david_sobe

I love the Epic 2 bedrooms but I would take the owners suite. The second bedroom is for small children. The twin bed is small and the other son would have to sleep on a bunk. The Deluxe Owners suite is larger over all. The pull out sofa bed is quite large. It also has a half bath which would help. If sharing the shower is too much then take the 2 bedroom. You get better perks with the owners suite too like free soda, water, and a few bottles of alcohol.

This will be just as effective as NCL's "Blue Dot" from a few years ago. Its hard to enforce because of how hard it is to track everyone down. Some people could be in the pool, others at the pool bar. Are they not still on the pool deck? The really horrible ones are the ones that disappear from the pool deck and go to breakfast and lunch and expect to get those chairs at a later time. Everyone has their own belief on this. IMHO as long as you are on the pool deck, I think its ok to have a towel on the chair. I don't do this but I think its reasonable.

There are no formal nights on NCL ships. You are free to dress up as much as you like any night. People where anything white to the white party. Its not formal dress, it can be a white T shirt or shorts. But then again people show up at the white party not dressed in white too. Those who recently sailed Breakaway can tell you when the white party is. Its usually the night before the last night at sea.

Thanks for sharing. Its sad to keep reading how many of the many big shows on NCL ships have been removed and being replaced with the old cruise line workers entertainment. NCL used to pride itself on having some of the best entertainment at sea. When Epic launched, she was so ahead of its time with having 3 major Vegas style acts perform let alone all the other entertainment venues. I am in the minority which believes Epic is a better ship than Getaway and Breakaway. I think NCL over corrected and made Getaway/Breakaway so safe and boring. But my biggest peeve is how much smaller the venues and restaurants got compared to Epic. The Waterfront was a wonderful addition but IMHO every other aspect of Epic is better. I dont think they can prevent water slides from fading after 13 years. I have always seen NCL take great care of their ships so its sad to read Epic looks a bit tired. There is so much more room to spread out on Epic. The Bliss nightclub is HUGE. Spice is bigger and better with a real pool too. I want to go back on the Epic but she has not been back to Miami in 10 years and nowhere in sight for the next 3 😞

I remember bringing my own snorkel equipment in 2010 and they required a vest. You can sneak by with your own equipment and no vest. However if a lifeguard sees you they will instruct you to get a vest. Make sense. Safety first. I was bad and never wore one but that was wrong for me to do. The next time I rented the equipment and the vest comes with the equipment rental.

Interesting perspective and thanks for sharing. The peeves you have with the Haven are not new. The Haven menu never changes and you dont get any perks like free drinks, free internet, etc. Since you are an experienced cruiser with NCL, was this your first Haven experience?

I just hope it stays and is not yanked like Kinky Boots.

You would not be able to do that this weekend. Bayside will be practically closed off. Ultra Fest will be bringing 120,000 people downtown from across the world. The main stage is at Bayside and concert is adjacent to the port bridge too which will impact cruise traffic. When you combine this with the crowds of spring break, its a real jam. Biscayne is closed and fenced off many streets downtown. Anyone cruising out of Miami this weekend please take note

Traffic alert those cruising out of Miami the next few days Miami gears up for star-studded Ultra Music Festival Weekend; traffic to be rerouted in downtown Miami – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

YES! I was driving past Bayside Marketplace today and saw the stage and things going up. Every year this complicates port activity. Take the port tunnel instead of staying downtown and going across the bridge. This is unrelated to the original post about Miami Beach. This is about the music festival downtown. If you are cruising from Miami during the next few weeks, check to see what the updates are. If you have not booked hotels, stay out west near the airport. Downtown and the beach will be madness.

When you consider how much it costs for a pro photo and frame on a cruise ship, it explains half the cost of the tour. I agree with you. Its worth it to do it once on any ship. Gives you such a window of how much work goes into the cruise worker's jobs.

This crap happens every year. No matter how much the city tries to curb alcohol sales or emplace curfews, these cold blooded murders continue to happen. Miami Beach can be a dangerous place for tourists. The city used to be able to hide the robberies of tourists but then it got too much to hide. During Spring Break, I would NEVER suggest anyone go to Miami Beach. Not so much because of crime but because of the insane crowds. Stay downtown. I used to live on Miami Beach. It was a wonderful place to live and visit. The city started to embrace spring break, urban beach weekend, Bad Boys films, etc. It just was a magnet for an extreme party atmosphere. Now it seems impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Miami Beach will soon burn itself out. Gone are the locals, the local markets, and businesses. Now everything caters to a different party goer who is only there to pay big bucks for hotels and club experiences.

Do they still give you a behind the scenes professional photo with a chef hat working in the kitchen? IMHO that was worth half the price of the experience.

Thanks for sharing your on board experience. I dont think anyone would disagree with your suggestions. Passenger experience vs profit. If NCL had 2 major shows and gave Haven guests a bit more perks, soda or alcohol it eats into the profit which is why it wont happen. It saddens me that with the debut of the Epic in 2010, there were 3 major Vegas acts on board. We are now down to one. The pendulum has swung back to cruise controlled entertainment again.

Another genius move that I despise from the FDR era is the "free at sea" and all the 50% off cruises nonsense. From a marketing strategy it works with luring new cruisers. That is who they are targeting. But for us seasoned cruisers its frustrating because we know none of this stuff is free. When this all started, a top NCL executive had a Freudian slip while discussing the program and said "it was so good because the customer thinks they are getting all this stuff for free." Once she said it she tried to back track but its ok to admit the truth. I just miss the old days of not having to navigate through all these add ons. During this era, NCL definitely marketed towards kids and families but so does Carnival. There are more kid activities than ever with go carts, laser tag, virtual reality, etc. I wonder what the new era will bring?

Everyone tries and makes their company profitable. I dont fault anyone for that. But I do agree what a few others have posted about a sense of arrogance from him. I remember an interview he did with someone about a year after he took over NCL. He wanted to get more money from customers and there is nothing wrong with that. But the interviewer asked about guest experiences or enhancements and making the customer happy. Dead silence. He had no care or concern. He did not even bother to give a political answer. It was so odd. If you remember the first things FDR did was start dismantling guest experience from removing fireworks from the Getaway and Breakaway to specialty dining. However part of me admires what he did because I would never expect NCL guests to accept so much of what he has done. I always thought there would be push back and regret. I was wrong on that point so while I think its good he is gone, he was justified in what he did because he had success in that regard. Doubling Haven prices is outrageous but the Haven is still sold out 😉

Cant wait for this. Have a great time. Hope you take lots of pictures to share with us 😁

I love the Epic too. I keep waiting for her to come back to Miami, her original port. But she has not been here in 10 years and nowhere in sight for the next 4 ☹️

I have never booked a NCL cruise with NCL booking the airline. I am curious. Does NCL advise passengers to arrive a day early? I know its a touchy subject because if they did, many would complain about having to pay for a hotel. Its a huge risk to arrive the day of sailing. But I am just curious if NCL advises passengers during making flight arrangements.

No problem. You will find that some butlers will do things and bring you things that you never asked for or imagined. While some butlers keep their distance not to bother you and only respond to your requests. You can have your first meeting with him/her and explain what you want. If you have kids, chances are the butler will want to spoil them with cookies and treats. And yes I've had some butlers bring me some things like a dessert from Haven restaurant we never asked for but found out we liked.

NCL does not provide alcohol deliveries to suites with the drink package. I am not sure about soda but the same rule may apply. Any can soda whether delivered or from the mini fridge will be billed to your account. You can ask your butler to bring a pitcher of soda. If everyone in the cabin has the soda or drink package maybe its allowed. I am sure its not a big deal. It gets into a grey area because YES, NCL does treat canned drinks differently than fountain ones. I once had a butler bring a can of soda but she made me promise her not to tell anyone. So your butler will know best what they can bring you in the drinks department. Escape has a Haven lounge and you could get unlimited soda right from the bar. Juices are easily scored in the morning during the breakfast buffet area. They will have orange juice and apple juice for you to fill glasses. Juice at other times may or may not have a charge. Different ships, different butlers, etc make it a tough call to know for sure.

Which ship are you on? I ask because some of the newer ships like Encore, Bliss, etc have a Horizon lounge where you can get juices from a dispenser. I think even on Epic they had a pitcher of orange juice and water in the Haven area. There is no snack menu per se but you can ask your butler to bring you the typical Haven snacks like M&Ms, gummy bears, cookies, etc. Anything that is brought in a can i.e. juice or soda you will be charged for. The snacks or daily treats the butler bring are free.

I gave my opinion. I speak from experience. You are free to your opinion too. You are also free to research any airline about their customer service in regards to cancellations, lost or stolen luggage, and delayed flights. You are free to come back and post your conclusions or future experience at any time. I would never book flights on unreliable airlines no matter who was offering them and no matter the price. There I said it. I hope I was more clear. Many of these government owned airlines think arriving within 6 hours of arrival is on time. When you use this for traveling across the world for a cruise departure with no room for error is setting yourself up for disaster.

After a google search, I found that Air Portugal is a government owned airline that the government of Portugal just fired it's CEO. This is my experience with other government owned airlines. I stay away. They are always late and cancel flights constantly. If you have no time schedule and its not a big deal to arrive days late, then you can save some money. I cant stand unreliable airlines and most of them are owned by the government. BREAKING: TAP Air Portugal CEO Fired By Portuguese Government (simpleflying.com)

I am sure they are fine. I have not flown them so I cant comment on their service. But I am sure Air France and British Airways are fine. I was just speaking from experience. Many discount airlines lure you and then strand you.