teesmc

 I just booked the Meraviglia out of Port Canaveral for family cruise next spring. I have sailed Carnival Magic, Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas and NCL Epic in the recent past. Would love to hear how others compare if you have experience...specifically with food, drink/bar lines, passenger crowding and things for teens to to. TIA.🤩

On 11/28/2019 at 12:58 PM, islandwoman said:

I had a different experience from that posted by BNBR.

 

I bought The Key for my husband and myself for a recent Mariner of the Seas 3 day cruise from Port Canaveral to Nassau and Coco Caye. 

The "Private Activities Hours Schedule" was printed on the back of "The Key Unlock Exclusive Benefits" that we received at the boarding day lunch:  Day 1 Port Canaveral 1:  PM - 2:30 PM Ice Skating

Day 2 Nassau:  10 AM - 11 AM Perfect Storm; 11 AM - Noon FlowRider; 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Skypad; 3 PM - 4 PM Rockwall.  All of these times were while we were in port.

 

We received early boarding along with the Diamond members.  While thousands of passengers were waiting at the port, we were enjoying lunch in the main dining room.  We were served mimosas along with an abbreviated Chops menu. Excellent service.

We didn't attempt to debark at the earliest time in either Nassau or Coco Caye.  When we arrived at the gangway, there was no priority line, but none was needed. We walked right off the ship without waiting in line.

THERE WAS NO PRIORITY SEATING AT ANY OF THE SHOWS WE ATTENDED, but none was needed. There was enough seating for everyone who wanted to attend, even when we arrived late.

On disembarkation day, we attended the breakfast in the Main Dining Room.  It was from 6:30 AM until 8:30 AM.  There was a full menu and service was excellent.  WE STILL HAD TO BE OUT OF OUR CABIN BY 8 AM. 

We then walked off the ship - no waiting. 

 

I would recommend "The Key" for short cruises, as it seems that the best benefits are on embarkation and disembarkation days.

What time could you board?  We are doing The Key on Mariner next month.  Wondering how early we can get on ship with it.  TIA

Is there a group chat or messaging option on the RC app?  I wasn't planning to buy my kids internet packages because I thought we could message each other thru the app on board...  But I don't see it on the app.  TIA

My bad, I consider that the "adult pool" area- the hot tubs and quiet chairs with umbrellas looked heavenly for someone with little ones.

Why so snarky?

We sailed Paradise over New Years.  It was a great trip.  The MDR staff was excellent and enjoyed the food, especially desserts.  We ate breakfast in MDR every day, which was good.  We had kids with us, otherwise the adult pool looked heavenly.  Husband enjoyed the casino and variety of games.  They did a nice job for New years eve, with decor and party on lido.  The ship itself is older, but kept up nicely and I enjoyed being on a smaller ship.  Getting on and off was a breeze.  Happy to answer other questions.  

I got an email offer from RC today to bid on room upgrades on our April Mariner sailing...  I have never been offered this option by RC.  Is this new for RC?  I know they do it on NCL.  Could be related to Coronavirus drop-offs?

Our Mariner cruise for April went down by $1000 in the sale Monday.  

Sailing Mariner in April...a few questions, TIA

1.  Thinking of stay on board the ship at Nassau stop- did it seem like most/many people get off the ship and it's less crowded onboard?

2.  For CocoCay, how early can you get off the ship, how do they prioritize disembakation?  Do loyalty levels get to disembark first.  What I am getting at is, what do you do to insure you get chairs without paying extra?

3.  How many ships at CocoCay per day?  Does it get packed/feel really crowded?

Thanks for any other tips about the Mariner:)

We will be in Georgetown for one of our cruise stops next week.  We have friends staying in Rum Point.  Is there a good halfway point to meet up with them- public beach or some attraction?  It's too far for us to go all the way to Rum Point and get back in time for all-aboard.

Sailing Paradise NYE/NY.  Where on board will be best place to watch bowl games?

Our ship is docked in Grand Cayman on New Years day.  Any suggestions for a beach bar where we can enjoy the beach and maybe have TVs to watch the games?

15 hours ago, silyse said:

Did you ever figure this out? We're sailing this week and I have the same question. I just spoke to customer service at NCL to ask, and they said there's currently no way to text with a minor, and that when I get on board I should ask to speak to the manager of the internet cafe. Has anyone successfully communicated with their minor children? My son is only 10, and according to the website, they'll allow him to check himself out of kids camp, but there's no way for him to contact me to tell me where he's going? Seems a little off...

We were on Epic 2 weeks ago.  Once you get on board, parents can grant permission for under 14 year olds to use the App.  Make sure you download the App onto their device before you leave.  We brought my old phone and downloaded the app for my 10 year old so he could be on the group texts.  It's $10 for the week and works off the ship WIFI- so you can use old phone or iPod.

19 hours ago, Chesneygirl said:

Thanks for your reply!

About how much time did they allow you on Jost Van Dyke?

Did you feel rushed?

 

 

We had the boat from 9-5,  we spent around an hour at a small uninhabited island, about 2 hours at White Bay-Soggy and Hendos, some time snorkeling around White bay, and an hour at Foxy's.  You can customize the trip.

3 minutes ago, Chesneygirl said:

Thank you for your review! 

If you don't mind me asking, who was your boat chartered through for Jost Van Dyke and would you recommend them?

 

 

We reserved Captain Rudy through Ocean Magic Mitch charters.  Rudy's boat is larger- we had 12 people.  Would definitely recommend!  Was our favorite part of the week.  It's not a catamaran though, which we have done in Cozumel and enjoy the laying out space.  

Finally completing my review of the 3/30 Epic sailing... All in all, it was a good week!  Happy to answer questions too.

Date and Embarkation port:  Port Canaveral is an easy drive from ATL.  We stayed outside Orlando night before and parked at the port.  We arrived at port around 11 and waited outside for about an hour to get inside.  Luckily we were under a covered area and not in the hot sun like some others.  Got on board by 1.  Not too painful.

Obviously spring break makes for a busy ship.  This is our 6^th cruise over one of the non-college school spring break weeks.  We knew the ship would be crowded, and it was VERY crowded.  Lots of teenagers wearing very skimpy bikinis swarming the pool deck/band area.  I was shocked at the moms and dads letting their under 21 year old daughters booze it up and dance around with their bottoms hanging out.  I don’t remember this on Magic/Breeze/Oasis other spring breaks.  NCL lets 18 and up drink, but many of these kids were younger.

The lines to get drinks were very long.  Everyone seems to have the drink package and orders 2 drinks at a time, which makes for a longer wait.  Also felt like the bartenders favored men ordering.  I was passed up multiple times in multiple bars for men who walked up after me.  Very frustrating.  At night all the bars were very crowded and it was a long wait to get before and after dinner drinks between 5:30-10.  Servers at the casino were non-existent...which is dumb because the drunker people get, the more money they lose!

Food:  Buffet was better than MDR for dinner.  Dinner in MDR was small, dry and very bland.  Mostly same food selections each night.  Nothing spectacular at all.  Desserts in MDR were not good.  Carnival desserts blow-away NCL.  MDR was great for breakfast!  O’Sheehans for breakfast was also a good option.  Kids enjoyed the Kid’s Corner section of the buffet!

Room:  I was ready for the odd layout…wish the toilet wasn’t literally next to the head of our bed.  YUCK!  The sink in the room was tiny.  Room size was OK.  Lots of storage.  Balcony nice size.  Steward was good, saw him all the time!  Convenient for swapping wet pool towels etc.

Entertainment:  Burn the Floor was really good.  It was a bit risqué for our 10/12 year olds, but not terrible.  Comedians were OK.  Dueling Piano show was really strange,  they had the guests up on stage doing some uncomfortable actions…  just odd.  Escape the Big Top was HARD!  We did trivia in the Atrium a few times.  Also enjoyed watching the dancers teach the passengers in the Atrium.

Ports:  LOVED Tortola stop.  We hired a boat charter and went to Jost VanDyke and a private island.  St. Thomas stop was odd timing- 7am to 2- didn’t make sense to me why we could not have a whole day there?  Can’t do much that early/short time period.  Great Stirrup Cay was AWESOME.  So glad we got to go there. 

Ship:  We found the layout and flow very odd and non-efficient.  Missed having the promenade around the boat for walking and ocean views.  Pool area was extremely crowded.  Pool chairs were all reserved by 8am every sea day.  Smoke from the casino seeped into Taste (MDR) and the surrounding bars- Maltings and the Martini bar.  Ship definitely seemed dated to me.  Dark and weathered. Also, first cruise where I was HOT inside.  Every other cruise I have been freezing in the MDR and casino.  This time I was roasting.  Seems like saving $$ on Air conditioning.  Or just more to the European feel.

OVERALL:  We had a nice week.  We were traveling with a big group who made it more fun.  I would try NCL again, hopefully a newer ship.  Would like more port time and less ship time in a 7 day cruise.  From a value perspective, I think we did well.  The drink package being included in the perks saved us ~$500 from the Carnival and Royal drink packages.

Reading back my review sounds negative, but just trying to point out areas for improvement.  We did really enjoy ourselves!

21 hours ago, CruiseTeacher7 said:

I'm surprised to hear that about the food, I thought NCL would beat out Carnival.  Yeah that would be a problem with the drink package.  

I'm a big fan of the Breeze.  We did Vista last summer and I prefer the Breeze to the Vista.  

How is the entertainment on NCL?

I thought the NCL Buffet was better but CCL MDR food and desserts way way better.  Guys Burgers and the Blue Iguana on Breeze and Magic can't be beat for lunch.

NCL MDR desserts were awful.  After a few tries I just got Irish Coffee for dessert:)

Burn the Floor show was amazing!  Comedians were OK.

High-level- we thought NCL food was worst of RCC and Carnival.  Everyone has the drink package so takes forever to get drinks.  Layout of Epic ship odd/crowded.  We loved the Breeze.  I would sail NCL again for the right price/date/ports.  But my experience had them in thrid place of the 3.

I was on this sailing.  We were told the ship was boarded late due to the facial recognition software rollout.

They put in note on our stateroom on Monday night that we would be staying longer in Tortola for "scheduled maintenance" which was fine by us!  We were able to enjoy our boat charter longer!  noticed no issues with the Ship and we had a great day in GSC even!  We disembarked today in 30 minutes tops.  I have other complaints about Epic, but not those above.

57 minutes ago, Ldarc02 said:

We are currently on the epic and it left at 840 from port Canaveral due to another medical emergency.   Does it seem interesting to anyone else that 3 out of the last 4 embarkations were delayed heavily? And 2 of those due to medical emergencies? It may very well be valid and truthful but some red flags are going off for my wife and I.  We are hoping this does not cause an issue tomorrow at GSC.  It seems like seem to have "bad weather" conditions after these delayed embarkations.  Just looking for other opinions and experiences. Thanks

I just got off Epic today.  We had no issues with our embarkation last Saturday and we enjoyed a great day in GSC!  Fingers crossed for you.

10 hours ago, houtxaj said:

Does anyone know how was embarkation for the March 30, 2019 epic cruise? 

Disembarkation for the April 6, 2019 return cruise to Port Canaveral?

I guess we are just trying to figure out if NCL epic has a functional grasp of directing/handling thousands of passengers.

Thanks for your feedback.

For 3/30 Epic, Embarkation was slow if you arrived at port before 2.  We got there around 11 and waited outside in line for almost and hour.  Moved inside thru security and processing, boarded around 1.

Disembarkation today was not bad at all!  We carried our luggage off.  Went down after we ate breakfast around 8:30 and were in our car a little after 9.

I love cruising AND AIs.  Depends on the situation. 

• For long weekend getaways, AIs are much better because you don't have the hassle getting to port, waiting in lines, muster drills etc. 
• I like cruises with a group and kids because the kids can have freedom to roam the ship safely and there are countless things to do vs many AIs that don't have the variety of activities for kids.
• AIs are great when you don't want to be on a schedule- sometimes I want to lay on the beach until after sunset.
• Cruises tend to have way better entertainment
• AIs usually have nicer accommodations for the price- larger rooms and bathrooms
• Cruises have the best water views from your balcony
• AIs don't feel as crowded as cruises
• Cruises allow you to visit multiple countries/ports in 1 week

It's a coin toss for me.  We usually do cruises with kids for spring break and AIs for couples/adult trips.  I wouldn't turn down a chance to do either!

I read on another site there was a death on board which delayed?

We went over to STJ from STT while on Oasis 2 years ago.  We did an excursion through the cruise ship to insure we did not get stranded.  The boat ride is about 40 minutes over.  There is a ferry if you choose to go on your own.

Can the Arcade package be purchased onboard?  Or just ahead online?  Curious which games and how many are included before forking out the cash.  

Nevermind, I found the answer on website:

This package includes all cocktails, spirits, glasses of wine and beer (under $15 USD), unlimited fountain soda and juices at all bars, lounges, restaurants (including while at Great Stirrup Cay)