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barric

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Everything posted by barric

  1. Our Dinner with the Officers was a home run. Just off a Dawn 11 night sailing in a penthouse suite. I had prebooked 2 of our specialty dinners and was holding 2 waiting for an announcement of the Dinner with Officers. On departure, we went to the Cruise Next desk who confirmed it would be happening, but no date set yet. Eventually, our concierge booked our last 2 dinners. We finally got notice delivered to the room that the dinner would be at Le Bistro. Had to have our concierge rebook a specialty due to the conflict. All this worked out great because of the effort of the concierge. So, this gave us five nice restaurant dinners, 1 at OSheehans, and 5 in the MDR (none real good). The officers dinner at 7pm included the ship GM and another staffer. 5 guest couples were treated exceptionally in Le Bistro. Food that came out was the creme de la creme of what was in the kitchen that night. Wines were a California cabernet and a Pouilly Fuisse. Both good. Interaction with both of the NCL staffers was comfortable, fascinating, instructive. The GM was skilled at directing conversations, answering questions, accepting comments and listening to any complaints. We and the others LOVED the occasion. A great invitation and perk.
  2. $15/day confirmed by phone. Whether paid in advance or on arrival. Thanks.
  3. We arrive 1/28 for sailing on Dawn, terminal 2. The Car Park website says rates are $15 paid in advance. This is for the lot at 810 Channelside Dr. Anyone know what the rate is if paid on arrival? And is this the only lot which is very close and convenient?
  4. Don't expect to be comfortable with furniture in any of the lounges, the atrium and hallways. Classic form over function. Good for REALLY tall people...7 ft or so. We loved Howl at the Moon in Oct, but lounge entertainment early evening was almost non existant. Except in the crowded, uncomfortable atrium. Event in Syds had lines forming an hour early for few seats. We like Cagneys, LeBistro and La Cucina (twice).
  5. It now shows as a sapphire perk. But based on these replies, not worth bothering with. Thanks all
  6. This is our first sailing with Sapphire. Can anyone advise what this latitude perk is?
  7. Thanks for the reply. I guess I will try to request a dvd player. Otherwise, I will have to bring my small Sony DVP. If I can contact the concierge prior to boarding, I will request a player.
  8. We have a family suite for Dawn Jan 28. Can anyone tell me if the suites have DVD players. I like to bring some boring dvds to watch when going to bed. OR Can one access the TV using AV inputs?
  9. DVD players? We are booked in a family suite Jan 28 on Dawn. Can anyone tell me if a DVD player is in the suite. I would like to play media that I bring myself.
  10. We were on the 10/26 Breakaway sailing and could not agree more with OP. For example, the 2oz of shredded beef "short ribs" was awful. Even the Maître Dei had no comment when we summoned him. I really dislike the fact that they turned the forward observation lounge into cabins. Now there is no inside forward viewing area anywhere. We also were very disappointed in the lack of lounges and lounge entertainment early in the evening. And the furniture. Geez. Who did they get to design the chairs in lounges? 7 foot tall people? Form over function. We have sailed on Getaway and Breakaway previously and had much better experiences then. Now, we will avoid both ships unless reviews change for the better.
  11. We are 63 days out from our Dawn sailing. For 11 days, the Thermal Suite pass is $259. Is there any history of the price going down as we get closer to sailaway?
  12. We got a good price for a Family Suite without balcony, on Dawn. Never sailed on this class of NCL shlp before and am not familiar with its perks. I see that Dawn does not have the Haven. So does that mean no dinner restaurant for us? I believe we get the specialty restaurants for breakfast and lunch. I am considering upgrade bidding to other suites. Advice can sure help me with decisions. Our SP suite is quite large, over 400 sq ft. The SN AFT suite with balcony lists Total Size approx 360 and the balcony is about 70. Does the 360 include the 70? If so then the Aft suite itself is under 300. Much smaller than our current room. Also, I assume there is not much extra in the way of perks for better suites, other than size and furnishings ????
  13. In an older youtube video, it was stated that the Family suite rooms have a dvd player. Can anyone confirm? Normally I bring a small portable player. Sometimes I can connect to the tv, sometimes not. Sure would be nice if the room had the player so I can watch boring stuff when we get in bed.
  14. In an older youtube video, it was stated that the Family suite rooms have a dvd player. Can anyone confirm? Normally I bring a small portable player. Sometimes I can connect to the tv, sometimes not. Sure would be nice if the room had the player so I can watch boring stuff when we get in bed.
  15. I am familiar with all of these benefits EXCEPT the new Priority Dining perk. That's what I am interested in.
  16. Just made Sapphire. How do you use it and does it work well?
  17. We seniors did this 7 night cruise, having sailed Breakaway and Getaway, (among other NCL ships) previously. We no longer LIKE Breakaway. Here are the good and the not so good. Service. Ship was near capacity but all service was outstanding: bars, restaurants, customer service, boarding. All good. Music. Big disappointment. Daytime and early evening only had poolside music. But this is Oct, and not suitable to sit and listen outside. Only once or twice was there lounge music at 5:30. Only in a small lounge, crowded of course. With really horrible furniture. Form over function. After 6 there was some music in the Atrium. Hugely crowded. Worst chairs you can imagine. Only good for someone 7ft tall. Nobody could sit back comfortably. The last place for early evening music was in the Manahattan room but this was at dinner. Wife and I like to have a pre-dinner cocktail and hear some entertainment, but forget it. Did I mention the bad furniture throughout the ship? Later on, there was music. Howl at the Moon was exceptional. Buffet. Good! Self serve. Had lots of protection for food. Breakfast and lunch choices were good. Staff was accommodating, going specially for a juice item I wanted. Around the ship: No forward indoor viewing areas. No aft outdoor lounges. So if you wanted to view sailing, nothing was satisfactory. Daytime entertainment; Trivia, sodoku and not much else to our liking. There was always some kind of commercial event going on. And always some outdoor stuff in the 55-65 degree weather, with wind. Boarding and disembarking: fast, easy. Tendering was aok. Dining: We learned to carry a cocktail into MDR and order wine inside. This avoided the slow bar service in Manhattan. Cocktail service in other places outstanding. OSheehans expectedly good. Last time on NCL, this restaurant did not feature daily specials. This time yes, including prime rib. MDR Manhattan was either poor or satisfactory. A short ribs entrée was just shredded beef on a ton of noodles. Good thing I ordered a double because the meat serving size was pathetic. One or two nights nothing in MDRs appealed to us so we used our specialty dining perks Cagneys: not up to previous quality. Porterhouse did not seem to be a good cut. Ocean Blue: Wow! Just great. La Cucina: We always like this place and it did not disappoint again. Osso Bucco and Filet Mignon outstanding. Le Bistro was good Internet: Poor. We each had 150 minutes. It cost me nearly 100 on line to achieve 30 useful minutes. We have a sailing on Getaway in March, so it will be interesting to see if anything is different.
  18. On our Oct9 cruise, in St John, we took a non NCL excursion, Bay of Fundy Coast to shore. FABULOUS, if a bit too long. Took us to St Marten to see the fishing boats stranded on the sea floor. Took us to reversing falls early at low tide, and again later at high tide to see the change. Lots of other nice stops. Great excursion
  19. For the our US sailing on Breakway after Sept 30, the NCL website shows clearly that Canada requires no testing, no data, no anything . But the NCL web site still seems to require testing or vax proof to board the ship. Can anyone clarify?
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