rxlowry

Tonight’s dinner in Blu was another hit. I’d equate the level of food above NCL maybe Haven comes close but their menu doesn’t change. The show was a headliner singer and didn’t interest us so we are hanging out in Sky Lounge waiting for pub trivia.

The Persian Garden is quite small as described here. A heated bench, infrared sauna, steam room, salt/steam room and rainforest showers. The sauna is very nice. The showers seemed hard to control temp. I’d like it cold after sauna. It’s a nice extra but I don’t think I’d pay extra.

Today started with light breakfast at Cafe Al Bacio. What a nice venue! The almond croissants are as good as the ones in the Haven on NCL. I thought I could hit the casino early but the machines were still off. This is different as most cruises keep the slots available. Maybe since there are no machines to cash vouchers? Later, we tried some trivia and scored 13.66 out of 15. Not too bad! Lunch was in the buffet and it was nice. Lines were long due to the needing to be served but it does keep the germs down. It’s not too warm so we enjoyed the Persian Garden and indoor pool. Then, it was time for our group slot pull. We didn’t win but it was fun cheering everyone on. Afterwards, I hit the martini bar for a Kale martini. It was very refreshing!

Starting this a tad late but since it is my first foray on Celebrity I wanted to see how the internet performed before starting. My last live on NCL fell apart due to internet. This internet seems great so let’s give it a go. I wanted to try Celebrity to look for a new “home” since I do not feel like I personally fit with NCL lately. I blog about all my cruises so feel free to read all about it or the more minute details of this cruise as well. Alpacamybagsblog is where you can find all the details you do not really need and pictures as well. Back to this current trip, I am with my 20 year old daughter in an aqua class cabin. Check in was spectacular. Fastest of any cruise line I’ve been on! We did have to wait to board but it was very organized. Since I read they were fighting a virus outbreak, we opted for lunch at Sushi in Five. Superb, quiet and amazing start to trip. The cabin is on deck 11. It was ready at two. I love the colors and it has so much storage. We had an invite for helipad sailaway which was so cool to experience. Dinner was in Blu and at 6:20 we were given a pager. Waited about 20 minutes so we went to the bar. Wonderful filet for dinner! Afterwards, it was silent disco which was so much fun!

I think terms and conditions will be the “loophole”

Maybe gummy bears and m&ms so they can pretend they have a butler?

The closest maybe is antipasto appetizer from La Cucina

Breakaway had it in October in Manhattan Room. I enjoyed dancing there in between courses. There was not any on Encore in February with the exception of salsa/bachata in Sugarcane.

I’ve been in the Haven as well as on Crystal, Regent and Seabourn. I’d take luxury any day as the food and service is better by far! I’m excited to try Explora!

Choir of Man was on main stage. I did update blog yesterday. I’ll post the last sea day tomorrow.

We tried MSC YC for our 25th Anniversary in October in the Med. MSC is very different especially in Europe. There were hits and misses especially with food but the YC we really liked. It was interesting to compare with the Haven cruise we had on Joy last February. (Both cruises were supposed to have been on Crystal but we had to pívot as best we could). I have updated my blog to have it first three days and will get more posted this weekend. Cruises are selling so hopefully they get back on track financially. But if they can keep these changes to make more money…I don’t think they’ll go back. Unless keeping good workers becomes the issue… It’s hard to cruise when you feel guilty at how hard the staff are working with low satisfaction at their jobs.

It’s one of the cruising rituals I have. Felt weird to not do it but the excitement of the Super Bowl took over.

Thanks! We do still have a cruise reward though from November. I do prefer the Jewel class or Spirit. I might still use it. I would like to see my favorite NCL friend who has been on the Sky since her return and it is coming to Baltimore.

I will add that the luggage took the longest to arrive as I am typically an always unpacked before muster. It’s my own challenge. I didn’t unpack until after halftime of the Super Bowl when I went back to see if suitcases arrived. We had annual passes when my daughter was little (16 or so years ago). I’d be soooo lost in the process. there now.

It is Sail With Liberty and Justice. Stthomassailing dot com. Amazing couple! A highlight of the trip for sure. We did the Escape to JVD through NCL since we arrived so early and left early too. The catamaran wasn’t the same as the one we were on years ago. This one was bigger and no sails or nets to lay on. (Took such an awesome nap on those after first trip to Soggy)

Loved both my Joy cruises in 2022! And my Breakaway one. I’ve never had a bad cruise just ones that aren’t as good as others.

The low counts were nice. Maybe the staff got used to them too. But our November cruise was not reduced capacity and it was great!!!

Thanks. I try to be honest. I mean it wasn’t a horrible cruise. Parts were great but there was just that something special that felt missing. NCL has been our “home” cruise…the line we do most. I’ll still keep this hanging up. The back has a handwritten message. It was given to us on the Majesty’s last sailing.

This is our fourth cruise since restart but first after lots of changes (cutbacks) and I was a bit anxious about how the cruise would be. My history with NCL goes back to 2007 so I have been through changes that I haven't liked but was able to shrug off. I posted the first day on my blog last night with more day to day details and photos (alpacamybagsblog) but I wanted to address the bigger picture. My LIVE review fell apart because I thought Cruise Critic was a free site but only the first page loads for free. Not sure what you can get out of just that page! Embarkation/Muster Drill Embarkation was super quick and because of status we were on before group one. The Muster Drill is back and I longer than ever. From the call to report until ending it was 53 minutes. Our station was in the theater and the assistant cruise director was really trying hard to make jokes and engage to the point of being annoying. I do not really mind it going back to in person as I have done tons of those but I think it needs to be streamlined to about 30 minutes. Once a day service I was not to happy about this change especially with paying higher service charges. I enjoy going back to my cabin in the afternoon to rest before changing for dinner most days. Our cabin was always done very early but we also were out of our cabin around 6-7am every day. I am pretty sure we were the first one done each day. Friends on board with us were not as lucky, returning to the cabin at four and finding it still not made. It seems much worse for the stewards now and talking to two in the hall, they just do not seem happy with the change. No coffee/continental room service included I did miss this but my husband stepped up and went to get us coffee some of the mornings or we went together. It was just a nice touch to have this delivered some mornings. I know it is cheaper to get the three hot items available but I have no interest in those. Food This is a very subjective topic but I will give my opinions on the various places we tried. The Local It was very busy this cruise and you felt it here. Service was slower than on the Breakaway in October and a few times items were wrong or missed. The breakfast is great and I think it is the best spot on the ship for this meal as you get your food very hot. Sometimes, they forgot bacon or toast but did bring it when asked. We ate with friends and one did not get soup, another never got her dessert but the food was decent. The wings are still just as bad as November though. No dinner specials offered. Main Dining We had one lunch and one dinner. Lunch was very nice. The service was not too slow and we loved the scallop appetizer. I also enjoyed the Monte Cristo that took me back to my college days eating at Bennigan's. Dinner was the second night which I personally feel is the best menu. It is the menu with Pacific Hake and Shrimp with vodka sauce. It was good but we did skip dessert since we wanted to see the show. Buffet We had breakfast,lunch and two dinners here. It seemed as if they have reduced the offerings in our opinion. The salad bar was smaller than the Joy and Breakaway. The Indian food was stellar as always. I noticed no stir fry station at dinner or crepes (although I think it is because they are at Coco's for a charge). The theme nights were: Prime Rib, Steak&Shrimp, Country&Western, Bahamian/Caribbean, Ribs, Oriental and Grill Extravaganza. I found the themes to be pretty similar with exception of Oriental and Caribbean. Los Lobos This was our first time dining here and we both really liked it. We ate outside and the service was very good. The shrimp dish might be the best one I've had on NCL as far as taste and quality of shrimp. Onda This was a a knockout for us! We had a fabulous meal. My salad was delicious and super fresh. My husband had the short rib ravioli and loved it. But the superstar was our steaks. They blew Le Bistro out of the water. So flavorful and cooked a perfect medium rare. The desserts were ok (butterscotch budino a tad bland) and good (panacotta). We enjoyed it so much that we returned the last night and paid ala carte. We both had the salad while I had the ravioli and he had the lobster pasta. The only downside is the noise level might be a bit high for some. Le Bistro We had steaks at Onda so we skipped our old favorite with the new upcharge. I missed the salmon and crab salad so I went back to escargot for my app and Dover Sole for my dinner. They were both good but the sole wasn't too special. My husband tried the coq au vin and loved it! I thought it was very good as well. Desserts for us both were the ile flottante which is our new favorite there. Bar Service The bars were very busy. We noticed officers pitching in and making drinks when really busy. It was noticeable how understaffed they were as we had longer waits than previous sailings. The best service was always at the Sustainable Bar but the limited menu helps that situation. Entertainment I think due to Kinky Boots being cut, they kept the amount of live music offered the same. The quality of music was not the best. The latin duo was good but after a few salsa, merengues and bachatas, I am ready to dance to other styles. The atrium had no dancing as the band took up the enitire floor so that was a bummer. We skipped the Beatles tribute since we saw that on the Joy. The pianists were good. The party band sounded good the first night but later sounded as if they blew out their voice. The comedians were just ok. The magician was good but should not bill himself as a comedy magician. Choir of Man was the big ticket show and we weren't fans. The sound on some mics was off and we would have liked a bit more story. We did do the Bamboozled escape table game. It was fun and we were doing great until we opened the box for last puzzle. We tried so many phone numbers only to find out we had two red cards instead of a red and a purple to make the phone number. We let the host know it was prepared inccorrectly but he didn't seem like he even understood the problem. Hopefully, they fix for the next team. We also tried the escape room at Galaxy Pavillion. This I would recommend as it has some neat technology and puzzles. We escaped with a group of four we joined with plenty of time to spare! Other observations Ports were fine. We missed GSC due to 10 knot winds but we planned to stay on ship anyway but now so did everyone. Most activities added were the paid type like Bingo and Deal or No Deal. In St. Thomas, we did an amazing private catamaran to St. John. Tortola was very early but I will go to the Soggy Dollar anytime! Pool deck super crowded. Most chairs were not loungers and I couldn't imagine sitting in one all day. The Waterfront was packed the second half as well with people sun bathing and eating. Observation Lounge was busy with nappers on sea days. As Sid took photos of bare feet on furniture, I did read that NCL wants socks, not shoes or bare feet. This was on the first page of freestyle daily on last day not that anyone read this. Lots of bare feet seen and I am sure were also under all the towels people used as blankets. I saw more glasses in spots such as bathrooms, staircase and elevator floors on this cruise. Not as much as on Carnival last year but more than ever on NCL. No sanitizer in front of one dining room and my group for this cruise on that other site has many complaining of "food poisoning" which is probably noro. Three days back the covid posts have started too which is no surprise as the coughing was definitely ramped up by the end of voyage. This is the first cruise on NCL that I did not have one name (usually it is multiple) to write about in post cruise survey. Most were pleasant but it was no where the level it was previously. They truly seem so busy and some unhappy. I really missed engaging with crew as that is one of the best parts of cruising. It just felt very hurried. I do not blame the crew at all since they are having to do more work. So are we breaking up....I do feel like I haven't changed but NCL has. It's like this slow, nice break up though where we could remain friends. I can just remember the way we were and it is sad. I might not be the passenger they want at this time. I feel they are looking for the newer to cruising so I might be getting traded in for a newer, shinier model. The cutbacks are noticeable to us. We've tried a few other lines and are excited to try Oceania in the fall. I do feel sad about this but maybe we just need a break like Ross and Rachel. It's not a bitter break up as I have had so many great times on NCL to cherish and maybe one day will again.

I get this. It is so cringe to me when I heard people call the rest of the ship “gen pop”

I’ve always hated the folding chairs they bring out. thanks for the Virgin info. I’m very interested in trying them.

Just off Encore and super crowded. Not many kids at all. Barely a teen or middle schooler in sight. A few little ones and babies. Demographics was 40-60s

There’s a desk as soon as you walk in to Galaxy Pavilion to make reservation. The free one, Bamboozled is just walk up at the time.

So we did the free table escape room and the Galaxy one. We would’ve been done the table game with 15 minutes but the inside of the box was not prepared correctly. They gave us two red cards and one should’ve been purple. 😡 We cruised through the puzzles too. It was fun until that. Especially since we tried to get the phone number for 15 minutes. They should’ve noticed their error when we were having so much trouble. He even came over and the cards were in the right order. So if you do that one, be careful. The Galaxy Escape room was popular. Make your reservation early. They put us with a group of four to make the six. We’ve done 44 land based rooms so we are nerds about them. This is a good value for 15 dollars. There’s so cool technology elements to the room and neat puzzles. We made it out with lots of time to spare.

On this cruise, we did the wine and cheese pairing and also the Riedel glass tasting. We have also done the black glass tasting. All have been very nice and informative. The black glass and Riedel were my favorites