Squidward Q Tentacles

I say hello to the crew waiting to greet us, proceed to the main dinning room and have a nice lunch. After that I visit the cabin to see if I can drop off a few things, then explore until the life boat drill. After that I head to the sail away party and enjoy meeting new friends as the view of the port disappears behind us.

I remember chuckling the first time I stayed in an Epic studio cabin. First thought I had: "four people can easily sleep in here". :D

Imagine an inside for a week at $1,000/8 squid buddies, $125 to cruise for a week!

That would be a fun cruise!

Don't care about my stateroom. I'm rarely in it except to sleep and shower.

 

Of course, I did spend 21 years in the Navy so I'm really not fussy. A Studio room for me it like the Admirals quarters. :D

Imagine if NCL offered an inside cabin with 8 bunks in it set up like on a naval ship for a cheap price for old sailors to cruise in.

Here is a list of why I love each cabin that I have stayed in.

Inside:

Very dark when the lights are off, makes it so easy to sleep. Very inexpensive and helps makes cruising very affordable.

Inside sideways:

Same as above, but the layout makes it feel much more roomier.

Ocean view:

A nice view of the ocean, good for someone a little claustrophobic. But for me, it gives me a chance to see the waves from a closer view.

Balcony:

Fresh air, a quiet private place to enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. If you do some laundry in the bathroom sink or have wet bathing suits it helps to get them dry. I have been known to put up a clothes line inside the cabin for my wife. Just don't do that on the balcony itself, don't want your clothes falling overboard.

Aft facing balcony:

Same as above, but a different view. At night when is very dark you can sometimes see the water glow because of the bio-luminescent bacteria reacting to the oxygen being stirred up from the prop wash.

We also had a bunch of wogs in khakis (including myself) but I would have gladly entered the realm and was very disappointed that we couldn't. I imagine in today's Navy the crossing the line initiations and ceremonies pale in comparison to those of only 20 years ago.

I bet they have changed a lot!

I know what you mean about planning a meet and greet. I am currently planning our meeting greet for my November 30 sailing on the breakaway. Our meet and greet by no means is as large as yours we currently have about 85 people on our list. I only wish I was able to to pre-do the nametags with little pictures but I don't know how to do that LOL. I do have name tags to bring with me and we have several games to play like bingo, a little trivia and LRC. Several of the girls on my rollcall are celebrating birthdays so I decided to pre-order a birthday cake so we could all share in singing happy birthday to the one in celebrating. It was a small gesture on my behalf which I hope should go along way. For me half the fun of cruising is the planning stages. That's why I already booked another one for six months after this one and again I would like to host a meet and greet maybe I'll learn a little more from this one and make the next one even better.

 

Thank you for reminding us why we cruise.

 

Geri

I use a program called PrintMaster 18.1 to make the name tags and I print them on Avery pin style name badges 74540. They come out 6 to a sheet of paper, this is what they look like before I split them apart and put them in the plastic holders.

Have fun with your planning, that is one of the parts of cruising that be enjoyed for a long time at little cost.

Balcony...balcony...balcony on the ocean!

 

Squidward Q Tentacles --- I will soon also enjoy the view from our first "back porch"

Sometimes you will wake up and find you have new neighbors. I always like that surprise when I open the curtain and see another cruise ship alongside us.

I love getting under the covers and going to sleep with the slight rocking motion of the ship. I never sleep better than on the ship.

That's very true, I sleep so well in 10 to 20 seas.

I love the view from the back porch.

Another thing I really like is that NCL has added a few new cruises. Next December I will be doing a partial Panama Canal cruise, this a new cruise for NCL and opened the door for a PC cruise. Before this I would have needed to buy two sets of one way tickets and that was an expense I could not afford. I also like the idea of a South America cruise, that sounds like a great cruise!

Yep, sure does beat Uncle Sam's haze gray and underway cruises....:D

 

You mention the Dream aft cabin. Aft cabins do nothing for me. Reminds me of when I was a little kid riding in a station wagon in the rear seat facing the back....I like to look to the future, not the past....;)

 

Cruise cabins seem to draw me into afternoon naps on sea days...;)

You can also look at it as leaving all your worries behind you and watching them disappear.

But you are correct, a forward facing balcony cabin would be my first choice if at all possible.

Sparks1093, you sig says:

US Navy, too many to count but included 4 Med cruises (totaling 21 months) 1975-1992

I once took a cruise across the Atlantic on the USS Concord and back on the USS San Diego in 1975 when I was in the ROTC. We have sailed the same waters I would have to say.

It certainly beats anything that Uncle Sam's yacht clubs were able to offer us, that's for sure:D. For us cruising is the perfect vacation.

Very true, and no paint to chip!

Before our first cruise I spent most of my vacations doing pretty much boring things. We would go to casinos and spend a couple of thousand dollars and leave with nothing but a few days away from home.

Our first cruise was on the Sun and it was 5 days full of so much excitement and fun that we got hooked on cruising! Since then, we have spent 52 days on cruise ships and really look forward to each of our next cruises. When I board the ship I let go of all my worries back home, no email, no cell phones, no job worries, just relaxation ahead for the next week or so.

I love the food in any of the places we eat, we never go hungry. The shows have always been great, the crew so friendly and I have had only one issue with a cabin once that was taken care of.

Lately I have been planning meet and greets, three completed and two scheduled ahead. For our December 1, 2014 cruise we have almost 200 people signed up! I print nice name tags for everyone with a picture of the ship and the date on it that people can keep as a souvenir of their trip. I also print a 4x6 color photo of the ship with the date on it for everyone. This gives me something to do for several months prior to my cruise, it just gets me more excited about my pending cruise.

So far we have had inside cabins, ocean view, balcony and a mini suite. One day I hope to be able to book a full suite, just too much for my budget currently. We did have an aft facing balcony on the Disney Dream and that was really special!

Being able to get away from home for a nice vacation is great, but being able to see so many different places and meet so many new people is really priceless!

To all my fellow Cruise Critic members, may your cruises be as exciting and plentiful!

Squidward

I really hate the thought of a ruined steak, not being sarcastic, but really hate the thought of ruined meat. Sorry they ruined your steak, to think that some cow gave its life to be able to help feed someone and that piece of meat was thrown in the trash makes me sad. I love a great steak, served medium rare with a side of asparagus and a salad makes a great dinner. A nice bottle of Port to go along with it and that is a wonderful evening.

I do not like eating birds, seems kind of weird to me. I love cold water fish, pork, alligator and of course beef. The thought of that 32 ounce steak in a trash can would make me sick!

Sorry you had a bad night and I bet if the cow could tell you he would feel bad also that he was not appreciated.

I am not sure how they choose the cabins, but I started with a gty inside and after several upgrades I am in a BA balcony. Two of my upgrades were free and two were small fees. I was last a gty balcony that when assigned was the BA.

You should join our roll call, going to be a great event, almost 200 people!

Yeah, I've sailed though a hurricane with a warship a couple years ago.. I think after that I can handle anything but I have to look out for the girlfriend!

Thanks again!

What's a warship? Are you talking about a CVN or a DDG? Just curious.

Boy do I love NCL! I received a free upgrade to a OA from an OB on my Dec 1, 2014 cruise.

I called NCL and the person did not have any idea what I was talking about.

What is the details for that banner ad here?

NCL Sun, 2011

It ends November 9th, that is what a person who works where I purchased my cruise from told me.

Thanks Squidward. We will be on the Pearl on Jan. 2.................................

 

.......................and on December 10, 2015!!!

 

With you.

 

I will be jumping on that roll call soon.

Great! Looking forward to seeing you there and on the Pearl.

It would be cool if most of the people that signed up for it show up, would be a great turn out for Cruise Critic members. As of now I have 177 people signed up!

Still trying to get info on the Pearl. Anyone?

This is the latest I have:

Captain,- Paul von Knorring

Hotel Director, - Cary C. Turecamo

Food & Beverage Director, - Anilkumar Chinthapattla

Group Service Coordinator/Access Officer - Anne V. Salvanera/Cherry Bongcaras

Restaurant Manager - John Tragett