ryanpatricksmom

12 hours ago, mertziek said:

“Lastly, I witnessed more rude behavior on this cruise than any other cruise that I've ever been on.  It was utterly insane. “

 

Boy I agree there.  It started with embarkation and people shoving to get in line.  Same with the reserved shows.  One person saving long blocks of seats in the theater, too, where seating was already very limited.  Disembarking at ports was wild, too.  There has to be a better system.  People were just rude, ornery and short tempered.  The debacle in Miami tipped everyone over the edge.  But the tendering at GSC did not help matters either.  No wonder everyone started acting out in Miami!  At least we were in the Haven and a bit isolated but venues outside the Haven were next to impossible.  Another reason we try to avoid the herded cattle mentality of NCL shore excursions.  Just not worth the effort.  The ship is too big and we were not even at capacity.  However, we made the best of it and had a great cruise.  We just avoided the really crowded areas whenever we were able to so we missed a lot of the smaller venues.  But we were ok with that.

On our past two cruises with NCL (one on the Breakaway, and this last one on the Getaway) we've elected to go Gen Pop, and I'm thinking that going forward I may bid higher for an upgrade to the Haven.  I had actually come to think that we were missing something in the Haven, but on the bigger ships, having the option to wait until 15 minutes before a show starts, and having the restaurant is such a huge perk.  I still don't think that I'll book outright anymore, but I definitely missed the advantages this past cruise.

Also on this sailing. 

Things that I also was troubled by:  

Definitely wasn't pleased that they ran out of so many food items/supplies.  It actually became a topic of jokes in Syd Norman's...grilled shrimp anyone?  Apparently there was a plethora of frozen shrimp, but butter, half and half, ice cream mix, lettuce, various fruit, iced tea mix, and many other items were not replenished in Copenhagen.  I can understand not having more than 5 days worth of fresh fruits and veggies, but the rest is ridiculous.

The venues for both shows and activities were absurd.  A lot of that can be attributed to the ship design.  A lot was also because we were almost exclusively senior citizen types, and everybody was interested in the same things....the theaters could have played the shows several additional times and still filled up, and the atrium area was always filled with a fortress of folks who hung out all day, so when it was time for an activity, there was no place to sit. Syd Norman's was a highlight for us, but it was often way too crowded, and for the "special" shows (Carole King tribute for one) impossible to gain access.

The casino was terrible, and pretty deserted because of it.

The specialty restaurants were all disappointing, and I only actually paid for one.  I do agree with the poster who said that free at sea has killed the quality.

The service in the MDR was extremely slow, but friendly.  Bar service in the MDR was awful.  One night a waiter left me an entire bottle of wine to pour on my own, LOL...wasn't complaining about that!

The captain did talk too much, LOL!

The immigration stop was a disaster...and that's what I"m calling it, because port of call would be a misnomer.  They did a horrible job of communicating exactly what was supposed to happen (a single line of text), and frankly, I overlooked it.  DH and I got off with our passports and our room keys...that's it.  Had I read it (which was ultimately my responsibility I know), I could have brought cash and taken a taxi to lunch.  My husband would have had his much needed medication.  I think that something this important should have been communicated by way of a stateroom announcement or such....and never advertised as a port stop.  I like the other poster's idea about providing a shuttle to the shopping area...that would have solved so many problems.

On sea days, when the conditions require that most things are closed up for safety, why not make the pay per view movies free?  Same thing for a missed port day due to rough seas, and a port stop with insufficient tenders.  At least give folks something to do that doesn't further tax the system.

Lastly, I witnessed more rude behavior on this cruise than any other cruise that I've ever been on.  It was utterly insane.  One small example.  I had a seat at Syd Norman's.  A woman came at the last minute and planted herself in a chair that she found somewhere else, directly in front of me, completely blocking my view.  She had a place to sit next to her friend beside us, but that wasn't good enough.  That was typical behavior.  All. week. long.

All in all, we had a great cabin steward, the food in the MDR was generally good, the buffet wasn't bad, the entertainment that we were able to get into was very good,  the ports were great (although the excursions were taxing because of distance, but not NCL's fault), the activities were plentiful enough, and I was sad to leave.

We have a Transatlantic booked in the other direction in 2021 with a Mediterranean cruise following, and I can't wait. I learned a long time ago that travel is often challenging, and I haven't found any cruise line that's even close to perfect.  This was definitely one of the most difficult, but didn't even come close to causing me to reject NCL or Transatlantic cruises.

Just my 2 cents.

When I booked the upgrade it didn't  process properly.  Not only did the 250 minutes go away (which was expected), I also lost my ship to shore phone call perk and $100 of onboard credit.  I worked with 2 different people to try to get it corrected.  Ultimately we decided to have the amount refunded, and to do the upgrade on the ship.  For those who take advantage, make sure that ALL of your perks remain. 

We pick evening.  I pull up the covers in the morning knowing that at some point in the day DH will definitely be taking a nap, so the bed will not stay made.  We rarely order room service, but if we do, we'll place the tray outside of the cabin once the morning cabin service has started. We never are out of towels, or have overflowing trash in between.  If I want ice I ask the steward when I see him/her and they always get it for me within a few minutes. If I don't run into them, I will run to the lido and fill our tervis cups. I cannot tell you how many times when we had 2x per day we would come back from working out or some other activity expecting to change, and they were in the midst of cleaning the room, LOL! It works for us, but they always offer to provide 2x service when they present the card to us, so I don't feel any reduction to service.  I do hate having to ask for a bathrobe.  That's one service cutback that annoys me.

I've always been told that if you have 5,000 points from your last cruise, you should automatically have "Drinks on Us" from day 1 on your next cruise.  We always have cards waiting for us in the casino, so that seems correct to me. We've never had to call to make that happen, either.  FWIW, I have stopped ordering the free drinks for the most part unless I want to drive the server crazy and move around instead of waiting for my drink in one spot.... that free drink can cost me $100, LOL!

FYI, Lulu is an outstanding instructor and adorable in every way!

The classes included in the unlimited fitness pass are usually Indoor Cycling (spinning), Yoga, and some sort of Pilates.  There are usually free stretch and abs classes each morning.  The pay classes run between 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.  The free classes are usually about 20 minutes.  I seem to recall that on port days there is an evening option as well.  You should count on at least one pay class each day, usually two, rarely  3.  If only one is offered, it's usually yoga. It's not difficult to get your money's worth.

I've only hit the max once in all of the times that I had Cheers, so I don't have any personal experience. Don't the terms of the progtam allow you to buy a bottle of wine or a fishbowl at a 25% discount? If you can do that, it's hard to imagine how they could calculate that towards your limit. On the flip side, I witnessed a bartender having difficulty with the concept of a Cheers participant wanting to buy someone else a drink a couple of weeks ago. The bartender actually suggested that he wait the 5 minutes and order another drink on Cheers. That did lead me to think that there were some complications involved....she didn't seem to have any idea as to how to do it, not that she was trying to save the guy money.

We decided to get airport transfers from Hobby to hopefully make getting to the terminal less complicated. We'll see, but I like my chances in a bus better than a car.

I think that's too long. Send another and note in the comments that you already sent one.

I can think of very few businesses today that offer experiences that are not diminished from years past. Traditional steakhouses (Morton's, Ruth's Chris) are more casual in both ambiance and food quality. Try to talk to a customer service rep on the phone lately? Next to impossible. I'm a Delta Elite member and even my concierge line requires a scheduled call back that usually exceeds an hour. Visit a brick and mortar store and need assistance? The workers behind the counter (if it's not a self checkout situation) are on the phone....to whom I don't know, because if you call for assistance you can't get thru, and the inventory has suffered as well. Buy a half gallon of ice cream over the past several years?....it's not a half gallon. We aren't living in a society that values personalized and elegant experiences. The new business model is to make it faster, less interactive, and cheaper (which doesn't mean lower cost, but to avoid raising cost). Of course you can pay a premium for elegance, though I would argue that even the most elite have been chipped away from what they were, but more and more companies are moving towards the new world, such as it is. Some things I hate, others I love, most I'm pretty indifferent to, but I don't see it going back the other way no matter what the consumer does at this point.

I'm pretty sure that the spin bikes are reserved for the classes. Of course, they have some of the old style bikes in the gym, but that doesn't sound like what you're looking for.

Just so you know....not that I've ever seen it enforced, but you never know....when you purchase thru Bon Voyage you agree that you will only drink the purchased liquor in your cabin. If you intend to walkabout make sure that you bring a Tervis cup and maintain a low profile. I'll refrain from commenting on your vital organs, LOL!

Actually I booked about 3 weeks before sailing and it was just the luck of the draw. I wasn't worried about being bumped, I'm not handicap, so if someone needed the room and I got bumped, I would have been okay with that.

 

I did like the size of this room, but it is VERY LOUD! If I slept at night like a normal person it probably was okay, but trying to sleep during the day time was a no go, by 9am its like a train going by, the steward's closet is next to the room and they start VERY early in the morning. Plus the spa is in full swing by then. I'd book the 4J lido cabin I had on the Breeze in Dec over this room, just because of the noise.

We were booked in a handicapped Oceanview room (didn't realize, and wasn't bumped) and the same thing. Steward's closet right next door, and we jumped out of our skin about every other minute. It sounded like they were coming thru the wall! Also, DH kept accidentally pulling the emergency cord when he rolled over in bed, which was another disruption....though self induced!

I wouldn't expect it. Much like we couldn't get any of the Olympics coverage this year, unless they've found a workaround, Carnival seems to shrug it off....much to the chagrin of passengers, crew, and the officers too. We once sailed on NCL during March Madness, and that was back when they had less channels than Carnival, yet somehow they managed to rise to the occasion and provide coverage in the bars and the cabins. They surely have the ability to add particular events on an ad hoc basis, they just don't seem inclined to do so.

I've sailed the Pride many, many times and obviously must be a big fan. Having said that, if you haven't sailed an NCL ship I think that the Breakaway is a good first choice. For us, I wasn't totally impressed, but that's largely because we had already sailed on the Epic which had the same entertainment, and then some. We did like Ocean Blue on the Breakaway which we hadn't experienced before. We also had crappy weather on our Breakaway sailing which caused things to be much more crowded indoors, and it's true that the common areas of that ship tend to be more congested anyway. NCL entertainment is top notch and worth a try.

The Pride, for me, feels like a comfortable place to unwind from the fast paced world. The entertainment is fine, though not nearly as varied and professional as the offerings on some cruise lines. There's more trivia, bingo, and passenger featured entertainment; fewer professional shows. The ship is well laid out with common areas that rarely feel congested. I'm getting ready to sail her again in February, and it's been awhile. The only consistent negative for her as far as I'm concerned has been the casino. The machines have always been closer together, and the smoke is horrible...that may have been corrected by now.

I like the food on both, although on NCL we have stayed in suites, so our expanded dining choices are better than the gen pop....always a plus!

Neither ship is the best in the fleet for either cruise line, which is to be expected with a NY and Baltimore departure, so if you bear that in mind, you won't be disappointed with either choice.

We ended up getting March Madness by telling EVERY SINGLE officer, service rep, the concierge, etc. how important and popular it would be. We and everyone else, I might add. I would recommend that you do the same. They can add the games at a cost....I assure you that the Captains isn't relaxing with the 6 channels that they have available, LOL! They showed the games in the bars and in the rooms.

Carnival on the other hand, didn't show the USA World Cup game, and usually all you can get in the bars is soccer, LOL!

Usually with casino credits you have to gamble the full amount of the credit, but that doesn't mean you can't cash out with a win. Just keep track of your spins, until you've actually bet the full amount allotted to you, and then you can cash out whatever is left over. The other alternative (though I don't know if NCL is this sophisticated) is to download only the amount that you want to bet at a given machine (or time), gamble enough to fulfill that download, and then cash out. You can usually do that until your casino credits are gone....at least that's how it works in land based casinos.

We were on a B2B in Alaska, the first leg in an Aft Suite, the second assigned to a balcony (both thru CAS, one each commensurate with our play) . I tried for weeks before, andalso throughout the first leg of the cruise to upgrade so that we could stay in our cabin. No luck...and I was bidding pretty high. This cruise, we were assigned a balcony and I bid on the forward facing suite...we were notified 3 weeks out that we were in. I was in the low "good" range both times.

It all seems pretty crazy. They were still accepting bids from me on a cruise that the Concierge had already received a list of guests for...and we weren't on it, LOL!

We haven't actually been in the Haven as yet. We've been in several suites, but not on ships that had the Haven, so I decided to upgrade since our itinerary was one that we wouldn't be getting off the ship. I think it's worth it, but only because I'm not paying for cruise itself. I don't think I'd pay that price anymore for the cruise and the upgrade...but I'm retired now, so.....

We used Enterprise and they did provide a shuttle, although it was not promised. We also did not have to pay the "one way" fee because enough pax were trying to book cars after their cruise when we dropped off. I would say though, that all bets are off right now. I wouldn't count on rental cars, hotels, or anything else without a lot of pre-planning. Houston/Galveston residents are likely to be utilizing all available resources....so my experience will likely be different than yours.

I love the Sunshine. I'm getting ready to sail again on Saturday, and I'll be sailing again in November. I sail her second only to how often I sail on the Pride. I have not had good experiences with the Steakhouse on the Sunshine though. We'll be doing it again, because to date we haven't paid for it (the casino has comp'ed us and we have a Diamond meal to use) but it has not been up to par compared to the other Carnival steakhouses....that is just our experience. Having said that, for a nice wine, as the previous poster mentioned, Asian Fusion might not be the best choice. We love the Cucina, and they do have some nice wines. I don't think any of them will be a disappointment after you've had a couple of glasses anyway, LOL!

By brother is in Galveston right now & has confirmed so far the parking lots have not flooded. Some of the parking lots have people staying there 24 hours a day & they have pumps ready to pump out the lots. My brother also told me that wreckers were used to move a few cars that parked in low lying areas to keep water from getting in them. It appears the parking lots are doing all they can to keep cars from flooding.

 

 

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Thanks for the correction. I was watching the Weather Channel and while the reporter was standing in waist deep water he pointed to the port and the parking lot which was directly adjacent to where he was standing. I assumed that it was all part of the same situation.

Hopefully everyone who lives in the Houston area that's on board has been able to contact neighbors or family to find out what has affected them personally. The parking lots are already flooded at this point; there's nothing that can be done. There's no way to secure one's property at this point. If I lived in the Houston area (and I have immediate family in League City), I'd be relieved to have the opportunity to stay on the ship. It beats a shelter for sure, and there's no way to get back to Houston regardless of where you debark. Airports, highways, trains, etc. remain closed. I would contact someone that lived in my area, prepare myself for what was to come, and keep buying Cheers!...it's the last opportunity that those folks will have to relax for a very long time. It's a horrible situation.

Thanks for your review...we're actually doing 2 weeks with only two excursions planned, and I'm totally jazzed for it! This will be my third time in Alaska, and we decided to pick one "major indulgence" for the entire vacation, so we're doing a helicopter glacier landing and dogsled ride. DH has not been to Seward, so I booked a boat tour to check out the Kenai Peninsula....other than that, we're winging it. We have hotels in Seattle, train travel to Vancouver, a hotel the night prior to our cruise, and a rental car back to Seattle....but no plans to fill our days.

Thanks! It's sort of weird that we would have to go thru the B2B exercise since it was booked as a 14 day cruise, but it's all good. I didn't realize that they were also selling the 7 day legs individually until I went into our vacation summary and tried to book a shore excursion for Port Canaveral on day 7 and found nothing was offered, LOL! Naturally, it would have been better if it been ONLY a 14 day cruise because things would have changed up a bit, but the upside is that we have twice the opportunity to make sure that we see the entertainment that we're interested in.