AlmiranteChurruca

Just a couple months ago Stornoway (until now a tender port) started operating its brand new Deep Water Terminal. On the Port Authority website it says that the Dawn will be docking there. However, on the e-docs it says that the ship will be tendering. I would say that the SPA has the correct info, but with NCL cutting costs wherever possible it would not surprise me if tendering is what is going to happen in the end. Anybody has had a recent experience there in order to have an idea of what is really going to happen? Thanks!

Amenities confirmation received by e-mail after a call to customer service, but still inconsistencies there. As mentioned earlier, the three missing items on the e-docs are to be found on the amenities invoice, but now one of the items on the e-docs is missing on the amenities invoice. Anyway, I hope these are just glitches and just in case I will be bringing printed documents of all my purchases to support any claims if necessary.

Been cruising several times with NCL for over a decade now and only recently have I come across this issue. Either I have not been paying full attention or this thing was not happening before and thus never noticed it. The thing is that I completed the online check-in for my upcoming cruise and upon printing the e-docs I realized that some pre-purchased items (one soda package, one 4-meal specialty dining package, two in-cabin water packages) were not showing up. Since I have always heard that the e-docs are the ONLY documents that really do count when on board I decided to get in touch with customer service. I was reassured by them that those items ARE included in the reservation (as expected) and even sent me an invoice where they do show up as purchased and fully paid. However, I also noticed that another item that IS included on the e-docs (one 2-meal specialty dining upgrade) is NOT on that invoice. To sum it all up, very confusing and not really sure now how they would handle it on the vessel if any of my pre-paid items went somehow "missing" on their system. Anybody noticed anything like this on the e-docs? Anybody faced with a situation after embarkation where they would not acknowledge any pre-purchased/pre-paid items even if you know FOR SURE you were charged for those? Thanks!

I booked transfer (Southampton to Heathrow) for my upcoming Dawn August cruise today and was charged 62,00 Euros each (party of three). Not cheap but not expensive either. Besides, the main reason for booking this transfer with NCL was to avoid the stress of finding available taxis/ubers upon disembarkation. With hundreds of passengers (or thousands if more vessels that day at port) it could potentially become somewhat of a nightmare and with my flight leaving at 13:00 I do not want to take risks...

Thanks a lot for the extra info. Very helpful indeed. 👍 As mentioned in other posts, this is a very annoying recent trend with NCL.

Was reading your comments with great interest since I am scheduled to be on the Dawn next August. However, could you please give us some more info? You say the current sailing had cancellations. Which ports were cancelled? Also, you speak about changes for the two upcoming itineraries. Could you please be more precise? And finally, what are your sources? You seem to have some insider info or you are much better than me at online detective work! 😅 Thanks in advance!

This clearly shows how little attention I pay to my surroundings. Was at the place a few times and never ever noticed them. 😆

Hate to be the one to lower your expectations, but I fear you may be disappointed with entertainment on the Jade. Do not get me wrong, I love NCL's smaller ships (been on some of them) and Jade is actually my all time favourite having sailed on it four times. I have always felt that while the vessel itself is a lovely lady regarding size and layout, the entertainment on hear has never been the best you can find on the seas. As mentioned, things are changing right now and I have no idea about how they will be on your itinerary. Until now it was Blazing Boots (gone from what I have heard) and Elements (soon to go also from what I have heard). The rest have always been guest performers (comedians, magicians, musicians) which can be hit or miss. So, I hope you enjoy being on that lady as much as I have, but my expectations regarding entertainment would not be too high.

My mistake, sorry about the confusion! I was wondering about TheBeardedCruiser's cruise period for that bad experience to happen. My experience matched yours indeed, meaning short or no waiting times for MDRs.

Did not see either of those, but I admit I did not go to the arcade area in case they should be there...

My experience matches yours after several cruises with NCL. Wondering if Traveling Man's experience was during a particular "high high peak season" cruise such as a Spring Break or a Xmas/New Year one with the vessel at full capacity.

No. You may want to make them if travelling as a big group, but not need at all. There may be peak times when you will have to wait in line or will be handed a buzzer to let you know when your table is ready. Again, it is your attitude what makes a difference. Go have a walk around the vessel or grab a drink in the meantime.

Actually I went three times for lunch (never for breakfast or dinner) and always walked straight in without any lines (embarkation day, sea day and the day with late arrival in port). I guess breakfast and dinner may be a different story. Bear in mind that I was travelling solo and was not tied to other people's schedules, so I usually avoided what I thought would be the peak times by going later during the venue's opening times.

You will! 😉

If there was one I did not see it. 😅

I did once and never returned, so I guess that sums it all up. However, it could be just me since I always saw empty mugs lying around in the lounge. Either I had a bad day or my coffee standards are higher. 😁 No big issues with noise and yes, I was in an adjoining cabin. From time to time you could hear a toilet flushing somewhere or an occasional loud conversation, but certainly nothing too bad. By its own nature (no running kids, no families) the solo area tends to be a very peaceful one. Even the lounge was particularly quiet this time. They were holding the solo meet ups at the Bliss Lounge and therefore the bar (5PM to 7PM) was usually quiet and Mark (the bartender) bored. Do as I did and show up there to get the guy to pour you a drink and strike some friendly conversation for a few minutes.

All I can really say is that the taste was always neutral to me. I know some waters have a somewhat more "salty" or "mineral-rich" edge to them, but did not feel that was the case. On the other hand, the few times I had tap water poured in the glass I felt that, although drinkable, it had a noticeable "water pipe" aftertaste to it. As you say, try both and make your decision. 😉

I also drink A LOT of water each day and had no issues whatsoever with the taste of the canned water. What are those reports exactly complaining about? Really curious about that.

I can confirm that solo cabins also have two USB slots next to the desk. One is the old type and the other one the new C type.

This is the steakhouse. For fish/seafood you have Ocean Blue and they have a choice of four plain grilled fish (salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna). I tried all four and they were all good.

No cartons in sight for the whole duration of the cruise. It was cans all the time and at all venues, except for the specialty restaurants where you get the glass bottles (Aqua Panna and San Pellegrino).

A (very) loose list of some cruise highlights. Starbucks. Being a heavy coffee drinker the Starbucks package was well worth the money. And man, was the team there working hard and always with a smile! It never ceases to amaze me how with around 4000 souls on the ship they manage to remember your name after just a couple visits and always greet you any time you show up there. Same goes to some the nicest and funniest bartenders I have ever met. Special mention for Ferdinand at the La Cucina bar. Best place to get a nice glass of wine pre or post dinner and strike a nice conversation with a bright guy. Same goes to Mark and Winnie at the Sunset Bar. And also to the bald guy (did not catch his name, sorry) at Syd Norman's. Asked for water the first evening (I am strange, I know 😁) and did not have but promised to get some for my next visit. Guess what? He complied! Specialty restaurants were all consistently good. Never had a bad meal at any of them. Besides, with the non refundable onboard credit we got as compensation for the itinerary changes I purchased extra specialty dinners and I ended up never going to the MDR. Ocean Blue and Cagney's are my top favourites. Le Bistro also very nice. Even La Cucina (which I originally had no intention of going to) ended up being a very pleasant surprise as well. Even the buffet was a positive surprise. As mentioned earlier, I am not a buffet person and openly admit I try to avoid it as much as I can. However, the food I had there the very few times I stopped by was tasty, well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Also had lovely meals at American Diner, O'Sheehans and the Savor/Taste MDRs (lunch only). I have zero complaints about the food. Cutbacks? Yes, for sure, but still so much to choose from.

Yes, performing at Illusionarium (did not attend though, I guess I was making a fool of myself at the consistently PACKED karaoke venue 😆) but I remember seeing it listed at least once on the freestyle daily. Just be aware of the fact that they are still in the ongoing process of implementing changes regarding entertainment (so we were told at the behind the scenes tour) and things could be very different for upcoming cruises.

Just some random thoughts... Crew I found to be excellent. Very helpful and always with great attitude towards guests. Feel free to tip, but they will provide great service without further encouragement. Be nice to them and they will be nice to you. About the nickel and diming all I can say is that yes, there will lots of upcharge offerings but I really never ever felt pushed to buy anything I did not want to. What else can I say, I enjoyed the cruise very much. Not perfect but not a disaster either. Set your mind into vacation mood and I am pretty sure you will enjoy it too.

Yes, lots of quiet places on the smaller upper decks upstairs from the pool area (at least on this cruise). Vaguely remember a greens/salad area at the buffet, but cannot tell you much more than that. Not being a buffet lover I really never paid too much attention to the food there, although I can say that I enjoyed the few things I tried. No in person muster, just card scanning and free to go. You are supposed to watch a video during check-in or pre-cruise. Entertainment quality / variety is a matter of taste I guess, but I enjoyed it in general with Million Dollar Quartet the absolute highlight.