WillandTam

We do have an Empress question. It appears that when she came back into service with the fleet she offered only My Time dining. Does she now offer set time dining also? Thank you! We are considering an 8 day in January. 

Her Majesty is a fine ship and after twenty cruises the ship is still one of my favorites. 

I agree with Tapi, Royal should consider basing these ships at least for a time to see if they can make a go of it in Charleston, Mobile, Tampa. Our closest port is Charleston and don't cruise from there because the only option is Carnival. Did it once, not again. We would jump at the chance to cruise Royal out of Charleston. Why should the close to home ports be only the purview of Carnival?

We are RCCL Emerald, is there any kind of status match?  We are looking into booking one of their Caribbean ships for January 2020.

My wife and I just completed a 9 night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Jewel OTS of which a review is coming, but I see that many people ask about current MDR menus. We were able to photograph 6 of the nine which we will post here. Please feel free to ask any questions. One more thing, thew service and food in the Tides MDR was very good and consistent.

1 hour ago, bar1068 said:

We're getting ready to book only our 3rd cruise on RCI and second on Anthem of the Seas. Last cruise on AOS we got the unlimited beverage package and are considering that again, but trying to determine the cost...not so easy. I seem to understand the price could be cruise/ship.itinerary specific, and the RCI website gives a cost range $63-70 per day, is that range due to varied cost per cruise/ship/etc? I tried calling RCI..that was...um...useless. Last time we also had a "deal" for the beverage with a VOOM internet package. My impression is those "deals" or similar are still offered from time to time?

 

Thanks.

We leave on the Jewel Friday and our price was $50. This represented a Crown & Anchor discount of 20%. They did run some specials along the way that were buy one get one for 50% off, but that was off the regular price on that ship of $63. Since we have 4 sea days on a 9 day cruise, the package made sense for us, just remember they add the 18% gratuity onto it when you purchase it. 

On 1/8/2019 at 2:52 AM, squaw said:

Royal changed the itinerary for the Jewel of the Seas 9 day cruise on  our January 18, 2019 sailing. No reason given and sending us now to Nassau instead. It would be ironic if it was for safety reason after they had a notice warning cruiser of the high level of crime recently towards tourist in Nassau. 

The reason the Jan 9 Jewel OTS itinerary was changed per Royal was port congestion in Aruba on the scheduled day. So Royal removed Labadee and moved Aruba up a day. Not security issues .Nassau is definitely not and even swap with Labadee. 

Here is what we’ve been able to find out. Royal says it is due to port congestion in Aruba on the previously scheduled day. Oranjestad would have had 3 ships in port on the 22nd, Jewel OTS (2702 PAX), MSC Magnifica (2518PAX) and AIDADiva (2050 PAX). The new arrival has only 2 ships in port, the Jewel OTS and the Monarch (old Monarch OTS). I understand this is less congestion but wouldn’t these facts have been known when the itinerary was finalized months ago? Oh well, we will have a great time in any case! 20 cruises and counting, isn’t the first time it’s happened and probably not the last...

16 hours ago, khm1 said:

Something must be going on. I got an email today stating that our port dates have changed. Same ports, different order and dates. We are a little more than 3 weeks out too. 

We are on the January 18th cruise and KHM1 is correct; we get all the ports except Labadee. Nassau is quite a disappointment...been there done that kind of thing. We have never been to Labadee and were really looking forward to it. 

These ports are all beautiful in their own way, especially Bonaire for it's snorkeling and St. Lucia for being just beautiful. You'll have a wonderful time. :)

Thanks for all the pics!

I am very allergic to cats, like trip to the hospital allergic. So, I am thrilled about this. Went to a pet friendly hotel once and the room was filled with dander from the cat of the previous occupant. Needless to say, my vacation was ruined and I ended up in the ER for treatment when my airway began to close. I remember reading on here about someone wanting to bring an emotional support cat... seriously??

Thank you RCCL for doing this!

We had an offer for the second UBP for 50% off on our ( day Jewel cruise in January and earlier we had a 30% off offer. We've been booked about 60 days.

We use a local travel agent whom we know and trust. Turn key vacation for us, tell her what we want and she takes care of all the details.

We are booked on the Jewel OTS in January and all the balconies disappeared about 2 weeks ago. I have asked my TA to find out if the ship has been partially chartered. If it has, we may cancel and find another because our previous experiences have had so many closed areas because of the charter.

We have a very reliable experienced TA. We pick the cruise but she books it and takes care of flights, hotel before and after. Wonderful experience after 20 cruises. :)

Sail date for your cruise?

We Sail January 17. There is a roll call out there for it!

That 10 day you speak of out of San Juan looks enticing...The Bride and I are about ready to book it...

We are looking forward to it. The ports changed after we booked it, but we like Aruba and Cuacao too. They dropped Martinique and another island which I don't recall. Come aboard and join the rollcall!

I preface this comment to say that I haven't been on a NCL cruise yet, but am going on one later this year as a foody.

 

The consensus is that the specialty restaurants are noticeably better than the standard cruise food.

 

Beyond that, well, everything is subjective so you can't really say. From what I've heard (outside of this NCL section; from non-frequent to VERY frequent cruisers and range from people I personally know to things I've read in the other cruise line forum sections) is that yes, the standard NCL food is below average. It's not generally regarded as "bad", just if you've been on other cruise lines (outside of Carnival), it's not as up to par. "Boring" and "adequate" is generally the feedback I get.

 

I'm not addressing value at all. Most of the people I personally know who have sailed on NCL would NEVER pay extra for specialty dining. So, they compare standard fare to standard fare across the cruise lines. However, I decent amount have tried NCL's standard and specialty. Value is another totally subjective thing. Still, my two cents is that for $50 more for a 3 night specialty dining package, that's a good deal. That breaks out to $25 per person, and a little over $8 per meal. If you are foodies, that's totally worth it for the increase in quality you get. If you're actually paying a la carte, considering you've already paid for the standard meals, at the prices NCL charges, you may or may not feel it's worth it. But hey, it's Freestyle. You don't have to pay it if you don't want to. The 3 nights can be totally enough. For us, that's what we're doing. We'll take the 3 nights and just eat the standard fare the other days.

The consensus is what one reads it to be and which reviews you select. We've been on 20 cruises with 4 lines and here is our 2 cents worth. From experience, not reading reviews, Norwegian food used to be just not quite as good as RCCL or Princess. That being said, it's just not been true for a while now. Our most recent experiences are these: We cruised the Getaway last year and found the food choice, taste and presentation in the Tropicana dining room to be very good as main dining rooms go nowadays. The food in Cagney's, LaCucina, and LeBistro was better for the most part, especially with the outdoor dining options. The food and service in all of the dining areas was good and for an anytime meal O'Sheehans's was particularly good. Now for an honest and truly unbiased comparison with the Crown Princess, which we sailed on this January. We boarded with our past experiences with Princess of excellent food and service for the price you pay, so one will naturally expect the same. What is true, the service and willingness to accommodate is still very good, even though, just as with all major lines, the bean counters have reduced staff. the Crown service in the restaurants was good. The food in the Leonardo main dining room wasn't what it used to be whether it was choice, taste or presentation. (read Carnival fingerprints all over a good product). For example, the ingredient quality wasn't as good as NCL, the choice fell short of NCL and the service was about the same as with Norwegian. So for an opinion to be given without experiencing the food for oneself has dubious value, albeit with good intentions. We will be sailing the Dawn in January on a 10 day from San Juan and are looking forward to it.

Food is better on Princess. On a TA the passengers will be older no matter what line. NCL cabins are smaller especially on the newer ships. NCL is famous for nickeling and diming the passengers. Drinks are more expensive, packages are more expensive.

 

Princess is known as a mid level line and NCL is known as a low level cruise line.

 

I agree with a previous poster a TA is not a good cruise to test a first time cruise on a new line.

 

 

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Who am I to dispute such a learned and experienced colleague. Please suffer my novice opinion of this. NCL has been on a journey over the past few years with an IPO establishing NCLH and the acquisition of Prestige Cruises which includes Oceania and Regent and with that and the departure of Mr. Sheehan. It appears NCL has improved it's quality in most if not all areas. While we are in no way cruise loyalist who take "breaks" from cruise lines to try something else, we are relatively experienced and objective. Princess is a good line, however, there isn't enough space between their level of service and Norwegian's to see any daylight. Telling an inexperienced person that NCL is a low end company only demonstrates your lack of experience and objectivity. Yes, there are profit centers on NCL ships, but CCL, RCCL and others have the same thing. Yes a Trans Atlantic might not be the best way to experience a new line, but that would go for any line. Princess included.

Texascruiser84, I hope you're not thinking "I hope most NCL loyalists don't act this way". My DW and I aren't especially loyal to any line as you can see from our signature. They are all for profit businesses trying to provide the best product for their target market, but above all make a profit and serve the stockholders. Thus, we treat them as such and make our decisions on which one and where accordingly. Without unreasonable emotional attachment to any corporate entity. We've cruised NCL 3 times for 27 days and the embarkation is among the best and it seems more efficient than Carnival's without the FTTF pass. So no need to fret, you'll be on fairly quickly and save that 50 bucks FTTF would have cost. We find NCL to be very enjoyable and relaxing, much like being at a land based resort at sea, especially with the promotional perks they've been marketing. So much so that we've booked a 10 day for November on the Dawn. Have a great cruise and enjoy the ship!

Hello everyone. NCL does offer the Sail Away rate that is significantly cheaper than the next category. The difference is the Free at Sea promotion. So it's not really free it's an up-charge. The thing is, NCL is giving you a choice of a lower rate or perks. My DW and I are booked on a 10 day Southern Caribbean in January that they consider a voyage of distinction in their pricing model and it included all 5 perks plus some. It was more expensive than the sail away rate which included none of the perks, but we made that choice. I like their new pricing strategy and as a stockholder of NCLH I appreciate the company making a profit.

After 20 cruises on several lines, the anticipation never goes away does it?!

My lovely DW and I are going on our anniversary celebration cruise next January! We are on the Dawn for 10 days southern Caribbean. NCL just modified the itinerary but added Curacao and Aruba.

WillandTam

I am curious as to what is meant by you can't see water from public places......thinking of booking the Epic...have not yet cruised NCL...going to jump ship after 27 Carnival cruises.

If you're going and will spend the entire time comparing to Carnival, forget it. You won't like it because they are different animals. If, however, you forget all your biases you may find you like Norwegian much better. I do.