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#11
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Norwegian Spirit Return!
Hi, neighbor,
I am so happy you and Ed were able to kick back and enjoy a relaxing post-Christmas cruise with your favorite dive boy! And that you enjoyed such a positive NCL experience--it's great to hear a good review from an experienced cruiser. I am sorry your New Year's cruise was kid-plagued. As you may recall, we've done many holiday sailings, both Christmas/Hanukkah week and New Year's, and the extended family pax demographic is the norm. However, only one of all those cruises was impacted by the "kids run amok" phenomenon. The negative emotional drain on crew and non-involved pax was similar to that we experienced on a cruise with a large on-board group (a popular musical band and groupies). Until someone has experienced a "runaway ship" social dynamic, it is hard to explain how disagreeable it can be...how the simplest of pleasures can be ruined in one way or another by the selfish acts of others. It's a bummer. But I wouldn't discount all New Year's cruises as having that problem-- you just drew the black bean on your first one. Take care, and stay warm. The logs are crackling in the fireplace tonight, but I still can't seem to get warm enough! Diana Ball Austin, TX |
#12
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Norwegian Spirit Return!
"Cruise Crazy" wrote in message ... Jean, Welcome home again. You seem to be away more than you are home. Glad you enjoyed NCL. They offer good value on the newer ships. We will be on Regent Seven Seas Navigator in a few weeks and will be going to Costa Maya. All the excursions seem to be water related and since my husband has skin cancer, we wondered what else there is to do there. What did you do? This is our first time on a luxury line. RSS is owned by the same company that owns Oceania, so I am sure it will be a grand cruise. ~~DORIS~~ Hi Doris, I apologize for not answering your post sooner and hope that you have not already left on your cruise and I am too late with an answer. And thank you for the welcome back. It seems we are away from home quite a bit with two cruises in December and we really have to slow down and take care of things at home that we have put off doing between cruises. ;-) We will be on Oceania Regatta in March. Since you are not interested in any water type excursions, there are five different ruins that are in Costa Maya. NCL offered tours to two. Chacchoben Mayan Ruins, which was 4 hours long and who's one of the principal distribution centers for precious woods and jade. It dates back to 360 A.D. but until last year was largely unexplored. Then there are the Kohunlich Ruins that are known for the human-like masks in one of its temples. Those date back to 500 A.D. That tour was 6 1/2 hours and they prohibited video cameras unless you paid a $5-8 (US) tax. Costa Maya was our first port and we just chose to walk around and explore on our own. It is not a very large place and shopping consists of local art and crafts and souvenirs. There are the many, many jewelry stores that one encounters at every Caribbean port. Most all the other excursions were of water or beach type. What we will take next time we are there, which is soon, is a Mayan Reality Tour... we were too late to sign up for it this time. I will be really looking forward to your experience on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator. I envy you! What a grand cruise to look forward to! I'm sure it will be even finer than Oceania...and you know how I love Oceania. I just received a book type Oceania brochure on their new ship, Marina, that was very polished and so well presented, not your typical brochure... much fancier than the ones I keep getting from Cunard. Ed looked at it and wanted to book it...But I think, God willing, if we are still around, we will wait for it to be out on the seas for at least six months when the kinks are all out and the prices hopefully go down a bit...Although when you consider that they include your air in their prices...at least on the Trans-Atlantic, European, and Mediterranean itineraries, they really aren't all that expensive. Have wonderful time on your cruise! --Jean |
#13
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Norwegian Spirit Return!
"Sue Mullen" wrote in message ... Jean O'Boyle wrote: We returned late last night from our Norwegian Spirit cruise to Costa Maya, Guatemala, Belize, and Cozumel. We had a very enjoyable cruise and were extremely surprised about how good the food and the service were...It was far from all the negative things that we had been hearing about NCL. The only complaint was that more than 1/3 of the ship's passengers were small and mid-size children with teens, high school and a few college aged kids mixed in. That meant that many of the parents thought the cruise was a baby sitting service. That meant a lot of running in the halls...even in the buffet.... plus elevator games. Even some of the responsible parents complained.. The first two days were the worst, but then I think Security stepped in and things calmed down quite a bit. The moral of the story is: Try not to cruise too soon after Christmas and over New Year's. We still had a great time and as soon as I catch up on reading all the snail mail and doing all the laundry, I will post a summary. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! It will be a cold night in San Antonio...27 degrees is predicted! Brrrrrr! Welcome home Jean, sounds like a good cruise overall. I am wondering did you eat only in the main dining room or did you try some of the other restaurants on the ship? sue Sue, thanks for the welcome back. We ate in the main dining rooms (there were two, Windows and The Garden). We did try their specialty restaurant on New Year's Eve, Cagney's Steakhouse($25 pp). They do have others; Teppanyaki ($25), Shogun Asian restaurant which had both a Sushi Bar and a Taste of India, ($15) each plus Le Bistro($15), and LaTrattoria ($10). --Jean |
#14
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Norwegian Spirit Return!
Jean O'Boyle wrote: "Sue Mullen" wrote in message ... Jean O'Boyle wrote: We returned late last night from our Norwegian Spirit cruise to Costa Maya, Guatemala, Belize, and Cozumel. We had a very enjoyable cruise and were extremely surprised about how good the food and the service were...It was far from all the negative things that we had been hearing about NCL. The only complaint was that more than 1/3 of the ship's passengers were small and mid-size children with teens, high school and a few college aged kids mixed in. That meant that many of the parents thought the cruise was a baby sitting service. That meant a lot of running in the halls...even in the buffet.... plus elevator games. Even some of the responsible parents complained.. The first two days were the worst, but then I think Security stepped in and things calmed down quite a bit. The moral of the story is: Try not to cruise too soon after Christmas and over New Year's. We still had a great time and as soon as I catch up on reading all the snail mail and doing all the laundry, I will post a summary. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! It will be a cold night in San Antonio...27 degrees is predicted! Brrrrrr! Welcome home Jean, sounds like a good cruise overall. I am wondering did you eat only in the main dining room or did you try some of the other restaurants on the ship? sue Sue, thanks for the welcome back. We ate in the main dining rooms (there were two, Windows and The Garden). We did try their specialty restaurant on New Year's Eve, Cagney's Steakhouse($25 pp). They do have others; Teppanyaki ($25), Shogun Asian restaurant which had both a Sushi Bar and a Taste of India, ($15) each plus Le Bistro($15), and LaTrattoria ($10). Thanks Jean. I have never been interested in FreeStyle, but maybe one day we will try it. It seems the reviews of the food on NCL is improving. Now when is your next cruise? Hope you and Ed will be on the Oasis. That is one cruise we will change Kevin's chemo schedule if we have to in order to make it.lol sue |
#15
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Norwegian Spirit Return!
Welcome Back, Jean!! To echo what Jean wrote, and respond to Sue--YES!! the food on NCL is improving rapidly!! We were on the Norwegian Gem for the Christmas cruise (as we have been since 2003--with summer voyages during most years too), and were impressed that the menus in the Main (not extra tarif) DRs is better, but they have also upgraded the food in the specialty restaurants too. They hired a new Chef to work over all of the restaurants (I will have to get his name from our Dailies, which are still in a shopping bag--no time to do our scrapbook as yet), and his contribution is having a remarkable effect!! As far as we are concerned, Freestyle is the way to go, not just for the improving quality of the food, but also for the fexibility in scheduling meals, and also (especially for us) the freedom to dress the way we like to for the evenings. Bestest, PegNDerek Sue, thanks for the welcome back. We ate in the main dining rooms (there were two, Windows and The Garden). We did try their specialty restaurant on New Year's Eve, Cagney's Steakhouse($25 pp). They do have others; Teppanyaki ($25), Shogun Asian restaurant which had both a Sushi Bar and a Taste of India, ($15) each plus Le Bistro($15), and LaTrattoria ($10). Thanks Jean. I have never been interested in FreeStyle, but maybe one day we will try it. It seems the reviews of the food on NCL is improving. |
#16
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Norwegian Spirit Return!
Thanks Peg. I am glad to see that the food has improved, esp in the Main
dining rooms so you don't have to do the others unless you want to and can get a reservation when you want it. I have never liked the idea of Freestyle, PC etc, but there are times and itins. it might work well for us. sue Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote: Welcome Back, Jean!! To echo what Jean wrote, and respond to Sue--YES!! the food on NCL is improving rapidly!! We were on the Norwegian Gem for the Christmas cruise (as we have been since 2003--with summer voyages during most years too), and were impressed that the menus in the Main (not extra tarif) DRs is better, but they have also upgraded the food in the specialty restaurants too. They hired a new Chef to work over all of the restaurants (I will have to get his name from our Dailies, which are still in a shopping bag--no time to do our scrapbook as yet), and his contribution is having a remarkable effect!! As far as we are concerned, Freestyle is the way to go, not just for the improving quality of the food, but also for the fexibility in scheduling meals, and also (especially for us) the freedom to dress the way we like to for the evenings. Bestest, PegNDerek Sue, thanks for the welcome back. We ate in the main dining rooms (there were two, Windows and The Garden). We did try their specialty restaurant on New Year's Eve, Cagney's Steakhouse($25 pp). They do have others; Teppanyaki ($25), Shogun Asian restaurant which had both a Sushi Bar and a Taste of India, ($15) each plus Le Bistro($15), and LaTrattoria ($10). Thanks Jean. I have never been interested in FreeStyle, but maybe one day we will try it. It seems the reviews of the food on NCL is improving. |
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