Cruising Lynne

Nice shot of Viva! Looks like it would be a great day to test out the pools. Can't wait to get my own photo with that sculpture.

I thought about this too. At least if they are in the Haven, the nearest public bathroom is pretty close by, but some of the regular staterooms are a lot further away from a bathroom. Good that the OP was in the Haven or they may have been tempted to pee in the shower at night. I hope the OP reports back if they are able to get better, more appropriate compensation. I usually get a regular balcony cabin, but if I I splurged on the Haven I would be very unhappy with this situation.

I know that they have to contact corporate and wait to hear back before compensation is given, but this does not seem like the right compensation. I think that a refundable on board credit would be more appropriate. OP mentioned 12% of their fare. Based on this being a Haven suite, this amount may not be as low as some of us may be thinking. Still, it does not seem like enough done to make up for broken toilets for three days in the Haven. In addition to monetary compensation I think they should have offered you at least an inside cabin where you could go to the bathroom in private. I always prefer to go back to the room and use our own toilet, especially for number two!! To clarify, I mean that you could still stay in your suite, but have the additional room so that you have a private toilet.

Please report back on how the comps differ. I do not spend enough on board to qualify for a cruise, but I get them from my land based casino by spending less money than you did in the NCL casino. Maybe you can find a land casino that rewards you with a cruise? I get them from Twin River Casino in Rhode Island which recently became a Bally's casino. When they became Bally's I received a voucher for a Princess cruise, but I could not use it at the time. I was worried this meant I would not still receive the voucher for an NCL cruise. I really like Freestyle dining, the drink package, and general vibe on NCL. I was relieved when I did get my voucher for NCL There is an administrative fee, but it is still a good deal.

You may also want to ask your room steward for a blanket. My husband gets too hot from the warm comforters they use. I have heard that you can request a blanket, but we have not done that yet.

Hi Gary, Glad to hear that you were able to recover from your stroke, get healthier and lose weight. A cruise was a great reward. Less planning and worrying about if others in your group are having a good time, might help make your trips even more enjoyable. They are grown ups and should be responsible for making there own fun out of the fortunate situation that you put them in. The thing that I have done in regard to over planning is looking at too many pictures, 360 virtual tours. and you tube videos of a new ship ahead of time. It is fun at the time, but once you are on board it takes away the fun of discovering it all for yourself. I almost felt like "been there, done that" when I finally got on board. I did the same thing with some ports. My husband would be excited and point things out to me that I already had seen on line. He would be surprised because I knew which way to go to find things on and off the ship. Now that we have done over 20 cruises, I relax more and don't worry that we might be missing out on something. Some ships have so much going on that you have to pick and chose what you do. There is really no wrong decision. Some times a venue may be too crowded to get in, and you may be disappointed at first, but then find something else to enjoy. We usually go to the shows in the main theater. This means we usually miss seeing the game shows, but then we watch them on the TV in our stateroom while we are getting ready. Thank you for all you write about cruising. Even though I am not one to stay in the Haven, I enjoy your posts. I feel like I am splurging when I get a balcony cabin and access to the thermal suite. Sometimes when I am on the NCL forum, I feel like I am the only one not in the Haven. If I ever am though, I will think of some question to ask so everyone will know!! LOL.

I like hard liquor, but usually switch to beer part way through a cruise. I sometimes need a break from choosing a new cocktail to try. If I am counting calories I just get Bud Light, which I know is not anything a craft beer enthusiast would ever drink. I like the large aluminum bottles that they have, ice cold, on a hot day. 🧉🍺

I don't think it was "removed" from Encore. It never had it. I love Spice H2O., and enjoyed Epic's tiny pool and really like the grotto on Escape. I usually use the hot tubs at H2O in the morning while they are fresh, and would be very disappointed if I were on this affected sailing. I feel that the compensation should be a little bit more. I would put the money towards a Thermal Suite pass if they are still available.

Just booked Le Bistro for the second night of our trip on Prima in October. I chose an early dining time so we have a good chance of scoring a window seat. This restaurant looks so beautiful. On the topic of no District Brew house: It will not be missed by me. It looks like this ship has a lot of other options for getting a cold beer. I am looking forward to trying some of the new bars. The Belvedere bar has my name all over it!! Certainly won't miss having a sports bar, and think the Speedway bar and Local may have some TVs for the sports fans to watch.

Did you mean to say "will it sail full" ? Maybe some recent cruisers can let you know what their capacity was.

Thank you for posting all these pictures. Can't wait until October to see it all in person! 🤩

I don't pre-pay the service charge anymore. It is one less thing to worry about getting refunded if the cruise is cancelled.

When we went in May we saw Pure Variety and Legends production shows in the main theater. The Aquarius show was in the Spinnaker Lounge. These shows were very entertaining. We missed the show that was one of the singers from the production shows performing. I wished we had gone because he had a great voice. We saw a comedian that was funnier at the family show than he was at his adult show, but it was his last night on the ship. Another night we saw an aerialist duo. I would say that it was pretty much the same type of entertainment line up that all the smaller ships have.

I agree with the person who said the key game is the biggest rip off. Although I have seen a woman win on it. It is pure luck. Her husband couldn't believe it. He had played and was much better at lining up the key with the hole, but she ended up with the win. Lining up the key seemed to make no difference. As far as the coin game goes, it is fun to play and your money lasts longer than it would on most slot machines. I don't usually play it, but my husband enjoys it. That is why people play! It is entertainment and some people just want to have some fun.

To me it is annoying to see unprepared people at the check in desk. I try to be patient because stuff happens, but it does hold up everyone. If you did the best you could, then it is what it is. It can be frustrating when your check in is incomplete because you missed clicking on one thing, but it sounds like some of the OPs group didn't try that hard. I would suggest that the OP have all the reservation numbers handy, and tell the other family members to be prepared with their identification and whatever card they are going to use for their on board accounts as they approach the check in desk.

This is good information that I forgot about. Yes, this depends on the tides. Sometimes it is not as steep. They have a nice set up at the port. Once you get off the dock there are restrooms and benches if anyone needs a break before heading up the street. Since we had previously been to Acadia, the next time we went to Bar Harbor (May 2022) we just strolled along the waterfront before heading up the street for lobster rolls. We found a deli that had boxed lunches. They had good lobster rolls that we ate while sitting on a bench and enjoying the nice day. I was really glad they added this stop to our Bermuda cruise.

Absolutely. Another reason to print them out and affix them yourself is that they say Forward or Aft on them. This could help your luggage get to your stateroom sooner. If the porter fills out the tags for you they may not say this on them.

I like the Osso Buco and Burrata Caprese from the La Cucina restaurant, and the Mediterranean Sea Bass from Le Bistro. I usually only go to the restaurants that I can use my Platinum vouchers at, so I do not have any favorites from the others. Surprisingly, some of the wait staff can tell you what are considered the best meals to get. One of our waiters at La Cucina had tried many of the dishes and definitely had an opinion.

Wow, I would be disappointed in this change. I would have been looking forward to going to Tortola. Also, you now have the late port time in San Juan. Some times with changes like this you will see some money back in the form of onboard credit. Usually only a small amount for the port fee. I would inquire about it on the ship. If enough people inquire, you may get something. Itinerary changes are very common, buy still disappointing. We had changes in the past due to avoiding a hurricane. We ended up really enjoying our revised itinerary which had an unexpected stop in Martinique. It ended up being a fun surprise, and a chance to go some place new to us. I have heard that the later stop in San Juan can be interesting, so try to go with the flow and also enjoy the extra time on the ship.

It should not be a problem for the three to check in with the rest of the group. Just make sure they aren't the first ones of the group to show their documents. Do not volunteer the information that there are some in the group with a different time. If questioned about it, just explain that you are all together. Just in case this does not work, have them bring reading material or something to occupy their time.

I was just on Getaway in March. There is still plenty of room for them to set up a new course. I hope that they replace the old one. It is a fun outdoor activity for the days that the weather is not nice enough for swimming or waterslides. We talked to some very disappointed young teens. They were really disappointed it had been removed along with some 60 year olds that also wanted to play.