whitsmom

NCL has had to make a lot of cutbacks - cleaning of cabins down to one time daily, reduction in entertainment staff, menu items being switched out for cheaper items (Filet for NY Strip). The POA has had trouble since the restart. Most of their staff are Americans who did not re-up their contracts. Staffing is a huge issue on that ship. A lot of avid NCL cruisers are looking elsewhere due to cutbacks and increasing costs. 

We sinned and strayed from Royal a few years ago when we cruised NCL on the Breakaway. Hated the cruise terminal in NYC, ship was big and beautiful but design was a little odd. Lots of traffic jams and bottlenecks. Food was excellent though. Its safe to say we haven't strayed from Royal since and do not plan to. Now we turned Diamond so its very unlikely, plus we love Port Liberty. 

This strange timing.  I just moved an NCL cruise because they would not let me use my next cruise certificate on the cruise I wanted.  I love the way they handle Solo Cruisers but after that they are lacking.  The other issue I am having with NCL is their sales people.  They keep contacting me but when I ask them to do a little work I do not hear from them.  I had one booked a TA Cruise and she had 3 things to follow up after the booking and that did not happen.  I know people will tell me use a travel agent and I do.  I just like booking the cruise and getting it setup the way I want with the cruise line then move it to a TA for issues and rebates.  Now I am like you, and I think I am going to stay with RCL and Celebrity for my cruising.  

RCI has been our go to with only 3 exceptions:  Disney once (it was a meeting/business cruise), NCL (Getaway-Family Reunion), and NCL (Hawaii - Pride of America) just this past week.  The ONLY reason I booked the POA was due to time factor and being able to fly to and from Honolulu.
We never laid eyes on our cabin steward once!!! They would show up while we were on an excursion or while at dinner.  Once we had to ask for towels so we could shower before dinner.  We don't like My Time Dining and that is all you get on NCL.  I know RCI has my time dining also but you at least get the option to have a set time, set table, and set servers (which is why we like traditional dining).  The food was okay for the most part but the selections weren't great in our opinion.
We talked to a travel agent we met at one of the bars.  She told us that she brought 40 people on the POA and that she felt the same we did!  She and her group experienced the same issues as us and she wouldn't be doing another group cruise on that ship.  The bartender told us that some of the cabin stewards had as many as 25 cabins to clean and some only had 10!  I guess ours must have been the only of the ones that had 25 to clean. 
Thankfully, our next three cruises booked are Royal Caribbean - lesson learned! 

RCI has been our go to with only 3 exceptions:  Disney once (it was a meeting/business cruise), NCL (Getaway-Family Reunion), and NCL (Hawaii - Pride of America) just this past week.  The ONLY reason I booked the POA was due to time factor and being able to fly to and from Honolulu.
We never laid eyes on our cabin steward once!!! They would show up while we were on an excursion or while at dinner.  Once we had to ask for towels so we could shower before dinner.  We don't like My Time Dining and that is all you get on NCL.  I know RCI has my time dining also but you at least get the option to have a set time, set table, and set servers (which is why we like traditional dining).  The food was okay for the most part but the selections weren't great in our opinion.
We talked to a travel agent we met at one of the bars.  She told us that she brought 40 people on the POA and that she felt the same we did!  She and her group experienced the same issues as us and she wouldn't be doing another group cruise on that ship.  The bartender told us that some of the cabin stewards had as many as 25 cabins to clean and some only had 10!  I guess ours must have been the only of the ones that had 25 to clean. 
Thankfully, our next three cruises booked are Royal Caribbean - lesson learned! 

I have tried WiFi to landline calling now and it works perfectly. 
Boom Surf and Stream is now booked for our sailing. 
Thanks for all your help. This forum is amazing.

We use WiFi calling (make sure to set it up before you go--if your carrier allows it).  It worked good for us calling land lines or cell phones.  You can test it at home to make sure that it works.  We keep our phones WiFi calling always turned on as we don't have the best reception at our house.

We use WiFi calling (make sure to set it up before you go--if your carrier allows it).  It worked good for us calling land lines or cell phones.  You can test it at home to make sure that it works.  We keep our phones WiFi calling always turned on as we don't have the best reception at our house.

We use WiFi calling (make sure to set it up before you go--if your carrier allows it).  It worked good for us calling land lines or cell phones.  You can test it at home to make sure that it works.  We keep our phones WiFi calling always turned on as we don't have the best reception at our house.

We did one on the Harmony this summer.  We stayed on the ship but we were on the Helo Pad.  They took a lot of pictures and they all turned out great.  The only downfall is that your cost for 5 pictures of $500. 

I got mine - 19 days

I got mine - 19 days

Wow!! a bottle lasts you for 2 nights? My liver aches for you...lol

I have flown with wine but put it inside a travel wine bag that seals and won't leak in case the bottle gets broken.  We usually fly in the day before now, so I can get some after we land.  You can ordered the travel wine bags from Amazon.

I have flown with wine but put it inside a travel wine bag that seals and won't leak in case the bottle gets broken.  We usually fly in the day before now, so I can get some after we land.  You can ordered the travel wine bags from Amazon.

Still better than back home in Calgary this week. 
You will be able to pick out the Canadians boarding on Saturday….we will be wearing t shirts and shorts. 😜

The vacs and test are not necessary anymore but we still had our vax cards in our passport booklet anyway.  We were asked to see them since the agent at check in saw them in our passport book.

We ate breakfast in the main dining room and we got fresh squeezed orange juice even time. 

We used GoPort for our Hotel near MCO and transportation from hotel to port and port back to airport.  The cost was a good value.  There were 8 people in our party and the total cost was $577.13 (taxes included for hotel and transfers for 8).  $72.14 per person.

We have never been on Odyssey but have enjoyed 1/2 and full bath in a JS on Anthem and Ovation.  In our case cabins 10210 on Anthem and 10612 on Ovation.

I agree with @WAAAYTOOOCK is all about ambiance and service, the food is rather meh. 
JS on Oasis and Quantum class get access to CK for dinner as long as there is space available.......hence why some will not let you book the length of the cruise. I like a good JS when I need double C&A points as it will be the most cost-efficient way to get an extra point per night for staying in a suite. You can also board with suites.

We are going with family to Alaska (Ovation) in June 2024 and we decided to book Jr Suites (4) for all 8 of us.  My Son-n-Law thinks vacation needs to be at the beach so it took some talking to convince him that he will love Alaska.  After showing the family pictures and videos  from our Radiance cruise in 2018 they all are excited now!!! 

It was a little over $450 for a suite Vs a ocean view balcony so decided to jump on it since we could get all four suites in a row side by side. 

If you have a J1/J2 JS on the Quantum class (as Ovation is) then you will surprised to find you have a half bath and a full bath.  It is nice to have two commodes. 

They do, dinner only, space available/reservations required.