Burgmeister

Or this ship's model :)

 

 

Well, I guess that's my daughter's spending money gone then.

Maybe, how do UK prices compare ? I bet you're paying for it somewhere:eek:

This is probably true. We paid £2100 ($3039 at current poor pound rates) for 3 of us in a mini-suite on a 7 night cruise out of Barcelona during school holidays. This included the completely free UBP for 2 of us and the soda package for our daughter. Also included pre-paid gratuities, but no flights.

 

Seemed like a reasonable deal to me, but probably expensive compared to US customers?

Thanks for the replies. Having given it some thought I think we'll just opt for taxis. There are 3 of us so its not a massive amount extra and its quite a hassle pushing a wheelchair and hauling suitcases.

 

Nice to knw the bus option is available though

How far from the cruise terminal is the Aerobus stop?

 

Do you know whether they can stow a wheelchair onboard OK?

 

Thanks

O'Sheehan's is open 24 hours for food. I think the dinner specials were 5-7:30 (maybe 30 minutes later) based on reading recent Freestyle Dailies.

Thanks for the info

What hours are O'sheehans open for food, and what hours (if any) are the specials served?

 

Thanks

Presumably, you need to climb into the bath to take a shower in the mini-suites?

 

Can you also take a shower in the Spa area even if not using the spa?

 

Edit: By spa I mean fitness suite!

Thanks for posting that Clive, seems to have addressed my query nicely.

 

Also, thanks Keith for filling in some extra detail. I think I might just leave our exisitng dinner reservations as they are and fill-in with entertainment around them, although I'll let the boss make the actual decision on this!

Y

 

Another thing that affects reviews a lot (with all the large ships) is that some people don't seem to appreciate beforehand the differences with the way the entertainment works, for example. Some people legitimately don't like it, but others just seem to be caught by surprise.

 

My advice is to always keep an open mind, expect things to be a bit different and always remember that different doesn't necessarily mean worse.

 

This is something that I know forms a large part of our cruise enjoyment. We have always found the entertainment of RCL to be excellent and go to most, if not all, shows. When I went to do reservations for the upcoming trip I was surprised that the only complementary shows available to book are Priscilla and the dancing one, which are each on two nights each. Does the theatre that these are shown at have entertainment on the other nights?

 

Also, I get the impression that the Epic has more venues for entertainment. Do they only do one show per night in these other venues? Is availability difficult?

 

Like I say, when cruising with RCL we had a routine that suited us well i.e. theatre, drinks, dinner. Hopefully we won't be disappointed by the entertainment situation on Epic.

Thanks for the info. Presumably though you can simply Hop off near to the attraction and Hop on again when you've seen whatever sight it is you want to see?

 

Walking tours are definitely no good for us but they are the best way to see any city if you are fit enough. I think we will stick to the HoHo and, if we feel it necessary, we'll hop off. The problem with all of these major cities is that you simply can't do them justice in a single day so you just have to determine what is best for your own circumstances to make as much of it as you can.

This year, we'll do the train again but not get off at the Vatican and go to the end of the line and just enjoy the sights around the Coliseum etc.

 

Are you on the roll call? Keith has given some good information on there.

 

Also, looking around t'internet it appears that the HoHo bus has a stop just outside Rome Termini station. Definitely beats walking!!

Hi Trickster

 

Thanks, we certainly hope so!

 

We are flying out to Barcelona on the 28th, we couldn't have any longer as its half term holiday and getting kids out of school is a lot harder than it used to be. So we'll just have to go back to Barcelona again sometime - no hardship I'm sure!

 

We won't be doing any NCL port excursions as they are all so expensive and also a bit "full on" for our liking. My wife is not a well woman so we have to take things pretty easy. Naples is a trip on the train to Herculaneum for a few hours and then we'll decide whether to do a hop-on hop-off bus tour of Naples when we get back, depending on how she's feeling. If she's had enough we'll get back on board and down a few cocktails (me and wife) and enjoy the waterslides/pool (me and daughter).

 

Rome is a bit busier but same kind of routine. Train to Rome HoHo bus tour then see how we are feeling as to when we return. Its our 25th Wedding Anniversary on this day, which is the main reason for traveling at this time.

 

Livorno is the only port where we actually have anything booked. We have bought tickets for the bus from Livorno centre to Pisa, relaxing couple of hours, then back to port.

 

Cannes, tender to town, mooch around and enjoy the beach.

 

Marseille - probably stay on board.

 

 

No speciality dining so far. We'll see how we get on with the complimentary stuff (already booked) and if we enjoy it we'll probably stick to that. We have the UBP, so if we don't enjoy the dining maybe a few more drinks will help!

 

I generally don't do reviews as my mind tends to flit about a bit and it makes it difficult for people to follow my train of thought. Also, I rarely take pictures as I find it detracts from the actual experience - my wife on the other hand always has a damn camera in her hand!

 

Cheers

We're on the same cruise as Keith sailing from Barcelona on 29th May.

 

Already booked dinners and entertainment but then, we aren't really fans of freetime dining we are more traditional in that respect.

 

I'm sure there are probably some areas of Marseille that may be worth seeing but I probably won't be getting off the ship. Hopefully everyone else will and we will be able to make good use of the onboard facilities. I don't mind having one duff port on a cruise that has quite a port-intensive itinerary. We don't like to over-do it so having a port that really doesn't do anything for me gives me an excuse to relax more.

Our upcoming Med cruise on Epic had an itinerary change last year when the original port of Palma de mallorca was swapped for Marseille. One port change out of 5 so not too serious although I have no desire to visit Marseille.

 

Changing that itinerary to the Canary Islands would really upset me though as we have already done 2 cruises to the Islands. I would assume a change of that magnitude would result in NCL offering to change your cruise/refund. If I had already booked my flights I still would have cancelled and booked a hotel in Barcelona instead.

 

I too have decided not to read reviews on NCL and judge for myself how good/bad they are. My only comparison will be against RCL as all 3 of our previous cruises have been with them.

[quote name='beerman2']$15.00 max per drink, no limit on how many you have.[/quote]
Also, bare in mind that if you choose a drink that exceeds $15 then you only pay the difference, i.e. you get $15 knocked off the price

[quote name='HowardK']I was being serious- but in a good natured way. I will be nice to order a drink without thinking "this is $11 etc...". However, I don't intend on being hungover or drunk to the point where I don't enjoy the cruise.[/quote]
^^ This.

When we normally cruise we tend to have one cocktail per evening and, maybe a glass of wine with dinner occasionally but with the UBP thrown in on this trip we will maybe have 3 or 4 drinks each during the day without concerning ourselves with the cost. I'm pretty sure our daughter will melt her card on sodas though! She doesn't have many when at home, but she's on holiday too!

None of the above! It's not a fancy espresso machine, but a simple drip-style machine for filter coffee.

Ah, OK. So NCL provide filters and coffee to use in the machine?

Thanks for the info

I have both a Nespresso and a bean to cup machine at home, so I feel her pain. :)

 

If she really needs a Nespresso fix then befriend someone in a suite. They have them in those rooms.

 

Well, if you didn't think the cabin coffee was too bad then we'll give that a go.

 

If it wasn't for the fact that NCL UK don't seem to offer "upsells" I might have been tempted to have a suite but, alas, they don't seem to think UK cruisers are Haven material!

Just as a matter of interest, if you buy credits do you have to book through NCL or can you still use a TA? Also, if you have to book through NCL can you book through NCL UK?

OK thanks Keith. She used to drink any old coffee but I spoiled her at Christmas with a Nespresso machine (I know, I'm too generous for my own good!!) and I wonder whether she has become a bit "fussy". I'll not bother taking our own, she can have the cabin stuff and like it!

 

Wish there was a kettle for my tea though :(

Thanks Keith but its more for her first cup of the day. She has health issues and takes a fair while to get "up and running" in the morning and a morning cup of coffee tends to help jump start the process.

 

If the worst comes to the worst I could always go to the buffet and grab a cup to take back, but I would rather avoid that if I can

You can bring pods or filters + ground coffee (the round, flat-bottomed filters, not cone-shaped).

Hmm. I knew I should have phrased my question better. As I said at the beginning I am no coffee drinker but I am aware that there are different types of pods available e.g. Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Lavazza etc, so which type of pods does the machine take?

 

Having asked that my wife will probably put up with the supplied "pretty awful" coffee, but I like to make sure she has the facts so can make her own mind up.

 

I'm beginning to realise that coffee forms the basis of a number of threads so I'm sorry that I started a new one.

 

Thanks

Even when we sail from Southampton we get there the day before!

 

This year we sail from Barcelona on the Sunday and so we will fly out on Saturday (and I have Friday night booked at Heathrow!)

If you wanted to take your own coffee to make in the cabins what type is it? Ground? Pods?

 

Thanks