DREAMGIRL2012

183 sleeps

We got drinks and found a comfy seat iin the Waterfront area and got some great pictures.

Hey! Thanks for the info. We are headed out in May, my first time on NCL and in Europe. We are also staying a day before and a day after in Barcelona. Any logistical tips? Did you use the metro much? How is it getting from the airport to the city, same with from the hotel to the port? Im a veteran cruiser but a Euro noob and being in a foreign country with a language gap (I speak a little Spanish) make me a bit anxious. Thanks again!

We sailed on the Epic in September and stayed in Barcelona 2 days pre-cruise. Almost everyone spoke English and we didn't have any issues. Loved Barcelona. Book things in a Barcelona in advance to assure a good vacation. Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell are great but need to be booked in advance or wait in long lines. We used the bus, metro and taxis and found them very easy.

They sell roses at the checkin desk at O'Sheehans. I got engaged in Sept and my fiancé bought them and put rose petals on the bed and the steward made two swan towels that formed a heart.

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to entertain us.

Priceline Express Deal

5* Downtown Miami

June 18, 2016

Epic, A Kimpton Hotel

211.00 including all taxes and fees

You can purchase on the NCL site . I paid 129.00 for Epic 7 day from Barcelona.

You absolutely do NOT have to link the reservations in order to book specialty restaurants for people in other cabins. It's explained above.

We booked our own specialty restaurants online and then I called to have them linked. If I had booked for all six on my own I would have to pay for everyone.

If you are booking a specialty restaurant you can call and link your reservation. We have three cabins with a total of six people and I called NCL and linked the dining reservations. You will need the reservation numbers of all of the parties that want to be linked.

23 more sleeps!

39 more sleeps!

I love that story.

I am enjoying your review. We are sailing on the Epic in September. We are spending two days pre cruise in Barcelona. Our apartment is near Sagrada Familla. What was your favorite thing about Barcelona?

You were on the 3/15 sailing? I got there right before 11 and was checked in and seated with my room key in the holding area by 1130. How could your check in be longer?

 

Disembarking was bad. It took about 50 minutes from when my color gray was called (late since it was scheduled for 930 am) until we sat inside a cab to go home at about 11 am. When I hit customs, there was 3 agents for each line (2 lines) so 6 in total.

Yes , we were on that sailing. The line to check the bags was on the street. Did you check your bags outside near the elevator?

Just off the Breakaway last Sunday and getting off and on ship was terrible. Get there by 10:30 or be prepared for long lines. The port can't handle 4000 passengers very well. It was 1 hour and 40 minutes in line to check in luggage. We did Easy Walk Off when we got off the ship. There wasn't anything easy about it. It took 90 minutes. They had 4 customs agents and the lines went outside to the walkway on the ship. Boat was great but they need a better system at the port.

I just spoke with my friend who is on the Getaway. She was in the spa and saw the ship hit the sail boat. Sails were down and had no power. She said she was hoping they would be heading out soon. A dive team was checking for damage.

If only it was the driving us mail carriers had to deal with ;)

When the drive ended we had better perks. The drink of the day and the spa.

I thought I was reading it "live" also but didn't notice 2014 since the dates were so close!

 

I read the entire thread and felt like I was on the cruise version of AMAZING RACE (lol).

 

I love cruising in the winter but hate the uncertainty of bad weather and getting to the ship.

 

Glad it went well...!

The Amazing Race part made me laugh. Always good to laugh after getting another foot of snow. Thank you!

I was reading through your thread just now and thought it was "live". :p This winter isn't much better than last winter... (We live in Maine). Glad you made it on your trip last year. Happy cruising!

It seems like this year is a repeat of last year. Reminds me of Groundhog Day.

I would pick option 2. We did that route last year and loved it.

It's been a year and I still think the drive was worth it. I said I would never book another winter cruise but I did. Leaving out of Manhattan so we can drive a much shorter distance this time.

27 days

Wowhoo, should we really start doing the happy dance now - ice, sleet & snow and can't wait to sail with 41 days to go on the BA (again - 3/22/2015 out of NYC - Florida/GSC/Bahamas) - boring ITN but great ship (our 2nd. time on her) and I think we scored an excellent upgrade, all things & everything else taken into consideration >>>>>>>> to a Balcony, Deck 10 FWD instead - wow :D :)

 

Details: booked OC online ourselves during last month's big promo, on courtesy hold/used our cruise reward (FCC) as deposit but unable to select our cabin # (Deck 5) and confirmed to be a GTY with $200 OBC selected. Rates went up for OV as inventory shrinked - completed payment & confirmed. Finished our online check-in with the pax info last Friday, started booking our dining & shows, etc. - last check this morning, OC/GTY still listed, not expecting anything until we get closer. Okay, perhaps we could get a midship OV on deck 5, right ? Long odds in getting one of the few "OA" Fwd on deck 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13, so we wait like last time.

 

Checked again just before noon, GTY is gone, still showed "OC" category and now 1071x listed. OK, did we get one of the few forward OV cabins all the way in front of the ship.

 

Oh, OMG - a balcony, BD category on deck 10 FWD, a long walk to AFT to the Manhattan Dining Room but heck, we will cheerfully take it. It has bedding for up to 3 with the sofa, Queen bed closer to the balcony with the sofa near the entry/bath. Yay, it's only the 2 of us this time. Plenty of space to stretch out, relax & enjoy the sunset & sunrise, enjoy room service for breakfast & mid-afternoon snack, etc. as the ship is the "destination" as we've done this itinerary several times already - might not even bothered going onshore to do much, if any, at all. Being all the forward, it could be rocking & rolling a bit if sea conditions are rough but our sea legs are well conditioned from previous storm sailings on smaller ships, so we will be fine, I think. :p

 

eDocs not ready to print yet, so things could still change - keeping it quiet for now & not telling Mrs. M until eDocs ready showed up for the sailing. This is so rare and unusual, I simply cannot believed it - so, NCL, this better not be a mistake as I took a screenshot of this "interim" assignment just in case. ;)

That's awesome. We booked OA on the Breakaway sailing 3/15/15 and are still waiting for our cabin assignment.

I have one booked for March. I did the guaranty for that category and am still waiting for a cabin assignment. I will let you know when I return.

We too are flying US Airways for our January cruise, thank god I add a two day cushion both there and home! They are are terrible about canceling flights! My daughter flew with them in October from Flint, MI to Nashville, she had a plane change in Chicago, out of the four legs there and back, they canceled one flight and changed two other! Really creates a nightmare when you are trying to get somewhere! Travel safely and enjoy your cruise!

I am sure the extra days will make a difference. I hope it goes smoothly. Have a great time!