Lem_On_Ade

 
What show is this?

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I'm going to miss it next time since Spirit doesn't fly into Miami. 

 

They fly into Fort Lauderdale though!

2 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

As someone who tried to branch out and try different lines, I can tell you I’m very happy to return to Carnival. I cruised two RCCL ships, the Indy and the Oasis. Let just say they lived up to their motto of WOW. They were gorgeous. But anytime you need to reserve your shows before your cruise even sets sail, was not appealing to me. And then to sit through CATS was pure torture. And they were the biggest culprits of nickel and dimeing you onboard. No thanks. We left RCCL, and decided to try NCL. We found Freestyle Cruising absolutely fabulous! We loved the more casual atmosphere and the ability to eat wherever and whenever we wanted. And their Broadway show, Million Dollar Quartet, was awesome! But there was something lacking that we missed, and that was the “fun factor”. We returned to Carnival last year, and were so glad we did. The food was better, and there was always some activity and music everywhere! Their shows are just the right length—30 minutes (endured CATS on RCCL for THREE HOURS!!), but I admit, some were just terrible. The shows and performers on my Breeze cruise last year were awful, but the shows and performers on my February Glory cruise were excellent, and we really enjoyed them. I will be cruising the Magic in April for a B2B, and if I find the shows or performers to not be so good, I just won’t go to another show on another night. There is plenty of other entertainment to keep us busy. And we love how the price point of everything Carnival fits our retirement budget. RCCL has gotten way too pricey, and NCL’s price point is creeping up to cover their Free At Sea promotions. So, for now, I am more than happy with Carnival, but everyone has their own expectations and needs in a cruise, and they need to go wherever t makes them happy. It’s worth it to try. Who knows, you may coming running back, as I did.

 

@grandmarnnurse I'm with you. After 10 years of sailing with Carnival, my husband and I thought we may be getting bored with them so we decided to try NCL in January. Within the first couple hours I was missing the Carnival "fun ships". Don't get me wrong, the NCL ship was beautiful (10 times more gorgeous than any Carnival ship I've been on) and the food was excellent. But who wants to schedule everything they do before the even get on board? We found that to be very aggravating. If I want to see one of Carnivals playlist productions or comedy I can just walk in, not on NCL. We weren't able to get reservations for the comedy the entire week. What was even more frustrating was the lack of open deck space, you can forget laying somewhere in peace. You'll spend an hour trying to find two spots together and by then you'll be so aggravated that you'll need a drink but you can forget seeing a roaming waiter, they are nowhere to be found. Ahhh, sorry for venting, I'm just ready to get back to Carnival lol

5 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Edit, I thought the whole argument about not going to the Mexican hospital was fear of getting "stuck" for the lack of a passport. So passports didn't actually come into it at all? 

Pretty sure it was the money aspect that kept them from going to a hospital and the passport issue was when she asked to be evacuated by the coast guard. 

1 minute ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

What am I missing, what did this person want NCL to do about her problem?

 

I have to be completely honest, I did not read the article.

From what I can gather on her FB post, she just wants someone other than herself to blame. I'm pretty sure she did have travel insurance and once the infection had set in she was told by a ships doctor that she should take her child to a hospital in Mexico. She was then told that Mexican hospitals will not discharge you until your bill is paid in full so she decided to stay on board and continually blame the ship at that point for not getting them home. She ended up with a $13,000 bill on board but was able to raise $9,500 from online supporters. 

I've been following this on FB and the amount of people blaming the cruise line was astounding. 

Of the 6 Carnival ships I have been on, Sunshine was my least favorite. Our biggest issue with the ship was our room. We got 8 sleepless nights due to the popping, cracking and what sounded like a marble rolling around our ceiling ALL NIGHT LONG. Our tv quit working and we also had a window leak. This trip was the only time I have ever had to visit guest services to make a complaint. With that being said, I did love the updated look of Sunshine and appreciated the specialty dining and serenity area. Some people love her, some not so much. Would I sail her again? Sure, if the price and itinerary were right, but I'd never book room 2161 again!

4 hours ago, mlshum said:

Hi, there!  We sound like kindred spirits!  Lol. We are down in the very southern tip of the state just a few miles from the VA border in Princeton.  Where are you located?

 

I’m planning to upload my section on Cozumel later this evening.  It’s one of my favorite ports and I’ve always had the absolute best shore excursions there.  What did you do while you were there?

We’re from Logan. We did a private Jeep tour of the eastern side of the island. It was a great day, Cozumel is one of my favorites too.

Hi Michelle! WV girl here too! I was actually in Cozumel the same day you were, but on NCL Escape. This was our first time not sailing on Carnival and when I saw the Horizon in port I was wishing I was on there with you! Hope you had a great cruise. Like you, I am on CC year round and already looking for my next one 🙂 

I was on this sailing too. This was my first NCL cruise, with all my others being on Carnival. I'm feeling a bit indifferent. I didn't hate it by any means but I didn't necessarily love it either. I will say that embarkation and disembarkation were good. The food was excellent in my opinion. We ate at Moderno, Cagney's, La Cucina and Food Republic. We loved having the drink package and were also pleased with the flights that NCL arranged for us. Having a cabin on the front of the ship was a nightmare for docking. The entire room rattled like a jackhammer and we were on deck 11. We were very disappointed with Harvest Caye, that was a wasted day for us. All in all I liked the ship but found myself missing the "fun ship" vibe of Carnival. I would sail NCL again if the price and itinerary were right but I'm not wowed by them enough to be searching for my next cruise with them either. 

Thank you for another great review! I'm actually doing that same jeep tour in Cozumel next week and a little bit worried now. I'm sorry it wasn't what you hoped it would be, crossing my fingers that they were just having a bad day 😏

We have a flight out of FLL at 3:55pm and are wanting to spend a few hours after debarking to look around and have lunch. Where is a good area to explore and can anyone recommend a good restaurant? Open to any food options. Thanks!

I'm going to share my experience with this....I sail in 15 days. I am also using the air promo. To date, I have not received any correspondence from NCL telling me that my middle name, or any name, needs to match my ID. A month or so ago when was first talked about on here I emailed my PCC asking him to update my booking but it was never done. After reading this thread today I decided better safe than sorry and called Norwegian. The first lady who I spoke to said that yes, it was necessary to have the middle name on my booking if it is on my passport. I was then transferred to another lady to update this. She wasn't nearly as friendly and told me that just because I had my middle name added to my booking did not mean that the airline info would be updated and I would have to speak to them also. She updated our info and transferred me to the air line department. After a brief hold with them, a gentleman came on the phone and said that updating that info would be no problem but that I also needed to be aware that just because my middle name is not showing up on my ticket doesn't mean that the airline or TSA won't be able to see it. So that's my two cents. I was told that it was required and I feel better having it done even if it wouldn't keep my from flying or getting on the ship.

Yay! Merry Christmas to me! A Mitsugirly review right before my very first time on Norwegian/the Escape.

Old San Juan is my favorite cruise ship stop and I fell in love with the food and coconut mojito's at Punta De Vista last year, I hope you enjoyed your time and meal there too!

Home Departure City - CLT (Charlotte)

Arrival/Destination City - FLL (Fort Lauderdale) but cruising from Miami

Airline -American both ways

Outbound Flight departure/arrival time - 7:25am/9:25am

Number of Connections - 0

Return Flight departure/arrival time - 3:45pm/5:05pm

Number of Connections - 0

I was notified of flights 52 days out. We chose not to take a deviation but are very happy with our flights. 

I'm cruising in January and haven't received mine yet.

Doug, because of your live Escape review, I am taking my first NCL cruise in January. Thanks for all you do! I'll miss reading any about any future cruises you take but completely understand just wanting to be present and enjoying your time on the ship!

3 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

All I can think of is Del Boca Vista. 🤣🤣🤣

 

Good luck with the move! 

Hahaha, watched that episode last night

4 hours ago, megansdad1 said:

It will be personal to each person, but it seems like there is a strong favorite to take away.  La Cucina has been my favorite so far.  The osso busco was to die for.  I like Hibachi, but if you have done it on land, it is the same at sea.  I would go for something new over that.  IF you haven't done Teppanyak, I would drop Moderno

I’m leaning towards dropping Teppanyaki simply because I eat that pretty regularly at home. I know the reviews for Moderno and La Cucina make it seem pretty basic but I’ve never experienced a restaurant like Moderno and I figure why not try it out for “free” to see what it’s like. I also think you can’t go wrong with Italian food, it’s my favorite. I appreciate everyone’s responses, you guys are great!

Thanks for the input! I think it really is a crapshoot lol. I've actually never been to a Brazilian type steakhouse so that's why I was leaning towards keeping Moderno even though I'm sure it's nothing like what I would experience on land. My thinking with Cagney's was that I did eat at Carnival's steakhouse but wasn't really wowed, but I know this could be totally different. I appreciate all of your recommendations so far!!

I have my first NCL cruise booked for January. We received the specialty dining package of 3 meals. Seeing as how I've never been on NCL before I'm having a hard time deciding which restaurants to try. Let me preface by saying I love steak, Italian food and hibachi type meals so I would love some input from anyone who has ate at these places before. We currently have Moderno, Cagney's, La Cucina and Teppanyaki booked. I need to eliminate one, which would you choose? Thanks!!

Hi tribe! I've been a long time CC lurker but found this topic and have loved catching up every day. A little about me: Late 30's, happily married, cat lover and cruise obsessed. I have a pretty boring job so I spend most of my days reading cruise reviews. I almost feel like I know too much because I'll blurt out the most random facts about cruising but I never tell my husband where I've learned the info lol (not sure he'd understand my love of CC). Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all while I'm obsessively planning my next cruise, I'll be sailing with NCL after 6 trips with Carnival. 

2 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

And you can always book one of the West Bay resorts then hire a small boat, several along the beaches, to take you out to reefs beyond the beach line and boat traffic.

Thank you. I wondered if that would be an option or if they would mostly be booked for the day if I tried that.