A one night stand?

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Frank Manning
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A one night stand?

#1

Post by Frank Manning »

Our TA has phoned to offer us one night on an NCL ship in Southampton (or round the isle of wight; they didn't say) for £65 each. We are contempleting doing it to see what the NCL ships are like. Trouble is it is in January and if we book it and get heavy snow it might be a no go. I'll let you know what happens.

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Kendhni
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Re: A one night stand?

#2

Post by Kendhni »

Assuming it includes dinner, breakfast and entertainment it should be a good night ... Lookng forward to hearing about it.


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Frank Manning
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Re: A one night stand?

#3

Post by Frank Manning »

Kendhni wrote:
Assuming it includes dinner, breakfast and entertainment it should be a good night ... Lookng forward to hearing about it.
Apparently it does Ken. Sue is not too keen, but I like to try new things occasionally, and I am finding next years itineraries with P&O pretty boring.

It isn't yet, but I'll keep you posted by PM when I know.

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Dancing Queen
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Re: A one night stand?

#4

Post by Dancing Queen »

Frank Manning wrote:
Our TA has phoned to offer us one night on an NCL ship in Southampton (or round the isle of wight; they didn't say) for £65 each. We are contempleting doing it to see what the NCL ships are like. Trouble is it is in January and if we book it and get heavy snow it might be a no go. I'll let you know what happens.
Sounds good Frank, if you are unsure, there is a competition running on a thread on cruise.co for freebies for this event, might be worth putting your name forward :thumbup: :thumbup: all they ask is that winners write a review.
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Frank Manning
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Re: A one night stand?

#5

Post by Frank Manning »

We are booked; and I think it is the 'Norwegian Getaway'.

Balcony cabin for a trip around the sunny Isle of Wight, with Lunch, Dinner, and Entertainment.

I'll write a report when we get back.

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Kendhni
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Re: A one night stand?

#6

Post by Kendhni »

Nice one Frank

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Manoverboard
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Re: A one night stand?

#7

Post by Manoverboard »

It sounded good to me as well .... as does their offer for a 9 day Cruise - Barcelona round trip via the Canaries for approx £180pp, plus flights of course.

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Frank Manning
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Re: A one night stand?

#8

Post by Frank Manning »

Just over 36 hours to go. We are told that this ship has been built by Meyer Werft at Pappenburg, the people who built Aurora and Oriana, before Carnival got their hands on P&O. It will be interesting to see what build quality the furnishings are, and the ambience (that word again) is like under the Norwegians.

They are offering quite good deals on 7 day fly cruises through Miami for the first year. Since we are not enticed by Ventura and Azura, we are wondering if this experience will change our attitudes. Watch this space.


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Frank Manning
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Re: A one night stand?

#9

Post by Frank Manning »

Sorry to say folks that I have just spent an hour typing up an extensive report about Norwegian Getaway, only to find that I have been logged out and lost the lot. Have now lost the will to start again, so when I will get around to it now is anyone's guess.

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oldbluefox
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Re: A one night stand?

#10

Post by oldbluefox »

Typically 'Lutonesque'!!! :thumbup: :clap: So much promise and then all goes belly up!!! :lol:

I suppose it has happened to us all and we always promise ourselves to save at regular intervals. Never mind Frank. Perhaps you could give us an abridged version some time.

Our next door neighbours went to the Baltic with NCL and were not keen so it would have been interesting to hear your opinions.


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Frank Manning
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Re: A one night stand?

#11

Post by Frank Manning »

oldbluefox wrote:
Typically 'Lutonesque'!!! :thumbup: :clap: So much promise and then all goes belly up!!! :lol:

Absolutely right OBF!! My personal history should have taught me that its best if I say nothing and surprise everyone.

Our next door neighbours went to the Baltic with NCL and were not keen so it would have been interesting to hear your opinions.
After we had walked around the ship for a while with two lovely friends the lady said."Its all rather vulgar". However there are quite a lot of good points, (eating experiences excluded), and I am going to try typing it all up again in MSWord and then copying it on to the forum.


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Frank Manning
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Re: A one night stand? Norwegian Getaway.

#12

Post by Frank Manning »

We arrived at the City Terminal in Southampton with two friends, about 20 minutes early, and parked the car. The terminal building was to my surprise, heaving with people with long queues for security and check in. It took approximately 90 minutes to actually get on the ship, and entry was at deck 5 level in the aft stair well, which was dark and not very inspiring. After checking our cabin cards, there were no crew to guide us, the lifts were crowded with many people waiting, so we walked up two flights of stairs and along to the midships lifts which as we guessed were virtually empty. Our friends gallantly agreed to go straight to the box office to book the evening show.
Our balcony stateroom was the very last at the port quarter of deck 14. Number 14270. First impressions were good, with size similarity to P&O standard balcony cabins. The main gripe I would have is the very small size of the balcony, which I fear might be a problem for the larger USA citizens sailing out of Miami, which seem to be the target market for the ship. The fittings are excellent, a large 4 seater (UK sizes) settee, and a wide King size bed with a superb quality mattress. Clothes space comprises a double wardrobe with some shelf space and a good safe. There are other cupboards, but not many drawers. The in cabin TV is much larger than the pathetic thing on Arcadia. In the bathroom is an excellent walk inshower, but no shaver point as far as I could see. If you decide to cruise on her be aware that you will need and electric socket adaptor for any chargers etc. This ship is a product of the Meyer Werft yard at Pappenburg and it has the hallmarks of German quality build.
By this time it was well after 1.00 pm and we had agreed to meet our friends in one of the three (no cover charge) restaurants called Taste, located towards the aft end of deck 6. We were quickly and politely shown to a table sharing with a couple from Southampton, and the menus arrived. It became apparent to us all that the menus were very ‘food chain orientated’, nevertheless we three ordered starters. Mine was scallops with scrambled egg. When it arrived it looked at first sight as though it was 6 scallops presented in a poaching tray, and I thought ’whoopee USA portion sizes, to hell with the diet’. However when I came to eat it the scallop trays had a topping of scrambled egg on scallop pieces about the size of a frozen pea sitting in a sea of melted butter. Fairly tasty all the same but definitely not P&O standard. When we had finished our starters there was a long hiatus during which we sat and looked at the empty plates with not a waiter in sight. Eventually the waiters started to drift back from somewhere and they brought our main course. My Shrimp Abbiata was cold by this time. Sue had chosen a fried chicken concoction, which arrived with deep fried curly mini chips> Sue struggled with the size of the portion and I manfully helped her out, so I can say with confidence that there was a strong similarity to Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was pretty tough too. P&O poach their chicken before pan frying or finishing off in the oven which retains the tenderness of the meat. The others had ordered sweets, but we finally finished our meal closer the 3.00pm than 2.00pm. We then set off to explore the ship.
It became apparent that the three lower passenger decks are dedicated to Drinking, Gambling and eating. The Casino is enormous, (and of no interest to me) with machines in rows in all directions, and card tables etc. Similarly on deck 7 O’Sheehans Neighbourhood bar and grill is large and very USA style. The decor tends to make the interior very dark and this is reflected in many of the photos I took. To be honest none of us was smitten, and while I accept that cruising in the Caribbean will mean these decks are pretty much empty during sunshine hours, on a wet dismal January day in Southmpton, they were full. Our friend summed up her impressions with a single word “Vulgar”. I didn’t think it was vulgar, it is just aimed at a market segment which sees Americans with 7 day vacations looking for the sun in a floating resort to their cultural taste. I am sure some Brits will like it too, and as we often say. Its ‘horses for courses’.
We went up to explore decks 15 and 16, where I am happy to say the facilities for holidaying are excellent. The pools and hot tubs were in use despite the weather, steam was rising from them and passengers were enjoying them. There is a commonality about these all these ship board mini lidos, and this was as good as any I have seen. The childrens paddling area was fabulous and the spontaneous water fountains and little pools with cartoon characters were imho ideal for family fun. There is a massive 7 slide water park in front of the funnel which I would have liked to try. At the aft end is the Garden Cafe self service buffet restaurant. It was serving but almost empty, and we had time to take in and appreciate that the seating area was screened from the walkways and serving stations, chairs and tables are plentiful, clean and well serviced. Strolling forward we had a look at one of the demonstration mini suites on deck 16. Again the fixtures were of high quality, but the suite comprised 5 smallish separate rooms, I guess when they have multiple occupancy this offers a bit more privacy if you need it, but it had a kind of rabbit warren effect heightened by the number of people all trying to have a look.
By now we were tired and decided to take a break, agreeing to meet up at Savour restaurant for 6.45pm. Sue and I returned to the room to freshen up, and then had a cup of tea. On arrival at savour we were courteously and efficiently shown to our table where our Indian waiter proved to be friendly, and the service was much faster than it had been in Taste. The restaurant is nicely laid out with pleasant decor, fellow passengers in smart dress, some with ties, and some in DJs, but the menu is definitely pub chain in style, and despite the wide choice, it is inferior to my P&O club dining experiences over almost ten years of cruising. I would hate it if P&O resorted to this format, but it may suit some people. The food was good but unimaginatively cooked and presented, added to which they got our wine order wrong. I will not be quick to criticise P&O after this experience because although this was not bad by any means, P&O just do it so much better.
The theatre is very nice, with wide seats and lots of leg room to suit the USA citizens taste for space. The seats were very comfortable, and the layout conventional aka Oriana and Aurora but in more muted colours. The show presented was ‘Legally Blonde’. I am sure that the West End version was as good as its revues, with Sheridan Smith and Jill Halfpenny, but while these performers put their all into it, it set the scene for me, with the opening number “Oh My God”. Fast, raucous, and in broad American accents which I found difficult to follow. The male singers had more sedate numbers and good voices and were consequently better for me. Nevertheless they got a well deserved excellent ovation at the end.
Leaving the Theatre not far short of midnight, we negotiated O’Sheehans bar which was heaving with revellers who seemed to be hell bent on making a night of it, and headed for bed. The ship was by now making a fair speed somewhere in the English Channel, and the noise and vibration in 14270 is reasonably noticeable. With my one deaf ear and half a bottle of wine in me I had no trouble sleeping, but Sue, a light sleeper only managed a couple of hours.
The following morning we made our selves some coffee (excellent quality tea and coffee bags and coffee maker in the room) and went to find our friends in the Garden Cafe. In best Orangery and Belvedere style this place was now ultra busy and seats were at a premium as usual. A hasty breakfast and a smooth disembarkation saw us heading home along the M27 and home by 10.00am.
Norwegian Cruise Line is not at all Norwegian if you discount the nationality of its senior officers. It is owned by Star Cruises a subsidiary of a Hong Kong Chinese company. The crew were even more multicultural than P&O, but very pleasant and helpfull. It is a new ship, and it is clearly not going to be operating in our area. It is also not for us. Suffice to say, the experience has made me appreciate P&O more, despite the continual slow erosion of UK standards by Carnival, and having seen this we may even try Azura now. Many of those we spoke to agreed.

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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: A one night stand?

#13

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Thanks for that Frank. A friend of ours has cruised with NCL and viewing their photos our immediate conclusion was it wasn't for us. I think your report confirms that.

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Kenmo1
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Re: A one night stand?

#14

Post by Kenmo1 »

Thank you for your review, Frank. I think it pays to try other cruise lines just to help you appreciate what we have on our own doorstep in P&O. We have tried Thomson and Grand Princess but we found Princess too Americanised for our taste. We decided that P&O suits us at the moment and, although people like to knock it, it feels like a comfy cardigan, warm and welcoming. Good grief, I sound like an old lady!

We were at the end of Ryde Pier collecting our son from the catamaran on Thursday in the pouring rain when we saw the Getaway go by lit up. I think it was on its way to America then. You were so lucky to be able to try it out.


Maureen

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oldbluefox
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Re: A one night stand?

#15

Post by oldbluefox »

Thank you for your review Frank and for all the detail you have put into it, especially as it's your second offering. It did sound a lovely ship but, as in our experience of RCI, not for us. There are certain things the Americans do well but sometimes we have to accept our cultural differences.

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Manoverboard
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Re: A one night stand?

#16

Post by Manoverboard »

Good report Frank, thanx for posting it :thumbup:

Our Canadian chums routinely enjoy NCL and would absolutely hate the formality of the pax on P&O ... takes all sorts I guess including those who enjoy decent itineraries of course.

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emjay45
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Re: A one night stand?

#17

Post by emjay45 »

Excellent report Frank. Not that we would consider NCL because I believe they only do fly cruises from the UK. It's just good to know we aren't missing out on anything. :D

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david63
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Re: A one night stand?

#18

Post by david63 »

I have cruised on NCL twice - but in the "good old days".

My very first cruise was NCL's Norway (a.k.a SS France) a wonderful old classic ship that it was impossible to get from one place to another without going up three decks and down two!

Later went on Norwegian Dynasty wich in a previous life was Cunard Princess - the one that was commandeered to go to the Falklands. I also sailed on her when she was with Cunard.

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