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Wahoo!!

Hey folks,

Just wanted to let you all know what I have been up to lately. I also wanted to do a micro-review of one of the restaurants I have been to recently. While I LOVE being an author and blogger, I also have bills to pay so I had to do the 9 to 5 thing for a bit until things really take off. Since I just moved to Vegas about a month or so ago, I have been super busy.Now that I have settled in a bit I can continue my work. Anywhoo..I have been all up and down the Las Vegas area and I have barely scratched the surface. There is so much to, do, and EAT..yes I said EAT (we will talk more about that in another post). Today after work I went to a place called Wahoo. It is a cool bar & restaurant with yummy fish tacos. That is what I ordered but my husband had the 'Pig Bowl'. I tried some of it and while I liked the fish tacos (which is what this place is known for), I LOVED the pig! It was so flavorful and unique. The rice was slightly hard but everything else was fresh and on point! The bathrooms were clean and there is a baron one side with slot machines (typical for bars here). The staff is friendly and the prices aren't terrible (around $20 for 2 people with drink depending on what you order. It wasn't too crowded but it was a weekday. If you want a cool atmosphere and good food then come here. You won't be disappointed!

Let's do Vegas!

Hey folks,

It has been a while since I have posted in Traveler's Pique but I am finally here in Vegas and loving it! I am no longer a tourist, I live here which is really awesome. You are probably wondering what this means for you and why you should care. Well..I will be giving you in-depth reviews on all of the local restaurants, casinos, hotels, night life, etc.

Of course I will continue to post reviews of my travels outside of Las Vegas but for now, this is where you want to come if you want to know what to do when you visit sin city. Also, my readers will enjoy an exclusive discount of 10% off at Johnson Imagery (on all packages) when you visit Vegas by using promo code: PIQUE10! Stay tuned and see what awesome things I have in store!

Travel tips

Like to travel on a budget? You can Google sites like Travelocity or Orbitz. The time that you search for deals like hotels, flights, and car rentals also matters. Your best bet of course is to search at least two weeks in advance for flights. Companies bet on last-minute travelers and look to cash in on them. Also, the time of week/day that you search also matters. I have had some of my greatest success with finding deals on Tuesday night between 9 and 11 pm.

Did you know that even if a rate is published on a website by a carrier in error, if you purchased the ticket, they still have to honor it at that price. For example, if a carrier (or other website like Orbitz) mistakenly puts up a flight for $50 rather than $500, then count yourself lucky because you got yourself a great deal! If you look on Ebay, there are people who sell unused vouchers for alcoholic beverages at a HUGE discount (be careful to check expiration dates).

One time, I was searching for a flight on Orbitz for a family member. I had been looking that whole day (Tuesday) and the price stayed high all day and night, until 9 pm rolled around then WHAM! Right as I started to buy the ticket, I clicked the search one more time and ended up saving her around $400! You just never know when you will spot a deal. If you really want a deal, check every hour and if possible, more frequently in the middle of the week. Of course, you want to try to avoid flying in or out on Friday and Saturday. Take things into consideration like (hotel, car rental, shuttle from the airport, flight, etc.) Also, check Facebook. Sometimes airlines (Southwest, etc.) post discounts just for liking their page.

Good luck, happy traveling and feel free to tell us about your trip. See you soon!

Vegas Baby!

Hi all, sorry it took so long for me to post these and tell you about my wonderful trip but here it is.
I will touch on the hot spots that I went to and give you an overall feel of the places I visited. We stayed off-strip at the Silverton Casino. It was reasonably priced and not extremely far from the action. The overall decor needs a serious makeover. It is very dated and pretty tacky. The whole casino was so dark that when you went outside you were shocked at how bright it was. When staying at this supposed resort/casino, it is easy to lose track of time and feel like it is late not matter what time of day it is. The slots themselves are pretty standard. They have a few old ones but most of them are updated and modern. The payout is minimal from other casinos that I have been to.

One night, I was playing some slots and a homeless man walked up to me and asked me for money. I did give him some change (although I was not supposed to) because I felt bad for him. I also wanted him to get away from me because I did not feel comfortable with him around me like that (he was pretty close and I had money out to play. After that, I got up and went to another part of the floor and continued to play. Who walks up to me but the same guy. I was somewhat annoyed at this point and told him that he already asked me five minutes ago. He walked away. I got up and waved a staff member down because I did not feel comfortable at all anymore. She asked me what he looked like and I told her what I thought he had on (wasn't extremely attentive because I was more concerned with just getting away from him. I sat down at one of the slots where I was and started to play. The same man comes up again. Thoroughly annoyed, I told him that he needed to pay attention to who he was asking for money and that this was his third time coming to me. I also reminded him that I already gave him money. He quickly walked away and about a minute later, the staff member brought security to me and asked me about him. I pointed them in his direction. The staff member told me that they did eventually get him. She was very nice and every time I saw her, she was very friendly and always said hi. That brings me to my next point: the staff is what gives The Silverton a glimmer of hope. From management, to security, to regular staff..everyone was really nice and provided exceptional customer service.

There is not a lot of action as the crowd is understandably older. If you are young and crave any type of action, then I would suggest that you steer clear of this place unless you are either coming here to eat (the food is pretty good), going to see the aquarium, or going to Bass Pro Shops (located inside of The Silverton), which is nicely put together.

The rooms were dated, ugly, and extremely dirty! We switched rooms and also had to switch sheets because our sheets had blood on them! Oh, and can you say tube television? really? Who watched tube TV anymore? I think we turned that TV on once and that was it. When you are accustomed to seeing things in high definition, a tube won't do. In fact, I was pretty insulted at the fact that these were still in the rooms. The dirt was extremely apparent in the rooms. There was so much dirt that you could see the layers of it in certain spots. Also, some of the towels and washcloths were dirty. It made it hard to believe that they had a cleaning staff.

One of the cool things is that they had an outdoor area and pool complete with cabanas (you have to pay extra to rent the cabanas despite the already included resort fee per night). They had a DJ one night while we were there and the music was pretty good. If you want action, this is the only place in the casino where you will find it. Unfortunately, it closes at  ten o' clock..yes ten. Needless to say, we will not be staying at The Silverton again.

The picture above is from The Luxor in Las Vegas. Can you say ENERGY? Wow,  it was so cool to be in there. While I have not been to all of the casinos in Vegas (nearly impossible because Vegas is huge. Also, there are even casinos at the stores and gas stations), this one is among the best!

There is so much going on at this casino as well as Mandalay Bay, which is connected to The Luxor. The Luxor has awesome architecture, great drinks and food. Mandalay Bay had much of the same thing but it also has the Minus 5 ice bar. We were not able to go in because I had a dress on and I would have frozen to death, he he. We did go into the lobby and you can see the back of the bar from the outside. From what I hear and have read in the lobby, everything is made of ice, from the bar to the stools to the cups! You are charged admission just to go in but that is mainly because you are renting things from them like parkas, boots, gloves, hats, etc. If you do happen to go or have been there, please come back and let me know. The next time I go to Vegas, I will be prepared to go to the bar.

When you go to Vegas, you definitely have to check out The Venetian. There are so many cool things to see from the Gondolas to the indoor Italian city. The attention to detail is apparent regarding the construction of this casino. When you go there, you really feel like you are in Italy! There is lots to do from riding the Gondolas (which we did) to shopping to dining at one of their fine restaurants. It was extremely hot in Vegas when we visited so we did not spend a lot of time outside even though there is so much to see there as well. The great thing about this place was the fact that there were so many places to take pictures inside that you are not missing anything outside. Please do check out the Gondolas as well. While I was somewhat disappointed in the duration of the ride (very short), I loved the singing Gondolier. Her voice was really beautiful and she actually happened to be from Italy! I also did not like the fact that the indoor and outdoor gondola rides are not connected. There is an outdoor price and an indoor price and while they are the same, you must pay double to do both.

There are many free outdoor shows on the Vegas strip including the pirate show at Treasure Island, the water show at The Bellagio, the show at Caesars, etc. I did not get to see all of them or even most but I did see the volcano show at The Mirage. This was an intense show and I was amazed at all that was put into creating it. It was so much fun to watch that I actually wanted to see it again before we left. I must warn you though..this is real fire and you should not be the first in line to see it unless you want to feel like your eyebrows will get singed. I was in  the front and I felt like someone put me into a pizza oven and left me in there. Older people and little children should be especially careful not to be too close.

Food can get pretty expensive, so if you play at the casinos, be sure to sign up for the cards so that you can get comps. Also, I was shocked by the fact that the Mc Donalds on the strip was priced regularly. I expected their prices to be nearly doubled because it is right on the strip but it was not. If you want to save money, go there for at least a meal or two.

Also, if you want to see a show, you had better plan ahead. We wanted to see Criss angel one night but we were too late. Apparently, you cannot purchase tickets at the box office for certain shows at showtime.The cutoff for Criss Angel tickets was 3 pm. He only played a few days a week so we were pretty bummed that we missed it.

Vegas can be a bit overwhelming with all of the sites, lights, and action. Make sure that you take a moment to check out the simpler things. We went to Red Rock in Vegas (pictured above) and it was awesome. You pay a modest price per car to go in and you can drive around to take pictures. It is really big so plan to spend a little time there. Who knows, you may see some cool wildlife. I was talking to a woman there and she told me that she saw a lizard right before we arrived. I would suggest that you wait until the sun starts to set if possible (check hours of operation first). It was extremely hot when we went and we could not stay outside for long periods of time. We kept getting back in the car to cool off again. Funny thing though..as hot as it was, the heat was not as bothersome as it is on the East Coast because it is a dry heat so you do not feel nasty. In New Jersey, when it gets hot like that, you sweat a lot and feel the need to take multiple showers a day during the summer.

There is so much to see and do in this place. The people are friendly (although we did see a big fight on the strip at around 2 a.m.). There is so much energy on the strip that it is easy to lose track of time. I also thought it was interesting to see so many people drinking outside (open containers are illegal where I am from). This place is the absolute best and I did not even scratch the surface! One thing you need when you come here (besides money) is time! This place is enormous! I did not get a chance to do everything I wanted to do because we were only there a few days but I had a blast and I cannot wait to go back.

Viva Las Vegas!!

So we're on our way to Vegas and then California for a much needed vacay! We will be checking out some of the coolest spots around and I will definitely keep you posted on what's going on. I will be taking some great pics as well so stay tuned! This Friday..we are on our way!!

Norwegian Cruise Line

It was the night before we set sail for the beautiful Bahamas. We finished our last-minute packing and made sure that everything is in order before we left. We were so excited that we went to bed at about four AM. The next morning, we got ready and went to drop our car off at a relative's house. They dropped us off at the terminal in New York. Before I go on, here is a word of advice about the Pier 88 terminal; get there early because you may be inching in traffic around that area for thirty minutes or more.

We arrived at the terminal and prepared to go through the security/check-in process. Luckily (and thanks to a friend), we were amongst the first to board. We made our way up the ramp and were asked to give our cards to the attendants to swipe. Right before we actually entered the ship, we were met by a nice man who was holding the most delicious-looking drink you ever did see! He asked us if we wanted one and I thought to myself "Wow, I'm in love already..a free drink upon boarding?!" Then reality hit me when I realized that the drink was not free (luckily we did not take it). I had done research and I was well-aware that this line (like many others) charge for alcoholic beverages (plus 15% gratuity). However, I thought that they were trying to win people over with the first round. I was sadly mistaken.

Since we boarded so early, our rooms were not ready yet. We liked the fact that we could still explore the ship until they were. However, we opted to carry our own bags (NCL is notorious for losing bags or getting them to the rooms late) so we just went to the Garden Cafe to sit with our bags and grab a bite to eat. The selection was the standard pasta, bread, rice, burgers, desserts, etc. They did have a small Indian section that was okay. The food at this restaurant was nothing to write home about. Most of it was lukewarm and bland. The dessert looked so pretty that I had to try a few of them. I dug into the two desserts and despite how they looked, they were absolutely flavorless and just plain sad! It reminded me of Stephen King's 'The Langoliers'; when they described the food as being devoid of flavor. My husband tasted it and could not believe it either. Looks truly can be deceiving!

I made my way over to the drink station to get something for us to wash this stuff down and I saw a little metal box with four buttons on it. none of them were labeled so i figured i would press them until a familiar color came out. One was iced tea, one was cranberry juice, one was orange juice, and the other was water. They all turned into water after pressing them for a few seconds. I had forgotten that juices were only free in the morning and we had finished the last of it. I shared what little juice I could get with my husband. The free drinks included; milk, unsweetened iced tea, tap water, hot chocolate, coffee, and hot tea. Before we boarded, we were fully aware of the fact that carbonated and alcoholic beverages were extra. A soda card will run you over $7 pp per day for adults and about $4 pp per day for children. In addition, there will be a service charge (not included in your gratuities). You will spend more than $60 for an adult (after grat./fees)and $30 for children.

Once our room was ready, we made our way to it. We were on a lower level without a window. However, we had an upgrade to a very large room (about twice the size of a stateroom). We were celebrating a late honeymoon/anniversary, so we were greeted (thanks to our agent) with a bottle of red wine on our desk. The room seemed okay on the surface but we did not have much time to inspect it (more on that later). There was so much that we wanted to explore on the ship. The activities in "The Freestyle Daily" were abundant. There were things like game shows, live shows, bingo, raffles, etc.

We decided to go check out some of the raffles first. We headed down to the Crystal Atrium (this is where the concierge/reservation and excursion desks are) and entered the raffle. I was one of the lucky winners! What did I win? A photo album/frame. It was cute until I was told that the professional photo would cost $19.99 extra. I thought we had won the frame AND the photo. Of course, we now felt obligated to purchase the photo..especially since it was the perfect size for the frame. Wow..what a way to make money! We checked out some more raffles on board (including the art raffle).

At the beginning of our trip, we were checked under V.I.P. status (I could tell you why, but I'd have to kill ya'), so it came with a few perks. We were given a "free" piece of art for attending an art auction/raffle. However, when my husband told the art manager (at Park West) that we wanted to obtain our art, he asked if he had planned to bid on one of the pieces. When my husband told him "no", he hunched his nose up, gave him an appointment card and told him to come back at 7:30. We did not feel apologetic that we did not come with an extra ten-thousand dollars to bid on local art. If you ever find yourself attending a Park West "auction" with "free" champagne, be prepared to bid because every person who sits in those seats have that in mind and are not concerned with raffles (although many winning bids come with a free piece). Also, I found out that the raffles were for $500 toward a bid).

Throughout our trip, we have been sent invitations to numerous Park West raffles. Every time we showed up, we (along with a few others) were ignored and the raffle was never mentioned. When my husband asked about the champagne, he was told that it was for the auctioneers after the auction was complete. We decided to leave and find something else to do.

I wanted to sign up with the casino (Casinos at Sea). We went into the tiny casino and signed up. We received a free coupon book with a few casino goodies. One of the coupons was good for a free spin at a special slot machine to win a trip. I did not win the trip, but I did win thirty dollars. I chuckled a bit because the casino attendant was utterly shocked that someone had won. I knew it was a rare occurrence because she had to walk the other casino attendant through the casino card-crediting process..this was very weird. It did not matter because I did not plan on spending much at the casino anyway.

After playing a few slots, we headed to a restaurant to grab a bite. We went back to the garden cafe and ate there. The food was the same as it was before for the most part. There were other restaurants but there was a hitch to some of them. Out of about twelve restaurants, only four were free..yes, you heard right..FOUR. Usually, out of the four restaurants, only two were open at a time (sometimes only one..the Blue Lagoon (very limited menu), which was the ONLY twenty four hour restaurant). The rest had different hours. There were also a few bars that had a few select items every now and then. The rest had different hours. There were also a few bars that had a few select items every now and then.

Norwegian Cruise Line prides itself on a new concept called "Freestyle Cruising". This means that there are no set dining times, you can sit wherever you want, and the dress code is supposed to be relaxed. This is what made NCL appeal to us because although we wanted to dress up a few nights, we did not want to do it every night. NCL gets around this by limiting your choices of where you can eat. Only about one-third of the restaurants are free and the hours are so sporadic that you often end up using the pay restaurants. This is how they get you to pay. Also, the few free soft drinks that they have are often not readily available and you have to hunt something down to drink. Of course, there are numerous bars at every corner of the ship..so you will never be thirsty as long as you are willing to pay (drink + autogratuity).

That night, we were out doing a few activities on the ship and decided to go to Tsars. We were thoroughly embarrassed by the Maitre'D when she said that my husband's shirt was inappropriate because the sleeves were too short (so much for freestyle cruising). However, she said that since it was the first night, we could eat there but to be mindful of it the next time. She sent us down the stairs, where we were greeted by a man in a suit and bow tie "Are you looking for someone?" he asked. "No, we would like to eat." we replied and he gave us a look and escorted us to a table while saying that he needs to dress the next time. At this point, he wanted to leave but I said 'no", we paid for this cruise like everyone else here and we will eat here. When our waitress came, she repeated the dress code again and we let her know that we were already told TWICE and that we did not need to be reminded again. What was interesting was the fact that most of the people there that night were not even causal, they just wore whatever. We even saw people in hot pink and orange short-shorts..what gives?

I spoke to one of the representatives on board about the incident politely and explained to her. She told me that there was a dress code in Tsars and that the only reason we were allowed to eat there was because it was the first night and they understood that not everyone had received their luggage. I told her that it was not fair that no one told us that there was any type of dress code and that it was not announced, posted, or listed. In fact, in the newsletter for that day, the heading said something to the effect of "Feel like Dressing up? Don't feel like dressing up? With Freestyle you're free to..whatever" Yeah right! This is NCL's gimmick...as are many other things. I showed her this heading and she said that Tsar's policy is listed in the fine print of the newsletter. However, when she and another rep looked for it, they could not find it. I told her that it would be wise to make sure that this is known in order to avoid embarrassment to guests.

The next day there were several activities including a barbecue (nice although we could not find anywhere to sit due to over crowding) by the pool that was overrun with children. We ended up finding a small spot at the bar where we stood and ate. It was so crowded that people were actually waiting for us to finish eating so that they could use the small spot that we had.

The rooms:

We had a really large room, which had a couch. I was happy about that. Our room attendant was very nice (however, when you are in your room, you want to use the dead bolt because they will walk in if you do not answer them immediately when they knock the one time). I read horror stories about the minibar, so that it the first thing we checked when we got in. sure enough..someone had drank most of a Red Bull and left it in the fridge. We immediately called the reception desk and told them. We immediately asked them to send someone to remove the rest of the contents.
 After inspecting the room further, I noticed specks of blood on the pillows. Some looked like they had been bleached, some not. We called to get fresh pillows. This happened about three times, including a dirty washcloth and sheets on occasion. Norwegian does a horrible, horrible job cleaning the rooms and the linens. The room had layers of dirt and dust but it was made up very nicely to cover its flaws. If you ever stay here..inspect the sheets and linens! The television was very small but we made it work (really missed our flat screens though). The shower was very refreshing and the shower gel, shampoo, and hand soap all come out of dispensers. The bathroom is not pretty by any means but it is pretty functional. The bed was horrible. we both tossed and turned for seven whole days. My husband asked them to flip the mattress. Either they did not flip it, or the problem was the bed itself. The bed was very creaky and felt like two metal cots pushed together. Our bed is worth close to 2k at home so this was a huge adjustment! If you are looking for luxury in a room..do not book NCL. Our room attendants did work to make our stay as pleasurable as possible, but with this no-frills line, they did not have much to work with.

The staff:

The upper echelon was quite rude and nasty. They thought that they were better than the guests. They failed to realize that without the guests, then their no-brainer jobs would not exist. We did love the majority of the staff. Many of them were so very nice and no matter what you thought about the ship and what was going on, you had no choice but to smile! When you entered the Garden cafe, they have a spray bottle of hand sanitizer and say "washy, washy" while smiling. The kids and adults loved it and even when they were not around, all of us aboard started saying "washy,washy" and making sure that we used the hand sanitizing stations. It is good practice and really helped people do what they needed to do. The staff made small talk (when they weren't being forced to sell) and it was actually nice getting to know them and seeing them everyday.

The children:

Despite the fact that there were a few activities and areas for the kids (Splashdown Club), they were everywhere! We do not have children yet and were annoyed at little rugrats constantly running in, out, around, and through the ship! it was like 'Lord of the Flies' where the children had taken over the ship..literally. It was impossible to even walk down the main steps of the ship without running into kids and groups of teens sitting on each and every level of the stairs. You could take the elevator if you are willing to wait for the fifty people in front of you. If there were counselors onboard the ship..they were virtually unseen. The children were involved in each and every activity onboard and even the "Adult-only" newlywed game. They actually had to say things like "make whoopee" to accommodate the same children who were not supposed to be there in the first place! Speaking of children, any child aged 3 and above is also charged a gratuity of twelve dollars pp per day.
 There were two public pools and four hot tubs..all were overrun with kids (including the adult-only pool and hot tubs). At first, we though "it is not so bad because these kids will be taken to do their own thing. Well..what is their thing? YOUR THING! whatever you want to do or attempt to do..they are there. They run through the halls and do whatever they want without structure. Also, despite the fact that there are clear signs posted about not allowing your child to swim with diapers (even swimmers), parents felt the need to do it anyway. The pool had been drained several times (I am not referring to the nightly drain/cleaning), only once was for broken glass, I wonder what the rest was for. Because of this, we did not get in the pool or hot tub even once.

The floating market:

Everywhere you go on this ship at every turn, you will be pitched to buy something. Perhaps a drink, perhaps a $300.00 watch, perhaps a $6,000.00 painting, perhaps you will just end up $10,000.00 in debt after you are done. Norwegian Cruise tickets..the gift that keeps on giving!

There were numerous announcements (about fifteen per day) for different things being sold and how we needed to buy these things because the prices are so great. They constantly announced jewelry sales, gift shop sales, art auctions, and if I heard bingo one more time I would hurl something into the speaker! Nestled into each Itinerary sheet for the day, were different ads for their floating market. Although we paid a nice amount to take the cruise, we were treated like it was a free trip and we just sat through these "timeshare-like" presentations all around the ship! Kim is the main jewelry lady aboard the NCL Jewel.

 If you are brave enough to go on this cruise, you had better steer clear of her. We went to one of her "raffles" and sat through a presentation of over an hour before she did the raffle. She was telling us about all of the (high-end) jewelry shops in Nassau, Bahamas and how we needed to shop there. She made one quote that particularly upset my husband "If you see it, and you like it..buy it!" He was done after that and really wanted to leave the raffle. I know that they want to make sales but Kim and NCL will have you putting a second mortgage on your home for jewelry!

Throughout the ship, there were numerous tables with different items for sale throughout the ship. Either someone was aggressively shoving a drink in your face as you walked through the corridors and areas of the ship, or someone was snapping a twenty-dollar picture every five minutes, or some other gimmick was going on. We never got a chance to relax at all.

Many of the activities listed in the "Freestyle Daily" are not free. Most of them state that a fee applies. Sometimes it was on almost every other line of the activity sheet. It got so bad that you did not know what was included and what wasn't anymore. Beware, some of the activities have fees even if it is not stated in the newsletter. You will find this out when you attempt to go to the event.

The ports of call:

Our first stop was Port Canaveral, FL. There was nothing there and we did not plan an excursion so we did not get off. Some people went to Cocoa Beach via NCL but said that it was nasty and over-crowded. They also said that the water was nothing special..just dark murky water.

Our next stop was Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. This is Norwegian's private island. There was not much to do beyond the excursions (snorkeling, etc.). We had fun swimming, snorkeling, and lounging in the float rental. The sand was okay and the water was beautiful. However, I found stray garbage floating like cigarette butts, bandaids, etc. Also, I found a few cigarette butts in the sand. It was not horrible messy but left unchecked, it could get much worse. I wanted to get a tote bag from the little market. I figured that since it was NCL-owned, that you could use your room key as you could for everything else. However, the merchant told me that it was cash-only. This was not told to us and we did not want to wait for another tender (ferry) to get back to the boat, just to get spending money, especially since we only spent a few hours at this location.

This island was super crowded and there were not nearly enough seats to handle even half of the cruisers. Nevertheless, we still had fun. My husband even encountered a stingray while off snorkeling on his own (not recommended of course)!

The next and final stop was Nassau, Bahamas. If you are not booked on an excursion here, you will be at a loss because NCL does not promote third-party taxis, etc. I would say that you can take a ferry boat or bus to Atlantis for a few dollars per person but be careful. Never travel alone and always take a bus where there is more people because Nassau can be dangerous and criminals are unlikely to target a large amount of people. You should be fine as long as you do not get into an individual taxi. When you get off of the dock, there are so many commercial retailers (the ones that your jewelry expert Kim constantly tells you about). These include; Gucci, Fendi, etc. You will not get a real feel for the place unless you venture out a little. You have to walk over a few blocks to get to the local retailers because this is where you will get the real bargains. NCL wants you to stay by their partnered stores and spend all of your money. You would do yourself a service and really help the local economy more by shopping at native stores. However, please do be careful and be aware of your surroundings.

Crime is indeed an issue here but we walked over a few blocks and were fine. You will want to sample the local cuisine and stay away from Tropicana, Starbucks, etc. You can get that anywhere. Sample the local conch salad or Bahamian cuisine.

After we left Nassau, everything changed. We did not see most of the staff (could have been resting I guess). The ship did not seem lively at all anymore, except they really ramped up the last-minute gift shop, art auctions, jewelry store, and bingo sales, oh..let me not forget another thing..trying to get you to put a deposit on your next cruise. This is something else that we heard all cruise long. The demeanor of the whole ship changed. it seemed like they did not care about the guests anymore because they had been bled dry of their money. What happened to the "washy, washy" people? What happened to the friendly staff that we saw before we hit Nassau? Where did the crew disappear to? What happened to all of the activities that we had experienced earlier in the cruise? It was replaced with music, bingo, and shopping! We were extremely happy to be done with the trip. The gratuity is twelve pp per day which added up to about $170.00. Gratuities are added on some cruise lines. This is becoming the standard industry-wide but some lines allow you to give out your own tips.

One of the cruisers told us that despite paying over $900.00 to NCL for a family of four for Atlantis resort access, the beach was not included. She told us that they were dropped off miles from the resort and had to walk with their small children to and from the resort from the bus. It rained while we were in Nassau and they were only able to do two things in her itinerary. I asked her if they received a partial refund and she said that she tried, but to no avail.

 As my husband stated "It is a shame that all of the paid options overshadowed what was included by a large margin." His boss was considering NCL for his cruise (leaving in a few days). However, after speaking with my husband, he opted not to use NCL and will go with another line. My husband had cruised before but never encountered anything like this. His boss stated that he had also been on other cruise lines and although they sell things, they do not force it down your throat or make announcements every five minutes like NCL does. He said that he had never encountered such a thing. I hope that this will help my readers to steer clear of Norwegian Cruise Line..more specifically, the NCL Jewel (although i am sure that it is the whole fleet of ships on NCL). It is a shame that my husband had only one week off from work and school to celebrate our marriage and it was partially wasted. We made the best of it but the joy that we found had nothing to do with Norwegian Cruise Lines and everything to do with the two of us and the destinations explored.

Have a great trip AWAY from Norwegian Cruise Line!