graphicguy

This is the 2023 drink menus and what comes in each package… https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Beverage_Packages_01232023.pdf Grey Goose was the well vodka on the Bliss a couple of weeks ago!

I don't believe Grey Goose is an extra charge on the regular drink package. It wasn't a couple of weeks ago.

Usually was sitting at the OL bar. Received great service and got to know the bar staff (who were all great). They saw me coming. They had my drink ready before I even sat down. Having sailed on the 4/22 itinerary, I would usually find a seat (didn't take up a whole couch) among other people. Always asked if I could join them. They never turned me away. A couple of times, they didn't interact with me, even when I did my best "Chatty Chucky" routine. But, that's OK. I just talked to myself. In doing so, they would all look at me strangely and would leave (I'm serious). If I saw something that was particularly interesting, I'd make a comment...to no one but myself. Carried on more than one conversation with my party of one. That got looks, but also got me a pretty wide berth of empty chairs around me. Worse was the Atrium. If I spied an empty seat with a piece of clothing on it, I'd look for any signs of people who were sitting there for 15 minutes or so. If no one showed up, I'd just pick up the clothing, offer it to one of the wait staff as a lost item, and sat down. Not sure, but when (more likely "if" someone showed up for their belonging, they would look around my general area, but by then, a lot of time had passed and chairs had been moved. So, if they had reserved the chair an hour earlier, they didn't know which one. Same in the Cavery Club. If there was an empty seat at one of the small tables, I would ask if I could use it. No one ever said "no".

Thanks so much for taking us along. Thoroughly enjoyed all of it!!!!!!!

Interesting.....I took focaccia and fruit from the OL to my cabin. I also took a cheeseburger and fries from the Garden Cafe to my cabin. No one said a word to me. Moreover, I had a fruit basket in my cabin plus daily treats that were brought to my cabin. So, food was in my cabin every day.

Breakaway/Getaway ships are where value meets modern cruising, IMHO. They both have a soft spot in my heart as they were the first ships with a Waterfront, Ocean 678, more modern entertainment, etc. Plus, they were the first ships I actually sailed in the Haven, getting a taste of what that was like (wonderful). The downsides, because they allow smoking in the open areas of the casino, it tends to permeate throughout Decks 678. The newer ships close off the smoking areas of the casino, alleviating that. It would be great if they updated that. It's been a year since I sailed either of them. But, sailed the Breakaway last Fall. It was in great shape. The -Away+ ships do have the Observation Lounge, which is a great venue. Plus, their entertainment has been updated, too. Some have updated Specialty Dining Venues, also.

Yes…I believe so. I spent a lot of hours at the OL, too. It was my go to place. Always parked myself by one of the big windows or at the bar. LOVED the chocolate muffins they had in the a.m. Added a bowl of fruit, a Bloody, and my day was off to the races. 😉

I always feel sorry for the people/families I see dragging around big suitcases when I dis/embark and see them struggle getting in and out of lines, negotiating with elevators/stairs (have seen them actually have to pass up elevators because their luggage and the people in it, wouldn’t fit together). Then I remember, they were the ones who packed it. So, the sympathy goes away.

My rule of thumb…..cut in ½ what you think you’ll use, and you’ll still be overpacking. I plan one outfit for every 2 days of cruising. Shoes do double duty. Tennis shoes for the gym double as close toed shoes for dinner. Shirts get 2 days unless I got sweaty or spilled something on them. Pants for venues that require them get 2 days of use. And, they’re khakis with pockets all over the place. So, they double as a “carry all” on excursions. I don’t skimp on underwear. But, that’s the smallest item I pack, so I can fit all that in a small space. Make use of the ship’s laundry specials. Carry on luggage only….one roll aboard and one back pack per person. Easier to traverse the airports, pier, embarkation and disembarkation and saves a few dollars not to have to pay for checked baggage. I’m presentable, always. There isn’t one person, on any of my cruises, who will remember what it is I wear/wore.

I’m with Chief on this. I don’t mind if you’re saying you have to cut back on something like 2X/day cabin service. It doesn’t affect me one iota. But, when you’re raising DSC while cutting back on services (in general), that’s where the rub is. All that said, I’m not one of those “back in the good’ole days” kind of cruiser. Back in the good old days, smoking was allowed all over the ship. Nothing against smokers, but it bothered me to no end. Having to wear suits or formal wear to dine. Didn’t like it to begin with. Will never miss it. I didn’t want to be told I had to have dinner at either 5:30 or 7:30….pshaw! EVERYTHING was an extra charge (except for food). Drinks were bought a la carte. No excursion credits. Believe it or not, chair hogs were even worse 25 years ago. Entertainment, while not bad, wasn’t anywhere near to the quality we see today. And in truth, I think I paid $1,000+ for me and my (then) wife for an inside cabin on the SS Norway (right before it blew up) to the Bahamas. I can probably book a similar itinerary on a new(er) NCL ship with FAS right now, for the same or less.

Ask your Cabin Steward for one. S/He will bring one. Now, the bad news, the pre-packaged coffee they use with it is not very good. Get some of those Starbucks instant coffee packs. Not ideal, but way better than what NCL provides. That way, you can use the coffee maker only for hot water. They do bring creamers and sugar with the coffee makers, though.

Never say never, but Princess has been the one line I can’t really find good deals on. And, I shop a lot. I know it appeals, because they have quite a few ships. They’ve just never compelled me to sail them. Just shows, one person’s perfect cruise line is another’s “meh”!

Speaking of customs lines, there must be different implementations of the face recognition stations. I’ve had some that you just boogie right through. Just went through the one in Seattle, and it was very slow in face recognition. Same face. Different implementations. I would have thought the Federal Gov’t would have contracted with the same facial recognition company for ALL of those cameras. Maybe some are newer than others. I just know the ones in MIA and FLL are way faster than the ones Customs uses for Seattle Pier 66.

No question. There is no big line just to get into the Buffet (as I did experience on Royal last year). The individual stations sometimes do have a few people waiting (e.g omelet station). Don’t cut in front of those people waiting. Wait your turn, like everyone else. Every time someone tries to cut in stating “I only need a little of this or that” from the station, backs everyone else up. Same with the pizza thief. Not willing to wait their turn, they duped the OP.

A little insight…….. -Customs/immigration is run by the country you’re entering/learning. -Disembarkation at the end of the cruise (or embarking on a cruise) can and is chaotic. Just imagine you were in a high rise hotel and everyone staying in the hotel decided to check out/check in….all at the same time. That’s what’s happening on a cruise ship, with up to 4,000+ passengers. They try to stagger dis/embarkation. But, cruise people (that includes me) want what they want right now. That doesn’t lend itself to cooperation to have things run smoothly. I will say that you can affect you dis/embarkation by not trying to do it all at the same time as everyone else. For example…The vast majority (but not all) of people who embark, insist on getting to the pier as early as possible. Problem there is, you have the previous guests disembarking the same time as you’re trying to embark. Result? Chaos. Try waiting until early afternoon to embark. Disembarking guests are all off, and the big surge to embark has passed. Much easier and smoother to do it later. Some people drag ½ their wardrobe with them. That makes for an uncomfortable dis/embarkation. Try packing lighter (much lighter) NCL excursions are booked through contractors. So, they are dependent on them. The assurances NCL offers are they will wait for you if your excursion operator somehow is running late. So, being late do sail after an excursion is NCL holding to their promise to wait for you if your excursion runs late. It costs more, but they provide some assurances as a result. This is true of all cruise lines, though. A little planning and some common sense will make your “I’m not sailing ‘XYZ’ cruise line again” into “we rolled with the punches and had a grand time”!

Have wandered in and out of these waters way too many times. So, what do I do? I wander in deeper!!!! I always look at total out of pocket. I mean, that's the bottom line, right? How much you spend in total? You may find this charge or that charge different on some ships, even some cruise companies. At the end of the day, how much IN TOTAL will the cruise cost. All things being equal (and they rarely are in the cruise world), similar itinerary, similar ship type, similar ship services, they are all going to be close in total out of pocket. Always going to be some outliers in that statement. But, overall they are competing with each other. So, they have to stay pretty close as far as perks, fares, amenities, etc. Generally, NCL is right there with the rest with competitive pricing. Right after the restart, I took a couple of Celebrity cruises. Nice ships, good service, good food, typical itineraries (Caribbean). They were touting their version of "EVERYTHING INCLUDED". Tips, drinks, internet included (no specialty dining however) and they gave some nice OBC, too. Great! But, to get that, you had to pay more in base fare compared to NCL. Some like that. They don't want to have to do the compare/contrast of all charges. Celebrity alleviates that. But, their fare and out of pocket were higher. That's just one example. If you only look at one sailing, on a newer ship, going to popular destinations, during the "high season", it's going to be more expensive than taking an older ship, during low season, etc. So, whoever I see a thread talking about nickel and diming, or someone state NCL's fares are too high, or they can't get what they want for cheap, I just chuckle. Shop a little and you'll find something you'll like that will probably fit your budget.

Just ask for a coffee maker, You’re cabin steward will bring you one. It was one of those that had sealed coffee packets, not sure the kind as I never opened one. I did bring MAXPRESSO packs (Amazon). I like the Starbucks instant packets, too. I’ve found the coffee from cruise line urns or the packets they use individually to be woeful. Only good coffee is from the Nespresso machines, but those are only in the Haven.

Light rail is probably cheapest, but also the most inconvenient. Shuttle Express cost me $25+$1/bag/pp one way. They pick up and drop off right outside the terminal. Uber/Lyft is probably somewhere between a taxi and Shuttle Express cost wise. Assuming (you know what that means) it’s around $45-$50 one way. Someone correct me if I’m off.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Not familiar with that person's/family's experiences! Don't judge a cruise by one (or a few) people's experiences.

Love the Escape and her sisters. Some of the nicest ships at sea. Not sure which reviews you're referring to, though!

Well, that’s too bad. I wonder if it’s up to the Concierge weather s/he offers to seat you by going in the back entrance? Agree about the small venue for this show. It’s outstanding and really should be in a bigger venue. Just not sure where given there’s audience interaction as part of the show. That would be harder in a big venue. For me, this is at the tippy-top of the shows NCL offers.

Maybe want to rethink that. Regardless of you’re taking one thing, or ten things…if you know exactly what you want, or want to get a closer look at something…..get in line behind the last person and wait your turn! Just a little perspective….

Learn something new everyday!

Man…that’s awfully tempting!

Never thought of that. Whenever NCL owed me money at the end of the cruise, they sent a check. But, now that I think about it, cashing pay out has to be much less expensive for NCL to do than to wind through the paperwork to cut a check.