Skipper Justin

On 4/19/2023 at 11:22 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

It was.  The beef was forgettable.  Unlike the fillet in Ocean Blue on Monday. That was delicious. I asked the server before ordering.  Always a good plan with NCL steaks.  
 

bonus content:  with the cancellation of Pricilla, Six is now the official @ChiefMateJRKworst NCL show. 😎

Hard disagree. SIX is a great show. I can get if you’re not a fan of pop music, though. 

I am currently booked in this category. Has anyone stayed in these before? I cannot seem to find much information or any pictures. There are a few reviews on the main cruise critic article, but that seems to be it. Note: forgive spelling mistake in title. Tried to edit. ugh. :eek:

I'm booked in one for Jan. 2018. Looking forward to the two extra days and differentness of sailing out of somewhere other than Florida.

 

 

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Did you atleast get an invoice showing the original deposit was applied? When I did my Next Cruise on the Anthem late November, the deposit was never posted. if I hadn't checked on it, as I didn't see the charge on my credit card, the booking would have cancelled.

 

 

The payment posted and was on both the invoice and website.

 

 

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Just got back from my cruise on Friday. I booked my next cruise, which is a year away, while on board. I signed into my RC account today and added the new reservation. It shows that at 500 payment is due on the 12/26. Has anyone had this happen? Is it just the onboard deposit not registering yet?

 

Thank you!

Which variety, was that the Syrah?

 

 

Petite

You forgot to mention the Schooner bar--usually able to get a seat and great bartenders.

 

 

 

We self disembarked last Monday Feb 22nd (4 day on IOS)-- lots of people but we went straight off--met in the meeting area at 7:15 am with luggage, taken down to deck 1 at 7:25 am and were at the airport by 8:15 am for a 10:30 flight on SW. After reading about the issues with disembarkation on the IOS, we were worried about making the flight but was no issue at all for us.

 

 

 

Embarkation on Thursday the 18th however was delayed an hour and a half because of computer issue (so we were told).

 

 

 

We liked the IOS so much we booked a 5 day in November already. Great ship and tremendous staff from our viewpoint.

 

 

Schooner bar was good but would get super congested during dinner time or during Trivia.

Is Spellbound wine part of the drink package?

 

 

It was available for $12 a glass at vintages.

Hello all! Sorry it took so long... this cold really wanted to linger. Below is my review! The photos will be located in the post after it.

 

Embarkation

This was rather easy, painless, and pretty quick. We arrived to the port at 10:45 am. We thought we were in the wrong area at first because the porters were not trying to take our bags. This was the first time I have ever experienced where I had to search out a porter and basically force my bag into their hands. They did not seem interested and it was very strange. Once we got into the line, we were on the ship in like 20 minutes.

 

The Ship

I found the ship to be in great shape. It reminded me of a mix between Norwegian and Disney. The moment you walk into the Central Promenade, it feels so surreal. The high ceilings are wonderful and don't make you feel like you are on a ship. I enjoyed the high end feel of the street concept and instantly bought my drink package. We started to explore the ship and found it to be laid out in an okay manner. Boleros has a pretty horrible location. It is kind of by itself on one end and does not make me want to head there. The pool deck also seemed a bit too small for the amount of people on the ship. The Solarium area, while nice, felt extremely small. There were also kids running around it at all times. The buffet area was laid out pretty well and felt very big, which was nice.

 

The Bars

These were very hit or miss.

I loved the different drinks at Boleros but it was a 1/3 shot of getting the correct thing. There was only ONE bar tender there that actually knew how to make the drinks. The other two would ask for the menu each time so that they could read the ingredients and guess how its made. Very Frustrating.

 

Vintages had my favorite wine ever: Spellbound. Unfortunately, they were out of it by day 3. This bar was never packed and hardly ever had a crowd. Very Chill.

 

Champagne bar was nice but always packed. It was also kind of weird set-up with the bar to the side. The drinks here were always good and you could tell that the bartenders knew what they were doing. Try the tavern sour!

 

Pub: The Pub had something drinks and the BLT bloody mary was always good. The beer cocktails were strangely disappointing. They were often much too bitter and had too much ice. I did not really find one that I liked.

 

Room

We were in room 7321 and it was a promenade view. I loved the view and the location! It made it easy to get anywhere and the view was amazing for people watching. We were across from the Champagne Bar and above guest services. This room, however, was very small. There is only a little leeway between the bed and the wall, so sometimes you sort of had to hop over the bed to get to the seat in the window. The bathroom was fine, but the pod style shower was not my favorite. Overall, I would rate the room a 7/10.

 

Food

Chops: Overhyped but tasty. Steak was fine and desert was good but nothing life changing.... oh wait... the bacon is ofcourse AMAZING. The porkbelly had a hoison glaze and was so tender.

 

Giovanni's Table: Way better than Chops. The pasta was amazingly rich and decadent. The filet here was even more tender than at Chops. I loved the variety of appetizers as well. Antipasti is always a solid choice.

 

Johnny Rocket's- We ate here for dinner one night and loved it. Simple, well down American food. I could not finish my double burger. Greasy but great. Tip: Eat outside. Inside was INSANELY loud to the point we could not hear each other or the waiter.

 

Shows:

All the stage shows were pretty "meh". I do not like the concept of 5 singers who do ALL the singing and then dancers dance around them. The costumes and sets were good but the shows left much to be desired. Songs were very dated and basically nothing story wise. This needs a revamp towards what they have on newer ships.

 

Ice Show was amazing! Strings had fantastic music and several of the moves were jaw dropping. There was a sense of anticipation throughout the whole show. One person did fall twice and left the show, but it went on and you did not notice him missing. They later said he was fine, which the audience was definitely feeling for him. Kudos for the team for being able to put such a remarkable show on in such a tiny venue. Very worthwhile.

 

Internet

The internet was slow but fast enough for facebook, facebook instant messenger, and any imessages. Did not fell super slow.

 

I already talked about how bad disembarkation was, so I wont go into that again. I am sure I am forgetting something, so if you have any other questions please let me know!

Can you let me know how the shows were?

 

 

 

What movies were playing?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sorry it's taking longer to write the review. I caught a nasty cold on Friday and it has been lingering.

 

The movies were Jurassic world, the visit, bridge of spies and Valentine's Day.

Did you do the self disembarkation where you carried your own luggage?

 

 

We carried our own luggage off.

This is what I'm most interested in... do you think there was a way around it? Getting off earlier/later? What about the embarkation? Do you know what piers you were on for both?

 

 

I believe it was pier 27 and then 26. Embarkation was actually a breeze. We got there at 11 and there was no wait. A machine broke though and it caused a line to build up but we were already at the front at that time.

I've read so many complaints recently about Indy's boarding and disembarking. Is there a specific reason for it? We were on Indy this past summer and it was a breeze? We're booked again for next year.

 

 

There were just so many lines and it seemed very disorganised. It took us a little over an hour to get off the ship. They routed the line through on air and studio b. The walkways there are just very narrow and that did not help. No posted signage that I saw either.

Just got back today! The review should be posted in the next day or so. Booked harmony of the seas for the same time next year! Overall, a great cruise and ship. Disembarking was a huge mess and the worse I've ever experienced.

Long but pleasant drive.

 

No reasonable flights to FLL or MIA?

 

 

For whatever reason the rates were crazy for using miles yesterday. It was free to fly to Orlando yesterday but would have been double for fll or Miami. We are flying home from Miami though, so no long drive there :)

Are you driving to Ft. Lauderdale from Orlando?

 

 

Correct. We rented a car last night.

Hope you got here ok Skipper Justin. We landed at midnight from Toronto. Had to do de-icing before take off. Weather looks great here. Can't wait for the boarding to begin!

 

 

On our way to the port now from Orlando. Flight was delayed four hours yesterday. Got in at 1am and went to bed at 3. The energy of a cruise is the only thing keeping us awake! We ended up staying at the doubletree in Orlando and they upgraded us to a suite for the 4 hours we slept. So that was nice!

Currently waiting for Silver airways. Been delayed 3 hours already. Not a great start so far.

Following, I will be interested to hear what you think of the shows

 

 

I'll be honest that the only cruise shows I've been impressed with have been with Disney. I am looking forward to the ice shows though!

Hey all, I will be embarking on the 5 day valentines/president cruise on Saturday for my first RC cruise. I will be reviewing it as well! I've done Disney, carnival, Norwegian and princess before this. Please let me know any questions you may want answered. I am staying in a promenade room on deck 7 and plan to post photos of that because I know I found it difficult to find any myself. Cheers to all!

I will be boarding on Saturday :) were there any discounts the first night at any of the speciality dining?

I'll be on the feb 13 5 day sailing, so if no one does by then, I'll post the ones I have.

Great review so far!

One of my favorite aspects is that NCL has a 24 hour sit down cafe! It is so nice when all the other options are closed, and some other lines charge for room service after awhile. It is nice to have other options than pizza. The Improv shows are great as well.