Noworkforme23

On 1/21/2024 at 6:11 AM, blarko said:

Yes! That’s one thing that I really dislike about cruising. Actually that’s probably the only thing….

That is why I fly home the day after the cruise and not the day of the return of the cruise.  Which was a a blessing in December 2023 when our cruise ship was delayed 5 hours in docking at Miami.  So many stressed travelers.  We will only cruise now when we fly in before and fly home after, one day before / after our cruise.  We were the last ones off the ship practically and it was so nice and relaxing.  

On 1/14/2024 at 3:44 PM, sid_9169 said:

This just isn't the same when viewed through a wet window...

It is better than any day at work 😎😎😎

2 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

For future reference, the E class ships actually do not take reservations for the main dining rooms. It looks like they do, the website seems to indicate that they do, but in fact, they don’t. An E class ships the dining rooms are all open seating. 

Thank you , good to know.  This is our first time booking with celebrity. We have only cruised with NCL and Disney.  When I go online to review/modify my reservation for December 2024, it still shows three dining choices and the my time dining option is greyed out and not available, and only 6:00 and 8:30 are available. 

6 hours ago, Tierun said:

Instead of selecting the early or late seating times, choose celebrity select (my time dining) and just show up at your preferred time.

We just booked a December 2024 Ascent cruise and the my time dining option was greyed out, it only allowed you to choose 6:00 or 8:30 pm.  Does not matter to us that we chose 6:00 because we are not interested in Main Dining rooms, we will just do buffet, grille, or room service the entire trip.  

On 12/24/2023 at 9:12 PM, Trainer said:

Just off the Ascent last week.  Deck 7 aft.  “ so-called balcony cabin. No creaking or other noises.  And we had high seas a couple of days.

We have 7328 Sunset Verandah booked for December 2024 on the Ascent. Thank you for the update. 😊😊

We were in NCL Encore Dec 10-17, creaking was in walls, but we were caught in the storm and missed a port and was delayed 5 hours on disembarking and getting back to Miami port.  The walls did creak, but the ship handled the wind VERY well.  
We just use the white noise app on our phones and drown out the noise.  
The Ascent is a new ship, probably just settling in, 😊😊, just a guess.  
We have booked our first cruise with Celebrity on the Ascent for December 2024 and are very excited.  We booked a Sunset Verandah. ❤️❤️

6 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

We just returned from our December 10-17th cruise on board the ENCORE and ready to get this extensive review started. I decided to post my review here instead of my travel blog/website since I had so many issues last time and still haven't worked everything out. But there will be a link to here from the blog so if you ever can't find it, you'll find it there. 🙂 

 

We are a family of 3 (if you don't know and follow us already) that cruise and vacation regularly (with an extended family of my older kids that sometimes cruise). For those that are wondering, nope, Kendra and family did not come. I know...boo hiss.

 

So I do these reviews as a informative, yet humorous (at least some think so, so don't burst my bubble ya'll) review of our fun times during our travels. I LOVE LOVE LOVE photography and taking pictures. I've always said "A picture is worth a thousand words" and will always hold true with me. Sometimes I go over board... figuratively, not literally, with the pictures but I'm the type of person that needs a visual on things and visual is what you'll get with me. 😄 

 

Our route this time will be: 

 

 

Yes, we have been to these ports, but I have a ton of Cruise Next certificates I need to use up (that I was peer pressured into purchasing just prior to COVID hitting by a smooth talking rep on the Joy) and I live in a Northern state which is COLD and needed an escape to the Caribbean. So, repeat ports it will be for us this time around. 

 

I also needed a trip to clear my head (and nerves) because right before the cruise THIS HAPPENED:

 

 

 

 

For those of you that have followed us since Sakari was 3 years old...time to grasp just how quickly time has passed since I first started reviewing our cruising! Yea, let that sink in...I'm getting old super quick! Only a few years before she will get her Platinum status for herself with NCL...you're welcome daughter! Momma and dad did all the work for you, now you will reap the benefits soon! 

 

So, on with the review...I hope you enjoy it and will stick around. I'll answer any questions I can along the way and have put my "actual review" in this beautiful bright blue color so that those only wanting to follow along with the review can spot it without having to read all the comments if they'd like. 

My adult son & I were on the same sailing. 🙂 The final day & debarkation was quite memorable !!!! I am so glad we did not fly out on debarkation day & had a Hotel waiting for us the end of the cruise !!!! 

We stayed in a Spa Club Balcony Suite & used that & the Vibe Beach Club most of the trip !!! Both great except the small blinking lights above the pool in the thermal spa were never on & working, so that was disappointing. 

 But the food & service on the ship was excellent & the ship & our room was VERY clean, LOVE that !!!

We did not do any speciality restaurants, only the Local & Buffet & we LOVED them both !!!!

Very upset they removed the Spa Club Balcony Suite option for future bookings, we may have to try the Celebrity cruise line Aqua Class rooms for a first time. 

This NCL Encore was our first trip back from cruising in 5 years since covid & it did not disappoint. 🙂 

Does the Club Balcony Suite on the Prima & Viva not have the double sinks? It looks like online the bathrooms in the Club Balcony Suite & the regular Balcony rooms are exactly the same on the Prima & Viva? Am I looking at it correctly... Still upset they removed the Spa Club Balcony Suite option.. 

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Its not the rain the stops the ships, its the wind and waves. They really need to invest in a pier

Agree, but the wind forecast for that day shows winds 18-25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph in the weather app. 😒. Only positive is I will get my excursion money back from the amount I paid for the ocean villa at GSC.  

We are supposed to stop there on the Encore on 12/16, but the current weather report shows 65% chance of rain.  😒😒

On 3/3/2023 at 4:27 PM, cruisinmeme said:

One little trick I used. When doing an email do the email THEN sign in to send it. 
also if two people in cabin (example husband and wife) and one primary person will be using it they will transfer all minutes to one persons phone.

How do you do that? I am the primary person and I how do I get the 300 minutes all on my phone? My adult son will be with me, but we are only using my phone and he does not have an NCL account like I do, but he is on my reservation.  

On 3/3/2023 at 4:27 PM, cruisinmeme said:

One little trick I used. When doing an email do the email THEN sign in to send it. 
also if two people in cabin (example husband and wife) and one primary person will be using it they will transfer all minutes to one persons phone.

Thank you so much. ✈️✈️🏝🏝

17 minutes ago, bernard530 said:

You must be onboard by 3:30 pm.  Your hotel is close to the port.  I'm on that sailing as well. 

Awesome.  So you think we 12:30 pick up time is soon enough?

We have our Lyft scheduled to pick us up at the Intercontinental Miami Hotel at 12:30, we chose a later boarding time of 1:30-2:00 to avoid the crowds and hopefully traffic at Miami port.  The ship sails at 5:30, I assume that is enough time?? Can anyone confirm? We sail on 12-10-2023. Just a few more days. 

6 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

Economically responsible

 

Love it! Must remember that phrase.

 

Ever consider being a novelist?

 I loved this one, “

Decaf, the coffee equivalent of getting a high-five in the face with a Chair. 

But hey, who needs caffeine anyway? (Hint: Me. I do.)” 😊😊😊

On 12/1/2023 at 10:26 AM, swemto said:

 

As the final suitcase clicked shut, and our Uber's imminent arrival was signaled by the cheerful ding of our phones, it hit us - vacation mode: activated. Miami, here we come! But not so fast; first, a pitstop at the glamorous Clarion Hotel at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Because nothing says "let the adventures begin" like a cozy airport hotel, right?

 

After what felt like the world's quickest half-hour journey, we found ourselves at the doorstep of Arlanda and SkyCity. Check-in was smoother than a freshly ironed shirt, and after a room inspection that rivaled the thoroughness of a detective searching for hidden treasure, we adhered to tradition.

 

With a hunger that rivaled our excitement for the impending vacation, we made our way to Restaurant Pocket at Arlanda airport SkyCity. Here, we did what any self-respecting traveler would do - ordered the most Swedish meal on the menu. Cue the meatballs, mashed potatoes, cream sauce, and lingonberries - a dish so quintessentially Swedish, it practically sang ABBA songs.

 

Now, you might be raising an eyebrow, thinking, "Aren't you tired of meatballs? Isn't that a bit too 'Ikea chic' for a pre-vacation feast?" Well, dear reader, let me regale you with the cautionary tale of the time we dared to deviate from the meatball routine.

 

Picture this: a vacation without meatballs. Sounds daring, right? We thought so too. But oh, how the universe laughed in the face of our culinary rebellion. The result? A broken foot, courtesy of my wife, on the very first day of the vacation. Lesson learned: never underestimate the power of meatballs to keep you on your feet—literally.

 

So, here we are, back at it again, embracing the meatball ritual with open arms (and mouths). Because when it comes to vacations, we've learned that some traditions are best left unchallenged.

 

following along.  We will also be on the Encore on December 10, 2023 out of Miami. 
This is our first cruise back since Covid in FIVE years.  We have had to reschedule the Encore THREE times.  So hopefully the third time is a charm and we finally get on this beautiful ship.   Our last cruise prior to Covid was the Bliss and we LOVED that ship and the thermal spa!!!!  

Have fun!!,!,😊😊

I would never give someone else control over something as important as my flights.  Even if it is free.  That is what starts off my vacation.  Too important to give that control to someone else.   I am too much of a control freak. 😊

I hope all goes well for you though. 

On 11/27/2023 at 6:36 PM, BirdTravels said:

NCL docks at Taino Bay. 

  Not on 12-12-23, the Encore docks with the Carnival Celebration at Amber Cove. .  I located it yesterday on their port schedule.  I was bummed, I really wanted to dock at Taino Bay.  

We set sail on the NCL Encore December 10-17 from Miami and I just checked online and it is completely sold out and no longer available. I am kind of shocked.  I thought most folks would still have kids in school, since it was too close to Christmas, and all that.  The last time we sailed prior to Covid was 5 years ago in December on the Bliss and it was not crowded at all. Still glad and so excited, but shocked it is sold out. 

This is why I never change or upgrade my original stateroom or package.  

15 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Carnival Corp owns Amber Cove but NCL ships also stop at Amber Cove, like my Epic cruise earlier this year and the Joy as mentioned by another poster on this thread.

 

Yep.  I did not realize that either, but our 12/12/2023 stop in the DR is going to be in Amber Cove with the Carnival Celebration. I was hoping for Taino Bay instead. 

This is weird.. Our 12/12/2023 stop in Puerto Plata does not show at either one on 12/12 by NCL Encore..

https://www.puertoplatadr.com/cruiseports/cruise-ports/cruise-port-schedule/.    Unless I am missing it somewhere?  I located a second site & it is not listed on there either... so odd.. I located a 3rd website & it shows NCL 12/12 at Amber Cove, but the other 2 sites do not even have the ship on there for 12/12/2023. ... Found a 4th website & it also shows Amber Cove.. Bummer.. really wanted to try Taino Bay.. But no worries... Just finally glad to be back cruising after FIVE years !!!!!! So excited... First time in Vibe Beach Club & we have a Thermal Spa room (booked before changes) & we fly into Miami on Dec 9 & cruise on 12/20 on the beautiful Encore.. This will be our THIRD Time to reschedule it since Covid times !!!!! Third Time is a charm !!!!!!!!

20 hours ago, DominicAUS said:

The day I don’t get giddy checking in or prepping for a trip is the day I stop travelling. 32 days until I leave and 43 days until I board the Bliss. 
 

Enjoy your trip

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Bliss, that was our last sailing prior to Covid !!! We are sailing on the Encore on December 10.. Just a few more days!!!! This will be our 3rd time to reschedule a cruise on the Encore since Covid.. Hopefully the 3rd time is a charm !!! All packed, all checked in & ready to go !!!

1 minute ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yes.   It always is.  Many of us who have cruised since Covid have had our email inboxes flooded with additional requests from NCL to rewatch that video.

Good to know.. I have not cruised in 5 years, thanks for the heads up.