Robkat

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review. Sounds like you're having a wonderful time so far, with so much more to come! Gorgeous photos!

Just had an aside:. The Bailey's substitute (Maloney's) is pretty good. When we ordered our usual Bailey's straight up on the Getaway in August, and were told that it was no longer included on the standard drink package, we were a little shocked. But the alternative Irish cream was offered, and when we tried it (really, prepared to turn our noses up at it!) ... it was pretty good. We don't claim to be Irish cream aficionados,, but we do know what we like and what tastes good. While we were initially disappointed to lose the Bailey's, turns out we're just fine with the new option, and it's quite a bit better than any "pretenders" we've tried in the past. Maybe once people give it a try, they won't be so worried about the increase in the Bailey's cost.

Lots and lots and lots of storage space!!! Big closets where things aren't squished in, lots of drawers where things can be neat and put away.

Really looking forward to following along. We have very fond memories of the Pearl, but our last cruise on her was fairly long ago. Can't wait to hear your impressions and read your review of her. This is also an itinerary we're really interested in, so we'll be taking notes as you go. Have a fantastic time and we hope you love your first cruise experience. Very excited for you!

On our very first cruise back in 1988, the TA put the fear of G*d into us about this issue. We've never forgotten it and never fail to immediately check our confirmations to ensure that names match up. All TA's should make sure people understand this.

We've been on 6 cruises since we re-started cruising last Sept '21. Some with really low occupancy, and some with pretty darn full ships. No Covid for either one of us. An interesting fact, we've never gotten off the ships on any of those cruises to go on excursions or even to just walk around the towns or visit shops. Not for any particular reason other than we'd been to so many of the islands quite often, and (especially in the early cruises), we didn't want to break our own little ship bubble. We haven't worn masks since the cruise lines OK'd it, and haven't gone out of our way to avoid people (although we naturally and normally don't hang out in large crowds). So, could that have played a factor for us having avoided getting it , even when a larger number on a particular cruise did report getting it... who knows, but we have thought it is interesting.

We went the week prior to Memorial Day, and we absolutely lucked out with the weather. Of course, it was very cold on the days we were cruising through Glacier Bay, and each morning was cold too, but we were prepared for that, and then, as it got to be mid-morning, we'd have lovely sunshine and we'd be able to take layers off and be OK with just a long-sleeve t-shirt. AND, all our ports of call weren't yet teeming with visitors. We thought it was awesome. This is not to say, however, that it's always guaranteed to have great weather, but that was our experience. We knew that the weather conditions in Alaska are always iffy, but we really liked going on the "shoulder season".

I think you mean occupancy level, rather than capacity. The capacity is a fixed amount. If a bus has 40 seats, the seating capacity is 40. If there are 30 passengers, the occupancy is 75%

Thanks ... this was very thoughtful of you. We're on the east coast and got the rain and wind effects both on the front and the back side. Our Immunity had been really well secured and the aftermath assessment is that the community and our barrier island fared pretty well. We're also sending all our best wishes to our west coast, central and northeast communities ... they are going to be needing lots of help and prayers over the next while.

Sorry @mconthehighseas, I quoted you above and then my reply got caught up in the quote box. Tried to edit but it didn't work. Hope you can see my reply.

Since it has just recently appeared, there might be an adjustment in port charges. It could be a changed or cancelled port of call (although NCL would usually advise you of any actual port stop changes). It's strange that it wouldn't have any designation or code noted though. If it was from your TA, that would normally have shown right from your first confirmation receipt, so good chance it's a recent NCL adjustment of some sort. Sorry ... Just saw your thread title and see that there is a promo code. Don't recognize it though.

Doesn't there come a time when certain threads should just die a natural death??? 🥱🥱 Especially since the OP seems to have either had his question answered to his satisfaction or has lost interest. Seems to me, this one seems to have run it's course 🙄🙄 ... YMMV though.

Oh wow ... no flies on you! Hope you enjoy the Symphony. Looks like the weather is going to be pretty iffy for the next several days, so be careful coming down what could be a messy (or harrowing!) I-95. Good luck and happy cruising!

Believe they were starting the drive down from NC early tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll get news from them direct. I agree that it would have been better for most of the passengers to have received this news earlier; but having watched the storm models for days, it's easy to understand NCL waiting to see if the predicted movement just a little more northerly, or just a little more westerly, which would then impact how the east coast would be affected, and would then, perhaps, let them make a decision to go ahead with the cruise. Also, if the storm was quicker moving, then it wouldn't have sat over warm waters gathering even more strength. So the decision to cancel was probably being held off until they got a really good idea of what path the storm was going to be on, and how affected the Orlando (for flights arriving) and the PC areas were going to be. As @gatorchinskysaid, this was a no win/no win situation for everyone! ☹️

Definitely feel for you. But, as you well know, things are pretty much going to be deteriorating in Florida for the next several days. As much as it doesn't feel like it now, given the situation, this is probably for the best. And think of that nice additional 25% FCC for when you're booking your next one! We're hunkered down too ... stay safe.

What a shame for everyone who was on this cruise. But, also, what a position NCL is in ... what with a major hurricane hitting the state, the entire state under a State of Emergency, and so much damage down in the Caribbean. Sitting here in Florida right now, with this monster storm about to smash into us, it's difficult to even imagine a ship leaving from here, heading out on a cruise. Sorry to all those who were scheduled to be aboard, but ...

Our understanding has always been that the club balcony cabins are the exact same size as the regular balcony cabin, with the exception of the bathroom being a little larger, with a fancier jet shower nozzle. The video above seems to confirm that. There are two twin beds in the cabin, and the couch makes up into a bed. When you board, If the beds are together as a queen, just ask the room steward to separate them. Enjoy your cruise! The Escape is a favorite of ours and we'll be back on her in November.

Omigosh! Yes, the shipboard stores will have sweaters and, probably, light windbreakers. But they'd probably cost a fortune. It looks like this cruise is departing from Miami, so if you were going in there a day before, if it was at all possible, you'd probably have more choices and much better prices if you could pick up some warm weather clothing there. If you could get to a Walmart, or a Target, or any major department store, you'd find more to pick from, without over-spending on clothes that you might not need again. PS. We live in south Florida, and all the stores are now full of warm weather clothing.

The guest use staircase down to Deck 16 from Deck 18 can be seen over the lady’s left ear at the 3.33 minute mark in the video linked below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FwE9oBpGeE

I believe you can access Deck 16 from Deck 18 via the staircase highlighted on the deck plan below and then walk forward to the Top Sail Lounge.

Funny! And, I'll add, no celebrities on Celebrity (although guess that COULD be a possibility! 😆) As mentioned above, DH reminded me that we've often had Scandinavian captains on NCL cruises. Just got struck by this odd memory ... When we were crusing quite a bit on Holland America, they'd have a Dutch night in the MDR and at each table, there'd be these very strange and not very attractive paper hats that were, I guess, supposed to be Dutch. We didn't particularly like wearing them, but didn't want to appear like spoilsports, so we'd put them on for a few minutes and once the section was filled (this was back in the days of fixed dining with the same people seated all around you each night), we'd surreptitiously slide them off! 😆😆

Think the NCL personnel are there at each FR station more in a monitoring capacity, with the C&I officers there to be summoned if necessary and/ or if the FR devices indicate that C&I needs to get involved. We're loving this new process, and even if occasionally there are some glitches, we think this is definitely a step up in the debarkation process!

This is also how it went down disembarking from our Getaway cruise, in Port Canaveral, in August this year. It was a much faster and more efficient process, and we felt that the C&I officers were right there to deal with any appropriate situation. It was apparent that this new facial recognition process will be dealt with in this manner, and the NCL personnel are there to ensure that the FR equipment doesn't malfunction. Thought it was terrific.

Excellent points!! Wish I'd remembered to include these in my post above! ☺️☺️ We always like to have 1st and usually 4th nights in a specialty, and we always comment how we're sorry to have missed some good MDR menu choices on those nights! And, agree very much about the sides! 👍👍