tx121
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Posts posted by tx121
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Since Pride of America is a US flagged ship and hires US citizens, will NCL get any bailout money for the one ship?
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1 minute ago, ziggyuk said:
And the bartenders can slide the drinks down the bar old west style.
Robot bartenders like on rcl lol
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6 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:
Tendering would take all day....
Of course that would be a upcharge to visit the island. Book up fast as spots are very limited. Otherwise stay on the boat. Lol!
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Once the cruise lines come back to service, a new social distancing Policy should be in place where your group must be 6ft away from another group in every venue. On the sun deck your group's loungers must be 6 ft away from the next group. Same goes for seating in the theater, must be 2 seats in between each group. At the buffet each group must have a safe distance while getting food. At the dining room, again there must be a safe distance between tables.
I would totally be for this policy. It would be nice to be on a cruise and not feel like sardines in a can. 🤣👍
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Imagine the prices of cruises after this is over? The cruise lines will need to make their money back somehow.
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Wow. Princess cruises halts operations for 60 days! Wonder if other lines will follow suit!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/12/carnivals-princess-cruises-to-pause-global-ship-operations-for-60-days-over-coronavirus.html
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Now I know why it may be cheaper... College Spring Break! Will avoid at all cost during those weeks!
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The MSC Mergavilia was denied to port in Jamaica and Grand Caymen. This is very worrisome for anyone with a upcoming cruise. I'm not sure if the ports are worried because MSC caters to the European passengers and the recent spike in numbers of the Coronavirus in Italy. They will be allowed to port in Cozumel.
This will be very interesting to see what happens to the cruise industry if the Coronavirus effects the Caribbean ports and ships are not allowed to dock. Smh.
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Wow! What a cheap cruise on the Epic! I'm shocked that they are not charging a single supplement fee either for a non studio cabin! Is there issues with the Epic? Wish I had vacation time! Lol!
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Personally, I enjoyed the Encore and echoed the same issues about the sun deck as the OP. I believe that the Encore would be an awesome experience in cooler climates such as Alaska since deck space is no longer a issue and for longer voyages where the ship is not filled to capacity such as the Panama Canal.
The OP did sail during a peak time where kids were off as well which would lead to more congestion on the sun deck compared to when I cruised with not many kids onboard. I would be cautious of booking the Encore, Joy, Bliss if I was traveling with families with kids in the Caribbean. If you do your research, you can prepare yourself for these types of issues and decide if this ship is right for you. The Encore would not be a ship I would sail on again with the same itinerary (Eastern Caribbean), but i would be open to book it again for Alaska depending on the price.
Yes we all want to sail the newest and sometimes the biggest ships, but sometimes the company doesnt necessarily have your personal preference in mind. This is why there are a wide variety of ships in the NCL fleet and also on other cruise lines.
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5 hours ago, CruiseMaven25 said:
Just RSVP’d for Pink Agave. I didn’t see the show option though. Hope we get to tour the ship as well!
Here's the link for the show
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I was going through the RCL App and saw this under the Quantum of the Seas for a sailing in March. It says Day 1, Los Angeles and next port Catalina Island. Very interesting. I'm guessing cruises will probably be priced very cheap just to get people to come onboard last minute.
I'm wondering if this is accurate and if the West Coast will finally get a RCL ship full time until the Coronavirus situation is figured out.
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57 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:
Alright, you have convinced me that I am going to have to go there next week. Is it outside the port area on the main road to town?
Yes it is outside the port area. It is directly across the street from the Havensight Mall Port entrance. The restaurant is tucked away in the corner of a row of stores. Look for the pizza Amore sign. Enjoy!
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9 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:
This is too funny. We are from north jersey - best pizza in the country, IMO. And we always stop at this place for a slice!!
The pizza is so good! I talked to the owner the first time I went there and apparently they are from Queens,NY....so they know about Pizza. Lol!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes to St Thomas for the pizza 🤣
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14 hours ago, Wannacruise81 said:
Great review! Thanks for the dailies. I have a few questions. (Anyone can answer with their answers or opinion as well)
Do they scan your card to take out towels at the pool deck?
I saw there was a specialty dessert place called Cocos. Did you try? If so, is it worth it?
Is an ice bucket provided in the room?
Is there a weight limit for the slides?
How early do you arrive to get good seats in the theater?
How many charging outlets are there in the room?
Would you sail on The Encore again?
Thanks again!
1- They don't scan your card to get towels. You write your name and room number and then sign. It's weird because the sign out towel is on one sheet and the return is on another. I doubt anyone is really keeping track of this because that would be way too much paperwork to go through. I think it is just so people return thr towels and just dont leave them on the loungers. There is also a warning sign that says if the towel isnt returned, there is a $25 fee per towel.
2- We were very tempted to goto Cocos but we didnt get a chance to try it. The shakes looked delicious!
3- Ice buckets are available on request. Just let your room steward know and he/she will bring it to you.
4- We arrived to the theater 30 min before the show. We didnt have any trouble finding good seats.
5- There are 3 charging outlets by the desk and 2 USB outlets by the lights above the bed.
6- I would sail on the Encore again if the price is right and if it had a better itinerary.
Hope this helps!
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4 hours ago, yoolykeme said:
So funny....I was picking between those two also, except I ended up booking the 11 day Greek Isles option, which includes Athens.
I wanted to do the Baltic one, but the restrictions for being able to stay in STP overnight were too expensive.
But my needs are different from yours. I can probably see Greece, Italy, and France pretty easily, and the Baltic region is less likely, so whichever one is less "accessible" to you might be the one that you want to choose.
That is very true! If we want to see Greece, Athens is a MUST! I may use this to convince my group to do the Baltic! lol!
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22 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:
Wow..Thanks for sharing! Great photo review. I really enjoyed it.
I am 75% sure we will choose to do the Baltic Cruise. I'm trying convince the rest of my group to pick this itinerary. A few want to experience the beaches of Greece and culture. But like others have pointed out, the cruise on the Getaway doesn't include Athens, so I could maybe sway them my way! lol! Thanks again!
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Thanks everyone for the information. We are looking to do this cruise May 2021. I'm looking at the Escape to the Baltic or the Getaway to Greece. I'm leaning towards the Baltic. How are the prices for the excursions in that area? I heard Scandinavia can be quite pricey.
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Definitely do Food Republic if you like sushi, Asian Latin fusion. On the Encore, ocean blue was terrible. Not worth using a credit for
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What is your favorite port in europe? Thinking of a Greek cruise or a Baltic cruise.
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I hope you guys enjoyed my daily reviews of the Encore and got the information you needed. Now that I have settled in back home to cold, cloudy and rainy skies 😞, I figured I'd do my overall experience on the Encore. Again this is my opinion and my experiences of the ship, crew, food etc.
The Overall Ship Design, Public Areas and Decor - 3.5 / 5
The Encore is a Beautiful ship, no doubt. It is very modern, the decor is tastefully done and the flow of the ship in the interior public areas flows nicely. The buffet area is laid out well and we had no trouble finding a table even at peak times. We loved the intimate spaces like the Social, the Cavern, the Observation Deck and also the many bars around the ship. I also appreciate that the casino has been sectioned off to a non smoking and smoking area. The smell of smoke does not travel through the 6,7,8 atrium area any longer. Good job NCL for fixing this issue.
The waterfront is always a nice area to sit and relax. You can get great views of the ocean from the back of the ship.
Here is where the Encore loses points. This area has been a heated topic of discussion ever since the Encore debuted....The top decks specifically the Pool Deck/ Sun Lounging areas.
There is just not enough sun lounging areas on the Encore and it all has to do with maximizing NCLs profits. The company is seeing how far they can go before they get too much push back from the guests. I mean it is working in their favor right now since guests are purchasing the Vibe passes which have been selling out by Day 1. So as long as this happens, they will continue to design ships this way. This ship design may be a preview of the Leonardo Class of ships that will debut in the upcoming years. We will just have to wait and see.
The other criticism I have of the outdoor top deck is that besides the removal of Spice H2O, it took away popular kids areas like the basketball court, rock wall, golf area and ropes course which were free areas. These have been replaced by the Go Karts, Laser tag and the indoor Galaxy Pavilion all of which come with a fee to use. Now we are always saying kids these days don't go outside like we used to and that they are attached to their phones, ipads, video games etc. With this ship design, it's basically telling them to stay inside or pay to play outside. Sure there is the small pool area and slides, but we come back to the issue of the pool deck space. This cruise we did not have many children/teens sailing but I cannot imagine the summer months when the ship is full of kids and teens. Again I may be flamed for my opinion, but it is just my personal view of the problem areas of the Encore's Design.
Entertainment- 5/5
Here is where the Encore lives up to its name! I have to say this ship has one of the best entertainment of all the cruises I have taken! The entertainment in the theater, the bands around the ship, the game shows, the theme parties, the activities etc, were all fantastic! If you are a bored adult (can't speak for kids), then you are doing something wrong. Bravo NCL for delivering a top notch entertainment schedule for the Encore. Choir of Man was the best non Broadway show I have seen on any cruise line and on any ship. Kinky Boots was good and also entertaining. A little bit slow in parts but the cast did a good job. More conservative guests and families walked out of Kinky Boots during the show because of the drag queens/theme. If you are open minded, you will enjoy the show. If you have kids and do not want to expose them to this type of show or you are offended easily by an alternative lifestyle, then do not reserve the show. On the same lines, for the comedians in the Social Club, if you are offended by cursing and adult matters, do not book the 18+ shows. They do have shows that are more toned down for guests who do not enjoy dirty humour. The theme parties were a lot of fun and the cruise staff did a great job getting everyone involved.
Service- 4/5
Every crew member we encountered was smiling, always very polite, and courteous. The service was very good in the specialty restaurants, the Local Grill, and the buffet. Our room attendant was pleasant and tried his hardest but was overwhelmed with the amount of rooms he was assigned. Sometimes our room wasn't cleaned until 2pm even though our room attendant saw us at 9am leaving the room with the please make up my room light on. At night, he would come by around 9pm to clean the room but we just told him it was ok and to just give us new towels and the Freestyle Daily. Service at the bars was a hit or miss. Sometimes the service was great, other times like the bar at the pool deck, it was chaotic and very disorganized. We also had a issue with the safe in the room not working. Several times we called and also went to guest services to ask someone to fix the issue. Each time they said ok we will have security to come up to your room and fix it. We would go back to the room and security never showed up, even after waiting an hour at times. It took until Day 5 before we actually had someone fix the issue.
Food - 3.5 / 5
Food is always subjective. Overall we enjoyed what was offered. We ate mostly in the buffet for breakfast, lunch and a couple of times for dinner. The buffet food was average and on par with most buffets we've had on cruise ships. We went to 4 specialty restaurants: Food Republic, Q, Teppanyaki, and Ocean Blue. The food at Food Republic was amazing. If you like Asian food/ Sushi/ Latin foods, you will enjoy this restaurant. Teppanyaki as always was very good. Q the food was ok. The meats needed to be seasoned more but the ribs and chicken were tender and juicy. The Brisket was kind of dry. Ocean Blue was the biggest disappointment. Dishes were not good and there was a foul odor in the fish stew I ordered. I would not go to this restaurant again.
Conclusion
Overall, we had a nice enjoyable vacation and we were thoroughly entertained. Was there parts we didn't like about the cruise / ship ? Sure, but it didn't stop us from having a good time. Like I said in my daily reviews, you have to adapt to the situation and make the most of it. If plan A doesn't work, then go with plan B. Just don't dwell on it and let it ruin your whole vacation.
Would I recommend sailing on the Encore? I sure do, but it depends on what type of cruiser you are and who you are traveling with.
If you like great entertainment, atmosphere, food, and are a go with the flow type attitude, then I certainly do recommend this ship to you.
If you are someone who is the sun lounging type; does not like to be close to others; if you are more the conservative type when it comes to shows; likes to be on a schedule and is not flexible, then this ship is not for you.
If you have kids.....now this is a toss up. Yes the Encore does have all the bells and whistles for the kids but some activities are at a cost which can raise the price of your cruise rather quickly. Again, in my opinion there is not enough space for the kids to spread out. There is only so many times they would do the go karts or laser tag before they get bored. The pool deck is more crowded since sun deck space is limited. The shows are not really geared towards kids and has more of an adult theme. If I was traveling with kids, I would pick the Escape over the Encore.
The Encore is a great ship. It does have its flaws but it's how you work around them to make your cruise enjoyable.
Overall Score: 4 / 5
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6 hours ago, SunnyTahitianDaze said:
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. This sounds like some stuff my best friend and I used to do at festivals back in the day (we hid in port a potties one time between sound check and gate opening so we didn't have to pay...ahhh my 20s hahahaha)
🤣 Same! Well not to the extreme of port a potties! Haha!
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3 hours ago, ldgiff said:
You didn't run across any hidden sun deck spots? Sometimes there is just that place that no one knows about...Surely not on the side of the walking track like your pic showed!! Crazy.
Lol. Sun deck space was hard to come by. Besides the waterfront area where people were sunbathing, some people actually did drag some loungers and put them by the outside of the laser tag area.
Also, I heard some people bought one VIBE pass and snuck in the rest of their party. Not sure what the procedure is in Vibe so I dont know if they scan cards when you go in. I know you have to scan the room cards to get in to the area.
So as far as a hidden sun deck spot, I did not find or hear about one. If you count the laser tag entrance area,then that may be? 🤣
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It's ok. On par with Mission BBQ fast food chain. It's ok but nothing like homecookin or a local Texas BBQ joint.
Pride of America receive a bailout?
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted · Edited by tx121
Yes NCL hires US citizens on all their ships, however all of the staff on Pride of America must be US citizens or green card holders as it says on the NCL website . The ship is also registered in Honolulu, Hawaii making it a US flagged ship. The rest of the NCL fleet is registered in the Bahamas, making them a foreign flagged ship.