kenoqueen

Wow, Stephen, I hadn't thought if it that way. I'm exhausted just reading all they had to do recently! Hopefully, they'll get back into their normal routine!

 

Harriet

I've been following them and yes, it seemed like they had a lot of activity since they have been officially underway. I'm sure things will become "normal" after they get a few cruises under their belt. There's always things to work out on anything New. We are booked for Jan. 2nd and can't wait. It's one reason we waited to sail instead of trying to be on one of the initial cruises.

The crews on these ships work very hard and in case anyone hasn't noticed lately, in the real world it's a daily occurence that people seem to have an expectation that is sometimes hard to meet.

I have no doubt the reviews will get better. :)

I just came back from a short 3 day on the Sky. We had a 1:45 flight out of Miami, and purposely waited to be in the last group to disembark. If you are willing to have a quick breakfast early, and be among the first group to disembark, you could probably make a flight way before noon. However, the other thing to think about is that you will be travelling on a weekend, which could make the airport more crowded. If you have TSA Pre-check, you can make it through security at the airport much faster. For anyone who travels, I highly recommend this. It is well worth the $80 cost. Now that they are not automatically giving people TSA pre-check, there is a big difference between the pre-check, and non-pre-check lines. Not to mention the fact that you don't have to separate your 3 ounce liquids, take off your shoes and jackets, take out your laptops, and that kind of thing.

Thank you for the information. We booked a 12:40 flight out of FLL and yes, we have TSA pre-check. Yes, it's well worth the $80!

I do think it's disappointing that they will start charging for Margaritaville but my understanding from what I read that it seemed more of a move for crowd control. We booked this cruise in October or November of 2014 for a sailing Jan. 2nd, 2016. If a charge is going to be implemented it should be for future reservations not those that have been booked under the premise of it being included without additional charges. Having said that, I will still pay a fee of $4.95 (however, the article suggested they may charge $10) for the experience. While in port in the Bahamas, I'd rather stay on the ship and what better place to hang out than Margaritaville! :)

Still excited and can't wait for our sailing! 51 Days to Go!! :D

Thanks for the review.

Actually we're on the one that leaves when you get back on the 9th. I can't wait! (and we have an 11:30 am flight out of MIA in case you are wondering. :D)

I'll wave at you as we disembark. :-) I'm so excited to go!

Thank you all! Although I like gambling, I'm not much in to gambling/risks when it comes to air travel and getting home. I'm going go look at something more like a noon flight and probably out of Ft. Lauderdale since that's where Southwest flies in and out. Now it's looking for a shuttle.

The good thing about flying in/out of Miami is it's easy to get to airport from cruise terminal. Wish more airlines flew in/out of there.

We just got off the Getaway on 10/17. We did the early walk-off at 7:30 AM and took a cab to MIA for our 10:50 AM flight to Dallas. The security line took about 45 minutes and we still had plenty of time to spare.

Thank you for the info. I think I'm just going to pay the extra and take a 12ish flight out of Ft. Lauderdale.

Sounds like the shows are the only positive reviews so far. I hope the reviews get better once she moves to Miami. I am really leery about NCL since I have never been. I may change to RCCL where I know it will be great on the Oasis or Allure. The Escape looks great, but NCL sounds like the don't know how to run the ship. I sure hope I'm wrong.

We've been on several NCL cruises as well as RCCL. To tell you the truth, we love them both but for the price, we choose NCL. We have yet to have bad service and overall have had very pleasant experiences on both. In our experience, Cruises are what you make of them.

We are booked on the Escape for Jan. 2nd and can't wait!

If nothing goes wrong with customs you can make it.

 

A few years ago, We got off the pearl (self carried luggage) and made it to FLL by 9am. We were on a 12:30 flight and were able to switch it to the 9:30 at the gate because they had seats left.

 

Last year we got off the getaway (self carried luggage again) and were at MIA by 9:15.

 

Its what you're willing to risk. If it freaks you out having to wait for room on another flight, book the later one. If you're willing to gamble, book the early one.

Thank you for the information. I see you are going on the Escape 1/16. Any chance you'll be joining us on Jan. 2nd when we sail?

We are going on the Escape out of Miami Jan. 2-9. Usually we take a late afternoon flight home but the cheapest airfares are morning flights on the return. What is the earliest you guys have been able to catch a flight after the ship docks in Miami. We have the flexibility of either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale; but Ft. Lauderdale will require catching a shuttle which we haven't done before either.

Any information you can provide would be helpful. My instinct is to not book a return flight before Noon on the day of arrival in Miami.

Hi, checking in to make sure I haven't missed anyone's questions? Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about Escape! Thanks.

 

Carolyn

Thank you for all the advance information. Now we just count down the days (100) until January 2nd :)

Bong is definite. Lorelie is staying on the Getaway. From what she said, I don't think opening a new ship is her thing.

Aaaww :( We had a blast with her on the Getaway. Thanks for following up for me. I'm sure we'll find more awesome bartenders on this next cruise. It's always nice tho to see familiar faces.

Bong is opening the ship. I don't know the other person.

That is awesome! Thank you for the reply. My hubby is going to be happy to hear this. BONG is so much fun.

Thank you and most everyone above my post has asked the things I'd like to see as well. We are scheduled for Jan. sail. We'd like to know if "Bong" and/or "Lorelie" will be bartenders on this ship. They were on the Getaway and we had a blast because of them. That was our 3rd cruise ship where "Bong" was bartending. He is simply the BEST!

thank you!

Thank you for the information. We sailed the Getaway last Oct. and loved it. We are booked on the Escape Jan. 2nd. and can't wait. We're wondering who the bartenders will be. Hoping Bong and Lorelie are on the new Escape. Those two definitely made the cruise more fun.

I sailed Epic for the first time in December after having sailed POA, Sun-, Dawn- and Jewel-class ships. I was worried that Epic would be super crowded and thus uncomfortable for me. I was surprised how much Epic felt similarly crowded to other NCL ships, and I felt very comfortable and at home. The biggest exception, as has been mentioned several times, is the main pool area. However, I spent all of my pool time at Spice H20, the adults-only area Deck 15 aft which wasn't too crowded at all on my sailing.

 

As for Escape, I am booked on a 14-night sailing in August 2016. I am confident that this will be the best class of ship Norwegian has ever built. Why? Escape class combines the best of Epic and the best of -Away class and combines them into an elegant new whole. Here are some statistics that should comfort you, taken from NCL.com and Meyer Werft's website:

 

• Escape class holds 4,248 passengers (double occupancy). That's only an increase of 279 passengers over -Away class.

• Escape class is .5% shorter than -Away class, but it is 4% wider than -Away class, which is excellent. Most complaints about -Away class have been that the ships are too narrow.

• Escape class is 18,000 gross tons larger than -Away class. Gross tonnage is generally described as a measure of a ship's interior volume, so there's lots more space for those extra 279 passengers.

• Escape's main pool area has been reconfigured. The main bar has been stacked, so it has half the footprint of the main bar on -Away class. This results in more deck space. Plus there's only four slides, not five. Plus, they've combined multiple smaller hot tubs into fewer, larger ones. This all makes for a better pool area.

 

I am confident Escape is going to be an awesome ship. I hope I've given you the confidence to stick with your choice. Cheers.

As others have said, they are strict with the 15 drink limit. As for the Splendor, we were really impressed. It was our first Carnival cruise and was way above our expectations. The crew was incredibly welcoming and the environment really fun. The food was delicious and I liked the art deco decor (the pink isn't as bad as you've heard :p ).

 

Enjoy your trip!

Can you tell me what day was the formal night on the Splendor? We are sailing Monday -Sat. Thank you in advance.

If you are sailing from Texas you can't purchase it the first day because of state law.

 

Basically if you drink about 6-7 drinks a day it is worth it. And remember, that's on average. So if you have 3 drinks on a port day and 10 drinks on a sea day that's still averaging 6.5 a day and breaking even.

Hi! It looks like you just came off the Splendor. How did you like it? We are sailing on her Monday, May 18th. Are there any tips you think might be helpful and also, it looks like you purchased the drink package. Are they very strict on the 15 drink limit? We're still trying to decide. I'm not a big drinker but my dh will drink beers in the daytime and mixed drinks at night.

Thanks in advance.

By chance did you purchase the drink package and if so, how strict are they on the number of drinks per day? thank you in advance

Lorelei was also on the Getaway at both sugar cane and wave. Her an Bong are my two favorite bartenders with NCL!

We LOVED Lorelie! She absolutely made our trip a blast. She and Rod were a hit on the pool deck. Can't wait to go again.

We were so glad to see him on the Getaway last week. He remembered us from the Sun. I told him about everyone inquiring about him. He said he doesn't go on cruise critics but to say hello to everyone and he is very humbled you all remember him.

He's such a genuinely nice guy. Unfortunately our cruise was diverted from its original itinerary because of a hurricane or tropical storm (I never watched the news so I have no idea what it was) and went to Cozumel (which we love) and Jamaica. Guess that means we have to do a do-over next year on the Getaway (aw shucks :-) )

Also, if you haven't sailed on the Getaway, it's a must do!

I think everyone else has answered your question so I just wanted to say have a great trip...I see you are one day out from your cruise! How exciting! That will be us in a week....we are 10 days out from our cruise but 8 days out from our vacation starting a few days earlier in Miami. I am so excited I can't stand it.

Thank you! I am very excited. It's one day away and I can't sleep thinking about it. Sounds like you'll be going when we are ending. Safe travels and enjoy your cruise.

Thank you all. I called ATT and I just need to turn off data roaming and mobile data and I can still receive text and calls. Incoming texts are free and I purchased a minimal plan for calls while on land.

Can someone refresh my memory how to disconnect the data on my phone while on board the ship but still have access to texting and calls for emergencies. I have ATT and picked up minimal plans for both calls and texts. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone.

I have an ill parent and would like to be able to check phone couple times a day in case of emergency.

thank you in advance.

Sailing on The Getaway this Saturday, Oct. 11th. Are the major US networks, ie: ABC available on board? If so, anyone want to watch the race from Charlotte?

We are hoping to catch the race too and we are sailing with you. I'm also hoping for a sports bar with NFL games.

Thank you all for the information. I will look into the traveler's checks.

2 days to go but who's counting.

Soooooo EXCITED!