Sherrica

In my experience the main dining room offers one no sugar added dessert each night. On the Encore in January I felt that they had stepped it up a bit and the NSA desserts were better than before (I've been limiting sugar since 2018, so 6 NCL cruises). It's worth trying at least.

We didn't book the hotel through NCL, so I can't answer to how exactly that works. We booked Embassy Suites on our own (they have an option called the "cruise package"), sorry for the confusion there. I would ask about the transportation to the dock as soon as you check into the hotel. If they don't have you scheduled for a time I'm thinking you should be able to schedule it then. I am interested to hear about your experience -- we have booked the included air package with NCL for a trip in August 2024 and I have heard mixed reviews. We figured it would be an adventure and we are hoping for the best! Have a wonderful time!

It was really just that first morning at the Local where we had issues with dining. Overall they did a great job and I do think that you're right about new crew. A little bit of time to get acquainted is to be expected! That is a great idea about the towels. We did ask for an extra set the second day (but it was hit and miss whether or not he'd remember to leave my extra towel and wash cloth after that). You're right about land trips being on request as well. We just have to learn how to deal with change (not so easy for me lol) -- it's an adjustment! 😃

It's totally fine to make a reservation! What I was saying is that it's not required! When you're ready (or at your reservation time -- maybe a few minutes early) you just walk up to the podium at the MDR and present your key card and your party will be seated. Pre-Covid we would sometimes be asked if we wanted to "sit with others" and we almost always said no. The four cruises we've been on post-covid (one Princess, 3 NCL) we have not been asked to sit with others a single time and I could NOT be happier about that! I hope you have a wonderful time!

Please forgive this sporadic (and month late) overview of the cruise. Some of this info is more for the benefit of new people (or to answer my own questions in case this helps someone else). This was our 18th cruise (15th with NCL). Embarkation went well. We signed up for the 10:30 to 11am arrival and managed to get on the 10:30 shuttle from Embassy Suites (we had booked the cruise package which included the shuttle - this was our fourth time staying at this location and it is still in the process of being renovated. We had a renovated room on the 9th floor and it was nice). Once we arrived at the Port we left our luggage with the porter and proceeded to the terminal. We were directed to the general boarding line (we're Sapphire, so maybe there was another line we could have been in, but it wasn't that long so it was fine). We were given a boarding group of 16. There wasn't anywhere to sit, so we stood for maybe 10 minutes and then they called Sapphire to board, so we proceeded to boarding (no problem whatsoever) and got on the ship at about 11:20am. We went straight to the Social to book our entertainment. Next stop, Cruise Next desk to find out about the wine tasting, the latitudes party and dinner with the officers (and collect our Sapphire pins). We signed up for the wine tasting and dinner with the officers (they send an official invite with the date and time, we were unable to attend because we had an excursion on St. Thomas day and we were not sure we'd make it back to the ship in time to clean up before a 6:30pm meet up time for dinner, so I had to call to cancel. We went to lunch in Savor and then hung out in the atrium. Rooms were not ready until 2:58pm. This is the longest it has ever taken for rooms to be ready (usually they are ready while we're at lunch or maybe 1pm at the latest). I expect this was due to the change in number of room stewards. We were in balcony cabin 9884. Service started out a little rocky, but got much better. Example: Breakfast on GSC day The Local was chaotic. People were missing silverware, etc. It seemed like the servers didn't know how to use the system (or find certain items) we didn't get our fruit. I think maybe the more experienced servers were being used at GSC? We chose the Local so that we could have a sit down breakfast and still make it on an early tender to GSC. Incidentally, I did see people carrying plates that looked like they had cinnammon roles on them, but I didn't go over to the buffet until lunch, so I can't confirm what type of food may have been available there. Breakfast on Tortola day We had booked the "Best of Tortola and Beach" excursion through NCL and with the early port time we had the earliest meeting time I've ever experienced at 6:30am. Normally, if we have an early excursion, my first choice would be to have room service breakfast delivered. This was not an option because service did not begin until 6:30am (could I have tried to call in a special room service breakfast order? Maybe, but was there any guarantee I'd get breakfast food delivered by 6am? Would they have told me I had to order from the "always available" menu?). My next option would be to go to the buffet, but that also did not open for breakfast until 6:30am. The Local (while technically open 24 hours) did not begin breakfast service until 6am. We arrived at 5:50am and got seated with our water and coffee. The room was already filling up with hungry guests. By 6am there was a growing line of people waiting to get in. The crew was unable to begin taking breakfast orders until 6am, but once they did they were like a well-oiled machine. Food began coming out about 4 minutes later. The crew did a fantastic job. From the looks on their faces I could tell they had no idea why so many people showed up so early (or that they were our only food option). I chuckled when about 75% of the room stood up at 6:25am to walk to the theater for our 6:30am excursion meeting time. It would have really helped if the buffet could have opened at 5:30am or even at 6:00am that day or really, if they had just been allowed to begin taking breakfast orders in the Local 15 minutes earlier. Wine tasting I was excited to attend the Around the World Wine tasting, but unfortunately it was awkward and chaotic. It was held at the Cellars (I think it was limited to 20 or 22 people). They had us sitting at tables and then moved us to Onda for the actual tasting. The goal seemed to be to get us to order the up-charge wines that are advertised on the dinner menu each night. I was happy to get the chance to try them and the little notebook that was provided was a great idea, but it was not usable since I only have two hands and one was busy holding a wineglass (and there was no place to set down my glass to take notes). Some of the guests had trouble figuring out how to walk clockwise and just went to different stations instead of staying with their group causing the servers to have to repeat themselves over and over again and it was frustrating. I couldn't tell you the name of any wine I tasted, and I didn't take any photos or make any notes, but if I had a list to refer to I may have chosen to select one (and pay the up charge) at dinner. This wine tasting could be so much better and so much more productive if they could just print the list of wines we are tasting and leave some space for notes. Have the servers walk around and pour the wine as the wine is being described so we all are sitting at tables and tasting at the same time. It wouldn’t require any more people (maybe only 3 instead of 5) and might take 30 minutes of time total – just put a dump can, some water and some breadsticks on each table so we can taste and toss if we don't want to finish the taste. At the end, they could ask for a show of hands for which wine was our favorite if there's an interest in knowing our opinions. Specialty dinners Teppanyaki was great - we had the best time ever seated with four couples who all knew each other (they had to put up with us oldies!) At one point our table got pretty loud singing along with the chef and the folks at the other table started yelling at me -- I'm NOT the mom! Oh well, they got over it. Q was good Cagney's was great Ocean Blue was ok (I got the grilled captain's platter, but should have chosen the salmon) Latitudes party was short as usual, but the valuable part was the stats. We learned that there were 2500 guests on board who were new to NCL (out of 4179 total)! Wow! That seemed like a lot. 1679 latitudes members: 774 Bronze, 414 Silver, 216 Gold, 206 Platinum, 61 Sapphire and 8 Diamond (zero ambassadors). I was very surprised that we had only 61 Sapphire on board. Incidentally, I did hear one new person complain about dining service in the main dining rooms (but I don't feel it's fair to complain about something that you weren't actually willing to try -- this person did not actually eat there). Apparently there was a line to get in for dinner. This does NOT mean there was a long wait time for a table -- when you get there as the venue is opening, it takes a few minutes to seat people. We never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table at Taste, Savor or Manhattan and there's nothing wrong with the service there. So, the person was complaining that you need a reservation. No, you do NOT need a reservation for two people for dinner at the main dining rooms. This is NOT Princess (if you have a large party who wants to sit together, sure, make a reservation). We've sailed Princess three times with their version of free-style (anytime?) dining and it just doesn't measure up. If you want more on that, ask and I'll answer. I think the person's complaint of "not wanting to wait an hour for food" really meant they were not interested in a three course meal. To each their own. I'm not interested in carrying around a plate of food while looking for space to sit in the buffet (or holding space while my husband gets his food and then one of us eats cold food or we don't eat together). I know people love the buffet and it's great for families with children, it's just not my thing. I'll eat there if I need to, but I much prefer to be seated and have the servers bring my food and drinks (I will give Princess a point for having servers bring you the beverages in their buffet). No Sugar Added / Sugar Free options -- there's only one sugar free dessert offered at dinner (aside from the seasonal fresh fruit plate - and there may have been a sugar free ice cream option, I did not ask), but I enjoyed the three I tried. I feel that the Encore has really stepped it up and the presentation and taste of all three were very good. I tried the Carrot Cake, Coconut Vanilla Layered Cake and the Lemon Cream Cake. Sail and Sustain drink of the day was offered at the Sugarcane outdoor bar, so we made it our goal to visit Aran each day to try it. My favorite was the Croissant Mai-Tai -- it was creamy and delicious (I went back for a second). I was not a fan of the Cucumber Cool (it tasted kind of like a sweet pickle, so if you like those, you might like that one). My favorite regular drink of the day (new to me) was the Sparkling Garden (offered on the last sea day -- Saturday). We enjoyed several on the pool deck. What the "One steward visit per day" change means to me. When I first heard of the change, I thought "no big deal", but what it really means is that I have to think about things I wouldn’t normally have to think about (or be prepared at times I am not used to having to be prepared). 1) With 2 visits a day, I would usually leave a tip and any additional requests (usually a reminder to bring my extra towel and wash cloth) before the second visit of the day. Now, I have to be prepared to leave my note before I leave for breakfast or leave my door on do not disturb and come back to the room before being "out" for the day (which is almost like complaining before they even get a chance to try to remember to bring my towel). 2) Previously, I would have a full day to prepare my laundry bag (a task I would do in the afternoon) and leave it prior to the evening turn down. Now I had to have it ready to go in the morning. Not a big deal, but a change for ME and my normal practices. And I had to plan a day earlier. 3) The towel situation. The stewards have from 8am to 8pm to clean your cabin. IF you have a short port day and you've been at the beach, what do you do when you come back to the cabin? Take a shower. Well, if I have left my washcloth and towel on the floor hoping for fresh towels when I get back, I will have to use a dirty wash cloth from the floor and dirty towel if the steward hasn’t cleaned up yet. This was never an issue before. But now that there are fewer stewards it seemed to take all day for them to complete cleaning of all cabins. So, what do I do? If I think they might clean later in the day, I can leave my towels on the bar and use them again - but what about the wash cloth? If they end up cleaning while I'm out then I won't get a new cloth for tomorrow. Should I leave my room on do not disturb (one day we did do that)? It's just an unnecessary pain. I guess I could call to request towels, but then I feel like a bother and it's just annoying. I'm just trying to be real with you about what the impact was for me. 4) Ice -- when I brought this up on another thread someone said my ice would melt -- true, it does (unless you dismantle the fridge and fit the ice bucket inside and then you have to remember to take it out again in the morning so you can get more ice). It's an adjustment. 5) Fewer stewards means more work for them. I couldn’t get a straight answer at the latitudes party about how many stewards were let go (it sounded like they each have 23 or more rooms to clean now and I don't know how many they each had before and if the Jr. Stewards helped them with that workload), but it did take about two extra hours for rooms to be ready on embarkation day and there were days when I walked down the hall close to dinner time and still saw "make up room" lights on and it just never seemed to be like that before. I just felt like they were working these people really hard and that was tough (I know they always have, but harder than before). People ask about door decorations. I had a 5x7 photo magnet made that I placed under the room number (so technically not ON the door), but on other ships I've had it on the door and it has been just fine, nobody ever complains and some stewards actually comment to us about it. I hope it brings a smile to their faces. I did see a few other doors decorated, so if it's "not allowed", that might depend on how over-the-top you go. We went to most of the shows. We saw Choir of Man, which was great, both comics (very funny), the magician and three of the Beatles shows (one in Cavern Club). The Cavern Club show we attended started at 9:30. We were about 15th in line at 8:25. We were glad we decided to walk by and check the line. We had intended to get a drink at Sugarcane and walk back to get in line, but instead we just got in line. The show was fun. Those guys are great. We took three ship excursions. "Mangen's Bay and Shopping" on St. Thomas, Best of Tortola and Beach on Tortola and Ocean World in Dominican Republic. I wish the time at both beach stops had been longer. You get about two hours (I would have preferred at least 3 hours). Since the amount of time was the same for both of the Mangen's Bay excursions, I should have chosen the one without the shopping. In theory it sounded great, but the reality was that after spending time at the beach, I was tired and had to lug my gear all around the shopping area. We did find a few trinkets to bring back, but we could have skipped that. Also, the driver wasn't very friendly (in contrast, the driver for Tortola (Sapphire beach) was wonderful. We had 4.25 hours for our visit to Ocean World, and that was great. I suggest deciding what you want to spend time doing there before you go. There are so many things you can do, but it's not realistic to do them all. We came prepared for beach and snorkeling and quickly decided that wasn't the way to go (so we ended up carrying our gear through the park which was not ideal). Next time I'd leave the extra gear on the ship and just enjoy all of the animal shows. Our guide to Ocean World was Gellies (pronounced "Haileys") and I believe he was the most organized guide I've ever had on a tour. First, he had a picture of the show schedule on his phone and while we were still on the bus made sure everyone took a picture on their own phone so we all knew when the shows were. Also, he actually works at Ocean World and was the announcer for the sea lion show. He looked at the lunch ticket time we were given and instantly knew that this would NOT work for our group -- if we ate at 2pm we would likely miss the 2:30 Dolphin show, so he worked it out with the restaurant to let us in after the sea lion show. He truly did everything he could to make sure that everyone had the best time possible. We also had a special tour from "The Rock" -- I guess we looked lost so he came over to make sure we didn't miss out on any of the sights. He was very kind and we enjoyed our day. I'll try to answer any questions the best I can.

Looks like no extra water for me 😢. Thank you for the info though. Maybe I should refrain from buying extra cruise next certs next week... it might prevent me from booking out to 2025... I seriously need to get some self control (that's not because of the water, just the whole thing).

I booked a year ago when we were booked for these dates Prima and that was canceled. I get what I get. It's fine, but irritating for them to "promise" something -- By displaying it on my booking page -- and then decide not to honor it. Yeah, I'm a stockholder, yeah I cruise mostly with NCL. Yeah I have two more after Sunday booked for 2024. I'm still irritated.

I took a very similar screen shot a few days ago -- today the website (AND the App) both say I have the "Adult Beverage Package" instead of "Unlimited Open Bar Package" and of course, there's no FAQ with those words, and a search of the NCL site turns up no T&Cs for what the Adult Beverage Package provides. We'll see in 2 more days (but I'm pretty sure we will only get the 2 Sapphire waters per person).

Shore excursion credit (Encore) was NOT accepted for pre-booking a claim shell when I tried last month. I'll try when I get on board, but I'm not holding my breath. T&Cs stated the credit did not apply.

I've seen the actual changes on the menu discussed (price increases, Tomahawk removed, etc) but I haven't seen any substitutions like the OP posted here. I'd like to know if others are seeing changes like these that are NOT printed on the menu.

I may not have mentioned I'm traveling with my husband. If we start with 2 bath towels, then I am short one towel. I won't have an extra towel to hide. I guess I can use a pool towel. We usually keep the ice bucket in the mini fridge.

I understand NCL is switching to one cabin service per day, which should be fine for me except I realized I am accustomed to leaving a tip with a note informing our cabin service of our additional needs in time for turn down service on the first night (ie: Ice, one additional bath towel for my hair, etc.). Can anyone who has sailed since the change took place confirm that we still have service on Embarkation day? If not, how did you handle asking for ice and towels etc.? Are robes still provided for balcony guests (on request)? I need the extra towel to dry my hair in the morning. I know it seems like a small thing, but if I don’t have the right number of towels it diminishes my experience and I don’t want to have to hound someone to get them every day. Some cabin stewards get it right from the get-go and I never have to ask again, but some need to be reminded to leave my extra towel daily (and yes, I can save my towels and use then an extra day, but if I do that, they might take my husband's towel and see there are two towels hanging and forget to leave the 3rd, or if I try to switch out all the towels, they leave just two, etc.). Previously, if they forgot my towel during the morning cleaning I had a second chance to get it in the evening. Thank you in advance

Following! We are scheduled to visit this month!

The frustrating thing about this is that it was already false in September when we cruised on the Sun! We had a full price charge for a shot of Bulleit for my husband added to our account (instead of the $1 upcharge we were expecting) and had to have it removed by the front desk. I was thinking I'd check the site for an updated list prior to our cruise next month, but the current list is dated 12/22 so it's been wrong for at least three months. And I do remember seeing that some bottles of water were supposed to be included with the beverage package (when I booked a cruise for 2024 last month) and I don't see anything about that now. Ugh. It does feel a bit like false advertising. I wish they would be more forthcoming with the details when they make changes.

I can't speak specifically for the Escape (the last time I was on I was still eating sugar), but sugar free offerings have shrunk in the last several years. You used to be able to get sugar free pana cotta at lunch that was pretty good, but lunch has only had regular desserts in the MDR recently (in my experience). The two NCL ships I've been on in the last year (Bliss and Sun) had at least one no sugar added offering in the MDR for dinner (plus the cheese plate). The tastiness varies. I like the tartlet. There were no specialty Sugar Free desserts on the menu in Cagney's, La Cucina or Los Lobos (I did not ask if they had anything special they could bring that was Sugar Free). I haven't tried the sugar free ice cream. I do know that you CAN request sugar free syrup at breakfast (if that helps any). Teppanyaki has a fruit sashimi listed in their desserts that I hope is no sugar added (I'm going there in January on the Encore, so I hope so). Good luck. It's tough out there for us sugar-free folks.