justhappy

I saw on a social media site today an article that suggests that the Encore might be having cabins added on deck 15 forward port side in what is now the port Observation Lounge just like the Joy had done. Someone found that on NCL’s website forward port cabins on deck 15 are listed for booking in 2025. These cabin numbers are the same as the ones on Joy that were just added. I checked and the deck plans on NCLs site still shows the current deck 15 plans, but sure enough shows the new cabin numbers. I can guess the observation lounge is underutilized during Caribbean cruises but it will be missed during Alaska sailings.

Shouldn’t we be having this discussion tomorrow?! 🤔 😂

I would not be surprised if the Port Valet Program was started to help with the horrible congestion at SeaTac on the weekends the cruise ships are in port. No airlines would take your luggage until a few hours before your flights due to lack of space. Security lines were hours long. It is better at the airport than it used to be, thinking back to my experiences in 2015. I also wonder if the plan was to also encourage tourists to spend a few more hours (and dollars) in town.

Back in 2015 FAS was included with no gratuities charged on it and no limits, you could eat at specialty restaurants every night if you wished and no price limits on any alcoholic beverages.

If I’m considering the nicest and least expensive cabin I’ve ever cruised in it would have to be the studio cabin I had for a 5 night cruise on the Getaway. Best sleep ever and since it was a group cruise it came with a lot of perks. On the other hand the most expensive but definitely my favorite is the aft Haven balcony on deck 9. Over 3 cruise lines I’ve sailed in insides, ocean view, balcony, Central Park balconies, club balcony and Haven. It’s more about the fun you have and friends you meet vs what kind of cabin you’re in. So the nicer cabin is just a bonus.

I think this is a big part of it, regarding service and guest experience. GM’s like Errol Bailey and Kivanc Ucar worked their way from the bottom up and tend to be better for it, and the crew performance reflects how well they are treated imo. That works its way down to the guests.

This is true, but my directions were from the point of view that you were already across the street, as we were made to go across and through the port shopping area, before getting back to the street itself. Leaving the port shopping area we were made to go through it’s to your left if you’re facing the pier. Of course it could be different now. That’s why I included the map and satellite photo. When you go @YVRteacher, be sure to visit the produce section, even if you can’t bring them back on the ship, I loved browsing the variety of fruits.

On the ground floor are various shops, take the escalator upstairs to the store

I’m glad you can shake off the bad experiences and focus on the good. if I remember correctly, about 10 to 15 minutes before a show starts in the Theater the Haven seats are open to everyone, at least that’s how it was a few years ago. Help yourself unless you’re worried about being heckled by the comedians! As for the Mega store, if the ship docks at Punta Langosta pier, you have to go through the folks waiting on shore excursions up to the second level and then back down unless they’ve fixed the broken escalator. Then once outside the port area you head left and it’s a very short walk along sidewalks to the store.

We were at Howl at the Moon Saturday night, Jen was amazing! She sang Back to Black by Amy Winehouse and, WOW!

Not surprisingly the studio cabin on the Breakaway looks just like the one I had on the Getaway. I loved it, it felt so cozy, but not at all claustrophobic to me. I think the white walls and bright lights helped.

DH and I were talking last night about how being born on a holiday, sometimes your birthday is overshadowed by the holiday. Not so with St Patrick’s day! Everybody just wants to celebrate and drink🍀 Glad to know you’re my birthday buddy! My TA put down on the booking to celebrate my birthday on Saturday although it is actually the 17th. Yes it was embarrassing after the first time they sang Happy birthday. On Sunday morning I told them I’m celebrating St Patrick’s day but I still got more Happy Birthdays.

I just had to add that my adult drink total for the cruise was 18, and as DH pointed out, about 17 1/2 more than a normal week at home for me. DH had double the drinks I did, but he also has a glass of Tullimore Dew or Jamison’s a couple of times a week. Our next cruise is on the Getaway out of New Orleans in October with friends. Back in a regular balcony stateroom, and a more active trip for sure. Wishing you all fair skies and following seas! 🛳️

Hey @cruiseny4life You are about 99 questions short 🤣 I hope your next cruise is as marvelous as this one was for me. Sad it’s over but on our way to pick up Daisy so not too sad.

After a nice last breakfast and handing out tips and goodbye hugs we were escorted down at 7:59am. We scanned off the ship and joined the line of what looked to be most self assist passengers. By 8:15am we had our luggage, through customs (Yay for facial recognition!) and got on a shuttle bus for the garage at 100 Poydras St. Amazing that we had a private ride. By 8:30 am we were in our car and headed to Biloxi. And just like that, our fun week was over. Thanks for following along, and may the spirit of Captain Ron be with you always!

As usual my internal alarm clock had me awake way before the 6 am alarm I set. In stepping out on the balcony at 6:15am it was warm and so far no rain. Radar shows it’s moving in though. We will head up soon for breakfast and then wait to be escorted off by the concierge team. We are in no rush as I don’t think the LZA garage at 100 Poydras opens until 8:30 or so. Of course by the time we get our luggage and get through customs we still have to wait for the shuttle bus back to the garage. We will have a short drive of 1&1/2 hours to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi MS where we will spend the night before finishing the drive home on Monday. The Breakaway trip reports continue with @YVRteacher for the next two weeks. Her trip reports and photographs are excellent so I’ve handed off the reins to her!

I hope you have a great cruise!

Apparently when your travel agent notes on your reservation that you’re celebrating your birthday the word gets around! Every where we went today I was wished a Happy Birthday. Every time I entered the Haven restaurant I was sung Happy Birthday and brought more treats. From my stateroom attendant- From the restaurant servers- The server made a napkin rose for me 🌹 I can’t say enough about how kind all the staff of the Haven are. And not just to me and DH. We spent the better part of the day reading in the warmth and sunshine knowing that tomorrow it would be cool and possibly raining. Around 4pm we packed our suitcases so we wouldn’t have to worry about it later. Dinnee in the Haven restaurant then we headed to Howl at the Moon and enjoyed some very talented musicians before heading back to our stateroom. We spent a few minutes watching the harbor pilot board the ship for our slow trip upriver. Off to bed for an early wake up tomorrow.

To correct a few things I got wrong, DH didn’t play arcade games because you needed to purchase a package, he was just swiping his card wrong and saw the sign about arcade packages and assumed he needed to purchase one. So you can still play them without purchasing the package. Also the port fee credit was from missing Harvest Cay.

The first one was a poinsettia, champagne and cranberry juice, the other pic is a painkiller.

Holy crowds Batman!

For breakfast DH ran down to Starbucks for some coffees and we ate the birthday cake Sheryl had left for me last night, then it was off to the Haven sundeck since an overnight rain storm left our lounge cushions soaked. Nobody up this early… DH was spotted at the bar by the Haven restaurant staff who asked him when we were coming for breakfast. He said we had already had breakfast bug they insisted we come have just a little something. This is the little something they brought out while they sang happy birthday to me! Then the bartenders brought these and sang Happy Birthday! By the time breakfast was over I’m not sure how many times I’d had Happy Birthday sung. to me😬 We hung out in the lounge until it was time for the debarkation briefing by the concierge. We received our luggage tags and instructions on luggage assistance and also restaurant hours for the morning. After that it was back to the sundeck for more sun and reading and drinks!

Since I’m about debark tomorrow and end my trip report I hand over the ship to you and am hoping you have a great and stress free cruise. ❤️ Love your trip reports and can’t wait to read about your adventures!

Day 7 at sea We are sadly headed back to New Orleans, the captain says we will enter the mouth of the Mississippi River around 9:30 pm tonight. Chance of rain this afternoon, likely rain tomorrow. Love New Orleans, but sad to be heading back. its a funky place

We decided to save the cake and bubbly for breakfast. The butler had also brought a pitcher of OJ so we put that in the fridge. We planned to go to tonight’s comedy show in the theater but had some time to kill so we visited out favorite slots again. This time I stared into the eyes of the wolves and came out ahead. We headed for the theater and enjoyed both comedians. It was another full show. After another very funny show we meandered back to our stateroom and settled in for the night. I forgot to mention that on the afternoon of our canceled Roatan day we had $20 per person OBC in our accounts, I’m assuming refunds of port fees. i sure hope those of you who haven’t seen Captain Ron aren’t totally scratching your heads! My drink total for the cruise so far-15