Just off the Epic, boy has the food gone downhill!

[brad0576]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

My experience is that club balcony suite is either green or orange

I had purple for club balcony suite

[brad0576]

1 hour ago, TenForward said:

 

A little surprised to see you docked at Amber Cover - I thought NCL was using Taino Bay now.   We're on the Getaway in April and really hoping to dock at TB.  Is it possible to taxi there from AC if that's where we end up?  Thanks.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

 

There itinerary specifically said Amber cove at the time of booking - not sure why at all - it’s a nice port, similar to mahogany bay in setup 

[UKstages]

club balcony is definitely purple; i'm looking right now at a key card issued a few weeks ago on the getaway... purple. it's even in tye description of the club balcony as a bogus benefit. "distinctive" purple key card or some such, if memory serves

[DavidOrawan]

Club balcony on Breakaway was green in January 

[cruiser2015]

54 minutes ago, zqvol said:

My experience is that club balcony suite is either green or orange

Just sailed in a club balcony - the card is purple.

[UKstages]

6 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

Club balcony on Breakaway was green in January 

 

it may well have been. but it wasn't supposed to have been.

 

here's the list of club balcony benefits from the NCL site:

 

Exclusive Club Balcony Suite Amenities

• Distinctive Purple Keycard
• Pre-book onboard dining as early as 125 days prior to sailing
• Pre-book entertainment as early as 21 days prior to sailing
• 1 complimentary valet laundry
• 1 bottle of sparkling wine upon embarkation
• Treats delivered to your stateroom twice per week.
• Bliss Collection by Norwegian™ featuring fine linens and pillows
• Lemongrass bathroom products
• Bathrobes
• TV, refrigerator, safe, and hair dryer
• Sitting area
• Lower beds arranged as a queen-size bed.
• Coffee maker & ice bucket available upon request.
• 24-hour standard room service menu
• Continental breakfast menu

[cruiser2015]

2 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

it may well have been. but it wasn't supposed to have been.

 

here's the list of club balcony benefits from the NCL site:

 

Exclusive Club Balcony Suite Amenities

• Distinctive Purple Keycard
• Pre-book onboard dining as early as 125 days prior to sailing
• Pre-book entertainment as early as 21 days prior to sailing
• 1 complimentary valet laundry
• 1 bottle of sparkling wine upon embarkation
• Treats delivered to your stateroom twice per week.
• Bliss Collection by Norwegian™ featuring fine linens and pillows
• Lemongrass bathroom products
• Bathrobes
• TV, refrigerator, safe, and hair dryer
• Sitting area
• Lower beds arranged as a queen-size bed.
• Coffee maker & ice bucket available upon request.
• 24-hour standard room service menu
• Continental breakfast menu

Thanks for the reminder of the extras there.

Now, I just love my purple card; but now I'm feeling cheated.

Treats are going twice per cruise, not per week.

Got ours on, guessing, here, days 2 or 3 and 5 or 6. Zip for the next 9 or 10 days (15 total nights).

[UKstages]

there is also no coordination of treats... nothing is spaced out if you have treats coming from more than one department or entity. if you're a sapphire guest in a club balcony who also has premium status in the casino, you could get three sets of choco strawberries on one night.

[LloydJr]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

Exclusive Club Balcony Suite Amenities

• Pre-book onboard dining as early as 125 days prior to sailing
• Pre-book entertainment as early as 21 days prior to sailing
• TV, refrigerator, safe, and hair dryer
• Sitting area
• Lower beds arranged as a queen-size bed.
• Coffee maker & ice bucket available upon request.
• 24-hour standard room service menu
• Continental breakfast menu

Are all of those things really "exclusive" to the Club Balcony Suites?  It seems that I've had access to all of those in the cheap cabins.

[UKstages]

no. this is why i referred to them earlier as "bogus benefits."

 

the prebooking (for non status guests), the laundry, the treats, the sitting area, the wine (for non status guests) and the bathrobe are "real" benefits, although anybody in any cabin could presumably ask for a bathrobe. and while not listed here, one of the best benefits is the larger bathroom (on most ships). the "lemongrass" bathroom products would also be a perk, but i've never seen those.

[spanishguy1970]

4 hours ago, brad0576 said:

Currently on the Epic - hello from Amber Cove 

 

compared to my last ship (Joy) the epic is a few steps below in service and food quality - the buffet just seems repetitive and limited - the dining room service has been spotty - and the food quality seems lacking.

 

for a cruise line that was trying to be known for its culinary - it has taken a step backwards 

 

on a side note the crowd on this cruise seems off to me - I have never seen more orange cards on a cruise.

on our last cruise on the NCL Spirit 16 days we did notice the MDR menu was very repetitive we opted to go to paid restaurants. I remember the days when you can count on NCL to have new items on their menu.

[ready2cruzagain]

2 hours ago, brad0576 said:

orange - first time

green - returning guest 

purple - suite 

tan-ish (I think) - haven 

 

 

Purple is also b2b ... had my share of those

 

[ready2cruzagain]

2 hours ago, TenForward said:

 

A little surprised to see you docked at Amber Cover - I thought NCL was using Taino Bay now.   We're on the Getaway in April and really hoping to dock at TB.  Is it possible to taxi there from AC if that's where we end up?  Thanks.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

 

On the food note, I'm somewhat anxious to see how our upcoming cruise compares to our last (Jan 2023) which had hits and misses compared to previous cruises... some quite good options but also a few literally inedible. 

 

 

The Epic switched ports and came to the US unexpectedly end of last year. No room at Tiano Bay so it is doing Amber Cove.

[IAcruising]

14 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

Are all of those things really "exclusive" to the Club Balcony Suites?  It seems that I've had access to all of those in the cheap cabins.

 

You were able to book dining at 125 days in the "cheap cabins"? You got a bag of free laundry and a bottle of (crappy) wine?

 

 

[zqvol]

1 minute ago, IAcruising said:

 

You were able to book dining at 125 days in the "cheap cabins"? You got a bag of free laundry and a bottle of (crappy) wine?

 

 

Sure can as long as you are platinum or above

[IAcruising]

1 minute ago, zqvol said:

Sure can as long as you are platinum or above

 

Exactly.

 

[LloydJr]

27 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

You were able to book dining at 125 days in the "cheap cabins"? You got a bag of free laundry and a bottle of (crappy) wine?

 

 

I didn't include the laundry and wine in my quote.  Those are likely "real" perks, but certainly not "exclusive."

[IAcruising]

11 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

I didn't include the laundry and wine in my quote.  Those are likely "real" perks, but certainly not "exclusive."

 

Ah. I missed that you edited the quote from UK. Nice. What about the 125-day dining?

 

[Sailing12Away]

 

5 hours ago, brad0576 said:

Currently on the Epic - hello from Amber Cove 

 

compared to my last ship (Joy) the epic is a few steps below in service and food quality - the buffet just seems repetitive and limited - the dining room service has been spotty - and the food quality seems lacking.

 

for a cruise line that was trying to be known for its culinary - it has taken a step backwards 

 

on a side note the crowd on this cruise seems off to me - I have never seen more orange cards on a cruise.

We'll be hopping on board the 25th. Was curious about the Amber Cove vs Taino Bay - is everything there up and going (shops, pool, etc)? Has always thought that was a Carnival exclusive area.

What about San Juan - did you stop at the Pan Am port, or Old San Juan? NCL is telling me we'll be docking at the Pan Am port, but that just doesn't make any sense. I'm hoping they're wrong and we actually come in at Old SJ.

 

2 hours ago, brad0576 said:

I had purple for club balcony suite

Yeah, as others have said as well our mini suite (club balcony) card was purple,. Haven is "gold" with a starfish. For the others, it all depends on your NCL status.

[LloydJr]

16 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

Ah. I missed that you edited the quote from UK. Nice. What about the 125-day dining?

 

I already get that because I'm Platinum or above, but that could be a slight perk for those who have not yet reached such esteemed and glorious levels.🤣

 

(🐀)

[brad0576]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

We'll be hopping on board the 25th. Was curious about the Amber Cove vs Taino Bay - is everything there up and going (shops, pool, etc)? Has always thought that was a Carnival exclusive area.

What about San Juan - did you stop at the Pan Am port, or Old San Juan? NCL is telling me we'll be docking at the Pan Am port, but that just doesn't make any sense. I'm hoping they're wrong and we actually come in at Old SJ.

 

Yeah, as others have said as well our mini suite (club balcony) card was purple,. Haven is "gold" with a starfish. For the others, it all depends on your NCL status.

Everything was open at amber cove and we were the only ship in port - it’s a nice port

With plenty of shops - the pool area was pretty empty

 

in San Juan we docked at pier 3, carnival celebration and holland American new somethingdamn were at 4/5, nothing was at 1/2 

 

in st Thomas were were at havensight with same two ships from PR, royal Caribbean was at the other port 

[IAcruising]

32 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

I already get that because I'm Platinum or above, but that could be a slight perk for those who have not yet reached such esteemed and glorious levels.🤣

 

Next one, I'm there. It will be esteemingly gloriousness.

 

 

[Sailing12Away]

2 hours ago, brad0576 said:

Everything was open at amber cove and we were the only ship in port - it’s a nice port

With plenty of shops - the pool area was pretty empty

 

in San Juan we docked at pier 3, carnival celebration and holland American new somethingdamn were at 4/5, nothing was at 1/2 

 

in st Thomas were were at havensight with same two ships from PR, royal Caribbean was at the other port 

Thank you! Hoping our trip next week will be the same so we can just walk off and wander while we eat and drink with the locals.

[brad0576]

5 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

 

The Epic switched ports and came to the US unexpectedly end of last year. No room at Tiano Bay so it is doing Amber Cove.

So in talking with a few bartenders this is a matter of contention with the current Epic staff - ultimately cruising the Mediterranean is fairly easy because the majority of they days are port days - so the crew gets more time off of the ship and has to work less - since the ship was repositioned they feel “this is not what we signed up for” and it appears many are working with a chip on their shoulders - mainly those that are newer to the job from what I can tell.  

[IAcruising]

9 minutes ago, brad0576 said:

So in talking with a few bartenders this is a matter of contention with the current Epic staff - ultimately cruising the Mediterranean is fairly easy because the majority of they days are port days - so the crew gets more time off of the ship and has to work less - since the ship was repositioned they feel “this is not what we signed up for” and it appears many are working with a chip on their shoulders - mainly those that are newer to the job from what I can tell.  

 

Well now. That's an interesting little can of worms you've opened.

 

🍿