Ellis1138

I honestly think they make the cruise's regular coffee so awful to entice us to buy the specialty coffee on board. I mean, I can bring my own Instant Cafe Bustelo and add hot water to it, no problem. But there used to be real dairy (cream, half and half) readily available. I guess I could think of it as an activity: Scavenger Hunt for Cream on the Escape. I wonder if there's real dairy in the Studio Lounge? Like even if they don't have the pods, maybe the bar fridge has some.

I've done 2 CFs. Paid the $250, saw the certificates worth $500 in my account, and used each one as a $500 deposit on cruises that were more than 120 days from when I bought the CF. So, I'm pretty sure a CF is best used as a deposit when you book the cruise. I'm still fairly confused about CNs, except that they are best when there is a double up promo.

As someone who has gone through 3 anaphylaxis reactions, I can assure you it's no fun. In addition to that, it can sometimes cause new allergies to develop from whatever you did or ate on the day of the reaction. My first one was when I was 21. I would not want to risk a child going through that. 😞

The buffet does NOT generally list allergens or ingredients in the food and they can't guarantee any food there for people with food allergies. I always fill out the form at https://ncl.secure.force.com/AccessDeskForm/ once I've done my final payment with the list of my food allergies. There's a bit of a wait, then the email back and forth and when I finally board the ship, NCL has someone I work with to ensure my meals will be fine in the MDR and specialty restaurants. I even got to check the MDR menus the previous nights and choose ahead of time. I prefer doing that, so my dinner time doesn't consist of me listing allergies for the first five minutes. At the Buffet, you will be doing what I call Allergy Roulette. There's also the possibility of cross contamination in the buffet, even if a food doesn't usually have an ingredient in it.

Oh even if you use more, the actual toilet paper breaks down way easier in there than would Quilted Northern or Charmin Fluffy Stuff or whatnot.

And someone is now posting dailies for the Escape in this thread:

I think it needs to be at least 45 days in advance. Fill out the form at https://ncl.secure.force.com/AccessDeskForm/

Thank you for the review. I'm sorry it was such an odd crowd on board. I do know the reason for thin toilet paper on cruise ships, though; the on board sewage treatment can be very finicky, so having septic grade toilet paper means less clogs.

My first thought is: Do you have the $600? (Assuming 2 people in the cabin). My second thought is "Is the HJ cabin more than $600 greater than what you paid for the Club Balcony if you booked it direct?" My third thought is "Are you okay with any HJ cabin location versus the location of the cabin you chose?" If the answer to all 3 questions is Yes, do the bid.

Okay so the NCL spokesperson line says something about carbon footprint. I find that to be dubious because a) They are a cruise line, which is a high carbon footprint company and b) It's actually less of a carbon footprint for the 2000 people on the boat to all see the coast at one time versus having to all go on bunches of helicopters, boats and cars to see the Na Pali coast. One of the people who just sailed about a month ago said she talked to one of the crew. The crew member said the real reason is that the very old Pride of America engines are not able to handle it anymore. A combination of needing a certain speed to get to the coast in time, plus the added strain as every passenger on the ship goes to be on the port side. I find that one more believable and am more understanding about that as the reason. But in every cruise contract, no matter what line, is the term that the itinerary can change without any notice. And as the passenger, I'll adjust. We intend to take a helicopter over Kauai, since it's the most time efficient way to see the coast and the ONLY way to see Mount Waialeale. (And I've been on the Kalalau Trail and also a catamaran around the coast, so...)

One thing to note is that, after this June, the Pride of America will not be cruising the Na Pali coast as part of the itinerary. So, if you do go on it, you'll need to book your own excursion via helicopter or by boat/catamaran.

I'm glad to hear that. I'm still going to bring my powdered heavy cream, though.

Thanks for all these great and detailed photos!

Alas, a Studio cabin has no fridge.

I wish I could drink my coffee black, as it would make my life easier. I avoid non-dairy creamer products, since they have ingredients I might react to. (Severe allergy roulette). I was looking forward to the Studio Cabin coffee on the the Escape, but not if I need to spend my morning hunting down actual cream or half and half.

Most of the sales never end, so the countdown means very little. I just check and do mock bookings to see if the cruise I want is in my budget range. If there's a $250/500 Cruise First certificate, I tend to grab one of those to use as the deposit.

Thank you! That must have been where I got confused, where they call it an OBC for your current cruise.

My head is spinning from this. Hah. I think I did ok. I had grabbed a $500 CF for $250, then applied it to a $1129 Studio cabin fare when booking. And I'm going on the cruise in that cabin, come heck or high water. I still can't figure out Cruise Next, but am following this thread in the hopes it will sink in. Sudden thought edit: I wonder if the $100 shareholder credit can go towards Cruise Next?

Yes, although it might be your friend who has to be the one to call to do it. But it has to be called in to be changed.

I've sat and done the math. The Cruise Next are a good deal if you plan to splurge a lot on the current cruise you're on and if you can get a double up promotion. I still wind up choosing the Cruise First certificates because you also get double what you paid, but not as OBC. Like, I got one of the $250 Cruise First and it counted as a $500 deposit for my upcoming cruise in September. (I booked in March so it was beyond the 120 day minimum.)

Was crossing 12th avenue hard, with all the traffic?

The Maui Ocean Center's site doesn't list anything, and "operational needs" usually means staffing. So, my guess would be that NCL itself can't find any drivers to drive folks to the center. On the PoA Facebook page, a lot of people have been complaining that their NCL excursions are being cancelled due to operational needs. It makes me glad that I'm planning to do our excursions directly with places and not through the cruise line.

Go here and fill out the form with what you need. NCL is very good with food allergies and intolerances. I've found it's way easier to get this all done ahead of time then to bother the Maitre D each night. https://ncl.secure.force.com/AccessDeskForm/

It's very easy to get around Manhattan and midtown is the closest to the cruise port. My own favorite part of Manhattan is Greenwich Village and SoHo.