Blitzburggirl

On 2/12/2020 at 5:03 PM, rbschultz said:

 

I was on Symphony in August and noticed a majority of people dressed in Formal attire including families with young children.

 

The real answer is wear what you'd like and enjoy your vacation. 

I was on Symphony Jan25-Feb1 and was pleasantly surprised how many folks seemed to dress up nearly every night. I did 4 out of 7, and my remaining 3 were at least date night appropriate if not formal. 

Our cabin was on the 8th floor and we loved walking through Central Park to and from dinners and shows. We did dine at specialty restaurants 4 nights, and with friends the remaining nights, so I did re-wear the dresses two of the nights I went formal. I loved that lots of folks seemed to be dressed up, and I didn't feel out of place at all, dressed up, or dressed down.

My guy is 6'6 and pushing 400. We were just on the Symphony (and NCL Getaway fwiw.) We did alot of specialty restaurants and they were all able to accommodate without making it a thing. Usually we ended up with a bench on one side of the table and a normal chair on the other side and I simply took the bench and he sat in the chair. Johnny Rockets was insanely tight though, with two benches on each side of the table.

Anyway, the theaters and the arenas (like the aqua theater), comedy clubs and pubs etc, no issues.

You did mention beach chairs. He's very careful about that and all were strong enough to accommodate (on the ship and Coco Cay.) The umbrellas on Coco Cay at Chill Beach were kind of a pain because they are set very low. But I'm 5'6 and they were kinda low even for me, they are squished in tight and to stand and put on sunscreen etc was awkward. For him, it took skill!!

We did find quite a few places on Symphony were the ceiling height was a thing. We've never been on Indy, but, fair warning! The ceilings may be low! The sprinklers in the cabin grazed his hair, and the entrance to the bathroom and the balcony required a slight dip. I think it was Wonderland on Symphony as well that had some pretty low ceilings going down the stairwell.

Sooooo easy! I don't think it took more than 5 minutes from entry to the queue through security, the person who scanned our phones and we were walking toward the ship. I did print our boarding passes and we used those for our drink package and anything else we needed (bought internet and a couple shore excursions.)

When we went to our cabin, our passes were there. Seamless. Loved it!

I guess I don't understand all the folks saying they understand the policy. It's not really about the policy. The policy is great. Love it!

What it is about is literally, a change to the itinerary the day of boarding (while the ship is spending the night in the harbor nonetheless) and literally refusing boarding just sucks. No nice way to say it. This is not an instance of poor planning on the OP's part.

What happens if the the ship as at sea for 2 days and is unable to dock or tender to the port for the third day? Do they toss the infants overboard? Surely there is precedent for accommodation in this case. At the minimum a waiver to sign offered. (Which, as a parent, I would have signed.) 

I also agree that I would have made every effort to have at least one adult and the 7 year old sail, and demanded refund for those refused boarding.

12 hours ago, stephiems said:

 

I'm not quite sure why you are going back and forth on this with me, there is no need to convince me. I want people to use reusable bottles, I'm not arguing against it. The truth is, people don't want to have to fill up and glass and be careful while pouring it into their bottle. It is too convenient to have a plastic bottle. In order to make it easily accessible, they should have dedicated stations that are made to fill water bottles. Then, slowly phase out bottles all together.

Our last few cruises have been NCL. Their beverage package will give you a zillion beers or mixed drinks, happily! Also water in dispensers at various locations and in a glass. It drove me bat crap crazy, at first) that bottled water wasn't included, as it is for Royal and Carnival. Anyway.. after watching the zillions of ditched drinks, it occurred to me how many of those bottles would have a sip or two taken, then tossed. (I'm sure I'm about to see this on Royal this weekend (it's been a decade since I cruised Royal...) Anyway, I'm 100% on board with not providing bottled (or canned!) water in the drink package. But damn. Why can't they have bottle refill stations like airports and gyms!? If they can have a washy washy lady, they can certainly have a bottle filler upper man a few refill stations in the gym and a few central locations. Seems soooooo much cheaper and better for the environment. 

As it was, on NCL, it was a pain to refill a refillable bottle, because people would literally stand in front of the water dispenser with a little cup and then try to pour it into their water bottles making a mess and a huge line. We can do soooo much better!

10 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

I don't understand how Royal can consistently, across many restaurants, make so many desserts that look fantastic but just taste meh.

We have a theory about coffee on the ship. It is never good, and we think it is because most of the folks that make it have no idea how Americans like coffee to taste. LOL Americans also have unique tastes in deserts it seems.

Fantastic review! I'm hanging on every word!

You mentioned on page two that all the cardio machines in the gym were.... reserved? Did you notice if that trend continued throughout the week? Or certain times of day?

4 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

if the price drops, just cancel the package and repurchase it.  no penalties involved.

 

I'd love to! Hahahaha I'd love to see it drop! We are two weeks out, now, so I doubt it will. 

I've been babysitting mine and watching the prices for about 3 months.

We sail on Symphony the last week of Jan and currently it is $61 per person/per day plus grats. I agree with @JasonMason, plan on about $65, but I've seen it up as high as 80-something, and I managed to snag $57 in early Nov. I was hoping it'd go a little lower for Black Friday, but the lowest I've seen was the $57.

We are going to CocoCay.

46 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Such conditions are relatively common with actual MINOR CHILDREN where issues of custody / kidnapping are a concern. 

However, there is no such thing as parental permission for an adult to travel, as was being claimed here.

Yes dear, I was agreeing with you.

I'm interested as well :)

5 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@brillohead @HalfHand  Maybe the key in your dispute is the differences between parental obligations and restrictions, that may extend for years after majority is reached, and the legal rights of offspring when reaching the several levels of adulthood.

 

@HalfHand  I cannot tell from your post if an actual dispute (over your ex taking your 19 year old daughter out of the country without your permission) reached a judge, or if the judge merely approved such a provision in a proposed custody order submitted by your lawyer.  I do know that judges can impose conditions on divorcing parents that have nothing to do with the kid's rights. And that provision does not restrict your daughter from leaving if she wants to, unless you left that out. Were the judge's order to apply directly to her right to travel, your daughter likely have been able to get an injunction or declaratory judgment against its enforcement. In addition, judges often make rulings that extend beyond their authority, and this could well be the case here. (It would be interesting from a retired judge's perspective to see the wording of the actual provision.)

My ex husband was not allowed to take his son (4ish-10ish at the time) out of the county. His ex wife was "afraid he'd take their son and leave the country with him." The fact the man shirked parenting with 3 wives didn't occur to her that he would want to be bothered.. plus he was in the military, where was he going to go? LOL Truthfully, she did every thing she could to make things hard for him to see their son.

Anyway, turns out that even though my ex couldn't take the kid out of the county (and I do mean county, not country) anyone else could. Crazy. But, that said, this was while the child was wayyyyy under 18,  but it is an example of a condition imposed.

Edited to add: to attempt to put my comments back on topic... had I left the ex at home, picked the kid up, which I was allowed to do, and driven to a cruise port, the chances of me being stopped boarding with him were likely next to 0. These are button pushers, not legal experts on international custody law and intricacies of state law.

22 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

I believe it should be charging your kids for the soda package, which is much less than the drink package.

That's what it did for us.

We booked two cabins. errrmmmmm My 17 year old and I in one, and my guy and my son's 18 yo best friend next door.

We paid grats on beverage package for adult in cabin and grats on soda package for under 21 in cabin, for both cabins.

32 minutes ago, BTHodgeman said:

 

From the Royal Caribbean Guest Conduct Policy:

 

Ports of Call

Under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

 

Because he was leaving with someone 18+, RC must consider that person to be the 'adult guardian.'

 

However, another version of the Guest Conduct Policy (also directly from RC's website), specifies that only guests under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian:

 

Ports of Call

Under age 16 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

 

Dannnnng. It's a moot point for us now (he's 18, you know, an adult in all but LMAO) but I just couldn't believe they let him leave the ship with his friend!

1 hour ago, HalfHand said:

 

Seriously?

 

Let me make this more clear for you. This isn't speculation on my part. When my daughter was 19 my wife had to have written permission FROM ME to take our daughter to the Bahamas.

 

My daughter is NOT special needs.

 

The problem is you think 18 is some magic number. I'm telling you with demonstrated facts that you are incorrect. I can't believe you have the gall to sit here and tell me my lawyer, and the judge presiding over the details of the custody of my daughter were wrong.

 

I suggest you drop out of this discussion, you really are starting to sound deranged.

 

 

And you are sounding unhinged. Hahahaha

As a single parent whose ex spouse is military, I've lived far from my sons father since my son was 5. In those years we've gone on 8-10 cruises, countless trips to Canada, and two European trips. I always carry my separation agreement (in North Carolina the separation agreement outlines the terms of the divorce) and the executed divorce document. In the separation agreement it states that I have (well... now had lol) sole legal custody. That means I can (could) take him where I want- when I want. Even though I always had it, I was never once asked for it.

There is likely more back story for your particular situation, but the vast majority of situations end at 18. That's just the way it is. Was your daughter still in high school at 19? Sole legal custody gives you the responsibility of her education. That said, I've never once heard of anything except financial obligations extending beyond 18, unless your daughter is special needs. No one is saying all these folks in your life are wrong, if that's the way it was structured, I guess that's the way yours was structured. But believe me, being military affiliated, I know lots and lots of people for whom fighting over geography was a thing, for decades. 

We took my son (17 at the time) and his friend (18 at the time) last April.

It was Norwegian, but no- we didn't need anything special. 

The only thing I haven't seen said anywhere is... I was appalled that my 17 year old son was allowed to disembark in Nassau with only his 18 year old friend?!!?!?!?!? So if you're not ok with that, be aware it's a possibility. I didn't even know that it could happen as my son was a minor- so we never discussed it. 

1 minute ago, Blitzburggirl said:

Thank you for your review, as it made me smile. :)

 

We were also on this sailing. It was our second time on NCL, and second time on Getaway (also sailed April 2019.)

 

I have to admit.. there are some quirks, but I LOVE this ship! 

 

I don't get the O'sheehans love some people have. The bar itself is really nice, but too crowed (for me) til late at night (then I love it.) The food/service were both reliably crappy both in April (teen boys liked the late night wings) and this past week. The nachos were nothing special and the apple pie/ ice cream wasn't worth the calories by any means. But the steak fajitas.. I can get behind those!!

 

Bars... Love all the bars and all the bartenders. Syd's was new for us on this sailing and we had much much better weather this time (spring was out of NYC) so we loved the waterfront as well :) Always love the howl at the moon (I think I spent two full evenings in there- poker widow!) the Million Dollar Quartet is FANTASTIC and we really just have to say Vincent the cruise director is fun. Sea ya when I see ya!

 

I don't like that there is only one pool and the location stinks. UGH. 

 

We are non smokers and it took us almost 3 days to find Spice H2O in the spring. Glad to know about it from the beginning this time!! 

 

Mojito bar gets much love!! But boy are they slow and only one bartender much of the time???? Those drinks take foreverrrrr.

 

I spent alot of time whining that the beverage package allows all the Grey Goose one can drink for a week straight.. but not bottled water..  but then it hit me on the way off the ship.... I saw sooo many abandoned drinks over the course of two cruises. I'm glad they aren't handing out bottle water (like I would have wanted) I can imagine a zillion bottles with 3 sips taken out of them abandoned every day or tossed so people don't have to carry them. 

 

Food. The MDR's were great. We had the dining package both trips and I am quite miffed we couldn't get any decent reservations this time, last time it was no problem, so I didn't stress about it til we were on board. The buffet was beyond boring. Seriously sad.

 

Poker tourney was poorly run. Enough on that. Luckily the casino took the liberty of making me a casino rewards card. LOL I don't gamble, but I guess they figured since my guy does they should make me one. It was great for keeping the lights on and devices charging. 

 

I used the fitness center every day. I filled out a Cruise Hero card for the cleaner guy every single day. He truly was my cruise hero (especially in the noro season!)

 

Why was my cabin sink water perpetually scalding? I couldn't imagine a child trying to wash their hands with that sink. 

 

Speaking of cabins.. We also only saw our steward twice. And I was careful to not leave the do not disturb light on. Didn't really see him messing with other folks cabins either. And he forgot towels for our cabin (did everything else) TWICE!?

 

Speaking of towels- pool towels.. I love not having them in the room. I like this new check out thing. FYI... You don't have to run up to the Lido before your excursions to grab some, they check them out right as you exit the ship, and you can sign them back in as your reboard the ship. LOVE THIS CHANGE!!!

 

I'm sorry to hijack your thread @kbb but our experience greatly echoed yours :)

 

 

 

 

OH!! But RE: the bottled water...

WHY is the ship selling refillable water bottles without a SINGLE place that you are "allowed" to fill them!? Most airports/malls/campus's/hospitals/gyms/work environments have water bottle filling stations. How irritating to have to wait for the "rule breakers" to fill their water bottles at the water dispensers! 

Thank you for your review, as it made me smile. :)

We were also on this sailing. It was our second time on NCL, and second time on Getaway (also sailed April 2019.)

I have to admit.. there are some quirks, but I LOVE this ship! 

I don't get the O'sheehans love some people have. The bar itself is really nice, but too crowed (for me) til late at night (then I love it.) The food/service were both reliably crappy both in April (teen boys liked the late night wings) and this past week. The nachos were nothing special and the apple pie/ ice cream wasn't worth the calories by any means. But the steak fajitas.. I can get behind those!!

Bars... Love all the bars and all the bartenders. Syd's was new for us on this sailing and we had much much better weather this time (spring was out of NYC) so we loved the waterfront as well :) Always love the howl at the moon (I think I spent two full evenings in there- poker widow!) the Million Dollar Quartet is FANTASTIC and we really just have to say Vincent the cruise director is fun. Sea ya when I see ya!

I don't like that there is only one pool and the location stinks. UGH. 

We are non smokers and it took us almost 3 days to find Spice H2O in the spring. Glad to know about it from the beginning this time!! 

Mojito bar gets much love!! But boy are they slow and only one bartender much of the time???? Those drinks take foreverrrrr.

I spent alot of time whining that the beverage package allows all the Grey Goose one can drink for a week straight.. but not bottled water..  but then it hit me on the way off the ship.... I saw sooo many abandoned drinks over the course of two cruises. I'm glad they aren't handing out bottle water (like I would have wanted) I can imagine a zillion bottles with 3 sips taken out of them abandoned every day or tossed so people don't have to carry them. 

Food. The MDR's were great. We had the dining package both trips and I am quite miffed we couldn't get any decent reservations this time, last time it was no problem, so I didn't stress about it til we were on board. The buffet was beyond boring. Seriously sad.

Poker tourney was poorly run. Enough on that. Luckily the casino took the liberty of making me a casino rewards card. LOL I don't gamble, but I guess they figured since my guy does they should make me one. It was great for keeping the lights on and devices charging. 

I used the fitness center every day. I filled out a Cruise Hero card for the cleaner guy every single day. He truly was my cruise hero (especially in the noro season!)

Why was my cabin sink water perpetually scalding? I couldn't imagine a child trying to wash their hands with that sink. 

Speaking of cabins.. We also only saw our steward twice. And I was careful to not leave the do not disturb light on. Didn't really see him messing with other folks cabins either. And he forgot towels for our cabin (did everything else) TWICE!?

Speaking of towels- pool towels.. I love not having them in the room. I like this new check out thing. FYI... You don't have to run up to the Lido before your excursions to grab some, they check them out right as you exit the ship, and you can sign them back in as your reboard the ship. LOVE THIS CHANGE!!!

I'm sorry to hijack your thread @kbb but our experience greatly echoed yours :)

Interesting comments!

We were also on this sailing and my guy played in the main and a couple of the smaller tourney's as well as a good amount of cash games.

Echo many of the comments...

1) Smoky.. bugs me, not him, so not really a problem.

2) Horribly slow refreshment service (I delivered more water/soda to him from the bar across the way over the course of his play than the servers.

3) Getting in a cash game was insane... a list where you have to stand around and wait and wait and wait. WTH. Additionally, it was so very crowded and players had no control over where they were placed in alot of cases.. which brings me to

4) there were a bunch of Vegas grinders (cool.. not a problem) however there seemed to be alot of communication. Also a husband/wife "team" that seemed to do very inversely well. The crowded situation and poor execution made it feel as if the games weren't exactly skilled/luck.

5) We were guests of the casino, but he paid his buy in... I cannot believe the waited til the last minute to provide any (vague) information.

6) He "got" the late flight, and that was extremely irritating. I'm sure some folks on the morning flight would have preferred evening and vice versa. Why was there no way to indicate a preference?

7) Ship rake is always nutty.

Overall.. we enjoyed the cruise and it was a positive experience, but we likely won't bother with poker tournaments via NCL again. Looking forward to Card Player cruise in Jan on the Symphony. 

On 11/6/2019 at 4:58 PM, harert56 said:

We will try anything at this point. We have exhausted all options. Regarding the issue on the current ship , I agree that they don’t want to be bothered about an issue that occurred 6 months ago, but a supervisor could make an attempt to alert the proper dept within NCL.   If you owned a restaurant, would you want a disgruntled customer who got

food poisoning without some sort of compensation, standing around discussing it with those who are waiting in line For a table. If I am a business owner....... I think not.

As a person that may be "waiting in line for a table" or chilling in the hot tub, relaxing at the bar, waiting for a show to start, whatever, I don't need someone bitter about an error "poisoning my cruise."

This is the first time in my life I've been fortunate enough to go on three cruises in the space of a year. It is my vacation, I save for it, I look forward to it, and I savor it. Please reconsider being that "disgruntled customer standing around discussing it with those waiting in line for a table." Or encouraging your wife to do so.

4 minutes ago, LeeW said:

Book when you see a price you like (at the moment the 25% off is higher than yesterday's Precruise Deal on my next cruise).  Keep watching your excursions in the Order History tab and cancel and rebook if price goes down.  Will take a few days to get your money back on the cancel.  Prices can change multiple times a day.

If booked using "credit" (I think it's OBC but applies) as well as credit card, do you get the (onboard) credit back?

I'm mostly interested in how it applies to the drink package, but it is likely the same?

Hi all!

So, I've decided the drink package is something we want on our upcoming cruise. I've seen that Royal makes it exciting by changing the price day to day - (so annoying.)

I've seen people say to buy when it's at a price point you can live with, keep checking back, and if it drops to cancel and rebuy at the lower price. Ok. I get that (even more annoying but I like my money.)

What I'm curious about is this- we have $75 credit (doesn't say OBC) and when I applied to the purchase of the drink package, it indeed was applied, therefore package reduced by that amount. If I find a better priced day, and do the return, and rebuy, will that credit still be mine or will I forfeit it? I know the money will be back on my card in a few days, if I get the credit back, does it come back immediately? 

And here I thought the "Free at Sea" / Sail Away math gymnastics of Norwegian was annoying.

TIA!!

Please please please read the background of this place before you give them money.

34 minutes ago, fsa1155 said:

No, she was just saying that she felt snubbed by Haven guests.  We were just putting our thoughts on that.  You can be as excited as you want to be.  Any cabin is a good cabin and service is good all through the ship.  

I'm sorry. My response was maybe a little too obtusely snarky.

I've cruised many many times. Inside, oceanview, balcony, suite, I always have a good time. In fact, I actually prefer the inside rooms because I like the quiet and the dark at night. I don't dislike any category. 

Anyway, I found it quite laughable that someone self described as " I really getting discouraged about this trip.  We're not in Haven or any elite group" is worried others will look down on her.

Clearly she is of the look down the nose type and isn't thrilled to have to mingle with the peasants. 

I'm sorry, is this a joke?

And here I was excited to be cruising in less than 50 days in a balcony. Silly me. 

I apparently should be fretting that I'm not going to be "elite" or "special" enough to enjoy my cruise.

Gosh. I should probably just stay home.

😼