Cruising Lynne

Missed ports are disappointing, but I would rather be kept safe than sail where you could be affected by tides, or dense fog. I have been on a ship with dense fog. It is scary when you can't see anything, and the constant fog horn can be a little annoying. I just finished watching some vlogs of a Baltic cruise on Princess that had at least two missed ports. It happens.

I also think that you may enjoy the parties that they have when they convert the theater into a night club. We really liked the theater on Prima. It had incredible lighting for the shows and parties.

I agree that Prima would be a good choice. The teens would enjoy the go carts, Galaxy Pavilion games, and the upper deck outside area that has mini-golf, pickle ball, ping pong etc. Adults may enjoy all that was mentioned above by Portia!. We really enjoyed lounging near the infinity pools on the waterfront. The Indulge Food Hall has something for everyone. The Local has the same food that you like at O'Sheehan's.

I am excited to hear they are adding a thermal suite. We usually get thermal suite passes when we are doing a cold weather cruise. We got passes for our April Boston to Bermuda run, and really enjoyed it on the days going to and from Bermuda. Did not realize that Joy is going to Alaska. It does not make sense to make the Observation lounge smaller, but streamlining of the observation lounge does not bother me. If the new thermal suite has a lot of windows, It could be a good place to spend some time on an Alaska cruise. For the best views, better to bundle up and head outside.

Bottom of page one I mention the Cagney's chocolate cake. I am surprised more people don't talk about it. My favorite thing at Cagney's! 😋 Always order it with ice cream. Agree about all the random salads in the buffet. I always go there first and pretzel rolls second. I eat the pretzel rolls with butter or Brie cheese or just a little mustard. Getting hungry now. I really should stop reading this thread, but it is helping me get more excited for our next trip.

Hi, I have not sailed with MSC yet, but have a cruise booked on Meraviglia for May 2024. I have noticed that a few posters that I recognize from the NCL boards have been posting on the MSC boards. You may also want to ask this question there.

Trying my first HAL cruise in the fall, and am looking forward to checking out the music walk. Going on Rotterdam. A little nervous about trying it out since I like NCL so much, but we sprung for the Have it All package so it should be good.

I like the Mediterranean Sea Bass or Dover Sole at Le Bistro. Rib eye and seven layer chocolate cake with ice cream from Cagney's. It is the best chocolate cake, and I can not believe it when I watch cruise vloggers who don't order it. I know you said no to La Cucina, but the Ossobuco is really good, so tender and has a nice savory gravy.

Awesome! I hope they are still there in September. Glad to hear that your room was ready by 3pm. Hope you have a great trip.

Thank you for coming back and answering the question about the cabin. This is good information. One of the things I really like about Cruise Critic is being able to see answers to questions like this.

While I do like the music they play in Syd's, I never go there on our cruises. It is just too crowded for me. Never go to Cavern Club either. I would rather sit in one of the more comfortable, less crowded, lounge areas. I really enjoy the piano players, duos and bands like Siglo that played all over the ship. Enjoyed the band that was on our Prima trip, but can't remember their name. It was something like Perfect Strangers?

I really enjoyed Arvin and Emily and Fire and Ice. Both were really good. Arvin and Emily were more mellow and Fire and Ice was more high energy.

If you like Syd's Fleetwood Mac show, you are old. Big band is for really old people LOL

I liked the pool area and Spice H2O better on Epic. Both have fun water slides. If you have never been on Epic, it would be fun to try. Bathroom did not bother us very much. If you are getting thermal suite passes, a lot of people enjoy the one on Epic because it has a small outdoor space. Having been on both, I would probably choose Escape for the waterfront area, and overall flow of the ship. Real bathroom on Escape is also preferable/

You may not mind deck four on port days. It will be closer to the gangways. It will be nice if you can find a way to get a balcony cabin, but you should still enjoy your trip. We were on Spirit before they did they re-did it. I really enjoyed that ship. Loved the Windows MDR. I hope that the Royal Caribbean ship you are going on is similar in size and age to NCL Spirit for a fair comparison. It will be interesting to hear how it goes. I have been enjoying NCL the past few years, but may be due a trip on Royal just for a change. I think one of the Radiance class ships with the indoor solarium would be good for Alaska.

Totally agree about the Royal Promenade during events. I hated fighting my way through the crowds when I was on Freedom of the Seas a few years ago. I also prefer NCL's Freestyle dining. But what I really missed when I was on Royal was the great crew on NCL. They just seem to be more friendly.

I really enjoyed our trip on Prima. There are a lot of things to like about Prima. With a positive outlook I think that you will really enjoy it.

May be a better idea to put the group in Bliss then. Spinnaker is definitely nicer.

Well you don't have to wear one if you do not want to! Some people might think it is fun to meet new people. Some older people are lonely and like to share the knowledge they have accumulated over the years. That said, I would not wear one, but I also doubt that I will make it all the way to Ambassador status.

Wearing your Ambassador name tag could just mean that you really enjoy cruising on NCL. It shows crew that you interact with, that you enjoy cruising with them and appreciate them and their ships. Not necessarily a brag. Newer cruisers could see the tag and be able to ask you about being an Ambassador, and may ask for cruising advice. It could just be a conversation starter.

You are right that it is not just an NCL thing. This catering to groups really stinks for the rest of us. Definitely not right. Usually I like the Schooner Bar on Royal and we never got to enjoy it because a large group took it over. Not so bad on a large ship like Oasis that has plenty of other venues, but Pearl is much smaller with not so many other places to go. I guess with Spinnaker closed you could go to The Bliss Lounge.

It sounds like there was a group of Ambassador level Latitude members on the same trip, or a group cruise that though it would be fun to have NCL name tags for their group. Not the best idea for a group cruise, especially if some were behaving badly..

Happened to us on a Royal Caribbean cruise. They closed some venues, but not the same one for the entire trip. On Pearl, do you mean the Spinnaker was closed? I do not think they have an Observation Lounge on Pearl.

Thank you both for the tips. I think I will try this for our next trip. My husband may think I am crazy, but I bet he won't complain when he is on the balcony drinking good coffee. I am hoping that eventually NCL will change brands again to something decent.

Wow. Good luck the rest of the day. Stay safe.