smillerholmes

Ah, but they did process free casino drinks. It may have just been a weird one off, but I had no problem getting free drinks any time they were open. I didn't realize I could get espresso as part of my casino drinks package until several days in, but after that I stopped in nearly every morning.

Definitely not open while we were in port. It may have just been a coinky dink, but I sat at Bar 21 several evenings waiting for the Casino to open on at least 2 occasions well after opening was expected. On a separate note, Shanghai's was by far the most crowded restaurant every night on the ship. That restaurant needs more/better spacing. Also, on the Getaway it was open for lunch on sea days - not so on the Breakaway.

You can definitely bring shelf stable creamers with you.

I'm sure it depends upon the ship, but for my recent cruise on the Breakaway, Bar 21 was open many times when the Casino was not and they were very liberal with the spirit(s)😁 Maybe because both Breakaway and Getaway use the Casino bar for Shanghai's? Just a thought.

I am onboard now and I don't see it, but maybe because of the weather? It is quite breezy out and it does not appear that most people packed for weather in the low 50's. I'll keep an eye out for it as we head back to NY.

More odds and ends.... An attempt at restitution has been made: Due to canceling both Athens, Greece and Livorno, Italy a $100 OBC will be issued per stateroom. May be reflected as $50 OBC for Guest 1 and Guest 2. I checked with the Cruise Next desk regarding Haven Cruise Next. If you were to buy 3 at $500 - there is no discount - however you would be provided $375 OBC. And yes, all 3 would be able to be applied per the current promotion of "balcony and above and at least 4 months in advance". I also asked about the "no expiration date" rumblings. It was stated that at this time they had not heard that to be the case. There are at least 200 people in line for both OBC and Guest Services - that is not an exaggeration. If anything, I am probably underestimating since the line extends past the forward elevators.

Just to catch everyone up - Naples was lovely - a little rainy off and on, but looking forward to better weather on the 2nd leg. The Captain just announced we are skipping Livorno/Florence/Pisa for safety reasons- we are again unable to dock as seas are very choppy and have been since we left Naples. On that note - last night I slept like a baby! I love it when the ship rocks me gently. And I'd like to report I am still tasting consistently good coffee. Not great, but a definite improvement and drinkable without additives. Just received a voicemail from the CruiseNext Team inviting all the B2B peeps to come on down to sign up for their benefits on the next cruise. If the line isn't awful I will try to get some clarity on the Haven Cruise Next vs. Regular Cruise Next. I am prepared for spin, but I'll report back what I find out.

I've sailed Epic twice, 11/2021 and 11/2022 both times Transatlantics from Europe to NY. I love the ship - she's in good shape and I wouldn't hesitate to sail her again. As a matter of fact from my balcony on the Breakaway I am looking at her parked directly across from us in Naples. Although I am wondering when they are going to get the light for that "W" fixed? It's been out for a while.

GAME CHANGER. I did not know this - I had switched to primarily waiting to buy Cruise First when the $500 certs were on sale. It never occurred to me to even check if Haven Deposits were applicable to any stateroom. That is good information - thank you so much for posting that! Now I'm wondering why they don't focus on this as a selling point?

oh no - I didn't think there was anyone who didn't know this pop culture reference?!? Sorry - my crappy Breakaway internet dropped.

oh no - I didn't think there was anyone who didn't know this pop culture reference?!?

Seeing some strong coffee opinions here - woot! I like it. I will admit to being a coffee snob. And in most of my previous cruises I could "doctor" it a bit to make it drinkable, but it was still not very good. Post pandemic what they were calling coffee was absolute swill and on the Sun/April 2023 it was undrinkable and I drank tea for 3 weeks. Fast forward to the Breakaway and I can happily report there has been some sort of change and it is definitely for the better. Both MDR and Buffett. I know coffee is subjective, but it is noticeably improved and I was wondering if anyone currently onboard any other ship would be willing to risk their taste buds to provide additional data points?

Who knew wifi might compete with the drink package? Personally I prefer a good old fashioned water thread to keep me entertained.

I just got this offer for the first time on my Amex Cash Magnet card. Woohoo! Trying to think of the best way to use it now. 🤔 Thanks for posting this!

Yep - most definitely switched to tea on the Sun. Good coffee is such a treat, I'm just going to enjoy it and cross my fingers for my April 2024 cruise on the Spirit. Thanks for following along...

I'll post if I can get any info on the NOLA leg.

This cruise is 100% - NO Work! - thanks for checking in...

Dinner with the Officers was quite pleasant. We had an engine room Engineer and an assistant customer service manager + a couple that spoke 100% Italian/25% English + a couple from Portland, OR. It was quite entertaining using our powers of deduction for the couple from Italy and when all else failed our Engineer was fluent in Italian. Tonight the Casino was a harsh mistress 😞 She treated me poorly! Tomorrow is Naples!

Current offer on the Breakaway. I would imagine/hope it would be fleet wide.

Hi! There were no plans to do a Live From, a Semi-live or even a report after the fact, but I had some free time after oversleeping and missing my excursion for the day so here we are... Embarkation in Civitavecchia - Previous two cruises I always took the train/shuttle combo and it is a PITA! This time I ran into a lovely couple from NJ and they had already rented a private car and offered to let me join them. A whole different experience - worth the money! Never doing the train/shuttle again. Actually checking in was only complicated because so many people arrived early (including my party) and therefore the disembarkees mixed with the embarkees and oh my. Once the shuttle came for the disembarkees it was like night and day. Check in was smooth and easy. I am here as a guest of the Casino and they actually had a specific line AND they were using it! Nice seating area even for us peasant folk with no Haven access. I was boarding group 3 and on the ship by 11:05. Other than the fact that I ran into multiple crew from previous cruises nothing really stood out until breakfast. Holy Cow Batman! The coffee was actually good. I had breakfast in Taste and I thought surely this is a fluke. Nope! Went up to the buffet for lunch - the coffee was even better. I was all prepared to have to raid their tea box and I am glad to say there was no need for drastic measures. I plan to inquire towards the end of the cruise, but wondering if my fellow coffee drinkers out there have detected a change on any of the other ships in the fleet?? I did attend the M&G - I'd put the attendance at 25-30. While chatting with the host/ess she mentioned that there were approximately 140 that signed up. No mention of the breakdown of FB:CC, but c'mon people they put alot of work into setting that up! This cruise is sold out and so is the Transatlantic that follows it to NY. No word on the leg from NY to New Orleans, but they think it's going to be pretty full. Athens was missed, per the Captain due to potential safety issues. He stated that the water was too choppy for the pilot boat to come out to guide us in and therefore we are moving on. No word on port fees as of this writing. I've been to Athens before and of the 3 stops (Mykonos and Santorini) that's the one I was actually going to do a few things I missed when I was on my land tour. Go figure! I missed Wines around the World and Behind the Scenes was full by the time I got to the CruiseNext desk. Dinner with the Officers is tonight. Day 6 - went very well in the Casino - 🙂 Valleta, Malta is absolutely lovely. If you haven't yet visited this country - put it on your list. I would describe it as very laid back, with the official language(s) being both Maltese and English. For those of us from the US they do that driving on the "other" side of the road thing, but other than that I give them a big thumbs up. I realize food is subjective, but here goes... LeBistro - I very much wanted to give them another chance. I used to love the Coq Au Vin, but they have changed the recipe and if I want a steak there are other places I can obtain without the hefty dining supplement. Let the record show the Steak Tartare is still absolutely delicious and the duck is ok. LaCucina - just like last time the steak is actually quite good. This time I selected the lasagna as an appetizer - oh my that was yummy. Will have to have that for a meal when my new dining package kicks in. Ocean Blue - This was my first time going. Huge thumbs up. Do not hesitate to give that Blazing Shrimp a try- absolutely yum! Clam chowder was good as expected. I will say my lobster was a little overdone/tough, but the Roasted Brick Chicken was derlicious! Cagneys - I go back and forth between the pork chop and the ribeye neither ever disappoints unlike the potatoes au gratin. Just a runny mess with too much garlic. I have given up on those, but I'll live. Shanghai - I know it's a complimentary restaurant, but it has been packed every night. This is the first ship I've ever had to wait for a spot or <gasp> actually hold that buzzer thingy. I usually just head over at 5ish and get the dumplings as an appetizer and then have my dinner much later. That restaurant needs more space. Service Levels - Even with a full ship I notice no discernible drop off in service. In several restaurants I notice quite a few who are not dressed like the others so it looks like they move staffing around to accommodate demand. My experience with the once a day cleaning has me wondering if shore excursions is providing some sort of report to help the stewards know exactly which rooms are likely ready for cleaning? Just a random thought..

I am currently on the Breakaway and there are multiple "non-traditional" places where I've seen others playing cards. Obviously, the card room next to the library on Deck 6 would be preferred, but I've seen people using the "outside" tables at LeBistro as well as a large group in the outside/covered area of the Buffet, I don't know the exact passenger count, but the ship is pretty full so people are spreading out wherever they can.

Hard to say. I am onboard now and I asked to have ice each day and I have received it. I am pretty sure my cabin attendant decided to make me next to last for cabin service because of that request. My room is usually done between 2 and 4, which works for me because I don't have to "guess" where I am on the schedule.

https://www.passporthealthusa.com/vaccinations/yellow-fever/ Yellow fever is found in various parts of South America and Africa. Travelers to these regions are advised to receive a yellow fever vaccination before travel to the regions. But, some countries require proof of vaccination for entry or proof if arriving from a country with the virus. It appears to be based on where you are coming from. If you are US based you may also check the State Department website as a resource.

French press AND salmon - I am sooooo jealous. The swill on the Sun was so bad I gave up and switched to tea. Looking forward to testing out the coffee on the Breakaway. @cruiseny4life @PatJim - I have plans to eventually book the Haven and when I do I fear my butler will talk about my coffee habit(s) for the rest of his life. I like my coffee strong and I had a suite on the Jewel for my first cruise and had no idea I could/should have asked for that. I did enjoy the suite breakfast in Moderno and I always indulged there, but in my room - sigh....you don't know what you don't know. Cruise Critic is so helpful for things like this.

Hi Mike - ummm...to my knowledge there was no vaccination requirement for Yellow Fever and there was no mention of it by NCL in Miami or for any of the excursions. Enjoy your trip! I did a quick Google search and found that Columbia, Guatemala and Nicaragua currently require the vaccination only when coming from a region with Yellow Fever so perhaps that is why I did not experience that question.