xenagurl

Ben ziplined! Love it!

Unfortunately not anymore. I've been looking for a line that will but for now I'll have to fly in. I took the Jade there in Nov 2011 and Now 2012 and had a fantastic (and safe time) on each occasion. I'd not hesitate to go back.

Its Cayo Leantado at Samana. We took the ships tender (I think they charged last year 49.99 but when the day came they changed it to 14.95 if I recall correctly) It was our favorite beach.

Thanks! :D

Currently it's $14 for the transfer to the beach, and $44 for beach transfer "plus" which includes use of "kayaks, pedal boats, sun floats and snorkeling equipment". If you go with just the $14 transfer, you can rent the equipment anyways if you so desire.

 

xenagurl... Surprised you aren't doing the zip line 6 in 1 tour with Terry. It's awesome!

Hmmmm I'll look into that Kylenyc. My only zip line experience was on the Breakaway and I only took that way down because someone was behind me and I couldn't walk back on the ropes course. LOL

Boopsahoy those are lovely photos. Is it Samana? I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it next month. I found what I saw of Tortola forgettable, I'll check it out more one of these days, but Samana looks like it has the views that I'm interested in.

If they're photos of Tortola which beach was it at?

That's a bummer OP. Some adults simply do not know how to act. Thankfully they were told to cut it out.

I don't think you'll find that a regular occurrence, I can only think of one cruise where my neighbors were noisier than I'd like, but in all fairness they weren't loud, I just didn't want to hear them. They were on their balcony talking and playing music, when I just wanted to sit out there and enjoy the sounds of the ocean instead of their nasal voices. I've never been in my room and found anyone particularly loud.

Depends on what time the ship docks, is cleared, when you get off, if you take your luggage off with you and where you're flying back to.

If all of those things go as they normally do, and you're flying back to the States, you can make your flight, I know many people that do. Would I do it? No, but I don't enjoy getting up early and banking on everything going right. Life is funny sometimes, especially when traveling and I don't like feeling like I "have" to get anywhere in a rush when I'm on vacation. You may feel differently. If there's a 12pm flight. You might want to go with that instead. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

Note: There are security lines in BCN, not necessarily very long, but I've certainly been caught in ones that took longer that I wanted it to, including a time that I was pulled over for carrying cash...yeah go figure.

I'm glad that you had a great time! I love the Jewel, she was the first NCL ship that DH and I even cruised on and what made us continue with Norwegian. :)

I can't compare to the other ship as I've not sailed that one, but I've been on the Jade three times and have lots of info here on Cruise Critic and on my blog.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=97204

http://travelxena.com/category/cruises/norwegian-jade/

I liked Genesis restaurant. It's about 20 minutes walking from where the ships come in for day stops. I took a cab so I couldn't tell you how to get there, but this is the address and you can put it in your phone's directional system.

327 Calle Recinto S

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901

Insightful and well said. It really does explain the mentality behind the bashing.

For over a decade NCL seems to have intentionally done things differently than other lines. Freestyle was developed to reach out to those who didn't want an assigned dining time, assigned table mates, assigned show time, etc. back when it started it was quite different than the other lines. NCL changed their dress code, not longer requiring formal wear certain nights. NCL added many extra restaurants choices back when other lines might have had one specialty restaurant. NCL adjusted the prices of those venues to spread people choices among venues and adjusted show times to help the flow through the venues. It is not perfect every night on every cruise, but I really think NCL has tried.

 

There is evidence that NCL's concepts have succeeded...nearly every line has added an open dining option. Most lines now have more specialty restaurants on their newer ships. Several lines have adjusted their dress codes over the years.

 

Not all cruisers like any of the above. There is a set of very traditional cruisers really dislike these concepts. NCL is not for them; some of them say NCL "cheapens" the cruise experience...whether the NCL's cost is more or less, they dislike it and it cheapens their experience. If people at other tables in the dining room are not dressed, the elegance of their evening is shattered. If other people are not assigned to dine and converse with them, the cruise experience is cheapened. Had NCL's freestyle concepts failed, some might have felt vindicated. Had NCL's concepts stayed confined to NCL ships, they could have written it off as a new cruisers line. But NCL's concepts have crept over onto other lines and even proven popular with many established cruisers, so imagine the frustration and vitriol of those who hate said changes in the industry. Well, you don't have to imaging, just come to cruise critic or have yourself seated at their dining table in traditional dining...you can get an earful. Or not, some very traditional cruisers are also Delightful, nonjudgemental and/or restrained. OK, perhaps my rant may also seem judgmental. I do not mind traditional dining. Depending upon table mates, I have had some lovely experiences and learned much from some cruise mates. But I also enjoy mixing in freestyle cruises. I try not to judge the dress of fellow cruisers and I do not they to guess their incomes.. I'd likely be wrong if I tried.

Up-sell, Upgrade pshaw... The thing that matters is that you have a WONDERFUL trip and enjoy the suite! Bon Voyage! :)

So I gave them a call because on this site...

http://www.hsn.com/products/norwegian-cruise-line-gift-card/10066064?rid=2715&query=ncl&isSuggested=False&

It says that it can't be used to buy HSN gift cards, but I wondered if the purchase of a NCL gift would qualify as that. The pleasant sales person I spoke to said that indeed it couldn't be used to buy any cards on the site including another NCL gift card.

Unfortunately that makes this an offer that I wouldn't use. Ah well. Maybe they'll partner with someone else soon.

Sounds interesting. Thanks for the update.

If I bought a $500 NCL gift card, I would get that plus a $100 HSN gift card. Could I then use the $100 HSN gift card to purchase a $100 NCL gift card?

That's what I was wondering. Sounds like a great deal.

ROFL That's a great story!

I'm very happily married. Solo cruising helps keep me that way. :D

 

Caro

There you go! :D

I love, traveling with my husband, I love traveling with friends I love traveling alone. Cruising solo allows me time to just be with me and sometimes that what's needed.

We went at the $35 price pp and for that price it was pretty good. The food was all around delicious. However I like the food on Norwegian in general so I'd probably not go back at $50 a pop. There would have to be something on the menu that I found irresistible in order to do that.

Since he's your favorite chef you'll probably really enjoy it. It does appeal to foodies, and I'm sure is worth it depending on what you like to eat. If I were you I'd check out the menu ahead of time, and definitely go once.

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Perfectly said. My sentiments exactly.

While I have empathy for the family, and for any other family going through illness or death, I can not blame NCL for sticking with their policy. It is called personal responsibility and I have a hard time with people who don't take personal responsibility for themselves, and try to make others responsible for their actions and their loses. We all have the option to purchase insurance. By not doing so, we personally assume the risk of something happening that would cause us to lose our investment. By doing so, the insurance company assumes the personal risk for us...it is why insurance exists.

 

Good to know! Thanks for the tip!

Great pics, keep em coming :)

 

We love the Epic, and will be cruising her for the third time this

December.

She definitely has a lot to offer! Enjoy your cruise!

I hope to get some more photos up by the weekend. :)

I hope to bump into you again as well kirsty_r!

I'd planned on the going on the October voyage coming up but that's just not going to fit into my schedule right now. So much for my plans to spend all day on the water slides! LOL

I completely forgot about this trip post! I'll search my server and see if I can find where I put the photos from this trip and add a few more.

 

Maybe I am misleading everyone. It looked like a line dance as they all piled onto the dance floor, faced the same way and danced from side to side, at times hands in the air, other times bending forward with a bit of clapping here and there. It did look great fun and such a catchy song.

I should have asked at the time!

What you describe sounds like the Wobble or perhaps the Cupid Shuffle.

I really enjoyed reading your blog.

Thank you for sharing. Lydia of Ohio

Thank you for checking it out and letting me know. Much appreciated. :)