cruisencrazy

Go to Sapphire Beach. It's easy to taxi to and from. It's not crowded and is breathtaking.

Hi i wish i found this room sooner...but anyway i booked a gty. balcony from a studio cabin.... had to give up my perks which were UBP and UDP...as it was a guarantee upgrade... I rebooked a 3 night dining plan....this was rebooked last thursday.... i will be going on the Escape September 10th...my question is...when they send the cabin assignment, does it come to your email address, or is it just on the EDOCS? Also do you receive the cabin assignment before the day of the cruise, as i am leaving on September 8th to stay in Fort Lauderdale for 2 nights before the cruise...

 

Also the guarantee balcony...can it be anywere on the ship, or just in the BX category...

We just got our cabin assignment last Thursday for the Sept 17 Escape sailing. It was in our cruise summary and not our email. We had a bf guarantee and got a bb. It's all good.

The ship and the ports will be decorated. Grand Cayman has beautiful beaches

We are going on the Escape next month and I have a few questions: First, which shows were your favorite and why? Second, which restaurant should we not miss? Finally, in general, what on the ship should we not miss, sign up for or do? Thanks in advance for taking the time to reply to this.

Hire an uber driver or taxi (some only take cash) and head to the east side of Oahu. That's where you will find some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You are missing out if you don't get out of Waikiki. Make sure you see Kailua Beach and Lanikai Beach. They are next to each other, but a local will need to tell you how to access Lanikai. Great restaurants in Kailua as well. There is also a Target and Whole Foods in Kailua in case you need to pick up last minute items. The drive along the coast to get there is beautiful. If you don't go during rush hour, the drive would be 30 to 45 minutes each way. The lighthouse hike can be along the way as well. It's also gorgeous there, but it hikes UP...

We are 3 star cruisers. I think we have booked a guarantee on almost every cruise we have taken. Unless we are cruising somewhere other than Caribbean or Alaska, we really don't care where the cabin is. Of course that could be because we haven't had a bad assignment yet. Most cabins are upgrades. We have never received up sells. We tend to book last minute. Just booked a 14 day on Maasdam leaving this weekend. We did an 11 day in January on Oosterdam and I think we booked it two days before departure. The fact is, we just don't spend that much time in our cabin.

I purchased an expensive LeVian diamond ring on a HAL ship. I had nothing but issues with it. All guarantees I was told about at the time of purchase were not true. On our HAL cruise in January, I took the ring in and the sales girl told me to take it to Macys. Well, that did not sit well with me. I went to HAL front desk and complained at customer service. Long story short, it took all 11 days of our cruise, but they took the ring back and let me choose anything else I wanted from the shops. I chose a solid gold globe pendant, which I am really enjoying!!! Why must we fight so hard to get them to do what is right? FYI, the people that work in the jewelry shops on the cruise are 3rd party vendors, and they work on all of the cruise ships from every cruise line. They are disorganized and very slow. The communication process is terrible. Only purchase items you can't live without. Anything that the manufacturer will guarantee would "probably" be the safest to purchase.

We got our assignment, finally. We got what we paid for, and that's ok. Last time we were on the Oosterdam we had a Neptune suite and this time we are in an oceanview. We got assigned what we booked and that's ok. This is a very last minute, squished in (availability and schedules) trip. Can not wait to be underway.

Day 4: Samana, Dominican Republic

 

We had breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill today, and I have to concede that DH might have a better idea in going to the Pinnacle. We really enjoyed the peace and quiet, as well as food and service. I had an omelet, while he had a traditional American breakfast. Freshly squeezed OJ was available. After breakfast we made our way to the Thermal Suite for some relaxing. We arrived to have it to ourselves, but as we started to notice others looking for chairs, we gave ours up (the sign says to limit yourself to 15 minutes if others are waiting.

 

Lunch was the Asian station, followed by some aft pool time (I’m starting to feel like all I do in this review is write about food. I promise we do other things!). Both DH and I work in careers that cause us to do overnight travel, so when we have vacation we truly enjoy downtime. Sitting down with our Kindles is all we need, and what we most look forward to. I hope we don’t sound too boring!

 

We had some confusion today. We have reservations at the Pinnacle for Thursday night, and noticed a reservation card in our inbox for Tuesday night. Hmmmm…Was this an error on our Thursday reservation? Was it some new invite to something? I know I didn’t make that reservation, at least intentionally…so we went to the concierge to ask about it. He could only say it was made the day before. Lots of phone calls were made, only to determine someone had made it for us, and treated us to it…..that is wonderful! But I don’t know who to thank! Oh well, we will show up tonight and see if there are any clues to the mystery. (FWIW, we didn’t book through a travel agent, so it’s not that).

 

For the first time in (forever?), we are actually considering purchasing some of our onboard photos. I have no idea what the prices used to be, but there are packages of unlimited candid shots, unlimited posed photos (like on formal night) shots, or both. We think a few of ours came out really well and would like to have them. Since we haven’t been getting off the ship in the ports, though, our “candids” are rather limited, so I don’t know if it is entirely worth it. I might check the individual photo prices. Also, FWIW, I noticed a few people trying to take photos of their photos with their cell phones, and each time one of the photography staff runs over to tell them that’s not allowed.

 

 

We had another enjoyable dinner in the MDR. Service is still quite slow, but when we’re on vacation we never mind, we see dinner as an enjoyable event, and like to linger over a few drinks, dessert, etc. My DH had a parmesean crusted veal for his main entrée, and I had the Caribbean pot roast. We liked them both. I noticed that the portion size for appetizers are pretty small, which I like, and the entrees seem huge by comparison. I prefer to graze, and many small plates of different things, so the appetizer sizes work well for me.

 

We went to the show last night, which was a typical cruise juggler. This guy juggled knives and cracked whips. While not the best show we ever saw, he was certainly entertaining and a fun way to spend an hour or so after dinner. The seas have been rough, and we were feeling queasy when we went to bed.

 

I’m typing this up on the start of our first sea day, as we make our way to Bonaire. The weather looks like it can go either way, it’s a mix of sun and clouds out there, so we will see what the day brings for us.

If you decide to go ashore in Bonaire, you will see a sign for the Plaza Bonaire as you get off the boat. For $10 pp they will take you to their "resort" and bring you back to the ship. It's nice there, with the best snorkeling in the Caribbean right off the beach (walk into the water, duck down and there it is). They have nice enough beach with hammocks, a restaurant, and lounges with bar service. They also have nice and clean faciltiies. It's one of our favorite stops. Enjoy. Love reading your posts, as we will board your ship Monday :)

....still waiting..... I will know for sure in a week, 'cause that's when we sail....

We almost always book a guarantee, and this cruise, leaving on December 28 is no exception. I always book the "least" I will be happy with. I have always been very happy with my cabin assignment. I'm not that picky in the Caribbean, but I am for Alaska, Europe.... Would love to hear about your experiences. We are still waiting for our assignment for our cruise leaving in 11 days....

I've got 90 plus cruises so I have at least four times more experience then you. You are in your own little world in the Haven and lost touch with reality. What you find minor would ruin someone else's vacation. I find it quite pompous when someone knows how the rest of us "should" fell and find minor or major. Your are entitled to your opinion but it doesn't always jive with others.

Obviously it hasn't been that bad since you continue to cruise. BTW this is our first time in the Haven. When someone says hi how are you? Why would someone say terrible? The good must outweigh the bad or why do we go on? Turn that from upside-down :)

Anyone request caviar?

The Don't Sweat The Small Stuff is Something I try to keep in the back of my mind - at work, at home, on vacation. Many times that sneaky little worry or complaint slips through.

 

Last week I found myself in a lousy mood due to many stresses - most of them conjured up by my mind and my perception of things.

 

I griped and complained early in the week,. then my dear, dear 3 year old granddaughter had to have emergency brain surgery. Guess what, I never thought of those petty things again.

 

She is recuperating well and with a full recovery expected. God was watching over her and us. Guess he wasn't worried about the small things either - he took care of the big things.

So glad your daughter is ok. Prayers for your family.

Many are angry about changes at NCL. I have cruised 25++ times and I think i know a thing or two about cruising. I don't think the room service charge is here to stay, but glad we will cruise in the Haven this week...lol, while they figure it out. Do you ask why they did that? We have all seen people who push the boundaries on the ship; the rules don't apply to them. Well, this is what happens. We had a fabulous cruise on NCL Epic in March. We didn't do any specialty dining and everything was still wonderful. Was service slow? Sometimes. Did I have to be anywhere? If you had a show, they would speed up for you. I'm on vacation; I don't have to be anywhere. Our cabin was made up a little late a couple of days. So What!!! How about if everyone writes about the good stuff and quit being so negative. The buffet was the best I've ever experienced, the employees were happy and friendly (love the washy washy people), the shows were....entertaining, the drinks were cold, the food was usually hot. No one was shooting at me, or trying to pickpocket me, or trying to sell me a fake designer piece, or asking me to work. I keep seeing posts about people being scared about their upcoming cruise after reading some of the posts. Of course, it's life, sometimes it doesn't go well. It still counts as a vacation. Quit leaving the glass half empty...fill it up!!!!

Thanks again. Do you maybe know opening hours for Garden Cafe?

 

This will be our first cruise and we booked it pretty much last minute. We have no reservations yet. More I read this boards, more I'm panicking as it appears some people have restaurants & all shows booked over 6 months in advance. Hopefully we'll still get tickets for Epic theatre.

 

Do you maybe know if reservation is required for Ice Bar?

 

Thank you kindly

The Garden Cafe opens very early in the day, the time varies depending on port times. It seemed to be open into the wee hours after that. O'Sheeans is open 24 hours a day and it's free. We ate at all of the free venues and they were great. We are trying the dining package on our cruise leaving Sunday (Epic again).

No reservations are needed for the ice bar. We didn't go in since we were cruise in March to get warm. I was told to make sure you bring socks or your feet will freeze. The $20 admission includes 2 drinks. Never saw a line.

Even if you have to stand in the standby line for the shows, you will most likely get in. There is so much going on on the boat, you will have many choices. You can book shows before you go, from your cabin and at the box office on board, which is right outside the theater and Cirque venue. You will love this ship. There is so much fun to be had.

They also have complimentary flavored waters in the buffet

We had an aft balcony on a 2 week Jade. It's the only way to go. We got a lot of debris on our deck from the highest decks, so I would actually say lower is better. The views in and out of nearly every port will be breathtaking. Enjoy :)

We sailed Oasis of the Seas in December and Epic in March (and will again next week). Our Royal Caribbean cruise was not nearly as good. Employees were rude. For example, I had to get out of their way in the hall. I had to retrieve my own suitcase when it was delivered to the wrong room. NCL employees seem sooooo much happier. It created a great atmosphere. The shows were good on both. Everything else depends on the ship's amenities and the ports. We were traveling with our kids in their early/mid 20's and they didn't like the Royal Caribbean cruise. They were not with us on the Epic. We choose the cruises by the dates we want to cruise and then the ports. Then we choose by the kind of experience we want; formal, small boat/large boat, length of cruise..... If all things were equal and we were to choose between NCL and RCCL, I would choose NCL. I have high loyalty points on both, but I don't think we will cruise on Royal Caribbean again. It was lacking a personal touch and also no enforcement of their dress codes, which was awkward for those of us following them.

Just my opinion

You can either order the drinks from your deck chairs, or one of you go to the bar with both cards. In the restaurants, they usually only ask for one card. It's really easy. Cheers!!

We were on the Epic in March and sail on her again in a few weeks. There will be plenty to do after the show. There are bars and parties everywhere. Some don't start until 10:30. Have fun and party on..

How far out from your departure are you receiving these offers? We leave on the 24th. Wondering if I should be checking my messages...lol

We had a family mini suite on the Epic last month and did NOT have a tub. We did have a huge shower. It was a wonderful room with a ton of storage. Have fun!!

I have read about Can't be missed tours and they are going to be opening up their Rome and Vatican tour on May 27th. They just need 10 people to book, they say. What are your thoughts for those who will or have toured with them?

We were on the Epic in March and we are going back on in May. We thought we were "small ship people", but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were on the Oasis of the Seas in December and had a miserable time. The Epic surprised us. The crew was awesome. The food and the entertainment both exceeded our expectations. We are going to try the Haven next month:)