tfattz1

On 5/22/2019 at 9:38 AM, graphicguy said:

Congrats on getting the upgrade.  If you don’t mind me asking, what ship are you on and what cabin did you upgrade to?

 

You’re going to love it!

We are going on the NCL Dawn tomorrow actually 😊We went from a reg balcony room to an aft penthouse suite with large balcony and butler concierge service.  We didn't bid a lit barely moved on the poor scale that gave you an idea of your chances. Figured we had nothing to lose..and OMG we got the bid accepted email with different room number and everything. We are super excited🤗🤗🤗

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 3:42 PM, worktocruise610 said:

I've learned a lot from this forum so thought I would try to give a little for a change 😉 My husband & I sailed the Escape to Bermuda May 12th, we had a balcony cabin, the drink package, and the 3 dining package. These are just some thoughts about the cruise and I will be happy to try and answer any questions.

 

Specialty dining - we ate at Bayamo, Cagney's & La Cucina

  Bayamo - I enjoyed the food, the service was very good but I prefer the old Ocean Blue menu.

  Cagney's - I was nervous about this one after reading some reviews, but I have to say, for us, it was very good

  La Cucina - we ate here 2x  & both times the service was very good, but also both times, they forgot the bread (which we really didn't need, but would have loved)

 

I found the service on the ship to be excellent, of course you always meet a couple who do not look happy but I chalk that up to bad days, or ready to go home, and move on. You can always find someone happier & nicer. The senior staff were very visible & friendly, always stopping to say hello, make sure everything is okay and asking to please let them know, while you are on the ship, if you have a problem. Gave out their business cards with their numbers & asked you to call with any issues. I didn't think there were enough things going on poolside. When we left it was raining & the 2nd day was cloudy, windy & cool, so those days were excused. But the rest of the week was beautiful, sunny & warm. Everyone wanted to be outside, obvious by the crowds by pool & bars, so why not have more activities/entertainment there? There was a band that would play for 45 minutes maybe twice a day (with about 3 hours between sets). That part was a disappointment, we always enjoy the outside activities. I believe this was the cruise director's first cruise in that capacity so maybe he just needs some more experience. 

 

Overall it was a great cruise & I'm sad it's over. Of course, already looking at booking the next one 😀 Hope this helps someone in some way  but like I said, feel free to ask any questions & I'll do my best to answer them.

 

Happy cruising

Thank you so much for this!  I appreciate the feed back :)  I try and stay happy and positive.  I am on vacation afterall!!!!

Thank you everyone for your responses!!! 

Thank you BirdTravels.  Appreciate the breakdown!  I am also glad you noted the additional tip for room stewart.  I was not even thinking about them!!  I was thinking the butler did it all :)  Very new for us and looking forward to this.
 

Thank you for your reply David_Sobe :) 

33 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

There is no rule of thumb about tipping daily or at the end of the cruise.  I sometimes do a mixture of both.  Its up to you and how much you tip depends on how much you use them.  IMHO the service is not a big deal because we don't use them that much.  Sometimes I have not even met them until the third day of the cruise because they stay so busy.  Each butler is assigned many cabins which can be challenging.  You can research threads here of very involved butlers and butlers who keep their distance unless you ask for something.

One thing they will do is deliver the daily treats of chocolate covered strawberries or other tiny tray treats.  If you are not in your cabin, they will leave them on the bar.  If you want dinner delivered to your cabin, you can arrange it with him/her.

Good Day All.  We were just informed that our bid for the upgrade was accepted and with the new room comes a butler service.  I have never had a butler service before.  Just curious as to what others have experienced.  Also do you tip them daily?  Do you tip them before you leave?  Appreciate any input :) :)

Thank you for the responses :) Good points about being an experienced crew.

My husband and I booked a cruise for the week of Memorial day 2019. We leave out of NY on the Dawn. We have done this route before going to FL and the Bahamas but on the GEM in the past.

From what I can tell, that week is the first week the Dawn will sail from NY.

Has anyone had experience with being on a ship the first week they reposition? My husband is concerned that they won't have their act together. He has also read other posts where people really think the Dawn is a downgrade from the Gem.

DH wants us to reconsider and perhaps change our destination port and ship.

I know vacation is what you make it, and personally I am happy just being on vacation,:cool: but thought I would put his concern out there.

Appreciate the feedback :)

Love your reviews! Brought back all the wonderful memories from our cruise on the Gem back in 2014! You are correct when you say its all about the attitude!

Hello All!

I have another cruise on the Gem booked for Florida/Bahamas for June 2016. My husband and I were just looking into what we may want to do in the Florida Port but noticed that only excursions for the Bahamas were listed.

I called NCL customer service in the event that perhaps we just waited to long although I found that hard to believe because we don't sail for 9 months. I was surprised by how I spoke to 3 different people and really didn't get any help. CS #1 said "Mam you must be mistaken" My response: "No sir I am looking at your website right now as we speak and only excursions for the Bahamas are currently available for booking" At this point I was transferred to the "Excursions Department" This gentleman explained to me that no excursions will show up to book until 6 months before the cruise. My response, "Ok, just for the Florida ports then? because the Bahamas excursions are showing?" Again, I was told I was mistaken. I again replied "No sir I am looking at your website right now and there are 38 excursions listed all for the Bahamas only" So then they transferred me to a manager. This gentlemen was very nice as were they all and said for me to simply just check back in a few weeks to see if things have been updated."

Mind you, they were all kind and courteous but they did not seem to know what was going on. I will take the managers advice and check back in a couple of weeks. I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with NCL CS? Nice people, but need to get all their facts straight. Glad my inquiry wasn't overly important. Honestly if we can't book an excursion in FL we will just stay on the ship :D

Looks pretty good! You have a cabin above you and nothing but a lifeboat below. Almost all cabins are sandwiched between two cabins so I'm not sure what the concern might be. You are not in a connecting room, there is no door between your cabin and the adjoining ones. Should be fine.

RV Sullivan thank you for your reply. I am still pretty green when it comes to reading the deck plans. I had no idea there was a life boat underneath us...I think the word "family" made me a bit nervous. Again, thank you so much for your reply I appreciate it.

Hello All!!!

I am new to Cruise Critic and had a concern and thought I would try out this forum for some of the stellar advice I have seen on here :D My husband and I cruised on the Norwegian Gem back in May of 2014 and had an Ocean view room.

We decided this time to go again on the Gem because we really did have a lot of fun and wanted to do some of the things we missed. This time we booked a balcony. I realized after booking and picking our room that I chose a family balcony and we seem to be sandwiched in between 2 adjoining rooms. This may not be a big deal at all but when I look at the deck plans I am wondering if I made a mistake.

We are located on Deck 9 B2/9630 is the room. it seems well located. Far enough from some things and close enough to others.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. :D:D:D