Our Sea Terrace Cabin

Ahoy, Sailor

Remember the days when you'd do a "doc dance"?  That was when your printed cruise documents arrived in the mail.   Those days are gone, with docs being delivered electronically.

When you sail on Virgin Voyages, you have something to look forward to in the mail once again.   It's your Sailor Bands.  They are personalized for you, and once you activate them via the Virgin Voyages app, they become your key to your cabin and everything onboard the ship.  You can expect them a few weeks before your cruise.

 

Tip:  Now that you are on the ship, you know who you are so, the name goes face down.  It's the other side that needs to be facing in order for it to be scanned.

There are no cards to carry around with you - just fasten the band around your wrist and off you go.

We got onboard and off we headed to our cabin.   It was on the "Z" side on deck 13 - yes, there is a deck 13 with cabins on there.  "Z" is starboard (right) side of the ship.  When we got off the elevator, there were crew there to direct us - so we didn't have any problems finding our cabin.

Sea Terrace Cabin 13062Z

Sea Terrace 

Whether you're getting ready inside at the glam area, rinsing off in your Roomy Rainshower or relaxing outside on your hand-woven terrace hammock, these spaces are designed to give you sweeping views of the horizon as mood lighting intuitively matches the light from the oncoming sunset.

Let's Talk Storage

Since this was a 5-night voyage, and since we didn't need to get all fancied up for a formal evening, we were able to bring just a carryon bag for each of us.   There's plenty of room in the "closet" to store small suitcases.   Larger suitcases would need to go under the bed.

When we unpacked our bags, the first thing we noticed was that there weren't drawers but rather shelves in the closet and under the desk.  There is a small refrigerator next to the shelves under the desk.

In the photo you will notice a drawer next to the bed.  There is another one hidden under the bed, but that was filled with extra linens.  We used this drawer to store our dirty clothes since we had enough room for our clean clothes on the shelving or hanging up in the closet.

It's possible for a longer voyage, you might have a shortage of space.

Note that in the bathroom, there is a shelf under the counter which can be used for frequently used items.   We put our deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste, and toothbrushes on the counter next to the sink.   You can put less used items under the sink in the other area marked with an arrow.

Electronics & Controls

On the desk there were electric outlets which we used to charge our electronics.  There are two US plugs and one European outlet (could be problematic for European guests).

There's a tablet on the desk which controls the TV and lighting for the cabin.   The cool thing is when you open your cabin door, the lights come on and the balcony curtains automatically open to let light into the room.   There are various mood settings for different times of day.  The mirror lighting automatically adjusts as well.      If you don't want to use the tablet, there are also plenty of switches around the room to control the lighting and balcony curtains.

Above that storage drawer next to the bed, there are light switches, and also a USB port which came in handy when we wanted to charge our phones while lying in bed.  There was a USB port on the other side of the bed as well.

Final Thoughts

One issue we had was figuring out where to put the moveable table at night.  We never really used the table, and it would be in the way when you were going to  bed.  Our solution was to put it over the arm chair and pile the decorative pillows on top of it for bedtime.  

We loved the shower.  There is a hand-held wand and the overhead rainshower head.  The shower door swings in and out - so you do need to be careful that you have a good seal, or you could get water all over the floor.

Overall we were happy with the cabin.   It's not designed the same way as other ships, but once you figure out how you want to store your things, the positives outweigh any differences that you thought were lacking.   The hammock is a nice touch, although we didn't really make a lot of use of our balcony (since we were enjoying the rest of the ship when not in port).

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Our Norwegian Bliss Cabin

Norwegian Bliss - Cabin #11238 (Mini-suite)

Home Suite Home on Norwegian Bliss

Our embarkation was expedited because we had a general session scheduled for 1 PM in the Bliss Theater. Even though the cabins were still being readied, we were able to drop off our hand luggage in our mini-suite. After a quick picture, we headed off to get some lunch before our meeting.

There is plenty of storage in the closets, in the counter cabinets, and even in drawers of the sofa bed.  In fact, we didn't even use all of the available space for storage. This balcony cabin is slightly larger than the standard verandah cabin.  Over the years, we've found that it's best to upgrade our balcony to a higher cabin category to get the additional space, especially when we traveled with our son.

Little Things That Make a Difference

The first thing that got our attention was the double sink with two storage drawers in addition to the shelf which could be used for toothbrush and additional toiletries.   Build-in cup holders with 4 cups are out of the way, leaving full utilization of shelf space.

There is a built-in soap dispenser by the sink as well as body wash and shampoo dispensers in the shower.

Speaking of the shower,  we simply loved the shower head, and wanted to take it home with us.  You could adjust the rain shower head and additional shower faucets such that you had up to six shower jets directing a stream to whatever part of your body was ailing you.  There was plenty of room in the bathroom and shower such that two people could easily be getting ready at the same time if you so desired.   That is very unusual for a cruise ship bathroom.  The bathrooms vary based on cabin category; one of our agent friends had a tub/shower combination for example.

Keep Your Devices Charged

There are two electric outlets on the counter which are situated such that they can both be used together.  Some ships, while they have multiple plugs, may not have enough room so that they can be used at the same time.  In addition, the light by the night stands, includes a reading light, overhead light, and USB port so that you can charge your phone or other device while you are in bed.   All the lights are controlled by a switch which is activated by inserting your room key.  When you remove the key, all power is turned off. 

Tip:   If you don't want to use your room key, you can use a hotel or similar key that has a magnetic strip.

There's a safe inside the closet to keep your valuables secure. The hairdryer is underneath the counter, powered by it's own power source, keeping the other outlets free for your use.

The LCD TV is your access to ship's information, including your onboard expense account and ship's dining and entertainment.   You can even make reservations from your room via your remote.

The balcony had two chairs and a table so that you could relax with a cup of coffee, which you could make yourself or order room service.  The cabin was very comfortable and well designed.  Norwegian Bliss has taken advantage of years of feedback from their passengers - Well done !!

Inspire Conference  - Click for More Stories & Pictures

Norwegian Bliss
October 20-27, 2018
7 days R/T Port of Los Angeles (Long Beach)

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Vesteralen Cabin 515

Hurtigruten Vesteralen
 

Knowing that we would be exploring Norway most of the time and not in our cabin, we opted for an inside berth. Accommodations are pretty basic on Hurtigruten Vesteralen, but quite adequate.

There are two single beds in the cabin. Unlike other cruise ships, you don't have the option of putting them together to make a larger bed. In fact the one bed folds up and the other can be converted into a sofa when not functioning as a bed. We left the beds down the entire time.

Storage Space

There was sufficient storage space for our two week voyage, but it took some creativity to figure out the best use of the space.    Our luggage consisted of one standard suitcase and several smaller bags which could fold up for storage.  The large suitcase we stored under our bed.  We stored our dirty clothes in there.   Several of the bags were stored on one side of the closet.  They fit just under the hanging clothes.

Hint:  If you don't want to have your larger suitcases in your room, they will store them for the duration of the voyage in lockers on the third deck near the reception area.  

The other side of the closet also had space for hanging clothes as well as a few shelves on the bottom which worked out well for shoes and some other small items.   Larger bulky items, such as sweat shirts were stored on the upper shelves in the closet.

The only issue we had with the closets was that it was a bit tight when you opened the doors which were hinged in a way that the left side could open at a 90 degree angle to the closet.

Just inside the door is a storage unit with four drawers.  We used the first drawer for various supplies that we wanted to get at and the remaining drawers for underwear, sox, and t-shirts.  There was plenty of room for the 12 night voyage.

Bathroom

The bathroom is nothing fancy, but once again quite adequate for the voyage.  The mirrored cabinet above the sink has plenty of shelf space for your toiletries. There is an old-fashioned hair-dryer built into the wall.

The shower has a built-in soap / shampoo dispenser.  The shower has a two in one shower head.  Click on the images to get a closer look.

Announcements Announcements ....
Between the beds is a small table and chairs. We would connect our devices for charging overnight and when done, place the cords and our sleepwear on the chair so that it was out of the way.

Most importantly, there is a switch on the wall by the bed that controls whether or not you hear announcements for Northern Lights in your cabin. We had it turned on, and were glad we did since we were treated to a fabulous light show at 1 AM one evening.

Additional photos can be found on our Norway Shutterfly page

Vesteralen Cabin
MS Vesteralen (Facebook album)

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Getting to Know Carnival Breeze Cabin

New to Cruising?
Not Sailed on Carnival Breeze?
What to Expect?
 
Once you get on board the ship money is no longer needed so you can tuck your wallet and other valuables in your room safe.   Select a four digit code to lock the safe.

It's dark in here...  

Modern ships are designed with energy conservation in mind.  In order for the lights to operate you need to insert your Sail 'n Sign card, or other card, into the slot.   When you remove the card, lights stay on for a bit allowing you to get out the cabin door before they go off.

Privacy Please!

When you are sleeping, just as in a hotel, you can hang a "Snoozin" sign on your door so that noone disturbs you.

Time to head off for breakfast...   Just put the "Cruisin'" sign on your cabin door so that your steward knows you are out of the cabin.   By the time you return from breakfast your bed will be made and new towels hung in the bathroom.

The Temperature is Just Right !

Each cabin's temperature is individually controlled by the guests.  Next to the bathroom door, you'll find the temperature controls.  They are simple to operate just press the arrow in the direction you wan the temperature to go.   The green LED light shows the current setting.

Rub a Dub - Time to Scrub

If you've not sailed on Carnival before, you might look at the shower controls and say - now what do I do.  You'll notice there are two nobs on either end.  There's also a warning sign that says to be sure to test the water to avoid scalding.   It goes on to say, make sure water temperature is set to 38 degrees.   The right-hand knob has a line which you need to line up with 38.   I suggest taking the shower head from it's holder and turning on the left knob.   Check the temperature and then put the shower head back in the holder.  

Instead of small bottles of shampoo and bath gel, the shower has a built-in dispenser of the two liquids.   There is also a place to hold a bar of soap or any other bottle you might have brought to use instead of the ones supplied.

There are several shelves on both sides of the sink for you to place your various toiletries.  Since we only brought carry-on bags for our cruise, you'll notice several 3 oz. size bottles in our image.   The mirror is a nice touch to get a close-up of your face (eg. when shaving).   There is an outlet that can only be used by a shaver, if you don't have a rechargeable shaver.

Electrical Outlets

There are two 110v outlets and one 220v outlet over the desk / storage unit in the cabin.   We bring a small power strip which makes it easier when you need to charge all your tech gadgets at one time.   Just be sure that you don't overload the circuit or you'll have someone knocking on your cabin door and probably confiscating anything that is not allowed.

There are certain devices which you should never bring with you.  They include things like irons, hair-curlers, and anything with an open flame (eg. candles).  Refer to your cruise documents or Carnival website for details.

How many times have you entered a hotel room and gone on a hunt for a hair dryer?   You'd have to go on the same hunt here unless you were clued in on the secret in this article.   The top drawer of your storage unit pulls out and has a compartment for the hair dryer.   This means you need to dry your hair outside the bathroom, which shouldn't be an issue since you are provided with robes.

Finally, on the back of the cabin door is the safety information, just like you would find in a hotel room.  Be sure to familiarize everyone in the family with the safety information and do attend the mandatory safety drill.   The ship is required to complete the drill within 24 hours of sailing, but usually this happens before departure (just like on an airplane).  

We've focused on Carnival Breeze in this article because we just completed a seminar at sea on her.  Most of the ships in the Carnival fleet are setup similarly.  There might be variations in the safe and hair-dryer on some of the older ships as the models have changed over time.

We'll touch on a few more pointers in other articles.  In the meantime, if you have a specific question and can't wait, do leave us a comment or contact us by clicking above.

Welcome Aboard Norwegian Epic

NORWEGIAN EPIC

FAMILY DELUXE

BALCONY STATEROOM

Cabin # 14036

Cabins are finally ready for occupancy...

Continuing our virtual tour of Norwegian Epic, it's time to checkout your stateroom.    


Your cabin assignment for the cruise is 14036, a deluxe family balcony cabin on deck 14, forward, port side.   The Mandara Spa & Salon is located on this deck also.   Some of the cabins on this deck have special spa access and amenities in their cabin.   

Even though 14036 is not one of those, there is an option to purchase use of the spa's thermal suite for $199 per couple or $119 for a single.   This provides unlimited use of the spa throughout the cruise.    So for $14 per person per day you enjoy similar benefits as a spa suite guest (just not the spa products in your cabin).    More about the spa in another post...

Opening the door of the cabin, you are greeted by the bathroom facilities.  This is not setup as in most other ships.   Instead of the usual one room bathroom, there is a shower area on one side, the commode on the other, and the sink and medicine cabinet beyond that.    The usual solid door is replaced by translucent panels.    You are pleased to see that you actually have a tub and shower in this type of cabin.  

If you've read our blog for awhile, this doesn't come as a shock to you since we wrote about the controversial configuration when Epic began its inaugural sailings.   You might be wondering what the designers had in mind when they introduced this innovation.   Their intent was to make it possible for different guests to use the facilities at the same time.  

For a couple, we'll assume that this sharing doesn't cause any issues.  However, for other occupancy combinations, such as families with children of any age, or friends sharing a cabin, the configuration will take some getting used to and / or planning.

We had our grown up son with us on this trip and to be honest, the bathroom layout didn't cause a problem.   There is a curtain that can be drawn to provide you with privacy.   You'll want to be sure to spin your dial to "do not disturb" and double lock your door to be sure you cabin steward doesn't surprise you from the other direction.    There are robes in the cabin, so that too is another way to ensure privacy when you get out of the shower.

Your luggage arrives and it's time to unpack.  You survey the storage facilities to decide how to divide the space for the three of you.  The closet nearest the entry way is ideal for hanging up everyone’s nice clothing.   The bank of cabinets above and below the counter provides plenty of storage for remaining clothes and other items.   There are four metal baskets in the lower cabinets which can be used for night clothes, swim suits, or any other items that don’t need to be hung up.

Next to the bed there is a night stand with three shelves which can be used for clothes or storage of cameras and other essential items you’ve brought with you.  There are a few hidden storage spaces also...  under the sofa bed, there are drawers that pull out and above the bed at least one of the cabinet doors opens.

Cabinets & closets (left) bed & sleeper (right).View from Balcony

Across from the night stand, next to the balcony door, there are two closets in this particular cabin. One thing that we discovered is that there are minute differences in the cabin configurations even for the same category.   For example, the sofa bed can be before or after the full size bed depending on the location of the cabin and direction of the waves.   The location of the curtain and the storage configuration may also be different. 

If you happen to be in a cabin that has adjoining doors, you will lose some of the storage space.  For example, the extra closet space is replaced by the door.   The night stand cabinet next to the bed is most likely narrower than the one in this cabin.

The extra space came at a price for us also.  To compensate for the extra space, we lost some of our balcony depth.    There still was plenty of room to relax on the balcony with the two chairs and small table providing the furnishings.  

It is possible to put your full size suit cases under the bed which is what you'll need to do due to the odd sized closets.    The wave design makes it impossible to put anything other than bags that are backpack size on the closet floor.    My advice is to put your suitcase under the bed and use it for your dirty clothes.

This cabin was sufficient for the three of us, however that was partly due to the sleeping schedules.   My husband and I were up early to have breakfast and attend the conference sessions while our son slept in after a long night.   Therefore, we weren’t all trying to take showers at the same time.

We took a tour of the ship during our conference cruise.   Watch for reviews of other cabin types complete with pictures in future posts.

Freestyle Bathrooms on Norwegian Epic

Norwegian Cruise Line

Latest Innovations

The picture to the left was taken aboard Norwegian Epic during a pre-inaugural cruise.  At first glance you might think this is the inside of a large bathroom.  Is that a flat screen television in the bathroom?   

Well,  I hate to disappoint you, but no, it's a sink inside the sleeping area of the cabin.  Above the sink is the storage area for towels and toiletries. 

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is known for innovations in their ship designs.   Ten years ago the cruise line introduced Freestyle Dining and built the first ship, Norwegian Sun, designed to facilitate the new concept.    Many cruise lines have since introduced similar alternative dining venues, but none have done so to the same scale as NCL.

NCL's newest ship, Norwegian Epic, introduces what I'm calling "Freestyle Bathrooms".    With Freestyle Dining, one can dine when you want and where you want.   With "Freestyle Bathrooms" one guest can wash their face or shave while another one takes a shower while another one ... well, you know.   All guests can get ready for their day at sea or in port at the same time.

At first, the concept sounds appealing, especially for guests in triple and quad occupancy cabins.   Married couples traveling together probably won't have an issue with privacy in the bathroom arrangement, but we're not certain guests traveling with friends will feel the same way.   Even families with children might have issues with this freestyle design.

In a typical bathroom on other cruise ships, you would open the shower door and grab a towel from the rack inside the enclosure.  Notice that the towel "rack" is a hook on the outside of the shower door on the Epic.   There is a privacy curtain that can be pulled to hide you from others in the cabin however if someone is using the toilet, you'll want to time your exit from the shower properly.

The bathroom area is the first thing you'll see as you enter the cabin.  Besides the privacy issues discussed above, there are other issues with this design.   The sink basin is very shallow and guests have reported that water splashes onto the cabin floor every time they use the sink.   Some guests report that they eventually find out how to control the water flow so that they don't drench the floor, but that usually occurs after a day or so.

What happens when you take a hot shower at home?   Steam billows out from the shower when you open the door.    The same thing happens on a ship too.   In a typical ship bathroom, that isn't an issue since you are still within a confined room.  On the Epic, you are in the main cabin area and sensors which keep you safe from fire could be tripped.   So much for privacy as you hear a knock on the door as a ship's crew member makes sure there isn't a problem.   Steam rises as you know, so the cabin ceiling will now become wet and unless properly cleaned on a regular basis, could lead to a build up of mold in the cabin area.

Norwegian Cruise Line has already announced that the sink situation will be reviewed and it may be necessary to replace them with a different model that won't splash onto the floor.  It is common for new ships to have some "kinks" that need to be ironed out.   In many cases, the problems don't surface until the first passengers set sail on a pre-inaugural cruise.   We are certain there will be changes on the Epic, but in the meantime, guests need to be aware of the current situation so that they can plan accordingly.

Getting to the bathroom at night could become a challenge in some of the cabins since it is necessary to get past the sleeper sofa or the main bed, depending on the room's arrangement.  The wavy wall design may impact the amount of room for navigation in some cabins.

Looking back ten years, there were "kinks" in Freestyle Dining which have since been ironed out.  In fact, onboard the Epic there are 21 dining options, some of which are first time offerings.   So, to be fair, we need to give "Freestyle Bathrooms" a chance.   Perhaps the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks - time will tell.

One thing is for certain, the Norwegian Epic's design is a conversation starter.   Right now the bathrooms are definitely the talk of the town.   We'll keep an eye on this story as time goes on to see what changes are made.

Learn more about Epic in Related Blog Posts