buckirj1

I figure I'm on vacation, so I can afford to be generous. $5 for one smallish rollaboard one way or the other isn't going to make much of a difference. I don't see any need for angst about tipping. I agree some folks are wrapped way too tight.

Enjoy your visit to Rome, sandwiched between what I hope are a couple of wonderful crossings. Wishing you safe travels.

Being a low maintenance sort, I'm okay with the amenities provided, but I loved when Carnival put a basket of trial-sized products in cabin bathrooms. Really nice stuff--useful, too.

Cont'd...

While I thought Cunard's evening entertainment left a lot to be desired, and was nowhere near as good as NCL's, Cunard's daytime activities were terrific. I very much enjoyed the enrichment lectures and would have loved the library if it hadn't been so hot in there. Honestly, on what other line would you be able to check out a Book of Common Prayer for the duration of the voyage? I never got around to getting tickets to the Planetarium, but did catch a movie there. Nice seating. I thought it was too windy to do much walking outdoors on the promenade, but the QM2 is a big ship. Lots of places to walk, get lost, and find yourself in the BEST nooks and crannies.

Most public spaces were attractive, but I found the floors a little spongy in some places, and somewhat slippery in others. I didn't think the QM2 was as pretty as the NCL Spirit, but it was very nice on its own terms. My inside cabin was nice, as well. It was well laid out, not the biggest inside cabin I've ever had, nor the best linens, but more than adequate. The bathroom and shower space were terrific; one of my most important cruise criteria, and Cunard's was very likely the best of all my cruises.

I'm sure I left out a bunch of information, but this is long enough. One last thing, I wish they wouldn't have kept referring to me as "madam." I know they're trained to do that, but it made me feel like the Dowager Countess or something.

Sure, I'll play. I sailed the QM2 some years ago, due to a bunch of stars being in alignment, such as solo supplement (waived!), airfare (sale!) and birthday (50...something!). I'm the most casual of cruisers, with no patience for pretense or snobbery, and found a lot to like about Cunard. Yes, it can be as formal as they say, but Cunard makes it easy for folks like me to tailor the experience to be as casual as we like.

I'm a solo cruiser who prefers to eat alone, and I loathe assigned seating. I disliked the Britannia Dining Room on sight (massive, cavernous, creepy space), and promptly had the maître 'd promise to "unseat" me from my dining assignment. I had a good giggle over being unseated. The Kings Court buffet area is totally different in the evening, and had very nice food, not at all crowded but more people than I had expected, and friendly non-stuffy service. It seemed a step up from typical buffet offerings. Dragonfruit and a delicious lamb stew aren't usually buffet fare, in my experience. I ate early, and nobody looked twice at me in jeans and turtleneck. I got a kick out of watching the upper crust get off the wrong elevator and come marching through Kings Court in all their finery...and turn into little children when they spied the soft-serve machine. Seeing them head to the Grills, ice cream cones in hand, was one of my best memories from the crossing. I did visit Britannia for a pretty dismal lunch, in terms of food, service and tablemates. Can't say I enjoyed the snobbish Englishwoman and the nouveau-riche Texas widow trying to out-brag each other while (not) eating lukewarm dried out fish and trying to flag down the waiter for a drink refill.

I took one formal outfit because I knew I'd want to wander the ship a night or two, but it didn't take long for me to figure out the entertainment wasn't going to be to my taste. The young women in the string quartet were lovely, but couldn't play for squat. Awful screeching and scratching. I'm not usually going to stick around to listen to a harp-plucker under most circumstances, though I concede there are those who enjoy such things. I thought the dance balls were beyond boring, and I _like_ big band music. That stuff was more like Lawrence Welk at Sea. The hockey-haired vocalist wasn't good at all. You need talent if you're going to channel Sinatra.

There was more good stuff, too. That's coming up.

That those white chair covers are a Fancy Thing. Who knew?

Really, how hard can it be? You pass a bar on almost every public deck. It can't be that difficult to stop in and set the glass at the end of the bar. As much as I don't like the "promotions," I don't think the UBP has anything to do with it. Just lazy, entitled people.

It looks very...brown. I hope the colors aren't actually that muted. I've always enjoyed NCL's colorful carpets.

Taking away the awkward face-to-face interaction is what I like best about daily/hotel service charges. I don't ever want to go back to the days of personally handing out tip envelopes. It's never crossed my mind to remove, decrease, or increase the DSC/HSC. Sometimes we make things a lot more complicated than necessary.

I've always said there's hull art, and then there's hull art. The Sun's is absolutely perfect, and by far the best of the bunch. I also like the Sky's, very pretty. After that, they're kind of pedestrian but don't really bother me. Except for the Breakaway, which I think is hideous, but I like the Getaway's swirlies. I haven't seen much of the Escape, except for all the fish. I'm not sure what fish have to do with escape, but I'm pretty unsophisticated when it comes to artsy stuff. I don't find anything at all attractive about the Epic's outside silhouette, though the inside looks very nice.

I agree with those who mentioned the dark hulls of HAL, Cunard, and Disney. Very nice.

I've gotten snail mail from Oceania for years, despite having zero interest in sailing them. I also seem to get a lot of mailings from Holland America, a cruise line I'd very much like to try, but never have.

There are taxis right outside Penn Station when you come up to ground level. It is about a 10 minute ride and runs about $15 for trip and tip. You will be dropped off across the street from the terminal entrance but there is a traffic light to safely cross the street.

I usually have to ask, but I've never had a taxi driver refuse to take me up the ramp to the drop-off area at the terminal entrance. It doesn't run up the meter much, and I make it worthwhile to the driver by leaving a nice tip.

I know exactly what you mean about life getting in the way; I haven't been able to take a cruise for a couple of years, and I miss going to NE/Canada. I almost exclusively take this itinerary, and love it. Because many people don't like cold (or what passes as cold to them), you can have much of the outside decks to yourself much of the time. You won't see much foliage from the ship, because there isn't a lot along the coast. Some port stops have excursions to the countryside, and you might see some there, but I wouldn't count on it. Lighthouses don't interest me, so I can't help there.

The weather is a high point to me, and the fact that most port stops are actual cities where people actually live and work. Halifax is my favorite cruise port, such a great city. A low point, and it doesn't always happen, is that the inside of the ship can sometimes be a little crowded because many passengers don't go outside because of the weather. I've always been able to find a place to hang out alone, though.

Whatever you decide, I hope you're able to take this itinerary someday. I've taken this cruise on Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean. Both Carnival and NCL provide great experiences, Royal Caribbean less so.

I'd love to see a big-ship cruise that cobbled all those little "oddball" ports together: St. John's, Corner Brook, Gloucester, Rockland, Martha's Vineyard, Salem and Newport (well, lots of cruises go there). Sadly, that itinerary isn't realistic, if for no other reason than all the tendering that would be necessary for such a cruise.

For what it's worth, Salem is often a scheduled shore excursion for cruise ships visiting Boston on a port-of-call day. Salem is also approximately 40 minutes from Boston North Station via commuter rail.

The only real advantage to the Jewel itinerary is that you get to Victoria at a more "user friendly" time. But I wouldn't use that as a reason to pick the itinerary.

I would. It all depends on what you want to see and how/when you want to cruise. A long daytime stop in Victoria is a deal breaker for me, especially on my first (and maybe only) cruise to Alaska.

The itinerary of the NCL Pearl 2016 opener (Vancouver to Seattle) has it all, if a 10 day open jaw cruise in May is acceptable to the OP: good long port times-meaning nobody has to get up at the crack of dawn if s/he doesn't want to, Inside Passage, Sitka, Glacier Bay, Victoria during the day.

Antarctica, on an expedition ship with full landings.

 

And the Crystal Northwest Passage cruise in 2017 (might be 2016, iirc Roy will be on it thankfully so I can travel vicariously through his wonderful blog).

Yes. Exactly this. Anyplace cold is fine with me. And I'll throw in a Voyage of the Vikings roundtrip passage, since money and time is no object. Even so, I can't imagine being away from home for that long. I get homesick after 7-10 days:o

I understand that people in NCL suites have a very nice cruise experience and they often eat in the speciality restaurants. I wonder if their praises would be so great if they were in a non-suite cabin eating in the MDR.

This thought is based on what I have read and heard on news shows regarding NCL's ways to create revenue.

In my experience, absolutely. I've only sailed NCL in a suite category once, have only eaten in a specialty restaurant once, when it was free. I've always received excellent service, and have eaten very good meals in NCL's main dining rooms, Lido, and other no charge venues such as the Blue Lagoon (now O'sheehan's).

NCL's current attempt to create revenue, while leaving somewhat of a bad taste in my mouth, hasn't trickled down to the actual cruise experience so far as I can tell. What it has done is put the price of an NCL cruise out of my reach, and that's...sad.

10:30 - 11:30 PM. These are mainly for the night shift crew/entertainers but passengers are welcome. The first few nights of every cruise, the Late Snacks have a lot of passengers who think they should eat every time food is available. The passenger diners fade away as passengers become wiser and feel their clothing tightening.

Thank you. I was thinking that might be an option if the MDR food wasn't appealing and the Lido had closed down. Guess not.

A card deck sized first aid kit, and a tiny flashlight. I like the idea of a small sewing kit. I've seen them in my supermarket, and will try to remember to buy one.

CrewNews' menus included Lido "Late Night" snacks. What is HAL's definition of late night?

Wonderful news! I'm so glad you were able to "get your feet wet" and find you were able to cruise again. I'm also happy you had a good time while making this new discovery. I hope when the time is right you'll be able to find your way home to HAL. In the meantime, there are many fine ships out there, as you're learning.

So I saw this today & think it may be the reason for all the increase-the-profits scenarios we're seeing. And, if so, it makes sense to me ;):

 

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/ncl-scrubber-installation-delay-spells-higher-fuel-costs.html

 

35M is a pretty good incentive....;)

Excellent find! Thanks!

I'm not especially fussed about the increased service charges, or the move to a' la carte specialty dining (which I kind of like), but the timing of these changes makes it seem as if NCL is making things up as they go along. It would be one thing if NCL kept base pricing low, and added charges for this-and-that as part of a well thought out plan that incorporated reasonable roll-outs. As I see it, low base pricing with additional charges for optional items is the essence of freestyle. But NCL seems to want it both ways: keeping the base price high, adding charges for this-and-that, but trying to fool paying customers by including those added charges as "free promotions."

I still like the NCL product, because none of this reflects on staff or crew. One of my biggest concerns, that FDR would somehow turn NCL into Oceania Jr.-type "elegance" has thankfully not come to fruition, and really doesn't seem to be in the cards, if indeed it ever was.

However, the only way NCL will get me back is by price alone, since the "free promotions" are for things I wouldn't be interested in using or wouldn't mind paying for in the first place. Sailing NCL was nice while it lasted, and made for some of the best cruise experiences I've ever had.

I'd have to see the itinerary, but I'd like to take a closer look at the round trip South American itinerary. I wouldn't want to do it over the December/January holidays, and it'll probably be too many days, not to mention too expensive. Still, I'd like a closer look. The only other South American roundtrip I'm aware of is offered by Celebrity, and I don't have much interest in that line.

I'm not very interested in Australia or Asia, unless I can be sure its colder weather. I don't do hot if I can help it.

I'm glad it isn't just me. I thought the Enchantment was slippery even with sneakers.