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coldflame

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Posts posted by coldflame

  1. On 12/18/2022 at 2:39 PM, macfam5 said:

    We are going on the Mexican Riveria cruise in February.

    Can someone refresh my memory and tell me if NCL ship time is the same as port time in Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta & Mazatlan ?
    TIA  

    No company-wide policy, AFAIK, which is super confusing and annoying. On the Getaway ship time always matched local time. On the Escape we changed ship time to local time on the way out, but not on the way back until we were in FL, which was so unnecessarily confusing for the port of call in between (especially re: SHOREX with assigned time).

  2. 23 hours ago, spenecer said:

    I am reading some of the dailies posted in this forum and noticing that some shows say 18+.  How strict is NCL in enforcing this rule?  I am cruising for the first time with a 16 year old who, I as the parent, feel is perfectly capable of handling adult language and content.  I would obviously like to attend some of these comedy shows with my child, but I'm wondering if NCL will block us?

    It's super inconsistent, in my experience. I've seen them turn away teens at certain shows, yet the show had several toddlers in the audience. So I'd say it's hit or miss.

    • Haha 1
  3. On 11/17/2021 at 10:35 PM, fstuff1 said:

    i saw a pool table on one of the big ships but dont remember which.

    Bliss? Joy?

     

    Which ships have a pool table?

    How much for a pass for the entire cruise?

     

    Unless ship is docked and on a very calm water day, those tables are useless. Unless you're into the random path aspect of pool, then may be fun betting which path the ball will take.

  4. 29 minutes ago, zzdoug said:

    Thanks for posting this on-point and succinct review!

     

    Do you happen to have any dailies you could share?

     

    What are your thoughts on the entertainment?

     

    Thanks. No photos of dailies -- never crossed my mind.

     

    Entertainment: Norwegian decided to go for variety-style novelty theater shows, rather than Broadway or big productions like Disney or Royal have. For our sailing they had Choir of Man, Malevo and Light and Shadow. Choir of Man didn't do much for us -- felt a bit trite and cliche. Malevo is spectacular with so much energy. Light and Shadow is visually stunning and mentally teasing. They host once or twice daily participatory shows in deck 6 and at least in my sailing, it was always JAM PACKED and a mad house. That not being our thing, we didn't partake but I'd say it was a success judging by attendance and engagement.

    • Thanks 1
  5. 37 minutes ago, mafig said:

    Thanks for your review.  I enjoyed reading it.

     

    Since when does Oasis of the Seas tender?  I always thought Oasis-class ships never tender.🤔

     

    One of the Huricane years, we did an unscheduled stop in Grand Cayman. There's no pier to dock there. But you are correct, normally oasis class never tender.

  6. 8 hours ago, smartdesserts said:

    It has been a while since I was on Norwegian and was wondering what type of coffee machines are available in the cabin.  If they are Keurig's I will definitely bring some of my own pods sine I like a strong cup of joe.

    Pay the $4 for a grande americano at Starbucks. Worth every penny. I'm not a fan of starbucks at all, but on board is really the only option for anyone looking for a decent cup of joe.

  7. Hey folks,

     

    Just off the Escape this AM after a fantastic week. This was our 15th cruise in the last 10 years, 2nd in NCL. First and foremost, I'm stunned how many people were in the ship this time of year. Normally, this past week is the lowest-demand week of fall-winter season as kids are still in school and folks are still not on vacation. Other cruises we've taken this time of the year are like half-empty. Not so this year. It was PACKED TO THE BRIM with people. I don't thing I've ever sailed with so many people in the same ship. Really crazy how the slingshot effect of 2 years w/o cruising is having on demand.

     

    Stateroom service: I don't think people give enough credit or importance at having a good stateroom steward. Our was amazing. Always courteous, prompt and knew all of our names since day one. Unlike many of our past cruises including 9 on Disney, she seemed actually genuine and always happy to be of help. Our rom was kept impeccable. Without question she was our "Vacation Hero".

     

    Stateroom: Forward balcony. For the price was good. Fit 4 of us and our luggage without problems -- although we are notoriously light-packers. The noise insulation, however, left a lot to be desired. We could literally hear our neighbors to either side talk, sigh, etc. Not a deal breaker, but definitely deserves note especially since I'm a ridiculously light sleeper so got woken up when one of our neighbors would go to their bathroom at night.

     

    Ship condition: Ship was mostly kept clean. There were a few areas, especially the Waterfront where you could always find drinks/food that had been sitting there for a a while. To be clear, nothing gross, but just stuff we noticed.

     

    Complimentary food: great. Good selection, very good quality --- not quite Disney, but close and much better IMO than Royal's.

     

    Paid food: We tried Le Bistro and La Cucina. Le Bistro was the gastronomic highlight of our trip. In fact, I'd say it was the gastronomic highlight of the last 5 years. I've had the privilege to eat at several Michelin-rated restaurants in Copenhagen, Bilbao and Lyon and I would say my meal at Le Bistro was within spittin' distance of those. So damn good. I can still taste the dark chocolate dessert in my mind. La Cucina was good. Nothing spectacular, but good choice for the dining plans.

     

    Overall service: the service throughout the ship was really good. Savor/Taste service was always prompt and attentive. The few times I needed someone at service desk, were  very quick and easy going.

     

    Great Sh***up Cay: I would say if there's any derogatory remarks to say about our trip is the absolute SH*TSHOW that is the tendering "process". Incredibly frustrating and puzzling why would NCL ever screw this opportunity so badly. We've done half dozen tenders in DCL Fantasy and Oasis of the Seas (which is a bigger and more pax capacity that the Escape). It has always been a non-issue. Super simple, no "tendering groups", no massive tenders, really quick. In NCL the process felt like agony at times -- WHY?! It's hard to comprehend how they've shot themselves in the foot so badly. And GSC is an absolute delight. Gorgeous beaches, the zip-line was SUUUUPER fun, great food and yet the tendering process left a bad taste in our mouths and very unlikely we will try sailing on an itinerary with tendering involved on NCL.

     

    Drinks: we don't partake. So no comment.

     

    Internet: speed varied from slow as molasses to 'decent'. Never felt there was a time in the whole trip when I felt the connection was worth the cost, frankly, but YMMV.

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 3
  8. On 11/29/2022 at 1:11 PM, swifty said:

    DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

    Good enough to sh*tpost on social media, check stocks and email. Not good enough to work remotely, if that's what you mean. I've yet to set foot on any cruise, regardless of ship or line, where the connection has been dependable for anything other than what I mentioned above.

  9. Hey folks,

     

    Last couple of days I've been having technical difficulties login in ncl.com (and the password recovery link is broken). I tried calling their listed phone number but all the menu options was about travel, not the website. Anyone knows their tech phone number?

  10. Howdy folks,

     

    After a long (for us) hiatus just got the cruising bug again. Just saw on Royal's pre-boarding protocols are minimal/gone (hooray for that!). But could not find any info on their site f they're still segregating PAX onboard according to their vax status, masking, etc. For anyone who's traveled recently out of a US port, what should we expect in term of experience aboard (exclusively asking about health protocols, if any). TIA.

  11. On 1/7/2022 at 3:32 AM, mtm103 said:

    Hi all!

    We are sailing end of March 2022 in Mariner B2B. We are coming from UK, where they are not vaccinating under 12. So my son will need a PCR test before boarding. We will need antigen tests. All 3 of us had covid in December. We are boosted and ready to go.. However as I am not in the US, no clue of the best place to go. Of course, I gogoled it, but as we do not have a car, there seems to be a lot of places we can't go.. also I am hearing of cancellations after booking the test.. we will be around Universal, so can anyone recommend the best/most reliable place to go? or if someone can come to our hotel? 

    Thanks all

     

     

    Whatever you do I would highly recommend you DO NOT do them at the airport. Every time I'm going to catch a flight I glace to the testing kiosks and they're the worst chaotic zoo you can imagine. I would suggest you look at CVS/Walgreens in that area or buy BinaxNow Telehealth tests (I'm assuming you have access to a computer or tablet or smart phone).

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