Houston

Author Message   Edwin B McConville Member Username: Perkyva1 Post Number: 260 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 03:52 pm:    We tried a cruise lvg from Norfolk in Jan vice flying to Ft Lauderdale, San Juan, or some place else. A friend drove us to the harbor where we were immediately met by baggage handlers who wisked our bags away, we walked abt 100 ft to the documentation processing station which we cleared in no time as there were no other passengers there. This was 2 hrs before sailing. We then walked abt another 50 ft to the ship's gangway & were board in something less than 20 minutes after arriving. After the cruise however our chauffer has some difficulty in getting to the pickup point due to lots of others who were doing the same thing, but still it didn;t take any time at all. I was very pleased with the whole process esp not having to fly anywhere & to have to put up with all that that entails   Barton Pepper Member Username: Barpep Post Number: 252 Registered: 01-2004 Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 03:51 pm:    I don't know what this thread has to do with space-a travel and lodging, but it is interesting to anyone who may be considering an ocean cruise. The most recent news describes graphically the results of a rogue wave hitting a cruise ship and causing wide-spread panic and inconvenience. One man said he will never go on another cruise! That is a over-reacting, I would say, as the incident was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. I was in the Navy for 23 years and never experienced anything close to that. I was never sea-sick but always said I had not been in any weather rough enough to cause that. I served in the Atlantic and Pacific and never saw that kind of wave. That said, let me comment on the dining procedures on our cruise ship. We flew to Fairbanks and came south by train to Denali, then to Anchorage and on to Seward to meet our cruise ship. We had six at our table, all traveling together, celebrating our golden anniversaries. We did meet and talk to other folks on the ship. Our dining experience was very good. The food and the service was outstanding, and yet I didn't gain a pound! We observed a cruise ship in Norfolk last October and saw a number of people leaving the ship. Parking was a good ways from there, I take it, and there seemed to be a lot of unhappy people standing around, apparently waiting for transportation to their cars.   Phyllis DeLancey Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 509 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 03:12 pm:    Cherry, yes it was open dinning. Like you I, we have done both. This time, we did have some nice folks to dine with and even had dinner with each of them two nights, and the other two nights, it was just us. The first night on board, we were sitting at a table for 8 with one other couple. The brought two more couple to the table, they looked at us/table and said we want a different one. Then they brought two more couple who joined us and we had a great time and spent several evening with them. I figure the first couples just didn't like the open idea of dinning.   Cherry C. Member Username: Cherry Post Number: 514 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 01:01 pm:    Does NCL have the highly touted "free style" dining on those smaller, older ships? By that I mean no assigned seating for dinner, and many different places around the ship to eat. (We've done it both ways, and while the flexibility of not having a set time for the evening meal is nice, it also means you do not get to know any of your fellow passengers in any meaningful way because even if you do sit with randomly assigned others one evening you may never see them again, and so every dinner is spent on just the 'introductory,' rather shallow, type of table conversation--that can get old pretty fast if you do it night after night. OTOH, if you and your traveling companion[s] are happy just to concentrate on each other, who needs additional acquaintances on board? Hard to decide which I prefer!)   Phyllis DeLancey Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 508 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 12:53 am:    Ed, the reason we went was a shipboard credit because of the terrible trip last year. I can say the service was excellent, the food was also very good and the entertaiment was wonderful. The ship was one of the older & smaller ones, only 1500 people. We would go again with NCl, and like the smaller ports to leave from. We have been thinking of Norfolk even.   Edwin B McConville Member Username: Perkyva1 Post Number: 259 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 10:41 pm:    Phyllis: Have heard some not so nice repts abt NCL cruises, how was your experience??   Phyllis DeLancey Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 507 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 09:48 pm:    We just got back from a week on an NCL ship. We drove down to Houston, and I must say this was the best port ever to leave from and get back out of. The parking is right on the pier, $7.00 a day in a locked area, you can walk to the check in area and it was just a breeze. If any one ever goes to the beach in Honduras, beware, they have sand flees and they do and will eat you alive. I booked this trip with ecruises.com, got a good price and a bottle of wine waiting in our room for us. Would use them again, but never will be on the beach in Honduras again.