allygory

1 hour ago, beerman2 said:

You recently took your first cruise and it's fascinating you've bought in to the "nickel and diming" concept/myth.

  

Good insight for OP up until then. One can only be "nickel and dined" if they choose to.

Not what i meant.. I meant that  people's perception of things being that way did not bear out.

I was already pretty sure that wasn't the case going in.  I get that you either pay up front or you pay later for things and i'd much rather the model where you don't pay up front. There was very little that I thought "gee I wish this were included."

I just recently took my first cruise.. on the Escape, to Bermuda.  I was where you were. I booked and then the comments I saw had me worried that I'd booked the wrong ship, the wrong type of vacation the wrong everything.  I too considered cancelling.  I'm glad I didn't.

I had, and I'm not exaggerating, a spectacular time.

Its a lovely ship.  I got to do everything that interested me, and I found the food ranging from "fine"  to "excellent" and only ate one meal that I was meh on and it wasn't one I was expecting much from.

I did not have a drink package (I'm not a big drinker), but even with the ostensible nickel and diming my onboard account really didn't rack up much in the way of charges.  

I really need not have worried, and you don't need to either.  Its really very very nice.

18 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

I've been on 15+ cruises, always with at least a balcony. 

 

This morning I saw a $649 solo rate (no supplement) for the 6/30 Escape sailing to Bermuda. I'd normally never book an inside, but for 4th of July week you really can't beat that price. 

 

So it's a first time to Bermuda AND a first time in a Balcony. I figure the summer weather will make an inside room more tolerable than the colder months when you're buttoned up inside the ship. Any other balcony devotees ever slummed it for a good inside rate? 

The Escape has a fair amount of ocean facing outside space.  The Waterfront is lovely,  and segmented so you can really feel like you are somewhat  by yourself wherever you are sitting

I remember thinking that i would have been fine without a balcony because of the waterfront.

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Most 12-year olds would prefer to hang at the kids club. Register her on embarkation day and make sure she goes on embarkation day to make friends.

. 

I have no idea what they are doing in these kids and teens clubs but it must be amazing - because our ship was full of kids and teens and I never saw them except when some kids were being asked by their parents to leave the kids club  to go to dinner with their parents and they were complaining that they wanted to stay at the kids club!

Everyone under the age of 18 that i saw was having a blast all day every day.  When they ventured to where I could see them.

I just got off the Escape, and I'm gluten free and I did not have a single problem all week. They really did an outstanding job.

They offered me the option to pre order stuff (which I largely didn't take because we didn't want to tie ourselves down to stuff).  They brought me gluten free bread everywhere (and it was different bread on different days, and all surprisingly good)  There was always a gluten free dessert option or two which is often a sore point in other places. 

The most amazing GF experience i had was in the Buffet (which they advised me to avoid and I didn't but it was still plenty easy to eat there).  I had asked at one of the stations if something was gluten free and they radioed the chef and it was not, so i thanked them and moved on.   Ten minutes later,  the Matire D, who i had never seen before and had no idea who I was, appeared where I was sitting (i have no idea how he found me),  to offer to have the chef make me a gluten free version of the thing I was asking about.   (I declined, but My Goodness was that amazing of them)

I was thoroughly impressed (and well fed) the whole week

On 6/21/2019 at 2:28 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

I am so jealous! I just got off the Escape and already wish I could get right back on! You will have a fantastic time!

Me too!  I got off on the 16th and would go right back on if I could!

AMAZING! Congrats.  You will love the thermal suites! perfect anniversary treat!

Everyone warned me to avoid the buffet on Embarkation day.  We ended up chilling out in the shady part of the pool deck for the first half of lunchtime and then ended up going into the buffet, and we had no problems finding seats, and it wasn't the madhouse that was promised (thought definitely more crowded than on other days)

2 hours ago, nr_clark said:

We passed by Horseshoe Bay, and it’s $14 pp round-trip, but it appeared underwhelming with not-so-pink sand like we kept hearing.

I had a very different experience of the Escape than you did, as I found it utterly lovely in most regards but everyone's experience is their own.  I'm sorry that yours was less than satisfying.

Horseshoe Bay, to me, however, is anything but underwhelming.  It is a beautiful beach, with many small coves to explore.  It alone would be enough for me to return to Bermuda

Ship - Escape

Deck - 14

Stateroom # - 14860

Stateroom Category – BA- Midship Balcony

Starboard or Port Side -Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Reasonably so.  Right by Aft elevators so a little bit of hall traffic, but nothing extreme.  I could hear the person in the next cabin if they were talking loudly or playing the tv, but not much.  If I had had loud neighbors, however, it might have been noticable

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? -Yes, though not to anyone we knew. 

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. –Nice, unobstructed, view.

Balcony Size? Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? -

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None

Any other comments? Nice cabin - well designed with a lot of storage space. We did not feel cramped.    The only oddity is that when sitting on the couch i felt a constant vibration which made me a little queasy.  Other than that, all good.

>>Best GF DF thing I ate! Bruschetta!!

Oh man - that is exciting!  I'm GF and i'm glad they do it so well.

On 4/3/2019 at 10:02 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

That's reassuring. Still seemed weird.

I was worried about it when i first booked them so I called and they confirmed it was correct.

On 3/31/2019 at 9:49 AM, Laszlo said:

 

Just saw a post on the new price.........$266pp.......thats crazy........  If you can buy it online cheaper now do it!

The OP in that thread (if its the same one I was in) was Canadian and the price they posted reflects the current exchange rate.  The prices have not gone up.

Can confirm - it is still 199 pre-sailing US

Thanks!

So as a first time cruiser I made what I now believe to be a mistake when booking and got the Cruise line travel insurance. 

As someone with medical issues I now believe this is inadequate.  I realize I'm stuck with the first insurance but should I book a second, external policy with better medical coverage?  Will this lead (as having two health insurances in the US would) with each fighting that the other has to  pay?

Not sure what to do, any advice is appreciated

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

We sail multiple times a year with CPAPs and have never had a problem with NCL. 

 

On the Escape, the electrical outlet is across from the bed at the desk. 6' may not be sufficient. We always sail with a 12' and 6' cord. 12' is usually good for the -away class ships like the Escape. 

  

We have never had a problem with cords or power strips being confiscated. 

 

In the photos below, your cord has to get from the far end of the desk to the bedside. 

 

 

Thank you. I will bring a 12

1 minute ago, All-ready2cruise said:

And, even if you have a problem, it's likely that Customer Service will be able to supply you with a proper piece of equipment; however, as valley village said, just a plain extension cord is what you need, NO Surge Protection! (that's the biggie)

 

Hope you have a great cruise. 

Thank you!  appreciate it

1 minute ago, valleyvillage said:

They won't confiscate it as long as it meets their requirements: no fraying, no surge protection. You will be fine.

Thank you.

Hi all, and thanks in advance for your responses.

My husband and I are sailing on the Escape in June.   He needs a CPAP to sleep and I wrote to the travel access desk to alert them to this.  They wrote back that they would provide distilled water but that I should bring a 6ft extension cord because the bed is not close enough to the outlets.

They then went on to say that the cord might be confiscated and returned once deemed safe, or if not deemed safe we could request one from guest services but there is a very limited supply.

Now i'm worried that they will confiscate it and we won't be able to get another.   Is there any likelihood of that happening?  I would think that their telling me to bring one should cover it but they managed to make me nervous with their caveats.  I

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

While any of them can have problems,  LGA is absolutely the worst.

I'd go with Newark.