cruizin4sho

31 minutes ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

 

6. I have also sailed NCL. I didn’t love the food but the vibe was nice and I appreciated the 24 hour restaurant.

 

This.  Something about the vibe of NCL is what attracts me to it.  The look, the feel, just totally different from both Royal and Carnival.  Then again I had the drink package each time so that might have had something to do with my opinion.🥴

1 hour ago, bmc alabama said:

Sorrento's?  On the Oasis?  We were on in January and it wasn't good at all.  

 

If you want good cruise ship pizza, you need to cruise a Princess ship with an Alfredo's...

Yes!  Sorrento's hands down was the best pizza I've ever had on a cruise ship and it's not even close.  I was on Carnival Panorama in December and Carnival Ecstasy a few weeks ago and the pizza was barely edible.

If the price is right, I'll definitely give Princess a try.

On 3/29/2022 at 1:50 PM, pc_load_letter said:

We are fairly cruise line agnostic but being here in San Diego, we generally take Carnival more since the prices are good and we can do the four day cruises more often.

 

Haven't been on the Oasis class ships but the amount of people and needing to make reservations for everything turns me off. I dont' want to feel rushed or pressured to make plans the fist five minutes I'm on the ship.

 

I've never been on a bad Carnival cruise but I just wished they'd implement something like O'Sheehans for late night food options. I've never been impressed with Carnivals late night food options and while pizza is good, it gets tiresome your third and forth night. I love NCL for O'Sheehans.

This.  Nothing like eating chicken wings and fries at 4 in the morning after a long night of partying.  NCL is my preferred cruise line, but I've cruised Carnival the most.  I've been on RC once, Oasis of the Seas, and the ship was amazing!  The shows were probably better than both Carnival and NCL and the pizza, OMG, was amazing!  I couldn't go a day without a slice, but the food at the buffet and MDR was just hit or miss, like Carnival and NCL. 

Bottom line, if the price is right, i'll jump on any cruiseline.

I was one of the unfortunate souls who was scheduled to cruise today.  Although i'm extremely disappointed, equally excited about the cancellation offer.

Does anyone know exactly how this works.  I had a cabin with 2 other people.  Do I have to book a cruise with those same people again or can each of us book separate cruises and each receive the full onboard credit?

On 12/27/2019 at 3:23 PM, Magicat said:

Oh, was she attractive?  Was her Captains outfit an official looking one or one of those ones you get in certain stores?  Right beside the latex nurse and cop outfits?  🤣

was she attractive???  latex nurse, cop outfits???  what kind of freaky ish you into???😂

2 hours ago, mayleeman said:

"Unbelievably I went back to sleep..."

 

Yep! That is precisely what anyone would do after having an intruder dancing in the cabin at 8 in the morning!

 

Or maybe...it was a dream?

I promise I wasn't dreaming, but I expect people to not believe me.  Hell, some of my friends and family have laughed at me, but it's cool.  I know what I saw and all the jokes in the world won't convince me otherwise. 

I did have another experience the next night that I might post later.  Not as exciting, but definitely weird.

6 hours ago, John Reid said:

 

Well, did you sign the papers or not?

Nope.  She didn't specify what type of papers.  Felt like a setup to me.

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You didn't know RCI installed Alexa like devices in the cabins to remind you (via that ghost) to review your bill?🤣

Darn you RCI!!!

12 hours ago, Lovecruisingandmusic said:

 

I was on Oasis too before my experience on Allure but no ghost sighting there! You should have got up to dance with her. 

 

You didn’t have your cabin cleaned for the rest of the cruise?! Your steward would have been fine with the door open and lights on. 

I was too mad to dance with her.  I was sleeping so good...

He cleaned my room, but was legit scared after I told him the story.lol

Ok, I just got off the Oasis of the Seas and logged on to see if anyone experienced what I did in cabin 8139.  This was my first Royal Caribbean cruise (13th overall....wow, just noticed 13 😬) and it would definitely be a memorable one.

So I was sound asleep one morning around 8 (had a late night) when I hear a soft, sweet woman's voice say, "time to get up, time to sign your papers".  I open my eye's slightly, then I hear the same voice say again, "time to get up, time to sign your papers".  I see a shadow appear to bend down as if it was looking at me, but for some reason I couldn't move.  It was like I was paralyzed.  Fearing that someone was in my room, I struggled to break free of my paralyzes, and once I did I raised up on my side, then turned to look towards the foot of my bed and there she was........a woman, dressed in a captains outfit moving her arms and shoulder's up and down as if she were dancing.  I yell out YO!  Thinking some weird woman was in my room dancing and she needed to get the hell out, but she kept dancing.  So I yell YO!!! once again but I realized mid YO that this was a FREAKING GHOST!!!  I immediately grabbed my phone to shine a light on the figure but when I did she was gone.  I then turned the lights on in the cabin not believing what I saw, completely shook.  After about 30 minutes to an hour, I unbelievably went back to sleep.  I guess I talked myself into believing she was friendly and no harm would come to me if I went back to sleep.

I told my cabin steward about it and asked if anyone else had experienced anything in this room and unfortunately, he just arrived on this ship the cruise before mine, but my story freaked him out so much that he was afraid to go in the room to clean it.lol

I'm cruising out of Miami in December and would like to know the answer to this question as well. 

Hey Charles how have you been? Long time no talk! :D The balcony was awesome! I don't think I'm a balcony snob yet where I just HAVE to have one, but I'll definitely be looking harder at them from now on. You're part of the reason I booked Escape. It was between Glory and Escape, same itinerary, same price, but I got the free beverage package as well. I remembered how much you loved that cruise so I decided to give it a try. If I hate it I'm coming after you lol. You've gotta message me and let me know how your Breeze cruise went. ;)

Oh I guarantee you will love that cruise and if you don't, well I'll fly to Vegas and personally hand you my head on a platter!:D

What's up Kim! Hope Vegas is treating you well! Did you enjoy your balcony? After 8 cruises I finally stayed in my first balcony this past September and let me tell you, it's going extremely tough going back to an inside or ocean view cabin! Absolutely loved it!

I see that you're cruising on the Escape next year, so am I! The Escape is a fantastic ship and I'm sure you're going to love it (especially if you chose the UBP).:)

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!

That is one more reason that I may cancel my NCL studio. I don't mind an interior room, but those are really small, and for the same money or close to it, if I book early enough, I can and usually do get a port hole room, on Carnival

 

I hope this thread does not disappear. Interesting to hear others ideas.

I cruised the Escape back in May and actually found the solo cabins to be bigger than I thought. Plenty of space to move around but the only down side was the space that contains the toilet. Now it's really tiny, but you're only in there for a short time so...:)

Also, if you're cruising solo it's simply hard to beat Norwegian prices especially with the perks added. Also, they have a cruise director who specifically caters to solo cruisers. We met everyday around 6 and she would help plan out the evening (optional of course). She even sent chocolate covered strawberries to the cruisers who attended the meetings. Very nice touch.

After 6 cruises with Carnival (2 solo), I decided to try a 7 day cruise on the NCL Escape back in May as a solo and thoroughly enjoyed it. The price was $1200 for a studio cabin and included 2 free offers (unlimited drinks package and $50 per port shore excursion credit) and was totally worth it! I priced a cruise on the Breeze during that same time frame and because I was sailing solo, I would have to pay double occupancy and the price ended up being roughly the same without the perks, so the choice was clear for me.

Now, I will agree with you about the current offers and am really disappointed that NCL has made those changes. I checked the solo studio cabins and fortunately for me, I can still get the beverage package, so I do plan on crusing them again.

Oh, I have to completely disagree with the OP about Dyers burgers in Memphis. Unless you enjoy eating a big pile of grease on a bun, I suggest skipping Dyers and head on over to Macs Burgers. I cruise on the Breeze this Sunday and can't wait to try Guys Burgers! I have to see for myself if it's worth the hype.

Up until the last few years, NCL has been my favorite cruiseline....however, I can honestly say that Carnival is now my favorite. Unfortunately, we have booked an 11 day Alaska/West coast cruise with NCL...and it is paid for...and we are excited for the trip...so we are going, but it will probably be the last trip we book with NCL.

 

The no carry on beverage seems like a small thing on the surface, however when combined with all the other "changes", it is the proverbial straw for us. We do have an all inclusive beverage package on this sailing, BUT....it doesn't include bottled water, nor does it include cans of soda. I like to wake up and have a cold can of soda to start my day. I don't want to have to find a bar that is open at 0600 to get my morning soda. I certainly am not going to pay $40 for bottled water. The beverage package has very little value for my husband and I as we are not drinkers. We usually have 7 or 8 drinks TOTAL over the course of a cruise. We want bottled water and cans of soda and we can't get them with the all inclusive drink package. And we can't carry them on.....

 

Goodbye NCL..........Goodluck!

Just read the article. Come on NCL!!!smh

Before we begin, I'll give you a quick summary of my overall impression of the Escape, and the service provided by NCL in general... The short version, it was AWESOME! Also, there will most likely be no pictures, as my lack of computer skills is only rivaled by my lack of writing skills... What you are about to endure is merely my experience, and will be told from the point of view of a mostly boring, not very outgoing, maybe just a bit odd, solo traveler.

 

The Escape is a beautiful ship. Easily NCL's greatest to date. Whomever has been perpetrating negative reviews of her deserves to be banned from cruising altogether. From a solo point of view, Norwegian sets the standard for the industry with the advent of the single occupancy cabins and lounge provided. And, as the group leader for this sailings' Cruise Critic Meet and Greet, they literally treated me like royalty... Bvlgari soaps and lotions from the Haven, check. A plush robe and slippers in my cabin upon arrival, check. An invitation to the Captains reception in the Haven, and access to the premier mixologists on the ship at the Haven Bar (More on that later) check. Treats in my cabin every day, often more than once a day, to the point where they started piling up, check. They truly went out of their way to do so much for me that I felt undeserving of the attention at times.

 

With the preceding introductory bits out of the way, lets get this journey started... After a mostly sleepless night, I was up at 04:45 to make my way to Miami from Atlanta. In a cab by 06:00 to the Marta station to try to catch the first train of the day. The news reports of late led me to believe there would be long lines at the worlds busiest airport. A quick 25 minute subway ride later, the accounts became reality when I exited the station staring down the longest security line I had ever bared witness to. Luckily I had an ace up my sleeve with my newly minted status of TSA Pre-Check. I presented my boarding pass to a representative, and was swiftly whisked past the throngs of plebeians to a short 5 minute wait, whereupon my shoes remained on my feet, and I was not looked upon as a potential threat to national security. I made it to the gate with a full hour and forty five minute wait for boarding, thinking to myself, that was the best $85 I've ever spent in my life for the TSA Pre-Check program.

 

After a routine, uneventful flight, I was deplaning at the Miami Airport at 10:20. An expeditious cab ride later, I found myself at the port in mere minutes. I was issued boarding group 8, and after a brief wait, I was making my way up the gang plank (or, long, glass enclosed ramp thingy. Not sure of the correct nomenclature.) It was right about noon, and I had finally made my way onto the beautiful decks of the new Norwegian Escape.

 

Rooms were not yet ready, so I made my way down to Savor; suitcase in tow, for the my first meal of this epic journey. A blackend grouper sandwich and cajun shrimp salad later, and the announcement was made that the cabins were prepared for occupancy. I went directly to cabin 12539 and visited my new home for the week in the Studio Cabin sector. Relieved of my bags, I set out for my first drink of the day at Tobacco Road. First a Grass Clippings, a specialty drink I had not yet experienced. Next, a Mango Meltdown at Spice H2O. Then several others at various bars, and I was well on my way to a foggy afternoon.

 

My muster station was in the Escape theater on deck 7, and was soon followed by more exploring (and more drinking) I knew that I wanted to attend the solo gathering at 18:00, but needed some food to absorb my indulgence of adult beverages. I showed up at Food Republic at around 17:20 to try to be the first customer and make it out in time for the solo meeting. Ordering here is accomplished via an IPAD system, by the way, they are not on a swivel as I quickly learned as the IPAD loudly crashed to the floor in the quiet restaurant. My embarrassment was concealed by my intoxication, and food soon started to arrive. Buffalo-style rock shrimp followed by brussels sprouts, and duck and pumpkin dumplings.

 

I made it out with 3 minutes to spare to make my way to Tobacco Road for the solo gathering. Now this is where things started to get a little foggy for me. I remember having a few more drinks, and we made our way back to the solo lounge. Sharon Waugh was the solo travelers' host. Introductions were made, and afterwards everyone went their separate ways. Now, I am a bit of a weird dude, and the solo gatherings have never resulted in any real or imagined companionship for me. This would be my one and only appearance at the solo meet up...

 

According to my notes, I then made my way up to the Garden Cafe, however everything else that happened on this long travel day were getting to become very blurry at this juncture. Also according to my notes, this was the point when I walked face first into a wall and decided that the UBP had gotten the better of me, and set out to locate my cabin. Thus ending day 1 on the Escape...

 

Up next: The Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. A monumental Bar Crawl followed by the Captains reception in The Haven...

 

 

 

 

Hi Sid, I was a solo on this trip and met you on the first day and the cruise critic meet & greet the next day. Thanks for organizing the event! Really enjoying your review so far. Makes me wish i was back on the cruise!

If there are any solos out there contemplating whether to take the Norwegian Escape, STOP AND JUST DO IT! Norwegian takes care of their solo cruisers! Sharon, the solo cruise director was great and took care of us solos who attended every meet & greet, which to my surprise averaged a strong 15/20 people. Great times, great ship!!!

Do you know if solo travelers who are not staying in solo studios can participate in solo activities?

 

Thanks for posting.

I was a solo on this same cruise and yes, solo travelers not staying in solo cabins can participate in solo activities. Sharon, the solo cruise director, will leave the door open to the solo cabins around 6, so entry to the lounge shouldn't be a problem.

They still do offer lower rates but it's rare and they are within about 50 days of when offered. Haven't seen one in a while.

That's true. I booked a 7 day Carnival Dream cruise out of New Orleans 2 years ago for $400! They were running some type of solo deal that I booked 4-6 weeks out. When I got on the ship I met a fellow solo passenger who booked the cruise less than a week out for $250!

Just found this thread while panicking about my first ever solo cruise, which is a present to myself for my 40's :D

 

Reading all the comments, it's funny how many of us had this idea of celebrating the big 40 in a cruise, solo! Did any of you write a review? I loved Lara Lox's birthday review and was wondering if there were more. Thanks and Happy cruising!

Add me to the list of people who is seriously considering taking a 40th birthday cruise this year. I've already been on 2 solo cruises with a 3rd scheduled in May. My 40th B-day cruise would be my 4th solo and 8th cruise overall.

I'm not a big "birthday" person. Normally it's just another day for me but I wanted to step out the box this one time and actually do something for a change. I have a friend who feels obligated to join me because we're celebrating her 40th in San Francisco next month. I told her no because she's never cruised before and the thought of being on a ship in the middle of the ocean is terrifying to her. The last thing I want is for her to be bitching and complaining the entire cruise, which may be selfish of me but oh well.lol

While I'm on the topic of land trips, I suggest that everyone travel to another country and immerse yourself in another culture at least once in your life. And by that, I don't mean flying to your favorite cruise port and saying at a resort for a week. Go some place totally new, book a family owned bed & breakfast or guest house, and have them teach you some words in their language. Skip McDonald's and eat at the little hole in the walls. Go to a few museums, order a snack from a food cart, and sit in the local square for some people watching. Participate in a festival. Have a drink with a local and learn about their way of life. I never would have been able to exprience events such as Carnaval de Barranquilla or Semana Santa (Google it) if I only did cruises. Also, because so many Americans are afraid of Colombia and because my review will reach so many thousands of people, let me say that my week in Cartagena was the best trip I have ever taken on land or sea! It's an amazing city full of friendly people and rich culture. Don't pass up a cruise with a stop there, or even better if you're looking for an interesting place for a land trip, consider Cartagena. I'd love to see Carnival add Cartagena as a regular stop on the southern Caribbean Aruba/Curacao route in the future.

What up GA Pearl! I love reading your reviews and had to reply to this particular section. I've always thought land vacations to another country would be sort of boring when compared to cruising, but reading this section may have changed my mind. Is there a site where you post reviews of your land vacations? Would love to read them.

So Nachi Cocum serves shots and Mr Sancho doesn't?

Mr. Sanchos didn't when I was there back in 2012.

I was on the Dream in August and my room (1374) was fine. It wasn't extremely cold, but very comfortable for me.

I sailed the Dream in August and booked a solo rate, 7-day cruise for $409. Thought that was a fantastic rate until I talked to another solo cruiser who booked his cruise the day before for $249! :eek:

I agree, the rum punches at Nachi Cocum were pretty potent.

Well, looks like I have to try Nachi Cocum on my next trip to Cozumel!