Motegi

Wow. I really appreciate the day by day breakdown! It’s really going to help Pam and I plan for our sailing on the Seaside!

Very controversial topic. It comes up very frequently.

You will get all variety of answers from people who never tip extra, always tip extra, or even those who ask to have the automatic gratuities removed to save money.

We always tip extra to our room steward and bartenders that we like. We have tipped our dining room wait staff in the past if we dined with them more than once and found them to be exceptional.

We contacted Carnival on our last cruise and had 18 of us linked. It requires that you have each persons booking number to do this. And getting to the right person who has access to this at Carnival is a whole other game in and of itself. We were told that once we were linked we would be seated together for dinner in the MDR. Unfortunately what we were told and what we encountered on the ship were completely different. I went to the maitre d on the afternoon of embarkation and tried to confirm with them. They said we would have to just arrive as a group in the dining room at our assigned time and they would seat us together if available. We arrived before the dining room opened and they had us wait until every single person had arrived. Then they broke us up into three tables. The second night they held everyone in the landing area between the aft elevators until 8:15. There were probably 200 people crowding the space and was definitely a safety hazard as the crowd was backed up along the stairwell and people continued to empty from the elevators. Once the doors opened there was an uncontrolled stampede as apparently the maitre d decided the tables were first come first serve unlike the first night. It was similar to what I remember from a Black Friday mad rush. We ended up at two 8 seat tables in the back. The last night we got two 10 seat tables in the front. So I don’t think that “linking” or talking to the maitre d had any effect whatsoever. It’s a free for all.

There is plenty to do in Nassau.

Even if you’ve been there many times before, like me!

There is of course the famous resort/theme park that is Atlantis. You can take a tour of the resort and visit the aquarium and marine habitat or you can spend a day at their Aquaventure Water Park with their famous water slides. For gamblers there is a large casino on the property too. You can take a taxi there from the port.

Under 5 minutes walk from the port is the main shopping district along Bay Street with all of the jewelry and Swiss watch boutiques. Also along that street is the Bahamas Parliament Square and behind it the Supreme Court and Nassau Library. There are lots of small restaurants and bars there where you can try some cheap Bahamian cuisine.

On our most recent two overnight stops there two weeks ago we really enjoyed taking the tour at the Pirate Republic Brewery on Woodes Rodgers Walk just a 5 minute walk from the port. It’s the only microbrewery in the Bahamas and they have daily guided tours twice a day for $13 which includes a flight of beer and a pretzel. The tour guide is dressed as a pirate and gives not only a tour of the brewery but an in depth history of the many pirates that occupied the region in years past.

Just 5 minutes walk past there is Senor Frogs bar.

For inexpensive souvenirs be sure to check out the Straw Market along the way.

Another 5 minutes beyond that is Junkanoo beach. We recommend walking a little further down the beach to the seafood shack called Crab and Tings. They are 5 star rated on Trip Advisor and the beach is much less crowded there. They have beach chairs for their customers and the food is fresh and inexpensive.

Just 5 minutes inland from there is the John Watling Rum Distillery where you can get a free tour and do a rum tasting.

Heading back toward the ship you can stop at the Graycliff Chocolate Factory for a tour.

You can visit the Nassau Pirate Museum for more of the Pirate history and see a full sized replica of a pirate ship.

Some other sites accessible by taxi include Fort Fincastle and the Queens Staircase.

So as you can see there is plenty to do.

I would recommend printing a google map of downtown Nassau before you leave and mark all of the places you want to see in case you don’t have cell service on the island.

Thanks for the concise review!

I liked Captain Massa on the Divina too!

Based on your advice we’ll be sure to stay away from the waffles!

We always pay the standard gratuity and I don’t understand those who ask to have them taken off or reduced as a means of saving money.

That being said we will also tip extra if we find a bartender who makes good drinks. We do this in the hopes that the bartender will remember us when we return again later and continue to provide good service. It usually works.

Also we will tip our cabin steward extra if they are friendly and attentive. For this we also expect the room to be cleaned in the morning and turned down at night with fresh towels each time and cups replaced. We find this happens routinely on NCL but is hit or miss on Carnival.

We were told by our most recent Carnival steward that they are now responsible for 30 cabins each!

I didn’t know about FTTF until recently because we don’t cruise CCL very often.

But on our last sailing we saw the FTTF getting on board first and figured it out.

Even though we didn’t buy FTTF we had chosen the earliest boarding window online so we weren’t far behind them. The corridor for our cabins was open when we boarded so I walked back to the room to find the keycards already there at 11:30.

Then we just sat at the Red Frogs bar poolside and waited for our friends to arrive.

I agree with the hit or miss assessment. I ordered it on the first night on my last cruise. I asked for medium rare. What came out was the strangest steak I’ve ever seen. It was about the color shape and size of a snickers bar. The temperature was well done. The meat was very tough. It was disappointing but luckily I had ordered a second entree so I only ate one bite of it.

On the last night one of my friends ordered the flat iron steak. I told him to order it rare because of what I had received the first night. What he got was a proper looking steak which he said was quite tasty.

So I guess there is a significant variance in the cut and quality of the flat iron steak on Carnival...

Obviously....Something is wrong. No way I would pay $1339/pp for an inside cabin..... especially on a smaller and older ship. I'm sure it will come back down

I thought that the price that karmic50 quoted was for their entire family of 4.

Excellent!

Also really looking forward to Meraviglia next year.

No.

Since we bring our own soda onboard we use the Yeti to hold the soda and ice.

Looks great. Thanks for sharing!

Not sure of size:

http://www.longboardhouse.com/Porthole-Picture-Frame_p_917.html

 

 

Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PORT-HOLE-PHOTO-FRAME-CARNIVAL-CRUISE-LINE-NAUTICAL-DECOR/232696365188?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50526%26meid%3Db24f92f13e214055b33b3a8fe9f8f1f7%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D171720197577%26itm%3D232696365188&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IN-BOX-PortHole-Picture-Frame-Photo-Frame-NCL-Norwegian-Cruise-Line-NEW/323142986767?hash=item4b3cd2ac0f:g:Ge0AAOSwUoxaqaoR

 

Carnival:

https://item.mercari.com/gl/m65842311018/?utm_source=pla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=860520439&utm_content=t0&adgroup=44259517100&network=g&device=c&merchant_id=117149371&product_id=m65842311018&product_id=293946777986&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItr_96KHt2QIVD5t-Ch1AJQdbEAYYASABEgKehPD_BwE

 

 

Just googling around while smoking my cigar...

Thanks! I ordered the one on Mercari! Now just 11 more to go!

Hi we got ours on our cruise on carinval .

Yeah, I have a couple from prior cruises but I’m trying to buy a dozen of them now to frame photos I took of my friends from our group cruise.

I’d like to find a source that I can mail order them.

Otherwise I’d have to book another cruise just to buy them! LOL!

Funny story about power strips.. we used to always bring one. But the last two times on RCCL it got me sent to the penalty box. I guess NCL is more liberal.

My sister got sent to the penalty box on the NCL Pride of America because she accidentally brought a power strip with surge protection. I had my usual non surge strip in my carry on and they allowed it.

You could also get one of those one into three outlet splitters at your local hardware store instead of a power strip.

Thanks for the review and sorry to hear about your bad experience.

The unconventional Epic cabin layout has been widely reported since its first cruise. Anyone who is considering a cruise on the Epic and is put off by this should consider a different cruise.

A paucity of outlets is not unusual for any cruise ship and precisely why most would recommend bringing a power strip. I have had no problems charging all variety of camera batteries, cell phones, my electric razor, and powering Pam's hair straightening iron in one outlet with a single compact power strip. Also there is usually another outlet in the cabins behind the TV if needed.

Not seeing the cabin steward in the hall is one thing but was the cabin still attended to every day? Were the towels changed and the bed made? It seems that the stewards are being assigned more and more cabins each year on all cruise lines so it probably means that they are busy cleaning a cabin rather than chatting in the hall. But I've always continued to have my cabins on NCL thoroughly cleaned every morning and turned down and refreshed again at night. Was this not the case on the Epic?

As for the pool towels I am sorry to hear that they apparently placed a limitation on them. Perhaps it was another consequence of the spring break crowds? We've never experienced any limitation as you described.

Regarding the limes, I would have been annoyed for sure as some of the drinks you listed are my favorites as well. I'm surprised by your finding that they only replenish the limes once a week for a ship that size and during the spring break season. But for your fellow passenger's review from that sailing it seems that there were certain bars that still had them. That is one thing that I have noticed on NCL, just because one bar says that they don't have something doesn't mean that the entire ship has run out. One bar may run out of Rum Runner mix on the second day but a different bar will have plenty until the end of the cruise. I'm not sure why the supplies are rationed in that way but it is something that I have experienced on multiple occasions before. So now I try to use the less popular bars on the ship, not only for faster service, but because they are less likely to run out of certain things during the cruise.

Thanks for the review. Pam and I can’t wait for our sailing in September!

I appreciate the review as well.

Pam and I are looking forward to sailing on the Seaside in September. It seems that MSC has been trying to make changes to address the concerns of their passengers based on the reviews. Hopefully there will be additional improvements between now and September.

Did you ever do breakfast or lunch in the MDR?

While we aren’t big lounging by the pool people (Pam is so pale she sunburns in the shade) and we don’t use the pool much in our own home, we do like to participate in trivia. So your comment about not being able to get in to the room where they were going to do trivia was concerning. Was the area not air conditioned? How early does one need to show up to get a seat?

Just got off that March 3rd cruise. Funny, if the dry dock was unscheduled they were able to buy out the entire Luau on Kauai, that normally is reserved for the general public with such short notice. Further, the exiting from the ship was the most disorganized I have ever seen. Simply put you on busses by the hundred or so and drop you off with no instructions what to do or where to go from there. I, am a Hilton Honors member and was able to use their special line to check in. Hilton took very good care of me giving me an ocean front suite. Yes, they did put us in a nice hotel, but it simply lacked any organization. Because of this I have already booked our next cruise with another cruise line. Don't get me wrong, I do like NCL, but because of the way this cruise was organized by management, I will try others for a while. Beware 12th hours changes by NCL's managers. We were lucky to get a free hotel and a one day refund. Technically, they didn't have to do anything.

Are you referring to the Luau Kalamaku dinner excursion at the Kilohana Plantation on Kauai? Which day did you go? They only offer the Luau to the general public twice a week so I'm sure that NCL was able to have their reservation adjusted. We visited the Plantation in a rental car on our own for the Koloa Rum Factory tasting and the train ride but didn't sign up for the luau because we had just been to the one at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu.

Also the port in Honolulu is not like a "normal" cruise port because there is no customs check since the POA cruise is entirely domestic. So basically you just walk off the ship and you are out!

Hopefully the rest of the cruise went well and you were able to enjoy your day at the Hilton.

As myself and others have already replied on this thread changes to cruise itineraries do occur on occasion and often with very short notice. I've experienced it personally but it didn't overshadow my overall enjoyment of the vacations.

In this instance I think for the minimal disturbance it created (shortening two cruises by one day each) they did the best that they could given the circumstances. Reports are that it was a true dry dock and not just an underwater inspection. They could have easily just cancelled one entire sailing altogether.

See my post #20 on this thread.

NCL is working with an engineering firm and a Bahamian contractor to develop a pier for GSC.

RCCL is building out their pier on the north side of their island Coco Cay which has an ocean floor topology similar to the adjacent GSC on the north side.

There is plenty to do in Nassau.

Even if you’ve been there many times before, like me!

There is of course the famous resort/theme park that is Atlantis. You can take a tour of the resort and visit the aquarium and marine habitat or you can spend a day at their Aquaventure Water Park with their famous water slides. For gamblers there is a large casino on the property too. You can take a taxi there from the port.

Under 5 minutes walk from the port is the main shopping district along Bay Street with all of the jewelry and Swiss watch boutiques. Also along that street is the Bahamas Parliament Square and behind it the Supreme Court and Nassau Library. There are lots of small restaurants and bars there where you can try some cheap Bahamian cuisine.

On our most recent two overnight stops there two weeks ago we really enjoyed taking the tour at the Pirate Republic Brewery on Woodes Rodgers Walk just a 5 minute walk from the port. It’s the only microbrewery in the Bahamas and they have daily guided tours twice a day for $13 which includes a flight of beer and a pretzel. The tour guide is dressed as a pirate and gives not only a tour of the brewery but an in depth history of the many pirates that occupied the region in years past.

Just 5 minutes walk past there is Senor Frogs bar.

For inexpensive souvenirs be sure to check out the Straw Market along the way.

Another 5 minutes beyond that is Junkanoo beach. We recommend walking a little further down the beach to the seafood shack called Crab and Tings. They are 5 star rated on Trip Advisor and the beach is much less crowded there. They have beach chairs for their customers and the food is fresh and inexpensive.

Just 5 minutes inland from there is the John Watling Rum Distillery where you can get a free tour and do a rum tasting.

Heading back toward the ship you can stop at the Graycliff Chocolate Factory for a tour.

You can visit the Nassau Pirate Museum for more of the Pirate history and see a full sized replica of a pirate ship.

Some other sites accessible by taxi include Fort Fincastle and the Queens Staircase.

So as you can see there is plenty to do.

I would recommend printing a google map of downtown Nassau before you leave and mark all of the places you want to see in case you don’t have cell service on the island.

We just completed a back to back NCL cruise followed by Carnival last month.

We usually prefer Norwegian but have sailed with Carnival twice in the last two years.

The differences that we noticed on our back to backs were:

1) Theater shows. They are much better on NCL. The shows were MUCH better attended as well. The seats were nearly full each night. On Carnival it seemed that the shows were only attended by those who chose to remain in their seats from bingo. The theater was mostly empty with maybe 30-40 people at most.

2) The stand up comedy shows on Carnival seemed to be the preferred entertainment. The adult comedy shows on NCL were crude at times but the Carnival comedians went to an entirely different level. Definitely adults only and don’t sit near the front if you don’t want to be called out. We enjoyed both but give the edge to NCL.

3) Dining. While we did enjoy the song and dance routines by the servers on Carnival we prefer the food quality, taste and main dining room atmosphere on NCL. Carnival never seemed to be able to cook my meat properly. It was either extremely over cooked or very rare. On NCL my steak was consistently medium rare. The MDR sea day brunch was very good on Carnival and better than MDR breakfast on NCL. For a casual lunch Guy Fieri’s Burger joint on Carnival was fantastic.

3) Ship decor. We prefer the more subdued and relaxing color palette and decor on NCL as opposed to the vibrant color scheme on Carnival. Carnival made me think that I was walking into the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz wheras NCL gave more of a Hawaiian resort sort of feel.

4) Cruise Director Staff: We heard but never saw the Cruise Director on Carnival. On NCL the director, Philly Joel, was everywhere from the game shows to the main theater performances. We enjoyed the scavenger hunts, trivia, and karaoke on NCL but they didn’t seem as well attended on Carnival.

5) Cabin service: Our stewards on both ships were extremely friendly and would greet us by name every time we would come and go from our cabins. However the level of service was noteably different. On NCL our room was cleaned every morning and and turned over again every night with fresh bath towels each time and a different towel animal each day. On Carnival the room would only be cleaned and towels replaced once a day. We got a towel animal only once. Our steward on Carnival explained that they require him to maintain 30 cabins each day. I don’t think NCLs stewarda are assigned as many so that probably explains why they can get to each cabin twice a day.

6) Officers: We always enjoy getting a photo with the Captain on our NCL cruises and the officers are very approachable as well. On the other hand we never saw the Captain or the officers on Carnival.

Outstanding! Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you! I’m glad to see more positive reviews of the Seasde as of late. We are looking forward to our sailing in September.

As with almost anything online, people are more likely to post when something goes wrong than when things go right. So this ends up skewing the balance.

Uh...unpackaged food is not allowed on or off the ship. Some ports have fruit sniffing dogs. Agricultural diseases can be an issue and you could actually get in trouble for doing it. Instead, carry bottles of water, granola bars, small cereal boxes. You can always purchase snacks or lunch at your port.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Agree 100%