complawyer

lady liberty is an impressive sight, regardless of where you're seeing her. what's most astonishing is being on liberty island and seeing just how massive this statue is.

so the lesson to be learned is never, ever bother to purchase the cruise next certificates. if you ask any one at the cruise next desk i guarantee you will never get the same answer/explanation twice. im not 100% sure they even understand the process. consequently, i have given up even listening to them. as my sainted grandmother used to say "if it sounds to good to be true..etc"

of course, this may be a disappointment, but a show is just an hr and a half (if that) and there are so many other things to see and do aboard a cruise ship. so even though you're going to miss out on footloose, enjoy everything else that your ship has to offer. personally, in all the cruises we've taken, the entertainment (or lack thereof) has never entered my equation for the cruise itself.

been to all of them. if youre into that sort of thing, the ruins at tulum in cozumel are "NOT" to be missed. i wouldnt take any other shore excursion regardless of how many times i might go to tulum a i recall, just getting off the ship and strolling around costa maya is fun. as for rhoaton bay, it's been a few years, but as i recall, there aint a whole lot going on there i know i'll get a load of flack for this one, but we've been to gsc a few times never harvest caye, but if they are similar, after the 1st time my philosophy was "been there done that" and i woudnt bother to get off the ship. it's beautiful, the ocean is breathtaking, but remember youre sharing with 2-3000 of your closest friends. i'd rather enjoy my time on the ship with the fewer people regardless, have a great time, and pay no attention to me, my post , or the man behind the curtain, i'm a grumpy old curmudgeon

after the1st tip (and we tip almost everyone that provides a service) the entire staff seems to bend over backwards to take care of us. at the beginning of each cruise, i tip the maitre"d a $20 and he becomes most accomodating throughout the cruise. last year on the bliss, i tipped our breakfast waiter an extra $5.00 and after that he couldnt do enough for me. whenever he saw us on the shipped, he begged us o use the restaurant again. i believe that most of the wait staff do not get tipped, but that doesnt preclude them from giving their best attempt at service. tipping has been discussed on this sight many times. there is no right or wrong answer. since the service charge is all ready factored into the total cost, anyone should not feel any remorse if they choose not to tip any further. i find that when i do (always btw) everyone benefits. as an aside, i never, ever sign up for a meet and greet, and if i did, i would never think of being a no-show

dear potatopotato. in the long run it doesnt matter. for a long time i used to insist on the port side, as i was convinced that when the ship docks, that side will be the one with the view, while starboard lets you see the water. in some ports, the only things you see are the industrial ports. even if youre on the port side with a view of the city(ies) as the ship turns around to leave, you'll probably see the same thing from starboard. so now, after25 ncl cruises, im more concerned about the cabin itself, as opposed to which side of the ship its on. also, you can always go onto the upper decks for view. i often do just that to take pictures. hope this helped your decision

medcruise. dont pay any attention to the epic nay sayers, IMHO, shes as good or as bad as any other ship in the ncl fleet. we 've sailed on most of the ncl ships, and on the epic twice. my only complaint was on the 1st sailing we were in the aft penthouse, and the circular bed, took up almost the entire cabin, and i wasnt thrilled with the toilet/shower set up. other then those minor inconveniences, no problem. the cabin steward and butler were top notch. been on your itinerary, and you will have an excellent time. the greek isles are by and large amazing (every one of them) if you get the chance (and we've done this before,) we hired a cab in liverno to take us to florence, and hired one in naples to take us to the amalfi coast. in the past, ncl offered a shore excursion but no longer. scenic wise it is breathtaking. if you look for problems, im sure you will find some. i have no qualms at all about booking the epic. depending on it's itinerary

without trying to be a complete jerk (guess incomplete will have to do) i do not now, nor have i ever had any desire to join a meet and greet. for purposes of cruise critic, ncl ask and answered or the roll call for whichever ship i am booked on, i will try and answer as best i can consistent with my previous experiences sailing with ncl. 25 within the past 11 years

you got it buddy!

hey, cruise ny4life. im still with you. my wife can talk to anyone she wants, anywhere she wants. and frankly scarlett, i dont give a d**n. i still wont be bothered to talk to anyone if i dont feel like it. that being said, however , so people dont think im a complete a**h**e, if asked a question i will respond and try and answer as best i can. if not, my position is as follows "i dont know you, you dont know me, and other than this cruise there is probably 100% chance we will never have any contact again, so please enjoy your cruise, but leave me alone. unless youre chief matejrk, who i amost anxious to meet and share a few drinks wwith

latitudes, i dont know about casino, i never gamble higher than jade.

was your lady butler's name theresa by any chance, if so she is indeed amazing.

isnt it just as uncomfortable sitting at a table with strangers, and hemming and hawing trying to make small talk? i think (although i claim no evidence to support this theory), that in these times, most people, given the choice, would rather sit with whoever is in their party, then with a group of strangers, of which you may have nothing in common, other than being on the cruise.

ontheweb. so your contention is that you didnt like the cruise because you found it unfriendly. did you personally try and strike up conversations with others. ive posted before, that i'm not intentionally anti-social, but i can do a cruise of any length and not converse with anyone else on board. i agree with cruiseny4life. when i was in college (many, many years ago) i could sit next to someone for the entire semester, and never even ask their name. im on the cruise with the people i'm traveling with, and that suits me just fine

ok, in croatia, just wandering around dubrovnik is great, any of the greek isles are amazing. it's better to take a sponsored shore excursion if you port in santorini, but if you also go to mykonos, just get off the tender and walk around and observe. if you are into archeology, take the tour to delos. in turkey, the ruins at ephesus are a must, and any tour of istanbul will not disappoint . we've been on similar tours a number of times, and your unbridled enthusiasm is well founded.

way to go !!!! chief

i totally agree with ilovesalchows (although i confess, i have no idea what a salchow might be) every where you turn in rome, there is something marvelous and breathtaking to see. that being said, however, you cannot discount venice. sitting and having latte in st marks square, or riding in a gondola is just amazing.

well, oldsweets, obviously, to each his own, but for total costs and itinerary, i think ncl wins hands down. that being said however, where do you play in order to accumulate the freebie cruises?

bird travels, i have asked before from my cas rep. i was advised that ncl doesnt even status match within it's upper echelon ships. regent or oceania

sorry, just have to add a couple more comments (1) the shows on board were jersey boys and six. jersey boys was almost a carbon copy of the movie and we walked out in the middle. i thought the acoustics were awful, and more specifically, Frankie Valli he ain't! on the other hand, Six was unbelievable. we're going to see it again at the theater in los angeles this thurs. (2) we went to cagney's twice this cruise. while i concede the quality of cagney's and moderno has gone down a few notches, i have never had a "bad" meal at cagney's. some not as good as others, but generally speaking nothing to really complain about!

so in the end, in reality, it was you. we were on the bliss to alaska last july with a club balcony suite. having previously been on an Alaskan cruise, i didnt much care about the ports or the offered excursions. the ship however was amazing. i wouldnt have minded spending the entire 7 days in the observation lounge. sorry that your cruise was a bust. but i wouldnt hesitate to book the bliss again. im pretty sure he is no longer there, but there was a greeter when you entered the buffet. he smiled and sang and was generally a joy throughout the entire trip. i had to comment that i have never seen anyone take so much pride and joy in their work as this man. when we got home i entered him in my "hero" evaluation

just the mere joy of being at sea, on a relatively luxurious vessel, traveling to different exotic ports all over the world. but most of all, just being able to sit on my balcony , watching the world sail past, and listening to the ocean

unfortunately, ncl provides protection only in dreams and fairy tales. you're 100% better/safer off doing your own bookings

ive been on both, and a great number of other ncl ships. we loved the getaway. just on general principals/ that being said, i dont care about the pool or jaccuzzi. most of the times i dont even bother to bring a bathing suit, and we've stayed in the haven complex many times also. in kusadai, as long as you get to see the ruins at ephesus, you're AOK. after that there's nothing much else there to write home about.

doesnt matter as long as she doesnt try and pull a dumb stunt like this on any other cruise line or vacation. while i dont think i'd take the no booze from southampton case, i might take this one and try to convince someone that it wasnt hers, and she didnt know it was in the cabin. would have her plead the stupidity defense. DUH! i thought it was baby powder supplied by the ship (LOL)