Chirpbird

I remember you and your purse!!!!

It's hard to forget, isn't it? :D

Thanks for your reply on the room question I had- I took the beverage package as my promo and will likely get the 4 meal SDP as an add on as I expect ~$100 in OBC.

The one problem I had in my Epic studio one time was the hangers moving- so I took them out. I do sleep with earplugs in but don't know if that would have helped the noise above.

I wonder if you could have gone to guest services to see about relocating? I am not sure how full the sailing was though.

I thought about going to Guest Services, but figured there was nothing they could do. It's not like the crew could stop working, or (like you said) there would actually be an empty room.

Sam

People reading the review might think that the UDP still exists (it doesn't unless you booked long ago when it did exist).

Ahhh, gotcha! I was wondering about your reply a bit, and your response makes a lot of sense! We had the 4 dining experience option. It wasn't a freebie; I bought it for us. I think the 4 meal plan was ~$99 each. Just our first dining experience at Cagney's would have cost us ~$65 each.

Thx,

Sam

Glad you had a good cruise, sorry you chose a not so good cabin....

HTH,

Cheers,

Connie

Your ideas are certainly good ones. I thought about an interior room, but then my sister and I would be in the same cabin. She snores. She says I do, too. But, I don't wake me up. :D

I do like the packing cube idea, too!

Thanks,

Sam

Hello, thank you for posting- I am in 12573 for 2x net year and am wondering if I can expect the same as deck 13 seems to be hollowed out on the deck plan for service/crew etc.. areas. I read a few reviews on 12573 that said it was okay but did other people in your area notice the same thing?

Whatever it's called...Ultimate Dining Package, Specialty Dining Package, or the Magical Mystery Tour of Specialty Restaurants, I highly recommend it. We bought the 4 meal deal, and it was awesome!

one bad decision. I sailed on the Escape with my sister for the May 20th date. Most knew us from our "Sorry!!! I'm drunk!!" purses we carried. We did enjoy the UBP, Spice20 (especially Jay and the Grotto), and all of the crew and cruisers we met. I also highly recommend the Ultimate Dining package. Additionally, we enjoyed the pacing of the itinerary - two sea days followers by two ports, then another sea day and another port.

So, what was the one bad thing? The freaking room I chose. We stayed in two studios. Very cool, and more room than I expected. Bring a foldable basket small enough to fit in a 6x12 cubby. Otherwise, you'll have to put your knickers on a shelf. And, they'll continue to fall out while simultaneously hiding the one pair you're looking for at the bottom of the pile.

We had connecting studios, and mine was 12571. It is almost directly under a crew service area. Every day, around 6am and 10pm, it sounded as if they were trying to kill a T-Rex with cutlery, plates, and metal trolleys. They would put some of the trolleys away (or so I guessed), and my "headboard wall" would shake. My sister heard it when she was in my room, but did not hear it in hers. (Her cabin was 12567.)

Even with my sleep depriving room, NCL is ranked higher by us than Carnival (not a fair fight, really), MSC (too European for us), Celebrity (too old for us), and Royal (a very close 2nd). I also highly recommend the Studios...just not the one I was in.

I can only speculate, but my personal feelings are that those who drink bottled water are more conscious of how much they drink, so they may hydrate better than when drinking tap water. And, as fshagan has said, because the tap water may taste differently than the water at home, you may drink less of it, while bottled water has a more consistent taste. The only way to discount or blame the water would be to do similar to what you did with a B2B, but documenting that you drank the same amount of both bottled and tap water.

I just wanted to thank you for making me see the error of my ways. I experience horrible swelling on cruises. I elevate my feet for several hours a day, then they're back to little flesh-colored nerf footballs the next day. I've even joked about cutting them to relieve the pressure. Now, I know I'm not drinking enough water. It makes perfect sense. I'm worried there's something in the water, so I don't drink it. (I'm not a huge fan of bottled water. Almost never buy it. Just when I'm going on an excursion, really.)

Share! Actually, most ports I've been to will ask where you're going, and the taxi only leaves when it's full.

My sister and I always travel on cruises together. For our next cruise, we chose two studios on NCL Escape. Can we still participate in the "Solo" board and gatherings? We love to meet people, and have new friends.

Thanks for replying. I am introverted. I am also very quiet and shy. So I was shocked at how easy it was to meet people and for me to talk to fellow solo cruisers on my first solo adventure. Although it took 2 days for me to open up and feel comfortable. I'm glad I was on a 7 day cruise. I'm hoping I will be able to open up and have fun from the start of my next solo. It will be next month.

I'm an introvert, but I'm also shy when I first meet folks. I find cruisers to be so easy to talk with. They're happy, going with the flow, looking for adventure and new people to talk with. I've never had a problem striking up a conversation with anyone.

I did experience the 500 - internal server error earlier. However, I was able to log on a few minutes ago, complete my online check in and purchase an excursion.

Ditto on the Zero. First cruise on NCL in May 2017

I'm not trying to 'get' anything by tipping. My mom was a bartender, and I value the effort bartenders put into their job. I know there's a gratuity built in to the package, but it doesn't allow me that personal opportunity to show my appreciation.

Do I get faster service? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The bartenders do recognize me, but I also engage in conversations with them.

Yuck! I probably should have also mentioned we used a porter. Best $20 bucks I ever spent.

I noticed someone else mentioned ~$100 for two, one-way transfers. I think that's about right. I was thinking $47.

I recently completed the May 22nd sailing on Liberty of the Seas. It was the first time I used RCCL's transfer from the ship to Houston Hobby.

We were in debarkation group nbr 2. From the time we left the ship, and boarded the bus was about 15 mins. From the time the bus left for Houston Hobby was about another 15 mins. My last debarkation in Galveston left me waiting an hour to get to customs, and then waiting another 90 minutes for my ride to reach me in the traffic.

I've cruised RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival and MSC. My 2017 cruise will be my first on NCL. Based on my personal experience, MSC was not a good fit. It was my least favorite. I'm 47. One of my biggest peeves was the lack of loungers. I'm not a big fan of cruise ship pools, and I pretty much define skin cancer danger based on my coloring. (Red head with skin so white I don't need a night light.) Loungers around the itty-bitty pool were naturally taken. Loungers outside of this area had enough wind blowing to make me think a plane was taking off nearby.

My sister and I are older than you (mid 40s), but we've sailed Carnival (once), Celebrity (twice) and Royal (twice with third coming up in May). We far prefer Royal over Celebrity. Celebrity felt as if its sidewalks were rolled up and put away at 9 pm. It just felt dead. Royal, on the other hand, feels more vibrant. There are more activities, hang outs, etc. (We didn't care for Carnival much at all. The itinerary and crew were spectacular, but the decor was heavily stained and some of the fellow guests were beyond crude.)

I have the Ben & Jerry Sweet for the May 22, 2016 cruise out of Galveston. So looking forward to the kitschy room

I may be late to the party with this announcement, but I wanted to share in case anyone's been as busy as I have been. I booked in Jun for a May 2016 LOS sailing to the Caribbean. Today, I checked the pricing, and I was able to secure a $319 refund.

So, if you booked a bit ago, take some time to check out the current fares! If you find it's lower (or if you just can't tell), simply call up Royal. They'll take care of you. :D

Very well stated by MapSmith. Do what makes you comfortable, but I'd be hard pressed to imagine a foreign country doing much with a photocopy.

FTTF - Worth it if YOU think it is. It's irrelevant whether others would place the same or different value on it.

A gajillion or so...next May. So, my Dad's birthday, all of my sisters' birthdays, my birthday, Labor Day, Halloween, T-giving (and my b-day is on T-giving this year, so that's a twofer), Winter Solstice, Christmas, New Year's, President's Day, Valentine's Day, MLK day, Good Friday and Easter will all have come and gone before I get to cruise again. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! :(

I'm a horrible saver. I simply cannot do it. So, I like to "pre-pay" for my drinks so I know I can enjoy myself with no worries. I also like that I get Cokes, waters and coffee. For me, it's peace of mind, and I always get my money's worth.