efinand

"Am I losing my mind??"

Maybe so. or I can't read. Sorry, I see now their calendar is just arranged differently than what I'm used to. sorry.

This is great. I also found this site and determined it was the legit site for buying tickets, HOWEVER... when I am on there right now trying to buy tickets for Sunday, October 15 and their calendar says Sunday, October 16! Am I losing my mind??

On 3/16/2022 at 9:44 AM, oracer said:

Have a cruise in August 2022, when does the email come to start bidding? Like 30-60 days out?

Just got ours today for a July 4 sailing.

14 hours ago, kayjay76 said:

exactly what our NCL rep told us. Get a pcr test B4 heading to pier, 3-4 days prior

I'm bad at math and following instructions and was wondering about this. If we need negative *results* from within 2 days prior to boarding, then we should test 3-4 days prior, as you suggest. RIGHT?

Yes, thank you for the pics @sid_9169 and everyone for all the advice! I will just pay by the piece and use my speciality credit elsewhere. Thanks again!

I am trying to decide if I want to use one of my 2 SDP credits on the sushi restaurant. I understand it is limited to "4 menu items," but not sure how much food that would be. Four tiny pieces of sushi? Four platefuls of sushi? If I order a soup appetizer, does that count as one of the 4? Does anyone have knowledge/pics of this? Thanks!

Following. Doing Epic in Europe in May so we won't have the college kid "problem" but always interested in hearing about the ship. Epic gets its fair share of negative reviews, but many of the "issues" don't really sound like issues to me. Atrium? No mid-ship elevators? I guess because I already know we won't be spending much time on the ship these don't bother me. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Great review! Keep it coming!

I'll throw in my 10 cents, having been on the Escape semi-recently.

 

I preferred the '80s Party to the Glow Party. The entertainment staff was dressed up as famous '80s singers and musicians and they played fun '80s songs/videos for everyone to sing along and dance to. The staff all Thriller danced at one point. The Glow Party was more generic club music. It was SO crowded. People brought their kids, and I was surprised they weren't all trampled. As time went on, it improved because some people ditched and the floor cleared out a bit, but at the beginning, it was a nightmare.

 

What I was impressed by--and I've been impressed by this on every ship with loud outdoor events at night--is how you'd have no idea it was going on if you weren't right there. You couldn't even hear it that well when the doors to Spice H2O were closed. Ships have some impressive soundproofing!

So true! My SIL is very anti-cruising and part of it is I don't think she can envision how you can have so many different experiences onboard. Just because there is a massively loud party going on in one place, you could be lounging elsewhere or having a lovely quiet meal and never know!

Thank you so much for the review - very helpful! This will be my 3rd cruise. Previously, as a newbie, I have only booked excursions. After meeting experienced cruisers on my last trip, I learned a lot and am going to try some independent ventures on this next one (leaving Oct 8).

 

Am curious about your trip to Nice. I was planning to take the hop on, hop off bus so I could visit some sites not listed on the excursions. However, I wasn't sure how to get to Nice from the cruise ship. You mentioned taking the train. Could you please fill me in on that? I know I can buy the hop on, hop off tickets on line in advance, but what about the train ticket? And how far is the train station from the port? I am a solo traveler and mobile, but would like to save my walking energy for Nice, i.e., if it's long hike to the train station, are taxis or buses available?

 

Thank you for any input you have!

I am not OP, but this is from another post somewhere: "From the tender pier, which is located adjacentto the old port next to a parking lot, it is about 1 mile (not kilometer) tothe station. It is a fun walk because you can actually walk through the bestparts of the city and see a lot of Cannes. But,it does take nearly a half hour for most folks to make the walk. Taxis are notplentiful at the tender area and most would probably not want to take such ashort fare to the train station.

The train from Cannes toNice runs several times an hour. It takes between 25 and 48 minutes, dependingon the number of stops, and it costs 7 euros. No need to book ahead of time.These are commuter trains and the tickets are sold at the station."

Have you considered airbnb? We loved our experience in Rome.

Carolyn,

Where did you stay for the airbnb? We are definitely looking into that for Rome. Our cruise is next May leaving from Rome and we want to spend a few days there first. Thanks!

Do you (or anyone else reading this) know if that "early off" the tender option is always the case? If you are there before 8am you don't need a tender ticket?

I had heard something about NCL giving tender priority to those who had booked excursions through NCL, so we were hesitant to use cavetubing.bz for fear we would be delayed by tenders and then not guaranteed to get back to the ship in time.

Thanks!

FYI in Belize you use the local tenders not NCLs.

Not sure what that means. Does that mean NCL won't be issuing tickets?

Where did you catch the bus back to Philipsburg from Maho? Do they go right by the beach or do you need to catch it by the round-about or in front of the airport? We are planning on the exact same trip and I am REALLY looking forward to it.

We did catch the bus right on the street by Maho beach. I think. Perhaps it was nearer the roundabout, but that's right there at the north end of the beach. I know our friends caught a taxi right there instead, as they were worried about time and didn't love the local bus. To me, there wasn't that much difference in terms of comfort and luxury! But a lot of difference in price. And we arrived perhaps 10-20 minutes after them?

You can catch a public bus on Back Street, downtown Philipsburg. It is the next street away from the water after Frontstreet -- the main shopping street.

 

Look for a sign indicating Bushalte with a large 'X' box painted on the street surface. There is a stop directly behind the Courthouse.

 

Buses will pass from time to time as there is no set schedule. Look in the lower left front window of the vehicle for a sign indicating their destination. You should be looking for 'Mullet Bay', 'MBay' 'Mullet' or such. Some might say 'Maho', which is just short of Mullet Bay and might work for you.

 

As to where to get off, tell the driver where you are headed and let them suggest a stop, especially for Simpson Bay Beach, if you know where you're headed. Karakter specifically or somewhere else?

 

Fare should be $2.

 

gary

We just got back. A few more tips:

Taxis will want to take you to Phillipsburg from the port area. The port area is sort of fenced in with iron fencing, but it is easy enough to walk to Phillipsburg. We timed it - a 9-minute walk along a sidewalk. There are signs from port indicating "walkway to Phillipsburg."

Once there, yes, as the previous poster said, go to Back Street (1 block from the nicer Front Street). The bus stop signs all said "Bus Stop" not "Bushalte" that we saw.

We got on a bus marked "Maho". We asked the driver if he want to Mullet Bay and he said " oh yes" but when we got to Maho he told us it was another $1 each to go to Mullet. But he did give us good advice by saying we had to get back to Mullet to catch the bus - they do not normally go to Mullet.

Mullet Bay was BEAUTIFUL and great water/swimming. Not very crowded at all. But topless. Only a few here & there and our kids are now well-rounded.:p

We walked back to Maho. A hot day so not all that fun, but not really long. 5-10 minute walk maybe? Maho was crowded, windy, but the planes are very cool to watch.

We caught the bus back. Be aware, it is a longish trip. Allow 45 minutes each way just in case! Probably won't take that long, but you never know.

p.s. We never waited more than 1-2 minutes for a bus!