complawyer

actually, any cruise departing from either athens or venice (trieste) offers much lovelier ports of call you cant miss with going to croatia, santorini, mykonos and istanbul. however those are my personal preferences also remember the ports for rome and florence are about an hour from the actual cities themselves. unless you want to experience all the bells, whistles and goodies on these 2 newest ncl ships, you'd probably get a better deal on the above-mentioned itineraries

please dont pooh pooh all of ncl due to the 1 bad experience. in the past 13 years we've sailed on most of them. i loved the getaway, and the bliss was amazing. ive checked the prima since it was first put into operation, and although i try and book either a haven or a suite on ships without haven complex, im not ashamed to admit, the prima has priced me completely out of that market. interestingly enough, in sept there is a 10 day sailing on the prima from iceland to southampton, and an additional sailing 14 days on the star. i can skip the bells and whistles on the prima, for the extra 4 days on board the star meanwhile(backatheranch) , i have never had an experience as bad as you described. try another ship, try another itinerary. we're on the dawn next march from capetown to barcelona (21) days, and next oct 2024 b2b venice to athens, athens to tel aviv each leg 10 days. im sure if you give them another chance with a different ncl ship, you will be more that satisfied with the outcome. me, ive posted before, i sail with ncl because of their itineraries and price. im happy to just be on the ship, sitting on my balcony with a glass of champagne or an ice cold beer, reading my kindle. personal philosophy (mine only) book me in, show me to my cabin, and leave me alone for the duration. i think i can handle the rest all on my own i used to rush to book teppanyaki, but since they've taken out filet mignon as a choice, im not rushing back, moderno has also lost its lustre, so i usually go to cagneys. after all these years, and after 25 cruises with ncl, i can honestly say ive never been disappointed in a meal there. sometimes i'll go to a show, sometimes not, it's not a priority for me, im 75 and on some nights, i might be in the casino until midnight, though no later than that, and im not overly enthused by any lounge act to justify me just sitting an drinking. i know as far as being a cruiser im probably in the minority as to my expectations, but basically im generally happy just to be on the ship and cruising along, watching the sun set, and listening to the ocean go by. "nuff said"

5 people in anything less than a 2 bedroom suite is squeezing it tight. anything else just has 1 bathroom, and trying to get 5 people ready imho is really pushing it. i believe either the owners suite or the deluxe owners suite might have an additional bathroom, androom enough for 5 bodies. in a club balcony, there is a queen bed that can be split into 2, a pull out sofa that can maybe squeeze in 2 people, although probably not comfortably and the 5th is a toss up. i suggest you go onto ncl website, mock book a potential cruise and they will tell you not only the sq footage of the cabin, but how many bodies it was designed to sleep. if you're concerned about costs, you may be out of luck. on the other hand, you may be much better off booking a balcony cabin, and op for an indoor cabin across the hall

viva! more ports and more places of interest

dbrown84. if you can manage to close down the casino and still find room for a bacon/corned beef burger, my hat is off to you. i didnt even know they had corned beef onboard an ncl ship. kudos to both you and your apparent cast iron stomach ! LOL im currently having cramps just thinking about it

six was/is an amazing production. the girls are non-stop entertainment. we saw it n the bliss last july, and recently in our local theater. would definitely see it again in a heartbeat

yes, you can definitely do so

you will note, regardless of the alleged "sales" ncl arithmetic is entirely different than any one else's. the names change, but in effect the prices stay more or less the same. i monitor them almost daily, and we're booked for 21 day sailing next march, and b2b sailings in oct 2024. the prices never change. my best recommendation would be if you find a sailing you like, and are comfortable with the cabin prices, book now! you can always cancel and rebook if the prices go down I(highly unlikely, however) up to 120 days prior to sailing date

patrlr. i was just throwing in a little bit of sarcasm vis-a-vis ncl burgers vs. mickey d's, although you must admit, ncl's are still a cut above. still, rememeber in my post, ncl is grilling out dozens of burgers per meal. while it doesnt justify anything, sometimes quality goes by the wayside when quantity is required. (1) i may be in the minority, but a burger on any of my cruises, is so far down on my list of priorities or requisites, as to be almost non existent. i dont go on a cruise for a burger, when there are so many other choices after 25 ncl cruises, i dont think ive bothered to have one of their burgers more than maybe half dozen times, they're usually dried out to the point of being almost non-edible, so, most of the time i just pass. i did have an o'sheehan's burger many years ago, and if was really good. for the most part i avoid o'sheehans, as i think their service "sucks" (2) By the way, and i think this is most important for those of you that dont live in california, we have in and out burgers. "Nuff said"!!!

well they may not be top quality, imo they certainly beat mickey d"s, burger king and/or wendy's. cut some slack. they're continually grilling 100's of burgers through out the day. my only problem is the bun falling apart before im done . i also load up the burger with mustard, relish, onion lettuce and tomato. helps to kill the taste (LOL)

agent999 brilliant analogy. bravo. pgh, you need to read this. makes perfect sense

hey pgh. poster got exactly what he originally bargained for. ncl returned the extra money he placed on his upgrade bid, there were absolutely no errors, omissions or malfeasance in any way on the part of ncl and/or its contractors, subcontractors, agents, sub agents, employees or anyone else connected to, hired by or in any way affiliated with t he cruise line. contracts 101 common sense 102 and continuing. besides which, you made y our post sound like a law school exam. lighten up!!

just consider, it could have worse (1) ncl could have apologized and told him they had overbooked and cancelled his reservation entirely,(2) due to mechanical issues, the entire cruise was cancelled (3) the cruise was cancelled because ncl turned this into a "charter " cruise, (4) while he may have been disappointed, think of "ALL" the cruisers who were disappointed when all cruises were cancelled for 2 years due to covid, now that's truly disappointment. he got what he originally booked, ncl returned the money difference, and he's still cruising! the post noted that he booked an upgrade from inside to balcony. if the situation were reversed, and when he got to the ship he was put into a suite by mistake, im sure this post would have never been written. if there are any upgrades available once onboard, most likely if he still wants to upgrade, he will be charged the difference in price not his bidding price. while i agree, the anticipation of bidding for a higher category cabin at a reduced price is high, personally, i booked the cabin i want. weusually travel with a friend, so we try and book the 2 bedroom suite so she has her own room and bathroom, the only other cabin that accommodates this is the 3 bedroom and the bidding starts at $1400x's2, and while i would love to sail inthis cabin, i dont need (nor could i utilize) the extra room in reality, he lost nothing, and (although i could be mistaken), im sure he didnt cancel his cruise . as for good business, if i ordered a bacon pizza (something i dont think i ever would do), and got a cheeses pizza instead, i guess the proper thing to do, is comp the cheese pizza, and as quick as possible bring the correct one. That's why i always go to pick up an order, rather than have it delivered.

i'm sorry for the feeling of disappointment, but in reality, you ended up with exactly the cabin you originally booked, at the price you agreed to pay. so how can you in good conscience complain. just think that you are never entitled to an upgrade offer, and ncl apologized for the mistake

hey traveling man, we 1st boarded the star in hong kong. when we got on board we were advised of the problem. ncl was much more generous then, than they apparently are now. we were offered a full refund if we chose not to continue (this was never really an option a(1) we were already in hong kong (2) the cruise ended in signapore, we were booked into a hotel there for 3 extra days, and our return flight was after our stay. the other alternative offered, was to refund 1/2 the cost of this fare, which was great since we had a suite, and an additional 50% any future flight. we were 14 days in a penthouse suite for less that $4,000. while i was disappointed we didnt get to taipei, cambodia, and most of all hanoi (being a vietnam vet, i really, really wanted to see hanoi) but all things being considered, i (as you) enjoyed the cruise, and as always my only complaint was that the hamburger buns fell apart before i was finished with the burger small price to pay? No?

it's also doing a partial ireland cruise from southampton july 27, 2023. ncl dawn

personally, i found going from venice to trieste not to be a problem, living with los angeles traffic, it was a shorter ride than some days on my commute to work (lol)

we are flying non stop (10 hrs) from l.a. to lhr. staying overnight in london and hiring a private shuttle to take us to southampton. i dont believe there are direct flights to southampton, you probably will need to connect either at heathrow or gatway. also i tried booking that way, and the flights are much more expensive

regardless of how you try to accomplish it, you are doing yourself a massive disservice if you dont get to venice. it's amazing, breathtaking, and a must see if you are able to. w're booked oct 2024 from venice (trieste) and once again, we plan to fly into venice a few days early, book private transportation to trieste the day before sailing, and then happily board the ship the next day. belive me, it's totally worth it.

yes, the advantage is you dont need to schlep your luggage with you. trust me, if you check it in with a porter, most likely it will appear in front of your cabin before the evening is over. if you need something essential, it is advisable to keep it in your carry on. on the off and very unlikely chance it doesnt show up, this occurs in airlines also. in 25 cruises i have never had a problem getting my bag, and have never been advised there is a place to check it while youre enjoying the 1st day of the cruise. we normally take either 7 day b2b cruises, 10-14 day cruises, and were booked for b2b 19 days this july, 21 days in march and 20 days oct 2024. add in the few days prior and after the cruise in the port cities, and that's an awful lot to carry. so my vote always goes to the porter (and a $10 bill)

again, the only thing that p***es me off on an ncl cruise (and i've posted this before) is that the hamburger buns always seem to fall apart before im done with the burger LOL!

well chief mate, my offer to buy the 1st round if we're ever on the same cruise still stands, but not for a $200 shot! LOL!!!

i agree 100% with seeking killer whales. my wife and i have been on roughly 25 cruises since 2010, all with ncl. we have also sailed on the majority of their ships. havent been on breakaway, encore, escape joy, prima or poa. these are the only ones to date we havent as yet been on. that being said, i can honestly say, we have never had a "bad" cruise, even the ever dam**d epic (sailed on her twice) . to me, what is the most important for a successful trip is the itinerary and of course the price. most on the cabins we have stayed in are more or less similar (even the haven 2 bedroom suites) i believe there is a simple joy in merely sailing from port to port. to date, i really have nothing to complain about for any of the past cruises we have taken. we have an additional 4 booked thru 2024. again, it's the itinerary that has interested me. we're going to capetown next march, and another on the DAWN next oct the stops in egypt. some of the shore excursions have already been listed, and one is to the pyramids (definitely a stop on mybucket list) so please pay no attention to either the man behind the curtain, or any of the negative reviews. go, sail, enjoy. youre on a floating luxury hotel, quoting my sainted gramma, "dont sweat the small stuff"

we were on an ncl cruise last year from Venice (trieste). we flew from los angeles, to venice 3 days prior to the cruise departure. by the way, if you've never been there, it's an amazing city. just sitting in st marks square watching al the people and having a cup of coffee was wonderful. we also had pre-booked a tour that took us to morano, borano and one other city. cruise ended in rome (civitivecchia) where we also hired a cab to drive us to rome, also about a hr + from the dock prior to leaving for venice, we also prebooked a shuttle to drive us to trieste. i believe it took slightly over an hr, and we stayed in trieste overnight. (trieste is also a beautiful city) we had an ncl agent on site at the hotel, and signed up. the next morning at around 10, there was a shuttle bus waiting outside the hotel to drive us directly to the ship. while i certainly wouldnt want to take a 90 minute tender, spending time in venice, prior to sailing is more than worth the effort. btw, since C/C wont allow you to name names, the hotel in trieste was beautiful, think two evergreens, maples, or pine, paris and conrad, (one of liz taylors former husband) and you'll probably be able to figure out the name of the hotel

if this helps any, when we book a suite it's usually the 2 bedroom, as my really good friend travels with my wife and i. she only drinks de-caf, my wife likes regular coffee, and for purposes in the morning, i prefer tea. on the very first meeting with the butler, i request every morning he bring in a pot of decaf, a pot of regular coffee a pot of hot water for tea. i also ask him to bring some croissants. muffins and sweet rolls. you can have it all, all from the comfort of your cabin.