pegbert

I'm thinking about buying a reusable water bottle with a filter and just filtering the ships water. Any opinions on that?

It sure does work. We actually purchase a Brita water jug with filter once we arrive at our pre-cruise destination (so that we don't have to take it on the airplane) for less that $20. Just fill it from your cabin's bathroom faucet, and you'll have as much filtered water as you want all week. :)

Peg

Enjoyed your review Peg, thank you. We have sailed all lines, more on NCL then others. We are trying Princess Royal for 20 days in January, want to see those small islands the other lines usually do not stop at. Hoping we will enjoy our first Princess cruise, and not too boring, although we only have 3 sea days and almost daily island stops. Will be interesting to compare the lines:cool:

Princess is a great line, and we will certainly sail with her again. I do love the Princess sun decks and promenade.... can always find somewhere nice and quiet to sit and relax, without the "sexy legs" contests and such. We did a southern Caribbean two years ago on Princess, and had a GREAT time.... we had the one of the best CDs at sea, and he really made a difference. So you just never know. It was time to do something different, and we are glad we took the leap of faith. We, too, want to see some of the smaller islands, or at least ports other than the ones where the mega ships go; so we'll look at other cruise lines, and go with an open mind.

Have a great time on Princess!

Pegbert, Thanks for the review. Quick question for you. What cabin number were you in? We are booked 3 in a row in those minisuites and curious about the placement of the hot tubs above. Thanks!

We were in 8124, port side. There was only one day when the hot tub issue was a problem... the seas were rough, and we were headed into a storm. However, I could imagine the same issue if there were kids (or big kids!) goofing around in the hot tub and splashing water over the sides for "fun".

It was the most peculiar thing.... I was laying on my lounger and kept feeling these big drops of water all over me and the balcony. It wasn't sea spray coming up, it wasn't rain because there were no clouds over head... what the ????? Then when I looked up I could actually see the water coming over the side of the hot tub. Ding ding ding, there's yer answer!

Hope that helps,

Peg

Since others are much more talented at giving detailed reviews with pictures, I won't even attempt it. But as Princess cruisers (Platinum) looking for something different, I thought I'd share a few thoughts and observations from our recent Thanksgiving cruise on the Escape.

We are a professional couple in our 50's, no kids, not into late night partying or in need of constant entertainment. Our jobs are very demanding, so when we go on vacation we are happy to just unwind and do absolutely nothing, if that is what we choose!

We wanted to try something different because, quite frankly, our last Princess cruise as just plain boring. And the reason we picked the Escape was because DH is a parrothead and wanted to experience Maragritaville at Sea (more on that later).

We had a mini-suite with large balcony, all the way forward on the port side. It was a little smaller (narrower) than Princess mini's, but the décor was nicer and the bathroom bigger (minus the tub). The bed was comfortable, the pillows not so much. Liked the USB ports on either side of the bed, and the in-room coffee maker was a nice touch. The TV is on the wall between the bed and sofa, and the mount does NOT pull out and swivel, which doesn't make a lick of sense. You could only tip it by a couple of inches one way or the other, so if you were on the far side of the bed or sofa, it was really hard to see. Storage was fine, although with the bed next to the closet it was a little challenging to access the closet with only about 1' between the bed and closet.

A word about the balcony: it was HUGE, with two chairs & a table, as well as two loungers and a side table. We paid extra because we figured we'd use it rather than going up to the pool deck. Well, we learned two things: 1) the sun is not always on your side of the ship, and even when it is, the dividers are tall and cast big shadows; and 2) there is a hot tub cantilevered over the side of the ship up on deck 16 (or 17), which splashes water down onto the open balconies below.... not much fun when you are trying to read or nap on your lounger and keep getting pelted with big splashes of water! That being said, we did like the extra space, but not sure that we'd pay extra for the privilege again, since we were not able to use it in the fashion that we had hoped.

One last thing about the location of the forward cabins: there are three heavy fire/water doors that you have to open manually to access the cabin hallway.... something you don't think about until you have a drink and/or snack in each hand, and have to put one of them on the floor just to open the doors! Might also be an issue for passengers with physical challenges. On the flip side, it did make for a quiet hallway.

We ate almost exclusively at the buffet - again, we have to dress up and meet deadlines and timelines all year long, and loved that we could just mosey up to the buffet in our sweats, pick whatever we fancied, and be in and out in 45 minutes or less. The layout and size of the buffet beat Princess by a mile! The food is displayed cafeteria-style, with lots of selections and multiple stations of each offering, including beverage dispensers. We never had to wait for or hunt for a table - something unheard of on Princess. I think that Princess tries to display their buffet food as "fancy", when it really isn't anything special once you get it in your mouth. NCL isn't trying to be pretentious with their buffet... it is good quality, fresh, nothing fancy fare.... we always found something good to eat for all meals. Believe me, if the quality had been lacking, we would have gone to the dining room. But it was just fine for us. We did eat at O'Sheehan's on the prime rib night (only to find out later that you could get the same thing fresh from the carving station at the buffet!)

We saw Million Dollar Quarter - excellent! The only negative is another design flaw: you could hear the music from the diner show one deck down, which sometimes drowned out the dialogue in the theater. I was thinking "Did they not sound-proof at all??" Nevertheless, the show is well worth it! We also saw Howl at the Moon.... loved it so much the first time, we stopped by a second time! Boy, are those guys (and gal) talented!!

We are big football fans, and always enjoyed watching games on MUTS, so were wondering how they would do football on NCL. The place for football is The District Brew House. They have a bunch of small tv screens, as well as a "larger" one that they pull down for games (same as what classrooms have for overhead slides, etc). Fans in jerseys arrive early to get a good seat in front of one of the screens. It is as close to a sports bar as you're going to get.... they could double the size of the venue and easily pack it with fans. The good news is that when the game is on at The District, it is also on your cabin TV. Thanksgiving Day, they also showed the games on the big screen in the atrium. The District was also one of our favorite places to hang out on rainy days.... quiet and laid back, with comfy leather furniture and swivel easy chairs.

In St. Thomas, we like to take the skyride up to Paradise Point, so we did! Amazing views, nice little restaurant up top for lunch and a cold beverage.

In Tortola (a new stop for us), we book the "Escape to Jost Van Dyke" trip through NCL. DH says it is the best thing he has ever done on a cruise, and I agree. Very well organized, and the nicest thing is that it was not one of those "party cruises" where everyone is loud and sloshing their beverages. We sat up top with the captain, who answered questions about the island... very interesting and informative. White Bay is gorgeous; we had breakfast at Soggy's, bought some t-shirt and hats, and just hung out on the beautiful beach. The only negative is that the trip was too short!! We could have stayed on that beach until the sun went down, and then some. Alas, all aboard was 2:30pm, so we only got three hours on Jost. We highly recommend this excursion.

We had an early flight out of MIA, so did the self walk-off. We went down to line up at 7am, and the line was already through O'Sheehan's, down the hallway and into the casino. By the time the gangway was open at 7:45, the line was triple what it was when we got there.... and this was only for the forward gangway. So my advice is to get in line by 7am if you want to be one of the first off. The rest of the process was a breeze, and we were at MIA by 8:30.

Finally, a word about the Margaritaville thing. I can't comment about the restaurant, other than it never seemed to be open when we walked by. As for the bar... it seems that they were using it during the day for various sales pitches (beauty products, spa services, etc), and at night for karaoke. This is what disappointed us the most: where was the "island state of mind" that Jimmy Buffett is known for? Based on the NCL advertising, we expected to be kicking back with a margarita, listening to Buffett music or watching his concerts on big screens. The Margaritaville atmosphere was non-existent... nada, ziltch, nothing. The closest I saw was a bartender and two passengers trying to sing a Buffett song at the outside bar. We love to tailgate at Buffett concerts, and always spend the day at Margaritaville in Grand Turk....not so much for the food and drink as for the atmosphere. On the Escape, the only "atmosphere" was some Margaritaville décor and logos painted on tables. This was the biggest disappointment of the trip. Now we know, don't go on NCL for a "Margaritaville at Sea" atmosphere, because it's just not there. Too bad.... could have been a really cool experience.

Overall, we give this trip a big thumbs up. Would we cruise NCL again? Sure! The biggest lesson we learned is that it pays to go out of your comfort zone and try something new.... you never know, you might like it! We now plan on trying some of the other cruise lines too.

Peg.

An alternative to lugging cases of water is to buy a Brita water pitcher with filter. We just did this on the Escape (and have done on previous cruises), and had all the filtered water we wanted for the week. We took our own water bottles to refill and keep in the cabin fridge, and voila... no lugging!

FYI, I did try a sip of water from the bathroom faucet, just as a test since some people say it tastes fine.... yuk. But the same "bathroom water" through the Brita... perfect!

Peg

I posted this to the NCL board, but it was suggested that I might get better answers if I post here....

We have always sailed Princess out of Port Everglades. This November we will be sailing with NCL for the first time, and understand that within 60 days of sailing they will assign us a specific boarding time. We will be staying at the Pier 66 in FLL the night before, and taking a non-NCL shuttle directly from the hotel to the POM. The shuttle company is asking us for a specific hotel pick-up time.

Since we are still 5 months out, obviously we do not know our assigned boarding time yet. The ship sails at 4pm, and the NCL site states that we should be on board 2 hours prior to sailing. The shuttle company says to allow 1 hour total travel time from hotel to POM. That being said, what would be a good time to have the shuttle pick us up at our FLL hotel? We are in no rush to get on the ship, but on the other hand we want to allow enough time without ending up standing in the parking lot for 3 or 4 hours until they call our boarding number. We are leaning towards a noon pick-up for 1pm arrival, but some seem to suggest arriving at the port much earlier. How strict is NCL with the boarding assignments? If we are 3 hours early, is there somewhere comfortable to wait, or will we end up in a holding line out in the heat?

I know there is no perfect science to this, but hoping that others can chime in with their experience with a same-day transfer from the Fort Lauderdale area to POM.

Thanks in advance,

Peg

Thank you for the advice.... I did look on the Florida Departure board, and will post there as well. We've only sailed with Princess out of FLL thus far, and even with their "suggested" arrival times, it really didn't seem to matter when one arrived - we would just get in the Platinum line and go through the process. Since NCL will specify a time, I wasn't sure if we arrived at, say, 11am, would they turn us away if our docs said 2pm, leaving us with no where to go for three hours?

Thanks again!

Peg

November will be our first cruise with NCL, as well as the first time sailing out of Miami. We'll be staying at Pier 66 in FLL the night before, and taking a non-NCL shuttle from our hotel to POM on Saturday morning. We'd like to book the shuttle now, and they are asking us for a pick-up time. I know that NCL will provide an embarkation time with our final travel docs, but since we're still 5 months out, we don't have that info yet.

If the ship sails at 4pm, then we need to be on board by 2pm....the shuttle CS says that a 1pm pick up time will get us to POM by 2pm. But I'm wondering if we should make it earlier, to allow for traffic incidents. Then again, we don't want to get there too early and have to stand around for hours before our number is called. We've never been to the POM..... are there any comfortable waiting areas if we arrive too early, or is it the same deal as Port Everglades where the only option is to stand in line out in the heat?

I'm leaning towards a noon pick-up, arriving at POM by 1pm. Does that sound like a good compromise? We're not concerned about rushing onto the ship for lunch when food is always available!

Thoughts from anyone who has done the Ft Lauderdale - POM transfer?

Thank you in advance.

Peg

Thank you so much for the pictures - the cabin and deck look great! The balconies above us don't bother us at all..... I know that there are some who cringe at the idea of "people being able to see us" (ie: uncovered balconies), but if we were up on the pool deck, people would see us. Heck, if you go anywhere out in public, people can "see you"! We really enjoyed the open feel of the large Dolphin deck balconies on Princess..... look up and see the stars, look down and see the ocean - awesome!

Peg

Thank you for your review. We will be in 8124 on the Escape this fall; I know that they are different ships, but I think similar enough that we would love to see some pictures of the cabin, especially the balcony. We've sailed on Princess in mini-suites with the extended balcony and just loved it. Now, with two loungers, I think we are in for a real treat! Unlike those who only use the cabin to "shower and sleep", we love to enjoy our home away from home....including - gasp! - eating on the balcony :eek: !!

Thanks,

Peg

Well that was easy..... Bad news and good news.... no fried rice for DH, but no shellfish issues to worry about either!

Thank you for the replies.

Morning all,

We have only sailed Princess in the past, but are going to try the Escape this fall just to shake things up a bit.

Thank you to the recent passenger who posted the menu from the Noodle Bar; I see that they offer three versions of fried rice: vegetable, shrimp, and combo. DH could eat fried rice every day, but he is allergic to shellfish. Can one request a "shrimp-free" combo version, or have chicken or pork added to the vegetarian version? Or are the dishes premade and therefore limited to what is shown on the menu?

Wondering if there are any other anaphylactics out there that had success with tweaking the fried rice options.

Thanks!

Peg

Why not ask for an egg crate for the ahead of time? We ask for one on all our Princess cruises.

 

The Princess toppers aren't really egg crate foam toppers.... they are more like a mattress pad. You know the old saying, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Or, in this case, if you want to be sure that you have a comfortable foam topper, just take one yourself!

We always buy a queen size 3" egg crate topper from Walmart to take with us, and leave it for the next passengers (or crew). It comes compressed for easy travel, and we just spring it open when we first get to our cabin. By bedtime it is fully expanded. It costs $34.99, which comes out to $2.50 per person per night for a couple on a 7 day cruise. After spending thousands on our once-a-year vacation, $35 is a small price to pay for the peace of mind knowing that we will sleep comfortably!

I have all of them from the Nov 8th Eastern Caribbean sailing. I forgot to bring them to work with me today to scan, but if you can wait until Monday I will try to remember to bring them!

Peg

If you don't want to risk it, just take your own. Walmart has queen size 3" egg crate toppers for $35. We always take one with us, still rolled up from the factory, as a checked "bag", unroll it when we get to our cabin so that it is ready for the first good night's sleep. We leave it with our steward when we disembark. Considering the cost of a cruise, an extra $5 per night (for two) is a very small price to pay for comfort.... no worrying about whether or not you'll be lucky enough to get a Princess topper!

Peg

I picked up a box of non-dairy creamers near the port, and it worked fine for my morning coffees. Since I normally use lactose-free milk instead of creamer at home, we'll try to find a supermarket near the port this year, and I'll keep the carton in my stateroom fridge. If not, the non-dairy creamers are OK for a week!

I truly do feel for you. One of the reps I spoke with put me on hold for quite some time, and returned to say that she had spoken directly with the engineering department, and ABSOLUTELY the beds were in the ceiling in our particular cabin (I think it was R327) and that I had nothing to worry about. As you can see from the pictures, she was ABSOLUTELY wrong! I have heard that the "in the ceiling" bunks are typically in outside cabins, while the "on the wall" variety are in insides.

I would suspect that all of the inside quads on the Plaza deck would have the same type of bunk set up, so maybe pictures of any of the inside quads on the Ruby P deck would help?

Either way, I would not go by what the Princess reps tell you. Hopefully someone who has been in your cabin will speak up!!

Peg

I am really disappointed the Princess reservation agent didn't tell me about this cabin having this configuration when they knew we were only booking for two people and don't need the beds.

This is also what happened with us.... we also booked directly through Princess, and not only did the agent not mention the bunks on the wall, but he actually suggested this cabin for us (out of 4 or 5 other possible cabins)! When I tried to change the cabin, Princess "assured" me that the bunks were in the ceiling, not on the wall. Then another one told me that they WERE on the wall, but did not jut out into the room. By that time, the cruise was fully booked and they were unable to find us another cabin. So until we boarded and opened the door, we didn't know what we would find. We were disappointed, but made the best of it, and considered it a lesson learned for the future!

The deck plans used to have a little red dot on the cabins that can accommodate a 3rd and/or 4th passenger, and for most interior cabins that will mean bunks on the wall. Now it looks like you have to choose the number of passengers you want in a cabin.... if you pick "2", it will show you ALL cabins on that deck, so you'd have to pick "4" to weed out the ones with (potential) bunks.

I hope they can find you another cabin, but if not, it's still manageable!

Peg.

If they fold up against the walls, they take up alot of room and you have to be a contortionist to get around them and into the queen bed. :eek:

Amen to that. To avoid the "bruised shoulder syndrome", we would climb in/out from the end.

I have read that it is not so much of an issue when the bed configuration is left as twins. But with a queen bed, it was not good.

Peg

We were in an interior 3/4 person cabin (Riviera deck) on the Ruby two years ago. There were just the two of us, with the bed in a queen configuration. Pictures attached. Hope that helps.... let me know if you have any other questions!

However, on the Coral in April 2012 and the Diamond in May 2013, we were several times told "I need to see two cards to give you two brewed coffees".

I always asked for two of the large "to go" coffees.... both for myself. They only fill the paper cup 2/3 full, so I get two partial cups and head up to the pool deck or back to my cabin balcony to enjoy my morning coffee at my leisure. I'm not going to get one cup, stand there and chug it back, then ask for another.... that's just dumb. We are adults here! No one asked to see two cards, or if the coffees were for one or two people.

At $1.75 per cup (plus .25 tip), two (partial) cups would be $4 per day, or $32 over 8 days if you pay as you go. With the card, I get my big ol' mug of good coffee, and DH can have a few specialties when he feels like it (yes, the Princess barista said this was perfectly fine.)

If you are a "one tea-cup sized-coffee per day" drinker, then it would be cheaper to just pay as you go. You just have to figure out what works best for you.

Peg

You could also purchase a Brita water jug with filter for about $12. It fits perfectly in the mini-fridge, and you can have as much chilled, filtered water as you like (I know, it's not fancy "spring water", but it's better than tap water!)

Peg

I know, it is hard to believe someone is asking a *new* coffee question, but I think I am.

 

I'm not suppose to be using milk/dairy products any more :( Does anybody know if I can get nondairy creamer easily in the dining room? How about if I want it used for iced coffee at the coffee bar? Do they have it there?

 

Thanks for helping me.

 

M.

Hi Mindy, I am in the same boat (no pun intended!). Other than soy milk (which I also can't drink), they do NOT have non-dairy creamer.... why not is beyond me. Nonetheless, I bought a box of International Delights creamers at the Walgreens near the port in FLL, and it was perfect for the week.

So yes.... you will need to take non-dairy creamer with you. Between the coffee card and my own creamers, I had my "normal" (aka "normal for me") brewed coffees all week long!!

Peg

OK, here is our experience on the Crown last November:

DH and I went to the IC the first morning of the cruise, and asked about the coffee card. I specifically asked the gal "Can we both use the card? (because only DH would have the specialty coffees)", to which she answered "Of course. It is up to you." So we paid for ONE coffee card (charged to our account, tip included), based on the response of the Princess employee.

Every morning I would go to the IC and order TWO large brewed coffees (in the to go cups). I just showed the card, no punches. The reason I order two is because they only fill the cups 2/3 full, and I like a big mug of coffee :D. So both cups were for me. If DH was with me, he would sometimes order a regular coffee, or sometimes a specialty coffee (punch.) If he was still asleep, then he would take the same card and head down to get his own coffee later. Either way, we had no trouble at all ordering two brewed coffees at once on the same card.

If the Princess employee had said "No, you need a card for each of you", then we would have bought two cards. Therefore, if Princess says that you can share a card, I don't see how that is "cheating" or being dishonest.

Peg.

We made the "mistake" of booking a mini-suite. Now, I don't think I can ever go in a regular cabin again.

I know your pain!!! We had our first mini on the Crown last year. Guess what? No going back! I just LOVED the bigger bathroom with tub, and DH loved the sofa and extra TV. But we also made a "mistake".... we were in the second-to-aft cabin on Dolphin, and peeked around the balcony divider to the last-to-aft balcony (the wrap around one)....WOW! HUGE!! So guess what we booked for this year on the Ruby? :D

Nope..... no going back for us!

Peg