oceanfun77

I was in the same situation. I could get a balcony for the price I paid for an oceanview. I called them 30 days before sailing to see if I can get a refund or a room upgrade, and expedia lady was confident they'll do it for me, but she called NCL and NCL rejected everything. I guess I learned my lesson, never be super excited to book a cruise a few months out in advance. It's way better to book it close to the cruise date...they'll always have availability basically.

I need some suggestions. Cruising 5/28/17 on Breakaway. Paid $919 for guaranteed oceanview OX, got an OB oceanview (selling for $1049).

But now, I see that prices for a guaranteed oceanview only costs $799 to book now, and guaranteed balcony only cost $929. I tried calling them for a free upgrade or any amenities, and they rejected. Should I bother bidding the minimum $25 per balcony room and risk getting a worse off balcony location than my current OB oceanview room on the 5th deck?

Also, do balcony rooms only come with one large bed? I am traveling with my mom and I think I prefer to sleep on separate beds.

I would like to get your opinions. Do you think it's worth seeing both the Crystal and Fantasy Caves or is one cave really enough? Thanks!

Dh and I were disappointed in Wine Lovers. The entertainment otherwise was fantastic - we also saw Rock of Ages, Burn the Floor, Carla Stickler, Howl at the Moon, and Second City. We thought Wine Lovers was cheesy, didn't have good flow, the wine wasn't that good and the food was mediocre compared with the food on the rest of the ship.

Wait, Carla Stickler is performing? On every breakaway cruise? When did she perform? Is it a paid event or free? I didn't see it available for reservations on ncl.com. I will be on breakaway on 5/28.

We were supposed to leave at 4 pm, but were delayed almost an hour due to a sick passenger. We had dinner reservations at 6 pm. We did get to see the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge, but only had minutes to spare. If the ship leaves on time, it only takes about 30 minutes to get past the bridge.

Geez a sick passenger and the boat hasn't even left port yet...:(

I see by the dailies that Cirque Dreams was held at 7PM on the first night. Was there another show as well?

 

We sail on 5/14 and the only times available are either 5:45PM or 9:00PM. Our only other option is 5/20 the night before we get off the ship. The other nights during the sailing we either have reservations for the MDR or one of the speciality restaurants.

 

Thanks.

 

MARAPRINCE

I am sailing on 5/28 on the breakaway and the showtimes for the cirque show the first night is also at 5:45pm and 9pm. I was wondering if I should pick the 5:45pm show since that will be barely 2 hours after we started sailing

I was researching glass-bottom tours and only one tour mentioned visiting turtles at the turtle cove (reef explorer). The other glass bottom tours make no mention to this...do they go here, or is it only reef explorer that does? I would definitely love to see an abundance of turtles living in their natural habitats! Thanks!

is the nighttime tour mainly to see the shipwreck? what if I wanted to see the reefs and fishes and turtles? Is it better to join the daytime tour instaed? Thanks!

What is the difference between the evening glass-bottom boat tour vs. the ones in the daytime? Are there supposedly more things to see at night? Is it an evening tour, or more of a sunset tour?

Also, which tour group do you suggest going through? I e-mailed aquatic Bermuda, but they haven't responded back to me...are they still in business?

I'm so happy I found this post. When did you get your onboard credit for expedia? it is really 2-3 weeks before sailing?

I also booked a cruise on expedia to sail on May 28th. I'm expecting $200 of OBC from expedia, but I still don't see it on my NCL account yet. I want to reserve my circus dinner/show with those OBC.

I will be cruising to Bermuda with my 63yo mom. The thing is I want to go horseback riding (the 7am one that goes into the beach waters), but does anyone know if it's advisable for a 63yo to do it? We both have no horseback riding experience at all. She has no mobility issue, but still...

Also, is it advisable for me to bring my bring SLR camera on this ride at all? Or should I just bring my iPhone? How wet do you get in the early morning rides where the horses goes into the water? Thanks!

 

As for "I can always upgrade if it's terrible" do you mean before the cruise or during the cruise? Before the cruise, you have some options. Once the cruise starts you're kind of stuck…

Oh of course before the cruise takes place! I did submit a very poor bid of $40/person ($80 total) to upgrade to a balcony. I doubt I will get it, but reading your opinions about my current room makes me happy with what I already have. Thanks!

OP, you did not say which ship ... when did you booked your OV-GTX and when did you checked your Trip Summary online to see 5208, as that has been assigned to you - as OB (which is a mid/upper subcategory within Oceanviews).

Sorry I forgot to specify! I am on Norwegian Breakaway. I thought all room numbers were the same on all the NCL ships. Goes to show how much a newbie I am! Thanks!

Thanks for your reply! How are norwegian cruiseline cabins rated? Is category OA better than OB, or does OC mean it's better than category OB?

I booked a guaranteed oceanview room, category OX. When I logged into ncl.com, I was given room number 5208. When I googled room number 5208, it says it is category OB.

My question is, is there only one cabin number "5208" throughout the whole ship, or can there be multiple room numbers under different categories?

BTW, any thoughts on getting a 5th deck cabin? I can always upgrade if it's terrible? Thanks!

Do you guys pay any tips when you eat at the main dining room? How about specialty restaurants? Is O'Sheehans a paid or complimentary restaurant?

Are ice cream, pastries, and cake offered for free? Where can I get them?

And is there a special food table laid out some time during the week that is not in the restaurant? When I went on a Princess cruise, they had this nice arrangement of sushi rolls (complete with carved vegetables) right out in the open one day...I just happened to walk pass it and see it. I don't want to miss the NCL one if they have it. Thanks!

Thanks so much! I just created an account on NCL.com to book the shows and dinner. Looks like prime time dinner has already sold out (I can only get 6:30pm or 8:30pm for dinner); I'm sailing on May 28th.

For the circus show, there is no option for premium seating...only regular $47.61 seats? Also, I'm waiting for expedia to grant me my onboard credits 2-3 weeks before sailing date so I can use my money to book that circus show.

I was able to get rock of ages for 6:30pm :) That show is about 90 minutes long? Then I can perhaps head to dinner at 8:30pm?

Has anyone seen Burning the Floor show? Is that worth seeing? I don't see any online booking for Second City comedy show though.

I really really want to see Rock of Ages & the Circus Dining show. How do I go about reserving this the first day I arrive on the ship? Is reservations open only on day of, or can I reserve for the whole week?

Also, is there a day in the main dining room where they serve steak, and lobster? Or do I need a reservation at a specialty dining room for that? Thanks!