JandC_Cruising

If choosing between those two specifically,, Teppanyaki for the combination of good food and a fun show. We had a great meal and time at Teppanyaki a few weeks ago on the Getaway. Frankly, we haven't been thrilled with Cagney's on our past several visits. It has lost its place in our rotation. We put Le Bistro and Ocean Blue as our top meals and then rotate among others depending upon the ship.

The Pommery Rose was everywhere that we asked for it, including the Vibe. Didn't go to the main pool bar. It was at all the bars on decks 6,7,8 as we could tell (Sunset, Prime Meridian, Mixx, Bar 21, etc.) and on every restaurant wine list.

Just off the Getaway earlier this month. The Premium Plus Champagne available throughout the ship was the Pommery Brut Rose. It was pretty good and we had several glasses throughout the cruise. Le Bistro was offering Veuve Clicquot by the glass, but that was the only place we found it available and we enjoyed that with our starters that evening.

@PhillyTravelBug We are loving your review! We are doing this cruise (in reverse) in 2025. How have the seas been as you've traversed from Iceland to Norway?

Sorry if you thought I was yelling 😀 that was not my intention...I was stressing that "often" the system blocks the 2nd night booking..."but" there is a solution if one is blocked...

making reservations for multiple nights at the same restaurant IS allowed, but the point of my original comment is that OFTEN (as was our case and and several others above) the online system may block you from doing it. BUT it is easily solved (as we did) by calling or chatting online and asking an NCL rep to add the reservation.

There are a few "tricks" to pre-booking reservations. 1. Book your "Fixed Price" reservations first (Teppanyaki or Moderno) so that it uses your F@S certificate. Otherwise it will try to pre-charge you the fixed rate if you already booked other dinners. 2. Online booking will only allow you to book the same restaurant ONCE. You can call and get another night booking for the same specialty restaurant, but for example the system will not allow you to book Ocean Blue for a 2nd night. Call (or use online chat) and an agent can do it if you like. 3. You can book as many Specialty meals as you wish - even if you only have 2 free meals. Just keep in mind the first two rules mentioned above. 4. The system doesn't care or need to know who is dining with you. So if you need a table for 4, just book it. The host will ask how each of you are paying for the meal when you get to the restaurant. 5. The system only has tables for 2, 4, 8...(even numbers). So if you need a table for 1, 3, 5...Just round up to the nearest even number. Again, the host will adjust the number when you arrive.

In short, NCL does not cover any baggage fees with their air booking. The baggage policy will be dictated by the air carrier you get put on. If the airline charges baggage fees, then you will need to pay them, unless you have status on that airline or some other benefit that affords you free baggage on that specific airline. For example, when we get NCL air and get placed on United, we get free luggage due to our United Status. When they gave us a Delta flight, we had to pay for luggage as we don't personally have any status on Delta. When they've put us on Southwest, there was no fees since Southwest doesn't charge baggage fees for anyone.

Just off the Getaway last week. To get a seat at the Noodle bar we had to wait in a line starting at 4:30pm and we (2) got the last 2 seats in the first round of seating. After that, they handed out pagers until they ran out of pagers. We were sitting in the two seats next to the host's desk. One family in line got to the front and was told a 90 minute wait. They asked "even if we are in the Haven" and then host handed them a menu and told them to go back upstairs and have their butler serve them the meal in their suite. That's what they did!

Just got off the Getaway...we had a Spa Club Balcony and bought the Vibe pass. After debating the same issues as you, we "pulled" our Haven bids a month before the cruise because we realized we had the best room with all the perks (spa, vibe, extra meals, etc.) that we needed. This is the best approach on the Getaway. The Getaway Haven is small. If you are looking for an adult "sun deck", the Vibe is a better choice on that ship. The Getaway Vibe is huge and was great for the days we had nice weather. The Getaway Haven restaurant is small and doesn't have an outdoor space. They setup tables in the courtyard to service everyone. In short, I would not recommend the Haven on the Getaway if you are planning on spending time on-board and lounging.

We just got off the Getaway last Tuesday (Lisbon to Southampton) with stops in Vigo, La Coruna, and Bilboa Spain. We were charge 10% tax on every drink throughout those 3 days in Spanish waters, regardless of being in-port or on sea in the evenings. We had the Premium Plus package and the taxes totaled $56.60. Once we were out of Spanish waters, we didn't get charged any taxes on any other drinks through the cruise.

I agree, you can find them through 2023, but looking at cruises into 2024 and 2025, they are all marked "sold out", regardless of ship, unless they are "H9 - Haven Spa Suites"

I've checked ALL 2024 Cruises on the Escape, Epic, Encore, Breakaway, and Getaway...I agree they are popular, but not that popular.

Just off the Getaway last week and had FAS+....They have bottles of Aqua Pana and San Pellegrino at most restaurants and bars. We would get Aqua Pana at restaurants and boxes of water to carry around (off ship). We would often grab a bottle of Aqua Pana at a bar before heading back to the room without issue.

We LOVE the Thermal Spa on all the ships we've been on...Escape, Encore, Epic, and most recently the Getaway. We are also very pleased they are adding a Thermal Spa to the Joy. We have a 7-day booked on the Breakaway in March in a Spa Balcony cabin. However, we were just checking to see if we could change to a Spa Club Balcony and noticed it was sold out. We then looked across dozens of cruises for 2024 and notice that it looks like all the Spa Balcony and Spa Club Balcony cabins on ALL the ships are "Sold Out" for the entire year. Only Spa Haven Suites are available. What is going on? Is this another NCL website glitch/error or is NCL moving to eliminate cabins that come with the Thermal Spa access?

We are on the Getaway in a week. We will be stopping at Zeebrugge and Le Harve as part of that itinerary. Zeebrugges is a simple 20 minute train or shuttle bus to Bruges which is a great historic town with beautiful sites, breweries and chocolate shops. The ship offers several excursions for Bruges and Brussels. Le Harve is quite a distance from Paris (about 2-1/2hr drive). The ship offered a bunch of excursion to Paris (the ship is in port from 8am to 8pm, so there is a ton of time, but it is still a quick trip. There are also excursions to the D-day beaches. (Le Harve is in Normandy). We are actually taking a train to Rouen, a Medieval town where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake. There is a bunch you can do at most of those stops...But, as all have mentioned, these visits are all different than a land trip where you immerse yourself in a culture for a bunch of days.

As mentioned, "Sail Away" rates are sometimes offered for inside, ocean view, and balcony categories. They are the lowest rates for each category but, you do not get to pick your cabin and you do not get offered the free at sea drink, dining, or internet package.

If you make reservations early, you will get the biggest selection of time slots for all those things. The carts have both single and double seaters. I think there may be a minimum height, but not sure what it is. All that said, in March we were on the Joy and was able to make a reservation at noon mid-week for later that afternoon without issue. Also saw several walk-ups for our race. Check the dailies to confirm when the racetrack is open each day. It varies on port days.

This happens to us EVERY time I book a cruise online. I've had to call each time after booking to tell them that my account doesn't have my wife's correct account. They tell me they will merge accounts and that usually takes about 1 week. While the newly booked cruise does get fixed, the other account never goes away. Unfortunately, it is NEVER fully fixed as my account still shows her bad accounts to choose from and not her correct one. I don't know why they don't show the Latitudes number or allow you to enter the companion's number in order to ensure the proper account is used. If it's not fixed in a week, call again and ask to speak to a supervisor since it's your 2nd attempt to correct.

Le Bistro and Ocean Blue are our favorites on every ship. We have not had a bad meal at Le Bistro. Filet with Fios Gras, Dover Sole, and Coq au vin are our favorite entrees. Ocean Blue is our close 2nd. The scallop appetizer with pork belly is great. Any of the fresh fish with a variety of sauce choices are always wonderful. The Cioppino was a bit salty one time, but the other time was perfect... Cagney's has become a skip for us. It's not that we've had a bad meal as much as it has been just OK.

Do the Parasailing! It is super fun. You go up in tandems. There were 6 pairs when we went and the ages ranged from 12 to 85yo! I'm sure the teens would like that. Also, they have jet skis there. You go on a "Follow the leader" tour. They let you go as fast as the jet ski governors are set (maybe up to 25-30mph if I recall. You can do a single or a double.

Our last cruise on the Joy we went twice in large part to just share some food and listen to the live music (which was great, btw). The first time we got the Platter. The brisket was too salty, but the other meats were good, especially the Chicken and Sausages. There is a lot of food, so the 2nd time we went we just split a salad, the chicken with sides, and the peach cobbler. We would not go there and burn two specialty meals there however.

I thought I read somewhere that you can get a medical exemption with proper documentation. I'm sure someone here has some experience with that (yes or no). I would call and ask.... However, if they do say no, you could also call them and remove the drink package from both you and your husband up to 48hrs(?) before cruise. They will credit the gratuities back and he can pay by the drink. If he drinks 4 drinks per day it's a wash.

The Escape has Moderno,

Wait...you put the money there for them to "grab"....now your upset they "grabbed it"? You said it yourself... You are aware how the program works, so it seems disingenuous IMHO that you are upset you got exactly what you knew you could get. I don't know if this would work, but perhaps you can call NCL and try to outright pay the going rate (adder) to put yourself into a balcony....I mean, since you know NCL will "grab" the money you put in front of them, call them up, and see if you can just pay for a new cabin. (so much for your "budget trip comparison") Worst thing that can happen is they say "no"...