snownow

Also check with your credit card. Depending on the card, some have cancellation travel benefits.

Ok ... WOW that is a huge ship. I cant wait... Thanks for the live review.

All good with Capital one as well. Buy the cruise, convert the points, free (ish) cruise.

I am going to have to say no.... Nothing even close.. That beach is one of my favorite places on the planet.

They wont... But they will. We had two rooms next to each other, with kids in each room. They opened ours on our last trip to make it easier to check on the children. We had to go through a guest services manager to make it happen.

Great review. We are traveling with 20 in November... No idea how are are going to herd that many cats :)

I have never heard you can not bring them. Below is the link to prohibited items. We took them on our last Disney cruise, and they dont work very well on board. If you are on deck they are ok, but inside was bad at best. For NCL we use the app to make calls/text to each other and just carry our cell phones, it works most of the time.

https://www.ncl.com/prohibited-items

MIXED READINGS HERE - I have a question, I know this is for "If I had only known" however, once the reply is here this will help me and others....;)

 

I have not cruised in over 10 years - I am booked on The Bliss and I want to bring walkie talkies for my son to carry with him so that I can reach him.

 

1.) Can I bring them on board? - I have read there is a "naughty line" and I don't want to be in it if I can't bring them.

2.) Will they work on board - they are a very good brand (expensive actually)?

 

Help :confused:

Very fun, no charge. It does take some work to get the puzzles done, really need to think outside the box... so to speak. We had 1 group finish in ours, we had 2 to go.

They did not seem to care. The Chocolate cowboy (bartender at 5-o'clock bar), would make my daughter something new every time we walked by. My teen showed up with frozen drinks as well, and we were never charged.

So i ended up going with Coconut tree divers in west end, mostly based on another review sites rating, plus the fact they included picking us up in the port. 100% glad we went with them. The owners were very nice, Dive masters really spent time making sure we were all good and ready for the dive. There was no rush, no pressure and they were very professional. We did two dives, first one ended up drifting pretty far and had around 20 min float waiting for the boat to pick up us and the other group. (there were two groups of 4 with a dive master with each group). The second dive was very near the shop, and at a shallower depth. I must say warm water diving has me sold on this sport. Roatan is Amazing, clear water, Huge eagle rays, Turtles, and a very nice reef.

Link to short Turtle crossing.

https://photos.smugmug.com/People-Places-and-Events/NCL-Escape-review-photos-2017/i-GGSJtNM/0/4cf30c02/640/GOPR1115-640.mp4

5 o'clock somewhere bar... great place to cool down. But there is lots of shade on deck 8.

does deck 8 , have any mists , or way to get your body cooled down ?

We went in November on our last trip, Water was flat. They do assist you on and off the boat. I guess it really depends on the weather. But none of the reviews i have read said they had to swim.

The trip involves a catamaran that has a set of steps off the front of the boat. There is no dock they pull in to shore, and drop you off in about a foot of water. As far as Handicap accessible, if a persons uses a scooter or wheelchair this would not be the trip for you. But able to climb a few stairs, and able to walk up the beach, it would be doable in my opinion.

 

The Description says guest must be able to swim if there are rough seas. My mother in law (in her mid-60s) does not swim and we nearly did not do this trip due to the description. After reading reviews here and on another Trip forum, i talked her in to it. It is now her (and my) favorite beach.

 

 

I also don't swim, but JVD is one of my favorite places and would love to do this. What are the odds in November that the water would be rough enough that they wouldn't pull up to the beach? I'm going solo, and this would be on my birthday so the thought of being left on the catermaran would be horrible. I read that workers on the rebel yell will assist those who need it....should I worry?

Same here, I normally tip $1 a drink. It really does improve service as well, not that it is bad without tipping... Just saying.

I have not been on the Dawn, but our experience with NCL has been 1000% better than any trip on carnival. After sailing on NCL Escape and Disney's ships, i doubt we will ever travel with on a carnival ship again.

We have done Carnival, Disney and NCL. When the kids were younger Disney was the way to go, food was good, Kids loved the theme. We also sailed with Carnival a few times, Customer service was not amazing, food other than the steak house was horrible, price was ok. After one very bad cruise we will never sail with them again.

However, now that our kids are older (teen and pre-teen) and have been on the Escape a few times. NCL specifically the Escape is the boat they want. MDR food is good, not Disney good but 1000% better than Carnival. We have not really had a bad meal in the MDR's. We have had some very good to great meals in the specialty restaurants. As a foodie you will like them, and with the permanent deal, you get to try a few with out getting up-charged. Food Republic menu is pretty awesome, the steak house is very good, the others are about the same quality as a typical onshore nice restaurant.

As far as age of passengers, it depends on the time of year. Summer and Holidays will have more kids. Our last trip we had from 9 years old to 66 with us. Every one seemed to find a niche for themselves. As far as nightlife, they do a few parties (glow, 80s ect) that run pretty late and have a ton of people at. But i would not really classify the Escape as a party boat, like i saw on Carnival. Like i said i can only really comment on NCL's escape ship, but we are now sold on NCL based on our last two trips.

I did not know they had Gatorade on board at the bars. Good to know. Atrium bar? Great idea on the Yeti.

If you do drink, it is still a very good "free" with fee package. Any drink under $15 is included in your package. beer, wine, mixed drinks ect, almost all of them are under $15. If you do drink in a US port, they do still charge you tax.

2nd on Jiffy Jeff, on time, nice van... used him a few times now.

With NCL we have swapped to having two cabins. Works out great, kids can keep their mess in their room. We get some adult time in an uncluttered room. We have also looked at the two bedroom Haven suite... but have not pulled the trigger yet.

Grilled pineapple in Moderno

We have used Jiffy Jeff, around $100, private Newer Mercedes Van. He has always been on time and has pretty good communication.

The trip involves a catamaran that has a set of steps off the front of the boat. There is no dock they pull in to shore, and drop you off in about a foot of water. As far as Handicap accessible, if a persons uses a scooter or wheelchair this would not be the trip for you. But able to climb a few stairs, and able to walk up the beach, it would be doable in my opinion.

The Description says guest must be able to swim if there are rough seas. My mother in law (in her mid-60s) does not swim and we nearly did not do this trip due to the description. After reading reviews here and on another Trip forum, i talked her in to it. It is now her (and my) favorite beach.

If you avoid the pool deck, you will love this ship. H2O is pretty mellow during the day. Deck 8 is the place to lounge, lots of seating, shade on one side sunny on the other. A nice bar or two. Atrium shows and events can get busy as well, but worth it if you can snag a seat.

 

Looking for a mellow excursion, try escape to Jost Van dyke, Dont let the description dissuade you. They pull right up to the most amazing beach (and a nice bar). Stunning location.

t.[/quoteIS the vibe a good place (if u can get ) as far as seats , does it attract a all ages kind of space ?

Also does this mellow excursion Jost Van Dyke, handicap accessible ?

If you avoid the pool deck, you will love this ship. H2O is pretty mellow during the day. Deck 8 is the place to lounge, lots of seating, shade on one side sunny on the other. A nice bar or two. Atrium shows and events can get busy as well, but worth it if you can snag a seat.

Looking for a mellow excursion, try escape to Jost Van dyke, Dont let the description dissuade you. They pull right up to the most amazing beach (and a nice bar). Stunning location.

t.

Thanks for the good info. Loved Pearl but ready to try a big ship and all it offers. Don't think crowds will bother us as we're not really pool people. Lounging in the shade people watching and reading is fine. Two years ago did Western Carribean on Princess so Eastern Carribean it is this time. Cruise is for my 70th birthday so pools, difficult excursions, rushing and clawing to get Vibe passes, etc, not my thing.

 

I'm curious....how would one know which cabin has bed near balcony vs near closet? I suspect near the balcony might be a good choice.

Cagneys #1 loved it

Teppanyaki, loved it both times we have eaten here, My #2 my kids #1

Moderano, come hungry, they pineapple is awesome. #3

Food republic, great to get a snack or skip one of the MRD, not on the plan though.

Bayamo, The first time we ate here it was awesome, the second time not so much. Hit or miss

La cucina we have not tried, too myuh good Tuscan style around our house.

Le Bistro.. Pass was not that good.

Our 14 year old daughter (13 last trip) loved it. Made friends the first night and we pretty much had to force her to hang with the family. Any free time she had, she spent it with her fiends in the club.

We made here keep her phone on her and on, along with the texting on board app. Gave here access to her new friends and us the ability to track her down at any time.

Only advice i have is have them go for a few hours the first and second day. If they meet some nice people they will have a great time.