acruisingcouple

That's my feeling too. So many people say "oh, I never spend much time in my cabin." I think people spend more time there than they think.

 

 

 

At any rate, only the OP can evaluate whether he/she can afford the $700 and what's important to them.

 

 

 

My wife and I cruise because we love the ocean. We always get a balcony. Love going out there first thing in the morning, sitting out there and reading during the day or just staring at the water, and ending the evening looking at the sea and stars before turning in. It is, to us at least, what makes cruising so special.

 

 

 

Others may and do feel differently, and that's fine of course.

That's a big part of why we cruise - the ocean. I love the peace and serenity of sitting on my balcony staring at the ocean.

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I like watching hockey, football and soccer and believe that all require great athleticism and physical toughness.

I have two children - one who played soccer and the other who plays football. It was the one who played soccer who had to give up playing due to multiple concussions. Her doctor who is a renowned specialist in the field of sports-related brain injuries said that teenage girls playing soccer account for the same amount of concussions as teenage boys playing football.

Soccer is not a wimpy sport.

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I think the issue is the perception of Norwegian's customer service. Was it terrible- no. Was it disappointing- yes.

Businesses can choose to provide excellent customer service even if they are not truly in the wrong.

For example, we went to a mid-prices chain restaurant that is usually very consistent with its quality, however, this time it was subpar. We still had an ok meal and got what we paid for but it wasn't as good as it could have been. I decided to tell the manager not expecting anything more than an apology yet he went above and beyond by giving me a gift card for half the value of our bill. I was very grateful and impressed with the customer service - they wowed me.

Norwegian had the chance to impress the poster and it wouldn't have cost them much if anything at all. Not taking the opportunity to impress the poster may cost them more in the long run - lack of repeat business, poster not wanting to spend much on the ship, negative word of mouth etc.

In this highly competitive world, businesses need to take the opportunity to wow their customers. A small investment could lead to big gains.

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We did that cruise and decided to stay in Manhattan so that we could maximize our time in NYC.

There are hotels on the outskirts of Times Square that aren't as expensive as the ones that are right in the middle.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Midtown -57th. It wasn't flashy but it was clean and we were able to walk to Times Square, Central Park and the cruise terminal.

We parked our car at the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal. The cost is $16.00 per day and the ferry cost is $9.00 per person per direction.

There are free shuttle buses on the Manhattan side that bring you to different parts of Manhattan.

The best part was getting off the ship. We did the self-assist, walked down to the ferry terminal, took the ferry and were in our car driving back to Canada in less than an hour.

We will be doing the same thing again for our Breakaway cruise in March.

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We sailed to the Caribbean during the second week of March one year and the seas were like glass, however, we were told that the seas were so bad the sailing before, even the crew were ill. We are hoping for calm seas when we sail in March but know that there are no guarantees.

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We ate there on embarkation day when we sailed on the Gem. It was great.

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Ontario, Canada high school and elementary school spring break too.

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Unfortunately we did cancel our Escape cruise but I'm wondering if we should give it a chance. The experience on the Sky was so awful that I'm afraid it will be similar on the Escape.

I think it would be a good idea to try NCL again but on another ship. Our first cruise on NCL was on the Dawn and we hated it. The food was awful. Even Cagney's wasn't worth the extra fee. We swore we would never go on NCL again. We finally decided to try the Gem since it departed from New York and we absolutely loved the cruise. The food was excellent, especially the MDR and the buffet. This experience completely changed our opinion about NCL - so much that we are booked on the Breakaway in March.

The ship really can make a huge difference in the cruise experience. Had my first Carnival cruise been on the Triumph or Victory, I probably would never have sailed on Carnival again.

If you do go on the Escape, please post a review. I would love to know if you had a better experience by going on a different ship.

How was the Mexican buffet? I love Mexican food so am hoping it is worthwhile going.

That is beyond disgusting.

After reading this thread, I thought back to my cruises/vacations and realized that most of the 'unacceptable' behaviour came from adults of all ages. From the woman in her 30s who ran over my foot with her stroller to beat me to an attraction to the intoxicated women in their 20s who offered alcoholic drinks to my teen daughter and her friends. Thankfully, they had the sense to decline. These are just two of many. Regarding youth being supervised at all times. Per the rules, teenagers are permitted to roam the ship. I allow my teens to do so with the strict understanding that I can and will check up on them at any time. Any unacceptable behaviour means spending the rest of the cruise by our side - nothing any teenager would want. ;)

While bad behavior should not negatively affect anyone's cruise, it should not be assumed that all kids are bad and should not be permitted in the Haven simply because of a few that have misbehaved.

Thank you for the replies. We have switched to a deck 12 kmidship balcony cabin instead.

We are currently booked in a balcony cabin on deck 13 port side towards the aft. I have read that some cruisers in the actual aft balcony cabins have experienced some noise issues due the music being played at Spice H2O and was wondering if the noise issues are as bad in the balcony cabins on the side towards the aft.

Thank you.

Even if it was something that could be handled onboard it does not excuse NCL's shoddy handling of the customer. Sounds like their Customer Service is even worse than it was before.

Well said! NCL needs to do better.

A model of the ship for my husband and a tea pot from one of the ports for me.

Great outdoors is great for breakfast, or if you just want to sit, relax and have a drink. Best place in the ship!

I second that!

The ironic part is 3 of the cabins in our group refused to sail NCL for years because they heard they would be nickeled and dimed. It took me a long time to convince them to give it a try. I not only feel like a complete idiot now, but I am just .... so disappointed in the way NCL has handled all of these changes. Not cool at all :( I really don't even think they care that they are going to be losing my business.

It's ironic. We too, felt nickled and dimed on our first NCL cruise in 2009, however, we changed our thoughts after cruising with them earlier this month (before they started adding all of these extra charges).

At the time, we had even said that since they seemed to have changed their nickle and diming ways, we would love to go back on another NCL cruise.

Now, I'm not so sure.

FDR sure meant it when he said he wanted another $50 per cabin - though the way things are going, it may end up being a lot more than $50.

We had them as an appetizer on the Gem last week. I think it may have been the first night as well.

I am also drawn to the ocean and can spend hours on my balcony just staring at the water. It is so calming. No inside rooms for me.

Of course, I also love cruising for the food, ports, activities etc. ;)

This is why cruising is so great - you get the total package!

Seeing that there is a wide demographic for most cruises, a simple solution would be to play a variety of music.

At 42, I enjoy listening to the newer hip hop / dance music but I also enjoy listening to music from the 70's and 80's along with some country music.

I would even be able to tolerate the odd beach boy song. ;)

I totally agree that reggae is a great option for pool side music. There is nothing better than lying in the sun listening to reggae while sipping a cool drink. :)

Dawn in 2009.

Excited to be sailing on the Gem in March!

I'm with you. I sail on the Gem in March and I am crossing fingers and toes that O'Sheehans and Moderno will both be available. Blue Lagoon was OK but they don't serve beer on tap!! ;)

We will be on the same cruise!

Moderno has been on the ships for quite some time, as has the Blue Lagoon (or O'Sheehan's on the mega ships). Moderno's isn't be added during the drydocks, on the Jewel-class ships it's merely being moved upstairs to be next to Cagney's, and the space it formerly occupied on deck 8, plus the space occupied by the Blue Lagoon is being combined and converted to become O'Sheehan's.

 

Even if they were to start the process of moving Moderno's upstairs prior to the drydock, they wouldn't have to close the Blue Lagoon to do it.

I wonder if they will complete the first part of O'Sheehans (where the old Moderno's is) prior to the drydock, have it operational and then close the Blue Lagoon to complete the O'Sheehans. Blue Lagoon is great but I would really like to try O'Sheehans.

It's not quite the same but I like having turbulence when flying. At least you know you are moving.

Our mini-suite on the Gem is now pricing $2400 over what we paid when we booked during the KSF promotion in July.