The Twists and Turns of my Solo Experience on the Norwegian EPIC (Mar 2-9, 2013)

[caro1998]

Thanks for posting your review! I am find it quite helpful because not only am I thinking of trying NCL for the first time, but I am interested in trying the Norwegian Breakaway as a solo. I am getting a great idea if what my trip may be like!

CD

[Dawn1004]

Excellent review.

 

I'm always surprised by the number of people who solo cruise, its not something I think I could do, I'm not very confident with people and situations I don't know - but you (and others) seem to have managed just brilliantly at the solo travel thing.

 

Can't wait to read the rest of the review.

[Blondie008]

Thanks for the fantastic review. Looking forward to the forthcoming episodes ;)

What a creep the old boy was huh - Id have stuck a post it note on his back saying "i'm a dirty old perv stay clear" . I dont think its actually too late to report the incident to NCL. Its worth the incident being logged. For no other reason other than - if someone was one day assaulted in any way by this creep, it might provide a link. Send NCL an email - cant do any harm.

[francina]

Really enjoyed your review. Thanks!

[KrystalWaters]

Wow...all I can say is wow. Disgusting old man. On two levels cheating on his spouse AND propositioning strangers like that:eek:! Wow!:mad:

[jdvmd]

The man's inappropriate behavior is a definite sign of dementia. Very common for the elderly, especially men, to proposition people, engage in things publicly etc. I have seen it many times as my mother is in a nursing home and spent years in assisted living etc. Couldn't believe the stories that came out.

 

Wonder if this is how the phrase "dirty old man" came to be.

[WaldosPepper]

I am absolutely loving this review! I very much enjoy your style of writing, and your memory for details is astounding. I can hardly wait for the next installment. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this.

:)

[WaldosPepper]

The man's inappropriate behavior is a definite sign of dementia. Very common for the elderly, especially men, to proposition people, engage in things publicly etc. I have seen it many times as my mother is in a nursing home and spent years in assisted living etc. Couldn't believe the stories that came out.

 

Wonder if this is how the phrase "dirty old man" came to be.

 

This is absolutely true.

 

In a recent conversation with one of the therapists who is working with my mother-in-law, she described dementia as "Progression in regression." In other words, all the behaviors and things we learned as we grew up from children, are then repeated in reverse as the dementia advances. Thus, in the case of some men, the return to the inhibition of the teens/early twenties can occur.

 

Also, as the dementia progresses, they basically lose their "filter" and will say things they would never have said before the dementia. I see this particular thing with my MIL on a daily basis. :eek:

 

Lastly, I do not believe that the man was from the town where the airplane was having issues. I believe that he heard that information and in his mind it either became his hometown, or it became a good "cover." Either is possible. It is also possible that his wife is deceased but his brain cannot recall that, or chooses to not recall that. With dementia, fact and reality are no longer discernible from the wanderings and imaginings that the brain produces.

 

All that being said, I am glad to know that security was alerted to the situation - both for the safety of others, and for the man in question as well. Heaven only knows the potential dangers in both directions.

[awaywego0000]

I am looking forward to reading more of your review. Thank you.

[mabones]

Can't wait to read more of your review! You're doing a great job!

[buckirj1]

I'm enjoying your review, and looking forward to the rest.

[NLH Arizona]

zactak, you're killing me. I'm reading and waiting for the next day and then you stop on me. Can't wait for the next day's review. Great review and thanks.

[Sauer-kraut]

zactak, you're killing me. I'm reading and waiting for the next day and then you stop on me. Can't wait for the next day's review. Great review and thanks.

 

The poor guy is probably exhausted from jet lag and hasn't gotten his days turned around yet. He just got back from Singapore for pete's sake, he a day behind LOL :D

[NLH Arizona]

The poor guy is probably exhausted from jet lag and hasn't gotten his days turned around yet. He just got back from Singapore for pete's sake, he a day behind LOL :D

Come on, it's all about me today. I'm staying in trying to ward off a cold, since I'm leaving for Las Vegas on Wednesday and don't want to be sick there. I need to be entertained!!! LOL!!!

[kirsty_r]

Interesting review!! I too I'm not that fussed by Blue Man - It was OK the first time, but they never change the show content, so the second time I saw it I thought this is boring... I love cruising solo in the studios!! :)

[HowardK]

Interesting review!! I too I'm not that fussed by Blue Man - It was OK the first time, but they never change the show content, so the second time I saw it I thought this is boring... I love cruising solo in the studios!! :)

 

 

I saw them here in Philadelphia, 2x on the Epic and by the time I saw them in NYC last December it was stale!

Part of the reason I am doing the Breakaway instead of the Epic next time is the all new entertainment

[travlinbug]

I am considering a cruise on Norwegian. I don't usually go to shows on cruises,but I might have considered Blue Man just because it is a well known "name brand" production. Hearing about all that spitting stuff,however,turns me off. I would want to walk out,too. Would make me sick to my stomach! Glad you described it--saves me the bother!

[kirsty_r]

I am considering a cruise on Norwegian. I don't usually go to shows on cruises,but I might have considered Blue Man just because it is a well known "name brand" production. Hearing about all that spitting stuff,however,turns me off. I would want to walk out,too. Would make me sick to my stomach! Glad you described it--saves me the bother!

 

There will be loads of youtube videos about of blue man - check them out before making your decision. Its a paint based show, and in some ways creative... I didn't mind so much the first time, but lack of new content is my main gripe with this show... won't be sailing EPIC again until entertainment is refreshed with something new.

[mariana31]

Loving your review so far. It sounds as if you had quite the adventure. Can't wait for more!

 

I was actually on the Epic the week before you and actually spent quite a bit of time with Pam from the UK - she is a wonderful woman!

[DGP1111]

. . . I was actually on the Epic the week before you and actually spent quite a bit of time with Pam from the UK - she is a wonderful woman!

 

Ditto on that. :) . :)

 

.

[zactak]

Thanks for posting your review! I am find it quite helpful because not only am I thinking of trying NCL for the first time, but I am interested in trying the Norwegian Breakaway as a solo. I am getting a great idea if what my trip may be like!

CD

 

The Breakaway is the next ship I would love to go on. It's home port isn't far from Pittsburgh and I like the idea of staying in a port for three days.. if you choose the Bermuda cruise

 

The man's inappropriate behavior is a definite sign of dementia. Very common for the elderly, especially men, to proposition people, engage in things publicly etc. I have seen it many times as my mother is in a nursing home and spent years in assisted living etc. Couldn't believe the stories that came out.

 

Wonder if this is how the phrase "dirty old man" came to be.

 

That is interesting. I had no idea that is a sign of dementia. He may have had it.

[zactak]

This is absolutely true.

 

In a recent conversation with one of the therapists who is working with my mother-in-law, she described dementia as "Progression in regression." In other words, all the behaviors and things we learned as we grew up from children, are then repeated in reverse as the dementia advances. Thus, in the case of some men, the return to the inhibition of the teens/early twenties can occur.

 

Also, as the dementia progresses, they basically lose their "filter" and will say things they would never have said before the dementia. I see this particular thing with my MIL on a daily basis. :eek:

 

Lastly, I do not believe that the man was from the town where the airplane was having issues. I believe that he heard that information and in his mind it either became his hometown, or it became a good "cover." Either is possible. It is also possible that his wife is deceased but his brain cannot recall that, or chooses to not recall that. With dementia, fact and reality are no longer discernible from the wanderings and imaginings that the brain produces.

 

All that being said, I am glad to know that security was alerted to the situation - both for the safety of others, and for the man in question as well. Heaven only knows the potential dangers in both directions.

 

Thanks for the insight. I never would ahve guessed that. I now wonder if his wife really was in a nursing home or not.

zactak, you're killing me. I'm reading and waiting for the next day and then you stop on me. Can't wait for the next day's review. Great review and thanks.

 

LOL! Sauer-kraut is right. I am experiencing some jet lag. I was thinking I wouldn't because I got up early yesterday, but I slept 22 hours today and just woke up a bit ago... So you'll have a little to read today :)

[zactak]

I plan to write about the next couple of days. I'm probably going to get a little wordy because they are the two most eventful days. I plan to break them up into a few posts, so bare with me.

 

The captain got on the loud speaker around 7:45, which was a little irritating because I was planning to get up around 8. The captain was very long winded and hard to understand at times because of his accent.

 

Today, I planned an excursion with Bernard SXM. It was a third party group. They were reasonably priced and took me to all the highlights I wanted to see while in St. Maarten.

 

Before leaving my cabin, I promised myself that I would not forget to bring my sunscreen with me. As I was walking towards the St. Maarten Information Desk, where Bernard had told me to meet them. It was very easy to find.

 

After I checked in, the group of people were escorted back to where Bernard SXM had parked all their vans. They were actually really disorganized, because the guy that was checking everyone in had forgotten to give them tickets which corresponded with which tour they were taking. I personally had picked Tour II. They provided more time on the beach. One of the tour guides called the guy checking all of us in to find out who goes where. They started announcing names, but stopped after calling out a few people. They didn't call me and quite a few others. The guides also weren't calling the tours by the names we knew, but by the highlight of each tour. Mine was the "beach tour." I saw some people who said they were on tour II get on a particular bus, so I followed suit. We had to check to make sure we were on the right shuttle after we boarded. We were and we were shortly on our way. I think the confusion was probably just a fluke and not how they usually operate.

 

Our tour guide's name was Sexy. No joke. He was nice, personable and knowledgeable about the history of St. Maarten. He provided everyone with sodas, water, beer and some guavaberry rum punch. These weren't unlimited and so once we ran out, they were gone. It didn't take long for the rum punch to run out.

 

While on our way to the different stops, Sexy would talk about different aspects of the island. His approach was a bit more hands off when we stopped at each place. I actually found myself following around a different tour guide every so often.

 

Our first stop was to the Iguana Farm. Here, they have iguanas and chickens running around freely. With the help of the tour guides, you can pick up an iguana if you want. I chose not to. The Iguana Farm is currently under construction. It looked like a construction site, but from what they have already done and what Sexy said, the farm is going to be very nice when done. He said they are likely to start charging for that stop as well. It's currently free.

 

Can you spot the iguana?

 

The next stop on our tour of St. Maarten was at a spot where a guy is pulling sea urchins out of the water for people to hold. He is independent of Bernard SXM and asks for tips. At this stop there is also a platform you can walk up to view magnificent views of this beautiful island.

 

Orient Beach was next on our agenda. We would have two hours to explore the area. Part of the beach is fully nude. We stopped by that part of the beach, but we were told we weren't getting off the bus and no pictures were allowed to be taken. As we slowly drove by, a man and a woman that were walking hand and hand were stark naked. The tour bus stared at them and they stared back at us as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

 

Afterwards, we drove over to the topless section of the beach where we would spend our two hours. It was owned by a local hotel. The beach was pretty busy, but not too horrible. It was lined with loungers. The area we stayed in had a couple bars and a restaurant you could eat at. There was also a place to get a massage if you wanted to. You could spend $45 for a 30 minute massage, or $80 for an hour. Orient Beach also had an area where you could go parasailing, ride a banana boat or drive a jet ski among other things. I was interested in parasailing but chose to not even check the price because it would probably be more than what I wanted to spend.

 

For $5, you could rent a lounger and umbrella and receive a complimentary guavaberry rum punch. The $5 is optional, but if you don't pay it, you don't have the privilege of having a lounger. I paid the money and found a lounger off by itself. I grabbed a seat and stayed there for a little while before going to redeem my rum punch coupon. I took a few sips of it, but didn't like the taste. I threw it away.

 

Note how pasty my legs are. They soon wouldn't be!

 

The beach was beautiful, the sand was soft and the water was near perfect in temperature.

 

We loaded back onto the bus after two hours and it started pouring down rain before we were even out of the parking lot. I'm glad the rain had stayed away the entire time we were on the beach.

 

Our next stop was to the open air market in Marigot. By the time we got there, the rain had stopped. I was hoping I would have time to slip away and try out Sarafina's French Bakery. Luckily, Sexy actually recommended it and told us how to get there. All the pastries looked so delicious. I chose a chocolate eclair. I think it cost about $4.60. I got it to go and headed back to the bus. On my way back it started to sprinkle rain again. I was the first person back on the bus and devoured my delicious eclair. I would highly recommend stopping here if you are in St. Maarten. They have desserts and main dishes to choose from. There is also a large variety.

 

 

We rode up to Maho Beach after Marigot to watch the planes land and take off close to the beach. Before we even got off the shuttle, there was a huge double decker international flights from KLM taking off. We watched as the people standing behind the jet blasts nearly got blown away. That might be a slight exaggeration, but it was a sight to see. I watched a plane come in for a landing and shortly after it started sprinkling rain again. Before long it was raining at a decent clip and I decided to go into the Sunset Bar to grab a beer. I ordered a Carib and ran into a solo traveler. We exchanged a couple hellos and I drank my beer while waiting for the next plane to come in. Carib is a local beer in the Caribbean. I'm not sure if it was left over remnants of the guavaberry punch I had earlier or if it was actually a part of the beer, but I tasted a hint of guavaberry.

 

After the last plane I had time to see landed, I headed back to the shuttle to prepare for the last stop of the day - a souvenir shop. A guy that was on another Bernard SXM tour missed his bus back to the cruise terminal, so he was going to be joining our group. He was already on the bus when I got on and was sitting where I had been all day. There were still some empty rows of seats, so I went into an empty row and sat next to the window. I guess this had to be a big deal! A man and a woman insisted on sitting next to each other, even though we would only be in the van for 15 more minutes. Since this guy was moaning and complaining so much pacing the walk way of the bus, I told them I'd get up and let them sit there. I had no idea people could be so territorial over where they sit.

 

A couple that were sitting near me made a comment about how immature those people were being and they could understand if we were in for a several hour trip, but we were talking 15 minutes here. Oh well.

 

We made a quick stop on top of a hill to take some photos of our ships. This would be the first time I actually saw the EPIC as a whole.

 

 

Our final stop was at a souvenir shop that was on the way back to the cruise port. I could already start feeling the pain from the sun burn I was starting to develop. Since it was developing so soon, I knew I was in for it. I collect shot glasses, so I bought myself a shot glass and some aloe vera. I knew I was going to need it and the ship probably charged a significant amount for it.

 

When I walked out to get back on the bus, it was GONE! Oh crap, I thought! I ran back into the store and found some other people that were on the tour with me. I asked them where Sexy was and they told me he had taken a couple back to the cruise port because their ship would be leaving by the time we got back. It was a good thing he took them back soon. As I was walking back to the EPIC, their ship was pulling out.

 

That concluded my time in St. Maarten and I headed back to the ship. I went back to my cabin to drop off the things I bought and take a shower. The water hitting my body hurt so much. By the time I got out of the shower, I was burning pretty bad. I put on sol aloe, changed into my evening wear and headed down to the Studio Lounge as it was getting closer to time for the solo gathering.

 

We were celebrating two birthdays on board tonight. It was Susan's birthday and another woman's birthday, named Valerie. It was decided that Susan and Valerie would choose where we were going for dinner. They were both indecisive. I chimed in and told everyone that Susan had mentioned wanting to go to Moderno for dinner the night before. That's where we decided to go to. We asked John, the bartender to make a reservation. They could seat us immediately, so those that wanted to go were able to. There was probably about 12 or so of us that went. The other people went to one of the complimentary dining rooms.

 

If there is only one specialty restaurant you can go to on your cruise, I would highly recommend Moderno. It was so good. The salad bar had a huge selection of things to choose from and all the meat was really good.

 

I sat next to Barb's cousins who up until this point I had not met yet, Valerie, a guy named Scott and Barb's friend Roger that I sat with at dinner on the first evening. Barb's cousins, who were also older people and I hit it off right off the bat. Jane was a college professor teaching religious studies. Religion is one of my interests, so we discussed religion a lot. I opened up to her a lot about my religious views, and her to me. The conversation with everyone at the table was really nice.

 

My only "complaint" about Moderno, and it's really not a negative, nor critical of Norwegian or the restaurant. The set up wasn't conducive to conversation. I often looked down at my plate and it would be full of meat! I'd be so engrossed in conversations that I would just tell the people with the skewers yes. We all got a piece of birthday cake for Valerie and Susan's birthdays. It was nice of them to share their cakes with us.

 

After dinner, Susan wanted to go to the Svedka Ice Bar. This was one of the only things I said I must do while on the EPIC. It was actually a draw for me to go on the EPIC. There were a few people that were indecisive on going, but ended up saying yes. Others didn't want to and left s. Some of us had to run and do things before going to the Ice Bar, so getting everyone rounded up was a bit of a challenge. While we waited, I started having hot and cold flashes. I dismissed them as just part of being sun burned.

 

Some of us got a little restless about waiting, so Susan and I headed in. After getting our first drinks, her and I decided we would guzzle down our second drink an get the heck out of there! It was cold. As more of our group started entering, the cold didn't seem too bad. People who said they weren't going ended up showing up too, and we had a decent sized group of people. Some of those that didn't go to dinner with us ended up showing up too. The cold room started reminding me of all those winter days of standing outside waiting for the school bus. We ended up staying in there close to the end of our allotted time.

 

Valerie was wearing open toed shoes and started a fashion fad in the bar.

 

 

Yes, those are gloves on her feet.

 

After the Ice Bar, we headed down to the Bliss Lounge where they were having karaoke. A few solo travelers were going to be singing, so we wanted to make sure we showed our support for them. They all were very talented! There was this one guy in our group that had such a unique voice, unlike anything I had ever heard before. I really enjoyed listening to him sing.

 

At the conclusion of karaoke, we headed up to Spice H2O to do some dancing. I'm pretty sure some people actually dragged me to the dance floor this time. When things started dying down out there, we headed back to Bliss where we danced more. There was a group of 5 or 6 of us dancing in a circle. It sort of reminded me of a high school dance. Since we were all still uncertain of each other's boundaries, we had gaps in between each other as we danced. I think tonight is when a lot of us really started getting closer.

 

It was getting kind of late and we were all hungry. We headed back to the Studio Lounge and ordered a pizza to be delivered from Pizza 24/7. A solo traveler named Francisco was nice enough to pick up the tab for the late night room service charge. Sitting down there turned into another night of long talks in the Lounge. We didn't stay up as late as we had been. Soon enough, we all called it a night.

[zactak]

You can see I got just a little RED today!

 

Plane coming in at Maho/Sunset Beach

 

Sarafina's in Marigot. Highly recommended!!

 

Orient Beach

[zactak]

I woke up in the middle of the night and threw up. I was in severe pain from my sun burn and wasn't sleeping very well. Parts of one of my legs was blistering.

 

One of my goals of this entire EPIC World Adventure was to get myself out of my comfort zone. I have always wanted to go ziplining, so I signed up for that excursion through NCL. I set my alarm and when it started blaring, I couldn't manage to do it. I was in pain and thought the harness may hurt me too much. I wasn't even out of bed yet and I was having panic attacks thinking about this excursion. What if I freak out while there and can't back down? I decided to skip the excursion. I slept in for a little bit and decided I would just walk around the port a little bit.

 

 

I was a bit disappointed, but I didn't have a back up plan. I found a couple shot glasses, grabbed a soda and just relaxed in port for a little bit. In St. Maarten I had found a shot glass I really liked. The only problem is that it said, "Coffee" on it, and it didn't make sense to me. I went into multiple stores in St. Thomas and ran into the same problem. I finally found one I liked that said, "Let's Have Fun - St. Thomas." Finally! I bought it. I also bought a shot glass that was wrapped in leather.

 

 

I wanted to walk around St. Thomas a little bit more, but I saw clouds rolling in and could tell it was about to rain. I decided to head back to the ship. By the time I got to the first checkpoint, it started pouring.

 

I grabbed myself a late lunch and afterwards found a spot to watch us sail away from St. Thomas. I always love that part of the cruise. I was hoping to see people running back to the ship, which I saw plenty of. I snapped some photos of the port and we set sail. One of the solo travelers I had been hanging out with came up and sat next to me as we watched us leave St. Thomas. After he left, I walked around to Spice H2O. I heard some people yell out, "ZACH!" I looked over at the hot tub and there was Barb, Roger, Jane and Barb's other cousin Nancy sitting in the hot tub sipping on wine. They asked me to join them, in which I did. The water felt so nice on my sun burn. We stayed in there for quite a few hours. It was getting close to 5:30, which is when the solo gathering was going to happen. I didn't want to get out. Barb invited me to have dinner with them. None of us had tried the Manhattan Room yet, so we decided on that at around 7:30. Nancy and I stayed in the hot tub for a little longer before leaving to get ready for dinner.

 

 

I ran into Jane and Nancy waiting in line at the Manhattan Room. Barb and Roger weren't there yet, so Nancy stayed back while Jane and I went to our seats. The photographer came around and told Jane and I to get together so he could take a photo of us. Jane thought he meant we were a couple and she said, "WE ARE NOT TOGETHER!! What do you think we are?!" The poor photographer said, "I don't know... son and mother?" Jane actually got a little miffed, but I found it all hysterical.

 

Nancy was nice and ordered a bottle of wine for the three of us when Roger and Barb joined us as well. While we were ordering our meals, we heard over the intercom, "Code Alpha Room .... Code Alpha Room ...." I knew what that meant and I hoped everything was OK. This was actually the second code alpha on our ship this week. The other one occurred a couple days before in the Shaker Bar.

 

This was probably my least favorite dinner the entire week. I had the prime rib, which was actually good. It came with mixed vegetables that were undercooked for my taste, they seemed almost raw and I had a baked potato that had sour cream on it. I hate sour cream and wished they would have mentioned that in the description. I gave it to Jane, because I had also ordered a basil pesto pasta dish and had more food than I could eat. The bread pudding I had for dessert was mediocre.

 

 

 

 

During dinner, we discussed different topics. One of the topics we discussed was about crime and cruise ships. I majored in Criminology in college, so crime interests me. Barb was a lawyer, so she gave some insight into what she knew and we all sort of wondered if there was a jail cell on board. I would know the answer to that question soon enough! (how good of a cliff hanger would that have been if I ended my review there?! Don't fret. I won't be that cruel to you guys.)

 

 

After dinner, we headed over to the Bliss Lounge for karaoke. After a couple nights, it was sort of tradition to watch karaoke. On the way to karaoke, the group stopped off at the gift shop. At dinner I had mentioned how I collect shot glasses and how I found a shot glass I really enjoyed. As we were in the gift shop, Nancy nonchalantly asked me which shot glass I liked. I pointed to the one I liked thinking nothing of it. As we were walking towards the Bliss Lounge, Nancy handed me a bag. She said, "this is from all of us, we want you to know how much we like you and we want you to remember us." I asked her if she was serious and she was! I was amazed at these people. I was getting really close to them.

 

Only a couple solo travelers sang tonight.

 

After karaoke, Barb, Roger, Jane and Nancy headed to bed while I met up with other solo travelers. I was starting to feel really lethargic and sick to my stomach again. I sort of dismissed it and our group went up to Spice for yet another dance party. I mentioned to Karen, one of the solo travelers I had been hanging out with during the week that I wasn't feeling well at all. She handed me some alka seltzer and to take it. I'd feel much better if I did.

 

I went up to my room, got some water and came down to the Studio Lounge to get another cup of water that I could put the alka seltzer in. The Lounge was empty. I grabbed a seat by the TV and watched it while I drank the spawn of Satan juice. A man in his late 40's or early 50's walked in and sat next to me. This isn't good.

 

He introduced himself and somehow already knew my name. I knew this wasn't going to turn out OK. Why can't I just finish my alka seltzer and get out of there? He told me how he had been watching me as I watched the EPIC sail away from St. Thomas earlier. His conversation with me started turning south. He told me about his sexuality and told me how he was feeling at that moment. He started asking very inappropriate questions that made me highly uncomfortable. A woman had started cleaning the bar area at the beginning of his sexual harassment. I told him I was going to get up and leave, in which I did. I walked out into the hallway outside the Studio Lounge. I looked back in and saw he had left and the cleaning lady was still in there. How the heck could this keep happening to me, and why?

 

Now, this starts the biggest issue I had with Norwegian.

 

I walked back into the lounge and asked the woman if that happens often. She said she didn't know what I was talking about. I told her about the two men being inappropriate in the Lounge. Her response? "This is a singles area." I corrected her and said, "NO! This is a solo lounge, not a singles lounge." She just said, "oh." and I left. I think her correct response should have been, "I'm sorry this happened to you. You need to go report this to guest relations."

 

I ran back upstairs to tell Karen and the others what had just happened to me. Karen was enraged! She was one of the people encouraging me to report the first guy. She said she would go with me to report it this time, but I must report it. I knew she was right. Karen was on crutches due to an injury that occurred a couple years before. I didn't want her to have to walk that far to guest relations, so I ventured out on my own.

 

I explained to the woman behind the counter at guest relations of what just occurred and about the old man from a couple nights ago. Here I received the only apology from Norwegian. She told me I needed to speak with someone in security and that she was very sorry this occurred.

 

After a few minutes, a security officer was in front of me and I was explaining to him what occurred. He sort of reminded me of Barney Fife and didn't seem to sure on what he should do. Finally, he told me I needed to write a statement. He told me to follow him. People were staring at me as though I had just committed some crime on the ship or something. I just smiled back at them as I walked with him.

 

The security guard walked me down to Deck 4, which is where you disembark for ports. He took me into an area to the right of the staircase. This is where the security headquarters seems to be. There were offices in there and I saw the jail cell they have on board! A security guard brought in a young looking girl with handcuffs on. This was so cool! One of the security guards in the office asked if I was locked out of my room and that's why I was down there. The security guard assisting me said no and that I was propositioned by a couple men. He laughed.

 

It took them forever to print out a statement. When they finally got one, the security guard took me across the staircase to the left side of it. He opened the door and this was I-95. I may not have been there under the best of circumstances, but I was eating it up! There were employees everywhere and I could see different areas where they stored things. He took me into a room that said, "Head of Security," pulled my chair out for me and handed me a pen. He explained what he needed and I began writing my statement.

 

While I was writing, I heard over the security guard's walkie talkie, "is the patient ready? The plane is here." The person from the Code Alpha earlier in the evening was being flown off the ship.

 

I finished my statement and the security guard informed me that the head of security would be in contact with me the next morning about the two incidents. I never heard anything again while on board. I frequently checked my phone, but nothing ever came up. This disappointed me. I wasn't necessarily looking into getting these two guys in trouble. I was looking to report them so a paper trail will exist. If this is an ongoing problem with the Studio Lounge, then Norwegian would know about it.

 

This was my only real issue I had with Norwegian. I expected more from them. I expected more apologies and I expected them to follow their word. If you tell me someone is going to contact me, I expect it. I really feel Norwegian dropped the ball on this one. It did not ruin my vacation nor did it turn me off from ever going on a Norwegian cruise again. I'd go again in a heart beat. I likely would not go into the Lounge by myself though.

 

I went back up to Spice H2O where I ran into Bryan, Susan and Lilly. They said the helicopter was still up there and they were just getting back from watching it. They tried to show me, but they had since closed off the upper deck from viewing. Vianney was there guarding the deck area that was closed. I told her what happened and she just said, "OK." I'm not sure if she didn't hear me right, or what. I was disappointed in her reaction too.

 

I explained to Karen and the others what I had just experienced. Karen left shortly thereafter, but we all met up again while in the Studio Lounge. As we were walking back down, the helicopter had left and all the upper decks were open again.

 

It was now a tradition for everyone to go back to the Lounge and chill out at the end of the evening. Everyone asked how I was doing. Karen was still livid about it. She said she was going to write something on the board in the Lounge about respecting each other. She had a gash on her knee. We all asked her what happened and she said while she was at dinner at the Manhattan Room, the Maitre D pushed her in. There were two screws sticking out of the bottom of the table and she had cut herself on them. Norwegian asked if she wanted to go to the doctor, but she declined. They gave her some wine as compensation and were very apologetic to her. She was actually thankful the Maitre D had pushed her in, because she likely would have injured herself worse had she done it herself.

 

"Code Alpha Room .... Code Alpha Room ...." It was the third and final Code Alpha we had on our cruise. It was also from the same room they had announced earlier in the evening.

 

After we all went to sleep, a second helicopter came and airlifted this person off too. Due to the two airlifts, we had to change course a bit and get closer to San Juan. We also had to come to a near stop, but we did not stop. I know one of the people that was airlifted wrote a review on Cruise Critic, so I assume she is OK, but I am uncertain on the status of the other individual. I had heard the woman had a heart attack, but what happened to the other person was unknown. I just hope they are OK.

 

As our group was sitting around talking, a few of us realized our names and cabin numbers were on the sign up sheet from the first day. We went over and blacked out our names so that none of us would have creeps showing up at our doors. I actually meant to take a picture of this, because there were quite a few black outs on the sheet by the end of the night.

 

We stayed up talking for a bit and called it a night.