Bonobochick

On 5/8/2022 at 10:47 AM, melodyesch said:

And I know it’s not the most popular,  but we also love Los Lobos.  The table side guacamole is so good and we both have dishes there that we love.

I was able to hit up Los Lobos on the Bliss a couple of years ago and I have to agree that the table side fresh guac was great. 😊  I also liked the sides and dessert. I wasn't wowed by any of the entrees I had, tho (I went twice on my cruise).

IMO the best is Ocean Blue. I've never had a bad meal nor poor service there.

Teppanyaki is also a  consistently positive experience. I get the filet there and it's very tasty. Service tens to be good too. 

Le Bistro has always had good service when I've gone but the menu isn't as strong as it used to be. When I was on the Gem in March, I got the escargot appetizer again and it was a lot oiler than it used to be just even late last year. I love to dip the bread in the buttery sauce the escargot is cooked in but NCL changed the recipe for the worst. I was barely able to eat 3 of them. 

Cagney's has definitely lessened in the last couple of years. I've found it very hit or miss. It was a miss on the Gem in March 2022 but I had fine experience on Escape 2021. 

I will be on this ship later this year. Does the Joy not have a thermal suite? I was looking at my reservation and the only thing that shows up on the spa page are treatments. 

6 hours ago, shanefm3 said:

Took the early morning excursion to the beach . $55 but have a $50 excursion credit so basically a free trip . Be aware though that upon arrival , if you want a chair set up , you’ll need to cough up $25 for the two hour privilege to do so . 

Thanks for the pics. I had originally picked this excursion on my 3/10 Gem cruise but ended up switching to Jost van Dyke again. Now I know loungers aren't included on the Tortola beach excursion.

Antigua wasn't quite as dead during my cruise as it looks on yours but it was definitely still quiet (I'd also been there in last December on the Escape but it was busier with the holidays and a bigger ship). St. Maarten was where I noticed the biggest change. Front Street used to be crowded and lively but it was pretty empty with Back Street basically a ghost town. I did the same beach excursion as you near Maho and that beach is nice and spacious but I agree the food at the nearby restaurant that is included was underwhelming. 

I didn't think it was good. I was pretty disappointed when I went to Qs on the Bliss a few years ago. 

The live music was fine / good but otherwise... meh.

I was on the March 10th Gem sailing. I was told the ship had around 1200 passengers but it seemed like less than that. 

10 hours ago, luckybecky said:

have food allergies

This was my first thought specifically cause I have shellfish allergy so I'm already limited with my dining options (e.g. Cagney's appetizers is a pain for me) and a fixed menu would further restrict that. I am not a fan of a fixed menu and I hope it goes down in flames. 

I noticed the increase when I booked a cruise last week. I was on the Escape in December and remembered the prices being lower. Have the platinum & over meal vouchers been raised in tandem to cover the specialty dining price increases or do passengers just have to pay more out of pocket with the vouchers still at $35 maximum entrée pricing?

My onboard account was credited for an excursion I bought a month before my December Escape cruise which was canceled because not enough people signed up for it (per a shore excursion staffer).

The shore excursion team notice telling me about the excursion canceled by NCL, which was left for me at my cabin the first night of the cruise, stated it would be refunded to original payment method. It was not. 

My December 2021 Escape cruise had a ton of them for passengers to fill out while my November 2021 Gem cruise did not have any.

I am annoyed by the "use the post-cruise survey" response though cause both of the cruises I listed above, I did not receive a survey to fill out afterward. Unusual for me cause I'd gotten survey links for all my other NCL cruises in the last decade.

I actually get the mask stuff in the OP's post cause I was on the 12/23/21 Escape cruise and it was about 80% compliance with masks (it would be higher if more ppl had worn the mask over their nose...) but there were definitely people sitting around the atrium for events who were not drinking while having taken their masks off. I noticed a group of teens on my cruise that weren't good at mask wearing. They traveled in a maskless pack.

My excursions were mostly full of compliant mask wearers but there was one couple from Manchester I ended up on several excursions with who wouldn't wear their masks in taxis / vans and once they got on the ship, immediately took them off too to wander around the ship without masks. There was a sign getting off the forward elevators leading into the atrium asking for all guests to wear masks in public areas. I never saw it enforced by crew if passengers didn't have on a mask but thankfully most people were compliant about wearing a mask but there were definitely some inconsiderate, selfish people who did not. 

@kimpossible1, I feel you on the food. I had good meals in the specialty restaurants but the complimentary dining meals were very hit or miss. 

19 hours ago, jrbeccles said:

Mojito bar empty all day. NCL needs to realize that mojitos were fad, and almost no one drinks them anymore. I expect no one from NCL Corp sails on the ships and are clueless. 

I was on the 12/23/21 Escape cruise and IIRC, The Mojito bar is only open from 5-10p daily and it was packed whenever I walked by during those hours. 

I was also on the Gem 11/28/21 cruise and the bar was popular plus also only open in the evening. On this cruise I had a drinks package so I hit it up fairly often for a yummy raspberry or ginger mojito. 

On 1/2/2022 at 12:37 AM, CL1978 said:

Would someone please provide more info on which excursions they took in Puerto Plato? We are considering the Party at Sea boat. Is it worth it?

I did Party At Sea via Dec 23rd Escape cruise. I enjoyed it buy it was a bit disorganized. We had bad weather the night before so a number of excursions, e.g. the beach day, were canceled due to flooded roads. We were also late docking and getting off (by about an hour).

Now, the hostess (Mercedes) was a fun guide. We took a van from the port to Sousa Beach, which was about 35-40 minutes. Once we got there, we took a little boat from the beach to the Catamaran. With this part I would suggest that if anyone has any mobility issues, they should skip this excursion cause getting from the little boat on to the Catamaran took effort & some flexibility. 

The Catamaran was fine. Lots of room cause there were maybe 20 of us. The crew supplied us with lots of beverages - alcohol, soda, water - and some light snacks of cheese, bread, + cold cuts. I didn't go snorkeling but several who did saw lots of different fish & sea life so they were happy. I jumped in to do some swimming but it was still a bit rocky from the prior night's storm so I wasn't in the water more than 10 minutes. Water was nice temp and fine otherwise.

It did feel a bit disorganized once we got to the beach plus rather short with us being late to the port plus the commute to / from the port but I did enjoy myself. The crew was relaxed, the drinks were strong, and the music (once I asked them to switch from country to reggaeton) was entertaining. More positives than negatives with Party At Sea IMO.

I just saw it on my twitter feed. I was planning to cancel my March 26th cruise anyway but NCL beat me to it.

I just saw it on my twitter feed. I was planning to cancel my March 26th cruise anyway but NCL beat me to it.

Add Disney to the mix  

The story is definitely making the news rounds... 

Anyone have the available cabin deets for the 3/26 Gem cruise they can share? 🤓

Thanks

The cruise I've been eyeballing jumped from $597 to $1595 today. 🤯