fresh juice was included. In my country fresh implies "freshly squeezed" not "freshly opened plastic bottle". When I asked aboard the ship about it, they could not care any less.

 

I do realize that these are minor issues. But when you pay extra for a cruise line that is supposed to be one of the best mainstream lines, you do expect value for your money. Thank you all for listening to me (or reading this). Apologies for the wrong "vent" however, trust me this is the first time I deal with a cruise a month after the cruise has ended.

Blah blah blah referred to the reply form Celebrity - many words, forming nice sentences of no value or meaning whatsoever. Just a well rehearsed empty gesture.

The problems with the cruise were of 2 types: (a) Mediocre service in many ship venues (can not be substantiated or proven - just a personal feeling, that is why I did not elaborate on those). I do realize that other Celebrity cruisers enjoy superb service, so I chalked it up to bad timing and do not pursue it. Many insignificant things that alone are immaterial but when added together they can ruin a perfect vacation package. (b) The major complaint which can be substantiated will be handled by Visa or BBB (Better Business Bureau) so please allow me not to elaborate further at this time.

Thanks for letting me vent my dissapointment. With all the Celebrity hype here, we did expect a far better product for the price paid.

Hi to all. Please allow me to vent my anger and dissapointment with regards to Celebrity and their response to a post-cruise complaint. Everything I write here is a summary of my personal and family's thoughts on our Bermuda cruise, so no need for flaming. First timer on Celebrity (5th cruise though), family of 4, 2 cabins (balcony and inside) no elite status or club member etc. After the cruise, it took me several attempts to contact them via the website (is it 2014 for their IT or the Middle Ages???) and/or email (I live in Europe and calls are costly even to 800 numbers). They were quite late in responding - not an issue given the load of custotmer contacts. HOWEVER, their response can only be considered as a well rehearsed canned response that not only failed to address the actual complaint but is also insulting since it is condescending and clearly shows that customer service is not a priority to them. In short it was - blah blah blah..... we do not care about your complaint ... blah blah blah, please cruise with us again. Had they addressed the issue properly then it would be the end of it. Please do keep in mind that this is the only cruise that failed my family's expectations miserably in many aspects - even my young daughter questioned my statement that this is the sister company of RCCL and is considered a better one.

 

Lesson learned from all this: Many cruise companies favor their repeat cruisers (expected and accepted). My feeling at this end of the cruise is that only Celebrity does this at the expense of service to first-time cruisers. Probability to return: zero.