Sailing12Away

There's more to it than that. Nothing wrong with staying at a Holiday Inn, but it's certainly not the same experience you would get staying at a Ritz. It's the little things, the types of linens, the fixtures in the bathroom, the furniture, room size, the little touches. Can you still have an amazing vacation without marble sinks, fresh flowers, and 1000+ count egyptian sheets? Of course. If not, none of us would be here on the NCL boards. But if the prices were somewhat similar, wouldn't you rather be at the Ritz when the occasion called for a vacation splurge? But that's my point and rationale in saying you can't compare a basic balcony on NCL to a basic balcony on those other lines. It's the little things beyond the basics that add up to justify the higher prices beyond extra sqft, free mini fridge access, unlimited specialty dining, etc. Plus the rom sizes are much bigger on the other lines, more akin to the club balcony rooms at least on these older NCL ships. Since you're not in the realm of 10K vacations, those things may not matter to you at all. But for folks like myself who do splurge for mostly Haven trips on NCL, we hit that price point often - and at that price point you question what else are you not getting for that money that you can get from another line. Since you've stayed in the Haven - can you honestly say the experience and touches within the room are the same from your regular balcony room to your Haven room? Bathroom sink is the same? Shower is the same? Decor/touches the same? Room size/comfort the same? To keep things as fair as possible, here's Asian trip options on the 3 lines, and comparing 3 cabin types on NCL Sun (Sky is sold out for suites for that trip), all around the same month. Your own logic - who in their right mind would consider paying 6-7K for a basic balcony room on NCL when many of us have been able to get into the Haven at that price point? For that extra $260/day I will gladly take the upgrade where you get 100+ things for it and the overall experience will be significantly different with half as many passengers around you. But again - completely depends on the person. Folks who are not afraid of NCL free air program can have substantial savings (those luxury lines don't have good pricing on flights at all unless you pick business class). Folks who don't care about wifi, specialty dining, the spa, robes, fancy linens.... not a value add to them so they'll stick with whoever is cheapest. Viking vs NCL Sun in a Club Balcony - would love to hear the rationale for wanting to pay more for NCL (beyond the casino argument for those who like to gamble).

Ahh, that's the issue. I don't consider comparing a balcony on NCL to be a fair comparison to an entry level cabin on the other lines. There's a lot more things included for 'free' (ie, wrapped into the price already) on those lines. So an entry level cabin on the fancier guys is more akin to a club balcony at a minimum in my eyes. This is the itinerary I really love as it hits a bucket list stop in Male for me. 16 days in a club balcony suite works out to $690/day. Consolation trip that hits Japan is an 11 day at a price of $865/day. 14 day trip on Oceania in a basic balcony room works out to $957/day. So yes, higher, but you're in one of the 'worst' cabins on the ship with a LOT less people and a few bonus things the NCL trip doesn't include. As opposed to being mid-range in cabin class with NCL. Itineraries for 2026 aren't up yet to compare more fair date ranges. 13 day trip on Viking in a basic balcony room works out to $846/day. Again, smaller passenger count and extra freebies that NCL isn't giving make it a better overall value in my eyes. I guess my main point is that when I hit prices of 10K+ on NCL, and I'm not in a suite or the Haven, I have to start scratching my head and ask myself what am I doing and why am I NOT looking at other lines when your cross that comfort threshold of what we find to be 'fair' pricing for a vacation.

Couple of decently priced short 3-4 day trips. Book a suite or Haven and there you go. Are the extra perks you'll get from moving to Sapphire really worth the 3K though (plus flights)?

For us it's about perceived value for the price being asked. I looked the other day at the Asia itineraries and I love them. But they're on smaller, older ships, and they're charging Haven prices for club balcony rooms. Sorry - but at that price point I'm jumping ships. For the price NCL wanted for an 11 day cruise on the Sun in a club balcony room, we can sail with Viking for just slightly more money (~1K) in a larger room with more included perks. Or on Oceania where their entry level suite is still significantly bigger and better than the simple club balcony 'suite' on NCL - and the price on Oceania was about 3K cheaper! We have a price we're comfortable paying, and if NCL isn't meeting that we will gladly upgrade to a fancier cruise line where you get more things for less money. We live a short 40 min train ride into NYC - so we don't cruise for broadway shows or fancy meals, we have that easy at home. The ship is just the easy means to visiting a lot of new places. And if NCL is pricing us out to other lines, so be it.

We had the same experience a few weeks back on Epic. I had written about it in my live review while on board. Had some OBC to burn through so bought the 10 pack, only to find out it can't be used with non refundable OBC. So that was just an extra charge on our bill and still needed to use up the OBC. The game froze twice and had to be restarted, then when they finally got contestants up there my screen was locked on my phone for round 1 so I got zero points. Maybe if we were bored and had nothing else to do we would sit in and watch, but never giving them a dime of my money again for that. It was a shame since Price is Right was actually a lot of fun, free to participate, and lots of chances for multiple guests to go on stage and play. Not with wheel. It's a complete dud and will probably be pulled soon if not tweaked. I don't understand why they can't change out the participants each round - that would at least give 12 people a chance to play and win a whopping ~$120 in OBC. What skin is that off NCLs back?

Uber dropped us off on the bottom floor of the parking garage where everyone gets dropped off/picked up. Then you have to walk to the part I circled in red to take the escalator up to the check in area. Once you get inside you'll see the Haven check in area to the left, I think I took a photo of it when we got there. We left out of terminal 3. They'll check you in on their ipads, retake photos if necessary, confirm you're not pregnant or walking on with the poops or cooties, then you go through security scanners. After that, there's someone waiting to escort you to the Haven lounge area. It was a decent size, lots of places to sit and relax if you wanted. No one there when we got there around 2pm I think. So we just looked around then walked on board with an escort that took us to our muster station for a scan of the card and then up to the Haven area. They'll give you a quick tour if you need it, it was our 3rd time on Epic so no need for us. We hit the bar and then off to find our friends. On embarkation day there's NCL crew with an elevator reserved for Haven guests. So once you're on the ship you can go right up to the Haven areas without waiting for an elevator. You have access to Posh, so that's a nice spot to watch sail away from. We got lucky with a launch from SpaceX that day as we were waiting to pull away, so everyone was up there to see the rocket take off.

Just like other things which are free and fun and allow people to win stuff, it will be full for quite some time.

Best entertainment we had that we still talk about to this day was on the Star. Band from the Philippians who had a huge cult following back home called Ice Bucket. They did rock covers from all decades covering things like Bon Jovi, Journey, Toto, Chili Peppers, Beatles, hair bands like Guns & Roses, and all sorts of stuff. They played in the small Bliss lounge and it was packed by the 3rd night when word got around. They moved them to the main theater one night, but we missed that notice and didn't get to see them. They would also play at sail away from ports of call around the main pool deck. But that's what we would love more of - a decent rock band. But one that has some flexibility in what they get to play. In speaking with them before/after shows, they were told a set list of songs to learn that they were told guests wanted to hear - but in talking to guests like us, they were learning otherwise. So corporate isn't always in synch with the demographics of the sailings. Had asked them what they would prefer to play if given the chance, and they said AC/DC. So one night when they were allowed to have a little wiggle room and asked the audience to pick their next song, we loudly yelled out Thunderstruck and they didn't miss a beat. Sure there's folks who want to hear a soft piano playing Sweet Caroline, and that's fine for open areas. But use those smaller venues for more targeted audiences. Not all 3000 guests will want to sit through a short set of 80's metal bands, but the 200 or so of us who do will have a blast filling out those smaller venues leaving more room for everyone else in their own little pockets.

On Prima, Price is Right was full through the end because they rotate the contestants throughout the whole show. Wheel of Fortune was about half full, and when the show stopped/started twice half of those walked out.

The tv situation has changed, at least on Epic. Just got off today, and on other ships or other trips there were always a few movie stations with rotating options by genre, but not on this trip. Just a single "prime tv" station (sometimes children cartoons, sometimes things like The Office), a single "movie" station (Mission Impossible and a bunch of stuff I have never heard of), a single "sports" station, and a half dozen news outlets. That was it.

For us coming from NY, the broadway style shows are nice, but not something we feel are a MUST do as we have access to some top notch stuff at home. We were big fans of Price is Right on Prima, that was a lot of fun, free to participate, and had lots of chances for audience members to be called up and win decent stuff. Wheel of Fortune was a big bust and not worth it at all. If they start advertising the prizes ahead of time, my guess is there will be barely any seats paying for chances to play. And even for those who do, only 3 people total play the entire game. Not sure why they don't rotate the contestants out each round like they did on Price is Right.

Just got off Epic today, and the majority of nights after dinner we retreated to the Haven bar. If we weren't in the Haven, we would have found a different bar on the main decks that had the best offerings and made that our home away from home. Would stay there chatting with friends until 1am, so lots of fun to be made on your own when you're with the right company. Same I had forgotten how bad it is in there at times. The one time we at at O'Sheehans on this recent trip was during some crazy loud activity. Couldn't hear ourselves talk and was not a pleasant experience at all. Made it a one and forever done for us going forward.

Finally home.... what an adventure. Original flight was supposed to board at 6:20, depart at 6:56 and get us home in NY around 9pm. We didn't start boarding until 8:40, didn't get up in the air until 9:30, and landed at 11:45. Took over 30 mins for bags to come out on the carousel, and terminal 5 is a mess at JFK for ride pickups. For a yellow taxi you have to find your way over to the terminal 5 parking lot. For Uber/Lyft you have to take the air train to terminal 7. We started walking in that direction, then saw the signs to get to the TWA hotel. Went that way instead with 3-4 other people to try and get an Uber/Lyft from over there. Took over 15 mins for a driver to take the ride, but he was nice and got us home in ~15 mins (thank you traffic gods, this was my one freebie on the Belt Pkwy for the year). Was able to walk in the door and get puppy kisses just before 1am. Decompressing a bit, getting caught up on emails and such, then headed to bed. Thanks for tagging along through the good and bad.

Oh it got better. Traffic getting into MCO was backed up to the entrance of the road area. For whatever reason terminal B was the issue, so when the driver finally made it all the way to the right we were ok getting passed them. But then our bad mojo continued. He missed the turnoff for departures and had to leave the airport and come back around again. When we finally got inside it was smooth, no lines really for TSA. Flight is currently delayed 1.5 hrs, hoping it doesn't get much worse than that. Stick a fork in us, we're done.

Ok, I apologize vacation gods. Please restore my good karma. Uber to the airport broke down on the highway. He was able to drop us off at an abandoned mall. Couldn't find another Uber to pick us up so had to switch to Lyft. Driver just got here, hopefully in the airport in the next 30 mins. Can't make this stuff up.

Way to suck JetBlue. Not sure how a direct flight to NY will take 23hrs. Probably headed to the airport soon ish just in case we need to find another carrier. Dog sitter is dropping the baby off at home while we should be in the air, so if that changes we have an issue as hubby's sister has lost her spare key to our house and would be the one to take care of the dog if we're truly delayed that much.

This place is popping now, glad we got here early. Food portions are huge.

Made it to the market for some beers and food. https://crookedcan.com/plant-st-market/

The green one is a frozen grasshopper. Creme de menthe (mint), creme de cacao (chocolate), and ice cream base. White with chocolate one is a mudslide, mix of chocolate and Kahlua. Plain white one is a BBC, banana, Bailey's and coconut.

If you can pre book transportation from the port, do it. Surge pricing in effect. Lines to get out were long. Grabbed our bags and flagged down an NCL crew to figure out where to go. They had us cut the line a bit. Birth certificate people went to the left for full processing, passports to the right for facial recognition. Super quick despite the lines. Just got in the Uber now, prices for Lyft were $110+.

For those with little children.... Please for the love of God, do not encourage them to play tag, hide & go seek, or running screaming games in the lounge while waiting to get off the ship. Some of us are trying to enjoy the last bits of peace and quiet, or trying to make last minute arrangements for transportation and can't hear themselves think because of your precious monsters. Playing the game of do we stay where we have a seat or get off now to avoid the headache that is brewing from the screaming. Screaming. Yes, children are loud, but come on parents, at least pretend to be trying to contain them.

Long queue for the private Haven elevator to get off the ship, but we're not in a rush. Our flight doesn't leave until nearly 7pm. Spent 30 mins chatting with JetBlue this morning but the 2pm flight I wanted is now sold out. Day of you can change fights for $75/pp, but I'm not paying that for a 1pm flight that has a 4hr layover in Boston. There's a 5pm into LGA, but again not really worth it for saving 2hrs. They said I should have reached out last night, I said I was in the middle of the ocean with no Internet. Grumble grumble. Plan for now is to mosey off and get an Uber to the Plant Street market. Hide out there for a bit, and make our way to the airport around 5ish.

For dinner I ate off the kids menu at the Haven restaurant. Decent choices for a lighter meal. When we got to the room there was a bottle of wine from the somollier waiting for us. Would have been nice to have it a bit earlier, but we're beginning it home now and was a nice thought at least.

Took a photo of the ice bar menu to recreate the drinks at the Haven bar and forgot to try. Didn't do it on this trip, but we've done it on others and it was fun. After lunch won another jumbo glitter duck on the first try, some more smaller ducks for a friend, then bank to lounging. Zuul returned for another visit, so maybe keep the tub drain closed when not in use.

Menu of the free wine choices with latitude voucher meal. Lunch at the sushi place.