bedfordmom

Were some of those shoes in the bin in the picture 5euros? Love shoes made in Spain!!!

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

They could sell more if their prices weren't too high.  Maybe for some markets reasonable, but not for us.  Other lines much more reasonable.  Plus if you are flying the hassle not worth it..

Right about the cost. Low inventory and high cost.  Small reasonable souvenirs that you can pack would be a bonus. Some folks don’t have to fly one way on a TA or at all after all on a closed loop from NY. On our Feb Getaway we were desparate to buy something for the kids after missed DR port so a half way decent gift shop would have been appreciated. So we bought rum at our local packie for them. 

11 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Shopping for essentials, inside Epic's Duty-Free ... should you must buy them

 

I've never understood why the ship has such low inventories of everything,--souveniers, sunderies, clothes.  They could sell so much more if that had more inventory, Just my opinion

On the Getaway for the Rumors show  we wandered into Syd Normans about 40 mins before and there were 2 little tables nearest  the stage w 2 seats each. We took it and couldn’t believe our luck getting to sit  there waiting. I’m sure as the week went on it got harder. 

6 hours ago, goldmom said:

Well, sometimes if a large table is the only one available for the 2 of us, if we see someone looking for a table we tell them they are welcome to join us.

But it does sometimes become a problem with no real solution unless they don't allow the "campers" to take over the tables in the buffet.

I do feel guilty taking a big table, but if that's all that's available that's what we have to do.

When I eat by myself in the buffet I often timed will ask a larger table with at least a couple of chairs open if I can eat with them and have met some really nice people that way

18 minutes ago, room with a view said:

Is it a problem for those onboard and can it be fixed ? ...thanks

As a gym rat spending at least 2 hours in the gym on the elliptical and then free stretch classes. I couldn’t help but notice no free stretch or fab abs classes. Btw all that exercise doesn’t help with the weight gain. LOl

5 hours ago, AtSeaAlways said:

I try to never complain about free stuff on a cruise.  So far I'm a fan.  This is a happy ship- well managed.  In Hotel Director Speak the "Software" is well cared for.  The ship is reminding me of the old Norway a bit- the bolted on cabins on top foreward, the aft pool and bar. 

 

There should be no mystery left on the  exhaust situation aft- barring a four foot stack extension, the funnels are too short.  Early this morning the plume was down to about deck 14.

 

There was a decent snack buffet set up 16 aft yesterday - we missed one treat - scones + jam appeared outside by the main pool at 230.  If you are hungry late afternoon this is the ship for you.

 

The crush for early sit down dining is uncanny - it must be the older passenger mix.  And the gambling seems less frenetic.  There are lots of empty seats in the casino which serves as the lobby.   It is thankfully not smoky at all unlike newer upgraded ships not to name any names.

 

FREESTYLE DAILY.pdf 1.73 MB · 5 downloads

On the Getaway they had teatime treats on one side of the buffet 3:30-5pm every day. They were my favorite foods, quiche, scones etc  but the timing wasn't great if we were doing an early dinner. 

3 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Latitude Platinum and above Behind The Scenes tours are (and have been) abbreviated since they are complimentary. For the full tour (that includes the bridge) you’ll have to pay full price at the Cruise Next or Excursion desk. 
 

 

On the 2/26 Getaway our BTS tour was 2 hours but did not include the bridge. 

28 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Good morning, we did get 6 of them, a bit smaller but DW and sister ate them before I take that picture late night. It was fine.

 

Seas a bit choppy, about 460+ nm to Dockyard, breakfast at Taste now.  More post later 

Good to hear about the strawberries as they need to be consumed that day. Though I did save half in fridge in a zip lock as DH doesn’t like them ( can you imagine ) but they were a tap weepy the next day but still good. Sorry it’s rocky it’s absolutely miserable in the Boston area with big downpours so I’m not surprised. 

Wow they are getting stingy with those chocolate covered strawberries. We were given six on our Feb cruise.  It was a lifesaver when I was hungry late the first night and the buffet was closed LOL

Years ago, my family was flying to San Diego, our first flights were cancelled in MHT, we were sent the next day to Boston where we were delayed again and almost got stuck in ATL. My brother in law who is an elite Delta member helped us  with rearranging flights. He told us that the elite members get first dibs on rebooking, then all the direct Delta customers and finally third party bookings like Expedia etc. I noticed that there were a large amount of folks  that were unable to get on the California flight and had heard many of them were third party bookings.  After that experience I always book my own flights and never go through third party.

Totally agree about those hamburger buns, need to start a petition for better buns. Seriously I love the Dawn, been on it 3x, probably the most of the ten plus cruises and would have done it again  except for a covid cancellation.  in 2020. 

Thank you so much Clay for doing the semi live review. I was planning on joining you but couldn't imagine going six weeks later after my 2/26 Getaway (yes I know I should have waited).  This week I am feeling sad about not going so your review will make me feel like am there.  So right now seriously looking at a Fall TA and at worse the 2024 Escape though that one is insanely expensive.  Have a great time!

22 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Non Haven suites on the Jewel class ships have the same benefit. They allow people like us, who like a nicer room, to book it without wasting our money on stuff we don’t want.

Thanks did not realize that 

Since the Star and Dawn do not have designated Haven space, their suite tends to be quite less than say a Haven ship, so its a nice way to initially experience the suite or sweet life. That is what I did twice with the Family Suites on the Dawn .and loved it each time 

I took $950 cash for my 12 day Getaway and returned w/600$. One reason is that my private St Lucia cash only excursion was cancelled due to port change. So we save a couple of hundred there. I ended up putting my tips for the specialties on my room card instead of using cash.  We also didn't play in the casino for the first time ever which saved a lot of cash.   I also take $100 when I go ashore for just in case and usually returned w/most if not all of it.  I actually take the left over money and put it away for the next cruise!!

Forgot the mention when I complained about skipped day of service and really late cleanings. to the Front Desk they blamed me for keeping my Do not disturb light on. I firmly told her how that was wrong and and an inappropriate response and then she apologized and took a report. Nothing changed  and no trays of cookies or complimentary bottle of wine which was not what I was looking for. They probably would loose money with all the complaints with freebies then they were saving with all the irate people in line with same complaints lol. 

On 3/23/2023 at 11:13 AM, complawyer said:

laszlo.  answer is simple, if you think the new york itineraries stink, simply book from another port and a different itinerary. im sure some  people would find a cruise like this relaxing, with no need to get off the ship. sometimes its nice to just chill.

 

with all the ships, dates and itineraries available though ncl, just to single out one because it doesn't specifically suit you (IMHO) is bi****ng just to b***h.

 

for 13 years of cruising with ncl, and over 20 cruises with them, my only real consistent complaint (as i've stated in the past) is that their hamburger buns fall apart before im done with the burger. other than that to me the rest is  all small stuff, and a wise man once told me "don't sweat the small stuff"

if i have to sit through 20 minutes of boredom to listen to a muster, i've wasted more than 20 minutes before, and i have all the rest of the cruise to look forward to. so i can spare the time it takes for the muster. 

i'm more concerned as to how ncl advertises it's so called sales. if anything they should be called out about that, especially since there are no free shore excursions

 

other than the hassle of getting to/around new york, i would take this cruise just to relax. 

 

im not knocking you or trying to put you down, but with people like you ncl cant win. they're da***d if they do and da***d if they dont

Love the roll complaint so true. RCCL has occasional longer cruises out of Bayonne though not sure it’s happening next year

Actually contracting with an embarkation cleaning company ( not always US) is a brilliant but expensive idea.  We got into our room at around 1.30ish. We heard an announcement that we could drop off our carryons went to the room seeing it cleaned ( there was a sign saying so) and stayed. Btw toilet was dirty and used my own Lysol  wipes to clean.  When we left we vacated at 7 am telling the steward we were leaving so he could get an early start. He seemed to hover for a tip but we did not ( usually do) because of the poor almost nonexistent service for the 12 days. 

I would caution folks from cleaning their room. That is what NCL wants. Agree that twice a day isn’t needed but for our recent cruise it was barely once a day minimal cleaning. If indeed the change is due to lack of staff ( I hardly doubt)  then within certain highly recruited populations ( like the large Phillipino community) word will get out about the harsh conditions and NCL ( among others) will have difficulty getting good hires. Cabin stewards also have additional responsibilities. The day my cabin got cleaned at 5 the steward  said he was delayed due to weekly muster drill. 
 

I have a crazy suggestion. Have extra stewards do the morning cleaning and then utilize all of  them later in the day for say bussing in the Garden cafe or other high use areas. 

4 hours ago, egurbi said:

Burn the floor played 2 nights.  MDQ will play 1 night. I understand musical taste is subjective, but the pool band is, in a word, terrible. 

The pool band  Zenhit for the 2/26 cruise actually disembarked with us. They were very good but not so great to play the theater, another way to cut costs on entertainment. 

On last month's Getaway I was really glad that we arrived at 9:30am for my designated time. The reason being was that I got 1.5 hours to search out excursions for the port change from St Lucia to St. Martin. I tried to book America Cup which was not available and figured out that NCL must have taken their spots (they did). So when I boarded went directly to Shore Excursions to book, then got my ship tour and pins next at the next desk, booked my Cagneys and then shows at the box office. I still had time to be one of the first at the buffet as we boarded early with the platinum.  

On 3/22/2023 at 1:12 PM, egurbi said:

Yes we missed GSC.  Some very unhappy passengers onboard.  Always a difficult thing for the crew to handle but they are doing their best.

 

In other news, there really has been a cutback on entertainment on the Getaway.  2 nights in the theater for the comedians, 2 nights in the theater for the magician.  Pretty slim pickings on musical offerings around the ship Next step -- Howl at the Moon in the theater?

Hey they put the pool band in the Theater the last night on the 2/26 cruise.  What happened to Burn the Floor, Million Dollar Quartet and Broadway Unplugged (those shows were repeated three times during my cruise-so it made for slim pickings the nights that they were repeated.) I thought that Rumours could have gone into a bigger venue

I remember when all room service was free with a tip. I would leave a stack of ones for my kids and they would always order responsibly and tip well (sometimes too well). I  would kid with them to not automatically order room service in a hotel LOL.  Boy have things changed. 

I would also be concerned about a TA in January/February . I am looking at one for December and question the weather for the crossing.  I didn't realize that they did them in Jan/Feb.   Yes also I would be concerned about the delay w/drydock especially buying the one way flight for embarkation.  I wouldn't be that concerned about getting from  the port to  London as they have a very good transportation system that I assume continues in the winter.  Perhaps someone from that area can chime about transport to the port in the winter. I also assume that  NCL will run shuttles for a price