dales wife

I'm on the escape right now I have the unlimited internet I have no problems with it so little slow what we use to with fast. And the move of the ship feels like ur just in a big building going now where no motions at all :)

I'm interested in hearing more about the internet service! Hubby will use it at times to play his one online video game, and me for Instagram. You think it would be fast enough to use for that?

Internet on Oasis of the Seas last year was excellent, so I was disappointed to read a few negative reports about Escape. We are still deciding if it's worth it, so any current personal experience accounts you hear about would be helpful, Chechas! We will be on this Saturday's 5/14 sailing. Thanx and have a great cruise!

Also I'm planning to try to pack all of my stuff in a carryon sized bag, so that might be a fun story.

Cin, how's the packing going? I too am going to pack everything in a carryon sized bag (SpiritAir's "free personal item" size carryon)! I did this last year for our Oasis cruise and it worked out fine - I didn't even wear everything I brought! In March, Spirit is changing the dimensions of their free carryon bag, so I will be packing an even smaller bag for our May Escape cruise! Hubby just laughs when I talk about it. :rolleyes:

We have been in two forward-facing angled balconies on the Escape - one in the forward part of the ship (14176) and one in the aft (12272). We never experienced wind issues on either. Love the additional space on the balcony!

We appreciate that input!

We've decided to keep our forward facing angled balcony cabin assignment.

Thanks again to CC members for providing peace of mind! :)

Even the standard balconies on the Escape are larger than on Getaway, so the angled is that much more larger! We also had an angled on that ship, and this one is quite a bit bigger. Yes, you could fit a single lounger with a regular chair.

I didn't know all the Escape balconies are bigger! Thanks for this info, this has made us even happier!!! :)

These are the best I have. I didn't take any photos of the cabin itself.

 

Thanx for posting those pics LrgPizza! Looks MUCH nicer than the regular balcony (which we had on the Getaway and could not believe the size difference from the Epic!). Looks like there might be even be enough room to replace one chair with a lounger?

The forward part can be windy when at sea but the side part is calmer.

Thanks sail7seas. You mean the forward part of the balcony itself can be windy?

I was thinking that might be the case - sitting closer to the side / back / corner of the balcony provides a "break".

We are booked in a Forward Facing angled balcony on the Escape. We're excited about the extra space, but husband is concerned that it will be too windy.

SORRY, I accidentally submitted my question earlier and it wasn't even a question (and couldn't edit my post at the time)!

EDIT: It's windier at the front of the ship, so hubby figures that where the ship "juts out" on the side, that forward facing angled balcony would also be windy, due to "aerodynamics". I researched and did find two comments where others said it was windier. (This is an issue because we can switch to a rear facing angled balcony, but in a less desirable location.) Thoughts from anyone else who has had a forward facing angled balcony - did you find it unusually windy?

I'm glad to hear, LrgPizza, that you have been in forward and rear facing and didn't notice a difference. I would be happy to believe any wind is simply due to the conditions at the time!

We are booked in a Forward Facing angled balcony on the Escape. We're excited about the extra space, but husband is concerned that it will be too windy.

We are sailing RCI and the OASIS for the first time in a couple of weeks! It was a last-minute vacation decision, but I usually do also like to plan ahead -- to my hubs annoyance, until he gets on the ship and is thankful for my direction! :rolleyes:

Just had to tell you that your review, tips and pictures were the best resources I have found so far!!! Thank you for all of your hard work; it is definitely beneficial and appreciated!

I also sent you an email to request copies of the Compasses emailed to me (hope it's not too late to bother you with that). Thank you again. :)

my apologies to everybody. I guess I had a knee jerk reaction to all these post and that NCL must have moved up in the world of cruising.

 

I have never paid anywhere close to $2600 for a balcony cabin on any line for the first week of February.

 

Maybe higher prices are trending now in cruising. Maybe it is also time for me to look at different options for vacation.

 

Heck I only paid $1700 for a balcony cabin on the Oasis of the Seas in the off season.

 

I will say that every post i read that the people who are booked in suites have some great deals.

 

Oh well enjoy your future cruises.:)

 

Bill

I agree with Bill, though it seems we are in the minority on this thread!

If I were booking a suite anyway, even if the price had gone up a couple hundred dollars during the promo, of course I'd be thrilled with all of the "free" perks offered -- in fact, I would be saving the cost of what I might have also purchased anyway (UBP,UDP, etc).

While I'm not poor (I don't have to empty my bank account or worse, use credit for my vacations), I can't afford to spend thousands on a suite, and am perfectly happy with a regular balcony or oceanview cabin. But with these promos, I agree pricing was much higher (than from normal inflation) in those categories.

I would much rather have a lower "base" price, and then add on what I want, or what I can afford, to pay for. To me, that method also goes along better with NCL's "Freestyle" concept of cruising.

Yes I do!!! Drives my husband crazy, as he does none. Says he likes to be "surprised".

My son-in-law doesn't do research either, but my daughter is like me. Is it a male thing? (Kind of like asking directions???)

However, I can't tell you the number of times they have saved money, saved time, saved embarrassment, or in some other way benefited from us doing the research!

Is there anyplace (here on CC, NCL website or other 3rd party site) that has a chart of ALL the stateroom category designations? I know what some of the abbreviations are (B9, BC, etc) and I also know that I can look at individual deck plans by floor. Sometimes I'll read about someone booking an SF or an M6 and wonder what each one is.

Google "cruise deck plans" and the website you see with only those three words followed by a "dot com" is the one I use to plan every cruise. ;)

Besides deck plans, for every cruise ship it has a page listing all the cabin categories with descriptions and pictures (pics taken by passengers).

Hope this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarps14

Actually the lower rate from TA's come from discounts for group bookings. Large national agencys reserve blocks of rooms as group bookings (which the cruiselines discount for them) and then sell them individually.

Agree however these cabins are not typically the most desired cabins on a ship. Examples being BB or BC cabins or lower. If you want to book a specific class or cabin you must book yourself. If you want to take advantage of the current promo's book today directly with NCL and transfer within 60 days.

I also agree with tarps14, the lower rates from the TA's do come from "group bookings".

However Candygirl -- and I can only comment on the TA I have used for all of my NCL cruises -- there have never been limitations on which cabin I can choose; their website shows the exact same cabin availability as NCL's, and the TA can book whatever cabin I want. So I'm assuming the "group discount" comes from the amount of cabins they are able to sell for NCL, not specific cabins they've prepurchased to resell.

I just booked my Escape cruise last night at 11pm. :rolleyes: As always, the per person cost was less than booking directly through NCL. In fact for my sail date, he also told me applying the AARP discount would make it even less. He quoted NCL's AARP rate (while on the phone, I was doing a mock booking on NCL's website to verify that rate), and again, the TA's rate was lower. I chose which NCL promo I wanted (my TA called NCL to do that, but AFTER we hung up so I didn't have to be on hold for 30 min). And as usual, I also received the additional OBC incentive my TA was offering for this cruise. I have already received my verification email from the TA, and can look up my booking on NCL's website, same as everyone else.

The only drawback, for me, in using a TA is that any changes to the reservation itself have to go through them, as opposed to me having control and speaking directly to NCL. However, they have never let me down -- in the past they have easily changed cabins for me, gotten me upgrades if prices went down, etc. So I can't complain that the only real difference is I pay less and get extra incentives!

nfglory, I just remembered, and thought I should tell you, that the waterfront overhang WILL block your view of the dock when you are on your balcony while in port. So if you really like seeing everyone return to the ship, you won't be able to (if, like us, you are on the side of the ship facing the dock while in port). As Boarding Time neared in Nassau, we could here the music from the NCL party going on on the dock, but couldn't see it-- the people, dancing, etc. So you might want to consider that if it's something that's really important to you. Honestly though, I don't know if you could see the dock from any of the higher up decks either. Someone else may want to answer that???

We just got off the Getaway this past Saturday!

nfglory, I had the same anxious concerns as you because our Balcony GTY cabin assignment was 9284. I am one who likes to look straight down at the water.

As it turned out, we had no issues with the cabin, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay in the same cabin again. No issues with noise or smoke (from the waterfront below) at all. As for the view, it didn't bother me in the least. Yes the view is going to be a bit different than on balconies on other ships, but as others have said, the entire design of these ships is different. You specifically asked for opinions on if the overhang and lifeboats were annoying and obstructive, and IMHO definitely not. Yes I stressed about it beforehand too, and my best advice to you is don't!

One of the best things I loved about the location of our cabin, was how close it was to the elevators/stairs. (And I already knew from the Epic that AFT was the most convenient location with only two sets of elevators). Being close to the elevators and in AFT, it was extremely fast and easy to get from our cabin to Spice H2O, Flamingo Grill, Garden Cafe (perfect to grab a lemonade on way out to the main pool), Tropicana/Savor/Taste, and the Waterfront! Also the Casino (which we didn't use).

Relax and enjoy your cruise on the beautiful Getaway!!!

Have done 2 Mini Suite GTY. Once on the Gem with no problem and last year on Breakaway with one. Last year two days before we were to sail, I received a call from our TA saying that NCL ran out of MS and wanted to move us to a balcony. This was totally unacceptable and after a few hours of going between my TA and NCL we ended up keeping our room. But it did leave a sour taste in my mouth

I didn't realize they could downgrade you! We did GTY for first time last week on Getaway, didn't get upgraded but was ok with our room assignment. But knowing this could happen -- and 2days before cruise!!! -- that's scary. Obviously you asked but didn't they have anything to upgrade you to? I wonder who DID end up losing their MS and how much OBC they got from NCL for it?!!!

You can activate the voice/text functionality just as well without visiting anywhere - the system assigns the numbers automatically. But yes, if you do need instructions for anything, then a visit is a good idea. :)

Thanks, I didn't realize that! Good to know for next time. :)

It can be very handy, especially on the bigger ships, with keeping in touch with your family (letting people know when to meet for meals etc). People who know others on boards, but aren't in the same cabin can also make arrangements to meet up using it.

Agree-- VERY HANDY. My husband and I were in a different stateroom, and floor, than my son and the friend we let him take along. They did way more activities than us, so being in touch thru text was awesome -- we could meet up for meals easily, or join them at any given moment to do something. We also really enjoyed being able to look up the restaurant menus, and my son relied totally on his for the list/times of daily activities (as opposed to the paper Daily).

I did NOT find it distracting because obviously, I couldn't text all the people I do when at home (thankfully, lol). Yet it was well worth the $7.95 -- I just felt "more secure", because yes, this was a huge ship!

AND it wasn't like I had an extra something to carry around this cruise, because INSTEAD of carrying my usual digital camera everywhere, I took my phone, and still could capture pictures and videos. I loved it!!!

You just have to remember to install the app BEFORE you board. Then one trip to the iConcierge desk (always open, located in the Atrium) after you board, where they will assign you a "phone number" and demonstrate how to use the app if you want.

Of any kind???

 

While I agree that everyone is different, you can get soda and wine by the glass as well as cocktails and liquor. We had all three packages (UBP, UDP and $300 OBC) on our recent cruise on the Dawn and, even though I rarely drink and my wife never does, we still got full advantage out of the UBP. A glass of wine with dinner or a frozen virgin concoction by the pool, sodas, the occasional beer and I managed to get hooked on Bloody Marys! We also bought the future cruise certificate and will definitely choose the UBP next time and pay for the other stuff if we want it.

You are right, I ordered and drank only 2 alcoholic drinks. Drinking alcohol makes me sleepy :rolleyes:. With dinner, I like only the specific wine I brought onboard, and the two bottles I take easily lasts me 7 days -- husband doesn't drink wine. He also didn't have any desire for alcohol. He is addicted to his evening Pepsi and did bring a few onboard, but he's not supposed to drink it (think kidney stones and pain), so having an unlimited supply may have been detrimental! :eek:

We thought NCL's lemonade was unusually good, and did drink that if we happened to be at the buffet for lunch. Other than that, we do drink and enjoy water -- and the ship's water tastes good!

I totally agree the UBP is convenient and probably makes sense for most people. Not trying to be cheap, cause we would have ordered and paid for anything we wanted to drink (or eat for that matter), just chiming in that we are one of those for whom the "value" is not there... in response to the original question from the OP "what am I missing" :confused:

My mother & I sailed the NCL EPIC last week, and we really enjoyed the cruise. Both of us have cruised many times before, but we found this one to be particularly to our liking in terms of the dining choices and the entertainment. We really enjoyed the Murder Mystery lunch, the Cirque Dreams and the Blue Man Group.

 

Any questions about the ship?

I THINK I read somewhere that Blue Man Group's contract is up in early March. Any info on if that is true, and if so, who will be performing on the remaining cruises from Miami (so til mid April when she heads for Europe)?

Although it wouldn't be of sufficient value to me, if I were someone who didn't drink sodas or alcohol and just enjoyed the complimentary beverages, and if I didn't care to dine in any of the specialty restaurants, then the $50 is worth more to me.

 

Of course, that $50 is such a small amount that I figure that pretty much everyone who cruises would get at least that much value from the beverage package or specialty dining so as to make the onboard credit the least valuable option. Still, it is possible that someone might find that the best option for them.

My husband and I would probably fall into this category of taking the $50 over the other two. He would not enjoy the specialty food restaurants, yes we've tried (he doesn't like many foods and definitely doesn't like to experience new foods, and that's fine with me, I can "suffer" the delicious choices of the Dining Room / O'Sheehans foods. :)). We just got back from the Getaway where we had the Freestyle Option choice when we booked. I had debated between the $200 OBC or the UBP. As it turned out, I only ordered two drinks the entire cruise (I enjoy the wine I bring onboard), so we still ended up with OBC last day. Applied it towards purchase of two FCC's, definitely a better value for us. Yes, we are probably in the minority, just saying there are some of us who might find the $50 more useful (in our case it would cover the fee of a show, such as Illusionarium) rather than forcing ourselves to eat or drink what we don't really want. Everyone is different though!

You remember wrong. :) From the beginning only insides and studios were excluded.

I agree, your correction is correct. :D

Hi All,

 

Never have cruised on NCL but have been on 15 other cruises. Have a bunch of questions. Looking at NCL Getaway for a May/June cruise.

 

Obviously the buffet is free, what drinks are offered free of charge? Water, tea, lemonade, etc? What onboard restaurants are free of charge and where do I find menus?

 

Am I better off booking now or waiting on a better promo? I don't mind waiting until a month before the cruise etc. Obviously it's supply and demand. I worry about paying too much, price doesn't drop until after the 75 day policy is up and then I can't get a price drop. I don't know NCL really so need some strategy here.

 

Thanks so much,

Concerning booking question, I used the "strategy" method described here by a fellow CC member...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115592

It worked for us and I learned a lot -- We decided last November to do a January cruise, so we monitored prices and waited (the hardest part) and ended up booking a Balcony and an Inside cabin on Jan 3 for our Jan 31 sailing. We got the lowest price for a Balcony that I've seen for that sailing (along with the NCL Freestyle Choice Promo and an additional $100 OBC from NCL for a New Year Promo offered for booking that weekend). Our Inside cabin price did go down again (about $75 pp) the following week (my mistake, I should have figured that it would, based on the fact that Insides were probably not selling as well cause the Freestyle Promo doesn't apply to Inside category). But I called NCL when the Inside price dropped and got that cabin upgraded to the highest Inside cabin category.

All in all, we did good and are happy.

I'm confused. We are in a BF category and have our room assigned and see it in My NCL. Will Norwegian change our room? From what I've been reading is when people book a GTY room, they do not have an actual room number assigned to their reservation...correct?

 

So, since we DO have a room number, we should be ok?

You are correct, a GTY means we allow NCL to pick our cabin for us. If you picked your own cabin at the time of booking, that is the cabin you will have, it will not change unless you want to change it for some reason and call them to do so.

That brings up a good point tho, as this is the first time I've ever booked GTY. After I get the assignment (on docs), can NCL still change it?

Dale's wife - here are the best pics I have of Room 5833. Hopefully they help!

Yes, thank you so much for that! :)