zzdoug

It's gross.  But every time I requested milk, it was gladly provided.

Was aboard the Escape last week and it docked at Taino Bay.  Ship docks on the pier so it's about a 10 minute walk to the pool area.  I didn't notice any construction so I infer that it is completed.  Lazy river and pool are there and I think (?) were free to use, plus the run-of-the-mill shops and bars that you would see in any port tourist trap.  I can't speak to their enjoyability because we got out of there and walked around town instead. I did use the restroom and it seemed to be clean and in good working order.  Towels are distributed just outside the ship.

I liked almost everything I ordered, except the fried chicken.  

We were just on the Escape and our neighbors definitely did this.  I think they had a block of 3 adjacent rooms and were moving among their balconies.  I don't know if they did it themselves or had the crew do it for them.  Based on the above comments, I assume the former.  I didn't realize it was prohibited until seeing this thread.  One would definitely need a wrench and possibly other tools to do it, and I don't know what the rules are regarding bringing those kinds of tools aboard.  As far as I could tell, it was like that the entire week so I don't know if they were reprimanded or not.  I am not advocating this action, just reporting an observation.

Personally I would not eat in premium restaurants 4 out of 7 nights. I don't know about POA specifically but I found Norwegian's food to be pretty good, even in main dining rooms and buffet. On the days that you are off the ship on an excursion or just walking, you will likely be tired in the evening and may not be in the mood for a fancy four course dinner.  Or if you had a big lunch. 

As for which restaurants, we choose restaurants that serve food we can't easily find at home.  We ate at the Bistro and we wanted to go to the seafood restaurant but it was full so we had a second dinner at the Bistro. Which serves steak btw.  Both meals were excellent  

And yes, there is a scale to provide for maximum humiliation / self-loathing.

11 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Don't sail Getaway or Joy. They both have the same super loud pool areas, with loads of people, and lots of music. Then again, every large NCL ship is probably the same. Perhaps the Jewel class ships are right for you? 

Maybe.  Or another cruise line. Or another type of vacation altogether.  We really only go on cruises about once every few years.

Just off the Escape. We enjoyed it, but will choose a different ship next time. We only cruise in steerage and really would like access to a quiet relaxation pool. The only pools available to us were super loud with dj music.

Food was generally very good in both included and premium restaurants, and even the buffet. 

A transatlantic cruise probably has a different demographic from our 7-day Caribbean itinerary and may adjust music selections and volume accordingly. 

13 hours ago, Ramblin and Gamblin said:

When we were in the Escape Le Bistro in April, the waiter informed us "you can order two items from the left side of the menu plus one entree and one dessert."  The left side of the menu was the appetizers, soups and salads.  

This was my experience also. Aboard last week. 

5 hours ago, complawyer said:

but who would you possibly wish to call from there? 

Our kids, who are fending for themselves for the first time.

Otherwise nobody. 

Subject says it all. Thanks. 

I know the Savers thrift shops in Las Vegas have tons of casino swag for cents on the dollar. I would not be surprised if the Savers in Miami have a great selection of cruise ship paraphernalia. 

Does the basic unlimited open bar package include sparkling water e.g. Perrier or San Pellegrino etc? Thanks 

42 minutes ago, DrUrsula said:

It CAN'T be answered with accuracy because it depends on how many people get to the reservation area before you who want the same shows. 

 

Miami can be quite chaotic - when we boarded Bliss in February I thought some brawls were going to break out in the terminal. We were in the first group after Haven and wheelchairs and booked everything we wanted. It got quite busy by 11:30 am .

 

You have to decide if leisure in the morning is worth more to you than a seat at the comedy show. 

 

 

 

Thanks, that is useful information. I understand that nobody knows for sure; was just looking for some anecdotes from some folks who have experience boarding cruises at the port of Miami. 

Brawls!?!? Yikes. 

On 4/14/2023 at 10:10 AM, Linsuesue said:

Well it looks like FLL is going to open back up so Southwest jumped the gun by telling our traveler that they werent going to make it on Saturday.  Now she will be on Southwest Airlines landing around 6:45 and needing to get to the American Airlines concourse to leave to Miami at about 8;30.  It sounds doable except for the fact that the 2 tickets were never purchased together and they are on different airlines. In that case, she might have to get off the plane, collect her luggage, and go back inside the airport to check in again for 2nd flight. She is calling both airlines this morning to see if Southwest can just tag her luggage to get it put on the next flighty automatically. My hat is off to any of us who have had to do the Last Minute Panic Shuffle to get somewhere! 🎩 

Where was this connection? I was thinking Dallas because that is AAs main hub, but then I realized Southwest mainly uses Love airport instead of DFW which would have made that connection pretty much impossible. 

 Did she make it somehow? 

While it may be perfectly delicious, I just noticed that the featured Old Fashioned cocktail is quite different from the traditional recipe, which is a cherry muddled with sugar, bourbon, bitters, seltzer, and a squeeze of orange. I have not heard of an Old Fashioned with vermouth.

Miniature golf tournament. 

Nevermind, found the answer here.

Thanks. How late can I cancel a restaurant reservation without being charged for it? 

We will be boarding the Escape on April 30, an itinerary that is not repeated in other weeks this season.  (Miami > Stirrup Cay > Sea > St Thomas > San Juan > Puerto Plata > Sea > Miami)

Is there any way to see the schedules of activities other than the reservable shows in advance, so we can schedule dinner reservations around them?  For example do they post dailies anywhere ahead of time?

Thanks everyone.

bon voyage.

@ceilidh1 sorry for the derailment. I'll move on.

21 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

You are all forgetting that those staff members that are heading for The Viva have already left or will be shortly.  As with many other places, not just cruise ships finding qualified help is getting harder and harder.  With a shortage of staff for whatever reason may be a fact of life for awhile.  Yes, those in the Corporate Office are aware of the situation, but until they find qualified staff there is not much at the  moment they can do.

I didn't forget this. I do question the wisdom of expanding the fleet when they have so much trouble finding staff. Viva may have been too close to delivery to cancel but there are apparently 3 or 4 more ships scheduled for delivery in the next few years. They may need to invest more in training which may mean higher fares unfortunately. Cheap plentiful labor from developing countries may be a thing of the past. 

Wow! You are a good sport. I would not be so forgiving. These all seem to be training, management, and logistics issues. I hope you clearly wrote out your issues in a post-cruise survey or a lengthy letter to the ceo. They won't be aware of the problem if nobody tells them about it.

Remind me to liquidate my NCLH shares before the next quarterly earnings report. I think a lot of long time customers will consider the many alternatives to cruising. 

Thanks for this candid review and diary. 

On 4/13/2023 at 7:56 PM, YVRteacher said:

If so, try vertical. They seem to post the right way up.

Or turn the phone 180 degrees.  Still landscape mode but your phone apparently doesn't automatically orient the image so you need to do it. Maybe there is an aftermarket camera app that solves this?