Ellis1138

Yah, unlike Chief, I didn't say I saw across the board stuff. Just that Cruise Plum is a good thing to use to check on your stuff or alert you. I'm sure some sailings didn't go down, since it probably depends on how full the ship is, how in demand, etc. I'm also not going to ask for peoples' sailing dates to check, since that's not my job. It just always seems to be a good idea to set alerts and then do a weekly dummy booking to see. It only costs me maybe ten minutes of my time.

If NCL didn't go under during the 18 months of lockdowns and no cruising when the stock sank to $8 a share, they're probably not going under now. Just my opinion. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, so not exactly a financial expert.

I know this is not going to answer your Prima questions, but you can always fill out the form at https://nclh.my.salesforce-sites.com/AccessDeskForm/ If you do this at least 45 days prior to sailing, letting them know what you need, then they will have it for you. Other lines will tell me what's in the food and let me choose from what doesn't have my allergens in it. On NCL, because I give them a heads up, I'm able to see the menus the night before and if they can, they make me allergy-free versions of food. (Like if I wanted lamb but it was herb crusted, they made me lamb without herbs but with horseradish sauce.) Filling out the form means you get to meet and know the Maitre D' and assistance Maitre D's, as well. They will meet with you on the first day, go over everything, etc. The buffet hot water and MDR hot water on the Escape was hot enough to make tea. I had brought my own, since I'm allergic to most teas but not to Twinings Green. I would assume the hot water machine on the Prima is the same. I don't know about the room service charge for coffee delivery, but you could request a 'hot shot' coffee maker in your cabin and make it there. I believe there is no charge for continental breakfast, but it could cost for gratuities. I could also be wrong. The one issue you could have is on disembarkation day, when the kitchens are very limited. NCL has always been the best at taking care of my food issues. I hope they do good by you. And after you go, do a report and mention if they have Sweet and Low and how they did with GF stuff.

I second cruise plum. I was able to reprice to save $600 just in time before final payment.

NCL hasn't had formal nights for as long as my first cruise with them in 2003. But I think there is a night where, if you want to, you can be dressy. Honestly, you can be dressy all week, if you like that. I think the old walkie talkies have been banned. Double check that on NCL's website. I would say get the internet package for the family and text your kids on their phones (set all phones to airplane mode and use the ship wifi). Why would you not have cell phones? Cell phones and the NCL app and eDocs make things very easy and the wifi in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal was good. Yes to refillable water bottles, because the little known secret is that the water on the ship, out of the taps, is reverse osmosis and better quality than most bottled waters. I can't tell you the weather or what you consider warm and cold, but you could look up what it would be on the Weather Channel and bring clothing for that. Bermuda will be in the 70s, and the water will also be in the low 70s. I always bring our own snorkel stuff, but it's because my husband has prescription lenses in his. Ok, now with the towels, it depends on you and your family. NCL has a beach towel station and you can get towels to bring with you. BUT.... if you lose or misplace them, it's $25 a towel. I tend to lose and misplace things, so whenever I go on a cruise, I bring a few of those $5 Walmart or Dollar Store beach towels. I was on the Escape in September for New England and Canada for 7 days. I brought 2 pairs of black cargo pants Wrangler ATG polyester that were practical and could also pass as "nice" pants. They also dry very fast if I have to wash them in my sink and hang them to dry. I brought 3 T-shirts, 1 black tank top and then 5 "overlay" thin sheer shirts that I wore over the tank top to dinner each night. The overlays took up very little space in my bag. I brought 2 two-piece tankini type bathing suits that were similar in color so they could mix and match into 4 different looks. Bring lanyards for the key cards for your kids or maybe like a fanny pack or running belt. Sign them up for the Teen Entourage club. They might like the arcade too. Hope this helps. Oops, Edited to add that if you want to go to the glow party, most people wear white.

You don't need a PCC. You need to use a Google Document to write up a cohesive document with your needs that can be altered for each cruise and then cut and pasted. Then, 45 to 60 days prior to your sail date, fill out https://nclh.my.salesforce-sites.com/AccessDeskForm/ Get the case number that they email to you. About 30 days prior to sailing, call the Dedicated Access Coordinators at 866-584-9756 and go through it and double check everything. Once these things are done, the NCL Access Desk people and the ship crew do an amazing job of getting everything done. If you sail on short notice a lot, then just use the phone number, but they can't guarantee everything will be done.

Wow! I loved the thermal spa too (and knew about the Car Wash tropical shower from day 1) but for my 7 day sailing, it was $299 on the Escape. High, but not totally ridiculous. I also made sure to use the thermal suite on embarkation day the minute it opened, because I also had the "I have to get my value out of this". $379 is bordering on outrageous for 7 days.

I was on one of the Escape NE/Canada cruises that was affected by the storm, where we lost Halifax and had to sit by Staten Island for a day and a half. I had a Studio cabin, did a little forum report here and didn't do a big review. I had an amazing time and enjoyed myself immensely. I loved the ship, the crew, the facilities, the food was good enough for me. Other people said the best thing about the cruise was getting off of it. They had a terrible time. Both experiences are valid. Vacations and cruises have so many moving parts and sometimes things don't go how we planned. I've had a few (but thankfully very few) times where things didn't go to plan or expectations, so I understand how someone on the same ship and sailing as me could be miserable at the exact same time that I'm exhilarated.

Mine are gone, too. When I chatted with Devon in the little NCL web page chat box, they couldn't see the expiration dates in the system, either.

It's why I always went for the free scooped hard ice cream in the buffet. I'm not a soft serve person, even when it's real cream.

I found this extremely helpful. Thank you so much.

I gave to correct the above post. There is free ice cream, both hard and soft, on the Escape. You can order a bowl of ice cream at the MDR as dessert, there were 2 hard-scoop ice cream stations at the Buffet (each side had a few different flavors from the other) and there was the soft serve ice cream in the Buffet in one section. These were all complimentary.

I hope you'll see my post to you in time to save the rest of your steaks. Or that someone else going on NCL will see it and avoid the leather steak problem. I had this issue on the Escape; the sirloin medallions the first night, which I had asked for "medium rare" came out very well done. I told my waiter, in a polite way, that I couldn't eat it when it was cooked like this. So, it was sent back and after a second attempt, the medallions came to me as medium rare and delicious. This also happened with the sirloin on another night. Sent it back and got better steak. I don't make a Karen-style fuss about it. I just ask nicely. So hopefully this could help someone else to know that you don't have to accept the unacceptable well done steaks.

If you don't have too much luggage, you could do what I did and go to Penn Station and catch the NJ Transit trains. I had a backpack, crossbody bag, cpap bag, fanny pack and a 25" spinner and was able to maneuver them through Penn and onto the Northeast Corridor. But I don't know where in NJ you're going.

It's odd that they suspend it in the spring/summer, which I would think would be the busier season. But I'm thankful that our nonstops will probably still be there in February.

NCL is my favorite because I'm fairly casual and I don't dress up. I want to eat at the time I want and not have to be beholden to seating times. So far, NCL has had the absolute best response to my health and allergy issues. I do fill out the form and contact the Access Desk, and when I get on board, I'm taken care of. NCL goes beyond, at least they have for me. Like, on Royal Caribbean or any land restaurant, they will let me know what food does or doesn't have my allergens in it and let me choose from the ones that don't. On NCL, I choose the night before from the menus and if I want a dish that would normally have allergens in it, they will make me a version that doesn't have them! (MDR only. The Buffet is still "here is what you can and can't have.") That said, I haven't been on all the different lines. I can't afford most of them.

I liked both the Jade and the Sun and can't pick from the two. The Sun has a warm spot in my heart because it was the first cruise ship we ever went on.

A Code Alpha on embarkation day before even sailing away? Wow, what terrible luck for someone. It's a medical emergency.

I was on the Escape in September for the New England/Canada cruise and the channel that showed the ship heading and speed and location was channel 21. I just clicked it in on the remote because it wasn't listed.

I was really confused at first, because the Escape was in New England/Canada and doesn't have Los Lobos on it, but then I saw your photo with the Encore, which is a sister ship to the Escape. I'm glad you gave freestyle a try and hope you wound up liking it. Also glad your parents chipped in for the thermal suite. So very worth it, IMO. I'm looking forward to more!

Your post title asks if this is a legitimate beef. IMO, it is not. Unless you were on a specific sports cruise, there's no guarantee of specific sports being shown anywhere on the ship.

Our nonstop United flights from EWR to HNL (round trip) are still showing up as valid. They did stop the route for a while in the summer, but then restarted it. I've been checking weekly, because I'm worried.

I walked across 12th to the taxi stand, which was very chaotic. But I noticed a young couple next to me and asked if they were also going to Penn Station. They were, and we split the cab. It seemed to be a Yellow Cab and all that was offered was metered. It was about $18 from the MCT to Penn.

I was Latitudes Bronze (lowest tier) in a Studio cabin (cheap) and the crew on the Escape treated me like royalty. I filled out something like 8 Hero Cards. I also take nametag pictures so I have the spelling and their position.

I believe it was Cagney's for lunch.