Georgia_Peaches

Why don't you try screens room dividers. These screens have double sides with decorative finish and there is sound absorption wool inside. With the help of vinyl seal on top and bottom, the room dividers and screens have great sound insulation performance, blocking up to 50dB.

They don't look very portable.

Sheesh... angry some?

Actually, I think it was a very good explanation. I sensed no anger at all.

CM

My electronics were not touched when on the Epic.

CM

There is a bar on the lower level of the main atrium just outside one of the MDR's. Sorry, can't remember the name but its a great place to people watch and listen to music while you wait on your table for dinner. We found the bar service to be great as well.

CM

I don't know if it's the "best" use but we enjoy the for fee wine tastings and mixology classes.

CM

The paper tags will work. I've had to go this route in the past because my ordered tags didn't arrive. I brought a pocket stapler and attached them after collecting my luggage from the airport baggage claim. The luggage porters at the pier are pretty good about taking care with the tags. another option is to use clear packing tape and just tape the whole tag flat near the luggage handle. This only works well if you have hard case style luggage. Just my experience.

CM

So I'm not a confrontational person at all but when on vacation I will speak up when someone's behavior is encroaching on my enjoyment of an activity...in this case sitting and enjoying the balcony for which I paid. Upon hearing banging on my divider I'd likely say, "hey, knock it off!" Should the inconsiderate behavior continue I'd either report to guest relations or security as another has mentioned. But I'm not opposed to leaving a nice, but assertive note on my neighbor's door either.

It's unfortunate you are dealing with this...it's not something I've ever encountered on Celebrity.

CM

I can only speak to the balcony rooms...there is a curtain. Here's an inside family stateroom tour. I don't see a curtain.

CM

Hello, All! I'll be sailing on NCL Bliss this December to the Caribbean and have been reading some alarming reviews of its Alaska sailings. I am an inexperienced cruiser heading a large family gathering and hoped this beautiful new ship would blow us away, but the reports of rudeness, boring food, over crowding and nickel and dimeing have me concerned. Is it possible that all of these kinks can be worked out by December?! Is this typical of a Norwegian cruise?

Rudeness, boring food, over crowding, and nickel and dimeing are pretty typical complaints for all cruise lines. I would suggest you take the reviews with a grain of salt and keep in mind that of the few people who actually post a negative review, there are many, many more satisfied customers who will never post a word. I read many negative reviews about the Epic before our trip last Thanksgiving. Like you, I was in charge of planning for a large group of people. We had a fantastic time!! Had I let the reviews I read prior to embarkation get into my head, we might very well have missed out on a fabulous vacation.

CM

You will get a 20% discount but the $15 bucks associated with the UBP is for single serve drinks, not bottles.

CM

In my experience there is no expectation of additional tip whatsoever. Those who do tip an additional amount do so because they have received exceptional service, not because of unspoken pressures or expectations. I have found Celebrity staff to be very accommodating whether they think there will be a tip at the end or not.

CM

Good question...interested in the answer as well.

I've never been on a cruise where I didn't see many doors that were decorated. Some do it to celebrate a special occasion and others do it so they can find their cabin more easily...like putting ribbon on a piece of luggage. The doors are magnetic so it makes decorating convenient. We don't decorate, but I do bring a magnetic clip in case I want to post a message for my DH or vice versa.

I hope you enjoy your first cruise.

CM

We have 3 cabins on upcoming Escape cruise with 7 people.

We booked my mom (doesn’t drink) in with my daughter and her partner, and my son in with my sister so he could take advantage of UDP.

My mom will actually be with my sister and my son with my daughter.

In the past we just got extra room card, but now, his card will reflect drink package, so how do we get him key to the right room but still reflect drinks?

Thanks in advance for any advice

Karen

Jeez, this reminds me of the the logic problems on the GRE...

In actuality:

Cabin A = daughter/partner; both get key with UBP + son who also gets UBP with key that opens cabin B

Cabin B= sister/mom with key that opens cabin A

Cabin C= OP/Guest both presumably with UBP

Seems like son and mom will not have keys that open the cabin they are actually sleeping in. Daughter and sister may try asking for a duplicate key from guest services (amounting to 2 copies of a single key) but this could cancel out the original key they were issued. So that may not work. If any of the rooms are connecting, you can agree to keep the inside door open btwn. rooms A and B during the day.

The weird thing is, you have 7 people traveling and only want 6 UBP. Since you have 6 people that want them, why not put son and sister in the same room with mom? Mom, being the "odd" one out will abstain and the UBP goes to the other 2 occupants.

CM

They both have their pros and cons. DH and I do most of our cruising with Celebrity. We love the quiet and serene atmosphere. Blu is a really nice perk but since Aqua class is not a suite so you won't get the typical suite perks, like priority boarding and such that come with the Haven. On the Breakaway, you can count on lots to do for kids of all ages. The night life is much more vibrant on NCL than Celebrity. That said, we still prefer Celebrity over NCL. Which of the 2 we book is dependent upon the circumstance of who is traveling along or the itinerary being offered. We are on Breakaway over Thanksgiving. I would have preferred Celebrity but they didn't have an itinerary that met with our dates of travel. So NCL it is!

CM

I agree with Sauer-Kraut in that if you have the budget for it, go ahead and do the upgrade yourself. If you wait for the bidding process, you run the risk of not getting the upgrade at all. I booked a balcony on the Sun and bid on a mini-suite. It was what they called a "great" bid but I didn't get it in the end. I should have just booked the mini-suite in the first place. Still had a great time, though.

CM

IME, a lot of adults use this philosophy as well. I've worked for several companies that have had afternoon outings/parties at go kart tracks (we've got a lot of that stuff here in Orlando) and there's always a little "accidental" collision now and then.

 

However, when any kind of impact occurs, the go karts have a restrictor on them that kicks in and even if you apply gas, you're temporarily disabled. Or in other words, you're placed in "time out." The operators also have the remote ability to throttle a go kart indefinitely if someone is acting like a jerk.

 

I would imagine the NCL go karts have these same measures (if not more advanced) in place.

 

I am curious what NCL does to prevent drunk people from racing the go karts? Unless a breathalyzer blow is required (obviously this is not feasible), I imagine there's really nothing they CAN do.

Why is a breathalyzer not feasible? They are relatively inexpensive. We bought them for our daughters when they went away to college. A larger scale breathalyzer could easily be obtained. I'm surprised they aren't in play already.

Cm

2016 Mexican Riviera aboard the Jewel. The food and specialty restaurants were great, we loved the shows, and Iain Bagshaw (who's now with Marella) was an awesome CD with a droll sense of humor. The weather and itinerary were both awesome, with the highlight being our bar-hopping shore excursion in Mazatlan, which ended with the tour guides pouring out multiple shots of tequila for everyone on the moving the bus whilst we all caroused and sang all manner of songs badly. We normally NEVER tip tour guides, but those guys got $20 from us as were getting off the bus. They made a nice-but-routine shore excursion into a total blast.

Do you recall your embarkation port?

NCL Sun, South America - Santiago, Chile - Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires - Rio - Buenos Aires. Round the Horn in calm water! Fabulous time. Balcony cabin. Great crew, love the Great Outdoors. 👍❤️😊

You are not the first to mention the Sun on the South America itinerary. I think I may have to add that to my list. The Sun is my new favorite small ship.

CM

Wow! Sounds very menacing. 30 MPH is faster than I would have expected for a track on a cruise ship...of course I never expected a race track on a cruise ship...to much of a carnival atmosphere for me. Think I will steer clear...no pun intended.

CM

Wait. They told you what time to check in? I've never heard of this unless there was some sort of circumstance that warranted a late check in for all passengers...like an inspection or something. In my experience, people just show up at get in line.

CM

Please name the ship, basic itinerary, and factors that made it the best. I need cruise ideas as I am starting to get into a rut. Only NCL ships please.

CM

So I booked most of our dining on the Breakaway over Thanksgiving (11/18 to 11/25). None of the 3 MDRs are available on 11/21 (Wednesday). I didn't check all the specialty restaurants, but Cagney's, at least, is also not available on 11/21. Cagney's, LeBistro, Moderno, Savor, Taste, and Manhattan are available every other day of the week.

 

Anyone ever see this before? I'd hate to think that all of the complimentary MDRs are out of commission right in the middle of the week.

We are booked on this same cruise and I was able to make dinner reservations for every day of the week. On 11/21 we are in the Manhattan DR. I made reservations about a week ago. Like another has suggested, I would give them a call.

CM

The spas on cruise ships are not owned by the cruise lines, they make the majority of profits by selling products and extra services. All one has to do is indicate they don’t want a sales pitch on the form they have you fill out.

I think the OP verbally told the therapist that she was not interested in any other products or services. If this explicit declaration doesn't do the trick, I find it hard to believe that checking a box on a form will matter much.

CM

Being relatively new to NCL, the only thing I can speak to is question number 3. On our last cruise on the Epic, my husband was able to get two drinks with just his card.

I hope you all have a wonderful time on your cruise!

CM

BTW...sounds like you had to go through quite a few hoops to get this booked and within budget. Did you book directly through NCL or did you use a TA?