njcruiser27

On 7/26/2020 at 11:40 AM, Canadianmama3 said:

I have actually just started looking at those cruises as well.  But the one thing holding me back is the layout of the cabins.  We will be travelling with my 11 year old son.  Is the washroom layout as terrible as some people say?  

We were on the Epic last year my adult daughter and I and we didn’t find the bathroom layout that bad. There is a curtain that you can separate the the bed area from the shower/toilet area. We really enjoyed the Epic. 

We were supposed to go on a Mediterranean cruise out of Athens Greece this September but COVID and a health issue nixed that. We looked at cruises for 2021, but have decided to wait until 2022 to take a similar cruise in early October. We just don’t want to take the chance of having our cruise cancelled. The cruise we wanted in 2021 was in April and I’m just not sure US citizens will be able to go to Europe.  

We did the 7 night out of Barcelona this past September and loved that cruise.  We stayed both pre and post cruise on Barcelona and really enjoyed our time there. This year we are doing a 10 night out of Athens and ends in Barcelona which hits ports in Spain, Turkey, Italy and Monaco. I would probably opt for the 11 night as well, but our cruise last year was fantastic!

We are staying at the Athens Gate pre cruise. We chose this hotel after checking many hotel reviews and we felt this one suited us best. Rate includes breakfast and you are within 100 meters of the New Acropolis Museum and short walking distance to the Acropolis. 

We did this cruise September 2019, and had a wonderful time. We had absolutely no problems and found the staff was great, really enjoyed the food, entertainment and bars.  I wouldn’t hesitate to do this cruise again. 

We stayed at Casa Camper this past September and really liked it. The rate includes full breakfast including eggs and pancakes and sandwiches, snacks and drinks (soda, juices and coffee) available all day also included in your rate. Staying there again this year, post cruise.  Check rates as they often run specials. 

On 1/4/2020 at 4:36 PM, Ryanryanryan said:

Roughly, what percentage of passengers are English speaking on a Mediterranean cruise?  I’m looking at booking a 7 day on the Epic and don’t really want to be on a ship where most people can’t speak English because I love to meet new people on cruises.

We were on the Epic in September and I think it had to be 90% or more spoke English. As for airfare, download the Hopper App. We were able to get a round trip on Delta/Air France out of JFK for $304. 

 We were on the Epic in September for a Mediterranean cruise and had a wonderful time. I had read the negative reviews prior to cruising and after the cruise I wondered if they were reviewing the same ship. Had no issues and found the crew to be very friendly. Would not hesitate to cruise the Epic again. 

On our cruise this past September the on board credit did not show up in our NCL booking until about a week before the actual cruise. When we boarded the ship in our cabin there was a card that showed the on boats credit.  

My September 2020 cruise out of Athens on the Jade increased $1400. I was going to upgrade but will now wait. 

On our Epic cruise in September 3 of us drank 30 bottles of water. It was a port intensive cruise and I can’t imagine not having the water ready to go. For me it was just the convenience made it worth it. 

We were just on the September 15 sailing of the Epic and the price kept going up the closer to the sail date, and eventually sold out.  We just booked another cruise for September 2020 out of Athens and since we booked it last month it has already gone up $100. I would rather book early and get the cabin I want in the location I want. I watch the prices until the final payment is due. If I see what I want cheaper I’ll call  and get the adjustment.                                                       Also if you are planning to stay pre or post cruise in Barcelona or Rome, I can tell you that out of Barcelona the hotels booked up very early so you need to be looking at that now to get the hotel you want. We booked the hotels 10 months  before the cruise and for our next cruise the hotels are already booked. 

33 minutes ago, Moonglo said:

Hi. Has anyone on here ever used the Hopper airfare app to help you get a good deal on your air for traveling? I've been following a few flights and have frozen one but am a lil leary since it would be a third party to book with instead of booking direct.  Anyone can offer advice or your thoughts?

We used the Hopper app for flights to Las Vegas and just used it for our flights to Barcelona for our cruise this past September. It is definitely legitimate, as soon as we booked we could see the reservation on Air France. We only paid $308 round trip, and no one had a fare anywhere close to that. The hopper is pretty accurate on predicting when the fare would be cheapest and when the fares would go up. 

Make sure you are off as soon as they allow you to. When we got off on September 22 around 8:45 there was a line that took about 35 minutes to get a cab. Luckily we were going to a hotel so it wasn’t a big deal for us, but if you need to catch a flight it could be a problem. 

Thanks so much for your review. We just booked the Jade for September 2020 and we were looking to see some of the excursions available for the Greece , Crete and Malta ports. We just did the Epic last month so we are familiar with what is available form the Italy ports except Sicily. We have a while to figure out what we want to do, but this is a great help!  

8 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

 

 

I am not sure why the tenders were a mess for you.  I do recall on our first Epic trip I got early tender tickets - maybe about 8.30 - we went down to leave at that time and just met a sea of people.  We were a while getting off. The timing was not right.  The Epic is a big ship, everyone cannot get off early.  

 

We have gone for slightly later tickets on subsequent cruises and we have got off quickly.

 

I just don't understand though why they give a time.  When we were on the Star recently they assigned tickets in numerical order.  I got tickets for  tender number 3.  The ship docked early but we were still entitled to the third tender.  They called over the PA for tenders in order.  That meant everyone was not queuing at the same time.   

We didn’t have the earliest tender, we were supposed to go at 9:30 but it was after 11 by the time we actually got on. There were hundreds of people in the area that you assembled, they were not checking what tender you were supposed to be on, and people were cutting the line because the way you lined up made no sense. They did call for 2 tender assignments at a time but since they weren’t checking the assignments anyone could just get in the line and go. What they should of done was give out stickers as they do when you use their shuttle buses and call by color of the sticker. There would be no confusion and it would be fair to everyone. 

We were on the same sailing and had a great time! I agree they need to do something about they do the tenders, it was an absolute mess, we were an hour and half later to port then scheduled. Luckily we didn’t have a scheduled excursion we just did the little train tour which we enjoyed. Everything else was great, we also had an inside cabin  and even the bathroom didn’t bother us!  We just booked the 11 night cruise on the Jade for September 2020 doing some of the same ports plus the Greek isles and Turkey. 

Thanks for posting the dailies. We are on the Epic out of Barcelona on 9/15 and this gives us an idea of what we want to do each day!  

20 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

 

We are in Barcelona Sept 26 - 30.  We'll be on Reflection Sept 30.  I just confirmed a reservation at Casa Camper.  It was little pricier than I wanted but they have very good reviews.   Can you provide any other tips for feedback from your friends on this hotel?  Thanks

We like to stay in “Boutique “ type hotels, we find the service tends to be better. We stayed in a great hotel in Paris and wanted something similar. Our friends who are familiar with our Paris hotel (Hotel le Six) suggested Casa Camper as it has the same feel and the service was excellent, the breakfast is good plus they have all day snacks and sandwiches included in the rate.  Reviews are really good for this hotel so we didn’t hesitate to book. 

We are taking the cruise out of Barcelona in September but decided not to use the free/reduced airfare. We are leaving from Newark but arriving 2 days before the cruise and staying an extra day.  The $399 fare is good but it would cost additional to come early plus you have to book your hotel through NCL. My agent at NCL priced everything for me and it ends up $700 more than if I did it myself. If I was getting there the day of the cruise I might have used it, they seem to use American Airlines which I happen to prefer. 

We are booked on the Epic in September and arriving 2 days prior to the cruise. We did a lot of research and spoke to friends who have been to Barcelona and finally chose Casa Camper. Hotel rate include breakfast and an all day buffet. I would definitely book something soon, hotels tend to sell out pretty early. 

262 days until the Epic out of Barcelona!