graphicguy

Never thought about that. Thanks for the head’s up. May change my excursion. I’m a “lite” packer. To pack a suit jacket and dress pants/shirt is not in my nature. If I only need that for this tour, will probably punt that excursion and find another one. Pizza…for certain….especially from the Mother Land.

@mking8288….Thanks for the advice, Henry. You made up my mind. I’ll wait to upgrade to unlimited WiFi on board. I don’t watch much (if any) TV while cruising. Too many other things that I like to do better. Aside from the safety briefing and weather reports, I can’t think of any time I’d want to turn on the TV. So, streaming has no use. I thought perhaps it would make posting pics a little easier. But, if there’s no advantage, I don’t need the streaming option. I’m on Verizon. So, will contact them to see what plans are available. I’ll be in Europe for nearly a month. While I’ll already be with family while in Italy, there will be a couple of weeks I’m on my own. PS…regardless of the plan I upgrade to, it seems posting vids while on board is an exercise in extreme frustration. I’ve yet to hear if Starlink makes a significant difference. And yes, we’ll chat/post each other more before embarkation. Again, thanks!

Have sailed both. Getting ready to sail Epic again. Sailed her the first, and only time, 10 years ago! Loved her then. Looking forward to sailing her again. Sailed Escape right before COVID shutdown. Some similarities to EPIC. Liked sailing her, too. Be happy to sail her again. But, no way for 2X the fare. I like both. Maybe if they were equal in price, I’d lean towards Escape because she was just refurbished…but not with a higher fare!

I got some Cruise Next certificates left over. Would love to cruise there again with you. Had a great time!

Excursions.....here are the ones I've looking at.... BARCELONA -Barcelona's Best-$129 -Scenic Barcelona (which will be free after discounts and credit) Probably do both since we're there for 2 days and will allow me to revisit Sagrada Familia PALMA MAJORCA -Palma de Mallorca Attractions-$119 exactly as it sounds...sort of a "best of" tour NAPLES/POMPEI -Pompei and Sorrento to visit artisans and the ruins-$169 ROME -Rome and the Vatican-$299 My understanding you really can't get into the Vatican or the Coliseum with out being on a tour (well, you could but it take forever) -A Taste of Italy and Rome-$199 These are both sort of no brainers and we're there for 2 days so...well, of course! FLORENCE/PISA -Pisa and a Test of Tuscany-$179 -David and Florence-$209 Another 2 day stay and really have to do both of these. CANNES FRANCE -Monaco and Monte Carlo-$109 This is another one that's self explanatory. If you're going to be in the French Riviera, gotta see this. This is subject to change, but so far, this is what I'm looking it. All prices do not include the Sappire discount nor the $50 excursion credits.

Transport.......From MRS to the hotel (old Marseille port), I booked this..... VIATOR Pick up at MRS with a driver who is supposed to pick me up somewhere at the airport (they say they'll send the details when the ride is paid for on Sept 29) who will have my name on a placard. And, they are giving me a ride in a white Tesla. Why that matters, I'm not sure. Price is $74.43. I'll throw in a Jackson for a tip if everything goes well. From there, assuming I can get an UBER, I will take that to the ship. Hopefully, get to the ship some time around noon. I do not want to be waiting around the pier to board and don't want to get stuck in any sort of crowd getting on the ship. So, perhaps even have lunch first, and then head to the pier.

Might think about the upgrade given the unlimited internet. But, just got off the phone with NCL again. They said the upgrade for WiFi does not include streaming. Not sure if there's much of a difference. But, if I'm trying to upload pics and short .mov files, that may be worth it. But, they made it sound like I'd have to pay an additional $100 on top of the Free at Sea Plus to do that. So, I consider it a hard pass. I'll just upgrade my internet on board.

Thanks. Hadn’t seen that before. You guys know more than NCL, as I was getting different answers from them directly. If allowed to capture the additional $50/pp/per excursion, that would have been a $200-$300 swing for me.

Trying to make heads or tails out of the FREE AT SEA PLUS offer. So, according to the pre cruise concierge, I can get... -Premium Plus Beverage package. Don't need it, but if I had it, would use it for some of those fancy/schmancy liquors I see people talk about all the time in these threads. Alone, this would cost $383. -2 extra Specialty Dining Meals. Again, don't need them as I already have 1 LeBistro dinner from AMEX, 2 Specialty Dining coupons via FAS and 2 Specialty Dining coupons for being Sapphire Latitudes. That's 5. But staying in the Haven, I get use of that Restaurant, too. 11 day cruise with 7 Specialty Dining coupons wouldn't go to waste, though. An $82 "value", supposedly. -Unlimited WiFi upgrade....an alleged $229 "value". This one I could really use as I will be doing the "live" review here. The Steaming option would cost me another $100, however. Have not had much luck with internet, on any cruise, on any cruise line, ever. Sometimes it's good. Most times not. I don't know how good internet service is throughout the Mediterranean, though. Anyone have any insight on the "streaming" service on Mediterranean cruises? -an Additional $50 exclusion credit for the 2nd guest. Well, that's all well and good, except I don't have a 2nd guest. The real question is, would that transfer to me as a solo? One pre-cruise Concierge says yes....another says no. The one that said "no" states I'd have to buy two separate upgrades to double my Excursion credits. Huh? If true, I'd be getting $100 off each excursion I book through NCL. THAT would be very useful...especially given I get 20% off all excursions as a Sapphire. Total cost for all of this? $462. I sort of like this. I'd jump on it if they would offer the $100 excursion credit per excursion. Not so attractive if not. Am I thinking right? I'm going to email the concierges go get clarifications so I have something in writing, either way.

You’re kind. Thank you and glad you enjoy them. I appreciate others when they report on their trips. If I can’t be on a cruise, I like reading about them. I’m on the odd cabin number side. Mine was a total “heat of the moment” choice for this cruise. I was only supposed to go to Italy to visit relatives. It turned into this as the deal was just too good for me to pass up. Frivolous? Probably! Do I care? Not even a little bit! I’ll be gone nearly a month, including the 11 days on this cruise. I’ve flown in and out of Barcelona….about long enough to go to the Sagrada Familia, but that’s about it. So, looking forward to spending a little more time there and to visit the other ports with those overnights making it a little easier to explore.

Cool. I’ve organized Meet and Greets in the past. Doing it again for this cruise. Love doing that as it gives all of us a way to interface with crew upper management and each other. Plus, NCL does a really nice job of hosting us with snacks and refreshments. NCL loves Cruise Critic members. If interested, sign up here. It’s going to be a pretty good sized group.

Yeah...there are some really good deals out there on NCL. I just booked an 11 day France, Spain, Italy cruise out of Marseille for October on the Epic. I'm right at $4,500 for a 2 BR Haven Suite with FAS. That's for the cabin, NOT per person. I upgraded from a Haven Spa Cabin which was about $4,350 for the cabin. Same cruise was $2,500 for a standard balcony with FAS. Those are great fares.

I'm proud of the fact that I've never missed a cruise I've had to fly to for embarkation. And, out of the ~30 cruises I've taken, the vast majority I've flown in the the day of embarkation. Lord knows I've been chastised by my reckless behavior here at CC. I've had airports close because of bomb threats, leaving me stuck on the tarmac for hours. I've had weather delay not one, but two flights. I've had an UBER get woefully lost taking me to the pier adding 2 hours to what should have been a 20 minute ride. I have never missed a cruise. My track record stands and remains pristine for not missing an embarkation or sailing. I'm damn proud of it. When will I come in the day before? When there's a + or - hour's time difference (I live in EDT/EST). When I can't get a direct flight. When I can't control my own flights/transport to the pier. When there's no other flight to get me to the ship on time if my original flight is late/cancelled. When there's no other airport within 2 hours of my embarkation pier. When I can't use only carry on luggage foregoing lost checked luggage. Although, I've had my gate checked luggage get lost from the check in gate to the baggage handler who was no more than 100 feet away from where I left off the luggage to be loaded. This cruise won't qualify given my self imposed rules of cruise travel. And, I got a lot of rules for all sorts of cruise scenarios. There's a + 6 hour time difference. Given I'm going to be gone for nearly a month, I need something bigger than a carry on. Therefore, I need to check luggage. I DO NOT have a direct flight. I got close. My flight is direct from CVG to CDG. But, I have to get from CDG to MRS to where the ship is. That means, ship sails at 7:30 p.m. on Oct 2. It is coming off a charter, so I believe it will be in Marseille either the nite before or early on Oct 2. I'm flying out Sept 30 at 7:00 p.m....lay over in Paris for 3+ hours and planning to arrive (using the term "planning" very loosely) in Marseille right around 2:00 p.m., Central European Time. Then the question of where to stay comes in. Stay near the Airport? Or, stay near the port. I chose staying near the port. As tired as I'll be from the red-eye, I'll be too "jacked up" to just go to sleep. So, found a hotel in the "old port" area, the Ibis Budget Marseille Viuex Port. Don't know the area. But, it seems it's relatively close to at least some restaurants. And, I'll assume a short ride to the Epic in port. There were lots of hotels available. But, some ranged from $400/nite all the way to $1,400 nite. To sleep? Not even remotely considering that given I can book an entire cruise for $1,400 nite. And, given a little shopping, I can probably find an entire cruise for close to $400-$600. Ibis is/was $160/nite. Still working on what I'm going to do after the end of the cruise. And, looking at a lot of excursions, which I'll report here.

What a great idea. Thanks!

Yvonne....I can't express how much I enjoy your reviews. Thank you! As I'm usually a big ship person, you've made me want to book the Spirit. NCL should offer you some gold nuggets to repay you for your review. As an aside, I've been to Skagway twice. First time I met a couple who summered in Skagway who were teachers. They signed up to do tours when they weren't home...IN ARIZONA.....teaching. Interestingly, they said the tour company subsidizes their living arrangements, their food and their transportation. They were going to retire and more there full time. I'm too much of a chicken, but I thought about doing that, also. The guides said the tour company is begging for people to run their tours. It's usually done by college students, but retirees (raising my hand) are more reliable. Thought about it. Didn't do it. I also asked them what it was like to spend summers in Alaska. They loved it. The community welcomed them with open arms. I asked if it was hard to make new friends. I'll never forget the wife's response. "They knew we had moved to the area within 48 hours of our arrival. Everyone knows everyone. Nothing happens in Skagway without the whole town knowing it". LOL!

WOW! Nice job. My family makes fun of me because I peruse cruise fares so much. Probably saved thousands by doing so and seeing great fares and price reductions. I guess I’m a cruise line “coupon clipper”. 😉

OBC…..I’ve done enough cruising with enough cruise lines, I have a pretty good understanding of how the OBC works, and how to work the OBC perks. This has been thrown around these threads for quite some time. But, just a brief recap….AMEX., more specifically, AMEX Platinum and Centurion cards (non branded…for example, no Delta Airlines branded cards qualify for the perks). I know there are other perks available for AMEX’s blue and gold cards, too. I’m not as familiar with those, however. The way it works, you pay for your entire cruise using your AMEX Plat. They gave me $300 OBC (the amount is dependent on the the cabin type you book), a dinner at LeBistro and a bottle of wine. Given I use a TA, make certain the TA participates in this AMEX program. Not all of them do. And, I’ve been told by NCL’s PCCs when I’ve spoken to them, they DO NOT participate in the program. You DO NOT have to book your cruise through Amex Travel to get the OBC. On my last cruise on the Bliss several months ago, I was chatting with my Cruise Next Manager, who informed me of the $200 OBC I could receive for signing up for the NCL Credit Card. There’s a minimum amount you have to charge on it to qualify, and you have to do it in a specified period of time. Plus, you don’t have to use it to book another cruise to get the OBC. I signed up. Bought a dishwasher that I needed. Paid it off immediately. Lo and behold, a $200 OBC showed up on this booking after I asked my TA to check into it. So, that’s $500 of OBC. My TA says she saw somewhere that I MIGHT qualify for another $200 from NCL. But, she’s not certain and is checking on the qualifiers for me. Either way, I’ve got $500 OBC at least, as well as a free LeBistro Dinner. I’m not a wine person. So, I’ll give that bottle of wine away at our Meet and Greet.

Same experience as both of you. 14 days before sailing is the cutoff. So, request it 15 days (preferably sooner) before sailing. Trying to remember what they offered me the last time I filed for a price drop. I don’t think it was 100%. But, IIRC it was more than 50%. But, could be wrong on that. It was a sizeable FCC though.

Amen to that! My son is a doding offspring. I’m an empty nester in recent years. He calls all the time just checking up. He’s worried about me traveling alone through Europe for a month. He’ll be with me for part of that trip, but he wonders if something happens, no one will be able to communicate with him in English (the only language he knows) if something goes awry. I mentioned to him, if something goes awry, I won’t be able to communicate with anyone in Europe either. I’ll leave my well being with those who find me destitute somewhere in France doing my best Marcel Marceau imitation trying to communicate. I’m extremely proud of him. I gave him the best education I could. He’s taken it and run with it. Too often I’ve seen other parents bemoaning the exact opposite experience with their kids. He took a smaller salary with a medical startup and got (at the time) a healthy share of stock options. They went public right after the COVID restart. He did well!!!! I keep having to remind him that I traversed the globe for roughly 3+ decades for my work. I’ve forgotten more about travel than he’ll ever know. We’ll be together for a week in Cortona. The rest of that time, and the purpose of this thread, I’ll be solo on the Epic. In the interim, the doggo is looking at me and wondering why I’m chuckling to myself while she’s the only one around trying to take her after breakfast nap.

Amen! They’re family! My son says my doggo replaced him. I told my son the dog didn’t cost me a private Jesuit school secondary and college education! 😉

Key to getting decent fares…on any of the cruise lines….is to be flexible. There are very few cruise lines I’d cross off my list. But, I can usually find a good fare by shopping NCL, Royal and Celebrity. Then, I look at my 2nd tier of Carnival or Princess. Specifically to NCL, I can find good fares the majority of the time. If not, I look elsewhere, or change my dates! Looking back at what I’ve paid historically over the last 10 years (this would be before FAS), total out of pocket with drinks, specialty dinners, etc, I am paying about the same. I’ve found some really good fares here and there. But, overall if shopping and taking advantage of perks and coupons (a recent NCL pricing tactic), I can find deals!

Given the logistics and the time differences, and the flights, my usual book, pack up roll aboard and leave isn’t going to cut it. Marseille is a + 6 hour time difference for me. Finding a sitter for roughly a month for my beloved Daschund isn’t as easy as having a neighbor watch her for a week. Family who usually kicks in, is going to be in Italy while I’m gone. And, I will not put her in a kennel where she’s in a cage most of the time. Just thinking I probably am going to need a separate camera other than my iPhone given memory requirements. So, trying to get by as cheaply as possible for a digital camera. Recommendations welcome.

You live in Huntsville? Makes sense if you do, given your user name. Been there many times!

Believe me. Those are the same thoughts I'm having!

This has been going on since April in the planning stages. Once I decided to cruise, it was "game on". Been talking a lot about FARES. I'm nothing if not a cruise fare shopping machine (remember when I said I was retired?). I wanted to have a balcony, given the beauty of the areas I'm going to be sailing. Being on a ship for 11 days, sure would be nice to be in the Haven, given the Epic is supposed to have the best Haven in the entire fleet. And, it's just been refurbished. My rule of thumb, I shoot for the Haven cabin to be in the mid $4K range. Nothing...ever.....in the $5K range. And, that's not per person. That's all in. And, for 7 days. This cruise is 50% longer than that at 11 days. Now, I'm not sure what's going on with the NCL published fares on line, but my TA can beat them....by A LOT. NCL sent me a 20% off Europe Cruise certificate. That was hot on the heals of the 20% off on an Alaska cruise which I took earlier this year on the Bliss. That brought up some great deals, but none as good as the Haven fares that I was seeing. Armed with my 20% off coupon, my TA found a Haven Spa Suite (H9) for $4,550 with FAS. TA would kick in $400 off that as part if their commission. I have no clue what their commission is. But, if they were kicking in that much. they must pull in a nice amount when booking Haven Suites. I know how quickly fares can change, so I told her to book it. I had 4 Cruise next certificates. I could use 2. So, I did. So, my out of pocket was just over $4K for the fare. Add in another $400 for tips, and I'm right there around mid $4K...right in my range. But wait...there's more. Keeping an eye on fare drops, I noticed the only open cabins were Haven 2 BR Suites (H6) open, and they weren't much more than the H9 I had booked. Seriously? A Solo in a 2 BR Suite with 2 bathrooms? That's being a lush, isn't it? Of course it is. However, the delta between the H9 and H6 is $113....not per person, but total. Give up free Thermal Spa with the H9, but get way more room with a Killer bathroom with windows overlooking the water. And, it's IN the Haven Proper. Yeah....I paid the difference and booked it. Next...that planning of transport, where my hotel is, what excursions, etc.