thatjoeguy

Personally I would prefer the cost of the cruise to be $100 less and then I would have the choice to spend the $100 in the Casino if I wanted to.

 

Mike

Sure, everyone would, but that's not the offer. This offer is better for the cruise line, which is why they have it.

...Very few have touched on or even mentioned The Cellars wine bar, Bayamo's or Tobacco Road...

 

anybody have anything to report on these?

We were on the Escape the first week of January (and I keep meaning to write up a review for it.) We went to the cellars pretty early on in the trip and loved it. If I remember correctly, there were 200+ different wines available, with 100+ of them available by the glass. We started using it as a meeting place before dinner or shows, since they had a much better list than the restaurants. It started out pretty empty on the trip, but by the end of the week, it was hard to find a table inside. (I believe the waterfront part was always full.)

We didn't try Bayamo's.

We first stopped by Tobacco Road midway through the cruise since it was pretty empty and we wanted to grab basic cocktails before heading back to the room. The bartender (jokingly) gave us a hard time about not ordering the specialty cocktails, so we told him we'd be back another day. After that, we came back several times, always sitting at the bar. As some have mentioned, the bar is open to main hallway, so becomes a "sit and wait" type spot for lots of people, as it was for us the first time, but we never found this to be the case at the bar. The drinks were very good. Several in our group also went to the cigar lounge, which is right next to this, and it was also a great spot to wait for them.

What's in a mango meltdown?

It's blended mango puree, rum, amaretto, and ice, all over strawberry puree. It's delicious. I liked it more than the BBC.

What I don't get at all is the "Freestyle" hype. Nearly every mainstream line has their own version of the dine anytime you want concept. Especially on Escape, reservations are encouraged at multiple venues. Sure the dress code is a little more lax but that's about it. I think eventually NCL will need to ditch the Freestyle catchphrase and market something else to separate them from the pack. Maybe so when Freestyle was introduced, but now there really isn't anything unique about their product offering.

We were on the Regal Princess in the summer of '14. Excluding the buffet, their anytime dining meant that you had one standard dining room you could go to anytime, and two specialties. We the sailed on the Getaway in winter of '15. There, the anytime dining gave us a choice of 4 complimentary restaurants excluding the buffet, as well as at least 6 specialty restaurants and several lunch and dinner shows. Other lines have tried to imitate Freestyle, but none do it as well.

You'd have to show me where you've read that, because that has never been the case.

You are correct, I was confusing it with Pincho Tapas bar. Thanks Pizza!

Food Republic isn't covered by SDP, but it is a must-do.

 

Also, do the ropes course and the new big water slide with the tubes. It's great!

I read that FR has an upcharge on the SDP, so $7 plus one day. Is this not the case?

Hey all. Going on the Escape this weekend. We've done the Getaway and Epic, so pretty used to the NCL mega-ships.

1) Anything we MUST do? We're planning to spend a good amount of time at Howl at the Moon, assuming the performers are good, and will likely take in the two broadway shows and the one (or possibly 2) dinner shows. Anything else a must do? Heard a lot of good things about Food Republic, so debating getting a 3 day SDP for that and a few other places. Also trying for Vibe passes again.

2) Anyone have anything they need answered?

Thanks all!

Hope everyone had a good holiday. See you all in a week!

Ok thank you!

There's also an LGBT roll call in the specialty cruising section of the forum. That may help.

The next 17 days can't go quick enough! Looking forward to a great vacation. I've been on several cruises but this will be my first on Norwegian... how does one find out the time/location of this first night gathering on the ship?

There's a daily schedule of activities (called the daily, I think) that you get when you board. They drop a new one off each night for the following day in your room. That has a list of all the stuff going on. If you download the NCL app, I think it may also tell you what's going on.

I think it's usually 7:30 or so in one of the bars, but don't quote me on that.

Absolutely.

 

If only relevant examples had actually been proffered.

How about this? I paid the same amount for a balcony for a week on the Getaway last January (NCL's newest, sailing Eastern Carib.) as I did for a balcony for a week on the Escape this January (NCL's newest, sailing Eastern Carib.) but this year got the UBP included. Is that relevant?

I don't have a lot of cruise experience, but I have been on 3 different lines. I have liked different aspects of each one....

 

I am just curious, why is NCL your favorite? Is it because you each truly feel it is the best for your needs, or because it is the only line you have been on?

I've sailed on NCL, Royal, Celebrity, Holland, Carnival and Princess. We'll probably try Disney once we have kids as well. NCL is our favorite. We've found them to have the best entertainment and be the best at anytime dining. The freestyle dress isn't that important to us one way or another, though we dress nicer than required for dinner on NCL. We also enjoy the lower prices (compared to some) and (this year) the added perks.

That's a huge increase from $79!!!! And what are the gratuities for? And if you order a drink is there a gratuity on that? I call that double dipping! This is ridiculous! They need to stop calling that 18% a gratuity, cuz staff have reported they're not getting an 18% raise!

Why would you expect them to get an 18% raise off your gratuity? Do you expect that the entire stall salary comes from specialty dining, drinks, and Vibe admission?

Looking forward to meeting everyone in a few weeks! Are people planning on going to the LGBT thing the first night?

Hey all - traveling with 10 family members, very excited for a fun vacation! I'm 26 and single, so hopefully drinks will be a-flowing! Any suggestions on how to meet other gays? :)

NCL usually has a nightly LGBT meet-up. We always make a point to go the first night, and then pop in to others when we're free. Usually if you get a good group the first night, you'll be able to hang with them for the rest of the trip.

Looking forward to meeting everyone in a few weeks!

Hi! I just booked my sister and I on the Star for Jan. 3 - 10 in an aft Penthouse suite. I just got off the Star last month with my mom and I really do like the ship and crew a lot. So when I asked about signing up for the beverage package I was told that because it was under 30 days until sailing they won't be offered to us. When pressed further, it was explained that because there are price reductions sometimes for last minute sailings those price reductions should make up for the loss of the beverage package. The prices on my trip and particular room have remained constant for over 2 months with no price drop. This may seriously be a deal breaker for me. I've sailed NCL over 15 times and have enjoyed every single one of those trips, and for that I thank NCL for the good times. So I called the corporate office and was told (very nicely and politely) the same story and there will be no exceptions. I have a very healthy respect for rules in any situation, but this rule seems to change with every promotion. Corporate explained that it will probably change next month with the new promotions that come out. So it looks like this rule that was written in stone will crumble in a month. Do you think there is any other recourse, or should I just melt into the background and be quiet?

That's a sad situation, but, as others have said, I think it just comes down to caveat emptor. You didn't read the T&C of the deal at the time, and you didn't remember before finalizing the booking with your agent over the phone. If you realized within a fairly short timeframe of booking, you might (unlikely) be able to switch your reservation to one a few weeks later. Otherwise, you'll just have to write this up as an expensive lesson. Sorry.

Just a quick question. .are you allowed to eat in the Vibe?

We've brought food in before, no problem.

Just wandering how hard it is get into a specialty restaurant without reservations on the Escape. Looks like we waited too long. Things are obviously different than our other 3 cruises( January - Getaway, June - Gem, October - Breakaway) this year. On those 3 ships, we waited until we boarded, and made reservations for the week at the Le Bistro desk after lunch on embarkation day. No problems. Now Cagney's is unavailable for our December 12th cruise. I was able to book Le Bistro, which I though was odd, since we're using our Platinum dinner coupons. I though that would be booked with others like us.

 

CAS usually gives us a dinner too. If I try to book Teppanyaki now, they want to charge my credit card the cover for the reservation. But, if I wait to use the CAS comp, I probably won't be able to get in anyway.

 

Any one else having these problems? If so, I revert back to my original question. Once on board, are there usually enough cancellations that you can get in?

Not all spots are available for prebooking - they hold some for booking onboard.

Free or complementary food areas are Taste ,Savor ,Manhattan Dining Room a Osheehans and the Buffet.

 

Yes book all the shows ahead of time ,Howl at the Moon,Headliners(comedy) and the shows After Midnight,Million Dollar Quartet and the Tenors of Rock,preferably before you cruise reserve.

 

Brat Pack diner show a must worth the cost.

Howl at the Moon is open seating, no ability to book.

[emoji106]. I just find that there is a lot more thought and planning when cruising now. Never worried ahead of time about what restaurants we would be eating at on which days and what shows and what times. I only ever had to plan out port days.... Just more work for me...lol

I like that cruises nowadays require more planning. When I started cruises as a kid, there was one thing to do at night - depending on your assigned dining time, you went to dinner and a show, or a show and dinner. It was that, or go to bed. Nowadays, I can go dance, go to a broadway class show, dance party, Howl at the Moon, small music venue, and the list goes on. Can it be problematic when you book a show when something else is going on? Sure, but I think it's worth it.

We booked through our PCC and now see that they are offering all the frills, when we ask our PCC they say they cannot help us. I am at a loss and cannot understand why they cannot add one of the packages to our reservation. Is this normal? Should we call NCL directly to see if they can add one?

I'm wondering if I need to change my PCC..

Thanks.

janymac:p

When is your cruise? What is the price now relative to when you booked?

Is there any other piano bars like this that are not quite as busy

There are often other piano players around the ship, but not ones doing shows like HatM.

This may sound like a silly question, but I was thinking about getting a Vibe pass for my elderly mother if possible. I thought that it would be a place she could relax and know that she was able to get a seat. She is concerned that she would be up there with a bunch of young couples and would feel out of place? Do you find this to be true?

Last year on the Getaway, it was mostly 20 and 30 somethings, IIRC. Still, great place for a comfy chair and some quiet.

How much does Howl at the moon cost? I would like to see it!

The show is free. People often tip to have better odds of their song being played, but it's not required. We usually bring a stack of ones (and maybe a few fives or tens) for the week, but then again, my friends are HatM groupies. :)

Hey all. We're returning from the Escape on January 9th to Miami. Is it even remotely possible to make an 8 am flight out of MIA? I'm guessing not. If no, should we go for the 9:45 or 11:45 out of FLL? If it helps, we have Global Entry and TSA Precheck, so security should be easy for us both through customs and at the airport. Thanks!