sugarnyc

I do recall that I was chilly a few times when I ate in Savor. But other parts of the dining room were warmer. I sailed this past May.

I really liked the performance in the theatre. But never intended to see it twice. But I actually found their show in the Manhattan Room after dinner one night really nice & intimate. Probably because my party asked for a table near the dance floor. The show in the MDR was shorter and had different dances.

Saw this earlier today. Brings back good memories! :-)

We've not been on NCL before.

 

Do ALL the entertainment shows have to be reserved or you'll find it'll be full and you can't get in? Or only the ones there is a fee for?

 

I see there is a dueling pianos show. Howling at the Moon. Is this every night?

I choose to book 2nd city, ROA and Burn the Floor in advance. You could also do it on the ship and there were standby lines. I believe most if not all of the standbys were able to get into ROA and Burn the Floor.

There was also a comedian/magician- made those reservations the night before his show. Could not do that before the cruise. There was a show by Fire & Ice with no reservations needed.

All of the above were free.

Dueling Pianos on my May sailing was very good! I don't remember if they were every night. I do recall several night at the very least.

NCL is freestyle dining. You don't need to make reservations for dinner ( NCL did start allowing passengers to make reservations if they choose too though) and you can show up at different times each night if you want to. So you will generally never be seated with the same wait staff twice. But if you loved your waitstaff I am sure you can ask to be served by them again.

Liberty and Skyline have the same menu. The decor is different in each. And although POA is more resort casual- Liberty is supposedly where you should dress a bit nicer than skyline.

I ate at the Liberty the 1st night. Liked the atmosphere but my server was a bit overwhelmed as he got additional tables.

Had much better waitstaff in the Skyline.

I have been on both- Epic & BA. Although the staterooms on the Epic are not to most people's liking it was not horrible in the way some people describe it. It will depend who you are in the stateroom with also. There are plenty of pictures on line for you to check out.

But besides the stateroom being oddly designed, I had a very enjoyable cruise. Good food, service & entertainment!!

Thanks for sharing. Was not aware of this! I look forward to watching it.

I loved watching undercover boss a few years back after I was on the Epic!

I had knee surgery recently and was told that I would probably need to ice my knee at least once daily. What does RCCL do for you when this situation occurs?

As others have said, ice is easily obtainable.

In addition, have you looked into or thought about those instant ice packs that you squeeze to activate? Maybe take some along with u too.

Last NCL cruise I took- we took a case of water. Put a luggage tag on it and gave to the porter with the rest of our luggage. Very easy!

How do they check for reservations at the actual shows? Is there an attendant there that swypes your card?

Yes, you present your seapass and they scan it.

On my cruise in May I thought the overall best service was in Savor.

Exactly! POA is unique in the NCL fleet.

I am hoping that not everybody does just in case reservations like u mentioned. But I would think that NCL would only release a certain % to book ahead anyway.

I liked the laid back feel of POA and I hope it stays that way! Even getting a specialty reservation in Jefferson's Bistro while onboard was easy.

I ate there on Thanksgiving and most of the tables were occupied.

I was on the Breakaway in May. Pre-cruise I was able to make MDR reservations at Manhattan, Savor & Taste. I did so for my party one night. The rest of the nights just showed up and only had a few min wait. I generally went to dinner around 7-7:15 pm. The menus on my sailing had bigger differences some nights than others so I checked them out in the afternoon to see what was on the menus.

I was on POA during Thanksgiving. Only the first night at Liberty did I have to wait a few mins. The few other nights I ate in a MDR was the Skyline and basically waited a min or two for someone to seat us. Due to being port intensive it seemed like a lot of people ate in buffet or off the ship, etc... I did a luau on my own in Maui. And the ship had an excursion for a luau. So less hectic/crowded during dinner compared to other cruises that I have been on.

I was on the Breakaway in May. Pre-cruise I was able to make MDR reservations at Manhattan, Savor & Taste. I did so for my party one night. The rest of the nights just showed up and only had a few min wait. I generally went to dinner around 7-7:15 pm. The menus on my sailing had bigger differences some nights than others so I checked them out in the afternoon to see what was on the menus.

I can't answer your entire question but while I was onboard they had a wedding before the Breakaway sailed. It was held in the Manhattan Room. There seemed to be a good number of guests. Many of the guests got off prior to sailing. I was checking out Cagney's at the time which is on a deck above the Manhattan Room so I watched the bride walk down the aisle through the window. The set up looked very nice in my opinion.

Go to the buffet and you can put water in your bottle- by filling a clean cup with water and transferring that water into your bottle.

I have been on both. Each great cruises! But you need to research for your particular needs to make sure that your entire family will have a great cruise & the cruise will fit your budget.

Either way you will have a great vacation!

Will be cruising on the Breakaway in September. Our flight gets in to Laguardia at 1230. How long does it take to get from airport to cruise terminal? I know it says get there 2 hours prior to sailing which would be 2pm..but what is the absolute latest they will let you board? I hope to be there in time but just curious...thanks in advance!

If you can't get in the day before I would only take the first flight out in the morning- IMHO! Flights delays and traffic can cause lots of stress, etc...

The Garden Cafe is the buffet area, O's is pub food just walk in same for bar and grill, you also can't make reservations at the Main Dining rooms it's first come first served.

Actually you can make reservations for the 3 MDRs if you do it prior to cruising or if you want to eat very early- which would probably mean when they 1st open for dinner. I made reservations for the 1st night at Savor for my party prior to our cruise in May. The rest of the cruise only had to wait a few minutes at most to be seated at either Manhattan or Savor.

To the OP- Garden Cafe & Uptown Grill are the two buffets- so you just walk in. OSheehan's you are served and I never saw any body really waiting in line to be seated on my cruise.

I would buy insurance for all travel-whether "free" or not. Have a medical issue or have to fly back home for a family emergency- the small price of insurance will take care of that and give you peace of mind!! You hear of people having to be air lifted off the ship- that is major $$$!

Do your research. Usually independent insurance covers more for about the same price.

In my searches on this subject there is a suggestion that Butlers will unpack/pack for you. Most of the threads covering this are quite old however. Is this still the case on the new Ship classes (Epic' date=' BA and GA)? Does anyone make use of this service? I feel bad to ask them to do this if it is not a standard service. Obviously a tip will be provided in exchange.

 

 

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I came across this yesterday. Look for DebJ14- is the haven worth it? And see the post from Johnny Bananas.

You get additional benefits if you book through a TA using GOGO. Lots of times in newspaper ads you see Liberty Travel advertising these benefits with cruise and land based vacations. Here is an explanation:

http://www.gogoworldwidevacations.com/mytime/

Thanks for the quick response sugar! I really appreciate what you wrote. Good to know that I can find some peace and quiet. Will make sure to talk to the doc soon too. Thanks again!

No problem! :-)

We are booked in a mini suite on the Breakaway. Are there any perks to booking this type of suite or only if you book the Haven suites?

 

Do you get to go to Cagneys for breakfast and lunch if you are in a mini suite?

 

Thanks for any help and info.

C. Witek

A mini-"suite" is not an actual suite. Basically it is a balcony statetroom which has a slightly nicer bathroom perhaps depending on location it may have a larger balcony too.

No perks like breakfast at Cagney's.

So, I am being strong-armed into going on the Gem in July to Nassau. I have never been on a cruise and generally do not like being on boats. I tend to get some form of seasickness if I am below deck, so I am not thrilled. I have done plenty of research and this still does not seem like something that is up my alley at all. I have had an open mind to this whole scenario, but here are my concerns and any input or feedback would be appreciated.

 

1-FOOD: It seems to me that most of the food is reminiscent of a Golden Corral buffet or a Quaker Steak and Lube. I don't eat out often but when I do I prefer restaurants that have favorable ratings from sites such as NY Times, Time Out NY or Zagat. I feel like, in general, that I will not be thrilled with the dining. I do love dessert and everything that I have read indicates that is the strong point of the NCL's food offerings. Do you think I'm being realistic or am I maybe setting the expectations too low?

 

2-ALCOHOL: I have become a total beer snob and cannot physically drink crap beers like Bud or Lite anymore. My body rejects them. It appears that the beer menus are completely dreadful with Sam Adams being the only drinkable beer on it. Does anyone know if the Gem still currently serve Sam Adams? Also, bottom shelf liquor doesn't agree with me. Does anybody know how much drink prices increase by if you go from a house liquor to a call or premium brand? For instance, I see that a Cuba Libre is $5.75 (I assume it's made with house liquor..Castillo rum?). Any idea on the bump if I wanted Appleton instead?

 

3-CROWDS: Everything I have read about the Gem indicates that it is very crowded. I would really like to just find a relatively quiet, cool and shady place to sit and read books on my Kindle. Does an area like this exist on the Gem? If I am being forced to be on a 'vacation' I would like to avoid the noise and crowds since they drive me nuts here in NY.

 

4-CULTURE: When I go on a trip I like to go to places that have museums, architecture, local restaurants and bars, along with other places to experience local culture. I guess Cocoa Beach will involve some local seafood joint for lunch and Great Stirrup Cay seems to be a pointless destination based on my interests. Any food and drink recommendations for Cocoa Beach? Nassau appears to have very few sights and museums. Is there enough in Nassau to occupy somebody for a good eight hours? Also, does anybody know of any local restaurants and bars in Nassau that would not be tourist joints while also being safe to visit? I am open to trying any of the local cuisine and want to give some Switcha a try.

 

5-ENTERTAINMENT: So, I pretty much loathe shows and plays. I'm not interested in magicians or dancers prancing around. This pretty much leaves The Second City and World Beat. Would I need reservations for either one of these before the vacation starts or can it be a spur of the moment decision? Does anybody have any info on who the actual entertainers will be on the 7/12 trip?

 

6-SEASICK: Do any of you have a preference for avoiding seasickness...bracelet vs. meds? Can you take the meds and have a bunch of drinks or does it make you drowsy?

 

 

Well, I guess this post has gotten a bit long, so that's all for now. I appreciate any feedback and help with this whole thing. Thanks in advance for your help everybody!

 

Thanks,

KoL

First of all I would love someone to insist that I go on a cruise vacation!! 1st world problems:-) LOL Also going in with a positive attitude helps.

Take all reviews with a grain of salt! Most people who write reviews love or hate something. Most of the people in the middle never write reviews.

Seasickness- it helps to have a mid ship stateroom on a lower deck. Lots of passengers wear the patch behind their ear which greatly helps.

Go to the dr and ask if it is right for you and if so get the rx.

I live in New York and enjoy good food. Overall the food is good on NCL. I prefer the MDR over most of the buffet food. You can also eat at a specialty restaurant.

You do not HAVE to go to any shows if that is not your speed.

There are many quiet areas on NCL if you want that.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation planning!