Oakman58

On a cruise with so many sea days, having a great cruise director that plans many daily activities to engage the passengers is a must. Great cruise directors don't seem to exist anymore.

My favorite piece of artwork was in the brewhouse. Real books were used as the canvas.

I would choose HAL over Princess because the standard balcony cabin on Princess only has one chair in the cabin to sit on, no loveseat. When we ordered room service breakfast I had to drag a chair from the balcony into the room.

I appreciate a report of both negative and positive. I didn't think you were complaining at all.

Late in 2019 I noticed that the registered trademark "Freestyle Cruising" had been painted over to match the color of the Epic and that freestyle was a now a thing of the past. I had to enhance my photo so you can actually see the painted over trademark.

This has all the earmarks for a giant cluster...

I've enjoyed all the cruise lines I've been on with the exception of Princess. On Princess the music was boring, the theater entertainment was just OK, and our standard balcony cabin only had one chair to sit on in the cabin. When we ordered room service breakfast I had to drag a chair in from the balcony. Princess was a one and done for us.

In the buffet yes, but as staceyglow posted, you can order bacon everyday if you have breakfast in the main dining room.

Considering how good the hourly wage the porters make, asking for a tip is pathetic. I had a porter basically tell me to tip him in New Orleans many years ago, part of my response was "don't be a beggar."

Wife and I did a 16 day roundtrip Hawaiian cruise this past January out of San Diego on the Diamond Princess. If you book a standard balcony cabin with Princess be sure to check the room configuration to see if there is seating for two people in the cabin. I was surprised to discover that our cabin did not have a love seat for two people, all it had was a chair at the desk. When we ordered room service breakfast I would drag in a chair from the balcony. That cruise was also the most boring I've ever been on. The majority of the music was ballroom dance or easy listening lounge music. Motown, The Beatles, and Rock and Roll didn't exist on this cruise and that included the music on the Lido deck. Princess is a one and done for us.

Just a guess on my part, since gambling is illegal in Hawaii I would think the craps table will be installed in Seattle. I'm really enjoying all the photos you've been posting.

Since you're 6'7" are there any cruise ship beds you fit in? Actually you fit better than I thought you would on the Epic.

Jeez, all I heard on my 16 day cruise with Princess was ballroom and easy listening dance music. I thought I was going to die.

I knew there were feral chickens on the islands in Hawaii, but I wasn't prepared for how beautifully colored they were.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the medical clinic, and I'm so glad your mom is still around for you to enjoy. We always buy trip insurance and now my wife and I have 3 cruises and 1 land trip in the upcoming year, so we purchased annual travel insurance for the first time. I was surprised how affordable it was considering we are both in our 70's.

A great offer but unfortunately it doesn't apply to 2025 cruises. Oh well.

You can pull the bed out from under the headboard so that you have a few more inches in length. Even so I'm sure your feet will overhang.

Cabin 12238 will have the bed by the balcony according to the deck plans.

I would take the cruise and if you experience less than satisfactory service, never cruise with that line again. When I began cruising with NCL 10 years ago I put them at the top of the list for being a great cruise line. Since Covid, I now put them at the bottom of the list.

Thank you for the trip report and pictures, I enjoyed reading it. I'm not one to reward bad service so if I had your experience I wouldn't spend money with NCL again. This past January I was on Princess for the first time and experienced a less than satisfactory cruise, I won't cruise with them again.

Obviously NCL has put getting back to profitability a much higher priority than providing excellent passenger experience. Even so, brand loyalty will keep most coming back for more bad service.

LOL, somebody didn't update their computer/clock to 2023.

The in cabin coffee maker was one of the things that kept me coming back to NCL. Unfortunately NCL made enough cost cutting changes the coffee maker alone wasn't enough to keep me coming back. At this point it doesn't matter which cruise line I choose, with the exception of Princess. Princess was a one and done for me.

Most hotels and on the NCL K-cups are not used. Instead it's an all-in-one filter and coffee pod and unless you have a similar single cup coffee maker at home the pods would be pretty much useless. I'm a very early riser and I don't want to wake my wife with room service or going in and out of the cabin door to get coffee from the buffet. I think this is all a moot point since I doubt Carnival will ever put coffee makers in the cabins.

I didn't say it was allowed, just that I bring it. I don't think anyone recognizes what it is in my luggage. If it gets confiscated and never returned then I'm only out $35. No big deal. I used it on my last two cruises one with Carnival and one with Princess. BTW, prior to Covid, NCL had a coffee maker in every cabin category of balcony and above. Post Covid you ask your cabin steward for one and you get it.