Grumpy'sGurl

Thanks for all your replies and insight! We ended up cancelling our airport hotel, booking private transportation to La Quinta in Galveston and then will trolly it over to Harbour House the day before our cruise. We are hoping to just walk to the ship morning of. Thanks again! Looking forward to exploring the area a bit before we sail!

Hello! Our group has never been to Texas or sailed out of Galveston. With the exchange rate (Canadians), we are hoping to find some budget friendly accommodations. We are coming in 2 days beforehand (buffer for weather) and, if all goes well with flights, will be in around noonish. We originally planned to stay at an airport hotel because the price is right and we have Harbour House for the night before our cruise. We are now second guessing this plan. Everything we read is suggesting there is nothing near the airport and if we actually do get in around noon I'm afraid we will feel stuck. What do you destination experts/ experienced cruisers recommend? Is there some sort of train into the city from the airport (IAH)? Is there another less expensive location we should be looking for a hotel in? Any advise appreciated!

there are good ships

and wood ships

and ships that sail the sea

but the best ships

are friendships

and may they always be

Thanks for the info! We are planning to head to Eagle Beach for our first visit to Aruba in a few weeks. Where should we get off the bus to get to this newish vendor on the north end of Eagle? Also, hoping to pack a soft sided cooler and pick up some beer in port, is it frowned upon to bring this to the beach with us? Thanks!

This is my Plan D - I have 3 hotel ressies - Deluxe, Moderate, and Value - bringing a pillow though, and Airport floor is my D . There are flights scheduled all hours and security so while it wouldn't be ideal, at least you'll be safe inside 4 walls and a roof

For some of us that is not a viable option...:(

Sad but true - Flying in from the east coast of Canada at the end of January - there is no way I could fly in day of. Got a sweet deal on Delta before all this mess and was able to drop a night in San Juan but I still have to do one night based on flight schedule.

For some of us that is not a viable option...:(

Sad but true - Flying in from the east coast of Canada at the end of January - there is no way I could fly in day of. Got a sweet deal on Delta before all this mess and was able to drop a night in San Juan but I still have to do one night based on flight schedule.

first time considering a princess cruise and looking at an aft room, Riviera deck near the Terrace pool. Ive discovered the hard way ( cruising NCL Escape) that quiet adult pool area is my jam, lol! Is this pool heated? Also does it have defined hours? or can we take a late night dip. Thank you!

Thinking about picking up a few and some ice in the port area before jumping on a bus to Eagle beach...Does anyone know the approximate price of beer? Also would we be permitted to bring ice from the ship? Thanks!!

After much consideration we booked our first non-dcl cruiseon the Escape. The price was right, hubby was encouraged by the Districtbrewhouse and DS17 by the all-night wing availability. We were determined to goin with open minds. We LOVE dcl, but the price is so prohibitive, the onlyquestion to ask was…are we cruisers or are we Disney cruisers?

My first contact with NCL was through their centralreservation centre. I have to say, that while the reps were very friendly andcourteous. I didn’t “trust” them afterawhile. I had a situation that required the agent to rebook us, which they saidthey did. I called back a month later, they had not. I then asked a bunch ofquestions about booking the day spa pass. I knew from Cruise Critic that theonly day I could purchase was a port day and only if available, but the resagent said that was incorrect, and I could go to headliners as soon as we boardto do that….ummmmm…ok…maybe that’s a policy change ( the liquid carry on policychanged for us between booking and embarkation) We were boarding group 3 , wentto headliners, nope go to Guest services, get to guest services, nope, go tothe spa, at this point I feel like No one knows what they are doing, so I gaveup. Also we needed to book our comedy stuff since we couldn’t access the app inthe terminal. We tried that atheadliners too, nope go to the Box Office. We tell the guy we want to book everything that requires a reservation (we already booked the 2 main shows online prior) He writes it down on a pieceof scrap paper and assures us he will take care of it when the system isavailable…ummmmm ok?

As many of you have, no doubt, heard, the weather was notthe best for us. We had rough seas ,rain and high winds for a few days. I feel like most company’sperform well when things go as expected but the real test of a company’s mettleis when things go sideways and how it is handled. I have to say my biggest issue with NCL islack of communication. When the weatherturned and the shows got cancelled there was no way to know the trickle downaffect it had on every other show and venue. At one point we went to see acomedian and after lining up were told that the show had been reschedualed(trickle down effect, I guess) Even the NCL staff person there didn’t know – hewas asking us. With the app and interactive screens, surely there must be a wayto flash that on a screen somewhere. Ok,so that’s my beef about communication.

The Ship – Escape is huge (4266 passenger capacity vs DCLFantasy at 4000) We sailed the Fantasy while she was full and this cruise theEscape was full too. The rooms are way smaller. I knew this going in but theplacement of the closet combined with the couch never being put back into acouch made for very cramped quarters. Also if you ask for your mini bar to be emptied, they store the items inyour cupboard..we didn’t know this. The bathroom was nice. Our room steward wasvery kind and always said hello.

The pools – I knew they were small. I knew they were goingto be packed. I knew they were adult only. I did not know they were notheated!! Our first crappy day, I was not discouraged one bit. We’ve had weatheron DCL and just hung in the adult pool…it was great. On the Escape we went tothe pool area and I couldn’t believe how cold the water was. I struggled tofind a spot in any hot tub on the ship and when I did it was luke warm. It wasas if they were using the hot tubs as little pools. I had to wonder if this wasa money saving strategy. On the one nice sea day the atmosphere at theadult pool was fun and loud and partyish. Tyler , the cruise director, kickedoff the event by pulling an 11 year old up to dance…ummm adult pool? Not somuch. It was too loud anyway, so we went to Spice H2O. The grotto was nice(water was cool, but tolerable since we weren’t immersed) But my one beef hereis to get to the bar you had to wade through the smoke. Ok we are outside but it was still ugly. I guess I didn’t realize how important thepool / adult area was to us until we didn’t have it.

The food – It was ok. We always found something…it may have been the same most nights, butnobody starved. Food was usually a lot cooler than I like. I found out the servershave to carry your meals up a flight of stairs – that’s crazy! We stayed in themanhatten most nights. The first nightwe didn’t get bread service, weren’t sure if they even had it. I guess it wasjust a busy server. The meals were ok.The service was ok. I really missed the personal connection you make with yourservers on DCL. We pretty much ate at the same time each night anyway, sowhatever “freestyle” is doesn’t appeal to us. The one night was had attentive service wasthe night after we complained to the maitr’d about table placement. We wereright at the door and it was so loud, there just shouldn’t have been a tablethere. The maitre’d that sat us insistedthere were no other tables – the empty ones we pointed to were reserved.Alrighty then…eventually we were moved and that night and the next we weresubject to excellent service. The third night – we were back to the normalstandard. The buffet area is too crowded. The breakfast was the same every day.On DCL ships there is an ice cream station on the pool deck, there’s a drink stationoutside too and snack places all over the pool deck. On the Escape everythingis at the buffet so even at 3pm it seems crowded as they funnel everyone inthere. O’sheehan’s – meh. I was really looking forward to the spinach andartichoke dip, but sadly, it wasn’t what I expected. The wings were hit or miss.Sometimes cold, twice they were fresh and really good.

THE UBP – I thought I was a drinker. I am not. While I enjoywine with dinner and a few frozen concoctions around the pool, it is not asimportant to me as it is to some other folks. My DH enjoyed a few beers hereand there but really with DCL’s carry on policy, the UBP is of no benefit tous.

The teen club – our 17yr old was bitter about not doing DCL.He loved entourage! He had a great time. I knew he would. It had nothing to dowith the staff. He met some wonderful friends. He loved the party atmosphere,he loved the freedom. He is 17. He told us that the staff were there but notreally interacting – almost like babysitting. He was good with it. He also saidthat he was able to loosen up his vocabulary a lot more than on DCL. In factthe youth workers themselves dropped a few f-bombs. While I wasn’t there, andwe are more liberal than some Disney cruisers, I mention this to inform thoseof you who are more conservative and concerned about these things.

The entertainment – Loved the adult comedian! We also didHowl at the moon and those guys are so talented! Amazing and the best thing onthe ship! I was nodding off during after midnight and didn’t bother with theother big show. It was such a mess withthe scheduling that we just sort of gave up. We managed to see the magician-comedyact and I am so sorry… oh my gosh – I felt bad for the guy. It wasn’t ahighlight.

Public areas – we loved the waterfront – sipped a fewglasses of wine out there. With the winds and rain the first few days it wasclosed. As was the ropes course and allupper decks. I grew up with a chain smoking dad and my grandparents weresmokers too. I was disgusted by the smoke. The fact that they channel peoplethrough that open chimney area…deck 6-7-8 with the staircase was disgusting (useful tip – Do NOT go down that staircase in a short skirt). It smelled likemy grandmother’s apartment. So to the people who ask about the smell of smokeand is it bothersome….I would say that yes, if you are used to a non smoking environmentyou will smell it.

In summary, I am glad we tried a new line. It really was alearning experience. I am not opposed to sailing another line again. I justthink I am older than what I really am in my cruise style (yes, I get theIroney that DCL is considered a kids cruise) But they really go out of theirway to make the adult areas special and relaxing, which is why we cruise. At one point I turned to my friend and saidNCL is Carnival’s drunk uncle. They are trying really hard to be all grown upbut then the drinks flow and the lamp shade goes on the head. We were trying really hard to like the cruiseas much as we liked the price, but the bottom line is you get what you payfor. We missed the little touches butmostly the big things that should be standard like hot food and personableservice. Disney is worth the premium.

We are Disney Cruisers but cancelled our 5 nighter out of Miami for a 7 night on Escape , for which we leave in another week. Very excited to try her out and really hoping we like it since it fits our budget a little better. So far, we are a little apprehensive...2 in 1 shampoo, paper luggage tags, lack of deck/pool space, smaller rooms, charge for room service, not allowed to carry on water, but we will give it a shot!

Loving your review so far! We too are dcl trying ncl for the first time in march. The towel thing is weird.. Should we bring our own? We will have a gaggle of teenagers with us.

I am kinda looking forward to this configuration! We sailed DCL and the kids bunks were pulled out and I had to crawl over them to get out on the balcony, so this will be nice for when I get up at 5am, lol!

DH travels with an insulin pump and a whack of pills. He always tell security ahead of time...only issue is they want you to remove your belt and 9/10 times it's clipped to the belt. Also OP's comment about not wanting to travel with 100 pill bottles.. you may need to. We are crossing the border Canada to U.S and they need to be able to identify the pills in their original container that shows the prescribing doctor. I always have a pharmacy print out of his original prescriptions in my travel binder as well, just in case. Happy travels!

Nothing from JW since mid-September.....hope everything is ok! :confused:

We are booked on a 7 night Eastern on the Escape. Trying to make plans for Tortola...do any recent Escape cruisers know the all aboard time? TIA!

this doesn't bode well for our upcoming trip with our 17 year old son and 2 - 15 year old girls - were there activities the first day/night so they could get to know one another? On DCL we didn't see the boy except for at meal time - it was glorious!

Hawkman402 has a review a few threads up and has mentioned an anniversary/ romance package - may be worth a look!

I feel your pain! We are jumping ship for the first time this March and we are scared we won't like it as much. But the motto of our trip is "there's a drink for that"! Our kids are teenagers so the more thrilling waterslides and ropes course appeal. Also an Eastern priced out about double on DCL. I am not expecting the same as DCL and I am warning my family to try and not compare - when all else fails - There's a drink for that! I guess I can't really give much advice since we haven't sailed NCL yet but I seem to have read a few reviews with comparisons (I only read Escape reviews, since that's the ship we are booked on). Good luck!

Hopper is a good app, also try ITA MATRIX . It's a search engine that lets you see different airports, routing, combinations, etc that sometime work out really well! I always google for a coupon code before making the purchase too - saved more than a few bucks this way! I disagree with the PP who said the airfare will only go up. The route I am watching has remained within $10 for the past 2 weeks - I am waiting for a drop to pull the trigger. It's gambling, but I know my legacy carrier has only extended their flight sales until Feb 8th thus far. So I wait. Good Luck!!

Oh Rob32 - I want to hang out with you! lol! Love it!

We have done DCL 3 times and are just now heading to NCL on the Escape with our teenagers. The Fantasy has an amazing waterslide and the kids clubs are amazing. For children of your kids ages, I would recommend DCL without hesitation, however, I am finding it REALLY hard to wrap my mind around not being on DCL...we were really spoiled and I am afraid nothing else will live up to it - which is why we chose the UBP - cause there's a drink for that.

Great Review! We are coming on down for our first foray off DCL and bringing the teenagers - so very interested in your perspective.

Where do they fill up? Can my teen just walk up to any bar and get a pepsi? Just not sure how this works. On my previous cruise there was an all access drink station open 24hrs/day. TIA!

Haven't taken this cruise, But I live in NB, Canada. Not sure what your ports of call are but usually the day time is quite nice (if sunny) could be 15-25 celcius. The evenings tend to be colder though.....5-10 degrees. I will second the advise to pack for layers. The fall colours will be almost at peak. The good news is the humidity will be gone, except if there's a Nor'Easter or hurricane coming up the eastern seabord - then it's humid and windy. Enjoy your cruise!