sweetlillym

Hi, I am a first timer and got a bid offer a week or so after I booked. Booked beginning of March.

 

 

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Good to know! I hope I get the chance too!

I wonder how they chose who gets to bid

I asked my NCL rep this the other day. She said that someone that has sailed with NCL before would be more likely than a first-timer to get an email to bid on better cabin. She said it is not impossible but it depends on how many cabins are unsold when it gets closer to the date I sail.

I booked an inside on the Epic for me and my husband. I REALLY want to get a balcony room but not for $600 more. I'm keeping a close eye on the prices and will also keep my fingers crossed that I MIGHT get an opportunity to bid on one.

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise.

We were on Majesty in December and had a great time. Great staff. I think we had the same room steward. She was great. :)

We were in 3600 (outside cabin) and we didn't hear anything.

Enjoying your posts and pictures! I will be on the Epic in December. (not in the Haven tho, lol)

Great review, I really enjoyed it! Thank you!! I will be on the Epic in December. Can't wait! :)

Memory doesn't serve on the length of the river tubing. But I believe it was about an hour. I personally felt I got my money's worth.

 

As I said at the very beginning. I admit I'm a lazy guy. But the laziness cancels out when it's time to go on an adventure. What better way to be lazy and go on an adventure than this!? Better than the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland.

 

About halfway down the river, an associate of the tour guide will appear in the middle of the river and offer you beer. I think they were $5 a piece. Nobody had their wallets on them for obvious reason, but they said we could drink now, pay later at the end.

 

Here are video clips tied together of the White River tubing experience. Enjoy:

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This looks AMAZING! Later comments made it seem like it wasn't that great tho. Should we just plan on a beach day in Jamaica?

Thanks for your wonderful review. Hope to be on Epic in December.

We will be on the Epic December 9th-16th. :)

In December we stayed at International Palms Resort in Cocoa Beach (http://www.internationalpalmscocoabeach.com/). They had a shuttle to/from the port and allowed you to park while cruising for $5 a day. It is a cute little place right on the beach. We enjoyed it.

Every room has a phone. You can call each other and leave messages.

I haven't cruised with Norwegian yet but I know you can do this on other ships so I don't know why it would be any different.

I know in non-Haven rooms it is not included in the drink package. I am not sure if that is different since you have a Haven suite. I'm sure someone on here will know. :)

Interesting.

My was a best of times and the worst all in a great cruise it was June of 2001 cruising out of NY me the love of my life and my great new video camera it was our first cruise has we left port I filmed from the pool deck the sights which included the World Trade Center towers there they were as we sailed by we had 7 great days on our first cruise we loved the crew and in 2015 I went on my second cruise on the Breakaway love the ship this time no towers and no love of my life I lost her to cancer in 2008 and we all know what happen in September 2001. I still cry when I watch that video knowing what is gone.

 

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I am so sorry. I am glad you have wonderful memories to cherish.

Nice thread ! My wife and I are 'glass half full' types, especially when it comes to first world problems like actually complaining about a cruise, lol. We have now been on 3 cruises (all NCL) and have enjoyed all three of them.

 

My two favorite cruise memories are:

 

1. My wife and I's first cruise, October 2013 on the Breakaway, which was our honeymoon. It was the Florida/Bahama's run and we were hooked after this cruise. Maybe it was because it was our honeymoon, but everyday of that cruise was amazing (weather, staff on the Breakaway, other guests we interacted with) and we couldn't wait to cruise again.

 

2. My wife and I taking her parents (ages 77 and 67) on their very first cruise this past December.

 

We booked a two bedroom villa on the Gem (her parents didn't know what type of cabin they were going to be in) and my wife and I stayed in the kids bedroom and her parents had the master with the GIANT bathroom.

 

We gifted them the specialty dining package and the UBP. For their first cruise it was 1st class all the way.

 

My wife's father has a mobility issue ( replaced knee, needs a new hip) so walking distances greater than 100 yards becomes a chore for him.

 

The staff of the Gem (in my opinion) went above and beyond and provided a wheel chair when necessary and ensured that embarkation and disembarkation were an easy process.

 

What made the cruise so special was that my In-Law's had that "5 year old child at Disney for the first time" look on their faces every single day of the cruise, from the special treatment at embarkation to the daily delivery of snacks by the butler, to dining in the specialty restaurants (especially Cagney's) to both of them enjoying their first ever 'PainKiller' on Jost Van Dyke and everything that happened in-between.

 

My Father-In-Law looked at me (while on Jost Van Dyke) and said, "This is the best vacation I have ever been on". That is why this cruise was so special to my wife and I, as her Dad is a man of few words, and him saying that means it truly meant something to him.

 

They too are now hooked on cruising and we are more than happy that they agreed to cruise with us again this coming December on the Epic.

 

 

Regards,

 

Vinegarjoe

We will be on the same cruise in December. :)

Thank you. The link worked fine.

Good. Enjoy your cruise. :)

I bought the drink package (one with cocktails) for hubbie. I did not purchase one for myself. A friend who sails RCI often said they will not allow only one person to purchase it, that everyone in the cabin who is of age must purchase it. I had no problem checking out for just one but he said they will charge it when I get to the ship. Is this true? If it is then we want to decline the package and get a refund as I rarely drink. If you RCI cruisers could help me out here I would appreciate it as we sail April 2nd and I really don't want OBC. Thanks

You can purchase it for only one of you. Some cruise lines require all adults in a room to have it but not Royal. We cruised in December and multiple people in our group had it when their significant other/roommate didn't.

Here is a link to the FAQ confirming what I said, I hope the link works: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=336&faqSubjectName=Food+%26+Beverage&faqId=5805

Me too. I've got cabin fever bad. It was 65 here in Central PA today. Crazy weather for February!

I am in PA too, enjoyed the weather this weekend. Ready for Winter to be over.

When I was at CocoCay in December, they served the drink in a plastic cup. The bar on South Beach had a cooler full of the Coco Loco drink premade and they just scooped it out and handed it to you in a plastic cup.

Congratulations!! I wish I had luck like you! Enjoy your cruise! :)

I can't see my payments on mine, possibly because of the TA? This is my first time using a TA but it has been several years since we last cruised. If I can see it on the RCCL website, would it be fairly obvious? I've booked excursions, done our set sail paperwork, etc on there so I think I've clicked around most all of it. But I could have missed something!

I don't remember being able to see my payments either.

Goodness!! So glad it got resolved for you. Absolutely crazy that it took a MONTH. Wow. If this isn't resolved before we sail I'm going to have to implode haha! We leave for Florida so so soon :( This is a big celebration cruise for us so I hope we don't have this hanging over our heads on the trip!

Yeah, I am lucky that my TA kept on them about it. She was just as annoyed as I was by the end of it. The problem I had was that RCCL wouldn't talk to me about it because I booked through a TA, my TA had to do it. I'm sorry that you aren't having much luck with your TA, hopefully going above her head with help your cause. Good luck, I hope your issue is resolved VERY soon! :)

I had an issue with RCCL with my OBC.

I booked our room through a TA for a cruise with a wedding group. When we booked it was buy one get one 50% off AND an OBC. Our paperwork reflected this and all was good. We sailed in December and had no issues until our final bills came the morning we were leaving. My bill was $200 more than I was expecting, our $200 OBC wasn't on there. I went and stood in line at the service desk, they could see where the credit was on my account at one point and then was removed for some reason and they didn't know why. I tried calling my TA for more info and so she could talk to them but it was too early in the morning to get in touch with her. I didn't know what to do then. We went back to our room to get our stuff and I waited a bit to see if she would call me back, no such luck. We got in line to get off the ship and I finally got a call from her a few hours later.

She called her contacts at RCCL to try to figure out what happened. After a couple weeks she finally got someone that told her it was an error on their end (I guess when my room was moved into a group once enough people booked in our group). They offered to give the money as a future cruise credit (claimed they couldn't refund my credit card) but that TA told them she would have to verify that with me first. She called me and I was fine with that, better than nothing. The TA called RCCL back and got a different person that time, there was NO note on the issue with the error that was found and the credit being offered. She had to start ALL OVER! Finally, 1 month after we sailed, the TA got it resolved and RCCL refunded the money to my credit card. It was a big pain in the butt but I am glad it was resolved in my favor.

Good luck with your issue. It sounds pretty shady. Keep on them about it.

Tropical Old Fashioned

Strawberry Daiquiri

Bahama Mama

Sex on the Beach

Bottled water, specialty coffee, virgin drinks, there are endless possibilities. They have drink menus you can look through. If something sounds good, try it. If you don't like it, order something else. That is what we did. :)

We booked the Epic for December.

I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews. Most of the complaints are about the separate toilet and shower in the rooms and poor lighting in the inside cabins.

None of the negatives were enough to keep me from booking. We have been on a small ship and are looking forward to trying out a big one. :)

In general if you go somewhere expecting to hate it, you'll find a way to make sure you do.

 

 

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I couldn't agree more.

The prepaid 18% gratuity is just for the drink package. You will still have the daily gratuity charge that covers everything else.

I will be sailing the Epic in early March as a first-time NCL cruiser, although I am a very experienced cruiser with many cruises over many years.

 

I am very interested in following as the reviews and research so far has yielded very mixed reviews of this ship. Understanding opinions are in the mind of the beholder, I have noticed some similarities in both the positives and negatives of this ship. It will be the first "mega" ship cruise for me and I was really taken aback by having to book dining room and shows; not necessarily a bad thing, just different from what I'm accustomed.

 

Anyway, the price I got for my cruise was really the lasso that brought me in and the fact that I think it caught me at the right time just to try something different. I am going into this cruise with an open mind and looking forward to a few days away from stress (I hope), phones, emails, and the everyday pressures. I do embrace the mantra that a bad day cruising is far better than a good day at work!

 

Hope the OP has a great cruise, fair seas, and lots of information!

I agree with that!!

I hope you enjoy your cruise and I look forward to reading what you thought of the ship. We don't sail on the EPIC until December. This will be our first mega ship too.

I don't sail on the Epic until December but I am interested in these updates.

Definitely get it in writing. We were burned once but never again.

I second this.

It took us fighting with RCCL for an entire month AFTER my cruise to get the OBC I should have had. They did finally refund me the amount the OBC should have been.