grouchomarx

I decided to splurge a little bit and pre-order one bottle of wine to my room (I have the FAS+ but I want wine in my room for later evening not wanting to visit the nearest bar in my PJs.) If it has a cork (so many are screw top now) do they leave a corkscrew? Is the mini fridge cool enough to keep it chilled nicely? I am solo and will not drink it all in one go, I’d like it to last several nights for balcony relaxation time. Will I get a wine glass in my room? I never did this before! It was only like $47 but still a treat for myself. It is Matua Valley SB. Never had it before. Thanks.

I have literally never eaten dinner in the buffet on any cruise! But after reading all these posts, it sounds like it could be kinda relaxing. Maybe I’ll try it sometime. I’m a tried and true a la carte person but if it wasn’t busy like it is at breakfast and lunch that might be a game changer. The only thing is I want decent drink service, not sure how attentive the wait staff is at night in the buffet. I always find it just ok at lunch, it can be hit or miss.

I think the very vast majority of people are not expecting to get bounced from a cruise. This seems to be a relatively new phenomenon. We all know airlines have been doing it for ages, I never heard of cruise lines doing this until very recently. They need to change their wording for guaranteed cabins and just in general. F the “contract” (I only assume it’s in there), what lunatic sits and actually reads a cruise contract? Most folks have never heard of this scenario and for those not hanging out on CC or Reddit, would be utterly shocked and outraged. Which is a normal reaction to a very abnormal and unnecessary process. The amount of extra expenses that would be incurred is insane and some folks might not actually have the funds available to cover the costs of this scenario.

I plan to sprint there as soon as I am on board!

I have two specialty restaurants not yet booked because I can’t get them online. I really hope they will be available once I’m on board.

I saw that post a little while ago. Looked legit to me. I have heard of this happening before, I forgot what cruise line it was. I would say if you have a cabin assigned before you leave, you’re probably fine. That person had no cabin as of embarkation day. That’s a big red flag IMO. They told them they would get assigned upon embarkation and then bounced him/her. Very horrible treatment and it cost a lot of extra money.

I’ve done Vibe once on Breakaway and it’s IMO a necessity. The main pool deck is too overcrowded to enjoy. Vibe was a much needed respite from all the kids and the crowds. I would not sail an NCL ship without it.

Thanks this is useful info. I had an excursion credit so i think it only cost me like $9 to get there via NCL.

Thank you so much, this exactly what I wanted to hear.

I know nobody wants those things, I already said that. My worry is someone sees an unattended bag and assumes there is good stuff in there and just takes the whole bag rather than standing there rifling through it in plain view of everyone. A quick grab and walk off would be much less likely to draw attention. I don’t want to budget for extra glasses right now. I wear progressives and they cost over $1300 a pair. I don’t wear them enough to warrant two pair as most of my time is spent in contact lenses outside of the home but in water situations like beach and pool I must have the glasses with me otherwise risk going blind from an eye infection.

Taking a solo cruise next month with an excursion to this beach booked. I am unsure about safety. I will leave my phone in the safe but I need to have a few things with me such as sunglasses, reading glasses, a paperback book, some water. Cash and credit card will be in a waterproof pouch that I will take with me for swimming or walking. Is it generally safe to leave my beach bag unattended just while I swim? Like I said, nothing of value to anyone else will be inside but I’m concerned about the whole bag being swiped. I cannot afford to lose my glasses, they are essential and were very expensive. I generally don’t go anywhere without them, I really need them. Any advice about somehow securing the bag to the chair and then locking it shut?

I would prefer to be able to cancel it than go to Canada and New England but I know that is not an option. Obviously I’d prefer not to sail into a hurricane but this cruise would be a pretty big waste of money to go to those ports. I know it is always a risk to get re-routed on any cruise, it does not mean I have to say I will enjoy it.

Sailing to Bermuda end of June. I just read an article that NOAA is forecasting a very busy hurricane season. Which made me think oh my gosh, I hope there won't be a re-routing to Canada/New England. That would be most unfortunate as I have zero interests in that area. I know I will still have to take the cruise if this should happen, I was wondering does NCL offer any kind of compensation? I read some posts on Reddit where people said they got OBC and 50% off a future cruise. I know technically they won't owe me anything but maybe they do something to be nice to all the disappointed passengers.

Thanks for the info! I will be sure to book the main theater show.

Great, thanks for the info! Do other bands besides the Beatles band play in the Cavern Club? I thought I read that somewhere.

I am unclear if I have to book the evening entertainment venues or just show up. Main theater? The Beatles venue? The comedy club? If these need booking can they be done before sailing on only once on board? Planner shows no booking available now but I am 6/23 sailing so maybe it’s too early? These are things I’m really looking forward to since I’m a solo cruiser so I hope I can get into all of them or at least one or two. Or if I need to show up early, how far out from the scheduled time of the show? Same for those game shows I guess but I’m not terribly interested in them. They seem to be selling things. TIA.

Which two restaurants? And what did you not like about them?

For me it's less of complaints about food and much more about service and the timing of it all. The food is usually good. The problem for me, as someone who truly loves eating out and does so regularly, is I want service on the cruise for dinner to be like it is on land. And it never is in the MDR. I want to have my drink order taken before my food order. I want to receive the drink before the food. And when I switch to something else to drink to pair with the next course, I want it to arrive in time to have it with that course and not after I'm halfway or fully done. Not to sound snobby this is just how I want it and I can get that in specialty which is the main reason I choose to fork over the extra cash. They never get it right in the MDR because they way service is run to accommodate the masses. It is a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience in specialty restaurants and so it's worth it. I always feel so rushed in the MDR and waiters are whizzing past like maniacs because their workload is so heavy. I started cruising when any time dining was just rolling out as a new thing (on Princess) so I've never done fixed time dining or had the same wait staff every night. As a result I've never felt the MDR was anything too special.

Thanks. I suspect you are right. It's never what I want it to be so I'll shell out the extra cash to have a much better experience.

Thanks for the feedback. I think it can be very hit or miss. I remember on Sky Princess the MDR was pretty awesome. Last three cruises on Celebrity (x2) and HAL it was not good at all.

I am someone who generally does not enjoy an MDR on any cruise line very much. I always go in so optimistic and come away disappointed. I already have 4 out of 7 nights booked for specialty and might pull the trigger on another 2 night package leaving only one night for MDR or Food Republic (too inexpensive to warrant a package usage). Any shout outs about really good MDR on this ship or are my instincts correct? I don’t mind spending the money. Solo cruiser dining alone. Also, should I leave some MDR nights open in case I make friends at the solo meet and greets or elsewhere and they organize a dinner together? I read a lot online about people doing that but not sure the reality of it. TIA.

Oh I totally agree, I think the odds are slim to none even with a very good bid. I didn’t really believe what he told me because of everything I’ve read online. Was just sharing because I thought it was interesting. They don’t all know what they’re talking about! Case in point I had two latitudes numbers by accident and called asking to merge them. She was like sure! No problem! Ended up making my upcoming cruise completely disappear. Got I fixed thank goodness. So who knows who you’ll get on the phone and how reliable they are.

For whatever this is worth, I was on the phone with NCL fixing a problem and at the end I asked out of curiosity what is the deal with bidding on upgrades, if I do a mock booking and see the cabin category I want is sold out, does that mean there is no chance to get the upgrade? And the guy said no, that is not the case and I cannot remember his exact wording, but it was something to the effect that they do hold back cabins for upgrades. Whether he is lying or misinformed, I certainly don’t know, just putting out there what I heard firsthand. I’m not going to bid on the Haven, it’s way too expensive for an area allowing kids and anything in between my balcony cabin and the Haven would get me just about nothing above what I already have.

Thanks for all the replies I am still on the fence! Will decide when I can see it in person.

Can anyone who’s done it comment on how scary (or not) it is? I’m a pretty big wimp when it comes to thrill rides and attractions and to me this looks like it might be scary with the hairpin turns. (I will be traveling alone so I will have to drive.) I read that it’s very hard/impossible to pass people without crashing and I might go so slow I hold up the whole course and I don’t want to be that person. Is crashing common and how hard is the impact? I’m just trying to assess if this is something I should try or leave it off my to do list.