NYMama

I am booked at steakhouse on night one. I am paying adult price for me and my oldest son. However, he is not of legal drinking age. Will I still get free bottle of wine as it states 1 bottle per 2 guests. Do the 2 guests both have to be of legal drinking age?

I may have to try the hubapp for pizza ordering. My one son lives off of pizza on cruises and it will be much better than waiting in line.

Yes. There were often times that none of the entree options appealed to me, so I had multiple appetizers instead. They were more than happy to oblige any requests within reason. There are certain dishes where they may be unable to omit ingredients, but I would think that is the same with most mass dining options.

I am glad that you enjoyed your vacation. I booked Venezia, because the layout and aesthetics of the ship are appealing to me, and I really liked the ports of call.

Cagney's La Cucina Moderno Taste/Savor O'Sheehans Disclaimer: Those are the ranking of the places that I ate. I did not dine at Shanghai, Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki. I only ate at the buffet when that was the only option and it was not good.

Thank you for your report. I have adjusted the expectations of my Venezia cruise. I am very lucky that my kids prefer to hang out with me instead of being on their own and we retire to the cabin prior to midnight. I hope that will keep us away from any potential unsafe situations. We were on a completely full (beyond double occupancy) cruise in February and still had an amazing time. I fully expect lines and waits for food, drinks, events. I also know that we will most likely have to find seating away from the pool areas, which is our preference anyway. My only concern about the cruise at this point is the safety of me and my children.

I had previously booked and cancelled a 2024 Easter break cruise on the Getaway. I just went to rebook today and it is not available.

I am going to sneak into this live thread as well. Currently up sipping some alka seltzer hangover. Apparently 5 glasses of Veuve Cliquot is at least one too many. Day 1 was pretty great. Check in and security were a breeze at a little after 10am. Boarding was ok. The kids and I were patiently waiting for our number to be called, while the poor staff member calling boarding numbers continuously had to tell people to stop crowding the boarding area, as it was delaying things. We boarded sometime between 12:30 & 1. As soon as we got on board, we headed to Headliners so I could switch a dinner reservation. Easy switch. Still plenty of reservations available from what I could overhear. Then we high tailed it to lunch at Taste, as I was definitely hangry. I really should have had breakfast or a snack. We were seated immediately. It was very busy, but service was quick. Two bottles of Aqua Pana for the table. I had the crustless vegetable quiche (temperature was fine, but texture was not to my liking). I also had the hush puppies, which were ok as well. My oldest had a Philly cheesesteak and my youngest had chicken tenders. Both were happy with their food. After lunch, rooms were ready. We have a port side balcony almost mid ship on deck 8. No complaints. I got into the app and booked Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet. No issues with getting reservations. Got called to the muster drill. Our station was Getaway Theater. It went smoothly for as crowded as it was. They started sailing away just as the drill was ending. The boys and I rushed up the stairs to get our coats and headed to Deck 16. It was windy, but worth it. I love sailing away in Manhattan. After we passed the Statue of Liberty, we all agreed that we would head down to dinner. We can wait to experience going under the Verrazano Bridge on our summer cruise. I had a 5:30 reservation at Taste. Asked hostess if there was a separate line for reservations (there was not). The line moved quickly. Got seated at Table 1, which was a nice window seat in the corner. Servers were excellent. More Aqua Pana and two glasses of Veuve. I had the fish cake and the vegetable burrito. Both were served at an appropriate temperature and tasted good. My sons enjoyed their food as well. Only minor issue was that they had no ketchup for me son. He survived. Dessert was meh. My son hated his jello. My oldest had the chocolate lava cake. He said it was good. I had a lemon scented caramel crème. I am not a huge dessert person, and I didn’t really enjoy the texture or flavor. The ship is definitely busy. The kids club looks like a zoo. Constant lines. My kids are not interested in participating anyway, so no issues there. My youngest has the unlimited arcade pass and has enjoyed playing in the arcade and at O’Sheehans. Crew everywhere has been polite. Some of the bartenders seemed overwhelmed which I completely understand. I am making the most of the Premium Plus beverage package. Day 1: 4 bottles of Aqua Pana, 2 Flow waters, 5 glasses of Veuve and a Starbucks drink. Hopefully I can go back to sleep now and wake up to another great day.

I cruised with my oldest son when he was two. Spent a lot of time on the balcony relaxing. My favorite memory was whenever we would head out to eat, my son would run down the hall saying “I’m coming food!”

I am part of the group for the other site. There are a bunch of people supposedly attending the informal meet and greet on day 2. I started the roll call here on CC, but have been way too busy with work and kids to organize anything myself.

I am on this sailing as well. Traveling with my boys for their February break. I have heard it is at capacity ~4800. Probably at least 1000 of the passengers being kids. The weather is shaping up to be pleasant, so at least both indoor and outdoor spaces can be utilized most days.

@sid_9169 which Premium Plus tequila did you get in your margaritas? Did they use Grand Marnier or Cointreau as well?

I am 298! I have been following along the whole time and really enjoying the content. I finally logged in to access the follow button.

I think it has not rolled out to all ships yet on the app and website. The majority of people on the FB post reported that they were within time windows and unable to reserve.

February 18th 8 night Getaway cruise out of NYC. First itinerary change was to drop Norfolk, VA and Bermuda with an addition of Miami. Then they dropped Miami, added an overnight in PC, and added Bermuda back. Now they shortened port times in PC and Bermuda. I will have fun no matter what, but so many itinerary shifts before we are even on the ship, is interesting.

They just modified the itinerary for my cruise a third time and we are still 30 days out. If we do end up with unfavorable weather, I fully expect the cruise to be a cruise to Port Canaveral with multiple days at sea in international waters.

There have been two itinerary changes on my upcoming February cruise, with no explanation as to why the changes were made. One itinerary change was made almost immediately after final payment. And another change was made a week after that. I actually expect a change to the itinerary again once we are onboard, based on how many changes NCL has been making recently.

I prefer to make final payment a few days in advance of due date, unless there is a credit card deal. I was able to utilize two AMEX deals prior to final payment on my upcoming cruise and ended up saving $600.

It currently has a Cucina del Capitano as the Italian option on Venezia, but I thought they were introducing a new Italian restaurant on Venezia. Do you think reservations made at Capitano now would transfer to the new restaurant? I am thinking no, as I bet the price for the new restaurant will be more than they charge for Cucina.

February 18th to the 26th. It is NY school break week.

They definitely follow some occupancy limits. I am cruising the Getaway on February break. Someone tried to book a cabin for 3 individuals and the NCL website showed all room categories as unavailable. I am prepared for a very full cruise. Sorry that you were so unhappy with your cruise. I preemptively made dinner reservations for every night and plan to book shows as soon as I embark. I booked a cruise out of NY on a school break week, so I have set my expectations accordingly.

I would hope NCL is actively trying to recruit another band for Syd Norman’s. From what I have read, the contract for the band that was playing in Syd Norman’s ended.

I am interested in trying the Venezia, plus I really want to go to San Juan, Grand Turk and St. Thomas. So often, NY cruises are Florida, Bermuda, Bahamas when my boys are out of school (12 & 9). Looking forward to a pre school year cruise.

I am on the February sailing as well. While I think it was very calculated on NCLs part to change the itineraries for both the February and March cruises after final payments were due, I plan to make the best of it. My kids were not phased at all by the itinerary change. They enjoy Florida and none of us have ever visited Miami. I booked resort day passes for both Port Canaveral and Miami. Even if the beach is cold, we can enjoy the ambiance and heated pools.

I made final payment and did receive the second credit a few days after payment.