NCL Sea - Should we go on? What category? Someone please help us?!? :-)

[PSUskier25]

My wife and I are looking for a cheap cruise in June (not many to choose from). THe cheapest we found was on the Sea. I heard good and bad. So kinda nervous, considering this ship was built in 1988. But we sailed the Norway before (it was really cheap) and had a good cruise. So our tastes are not super high, plus, we have never been on a grand huge beautiful ship (yet).

 

WE found a good price for a category D (obstructed view) and a Category E (unobstruted view) why would the unobstructed be a lower category then the obstructed?

 

Plus, we are 26, from Philly and have free flights. Will there be others our age? Only Texans?

 

Help!!! Thanks!

 

Scott

 

smt150@hotmail.com

[johnql]

I sailed the Sea back in 2001 and had a good time. As long as your expectations are realistic, you should be fine. It sounds like you already know that it's a smaller, older ship. It wasn't designed with Freestyle dining in mind, so that might not work as smoothly as on the newer ships. Plus, there aren't nearly as many alternative venues for dining. The bathrooms are small and the shower stalls even smaller. But if you can get a good price for a desired itinerary, I say go for it.

[ute_fan]

Our first cruise was on the Sea in January, 2004 -- we're doing a return trip (our 3rd) in May. I loved the Sea -- the staff was extremely friendly and provided excellent service. We loved the food, and the itinerary was wonderful. Our 2nd cruise was on the Sun -- I'm a little nervous about going back down to a smaller ship, but mainly because our kids' first exposure was the Sun -- they may think we're on a fishing boat!

 

If the price is right, I'd definitely go for it. Our cabin the first time was a deck 2, inside, cat. KK. This time we're upgrading -- a deck 2 porthole, cat. H -- LOL. We didn't spend enough time in our cabin to make it worth any extra money to upgrade.

 

If you have any specific questions, just let me know.

[crewsin250]

I cruised on the Sea in March and had a great time. I don't know why but it just seems to be friendly people cruise the small ships and it spreads through out the whole ship. We had a CC meet and greet onboard with over 50 people attending from all over the US and Canada. So if you are looking for a great cruise at a good price the Sea is for you.

Happy Sailing

Paul

[thunder_lin]

Hey Paul, nice to see you on the posts. We did have a good time on the SEA didn't we. We cruised the Sea in March on the same sail as Cruisin250. We had a wonderful cruise. We are a little older than 26 but there were lots of young people on the cruise. For the price I don't think you can find anything else that would rival the SEA. The staff were great, the food was great, the service was great and the ports were great. We stayed in an obstructed view cabin which was fine. We were upgraded from an inside cabin. The obstructed view provided our room with natural light and in the mornings we were able to look outside to check the weather and yes we did have a view. Just not as full a view as a non-obstructed view. I would stay in an obstructed view cabin on the Sea again if I had the chance. I am surprised that the unobsturcted view rooms are cheaper. Maybe it's a sale thing going on.

Book the SEA and enjoy!

[PSUskier25]

Thanks for the info. What is the best way from Houston Airport to the terminal? Buy through NCL? Bus? We are looking for the cheapest, but reliable option.

 

Thanks for your help!

[ute_fan]

We've got 4 going in our family, so we're renting a mini-van from Enterprise. We're flying in on Friday night, and I prefer to have my own transportation in case we need to make a last minute run to the store for something.

 

The cost of the mini van is about $75, including all the taxes., etc. but I know they quoted my DH around $25 for a full-size car -- I think that amount was before taxes. We just didn't think we could get 4 LARGE suitcase, plus assorted carry-on type stuff into a car and still have room for all of us.

 

I forget what the NCL transfer cost is -- but somewhere around $20 one way sticks in my head. If you're flying in the same day, that still might be the best way to go. If you're flying into IAH, I think taxis were around $75 one way.

 

There is a thread somewhere, but I'm not sure if it's on this board or another cruise message board, where someone detailed out all the costs. You might try searching for Houston transportation and see what you can find.

[jlw78]

We just returned from the Sea on April 16th. All in all we had a really good time. The Sea still looks good considering her age. The staff was really friendly. There is a lot to do. It was a really good deal for the price. My only warning to you would be the motion. I had been on a RCL cruise a few years ago. On the RCL ship, you did not really notice the movement. The Sea literaly was rocking at times. I know that that probably cannot be helped but if you are prone to motion sickness, this is not the ship for you!

[gemsm]

We just returned from the Sea on April 16th. All in all we had a really good time. The Sea still looks good considering her age. The staff was really friendly. There is a lot to do. It was a really good deal for the price. My only warning to you would be the motion. I had been on a RCL cruise a few years ago. On the RCL ship, you did not really notice the movement. The Sea literaly was rocking at times. I know that that probably cannot be helped but if you are prone to motion sickness, this is not the ship for you!

 

 

I'm prone to motion sickness but went on the sea anyway...I second jw's thought that it was a rocking ship....But I did OK on it. We had an obstructed view category D cabin. They are more expensive than the category E unobstructed view because they are on a higher deck...I would go for the category E if you are prone to seasickness because the lower your cabin the better off you are.

[jlw78]

We had a room on the second floor. It was still rocking really bad down there. Honestly, it didn't matter what floor you where on, the ship really rocks! Other than that we loved the Sea.

[Jem4life]

We were on the Sea 3 weeks ago. A group of 18 of us went. We picked the Sea for the same reason... it was cheap! It does show it's age, but I got over that pretty quick. The crew was great, the food good and the ports were super! Would I sail her again? Probably not... just because I would like a newer, bigger ship better... Go and have a great time!

[Oma24boys]

If you notice from my signature the Sea was our first cruise and we still talk about it...in fact I wish we could afford to cruise her again before she moves. I carry very fond memories and friendliness of the crew. I would sail her again. If I had known she were moving I may have booked her again instead of one of my other cruises...sometimes you think things never change!

[Jem4life]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jem4life/album?.dir=/63cf

 

Check out my link for pictures of our recent cruise on the Sea! As you'll see, we had a GREAT time! I'm sure you will too! It was my kids 1st cruise and they're hooked too now! They will always have GREAT memories of their 1st cruise on the SEA!

 

Jean