mpcaruth

iConcierge App:

Great concept, but NCL has a way to go to make is truly a great app. We all had installed the app prior to the cruise. All four of us signed up for the text messaging service on the app. It was $7.95 each. Basically, under the app, you are given an onboard app phone number. You use this number to text others onboard with the app. Please note, it does not allow you to text outside of the ships service area or receive off ship texts. Once I signed up, I immediately had a conversation in my message between a father and their teens. I supposed, this father had the same assigned phone number as me. No big deal, as I erased them. The texting app worked 80% of the time. I would think it would depend on where you are on the ship, but I could not figure out a pattern. My family used the app quite a bit to keep up with each one.

The app also has the daily schedules, and would allow you to make certain reservations. Please note, I reported earlier about the mishap reservation for the Illusionairium. After that, I never tried to make another reservation on the app. For the app to have been truly useful, it should have allowed the user to look at their previously booked reservations. But it didn’t. I had to use the TV to check our show and dinner reservation times. Now, one of the best things about the app was the feature to see the onboard spending. Here’s a screenshot I took:

I had noticed that not only did I not receive the 25% discount for booking the Illusionairium the first night, but we had also been charged multiple times for drinks on the first day (we all had UBP or soda package). So, I headed to Guest Service early the first sea day to get it resolved. The line was short then, and the crew was very nice. I thanked him and headed on my merrily way… only to find half of the incorrect charges still showing up 3 days later. I repeated my trip to guest services again, and this time they made sure everything was corrected before I left. This was just a nuisance, but if I had to stand in line at guest services during a busy time, I would not have been happy.

I am going to be on the Getaway this July. When I booked my shows online Legally Blond wasn't an option. Are they doing it anymore on the Getaway?

I just looked at NCL's website and it states in the Legally Blonde description, "NOTE: This program will be discontinued as of 5/1/2016." I wonder what they are replacing it with?

Entertainment:

Illusionairium Dinner and Show

We saw the Illusionairium on the first night of the cruise. There were four different magicians and they played out a storyline. Two of the magicians were great while the other two were so-so. We really enjoyed the show, especially my son. However, getting to, and getting through, the show did not prove to be a simple feat… Since I had a few hundred dollars of OBC, and you cannot use OBC to pre-book shows, I decided to wait until we boarded the ship to book. Also, I was hoping to book the first night and receive 25% off the reservations (this really adds up for 4 people). So, immediately following the muster drill, we headed to the Box Office to make our reservations for Illusionairium’s second showing (8:30). No one was at the Box Office, so I decided to try my iConcierge App. I selected 4 guests and the show date and time, and double checked. After hitting enter, I got the message that only one reservation had been made, and that there were no more available seats. What?!? I did not want only one guest. It was to be all of nothing. I then proceeded to guest services to have this issue fixed. Uh Oh. Have you seen the line and chaos at Guest Services on embarkation day? I looked around and walked towards another desk. I guess I must have looked pouty and/or irritated, because a crew member came up to me and asked if I needed anything. Yes! Ok, this must be the amazing NCL customer service I hear the folks rave about on the NCL board. The crew called the Box Office and got our reservations taken care of. Awesome! Well… not quite awesome I learned later, as we did not receive our 25% discount.

We got in line at the Illusionairium about 30 minutes before show time. We only had to wait about 10 minutes before the let us in. We got really good seats: second row in the center. Honestly, I don’t think any of the seats would have been bad. Soon after being seated they took our drink and food order. You really do not have a choice of food (unless you go with the vegetarian plate). We had fresh mozzarella/ prosciutto for appetizer. The main course consisted of filet mignon and shrimp. My daughter and I do not eat beef, but like shrimp. My son thought he had died and gone to heaven when he had both mine and his beef. Dessert consisted of a sampler of three desserts (sorry I cannot remember what they were, only that they were unmemorable – literally). Only one out of the four of us liked the meal (my son raved about it). In fact, the other three of us became sick after the meal. My husband got up suddenly during the third magician and went back to the room to get sick. My daughter and I became ill in the middle of the night. Now, I need to explain that we have digestion issues with certain artificial ingredients and preservatives. So, I do not think it was food poisoning (microbial). My husband had a difficult time all week with the food. He finally determined/suspected that there was something in the sauces they made, and avoided them. I would guess that he felt awful for about a third of the cruise.

Levity Entertainment Group (Comedy Club)

One of our favorite things about Carnival is their Punchliners Comedy club, so we were looking forward to sailing a NCL ship that had a separate lounge for comedy shows. My kids love the PG shows. I made reservations for the comedy shows prior to sailing, and I think I reserved a show almost every night they showed. You can also walk up around show time, and if seats are available, they will let you. Well, rarely was the entire lounge completely packed. Although the two comedians were good, their show did not change enough each night. It was advertised to be a new show, but more than half of the jokes were repeated. It was also a disappointment for us to have to sit through the MC’s same jokes more than 5 times! I was expecting a similar setup as Carnival: when they announce the show will be a different one the next night, it is. So… you really only need to go to the NCL comedy club one night, and you will be fine. We had the UBP, but it was definitely too much for us. Drinking makes me relaxed and SLEEPY, so in order to hang with my son at the comedy club, I drank a Mountain Dew with him.

Legally Blond:

The guys opted out of going to this with my daughter and me. My daughter and I LOVE live musicals, and in fact, we go to NYC Broadway every year and catch a couple of shows. With that said, I did not set my expectations very high for Legally Blond, and was afraid it was going to be corny. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The show was very good, entertaining, funny, and kept my attention the entire time. My 13 year old daughter loved it, and even asked if we could see the show the next night. I would say the caliber of the show is up there with the travelling off-broadway shows that go to the various bigger US cities.

One thing I will add about the theater itself, is that it was Plain-Jane. I am used to seeing glamorous or eclectic, and this theater was neither. I thought to myself, "they must have run out of budget when completing the ship".

Burn the Floor:

This show was really good… for the first 20 minutes or so. After that, it almost became monotonous and I kept looking at my watching wondering how much longer. I really think they should shorten the show to 30 minutes instead of a 60 minute show. Then, as a bonus, they could have three showings a night rather two - and lessen the need for reservations. The dancers are amazing, energetic, and seductive. I was surprised when I heard my 13 year old mumble “oh my” when one of the young cuties ripped his shirt off. Afterwards, she and I got a good giggle out of it.

Howl at the Moon:

Sadly, I never got to attend one of these. My husband was either ill or we were just tired from the busy days. I like to see the sunrise every morning, so I have a difficult time doing too much of the night life. This ship has soo much, it really is difficult to do everything.

Thanks everyone for your advice!!! I usually book my cruise nearly a year in advance and have never had these reservation issues.

I will definitely be prepared with the app. We always get to the port on embarkation day early, so hopefully, we will be one of the first aboard and will be able to make the reservations.

Just booked the Anthem for June and was disappointed to find there are no available reservation times for either the iFly or the NorthStar. Often ships will hold a certain number of reservation slots for booking while onboard. I hope this is the case with Anthem. I have read on this forum that there are standby lines you can wait in... but on a short 5-day cruise, I especially do not want to spend it waiting in line.

Does anyone know if we can make reservations as soon as we board the ship (fingers crossed)? Or are we forced to wait in a long line for a chance to experience these two?

Thanks!

We can not afford to do the Aquaventure through the cruise ship. Six people just costs a lot for anything. I have priced Comfort Suites and it's more doable as well as ResortForADay.com

 

I'm looking at the Pro's and Con's of each as I've seen them both mentioned but never directly compared.

 

Thank you.

We have gone to the Atlantis waterpark twice through a booking at the adjacent Comfort Suites. The first time for less than $230 for 4 people, and the second time FREE (I signed up for a Choice Privileges Credit Card and received enough sign-on bonus points to cover the Comfort Suites - with no taxes or fees!) I provide a very detailed, picture-intensive review of our day at Atlantis, as well as cover the logistics of getting there in my Fascination cruise review beginning at post #28:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2066091

BTW, the slight hassle to check in at the Comfort Suites and walk over to Atlantis is sooooo worth it!

Pros of cruise ship tour:

1- cheaper!!!!

2 - get there earlier and stay longer (be the first off the ship)

Cons: slight inconvenience to take taxi to comfort suites, and walk over... it may have taken 20-30 minutes longer than taking taxi directly to Atlantis. But, I bet it is still quicker than waiting on the ship excursion.

2- I guess you could get left behind if you do not keep an eye on the clock.

Here's one of the pictures I took atop one of the waterslides:

I'll let you know in two weeks. We leave on Friday. I did end up moving to a balcony guarantee. We figured at least the balcony would give us some extra space.

One more question... have you received your cabin assignment yet? If so, do you mind sharing the cabin number, or cabin category/location?

I'll let you know in two weeks. We leave on Friday. I did end up moving to a balcony guarantee. We figured at least the balcony would give us some extra space.

Thanks. I think I am just going to risk it too, and book the balcony guarantee. They are kids on an amazing cruise vacation. I think they can "suffer" and sleep together on a sofa bed. I asked my son about it and he said, "no problem, as long as we have separate blankets".

Enjoy your cruise, and be sure to post back. I would love to see a picture of the sofa bed out.

Great review. We are doing that same itinerary next january so the ports are great. I might have some specific questions for you when it gets closer.

Thanks. And definitely ask questions. I LOVE discussing cruises.

How long was the bus ride to the turtle farm?

Around 15 minutes. The bus only stops if someone needs off or if someone is standing at a bus stop to get on. There is no set schedule, the bus just constantly loops around. It really doesn't take much longer than a taxi. I think we stopped to pick up/drop off riders 5 times. We were the only tourists on board, the rest were locals heading to work.

I am enjoying your review - we sail in two weeks and can't wait! The pic of the public bus station in Grand Cayman is very helpful. How do we get there from the pier? I have seen the busses mentioned in other posts but am not sure how to find them.

Thanks! Upon exiting the port, take a left to the first intersection. Then turn right onto Fort Street. You'll see the public library a block ahead on the right. The buses are lined up to the right of the library.

Here is a pic of the green and yellow bus routes. Both will take you to the Turtle Farm and Seven Mile Beach.

I was going to question how you could NOT enjoy a balcony, but then you provided a photo. That has to be the smallest balcony I've ever seen, it's ridiculous. I truly believe if it a bigger, more comfortable balcony, you would have enjoyed it more.

I know, I know. I sounded like a complainer! It was just that this was our first, and highly anticipated, balcony. The expectations were probably too high. Don't get me wrong, we still enjoyed it, but if I had to pay $600 more for this balcony, I would pass next time.

Ok. This post has totally stressed out. I initially booked an inside cabin for our family of 4 (includes 13 yo and 11 yo). I decided it would be too tight and upgraded to a balcony guaranty so we could have some space. (The upgrade only cost about $450 aft the OBC). It didn't occur to me that the sofa bed would be too small for my tweens. (Both over 5 ft and over 100 lbs.)

 

:eek::eek: Very nervous but too late to change now. (I can't get connected rooms and my kids are not ready to be in a room by themselves). It also would have cost an extra $1000 to get a second room.

 

I think those "bunks" probably cost more to install than a sofa bed and they cheaped out. :-(

So, how did the cabin and sofa bed go? I was looking at booking a GTY balcony cabin too, and just found out that the quad cabins only have a sofa bed and not a pullman too. This set up is awful! My two young teens would not fare well sleeping together in a full size sofa bed. Is it possible the sofa is a queen size? I just don't understand why the Anthem does not have pullmans over the single sofa bed like other cruise lines.

I read that some cabins can have a rollaway bed. Do you think we could get one with a cabin that has a sofa bed too?

What a great photo review! :D Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! I got all my planning info for this port from this CC board, so I thought I should give back to others.

Looking at one of your photos from the other thread:

 

 

I have now seen this twice and it looks like they have added a rope in one section since the last time I was there.

 

In some of your other photos it looks like they have updated and added some railings at the beginning area too. Glad to see it is improving.

 

Thanks for the photos and review.

Surprisingly the rocks in which you walk over were not slippery. The cold and constant flowing water kept the slippery algae growth away.

As someone who is considering this itinerary, I found this to be a FANTASTIC post. Thanks so much for being so descriptive about both the ship AND the ports/logistics!

Thanks! Honestly, I probably enjoy writing about the ports a little more than the ships.

I really enjoyed your review! This will be our first time on Norwegian!. We leave May 29. I liked the idea about walking outside on the Waterfront. We are staying in the Haven. I did not know we could skip to the front of the line! Thank you for the great tips and pictures!

It is my understanding that Haven guests get priority tendering... aka skip to the front of the line.

After lots of research here on the CC boards, we decided to do the Turtle Farm on our own and take the public bus. We do not regret it! The public bus system is fine. It was so easy and it allowed us to beat the crowded tours to the Turtle Farm. We also hit Calico Jack's on the way back.

I have included more than 45 photos and lots of details from our port day and excursion in my full NCL Getaway review. Rather than re-write it all here, you can find the Grand Cayman section beginning at post #85 here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862

We really enjoyed the wading pool:

My family and I went to Blue Hole and used Marvyn's Paradise tours. It was wonderful!!! I included more than 30 photos and lots of details of the Blue Hole in my NCL Getaway cruise review. It should help answer most of the questions you may have.

You can read about the tour beginning at post #54 at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862

My family visited Great Stirrup Cay on our NCL Getaway cruise. I took lots of photos and include them with a detailed review in my Getaway Cruise review. We spent most of our time at the Lagoon and even to a walk across the island to see Royal Caribbean's Coco Cay.

The GSC review begins at post #36 of the Getaway review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862

For those interested in seeing more pictures of the January Getaway rescue of Cuban refugees, I have included a few pictures and details in my cruise review. I am just now getting around to writing my review, and I remembered this post.

Beginning at post #7:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862

I am enjoying your review and pictures. We leave for Miami in two weeks!!

Thank you for the idea of taking our walks on the waterfront. We would rather enjoy the outdoors than be inside the gym on a treadmill.

 

Looking forward to more...

I agree! I walk more than 10 miles on a cruise, and I have never used the treadmill on one. I love the fresh air and breeze on the ships.

Grand Cayman Continued:

Calico Jacks is loud, crowded, and bustling with energy. Not quite a relaxing beach day. Although we enjoyed ourselves here, I would probably not venture her the next time we are in port.

Rather than walk all the way out to the bus stop and wait for a bus, we grabbed one of the taxis that was waiting at the edge of the beach. As we have often found out, taxi drivers can be some of the most entertaining and enlightening individuals!

When we get back to the port area I try to find a quick restaurant to try some turtle soup, but was unsuccessful. It was an afterthought, and I had not prepared for it before the cruise. We saw the Blackbeard rum cake shop, and decided to give it a try. I ordered the mixed 6-pack of small cakes and was pleasantly surprised when I was told it came with a free large cake. Wow, I paid only $25 for all of it. We typically buy Tortugas. And guess what, the Blackbeard rum cake was just as good! It's a family cruise tradition to buy rum cake and take a picture with the pirate.

And everywhere you look in GC you see a chicken (or rooster).

The last tender was scheduled for 3:00, and we were greeted with a long, hot line around 2:15 or so. This is when being a Haven guest with privileges to skip to the front of the line would have been real nice!

Chalk up another great port day!

Grand Cayman Continued:

We did manage to get some of the last few loungers for $10 each (ouch for a family of 4, but there was no room on this tiny beach to throw down a towel for an hour or two.

Fresh caribbean barbeque for sale next to Calico Jacks.

This guy was really fun to watch.

Grand Cayman Continued:

I have read many great reviews and recommendations for Calico Jacks: good drinks, free wifi, bathrooms, free chairs when eating/drinking at Calico's, and loungers for rent. What else could you want for a lazy beach day???

Ok, so we may have been the early birds to the Turtle Farm, but when we arrived at Calico Jack's it was PACKED!