tbo

33 minutes ago, gatorchinsky said:

I just looked to see the cost for our Bliss cruise in 9 days and it shows a price of $161 per person and everyone in cabin had to purchase it.  It amazes me how quickly NCL raises prices on things.  It must have been a big success for them so they want to see how much more they can get.

DH and I were looking to book it for our January cruise on the Epic, for 2 of us  at $8/day it would have been $176-that is a somewhat reasonable price in our opinion. At almost double the cost they can keep it and we will just pay out of pocket and regulate what and if we spend money in the arcade.

4 hours ago, valleyvillage said:

This video has updated Cagney's menus. 

Thank you! I see the ribeye is still listed, I'd heard rumors that it was gone. I noticed that the brussel sprouts are gone-they were so good!

We are on the 11 day on 1/12/19, I'd also love to see the dailies!

Quick question-I've read that if you have buy the spa pass and win  an upgrade bid to a spa room that you can get a refund on that. Does anyone know if that refund goes back to your credit card or is it in the form of OBC?

I see a few options there I'd love to try. Any updated Cagney menus?

We were first timers with NCL on the Escape last December and loved them so much we have 3 more cruises booked.

We found the dining to be excellent in every venue we tried. Breakfast in Taste/Savor was so nice and the service was exceptional. O'Sheehan's was really good-I loved the spinach dip and hubby enjoyed the hot dogs(seriously who goes on a cruise and eats hot dogs). We only tried the buffet once for lunch and a couple of times for breakfast, lots of variety. When doing the buffet it's best to walk all the way around once before digging in so that you don't miss out on something you would want to try.  We tried Cagney's, LeBistro, La Cucina and Teppanyaki-all were amazing. We are on an 11 night cruise in January and we get 4 nights of dining and considering purchasing another 3, we think it's worth going to some of the venues twice.

One other thing that I loved about NCL was that the staff was amazing no matter where we went. Lots of smiles and hellos, it was very welcoming. I loved hearing washy, washy-it was silly, but fun.

Try and book some of your dinners and shows now to try and get the times you want. NCL is freestyle cruising-dine when you want, wear what you want, etc.,  but a little planning ahead can save you some frustration.

If you aren't on the roll call for your cruise here on cruise critic,  I would check in on that.  The meet and greet we attended was very nice with free drinks and meeting some fellow cruisers, as well as the officers on board.

Happy cruising!

1 minute ago, jpcdds6 said:

So, the upgrade program is not offered to people who have booked with a TA? It has to be booked directly with NCL?

From what I understand the TA has to agree to participate with NCL, so some do and some don't. We booked our cruise with an online agency last year and right at the 80 day mark the invitation banner was on my NCL account when I logged in. Funny that for this cruise I booked directly and am 74 days out and got nada.

13 hours ago, CPOCMAN said:

We are booked on a 11 day Western Caribbean cruise on Epic and have 75 days until sailing.   Booking was through CAS using a cruise certificate through Caesars.  I have been checking daily both email, junk email and also my Ncl.com account for the ability to place a bid but nothing yet.  Is it unusual to not have it show up yet.  From what I can tell, the cruise looks like there are quite a few categories available for purchase and notice that prices have fallen for insides, balconies and mini suites for sailaway categories.  Tried calling for upgrade prices to do it direc.   $500 pp to go frominside to balcony is a bit too much for my budget.  Happy with our cabin but having a chance to get something better for a lower price is even nicer.  Also, I like having something to hope for each day until sailing as it adds to the fun of waiting for your next cruise.  Am I worrying too much that there won’t be any opportunity to bid at all?  Appreciate anyone sharing their experience if they didn’t get the initial opportunity to bid until they were closer to their sailing.  Thanks!

We are on the same cruise as you and also no bid invite. I called this morning asking about it and was told it is just random and not every cabin is eligible. We booked direct with NCL.  We are in a category B1 Aft facing balcony, which are sold out for our dates.  We wanted to bid on a Haven spa suite since we've never tried the Haven. There appears to be plenty of availability in most categories. Fingers crossed it comes in soon!

Last night I convinced hubby that we should bid on an upgrade from our Aft facing Balcony to the Haven on our January 12th Epic cruise. Today is our 80 day mark and no email or banner invite . I booked directly with NCL, so no travel agent involved. Fingers crossed we get an invite.

We've never stayed in the Haven, one of my big questions about it has always been -what on earth would we need a butler for? Love these answers....more please 🙂

No construction. Everything was perfect. Would definitely do the package again!

 

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Did you book directly through Embassy or through Go port canaveral as a package?

So happy to read all of these wonderful tips and ideas. I just booked a Greek Isles and Italy cruise tonight for 2020. We've never been anywhere other than the Caribbean so this is going to be a true adventure for us. We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary and it's always been my dream to see Rome and all of it's treasures. As a matter of fact when looking at some videos I teared up-I won't be able to believe it's real until we are there I'm sure.

I'm a big planner so I have lots of time to research. I'm already taking notes and will be subscribed to this thread. This trip will be way out of my comfort zone as far as traveling, I know I have a lot to learn .

Can't wait to read all about your experiences!

Last CCL we took, honestly I'm not sure I saw an officer or manager of any kind.

First NCL cruise we took,2017, it was rare to NOT see one just about anywhere we were on the ship. At the M&G they were serving drinks and snacks,handing out their cards, laughing and mingling with the guests. I got a sense from them that they were very proud of the ship, NCL, and happy to be there. Each one we spoke to wanted to know how our cruise was going and if there was anything they could do for us. It was exceptional customer service and definitely left an impression on us. As other posters have said I'm sure all cruise lines have the same amount of officers/management, they just aren't all as hands on. I very much appreciated being able to see them so involved in the day to day operations.

Please understand that this is NOT the same as the island in the Exumas that’s become famous for its wild pigs that roam free and who’ve inhabited the island on their own long before it became an attraction.

 

Sandy Toes is located in Rosen Island, just off the coast of Nassau and it’s a beach bar where they now have brought pigs in as an extra attraction. The pigs are not roaming freely. They are restrained. It’s really a tourist trap.

 

Personally I wouldn’t waste my money. We sailed to Rosen Island last July (to another more remote part of the island away from the crowds) but sailed past Sandy Toes on the way there. It looked crowded, with several large excursion boats anchored next to each other. Beautiful beach, but I wouldn’t select this excursion to see chained pigs.

 

 

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Thank you for posting this, it's hard to tell exactly where the tour is from the description, but the "comedy" part seems to confirm that they are not feral pigs. Definitely a pass for us.

I am so disappointed to hear your comments as we have not been on the Escape and the ship looked gorgeous in the harbor....LOL! I just had to comment on the Epic tho, as it was not a good experience compared to the many other cruises we have been on. I guess we will skip the Escape. However, we are going on the Bliss in 4 weeks (sister ship??), and I hope that is better??....we are going with an 'open mind'!! ;p

I wouldn't let that stop you from the Escape. She was our first NCL cruise and we loved it so much -beautiful ship!

Took our first cruise in 1998 on Carnival-it was short, but very different for us. Took a 2nd on Carnival that was given to us-2002-7 day cruise, lots of fun, good food, friendly staff. In 2016 we again took a Carnival cruise. Food not great, staff was just ok, aside from the CD and the martini bartender. Still we wanted to cruise again.

I found a great deal for a NCL on an internet travel site so we decided to give it a try. Dec 2017 we sailed on the Escape and LOVED it. Friendly smiling faces, great food, awesome shows. UBP + District Brewhouse= a very happy husband, lol. We felt like we were were treated very well and we had a great time.

When looking again for a cruise I compared prices, ships, amenities, and reviews. I really wanted to try RCCL-the ships look like fun. Still the price I was finding with what was included was better on NCL.

We have a Jan 2019 booked on the Epic-11 day Western Caribbean. UBP, UDP, WIFI, Shore Ex credit all included. $200 OBC. Aft facing balcony-just under $3300 for 2. We also get to see some ports we've not been to before. I think that's a pretty good deal.

I loved your review! Although we have only cruised Carnival and NCL I have to agree that NCL is "just right".

Our first 3 cruises were on Carnival-they were all very nice. The 2nd one was especially nice since it was a cruise that was given to us by someone who couldn't go. Our last one though wasn't as great and we thought, meh maybe not again.

I started looking at other lines and got a really good deal on NCL Escape for last December. We ended up with some OBC, paid gratuities, the UBP and UDP. We knew what Carnival charged for their drink package and thought that even paying the gratuity on NCL's UBP wasn't bad at all. We were so impressed. The different dining options were so good we bought 3 extra meals before every getting on board. The shows, the smiling crew members, all of it was just awesome.

We have 2 more NCL cruises booked. No matter how I try-and believe me I love looking for cruises-I just can't seem to match the deals I'm able to get with NCL. I read here all the time about the high pricing and maybe it's the time's or ships I'm looking at, but I just don't see much difference in NCL. Our 11 day January cruise on the Epic is right at $3300 for an aft facing balcony includes UBP, UDP, wifi, and the shore excursions credits. We also get $200 OBC and the latitudes extra point a night. I think that's an amazing deal!

We are on an 11 day on the Epic in January and were discussing this last night. Would the laundry special be offered more than once on an 11 day?

We took the cubes on the Escape, they were very handy. Like a PP I'm height challenged, it was so easy to just pull down the whole cube and find what I needed. It was just me and hubby and the cabin size is just right, another person and their stuff would just be too much IMHO. Looking forward to our 1st cruise on the Epic--it seems there is plenty of storage, so I will leave the cubes at home.

We have an 11 night Western Caribbean cruise booked on the NCL Epic in January-got the pick all option. This thread made me curious so I did a comparison. Only 11 night cruise out of FL on RCCL in January is for Southern Caribbean on the Serenade OTS. Price for 2-regular ocean view balcony- Non Refundable deposit-3629.14-no drink/dining package, no internet, no shore ex credits. If the above estimates are correct it would be around $1000 to add the drink/dining package, maybe more on an 11 night cruise. So safe estimate of $4600 for this cruise.

We will be sticking with our NCL Epic AFT facing balcony with drink package/dining package/shore exc credits/and wifi -total for all $3293. Newer and nicer ship also.

Thank you so much for your honest reviews. I've watched many of your videos and always feel so informed afterwards.

Last year we booked MSC SeaSide, the whirlpool suite and we did so knowing that you were booked and would be sailing ahead of us. After your review, it didn't take a second thought for us to switch over to the Bliss. THANK YOU for saving us from the food and entertainment on MSC! We will be on the Bliss in March and looks like we are making the right decision. I'm guessing between now and March I'll have watched all of your Bliss videos numerous times getting ready for our cruise.

Did some research. District brew house is on the Escape.

 

 

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There is also one on Bliss

We used Larry's Limo for our 12/17 trip, Ft Lauderdale to Miami -we did just one way since we did an excursion that took us back to airport after cruise. Extremely professional, excellent service.

@steamboats-thank you so much for the pics of 12908-I just booked us in this room for March. Great to find the bed is next to the balcony!

Ok thanks. I am looking for dolphin swim prices if anyone know what they are when booking on-site.

I booked with Dolphin Discovery. I did it via an online chat and it was very easy. We are doing the dolphin encounter and the sea lion discovery, for 2 adults our "discounted" price was $244, includes admission and lunch. No pictures. Dolphin encounter alone was around $140 for 2 people I think.

We cruise on Saturday, I'll come back and report about it :D