CazV

Thanks for taking us along. Safe travels home. 

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

I wonder how many people have actually tried to sit in that hammock?

 

 

A few more drinks, and I might try it out...

Apparently they're very comfortable... So I've been told! 

Please don't apologise for posting so many photos! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and your photos are stunning. I board next Saturday. It will be my first Celebrity cruise and first time visiting these ports too. You've helped boost my excitement!

Thank you for sharing your trip 😊

Bon Voyage. Looking forward to following along 🙂

Deleted

Follow Choir of Man on Social Media sites for updates. They have several casts out performing or in rehearsals right now... There has been no mention yet of rehearsals for a ship return. 

2 hours ago, Coastalbreezes said:

Onda was my favorite restaurant. Every single thing we ordered from appetizers (burrata salad) to the mains (veal milanese and pasta bolognese) to a  luscious dessert of butterscotch pudding was out of this world. I could eat there every night!

Thinking about that dessert is making my mouth water lol

Onda is my favourite. I love Italian and I wasn't disappointed. I've eaten there twice. 

Food Republic is great for lunch. I cruise solo and three of us used one speciality dining credit and paid for a few cheaper items a la carte. This let us have a great selection for three of us at minimal cost.

1 hour ago, reeinaz said:

I'm curious to see if none of the studios are connecting or if they just haven't updated the deck plan yet. I booked a balcony cabin for a 2023 cruise, 11942, and it has since been updated as a connecting cabin. I'm hoping the same won't happen with the studio I have booked.

My PCC assured me that no studio cabins would be connecting. I hope he's right cos I'll be annoyed if mine ends up being connected. 

Thanks for starting this thread @FreestyleNovice 

Haven't been on here for months, but a little birdie sent me over to check it out. Nice to have something to get excited about. 

I follow several of the crew on Encore on social media and I don't think they've had the pleasure of being moved to balcony cabins, but they are being given some R&R time... eg watching a movie on the pool deck and tonight Choir of Man will be performing for them. 

30 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Does this work 🤣

YES!!!!!! 😂🤣

Prices have dropped considerably on my upcoming cruise on Encore. I phoned NCL UK to ask about upgrading to a balcony cabin from my solo studio cabin, anticipating being permitted to do so on the basis of the current price, which would involve an additional charge of approximately £200, which I was happy to pay. I assumed wrongly! They wanted to charge me the price it would've been at the point of booking... ie £600!  I thought that UK customers would receive the same goodwill gestures being offered to their US customers, but nope.

As far as I'm aware, from everything I've read on the subject, this isn't about written policy, as after final payment they don't need to do anything for anyone, but at the moment US customers are doing pretty well out of the price drops, meanwhile I now feel like I'm less important as a customer because I live in the UK.  

Btw, previously I have cancelled and re-booked a cruise before final payment and lost the non-refundable deposit which I was completely aware of and ok with as it's part of the T&Cs, and it was still worth it to me. I feel like gestures of goodwill should be across the board as it's not in written T&Cs. 

If anyone in the UK, or Europe, has any luck with getting some kind of goodwill gesture due to a price drop after final payment, I would be very interested to hear about it. 

 

2 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

 

 

And I wanted to let those know who are getting onboard March 8th, I was told Silas will be back.  Really, really missed him on this cruise.

Oh I hope this is true! 😊

Thanks for taking the time to share your week here. I'm glad you had a good time 😊 

Like a few others have mentioned... I'm not worried about getting sick, but I'm worried about being stuck in a studio cabin on a ship. I'm flying from the UK to Miami a week today and I'm pretending I'm excited when really I'm not. 

Good to hear from you... enjoy the rest of your trip. 🙂 Will look forward to reading your updates. 

I guess not everyone can think Choir of Man is the best show... 😉 I can't wait to see it again in two weeks. 

I had lunch at Food Republic on Encore with two friends. We used my dining package to order 4 items and one of my friends ordered a fifth item and it was ideal for the three of us, and not a problem. 

13 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

I assume you're being sarcastic? If not, I appreciate your optimistic perspective!

 

When I made my claim to NCL, I outlined all of this, and they responded with the $600 max offer. I'll certainly attempt one more time, but at no point in this process have they done the right thing, and I don't want to fill up cruise critic with further bemoaning about how poorly they've treated us. I've talked to other cruisers who are out thousands in cancelation fees and last minute flight changes, so I probably shouldn't gripe any further.

 

This whole experience just speaks to NCL's complete disregard for the passengers, who've been forced to jump through hoops for the last two weeks, only to have the line wash their hands of us after the fact. 

You're well entitled to gripe imo. 

I really hope you all get this sorted out. I'm pretty disgusted at how this has been handled. 

10 minutes ago, brymcd said:

Are they accepting more than one Cruise next voucher on these at the moment?

You can use two at the moment. https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/cruisenext 

13 minutes ago, BaWBarmy said:

 

Just booked. Prices are great. Balcony cabin for an April Greek Isles cruise out of Athens via Istanbul. Had a couple of Cruise Next vouchers and some compo from our November Star cruise plus there is still 30% off, paid gratuities up front plus the Free at Sea (Booze and Excursions). £720 per person

 

Can't wait.

I'll look forward to your photos. I'm hoping to see some better solo pricing crop up for October time. 

2 hours ago, mertziek said:

I see NCL’s PR department is painting an entirely different picture on social media and while we are enjoying our “upgraded” downgraded cabin, NCL cannot cover up their glaring incompetence and selling this as the perfect launch.  We are determined to make this work but knowing what I know now, we would have canceled even on embarkation day, gone home and booked another time.  This has soured us on any future NCL cruises.  They knowingly withheld vital information from us.  Unforgivable!

I'm so sorry to read about the extent of the works still incomplete. This does definitely happen on any cruiseline... happened with RC Navigator of the Seas last year and I was thankful that my cruise was a few weeks after dry dock as by then it was all done. Cruiselines really need to get their act together with this stuff. 

I hope you can have an amazing cruise nonetheless. 

4 hours ago, eroller said:

I'm guessing prices for the just added SPIRIT Med cruises will be quite attractive, as there is little time to market.  Might be the perfect opportunity to sail on her.  

The new itineraries are great and prices are very good if you're not a solo cruiser. 

Looks great! Thanks for sharing! Have a great cruise 🙂 

6 hours ago, MadManOfBethesda said:

 

Yeah, I posted about that earlier today on our roll call thread, as well as the response I received from NCL, which was basically that they knew nothing about it and it was probably an IT glitch (yeah, right).  

There were other unrelated cruises showing the same thing yesterday. One I saw was an Encore sailing from NYC to Bermuda that said At Sea for the full itinerary, so I'd not read too much into it. 

Their IT sucks!