We jumped ship to NCL!! How did they do??

[2Bnºoºt2B]

Well, I'm leaning towards NCL Jewel with Northbound itinerary of Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. I really wanted to do DCL Wonder but with the price I would have paid on the Wonder where I would have had a Oceanview on Deck 1 or 2 with small portholes and for even a bit less than that price on the Jewel I can book a balcony. Don't care much about a balcony on most cruises but with Alaska and at my age and my DH (60-62), this may be a once in a lifetime trip so I went with the balcony and the combination of Glacier Bay and Hubbard.

You will enjoy the balcony !

 

[disneydreamer781]

You will enjoy the balcony !

I think I will too. I fought it but this is the type of cruise that I would splurge a bit more on. Maybe our only time, you know.

 

[CaseyJo]

Thank you for the comparison. I think when our son is older NCL may be a good fit for us.

 

[KashasMom]

I think I will too. I fought it but this is the type of cruise that I would splurge a bit more on. Maybe our only time, you know.

I loved having a balcony on our Alaska cruises. I really enjoyed sitting out there very early in the morning before anyone was up having coffee and looking through my binoculars. I did see whales, which was very cool. Enjoy!

 

[Pens Fan]

I just read a nice review of the Breakaway on Cruise Critic's NCL board written from the perspective of 10 year old. I thought I'd mention it as my comparison doesn't offer any insight for families with younger children. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a link, but it shouldn't be too hard to find. The title is pretty clear.

 

[RedSox68]

I loved having a balcony on our Alaska cruises. I really enjoyed sitting out there very early in the morning before anyone was up having coffee and looking through my binoculars. I did see whales, which was very cool. Enjoy!

Some people think a balcony in Alaska is a waste of money because it might be too cold -- but it was the best money we've ever spent on a cruise. They (HAL) provided warm blankets and binoculars, and the views you got and the wildlife you got to see from the privacy of your balcony was amazing.

 

[RedSox68]

Did NCL Breakaway last October to Bermuda, and just booked the NCL Escape for next April back to Bermuda. Anyone done the Escape?

Still in awe that we are cruising NCL after our experiences in Hawaii on the Pride, but they have really turned us around with their ships and their deals.

 

[kaseyC]

Did NCL Breakaway last October to Bermuda, and just booked the NCL Escape for next April back to Bermuda. Anyone done the Escape?

Still in awe that we are cruising NCL after our experiences in Hawaii on the Pride, but they have really turned us around with their ships and their deals.

I sailed the Escape on it's inaugural TA crossing bring the ship from Southampton to Miami. 10 nights and no ports. It's a fantastic ship. We loved it. We have sailed both the Breakaway and Getaway, the Escape is very similar with a bit more to offer.

 

[RedSox68]

I sailed the Escape on it's inaugural TA crossing bring the ship from Southampton to Miami. 10 nights and no ports. It's a fantastic ship. We loved it. We have sailed both the Breakaway and Getaway, the Escape is very similar with a bit more to offer.

And apparently 300 extra passengers LOL. Just moved our sailing by one week and saved $220!

 

[oumagic]

Nice review on NCL. We have not tried them yet because of the freestyle dining. My wife has a severe food allergy and likes the traditional dining with same servers so that she doesn’t have to repeat it. We have sailed DCL, Carnival and Princes and enjoyed all of our cruises.

I mainly chose to chime in because I appreciate the comparison threads. I also wanted to agree on Alaska balconies. We had two rooms on our Alaska cruise (one balcony/one inside) and I will not cruise Alaska without a balcony. It was a game changer for us and we usually don’t care about balconies and book ocean view rooms.

 

[Pens Fan]

Nice review on NCL. We have not tried them yet because of the freestyle dining. My wife has a severe food allergy and likes the traditional dining with same servers so that she doesn’t have to repeat it. We have sailed DCL, Carnival and Princes and enjoyed all of our cruises.

I mainly chose to chime in because I appreciate the comparison threads. I also wanted to agree on Alaska balconies. We had two rooms on our Alaska cruise (one balcony/one inside) and I will not cruise Alaska without a balcony. It was a game changer for us and we usually don’t care about balconies and book ocean view rooms.

Your need for a balcony sounds very similar to ours. We have always had them, mainly because we like the quick access for fresh air and the breeze, but I could easily forgo them on a Caribbean / Bahamas cruise. We really don't go out there much. Now, give me a cold weather cruise with fabulous scenery and we are out there all day long! Both of our Alaska cruises and our Norway / Iceland one involved many hours of being on the balcony. It was wonderful.

As for NCL and allergies, I'm not sure how that would work. I know you can make reservations for the MDR's, and I've read about people requesting the same server each night, but I have no idea how that actually ends up working. With a severe allgery I can certainly understand the worry, and who wants to worry on vacation?

 

[oumagic]

Your need for a balcony sounds very similar to ours. We have always had them, mainly because we like the quick access for fresh air and the breeze, but I could easily forgo them on a Caribbean / Bahamas cruise. We really don't go out there much. Now, give me a cold weather cruise with fabulous scenery and we are out there all day long! Both of our Alaska cruises and our Norway / Iceland one involved many hours of being on the balcony. It was wonderful.

As for NCL and allergies, I'm not sure how that would work. I know you can make reservations for the MDR's, and I've read about people requesting the same server each night, but I have no idea how that actually ends up working. With a severe allgery I can certainly understand the worry, and who wants to worry on vacation?

Exactly. NCL would probably work fine, but we know that traditional dining works on DCL/Princess/Carnival and always find one we know will work so we don’t have to worry about it.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still some worry when she is out to sea and only has her epipen and the ship doctor as safety valves. But there is less worry when you have the same servers. In fact, we avoided DCL until last year just because of rotational dining; she liked being in the same dining room and servers. DCL dining worked just fine and might be a stepping stone to eventually trying freestyle dining.

Thanks again for the review!

 

[Dug720]

Exactly. NCL would probably work fine, but we know that traditional dining works on DCL/Princess/Carnival and always find one we know will work so we don’t have to worry about it.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still some worry when she is out to sea and only has her epipen and the ship doctor as safety valves. But there is less worry when you have the same servers. In fact, we avoided DCL until last year just because of rotational dining; she liked being in the same dining room and servers. DCL dining worked just fine and might be a stepping stone to eventually trying freestyle dining.

Thanks again for the review!

But you HAVE the same servers on DCL. They rotate with you through the dining rooms.

 

[Cabelle1863]

Thank you for your review & info. We love DCL, but we're thinking of going to NCL for our Alaska cruise. Glacier Bay is a must see for us, we'd rather give up the Disney touch to be able to go there. The Norwegian Pearl looks like the perfect choice for us, and we'd be able to get connecting veranda staterooms & awesome excursions for a price that we can afford. I've already been researching what we'd need to do for food allergies, because I am allergic to shellfish and my dad has Celiac disease. From what I've read, all you have to do is contact the Access Desk 30 days in advance and go from there.

 

[oumagic]

Sorry, I edited because I am really dragging this off topic. I have been on a Disney cruise and understand the servers rotate with you.

 

[Pens Fan]

Thank you for your review & info. We love DCL, but we're thinking of going to NCL for our Alaska cruise. Glacier Bay is a must see for us, we'd rather give up the Disney touch to be able to go there. The Norwegian Pearl looks like the perfect choice for us, and we'd be able to get connecting veranda staterooms & awesome excursions for a price that we can afford. I've already been researching what we'd need to do for food allergies, because I am allergic to shellfish and my dad has Celiac disease. From what I've read, all you have to do is contact the Access Desk 30 days in advance and go from there.

The Cruise Critic NCL board has a lot of good information. I've seen some threads on dealing with food allergies, but as that doesn't apply to us, I haven't paid much attention. I'd recommend taking a look over there. Though I have to warn you, there are some feisty folks on that board. They make some of the more confrontational posters on here look like sweethearts!

Glacier Bay was incredible. It was pretty much everything we had hoped for and waited twenty years to see. I haven't looked at the Pearl's itineraries, but I know this past summer when the Sun was running that route the itinerary was different depending on whether you were heading north or south. Only the north bound sailings also went to Hubbard Glacier. Hubbard is just amazing. It's just one glacier vs several in Glacier Bay, but the vast amount of ice is a sight to behold. My husband actually thought it was more spectacular than Glacier Bay (I disagree, but think it's a very close second). We are sailing on the Gem next fall, which is a sister ship of the Pearl. I'm really looking forward to it, as it's bigger than the Sun but not a mega ship. I kind of like the idea of that.

Edited to add: OK, I'm sitting here watching the hockey game and it hit me that I was confusing the Pearl and Jewel's itineraries. The Jewel does the one-ways, with the Pearl going round trip out of Seattle. Just goes to show that I need to not scan the Dis when the Pens are playing!! So disregard my irrelevant itinerary info . But I will say, that if there is any way possible to fit in a one way cruise with some time in the main part of Alaska afterwards vs a round trip - go for it!!!! You will not regret it.

 

[RedSox68]

On the Escape -- some questions:

Our room 12290 is aft. Anyone been aft and felt any movement or motion or swaying?

Specialty dining -- we are getting 3 specialty dinners for free. Any recommendations/reviews on these:
Teppanyaki
Moderno
Bayamo
Cagney's (apparently an upcharge for lobster!)
La Cucina
Le Bistro

And does anyone know where I can get menus?

Thanks.

 

[Pens Fan]

On the Escape -- some questions:

Our room 12290 is aft. Anyone been aft and felt any movement or motion or swaying?

Specialty dining -- we are getting 3 specialty dinners for free. Any recommendations/reviews on these:
Teppanyaki
Moderno
Bayamo
Cagney's (apparently an upcharge for lobster!)
La Cucina
Le Bistro

And does anyone know where I can get menus?

Thanks.

I found this https://sites.google.com/view/march-25-escape/home. It lists menus for a lot of the restaurants, though I can't say for certain if they are current. I know the menu for Cagney's has changed somewhat, though a lot of those items are still there. I also found this on cruise Critic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516206 Supposedly there are menus in this trip report, but I didn't wade through the 24 pages to see for myself.

We have never been on the Escape, but going with the assumption that the menus and quality are similar across the fleet, I can speak to Teppanyaki, Moderno and Cagney's. Cagney's was our favorite restaurant on the Sun. We ate there twice and thought it was fabulous - great service and great food. Steaks were terrific, and the waygu sliders appetizer was a meal in itself. There was an upcharge for a couple of things, and maybe one was lobster. I think the other was some massive steak that no one could (or should) possibly eat on their own. We were plenty satisfied with the non upcharge items, though. You will not leave hungry!!

We also loved Teppanyaki. The food was very good and the chefs were a hoot - they put on quite a show. We thought they were much better than the ones we have experienced at home. It was just an all around fun evening. (Warning - the saki cocktail is kind of addictive!)

Our least favorite was Moderno. Well, actually I should say it was MY least favorite. My carnivore son loved it and wanted to go back again (we didn't). If you love meat, mostly cooked well done, then it's your place. I did enjoy the "salad bar" - in quotes because it's far more than salad, and thought it was the best part of the meal. They also had a chicken dish that was quite good and I could have eaten the grilled pineapple all night long. They also had a fish dish cooked in banana leaves that was tasty. I'm not much of a red meat person, and when I do eat it, I want it med to med rare, so I think that type of restaurant just isn't my thing.

The Sun doesn't have a Food Republic, but I've seen a lot of trip reports with pictures of the menu and honestly it makes me want to sail on the Escape just to eat there! Here is one I was reading last night. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2558585&page=3 Scroll down and you will see the pictures of the iPad menu. There are some other menus in that report as well, plus tons of pictures.

 

[RedSox68]

I found this https://sites.google.com/view/march-25-escape/home. It lists menus for a lot of the restaurants, though I can't say for certain if they are current. I know the menu for Cagney's has changed somewhat, though a lot of those items are still there. I also found this on cruise Critic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516206 Supposedly there are menus in this trip report, but I didn't wade through the 24 pages to see for myself.

We have never been on the Escape, but going with the assumption that the menus and quality are similar across the fleet, I can speak to Teppanyaki, Moderno and Cagney's. Cagney's was our favorite restaurant on the Sun. We ate there twice and thought it was fabulous - great service and great food. Steaks were terrific, and the waygu sliders appetizer was a meal in itself. There was an uncharge for a couple of things, and maybe one was lobster. I think the other was some massive steak that no one could (or should) possibly eat on their own. We were plenty satisfied with the non uncharge items, though. You will not leave hungry!!

We also loved Teppanyaki. The food was very good and the chefs were a hoot - they put on quite a show. We thought they were much better than the ones we have experienced at home. It was just an all around fun evening. (Warning - the saki cocktail is kind of addictive!)

Our least favorite was Moderno. Well, actually I should say it was MY least favorite. My carnivore son loved it and wanted to go back again (we didn't). If you love meat, mostly cooked well done, then it's your place. I did enjoy the "salad bar" - in quotes because it's far more than salad, and thought it was the best part of the meal. They also had a chicken dish that was quite good and I could have eaten the grilled pineapple all night long. They also had a fish dish cooked in banana leaves that was tasty. I'm not much of a red meat person, and when I do eat it, I want it med to med rare, so I think that type of restaurant just isn't my thing.

The Sun doesn't have a Food Republic, but I've seen a lot of trip reports with pictures of the menu and honestly it makes me want to sail on the Escape just to eat there! Here is one I was reading last night. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2558585&page=3 Scroll down and you will see the pictures of the iPad menu. There are some other menus in that report as well, plus tons of pictures.

Wow, thanks so much for all the research and reviews! Very helpful.

 

[kaseyC]

Food Republic was fantastic. It's not included in the specialty plans but the prices are reasonable and so easy to make a meal out of a variety of small plates.

@RedSox68, I've eaten at all of those on the Escape and my favorites were Cagney's, Le Bistro and Teppanyaki. Bayamo was not good at all. Bad service and bad food. Let me add that we were on the inaugural TA crossing, the ship was fresh out of the ship yard. So I wrote off the experience as growing pains since it was a new venue on NCL. But on the other hand...Food Republic didn't have those same issues.