Newbie Cruiser 2010

That would be Pacific Princess out of USA. I think the question was about the World cruise out of Sydney Australia to Sydney Australia.

They were on the Princess website last week. I definitely looked at it last Thursday or Friday. The one I was interested in departed 12 April 2020 on Ruby Princess from Auckland, NZ to Vancouver, BC 27 nights. I even have a screen print of where our friends was looking at it also on the Australia Princess website. You could also pick the Sydney portion to add on. However it is not showing now. I am not 100% if the Australia to Australia one was showing or not at that time.

They are out now. I was looking at them the other day. We also received the Princess brochure about them in the mail a week or so ago.

Thanks for the great review. I do have a question about the MDR. If you didn't want to pay for the specialty dining, is the MDR food acceptable? Do they make it unpalatable to encourage people to spend more money?

 

 

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The food in the MDRs is perfectly acceptable and good, although service a couple nights was slow in the smaller dining rooms. We did 2 weeks on Escape so tried a lot of places. We don't usually do specialty dining but did purchase the 3 dinner package as a treat during our first week. After doing that once I don't know if I could cruise NCL without having a few specialty dinners as they were that great. I have to say that the buffet on Escape offered one of the best varieties I had ever seen on a ship and everything I tasted was good.

Great reveiw Chris and thanks for sharing your week and your thoughts with us. I agree with you on most points except for Margaritaville, Food Republic and the After Midnight show. We loved Margaritaville and wasn't so impressed with Food Republic but that might have something to do with my taste in food. Loved the concept of Food Republic. Did not enjoy the After Midnight show at all, as did most of the people in our showing. At the showing I was at more than half the audience left during the show. Maybe they have tweaked it since we saw it in early 2016.

You didn't really mention much about the Atrium. That is the one poorly designed area of the ship. Too small for the amount of events and people that are in that area. Did you get to see one of the Deal or No Deal shows in the Atrium? So much fun!

As far as telling the front of the ship from the back of the ship. The fish on the carpets are swimming towards the front of the ship. This tip works great in the hallways.

How would you rate bang for your buck? Especially compared to RCCL.

Info about the car service would be great as we have never used one, but as you say, staying in Fort Lauderdale can be less expensive.

NCL Escape is my favorite ship so far that I have cruised.

Newbie Cruiser,

Your "cruise bug" in your signature gets me every time! I almost woke up my DH with my freaked out reaction just now! Lol!

That is funny. I actually got it from a cruise friend. It still scares me some days.

Cagney's(highly recommended) and Moderno(too slow paced for me)

 

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We've eaten at Moderno twice and it is my favorite restaurant as there is so much choice both on the salad bar and with the meats. On Escape it was a slower paced meal. When we ate at Moderno on Getaway the food was coming out so fast there was no way anyone could keep up with the service speed. The grilled pineapple is delicious. Thank goodness for those little cards to flip over indicating the No, Thank You and the Yes, Please. Both times we ate outside on the Waterfront.

Following another of your great live reviews. Really hope you enjoy Escape as much as I did. Think it might be my favorite ship so far. Have a great time Chris.

any one do this recently?

We didn't try to get any out at the casino as they gave us a real hard time last year. This year we were on Getaway and any of the leftover OBC that we had purchased was refunded to us in the form of a US$ cheque which was fine with us. We have an US$ bank account so just deposited into that account.

It makes me crazy to be walking down the hall on my way to my cabin and have to look at the dirty dishes left over from one of my fellow passengers after they've had room service. They don't want to look at their own dirty dishes so they place them out in the hallway for everyone else on their deck to look at. .

It also drive me crazy........

I have always wanted to move the dirty dishes right in front of their door so that when the step out of the room they step right onto their garbage and dishes.......Have never done this but it is so tempting!

Folks will do as they choose, regardless of requests from management, apparently. In hotels, EVERYONE puts their dirty stuff in the hall. Ships usually have narrower hallways, and it's rude....but 97% of cruisers aren't on Cruise Critic, and don't know any better.

You can speak for yourself but I wouldn't say that EVERYONE puts their dirty stuff in the hall in hotels. I have NEVER done that and never will! Stack your dirty dishes neatly in your room and they will be picked up next time your room is serviced.

Not to the point that it's so hot that it can cause 3rd degree burns and death. Many get caught up on the notion that because she spilled it on her lap she and she alone was responsible for her injuries. Consider that someone could have attained 3rd degree burns in her mouth if she had merely sipped the coffee. What then- should she have waited 2 hours before sipping it to make sure that it was safe? If McDs had received multiple complaints that the coffee was too hot, the it should have remedied the problem before getting sued.

Up Next: waiver must be signed before McDonalds hands you your hot coffee.....

Lawsuits is why we can't have nice things, haha.

 

 

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Now isn't that the truth!

not combinable with Expedia 1 days sale.:')

That must be way my TA wasn't able to get it for us. Too bad as we have 2 Princess cruises booked for a total of 29 nights.

So here is the final verdict our friends never made out of the waitlist and because of this we were offered all 4 of us, So two cabins on an Alaskan cruise departing same date.

So believe it or not we went from a MED cruise to an Alaskan cruise lol.

This should be interesting first time doing Alaska :-)

 

Sea ya

Eric

Totally different cruise expectations but I have heard that Princess's Alaskan cruises are some of the best. And you will all be cruising together. Enjoy The TA should comp you all with a free alcohol beverage package!

We always do final payment about a week prior to due date and check until it shows on our reservation.

Why would you expect to be able to get Euro out of a UK bank ATM ?

Exactly my thoughts. Yes there may be the odd machine around a country that does this but it certainly is not common.

As for the bank teller not exchanging the GBP to Euro because they didn't have an account with them. That is VERY common and a USA bank will tell you the same thing.

This is my 2nd time looking at getting transportation from Port of Miami to Embassy Suites on 17th. Never found any company that would do it so ended up booking the NCL shuttle to Fort Lauderdale airport and then taxi to the hotel. This year we have to get from Port Everglades to Port of Miami same morning. After Getaway we have to make our way back to Embassy Suites again. As far as what I could find out was that it is illegal for them to pick up in the Fort Lauderdale downtown/port area and transport you to Miami destinations other than the airport. Will be watching for replies to this thread and looking for valid options.

Thanks for the information. I am traveling with a group of 15 (7 of which never have cruised).

One of the group is interested in visiting a tequila factory/liquor tasting. Cozumel would be the best place for that. If we don't do the Tulum ruins in Cozumel, there is really nothing left in Cozumel other than the tequila thing and shopping. We've tossed around the cave tubing and maybe snorkeling - barrier reef sounds interesting.

We did the Amazing Cozumel Race one time in Cozumel. It is a private excursion. It is in the top 3 of my all time favorite excursions. With a large group you could have multiple teams.

Just returned yesterday from a Royal Caribbean cruise that included Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.

 

For Roatan, we did the "Tabyana Beach Snorkel and Lunch" excursion. I have to think it is the same excursion that NCL uses;

 

Those of us with the snorkel package (designated by a wristband of a color different from those without the snorkel package) were sent over to the "dive shop" where we had an explanation of how the snorkeling worked. Then one handed over a cruise card (one per family/group) which was held until you returned the equipment. We had brought our own masks and snorkels, so needed only the fins and life vest - no problem; you get as much equipment as you need.

Great thank your for your review. Answered all my questions. We have booked the NCL Tabyana Beach Snorkel and are really looking forward to it. Have read lots of great reviews about this beach area.

It's a $2 taxi ride. Actually one of the few things I've experienced in any port that I thought was a bargain. Yes I think it could be walked but is it worth having 7 people walk for 20+ minutes to save $14? There wasn't much to see on the way either. If there were shops or buildings or something interesting maybe. But there's not.

 

 

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Bargain or not I would opt for the walk if it is only a 20 minute walk. The exercise is good for you. We have walked a lot further at other ports.

The port area of Costa Maya is def. walkable- you will need to take a short cab ride to Mahuhual though as that is too far to walk in the heat! :)

I have been under the impression that Costa Maya wasn't a safe area. Witnessing armed military patrol the area scares me. Also our first experience to this port we did an excursion to one of the ruins. Had to go through a military checkpoint and the bus also had an armed guard traveling with us.

Ever since then I have been afraid to leave the immediate port area. Would love to see more of Costa Maya if it is safe to travel around.

NCL is still offering a Dune Buggy Safari & Beach excursion for our February 2016 cruise.

Does anyone know if the NCL Tabyana Beach & Snorkeling includes flippers? We have our own snorkel and mask but we never take flippers. If the excursion includes flippers we will pay extra for that excursion otherwise we will just get the Tabyana Beach excursion.

I just booked a 4 nights cruise on the Victory. I was worried because I heard many things about the Carnival cruiseships and was scared to be disappointed after cruising two times on board the Disney Dream...

 

Honestly, after reading your review (it took me three days LOL) I feel very confident that we are going to have a good time.

 

Thank you!

Don't compare Carnival to Disney or you will most like be disappointed. Just go and have a great time on Carnival. They also have lots to offer. Disney will always be in a class of their own.

Loving your review so far.

That would have really ticked me off about the show reservations. We love to see all the shows and plan dinners and everything else around them. What is up with these cruise companies where they can't get their acts together? NCL Escape changed all their entertainment times around on us but only by 1/2 or 1 hour. Kept most of the same nights.

Can't wait to read the next installment.

I e-mailed our travel agent today and she said "On board credit cannot be cashed out at the Casino". I only really need cash for off ship at port stops.

I'm not convinced the travel agent is right but don't want to be stuck with no cash either..what to do..what to do!!!! :confused:

My NCL cruise consultant told me I could withdraw the money in the casino. A TA I know who cruises with NCL often told me that NCL told her that you can't. Who do you believe? I will have a back up plan. Credit cards.