Texaribbean: Tell me the good, bad and ugly

[postalgrrl]

I am thinking of booking a trip on the NCL Sea. I have only cruised once on RCCL and enjoyed it, but would like to try NCL. The itinerary for the Sea looks good and I can drive to Houston. But I would like to know about the ship. How are the oceanview and balcony cabins? are they small? I saw on the deck plan that some of the oceanview are on the same deck as the jogging track Is the food good? Please tell me what you think? The good, bad and the ugly. Thanks

 

Rhapsody of the Sea 1/03

Serenade of the Sea 9/19/04

[immargaret]

The cabins are all small on the SEA. The cabins are very well layed out, and storage space is plentiful. The SEA is a smaller ship which makes getting around very easy. The food was great, and we had no wait times in April when we cruised. The shows I would rate about a B+, not nearly as good as our last cruise on the SKY. The decor of the SEA is slightly out dated, and not as glamorous as most NCL ships, but she makes up for it with personality. The crew were all extremely friendly and seemed to like what they were doing. Getting on and off the ship was very well organized. The ports are all spectacular and not to be missed. We had no problem with finding food at all times of the day and night. The room service menu was adequate and deliveries were usually within 30 minutes. The afternoon BBQ's were excellent, although a little close to dinner time for me. We never had to wait for a table in the dining room (we usually arrived before 6:30) for a table for 2 or 4 people. We didn't bother trying the specialty restaurant since we found the dining rooms sufficient. For breakfast we usually went to the waffle station, or the omlet station outside the buffet near the pool. We truly love freestyle cruising and eating when and where we want with no set times to adhere to. My husband loves not having to dress up on vacation, and saves a lot of space in my suitcase for more shoes.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Margaret

 

Until we cruise again........NCL SEA 4/17/04

[patandcd]

Ditto to everything Margaret said above. We have sailed the Sea twice and plan to sail again this October before she leaves. It has been said this trip is more suited for "mature" people, however, when we sailed last Thanksgiving there were over 300 children onboard and they all seemed be having a fun time. We also like being able to drive to the Port of Houston. We are planning to go this time when there will be a few less kidos! Happy sailing and hopes this helps.

Pat

[ute_fan]

Our first cruise was on the Sea in January. The ship is small, and not as fancy as the Sun that we just got off of, but we had a great experience. The rooms are small, but I think there was more storage space in our deck 2 inside cabin than there was in the balcony cabin we had on the Sun. We thought the food was excellent, and never paid to eat in any of the alternative restaurants. My DH gained 10 pounds, I gained 5, a friend we were with gained 15. Guess we found plenty to eat! The food in the regular restaurants were much better than the buffet, but I think that's pretty standard. The waffles that were served in the breakfast buffet were great. We were in a group of 6, and occasionally had to wait 15-20 minutes for a table, but it wasn't any worse than a regular restaurant.

 

The crew was extremely friendly and made us feel very pampered. The beds were comfortable. The shower in the room wasn't great, and the hair dryer was almost worthless, but those were our only real complaints.

 

The ports were interesting. We enjoyed all of them, particularly Belize. Cancun was our least favorite, due mainly to the pushy salespeople, but that's just Mexico.

[Jana]

My very first cruise was on the Sea when she was still the Seaward. We had a porthole room on deck two, and boy, was it tiny; we had to open the door to put on our pants. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and booked it for my parents' 50th anniversary, 19 family members. We got "deluxe" staterooms, which aren't deluxe by modern standards but are better than the porthole room we had the first time.

 

I still love the Sea. The food is excellent, the people onboard genuinely happy to serve, the layout is great. The "ugliest" thing about the Texaribbean cruise was (forgive me) the port in Houston, which is not one of the U.S.'s great inspirational departures.

 

We had three kids in our group and they had a ball. There was plenty for them to do. If you can overlook salmon colored formica and metal closet doors, you'll have a ball.

 

By the way, the Sea was originally built as a ferry!

[hilltopfamily]

So is the Sea leaving Houston? If so, is there a ship to replace her there? was looking at the Sea for summer 2005, but maybe not if she's relocating.

[ute_fan]

According to the NCL web site, the Sea will continue to depart from Houston through April, 2005. The Dream will be transferred to the Texaribbean cruise effective October, 2005. I think the Sea is being transferred to the parent company of NCL for cruising in Asia.

[brandnewcruiser]

Just returned from SEA. Ship is older and smaller than some but in good shape. Staterooms are small but have lots of storage. if you keep your stuff picked up they are fine. Food was good. Crew was great. Ports were fun.

GO! ENJOY! HAVE A GOOD TIME! We were on Deck 4 and think it was the perfect spot. It was Mid ship and close to everything.

[danfiveoh]

postalgrrl:

IMHO RCCL is a bit above NCL in food and ship quality. We've been on the Sea twice and have booked again for the 8/7 sailing. The other postings are correct, she is a smaller, older ship but it is nice to get away from the lines and crowds on the mega ships. You'll really notice the difference in cabin size. I see you've been on the Rhapsody. Most cabins on the Rhapsody are 170 - 180 square feet. On the Sea they are 110 - 120. Freestyle cruising is a nice change but I think it is better suited to the larger ships that have more dining choices. One thing that NCL does better than RCCL is the pool side BBQ in the afternoons. We've been to the ports before and they are all fun. Do an excursion in Belize (prefer cave tubing) because the town is a bit of a dump so you won't want to do a lot of walking around. Check the boards and book excursions on your own, you'll get a better price.

[tawcat]

Ditto to all. Do try the Pasta Cafe, no extra charge, reservations can be made the day before. Gatsby's is a quaint little bar, smoking allowed and they have a very nice cigar selection. I know the latter doesn't appeal to everyone, just trying to add a few things missed. Ahh Belize, if they offer the Jungle Horseback and River tour do it, it was awesome. Loved all the food everywhere. And as a side note. The ranch steaks, look like 1/2 inch NY strips, on the grills are awesome, much better than the dining room version. The cabins, well, gee, lets see, never spent a lot of time in there. Basically shower, sleep and change clothes in it and plenty of room for a bit of hanky panky if you are into that! Its a neat ship. Oh yeah, if you are driving and parking there at the pier it's $49 cash up front, and if you don't have a lot of baggage do the express disembarkation. We were in the car on our way home at 9:15.

 

Have a great cruise.

[cpayne]

We sailed NCL Sea and were rather disappointed. We have sailed 7 times (various lines and ships) and this was by far our least favorite. The itinerary is great! We also live in Houston so the advantage of driving to the port instead of flying cannot be overlooked either. However, the cabins were extremely small and the ship was in need of a great deal of maintenance. The daily activities did not seem to be as up to par as other ships for days at sea either.

 

Every cruise has it's + and - so you have to weigh the odds. Even though it was our least favorite ship we still had a good time.

[ilinda]

I just booked my cabin for the Oct 23rd NCL SEA cruise from Houston. It is correct that the Sea will be going over to the Asian Star Cruises. I have sailed on this boat when it was the Seaward, many years ago and it is smaller than the newer jumbo ships. Just depends on how much walking you want to do. I like the mid size ships. It is far from a small ship but mid size. I expect to have a great time.

Enjoy.

[hilltopfamily]

So, if I'm reading this right there is a gap from April 2005 to Oct. 2005 and wondering if NCL will have a ship out of Houston during that time? Could it be that the Sea will be there until the Dream takes over in Oct, but NCL only has their schedule out through April 2005? thanks for any further info on this!

[ArkansasFish]

patandcd..... I am going on Oct 1 on the Sea. Are you going this same week?

[ute_fan]

Hilltopfamily --

 

If you look on any of the travel search engines, there is a definite break from April through October. The Sea stops as of 4/30, and the Dream is shown as starting up in October. Maybe the schedule will still change, but right now it looks like there is nothing going out of Houston during that break.

[patandcd]

ArkansasFish...we have not booked yet but are looking at the 10/30/04 sailing. You can go to the ROLL CALL forum and look for your ship name and sail date. Or you can post your own roll call and see if someone answers. I have been looking around for awhile and finally found a roll call for the date we would like to go. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page to Forum Jump and click on the roll calls. We have sailed on the SEA twice so I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. I never take the time to post my email addy here but it is pata24@hotmail.com. Hope this helps.

Pat

[postalgrrl]

Everyone,

Thanks for all the reviews. I'm thinking about booking it for Jan. or Feb.It sounds like we would have a blast. My biggest concern is the cabins, we had a oceanview on the Rhapsady and really enjoyed it, but I don't want an oceanview on the same deck as the jogging track....somedays I like to sleep late or take a nap in the afternoon. I'm afraid that it would be really noisey by the track. Right now I am busy planning our Alaska trip in Sept...but who says I can't plan another cruise before I take this one.. lol..Thanks again

[natalunia]

Great info... we are looking at booking at least 3 cabins for December 18-25th, 2004. We live 1 hour from Houston, so its very convenient... kind of weird that we haven't sailed out of Houston before... My parents have never cruised before and we wanted to start them on an itinerary we haven't done, and on a smaller ship, rather than the mega ships that take 2 days to learn your way around.

 

My dad is 6 feet tall and 230 lbs, so will the shower be unmanageable for him? I've read the reviews that you should soap the walls and spin around. :p

 

Also, has anyone had any luck with calling NCL for upgrades on the Sea? We just uprgaded from an oceanview to an AB suite last month on the Spirit, so I was curious about upgrades on the Sea.

 

Natalie

[r121567]

Is there no formal dinning with Freestyle? I wanted to dress for dinner at least once during the cruise.

 

Rhonda

[ute_fan]

Natalunia -- Being a rather rotund person myself, the showers on the Sea were a little skimpy. However, I managed fine. I wouldn't expect he would have any problems. My BIL went with us. He is about 6 ft. tall, and probably closer to 300 pounds. Never heard him complaining at all.

 

 

r121567-- There is one "formal" night on the ship. Basically, one of the main restaurants is designated formal. You aren't allowed in unless you are more dressed up. The other one is the normal resort casual, or if you really don't want to change out of jeans, you can always eat at the buffet. I dont know that the formal night is quite as impressive as I would imagine it to be on other ships, because not everyone is dressed up. I also don't know that the dress was quite as formal (not as many evening gowns and tuxes), but you wouldn't feel out of place if you do want to go formal.

[postalgrrl]

does anyone have photos of the NCL Sea.....I think it would ease my mind....I saw the photos travelocity..but would like some recent photos.....thanks again for all the info

[ute_fan]

We took more video than anything else of the inside of the ship, so I don't think I can help you. If it eases your mind at all, we were in an inside cabin on deck 2 (how much cheaper can you get??). The room was very small and cozy, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was our first cruise, and now I'm hooked. :D I had been worried about being claustrophobic, but it didn't bother me at all. It actually reminded me of being inside our RV.

 

I'm pretty sure some of the oceanview ones are on the promenade deck. I was conscious when we were out on that deck that you might want to keep your curtains closed if you didn't want people looking in.

[patandcd]

That description of the inside of a camper or small motorhome is a perfect comparison to the cabins!

 

Natalunia, we booked a guarantee KK or better and upgraded to oceanview FF for $50 on the Sea last year. Our TA called and asked if we wanted it and we jumped on it. From reading the boards it seems that the less expensive rooms tend to sell faster so they (NCL) will offer to sell upgrades first in order to sell more of the less expensive rooms. There have been a lot of posts about the upgrade proccess and it really sounds like a hit or miss kind of thing. But, to answer your question, yes, the Sea also upgrades.

 

Postalgrll....just go to the NCL website and request brochures to be mailed to you. They send out a really nice catalog with all the NCL ships and info in it. Also, you can go to ramcruisersftcollins.membercruises.com and get a realitic view of the cabins...they also have the virtual tours at NCL site.

[hilltopfamily]

Hilltopfamily --

 

If you look on any of the travel search engines, there is a definite break from April through October. The Sea stops as of 4/30, and the Dream is shown as starting up in October. Maybe the schedule will still change, but right now it looks like there is nothing going out of Houston during that break.

Darn! Just when I thought I had another ship & cruiseline to try out for our family next summer! We're the "drive to port" type, so Houston & Galveston have been of particular interest to us! Thanks for taking the time to post. I'll keep looking to see if NCL adds something to Houston for summer '05.

[tawcat]

Postalgrrl, i probably have some Sea pics, if you provide an email addy i'll search out my archives and email a few to you. what type pics are you exactly looking for? btw the way not all oceanview cabins are on the jogging deck. the jogging track is rubberized and i have read on the posts that you never hear the noise.