SweetPea

How are we all not talking about how BBQ Chicken was a SIDE dish?!

Hopefully they know my C&A level is Brown and this is only our 3rd cruise? If they only want one and done cruisers, that's a pretty risky strategy. Although, we had some very serious issues on Mariner, and i addressed them in our survey, no one followed up with us either. Bygones. Needs to be said. And if enough of us complain, maybe they get the hint. Would i sell a kidney to cruise Star Class again? We had fun, of course. However, it's a real stretch to see the value now. Embarkation/Debarkation really took the WOW factor out! Oh P.S. i am negative for Covid, everyone, so there's that!

Amen. Thank you for your post. I will definitely respond, even about the FlowRider which doesn't affect us at all, but i know how important it is to so many of you, so i will add my feedback to the score.

I've been sick as a dog today but i just realized i got this message. Yes, i didn't rate them that highly in the "likely to recommend" category because of the cost, for one (what do you kids say? Too bougie? Sure, you too can defer retirement for a full year to pay for one week in Star Class!). And two, embarkation and disembarkation were what sold Batman on the cost. Now their embarkation/debarkation procedures put them exactly on par with the Haven's procedures. (I told them this already. Not sure what else they want me to say)

These updates make my day! Although i can't wait for you to get on the ship, i know there will be shenanigans on your way there and i want all the juicy deets!

I'd never be allowed to cruise with my phone again. Which of course would result in me hoodying up all in black and purchasing a burner with cash ....

If only I'd have been prescient enough to know that half this blog would revolve around undies, I'd have rethought the blog title ...

Hard to beat that!

I wish this had come up when i was still in the app. I could've checked to see where the $0 charge came from for our drinks at Izumi. Of course, @JVPIII can simply check his account on the app to not keep us in suspense!

Haha, yes! The Chicken Karage was awesome! Also, @JVPIII, was mom not offered to order from the Hibachi side? Batman was only going to Izumi for me, and Lety was very clear as Star Class that we could order from both sides of the restaurant. She met us at Izumi and made sure both menus were on the table, waiting for us. I failed to mention this in my blog, probably because Batman found enough to eat on the Sushi side.

I'm glad kiddo seems ok. Sounds like despite the medical reroute and propulsion issue, you're still having a great cruise. Also, I'm assuming you all have adequate underwear so there's that.

First of all, nice win in the casino! Second, i just submitted my survey, expressing my displeasure at their new luggage procedures, so maybe if they get enough complaints we'll reverse this stupid course. And third ... did you paint your toe nails orange? Love it!

I know you're probably home now, so thanks for taking us along! I enjoyed all your pics so much and your commentary.

I truly hope it's worth the wait! And hey, you have two kidneys. That's what the spare is for! (i think @SMOKEY0202's plasma idea would take too long. )

NCL's CN program is awesome! And buying them onboard is super, super easy. If you only want some certs, you just need to fill out a form at your convenience and drop it in a box. If you want to actually book onboard, i understand you may be able to upgrade for free within a category (does not apply to suite/ Haven). For example, if you booked the lowest inside/outside/balcony room category, you'd get a bump or two up from that within that category. Note: that tidbit was from 2019 while we were on Bliss but check it if it that appeals to you. They often run Double Up promos where you can apply 2 CN certs at a time, so i always like to keep two. And ... if you have OBC (I think it has to be refundable OBC now, it didn't use to), the certs get charged directly to your onboard account so they're even a better value. While we were on the Escape one year, i had $750 OBC from my TA. I used that to buy 2, $500 Haven certs. So that TA essentially gave me $1k off my next cruise and i had 4 years to use it. And that $1k counted as a full deposit.... which was REFUNDABLE. I hope you do like Norwegian! I'll share one story. I don't go into a lot detail on this, but our first cruise on Royal was 2008 on Mariner. To this day in all of our 40 cruises, that is the cruise of which we do not speak. Worst ever, and for so, so many reasons that Royal could've handled better. But hey, we tried it and moved on but were done with Royal until 2019. When the Norwegian Breakaway had her inaugural season in NYC, i began researching it and decided, hey, it can't be as bad as Mariner and we don't have to fly. Batman shrugged his shoulders and agreed reluctantly. That cruise was a Sunday to Sunday. On Tuesday evening, we were sitting in the pub and Batman turns to look at me with a huge smile across his face and puts his hand on my knee. I'm giddy over the thought of him declaring his undying love for me. What did he say? "I KEEP WAITING FOR THIS TO SUCK AND IT DOESN'T!"

It's definitely going on the comment card!

I hope your son is ok!

Red snapper is my fave fish. How was it?

They are on my bucket list to try; however, I'm holding out for Edge class to do a stint out of Cape Liberty! But you know, it would be nice if Royal and Celebrity would at least have the same points policies. Doesn't Celebrity give you extra points for The Retreat? And onboard spend? It's ridiculous that i sold a kidney to sail in Star Class and all i got was a lousy 2 points per night.

I think it's a nice compromise. I'd love to hear your thoughts! There are things Royal does better (production shows). There are things NCL does better (off the top of my head, Cruise Next beats Next Cruise by a mile). There are lots of things i can list. Exactly the same: Park West

Which ship? Viva?

We've not been on Prima or Viva yet, but it looks like the food options are crazy there. Yes, Vibe Beach Club is the adults only area that you need a pass for. I think it's worth it. Many call that Haven-Lite . I know Viva will be different as it's their newest, but they bid for upgrades the same as Royal. However, always, always watch prices before you bid!

Glad we're not alone!

Aw, i miss that red cooler already!

Going to recap here It's a firm toss up. Take your pick. No, we didn't. Again, for what we do or don't do, we have no preference. We'd happily sail either. I'll say this though to be fair: When you are in the OP, you don't want to leave the room. Lety said Shane had the GP, and his folks were the same. All day on the balcony or in the hot tub, just like us. There was so much we didn't experience because of this. So this really isn't fair. Also, i know so many of you are huge fans of CP, and i did like it too. However, my preference is to be connected to the ocean. CP, while beautiful, does not connect you to the ocean at all. You don't even know you're on a ship when you're there. So i know this is sacrilege in these here parts, but give me the Waterfront on Norwegian any day. Another wildly unpopular opinion alert: I'm not certain I'm sold on the Promenade/Esplanade concept. One night, i said to Batman, It's 1983 and I'm on set during the opening scene of a cult classic movie. Where am i? Without missing a beat, he said, should we see if Jennifer Jason Leigh is working at Sorrento's? Ok, for all you young whippersnappers who've never seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High .... watch it one day, or don't because i have no idea if it aged well. But the point I'm making is that Oasis's Promenade reminded me of the opening mall scene in that movie. It was very nice and absolutely convenient to be right around the corner from the suite lounge. Service and snacks were awesome. But .... another wildly unpopular opinion, we prefer the Haven to Deck 17. Ouch, i know. You'd think we didn't have a great time this week. We did. You were there for nearly every single part of it, for crying out loud. You know we did! Honestly, if there were changes, i didn't notice. This is exactly why we waited so long to get back in the game. This is a big yes for us. We love the Haven. And i just can't see us chasing status on Royal. We have two more Star Class cruises booked, and we're looking forward to them too. I just don't see us as Sky Class people. I'm a price watcher, and Sky Class and Haven can be pretty close, not to mention that i detest stalking the Cruise Planner for price checks (something else i don't have to do on Norwegian). Haven over Sky Class for these 2 idiots. No brainer there. (See what i did there?) Also, and here was our primary complaint: how does a ship the size of Oasis go dead at 12:30am? I've never seen anything like that. I don't understand how the only place hopping at that time was Sorrento's. That's it. We tried to find something, anything, to no avail. And we did find it odd that restaurants close at 9. I know many of you just read that with horror. Obviously we're night owls. So this applies to literally no one else here. Norwegian is just a better fit for us as far as nightlife. Of course! YOLO! However, not booking on opening day was a mistake I'd rather not have made and surely won't make again! Next up for this board: Symphony, May 31. That cruise did not require one of us to resort to selling spare body parts so there's that. And, we're looking forward to being in a different area of the ship so it's likely we'll actually get some time in the Boardwalk that cruise. Thank you all for following along on our comedy of errors. Love the camaraderie here! You truly made my clandestine blogging efforts worthwhile!