schmoopie17

I may be the only one confused by this, since nobody else is questioning it. But if they awarded you double points after final payment, why would you call to request double points? EDIT: Oh, after re-reading this for the fifth time, I think I see what you were saying...that the cruise in general qualified for double points and you called to see about getting the double points even though it wasn't a new booking. When you said they doubled the points for "your cruise" I thought you literally meant they doubled the points for YOU. I need more coffee...

@BirdTravelsI wouldn't be surprised to see someone commenting on a post from a Mayflower traveler from back in the day. That traveler probably had complaints about the beverage package and the WIFI.

So...I signed up and everything's set on my account. But I'm confused...what's the advantage to signing up my wife if we always cruise together? It's not like they'll give us a double discount...

Following the discussion of no-longer free continental breakfast vs. reduced price for "hot" breakfast... I've never ordered the "hot" room service breakfast, but I would be hesitant due to the fact that most "hot" breakfasts we had on our recent 16 day cruise in the dining room, O'Sheahan's or even the buffet were not "hot". Without exception, they were lukewarm, at best. I can only imagine how not hot it would be after sitting on a cart, going down an elevator, being rolled down the long hallway, etc.

Room service could be considered a "hidden" spot...

You already have embarkation covered, above. As for debarkation...DO NOT USE THE NCL AIRPORT TRANSFER!!!!! It was a total sh!t show. We were told to stand in a line outside the buses. After about 15 minutes of standing in that line, they said we need to move to another line. Again, after about 15 minutes they told us to go back to the original line. Note that we had just about gotten to the head of the line when they told us to move back to the BACK of original line. All of this was in 30 degree weather with howling winds.We waited another eternity to actually board the bus. The driver was surly, didn't speak English, couldn't figure out how to turn down the heat...people were loudly complaining of the excessive heat on the bus, Upon arrival at the airport, without a word he jumped off the bus and began pulling everyone's bags off, regardless if that was the terminal people needed. Never again...

As stated above, the fried shrimp appetizer is fantastic. It was so good, we asked the manager for the recipe and it appeared in our cabin the next day.

We missed a port in the Azores on our recent Escape TA due to high winds and rough seas. The next day our account showed two credits of $40. I assume those were refunded port fees. Never asked because I was happy to get $80 in credits.

That doesn't mean we didn't want two if the price was right. I think I know what I wanted and what I was thinking more than you do. Like I said, case closed. Unless you want to keep beating this dead horse. In which case, you can argue with yourself. Knock yourself out. I'm done with it.

When did I say we only wanted to buy one? We were considering two future cruises (one that we knew we would be booking soon and another we had some interest in for later.) Until she told me I could get two for one, didn't know that deal was even possible. The way I see it, we're $250 ahead. Case closed.

So, I got "preyed on" for getting $500 worth of certificates for $250?? I'll take getting "preyed on" like that every day of the week. Tell you what...you give me $500 and I'll give you $250. Now who got "preyed on"?

The problem is NCL's insistence to refer to the $250 credit as "Non-Refundable OBC". Typically, non-refundable means use it or lose it. Not in this case. On our cruise last week, we bought a $250 CN and I told the salesperson I didn't want $100 OBC for the current cruise. She said, in that case, she can give us an extra $250 CN certificate at no charge. At first I didn't believe her. Sounded too good to be true. But sure enough, our account showed two CN certificates at $250 each...a $250 charge to our account...and $250 listed as "Non-Refundable OBC. I began to worry about the "use it or lose it" aspect of Non-Refundable OBC...but sure enough, our account balanced out at the end and we got the $250 "extra" certificate ($500 total) at no cost..

So, do you ever see it in your account, or is it sitting somewhere behind the scenes? We received the email saying it would be posted to our account after our current sailing (which ended November 17th) and nothing appears in our account.

We had the opportunity to use Rome Cabs for a night tour of Rome, as well as transport from our hotel to the port two days later. The night tour driver (Radu) was especially good at providing interesting tidbits as we rode all over the area. Very patiently waited while we roamed around after dropping us at the various sites. Pick-up was prompt in both cases and would highly recommend this company.

On previous cruises, there were people holding hand sanitizer when you walked into the Buffet, saying, "Washy Washy". Honestly, I thought that was cute. In this case, these guys stood right by the elevator entrance to the buffet ALL DAY, (for 16 days)...singing the same inane five Washy Washy songs. Not only are they lame songs, but they get stuck in your head all day. Trust me...we weren't the only ones who were annoyed.

@RumRunner2021I'm sorry. I meant to say really, really annoying. Better? Singing the same inane songs over and over, ALL DAY, EVERY DAY is annoying. Sorry you disagree. You must be easily entertained.

We had never done a transatlantic before but have always thought about it. We figured, in the immortal words of Elvis, "it's now or never"...despite reading about the questionable conditions many cruisers have experienced on November TA cruises. Surprisingly, we only had a few issues when crossing the Atlantic. Other than having to skip one port in the Azores due to near-100 MPH winds, the rest of the cruise was surprisingly smooth (at least to us. We heard others say it seemed rocky. Like they say, YMMV.) We spent three days in Rome pre-cruise and bought two bottles of Lemoncello for gifts to take home. We fully expected to have to fork over the bottles at embarkation to be delivered at the end of the cruise. But to our surprise, they were not x-raying carry-on stuff at the embarkation port (even though they did it at every other stop along the way). Also of note, when "checking" vaccination cards, our woman glanced at them for maybe one second before waving us through. My card could have had the name Mickey Mouse and my vaccinations could have been for polio from 1960 and she wouldn't have noticed (or cared). I won't get into excursion or port details...these comments are mainly about the ship. Here goes: THE GOOD: The Escape is in remarkably good condition. Everything seemed to be nicely polished and spiffy. Our cabin steward, Ryan, was extremely efficient, always smiling. Requests for coffee supplies, ice, etc., were met quickly and cheerfully. Staff and crew were, almost without exception, friendly and well-mannered. The captain had a sense of humor, as well as a sense of dedication, when he decided to cancel one port stop for everyone's safety. Bayamo, Cagney's and Le Bistro were excellent. We asked for the recipe for the spicy Bayamo shrimp appetizer and the next day it magically appeared in our cabin. The lava cake in the dining room was fantastic. (The only memorable dining room item). Again, we requested the recipe and it appeared the next day. The theater shows were good. We saw the comedy magician, the Shadow and Light (very different) and Choir of Man (very talented group of young men). The ship was only half-full, which made it easy to get drinks and cut down on the crowds at elevators, shows, restaurants, etc. The weather was great considering it was November. Temps in the 70's were common most days. THE BAD (or at least not as good as the good) Six sea days in a row got a bit repetitious, but we knew what we signed up for. (An extra sea day was added when Bermuda was dropped pre-cruise). We had looked forward to the mini-golf and bocce, but almost every day was so windy we decided to skip the top deck activities. The internet is a joke. At least we didn't pay for the "upgraded" plan, so my aggravation at trying to get on-line didn't cost anything extra. They say Cruise Critic is free, Good luck getting onto it. In 16 days I wasn't able to log on even one time. The guy at the internet "service" desk is grumpy. Probably with the never-ending line of people complaining about the connection issues. Smoke in the casino is bad...very bad. We ate in the dining rooms at least 10 times for dinner and four times for breakfast. The food was so mediocre and unmemorable that I can't remember what I had. : My wife made the mistake of ordering the steak twice (you'd think once would be enough) and both were practically inedible. Her eggs benedict was overcooked badly (I don't eat eggs, so I have to take her word for it...but she couldn't finish it. The atrium games and shows were typical cruiseline fare. The ones we saw were while sitting above in O'Sheahan's in the semi-circle overlooking the atrium area. Speaking of O'Sheahan's it was hit and miss. Burger and nachos were decent but wings were soggy (twice) and the beer selection was bad. Speaking of beer, at sailaway, the District Brewhouse was already out of four beers. Not a good look on Day 1, especially to beer lovers such as us. The Buffet, while not bad, was pretty mediocre (like most cruise ships). Speaking of the Buffet... THE UGLY: Whoever though having two guys singing "Washy-Washy" songs in the buffet every morning was a good idea? It was cute the first day, but it got really annoying after. We will never sign up for NCL airport transfers again. Standing for an hour in freezing cold, being shifted from one line to another. It was a cluster you-know-what. Overall, the Escape pretty much lived up to our expectations. Having only two items in the "Ugly" category (although both were really ugly) is a good sign. We signed up for the two-for-one Cruise Next certificates which we will be utilizing next year (but not on another Transatlantic). Been there, done that.

You won't have any trouble getting a seat. We just got home yesterday after being on the Escape for 16 days and only one time did we see anybody there. And that was a group of four.

We just got off the Escape yesterday and it is bad...very bad. There was constantly a line at the internet advice desk with people complaining about it. They promote free access to Cruise Critic but I was not able to connect even one time in 16 days. I feel sorry for the people who bought the upgraded package. At least my aggravation didn't cost extra.

I am constantly logged into my NCL account (I have way too many passwords for hundreds of sites and don't want to have to keep looking for them)... Anyway, I have done fake bookings (while logged in) at least twice a week for the last six months, checking for price drops on our upcoming cruises. I have never received a call from NCL (that I know of...I don't answer calls from unknown numbers). But I have gotten the "finish your booking" emails, which I instantly delete.

We have changed our cabin three times for our upcoming Nov 1st TA...once after final payment, as recently as a few weeks ago. Called our PCC and he changed it instantly each time, with no price difference or loss of amenities. All cabins were in the same category. Apparently, when people say "Your mileage might vary", it's true.

On Trip Advisor there are reviews from as recently as late September and early October. I assume that means they're still in business (at least I hope so, we're booked with them for three weeks from now).

I do...but being an old guy who isn't very tech-savvy, didn't know that was a thing.

The last couple times I tried using chat, they told me I had to call the 800 number. That chat feature is awesome....

So...this thread started out as a discussion on Bailey's. So far it has devolved into: Celebrity Royal Caribbean MSC Real estate taxes Shorts Waterfront dining Personal attacks Who knows what else? (too lazy to page back nine pages). Gotta love Cruise Critic.