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Serves me right for being unfaithful


Simples
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Having sailed on IE a few times I decided that for our Golden Wedding we would try another ship, so we booked the Norwegian Jade. I thought that the food was not nearly as good as that on IE, and I did not think that the staff were as friendly. Having paid roughly £3000 for the cabin for a week and £250 each for the drinks package it was a bit dearer than the IE. Also I like to choose who I tip but decided to pay for the gratuity package which was £98 for the week. I would not do that again. The bars were understaffed and one afternoon we waited thirty minutes to get a drink, being particularly worse when the excursions end and everybody returning heads for the bar. The wifi was expensive at $110 for 250mins and was also very slow, so being priced by the minute and not by the speed it soon uses up ones allowance. The flight to Venice was booked through the tour operator but we had to download our outward bound ticket off the internet ourselves, the return ticket could only be booked two days before returning which meant using the ships wifi and PC, that cost me another $13. I was not happy leaving the UK without a return ticket, But apparently this is the modern way.

The lifeboat drill was a laugh, we were not even required to bring our life jackets, though a demonstration of how to put them on was given, we just sat in the lounge and watched. Nothing like the professional life boat drill on the Escape where everybody has to stand in line at their station.

I must say though that the ship was clean and the food was I suppose adequate, though the bacon at breakfast was awful , just strips of fat. So please forgive me little Island Escape and take me back next year, I won't desert you again.

Edited by Simples
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YOU PAID HOW MUCH!!!:eek: When we went with Fred Olsen we bought the AI package which at £10pp per night seemed a good deal. We are not big drinkers and with hindsight we would have got better quality paying as we go. We were kept waiting for up to 20 minutes in some of the bars when we had a post dinner drink and in the shows they had hardly any waiting staff on duty. They didn't seem to be able to make their minds up whether they should serve drinks when the shows were on or not and fell between two stools. One night we got a seat with our two half lagers and my OH waylaid the only waitress around so we could get another drink to see us through the show. How embarrassing! she yelled "Another one!" in a sarcastic voice in front of everyone as if we were a couple of alcoholics. That never happens on IE and they are always pleased to serve you drinks. We would go with FO again if the cruise was right as the Balmoral was a very nice ship but never on AI. The same with tips. They put them on your bill and are for the waiter in the restaurant and the cabin steward. We asked if the tips were divided amongst the crew but no, after all there are a lot of backroom staff that work hard on the ships and never get a tip. We had them taken off and tipped the cabin steward and the buffet staff as we didn't eat in the MDR and neither did our dinner companions so why should we tip the waiter for an easy week. Very nice to get back to the much friendlier IE this year and I think the food is better on there as well. I don't ever want to see mixed veg again after it was served at every single meal.:)

 

Jan

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Hi Jan, I have read many comments about the Escape but I have been on it 4 times and been more than happy. I thought that perhaps a bigger ship meant better quality and service. The shows were more professional but I don't go on cruises to sit in a theatre every night. But the thing I missed most of all was the friendly, almost family atmosphere, that is found on the Escape. On deck the Escape waiters are always there asking if you want a drink but on the Jade we went to the bar ourselves and even though we had a long wait it was quicker than trying to get a waiter. We went in one restaurant on the Jade that someone recommended and when our order arrived we both looked at each other speechless, a guy on the next table said "You weren't expecting that were you"? I said no and he said they weren't either. It was a joke. Another time I asked reception why gratuities appeared on my receipts when I have paid them up front, I was told that they are shared amongst different waiters, bar, restaurant, cabin etc, I said I have already paid these but she just kept repeating the same line. In fact all though it was on the bill I wasn't actually paying it, but she could not explain that to me and we went round in circles until I got fed up and walked away. At one point I told her to stop talking over me, to shut up and listen, reminding her she was supposed to be helping me. Perhaps because it was nearing the end of the season and they were all tired, either way I won't be on there again. Regarding tips although we paid them up front I still tipped the cabin steward and the restaurant waiter. but definitely not the bar staff.

Edited by Simples
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Having sailed on a few NCL ships I think you have summed up the problems with them very well. The thing that got to me was that on a non drinks package, having paid for the tips in advance there is still another 15% gratuity charged on every drink :mad:

When on NCL Spirit last year (The smallest, oldest & I think best of their ships) I was so pleased when I discovered an "English" breakfast area with proper bacon, black pudding, sausages & baked beans all together.... However my last trip on the Star a few weeks ago on their giant U shaped buffet with four queues , the black pudding was at one end of the serving areas with the beans 400+ paces away (yep measured it) at the other end, with the "English" bacon available at two other stations but not on the ones with the black pudding or baked beans... Yep, had to queue 3 times to get a decent breakfast. I think the Mrs reported me missing a couple of times.

As for life boat drill on the Star. Our plane was cancelled, we got there about 8 hr late so we missed the drill. By the time we read when it was to be held the next day we had missed that one as well, so we did not have one at all.

Will disagree with you on one point about the more professional entertainment on NCL. True they have amazing proper tiered theatres, but I don't believe their show teams are a patch on Thomson's... I would love to see what Ross Roberts & his team could do on a real theatre stage with 1000 plus seats with proper sight lines.

NCL pricing is as bad as Thomsons in that they can fluctuate wildly. We paid a tad over two grand for an inside cabin for fourteen days with flights booked direct online. Met another Brit who had paid near half that again for an obstructed view on a lower deck through an agent & of course an American who had paid less than us for a 28 day balcony.

If it wasn't for the rubbish casino on the Island Escape, we would be on her at least twice a year, & if they went places like Alaska & Norway, NCL would never get a look in.

Edited by Stevio
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Stevio, you cheered up my miserable day by saying you had paced out the black pudding and the beans.:D:D:D

 

Jan

 

That 400 paces was only the distance between the pudding & the beans and not inclusive of the walks from & back to the table.... The wife had a similar problem with her morning chocolate croissant. They always had had some but moved them about, creating a game of hunt the croissant each morning.

This has given me an idea for a new website... "Buffet distances between breakfast items on cruise ships.com" I will probably make millions from it :D

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That 400 paces was only the distance between the pudding & the beans and not inclusive of the walks from & back to the table.... The wife had a similar problem with her morning chocolate croissant. They always had had some but moved them about, creating a game of hunt the croissant each morning.

This has given me an idea for a new website... "Buffet distances between breakfast items on cruise ships.com" I will probably make millions from it :D

 

I covered a hundred miles round and round the breakfast buffet every day looking for the porridge which was usually in one of the black soup hot pots across from the buffet. Puzzled, I thought I was going senile as it must be there somewhere!:confused: Day 5 I finally found it on the buffet in the corner and nowhere near the other cereals. Trouble is that you have to queue up behind everyone choosing their cooked breakfast to get it while before I could just go straight away and serve myself. Please IE take note.:):)

 

Jan

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