Sailing12Away

Our first NCL trip was on the Epic in a club balcony suite. It was hubby, myself, and my MIL sharing the cabin together. The bathroom situation is a bit unique, but we made it work. If it was just hubby & I there wouldn't be any issue, he's seen my bits and pieces so a shadow of them behind the frosted glass wouldn't be a big deal. With MIL we all wanted to be a bit more modest. But there's a curtain you can draw to separate the bathroom area from the living area. So at night we would pull that curtain and leave the potty light on as a night light, and if anyone needed a tinkle during the night it wouldn't both anyone else. For showering, we just coordinated when we would each shower. So she typically would wait until we were done first, then we would head to the bar while she showered in the room alone. The only concern was if someone wanted a mid day shower, if you come into the room while someone is in the shower you would need to walk past them. Again - it was no big deal, just more of coordinating schedules and such.

We normally don't fly in a day early for same coast trips, but haven't been to Orlando in some time so figured we would take a day or two to ourselves first. Flight prices were insane (or I'm out of touch with reality), so we ended up using credits from my Delta Amex for a one way trip down, and points from my Capital One card for a one way flight back home. We're used to being able to get down to Florida for around $200/pp, but these flights were double-triple that. Looked into heading to Universal for just 1-2 days as we've never been there before. But unless you go for 5+ days, the pricing is insane (I'll just own up to it now I suppose, I've become an old curmudgeon I suppose). $150/pp/day just to get into the park, extra if you wanted to visit more than one park per day (not sure how that would work if you didn't have it as one of the Harry Potter rides takes you from one park to the other), extra if you don't want to spend hours waiting in line, extra extra extra. Worse than the NCL nickel & diming complaints. So if we stayed at a property close to the park and did 2 days with their park hopper thing, it would have cost us over 1K. For 2 days visiting Harry Potter and friends. Pass, I'll go back to England and visit the real Harry Potter studios first at that price. So we peeked at Disney, figuring we could just go visit the new Star Wars stuff. Nope - just as bad. We're not really Disney folks. Love the food & wine festival, and dig the Star Wars stuff... but I'm not dropping a thousand bucks on 2 days there. So we opted for just one day pre cruise, staying at a modest hotel near Disney Springs, and booked tickets for the Disney version of Cirque for the night. https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/drawn-to-life Have a few places in mind for dinner afterwards, but just planning on walking around and vegging most of the day. If all goes well tomorrow we'll be from our front door at home to the gate of the plane in ~40 mins thanks to TSA pre check, and sitting near the hotel pool by 10:30am. Dog is fresh and clean, so time to finish that last minute packing checks and go walk her over to the sitter.

Yup, our cruise was booked the day after bookings opened for the ship, but we didn't sail until a year later. We knew we were paying a premium for the newness and for the specific room we chose. But the value was just not there at all for us. It was more than double what we normally pay for a typical Haven cabin. If we had paid what we normally pay for Haven, it might not have stung so much. But all things combined, it just wasn't a trip we look back at and want to repeat. We want to return to those ports of call - just not on Prima/Viva in September.

All checked in for our flights, packing is mostly done (just need to pack the champagne), and planning on running to the bank for cash for the dog sitter & butler/bartender tips while the dog is getting a last minute bath. She's a beefy 85lb couch potato, hound/pit mix. For GSC we booked the 2br villa at Silver Cove. We've got 14 people so far sharing it, so that certainly helps with the cost. For now we haven't booked an excursion anywhere else, figure we're going to wing it at most places. Amber Cove will be new for us as is GSC, so we may book a last minute something or other there to get away from the port a bit. San Juan we just want to get to Old Town (still not sure which port we're coming in at) and walk around, eating and drinking our way through town. Have a few places that we've bookmarked, so we'll see if that pans out for new snacks to munch on (alcoholic milkshakes with a cookie cup anyone? Drunken Cookies https://www.instagram.com/getdrunken/?hl=en). Upcoming weather: Cape Canaveral GSC Bahamas San Juan (we have an umbrella, and despite being evil at times we will not melt in the rain) St. Thomas Amber Cove DR Sure beats what is expected back home...

Ok kids, the time is here for another adventure on the Epic. This will be our 3rd time sailing on her, but the first time since the renovations that were done during Covid, so we're excited to see the differences. Our friends are staying in the 2br Haven room we had last time, so I'm going to see if I can dig up some of the photos I took from that trip years ago to retake some new ones of the same views for a side-by-side comparison. Between our free wifi minutes and unlimited data when on land (yeah Tmobile), I should be fine for posting updates as we go. But priorities this trip will be confirming the cookie and hash brown situation (I already know about the crispy pucks, they're not even on the menu anymore ), overall food quality in general (going to try a new trick for the wings at O'Sheehans), test how quickly we can run out of certain types of booze (don't worry, we're bringing our own on board as well), soak in a nice tub with some bubbles, and just get away from the NY cold for a few days. Normally our trips are about the itinerary first, and other stuff secondary. But this trip is a bit unique as it's about the people joining us first and foremost. Anything else is fluff and bonus. On our Panama Canal trip we were lucky to be in the Haven for 15 days, and got to sail with an amazing group of people. Even on a 7 day trip you can form some great friendships in a short amount time, so imagine the fun when you get a great group of fellow travelers on a journey twice as long. Two of those couples we met have husbands named Bob, and both of them decided to take another February trip and the timing, pricing, and interest were there where they both booked the same one. UK Bob reached out to me and simply said "NCL Epic, February 25th 2024. Be there, or be square." Hence this trip has been coined internally as the Bob-O-Rama trip. To steal a phrase from another dear 🐀 friend I didn't 'pull the trigger' right away, because we had just gotten off of Prima and weren't too happy with how that went. But I had it added to my spreadsheet and was tracking the prices and # of remaining rooms. After final payment date the prices started to drop a bit and remaining cabins started getting snatched up. When there was just 3 Haven cabins left that I could see online, I called up my PCC and asked her what price she was seeing. She only saw 2 cabins left, and found a bonus 10% off coupon we were eligible for, some free OBC, and her price with taxes & fees was cheaper than what I saw online and was comfortable with so we just went with it. For some things she's great and I'll keep letting her make the booking (I always know my own price going in first though), but other things... not so much. As for external TA's - I'm swearing them all off for good. Don't get me started on the debacle I'm fighting with my upcoming Galapagos trip on Celebrity. The next day I was peeking again and there were different cabins open, so we were able to move to the one we originally wanted on deck 16, and will be next door neighbors with our old cabin with the shortest walk possible to the bar. Priorities baby... We've got another set of friends who were interested in tagging along as well, but they have a more complicated situation at home to juggle than us just finding a dog sitter for a week. By the time they were able to sort all that out, Haven had been sold out for several weeks. We had offered our 2nd bedroom up to them and they're aware that it's on the small side, but the price is right, they'll have access to the Haven, and it's a week of sunshine and fun with friends. So @oteixeira and his wife will be sharing the cabin with us and can chime in on how comfy it is for adults in there. The roll call for this trip has been fairly non-existent, but if anyone else is joining us feel free to add your own commentary and photos as we go.

Design is one thing - where they missed the mark was with the execution. We loved the renderings, we loved the concept, we loved the idea of a large ship but small ship feel. That's not what we felt at all when we were on board. Combine that with the higher price tag for the newness and it doubles down on the negative lingering thoughts. I'm hoping Aqua and beyond tweak some of the simple things that can be easily fixed/improved upon without changing the whole concept, but unless there's a too good to be true price I have no interest in trying Viva just to say I've tried it.

Fingers pointed at me I presume, as I'm one of those notorious 'drunks' hogging the seats in the regular Haven bar. 🙄 We've never had a problem walking up the Haven bar and getting a drink, even when it was 2 people deep. The Prima Haven bar and lounge is just a different experience than the other ships. My biggest gripe with it was that the photo with the xmas tree was the "library" quiet zone. It is literally next to the bar with no walls to block noise, and on our trip we were told in the evening hours there was no loud talking permitted at the bar and no frozen drinks to be made so as not to disturb the guests sleeping below or the guests sitting in the library. Bar itself is large, but not conducive to making friends. A fun part of being in the Haven on the breakaway plus ships is stepping into that lounge/bar area and seeing a ton of people and striking up a conversation. You couldn't do that on Prima - everyone was in their little tiny pockets and closed off, and practically whispering. There's no fun in that to me at all. And what Bird failed to mention about the concierge desk is that when all those fancy seats are filled, it's a massive long line of folks just standing in that peaceful quiet lounge getting grumpy. Our trip was particularly bad the first few days for a number of reasons, and the line was easily 6+ people deep wrapping in front of the couches and chairs in the lounge so that you couldn't sit and chat because there was someone standing in front of you. Need to look at photos when those spaces are actually in use to really see the vibe, not at 6am before anyone wakes up.

It's silly, because you can get a mudslide for free. That's just an alcoholic milkshake, which is even better. So now if we're staying in the Haven I just take that trick and get frozen grasshoppers (thin mint girl scout cookie milkshake), frozen toasted almonds (tastes like the good humor ice cream bars), and anything else they'll make frozen and alcoholic for me.

At Cagneys specifically we've always been allowed to pick 2 sides each. Sometimes I even get a side as an app instead because I until I realized I could get that iceberg wedge salad without all the icky blue cheese I had nothing to pick from (I'm a PITA with food). So I would get 3 sides total, and just get the baked potato to come out as an app. When you get there, just let the wait staff know you're using a dining credit and they'll explain everything to you and let you know how much wiggle room (if any) there is.

It's amusing to me the vastly different opinions some folks have on the traditional dining vs newer freestyle way of doing it. My first cruise was when I was around 8 yrs old with my family. I absolutely hated the fact that there were strangers with us at the table. It was just very odd to me, as they were loud and mean. Granted - I was 8 yrs old. But still.... Even though our most favorite part of cruising is making new friends, I want to still pick and choose who I share a dinner table with. Also don't like having such a strict thing of you must be hungry for dinner at 5:30pm otherwise good luck. Folks who want a set time and the same table and same waiter can easily talk to the maitre'd and request that on day one. For the rest of us, we'll come and go as we please.

Reminds me of our trip to Alaska at the end of August. Little bit of everything. NCL always does the 'all you can fit in a bag' for $29. It's usually in the middle of the cruise, but if you're running low ahead of time, just ask at guest services. They can either let you know when it will be offered, or have in the past honored the sale price ahead of the published sale.

And not to be the lone negative nelly, I love me a good milkshake, but for me it was a one and done and not worth the upcharge. Maybe just cause I don't like whipped cream and nearly half of it was cream, but I'm in the low minority who don't go there for the shakes.

Yup, you'll be fine. Someone else is cooking, cleaning, making you drinks, and giving you something shiny or sparkly to look at.

I get it, but my point was that based on that color tag there was a certain time of day we were instructed to get off the ship at. Based on your photo, we would have been purple with an estimated debark time of 8:15. In our case, that was no where close to enough time to get off the ship, go through customs, get in the long queue for the bus transfer, and make it to the airport in time. Regardless, for an early morning flight - do not plan on using NCL transfer buses and your odds will greatly improve at making your flight, regardless of how you handle your luggage.

Not quite that simple. My cruise they had two different NCL transfer tags. One for early flights (me) and one for flights departing after 2. Even with their early transfer tag they weren't prioritizing people getting into the busses. So folks who weren't flying until later in the day were going into buses first because they used a porter to get through customs faster than us waiting in line with our single case in hand.

My only advice is to not listen to the instructions when they say which debarkation tags to use. We had an NCL booked flight home from Miami scheduled for 11:35 and they told us to take the color tags for the 9am disembarkation. Yeah..... we were in line waiting for the bus for 45 mins before we hopped off and caught our own Uber to the airport at 10:30. Made it to the gate of the plane as they were boarding already and that was only because we had TSA precheck and skipped the lines at security. So whatever color tags get you off the ship the earliest, grab those tags and drop the NCL transfer. Hail your own Uber/Lyft/Taxi and do it on your own.

Are you talking about this spot with the red arrow? Since it's on nearly every deck above and below you, very good odds its a crew staircase or crew elevator. Why are you concerned though if it's on the opposite hallway from where your cabin is?

Seems like you're always having a bit of a wait to get a drink in the evening. Is there no Retreat bar/lounge area on this ship that you can go get something from?

We were on the Jade a few years back. It was only our 2nd NCL trip at that time, and our first trip in the Haven. Any bad memories I have about that trip were more related to the level of service we got from our butler as we had certain expectations about what sailing in the Haven was 'supposed' to be like, and we weren't getting that at all. Having now been on a few more other NCL ships, I wouldn't say it was our favorite, but the right itinerary at the right price point and in the right cabin we certainly would sail on her again.

Ahh, I'm a lazy reader. I don't bother to pay attention to names of posters to keep track of thought processes and such. Amusing avatars or carefully placed signature emojis, yes, those stick with me a bit more. As for the 2nd contender.... I don't think so. I'm assuming they're in the camp of "it will never happen to ME" until it does and then we'll see the "oh I hate NCL for not telling me that was a bad idea". There's a current discussion happening now over on an NCL FB page regarding someone who missed their connecting flight and ended up missing their cruise. They're faulting NCL for not telling them it was a bad idea to fly in on the day of their cruise. 🙄 Honestly it depends on so many factors, but someone with a direct flight heading JFK to MIA, or even going with time on your side from JFK to LAX is very different from someone traveling LAX to JFK, or someone from the middle of nowhere who needs 1-2 connections to get to their embarkation port.

Yeah, but even if it arrives at 12:30 (easy math).... it doesn't mean it's made it's way to a gate for you to get off at that time. Can't tell you how many times we've sat just off the runway after landing waiting for a parking spot. Regardless, put in a call to NCL and see if they can make some type of notation on your account that you have a late arriving flight. That way even if you do get lucky with an early/on time arrival and are in the taxi by 1pm, they won't assume you're a no show at the port and give your room away to someone with a generous upgrade bid. Cruise is free for them, high rolling gambling folk. Not like us with our penny slots 😉. Regardless.... same flight a day earlier will probably be similar in price, and with family nearby in town I'm sure OP can find a couch to crash on the night prior so there's 0% chance of them missing the ship. Now I'm curious when this cruise is happening so we can start putting our bets in as to the outcome.

Took me a while to see that little fine print at the bottom that the prices were in pesos. I was saying 'dang, I knew she had expensive taste in wine but jolly gee wilickers that is out of my everyday price range'.

You need a new TA. That's the TA's job to help buy the block of cabins at the group rate and then to sell them to individual people like yourself.

Look closer - the Dawn doesn't have a Haven. So if that is a true priority for you guys, you need to learn the ships first and see which ones even have a Haven area on them to begin with. https://cruisedeckplans.com/ships/cruiseline.php?line=Norwegian Look at the Jewel class, Breakaway, Breakaway Plus, Prima, and Prima Plus categories. Not for nothing, but if the single wants a private space and is tagging along with the couple at a steep discount (vs paying solo rates in a Haven room alone) they really don't get to complain about the room when the options for a 2br are slim. Prima & Prima Plus categories have 'true' 2br cabins where they're equal in size (vs the "kid" room you referred to), but the tradeoff is a miniscule living room. If you can afford a 3br villa, those are where it's at - but then your single person isn't getting a discount. We'll be on Epic in a week with 4 adults in the 2br Haven room, with 2 of those adults in the "kid" room. They know it's on the small side, but they get to join us on a trip in the Haven (was sold out when they were able to book on their own) and plan on using the room for S/S/S mainly. We also didn't split the cost 50/50 as to us that wasn't fair since the bedrooms weren't even. So it all depends on what is important to you guys, what your expectations are, how fair everyone is willing to be.

Yeah, not going to happen. You would need to book the cabins together as a group. You can't just find 4 other couples who happen to want the same sailing and then link them together after the fact.