LIVE! * EPIC * Oct 6 – 17, 2024 * Greek Isles

[HBCcruiser]

2 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Happy Cruising!!  What an amazing way to celebrate 34 years together…not to mention more cruising with your DD.  Your excursions look amazing.  Hope this time away lets your heart heal.  Safe travels…❤️

Thanks so much! 😁🥂 I think my dad is panicking that I’m going away. He called me this morning at 6:30 to ask me a simple question. At least my brother will be around to help him if needed. 

Edited yesterday at 02:07 PM by HBCcruiser

[laudergayle]

3 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Thanks so much! 😁🥂 I think my dad is panicking that I’m going away. He called me this morning at 6:30 to ask me a simple question. At least my brother will be around to help him if needed. 

It’s good you have so many port days where you can check in with him.  I know with my MIL when we traveled internationally we would call her and it made her feel like we were just a few miles away.  

[HBCcruiser]

6 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

It’s good you have so many port days where you can check in with him.  I know with my MIL when we traveled internationally we would call her and it made her feel like we were just a few miles away.  

Great idea. ❤️ Hey on another note I think this More at Sea is impacting our Feb cruise! I had purchased the Free at Sea Plus but it is no longer showing on our summary. Have you checked? 

[oteixeira]

LOL @HBCcruiser I just got the info for "More at Sea" and it is basically "Free at Sea" from 2016/2017.  Reinstated 3 specialties for 7 day cruises, added back extra apps and desserts if you like, not much else added (its still just the UBP beverage plan, up to 15 a drink).

[HBCcruiser]

2 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

LOL @HBCcruiser I just got the info for "More at Sea" and it is basically "Free at Sea" from 2016/2017.  Reinstated 3 specialties for 7 day cruises, added back extra apps and desserts if you like, not much else added (its still just the UBP beverage plan, up to 15 a drink).

Yeh it sounds great BUT NCL deleted our Free at Sea Plus purchase from ALL of our upcoming cruises - including this one! It’s no longer showing on our Summary. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I emailed my TA to make sure we have all the perks we paid for. I don’t trust NCL techies. Luckily I screenshoted and printed everything out. 

[laudergayle]

16 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Great idea. ❤️ Hey on another note I think this More at Sea is impacting our Feb cruise! I had purchased the Free at Sea Plus but it is no longer showing on our summary. Have you checked? 

I hadn’t booked FAS+ for February yet…so nothing changed.  Which really stinks as I liked FAS+… not only for the champagne, but for the internet upgrade and excursion credits.  

[tcmagnum]

19 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

🚢 😍 🚢. FINALLY! Our twice cancelled 30th Anniversary celebration cruise of the Greek Isles is happening. 🤞 🙏. Our first attempt to cruise the Med was supposed to be on the Breakaway in 2021. It got cancelled due to…YUP...  COVID. Our second attempt was supposed to take place in 2022 on the Escape BUT that one was cancelled because the ship had to go into dry dock after running aground in Puerto Plata. 🤦‍♀️. Just our luck!

 

I hope I don’t jinx anything by saying this, but it looks like we will finally be able to cruise the Greek Isles (Med) and celebrate what now will be our 34th year anniversary. 😂  This time on the Epic. Of course, all of the cancellations racked up some nice FCCs and discounts which now allows us to cruise in the Haven. From what I hear the Epic Haven is, well, EPIC. Right?

 

Oh, also, we will be staying in Rome for a few days after the cruise. I will then fly to Athens to meet my DD in oder to jump on ANOTHER twice cancelled cruise (is it me?) on the VV Scarlet Lady.  Yeh, so that cruise was originally a NYE family cruise on the Brilliant Lady Mermaiden Voyage which was supposed to happen a few years back. That cruise was cancelled because the ship was not finished. We then booked a different Med 7-day cruise, but that was cancelled just because it was 🤷‍♀️,  and they offered to put us on the 11-day “Ancient Aegean to The Modern Med” renamed to “A Scarlet Fright Voyage” cruise at no extra cost and LOTS of bar tab and OBC. Did I mention that I am now retired? Of course I jumped at that offer! More on the VV cruise when the time comes. 

 

Back to NCL -
 

Congratulations on finally getting your Epic trip in!!

Sounds wonderful!!

Following along as we get on the Epic as you get off and we are also cruising in the Haven.

Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Have a great time!!!

[HBCcruiser]

Just now, tcmagnum said:

Congratulations on finally getting your Epic trip in!!

Sounds wonderful!!

Following along as we get on the Epic as you get off and we are also cruising in the Haven.

Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Have a great time!!!

Awesome! If you have any questions as we go just let me know. I’ll try to find answers. Safe travels to you!

[HBCcruiser]

So I just received an email letting me know that the bed in the room we reserved in Athens  for my DD and I (Port Square Hotel) only has a Double bed and it can NOT be split into 2 twins as stated on their website. I tried to book a different room but they are sold out. My DH came to the rescue with his high Marriott status so we are now booked at the Athens Marriott. Phew! Talk about waiting until the last minute to notify us. 🙄

Edited yesterday at 05:04 PM by HBCcruiser

[HBCcruiser]

I finally heard back from my TA. Our FAS+ is in place! She sent me the Amenity Confirmation for the October cruise and it shows everything there. She ALSO said it is still showing for our February and April cruises as well. That’s may change, but at least we are good to go for Sunday! Cheers! 🥂🍾

 

[New2cruise2022]

Following! Thanks for bringing us along. 

[HBCcruiser]

Dining Reservations:

 

I booked 6 specialty restaurants this cruise leaving 5 Haven or in-port dinners left. Why 6? Well, 4 each with the FAS+ (assuming all is good as my TA stated) and 2 with my Platinum status. My DH does not have Platinum status because I cruised with my mom and DDs without him in the past. NCL is not like Royal Caribbean where they allow you to include one family member along with your status. It’s a bummer but it is what it is. 🤷‍♀️

 

Our reservations:

 

 

We will do Haven dinners when we are in port late which will allow us to eat in port or just chill depending upon how we feel. Long port days make me tired, not hungry. 

 

[Sailing12Away]

On 9/30/2024 at 6:54 PM, HBCcruiser said:

I think some 🐀 went on this cruise last year - any recommendations wither with regards to the Epic or places to go? @Sailing12Away @CptBoatface @oteixeira @ChiefMateJRK You guys have been on the Epic, right? 

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do. Epic was the first NCL trip we did and it was the inner Med loop between Rome & Barcelona. We did a Greek Isles trip shortly after the Covid restart but that was on RCC. Not sure if any of these excursions we did between those 2 trips are still available, but they were memorable.

Rome - we found a golf cart tour on Viator. Was perfect for the 3 of us (MIL was on the trip with us) as they picked us up right from our Rome hotel in the early evening, toured around the major touristy spots as the sun was setting, and since it was just the 3 of us in a simple golf cart we could go to lots of nooks and crannies and customize the trip anyway we wanted. Simple, easy, great first night in Rome to break us into the sights. 

 

Next day we did a Vatican tour also booked through Viator. Definitely worth the price to pay more for the 'small group' as those small groups are still somewhat large, but comparing my photos to a coworker who went the month after and didn't do the small group - I have about 2-3 heads in my photos, he has 100+. Great restaurant right outside the Vatican on the corner called Spaghetti. If you look around Google maps you'll find it. Our waiter was from Ozone Park (where MIL lives) so we had a lot of good chats. There was a bus fire in Rome city center, so they let us sit there outside with a bottle of wine and endless biscotti for over an hour while they were checking the traffic for us. Helped call a cab to get us back to our hotel when the city opened back up. 

 

In Florence, we did the NCL tour that included a stop at the tower in Pisa and then continued on to a vineyard in Florence. It was a long tour as the drive out to Florence area was long, but once you got there it was a decent meal and endless wine. I think our half of the table (really just J & me) finished off at least 3-4 bottles on our own. Bus ride back to the ship was fun, lots of drunken singing. If you wanted to head out to Florence the ship tours can be decent as it is a far drive and lots of things can go wrong. It was something similar to this one: https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/LIV_59/Pisa-A-Taste-Of-Tuscany ?destination=Mediterranean+Cruises&port=LIV&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12

 

In Cannes we were lucky and were there during the film festival. Did a short NCL excursion mostly to accommodate MIL that took us to Nice with hilltop scenic views of the water. https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/CEQ_60/Nice-Little-Train ?destination=Mediterranean+Cruises&port=CEQ&priceRange=0+3000&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12

 

Best part though was the stop at the French outdoor market for fresh bread & pastries and a cappuccino before the train ride started, and then wandering near the red carpet for the film festivities on our own at the end of the tour. 

 

Naples I don't remember if we booked through NCL or privately, but we did a Pompeii tour followed by a drive to Sorrento. Best. Mozzarella. Ever. https://www.pizzeriaaurora.com/, amazing personal pizzas, and the best cheese ever. Still talk about it to anyone who will listen 6 years later. If you like lemons, the creamy limoncello is better than the regular type - definitely snag a bottle to bring home. 

 

I'll put the Greek hints/tips and general thoughts on Epic separate for you. FWIW though - Rome had the worst pizza in all of Italy. Save your pizza cravings for Sorrento or Naples. 

[Sailing12Away]

On 9/30/2024 at 8:57 PM, HBCcruiser said:

Has anyone heard from @Sailing12Away? I miss her. I know her family suffered a loss. I just lost my mom unexpectedly in July and have been in a weird funk ever since. It’s even been hard to get excited for this cruise. I can’t explain it. I’m hoping this next month helps to pull me out. Hopefully she is just busy with her new job. 🙏

Thank you, all is well. New job is going great, I'm loving this whole work-from-home thing I get to do a few times a week, as is the dog.  We don't have any NCL trips booked, so I'm a bit out of sorts with what to do with myself on these boards without having something to look forward to. We have 2 Celebrity trips booked, but the folks on those boards aren't as much fun as the crew here at NCL. I still feel like an imposter with them, but until NCL makes an expedition type 100 passenger max ship, they can't compete with where my interests lay. 

 

I still keep checking their (NCL) itineraries for Asia, and they have a lot of great ones out there, but I refuse to pay Haven pricing for a simple balcony room on an older smaller ship. So I keep watching and waiting, but it's definitely odd for me to NOT have 1-2 NCL trips booked. When I do finally decide to book something with them (or more likely Oceania is catching my eye to try next) I will let you know. Since you're retired now, very few excuses for why you can't tag along for our first girls trip together.

 

On 9/30/2024 at 9:12 PM, oteixeira said:

She has posted in the past week on that social media site.  I think she may be in full on baseball mode as her team is in the hunt??  I don't follow it so I am not sure.  

LGM! Won the first wild card game tonight, one more to go before it's really official and we're in the hunt. All of our cruising money was spent on post-season baseball tickets. To put it in perspective, for a total of a potential 10-14 games max we spent more money on that than we did on our 15 day Panama Canal trip. 

[HBCcruiser]

24 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do. Epic was the first NCL trip we did and it was the inner Med loop between Rome & Barcelona. We did a Greek Isles trip shortly after the Covid restart but that was on RCC. Not sure if any of these excursions we did between those 2 trips are still available, but they were memorable.

Rome - we found a golf cart tour on Viator. Was perfect for the 3 of us (MIL was on the trip with us) as they picked us up right from our Rome hotel in the early evening, toured around the major touristy spots as the sun was setting, and since it was just the 3 of us in a simple golf cart we could go to lots of nooks and crannies and customize the trip anyway we wanted. Simple, easy, great first night in Rome to break us into the sights. 

 

Next day we did a Vatican tour also booked through Viator. Definitely worth the price to pay more for the 'small group' as those small groups are still somewhat large, but comparing my photos to a coworker who went the month after and didn't do the small group - I have about 2-3 heads in my photos, he has 100+. Great restaurant right outside the Vatican on the corner called Spaghetti. If you look around Google maps you'll find it. Our waiter was from Ozone Park (where MIL lives) so we had a lot of good chats. There was a bus fire in Rome city center, so they let us sit there outside with a bottle of wine and endless biscotti for over an hour while they were checking the traffic for us. Helped call a cab to get us back to our hotel when the city opened back up. 

 

In Florence, we did the NCL tour that included a stop at the tower in Pisa and then continued on to a vineyard in Florence. It was a long tour as the drive out to Florence area was long, but once you got there it was a decent meal and endless wine. I think our half of the table (really just J & me) finished off at least 3-4 bottles on our own. Bus ride back to the ship was fun, lots of drunken singing. If you wanted to head out to Florence the ship tours can be decent as it is a far drive and lots of things can go wrong. It was something similar to this one: https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/LIV_59/Pisa-A-Taste-Of-Tuscany ?destination=Mediterranean+Cruises&port=LIV&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12

 

In Cannes we were lucky and were there during the film festival. Did a short NCL excursion mostly to accommodate MIL that took us to Nice with hilltop scenic views of the water. https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/CEQ_60/Nice-Little-Train ?destination=Mediterranean+Cruises&port=CEQ&priceRange=0+3000&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12

 

Best part though was the stop at the French outdoor market for fresh bread & pastries and a cappuccino before the train ride started, and then wandering near the red carpet for the film festivities on our own at the end of the tour. 

 

Naples I don't remember if we booked through NCL or privately, but we did a Pompeii tour followed by a drive to Sorrento. Best. Mozzarella. Ever. https://www.pizzeriaaurora.com/, amazing personal pizzas, and the best cheese ever. Still talk about it to anyone who will listen 6 years later. If you like lemons, the creamy limoncello is better than the regular type - definitely snag a bottle to bring home. 

 

I'll put the Greek hints/tips and general thoughts on Epic separate for you. FWIW though - Rome had the worst pizza in all of Italy. Save your pizza cravings for Sorrento or Naples. 

SO good to hear from you! It looks like we may have booked some similar Viator excursions when we are in Rome. Thanks for the great tips. 🙏🐀🙏

[Sailing12Away]

Ok, back on topic..... Greece! One of our favorites trips, the food here is even better than in Italy. I don't normally eat tomatoes - I eat pasta sauce, ketchup, etc, but like a raw tomato, no. In Greece I was fighting J for them at every meal. There's just something different about the food over there, everything tastes like it was plucked fresh from a granny's private garden in the back of the alley.

 

Our trip was supposed to be an NCL journey, that got 'cancelled' and rescheduled on a different sister ship (I forget if it was the Pearl to the Jewel, or Gem to the Pearl... whatever, same difference). We originally booked a non-Haven 2br suite as MIL was tagging along again. When they cancelled our booking and told us to rebook ourselves, the price 'magically' went up another 4K for the exact same room on the exact same class of ship for the exact same dates and itinerary. Funny how that NCL math works.... so we rebooked on RCC which had a similar itinerary a day later sailing out of Cyprus (MIL stayed back, she was tagging along because of the steal of a price I found originally and couldn't quite do all the extra flights and such with the new Cyprus embarkation). Kept our original Athens flights, stayed two nights in Athens, then flew to Cyprus the day of the cruise on a puddle jumper from Olympus Air and changed our flight home to leave from there instead of Athens. 

 

For Athens, look into this company: https://www.premium-athens-transfer.com/ We used them for both airport transfers, a full day private tour of Meteora our 2nd day in Athens, and then again for our excursion day in Athens when on the cruise a few days later. They were great, reasonably priced for private tours/transfers, and can customize anything and everything for you. For our shorter port day in Athens we did a modified version of there Cape Sounio Tour (https://www.premium-athens-transfer.com/book-athens-tours/cape-sounio-tour). They picked us up directly from the cruise port, took us up to the lake for a relaxing swim in the water and cave, then when we were ready to leave they brought us to a spot for lunch right on the water. Then on to Poseidon's temple, and back to the cruise port without any issues or crowded buses to deal with. 

 

Mykonos we didn't have anything official booked and walked/wandered on our own. I got grumpy and frustrated and we called it a somewhat early day. You had to take a water taxi from where the cruise port docked over to town. J thought there was a brewery up the hill, so we climbed, and climbed, and climbed. Tried checking google maps when a US tourist renting an Air B&B saw us in need of help in his driveway and had a decent chat with him where he confirmed there was no brewery. So we hiked back down, grabbed some munchies and back to the ship. I want a do-over on that island for sure.

 

Santorini was lovely. We booked a last minute private tour through Viator as we were pulling out of port from the disaster in Mykonos. Took the cable car up to the top, and our guide was waiting for us up there. Just the 2 of us and our driver, and she took us from tip to tip across the entire island. We were ahead of the big buses, so it was great to be able to get to the iconic photo spots without 100+ other people. Told her we like wine so she arranged for a private wine tasting, then gave a great recommendation for lunch. Dropped us off back in town close to the restaurant and a short walk back to the cable car to return to the ship. It was a great day and I think just around $200 total for the 2 of us for a half day private tour. You can't beat that price. 

The rest of your stops will be new for me as we hit different islands in Greece. But definitely looking forward to tagging along, and I'll be sure to pop back in here every few days to tag along vicariously. Enjoy every minute, and don't forget the tomatoes in Greece and fresh mozarella in Sorrento!

[HBCcruiser]

28 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

The rest of your stops will be new for me as we hit different islands in Greece. But definitely looking forward to tagging along, and I'll be sure to pop back in here every few days to tag along vicariously. Enjoy every minute, and don't forget the tomatoes in Greece and fresh mozarella in Sorrento!

Thanks for the great info. Can’t wait for the great tomatoes and food! I love me a great mozzarella and bruschetta!

[NordicExpat]

@HBCcruiser

I'm curious to hear what you have to say about the Epic. I'm sure it's not as bad as the two histrionic YouTubers made it out to be recently. We will be on the cruise after yours ant it will be my 13th cruise on her and my wife's 20th or so. We'll be in the Haven on deck 16, close to the bar, and we also have (had..?) the premium plus package, so we hope all is sorted.

 

On a side note, I love Hermosa. It's definitely one of SoCal's best beaches and was a straight drive on the dreaded 91 freeway from the IE when I was younger. I was born and raised in the Inland Empire and lived there until I moved to Norway in 2019. Hermosa was a frequent stop on our way to Kings games at the Forum in the '90s.

 

We've been in Rhodes, Greece this week and the weather has been great: clear skies, temperatures in the low 80s with a nice ocean breeze. Hoping the weather holds for you. Greece is my favorite place to be. Happy anniversary and enjoy your trip!

Edited 10 hours ago by NordicExpat

[HBCcruiser]

3 hours ago, NordicExpat said:

@HBCcruiser

I'm curious to hear what you have to say about the Epic. I'm sure it's not as bad as the two histrionic YouTubers made it out to be recently. We will be on the cruise after yours ant it will be my 13th cruise on her and my wife's 20th or so. We'll be in the Haven on deck 16, close to the bar, and we also have (had..?) the premium plus package, so we hope all is sorted.

 

On a side note, I love Hermosa. It's definitely one of SoCal's best beaches and was a straight drive on the dreaded 91 freeway from the IE when I was younger. I was born and raised in the Inland Empire and lived there until I moved to Norway in 2019. Hermosa was a frequent stop on our way to Kings games at the Forum in the '90s.

 

We've been in Rhodes, Greece this week and the weather has been great: clear skies, temperatures in the low 80s with a nice ocean breeze. Hoping the weather holds for you. Greece is my favorite place to be. Happy anniversary and enjoy your trip!

Wow! Small world! We love our fun little Hermosa beach town. Yeh, the Kings used to bring the trophy down to the bars and share drinks out of it with the bar crowd. So fun! 😂

 

So far the weather looks ok. Starts off sunny at least. Hopefully I packed correctly for this trip. I’m mostly bringing long pants/jeans, a variety of short and long sleeve tops, rain coat, sweatshirt, sweater, and 2 bathing suits. If you think I need anything else, please let me know. 😃

[HBCcruiser]

Today is final packing day. It takes me weeks to figure out what to pack. My DH won’t even begin packing until tomorrow. I don’t know how he does it.

 

I’m also getting my nails done today. This has also caused me a little stress. Why? Well, I have acrylic nails because in reality I don’t have nails, I have nubs. No matter what I do,  my nails will not stay long. They split and are super thin. That said, my acrylic nails will last about 2-3 weeks tops. My struggle will be finding a good nail place in Rome or Athens. Any suggestions? I know NCL and VV won’t have that service so I’m left finding a place in port. I know, third world struggles. 💅