Heronymous

I'm so happy you shared this link. I found photos from our last 3 cruises on there!

Did you have to do anything special to get multiple cruises to appear? I signed up during the beta and they only displayed one cruise since you had to enter a specific sailing date. It doesn’t let us select additional sailing dates, and after emailing them about it they never got back to us.

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We were on that sailing and heard the page over the PA and hoped everything was ok, I’m so sorry that it didn’t turn out that way. Like others have said, I would start or have someone start for you a go fund me page but definitely contact your insurance company, you may have some sort of reimbursement available to you. I’m so sorry for your loss :(

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So just a heads up.... It is a legit site, but apparently they only want people using it who were specifically invited to use it. I was able to get in and access my photos, but emailed them a question and they replied sounding a little annoyed that I'm accessing the site and made it clear it's only for invited participants. This URL probably shouldn't be advertised here.

We just came off the Breakaway from a Haven spa. Next time we’re skipping the Haven and just going for the Spa, it was incredible and a much better value than what the Haven offered us on that ship. Be prepared to be bombarded with sales pitches on the first day when you try to enter the spa... they were ruthless and physically blocked us from entering and leaving the thermal spa until we went through their maze of sales pitches on day one, Day two and afterwards they left us alone.

On day one it was pretty much empty... and the last sea day was the busiest. This is also the most crowded cruise I’ve ever been on (was way more crowded than the Escape and Getaway) that I am sooooo glad we got the spa pass to escape from the rest of the ship at times.

What Haven room where you in Keith? We were in an AFT Balcony 11910, next door to a Haven. Thankfully, I didn't come across the couple you are speaking of.

We were towards the front in a Haven Spa, 14128. We’ve never done an aft balcony but am thinking of doing that next, I hear they’re amazing!

This time around I was in a spa haven suite, when I had the DND on the butler called me to tell me he was bringing my snacks and wanted to know if he could deliver them. I was glad to let him in :)

-Keith

So just coming off the Breakaway, I can say that my own personal experience is that the Escape's old internet was as fast, if not faster, than what I experienced on the Breakaway last week. Also, if you have a travel internet router for sharing, it may not work. I usually use it so I can use my iPhone and iPad at the same time, and it did work on the Escape last year.. it did not work on the Breakaway.

iConcierge is also as terrible as it ever was, but with a much nicer interface.

-Keith

We were on the same cruise and heard the code alphas as well. Normally code alphas are medical emergencies requiring immediate assistance. I was on a ship where the code alpha was someone who was supposedly stabbed and one where someone supposedly died, but no idea about what happened this particular time. I hope the people involved are ok though!

I enjoyed the cruise but it definitely wasn't my favorite. We stayed in the Haven and kept coming across a couple who stayed there as well who were fighting with each other non-stop from the second they boarded, constantly cursing and yelling at each other. It was very uncomfortable, and not the cruiseline's faut in any way.. but makes you wonder why a couple so miserable would want to be trapped with each other in the same room for a week and pay an extra premium for it lol.

-Keith

I agree with the OP.. Heck, we all have different reasons for using internet on board for those of us that do use it. For the amount that is charged, I'd be annoyed too. I always get unlimited internet anyway, so it's not an issue for me... But I'd go get my minutes back too if I had to.

Just to mirror what everyone else is saying on here, buying a camera or memory card on a cruise ship is the absolute last place you'd want to buy one. If you're in the position to need to purchase one on a cruise ship, they're the only place you can buy anything and they know it and price things accordingly. I've compared cameras they've sold on NCL ships to Amazon and the cost was hundreds more than Amazon or walking into a Best Buy. If you can buy what you need before you board, it's in your best interest to do so.

-Keith

I know certain suites such as the owner's suite come with 2 free waters and 6 cans of soda (default variety unless you specify), and I know the regular suites don't officially come with it at all. I noticed on some videos of the exact spa suite room number that I'll be in this weekend on the Breakaway which are posted on YouTube, they also had the same exact default set of waters and sodas that I had in my owners suite last year. Does this mean that they unofficially give it to you anyway? Or is it at the butler's discretion? In one of the videos they were doing a tour of the room and what it came with, and they mentioned the sodas as if it came with the room... they didn't request them... so I'm curious..

Thanks to anyone who knows :)

-Keith

I'm curious as well as far as current Breakaway staff? Maybe someone can just post a pic of the current officer wall?

-Keith

Hmmm...so, when you used IMessage, were you using the ships wifi? Did you set your phone to "airplane" mode so that your phone would not be roaming? I thought NCL did not intend for IMessage to be a connection of texting to home...just for texting between passengers. So I am confused.

NCL can't control who you can communicate with via iMessage. If they allow iMessage to work without paying for WiFi, it's going to work for everyone who has iMessage, not just people on the ship since all messages flow through Apple's servers and back out to the recipient. It's interesting that they officially provide this though, I thought it was an accident that it was working when I was on the Escape last time.

-Keith

I was on the Escape last August when they still had the old internet, and it was just fine for social media. I even was able to download a firmware update for my GoPro. It took all night, but it was able to download it... So the new internet I assume would be even faster.

Thank you for this! So easy to access and you don't have to dig through replies to get at each day either, perfect!

-Keith

I remember hearing about these soups when friends of mine would cruise way before I ever did, but I've never seen them myself. I'm curious to try them if they ever surface!

-Keith

Right? Imagine getting hung up at security and the metal detector for bringing on wire hangers. They would look at you like "are you f$$@# kidding me?"

I think this was a Mommy Dearest reference :)

I never heard of that either, but when we were on the Escape last year Margaritaville was free for lunch only on embarkation day. Not sure if that was a special thing or not.

Last year when we were upsold to a Haven, we received an email from the Concierge desk asking us to make selections from the list of amenities. I know we had a few more things to choose from since that room (owner's suite) came with 3 bottles of hard liquor. This time around we purchased the Haven spa suite outright, which I know doesn't come with the liquor selection. We didn't get any amenities selection email like last year, did they do away with that? Or is that only done when you have the nicer Haven rooms?

As an FYI, we received the email about 30 days out last year.. this year we're 22 days away today.

-Keith

Did they do away with lobster in the haven? Or does it rotate?

I got married on the Escape last August, and one of the options which was also less-expensive and much easier (less paperwork) was renewing vows; the captain even performs the ceremony! But make sure you book this far in advance.. like.. 6 months at least... the whole process takes time.. and read everything *VERY* carefully. There are hidden fees and surcharges, and they add up quick if you aren't paying attention.

Also, the company who handles the ceremonies isn't NCL, but a wedding coordinator company which partners with them. They won't even speak to you about details or pricing until you have a reservation booked and provide them with the reservation number.

It was the best experience we ever had though, well worth it!

Good luck!

-Keith

I know I’m in the minority, but I loved the tacky purple decor of the Gem’s suites. Lol

Ship tours do not include bridge tours any more. If for some reason you find yourself on the bridge, and security policies and some maritime law restricts this, pictures and videos are not allowed under any circumstances. Your device will be confiscated. I'm telling you this as first hand Knowledge, not hearsay. Before you ask, no not first hand from violating the rule.

 

 

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Yeah, this wasn't a normal tour. I got married on the ship, and just after I declined his offer to show me a hidden exit in case I change my mind (lol), he offered to have us come up and see the bridge during the week. I asked if I could record it, and they told me yes.. so.. sweet! But wasn't sure if it was ok to share it since I knew it was a privilege just to be allowed in there.. It definitely wasn't something I was expecting, nor would ever expect to have again.

-Keith

So last year when I was on the Escape, I was invited to tour the bridge which was an incredible experience, and even more incredible was that I was allowed to record it with my GoPro. Does anyone know if it's considered bad form to post the video? No one said anything about it, but I don't see any of these on YouTube either so.. wasn't sure if there's a reason.

-Keith

I never realized you could sign up for this, that's pretty neat! I'd want to do it, but I have no idea what I'd even talk about. If you're traveling with family (3 others, total of 5), can you request to sign up with the entire family? Or is it just per cabin?

-Keith