First Time Cruiser on "Sea"

[Kathieko]

My mother, Aunt & I (ages 40 - 65) are going on the "Texaribbean" cruise in April 2005. I've been reading all the reviews and think I have the good, the bad and the ugly all lined out. I do have some specific questions for anyone who has been on this trip on this boat.

1. Are there deck chairs on the promenade deck or around the basketball court area?
2. Anyone stayed in a II Superior Interior room? Are they any bigger than the standard inside room?
3. Do they have sushi at one of the bars one night?
4. What's the average time to go through disembarkment if you don't do the express?

Any replies and or comments & suggestions would be appreciated! We are determined to make this a GREAT time!

Thanks.

[Kathieko]

My mother, Aunt & I (ages 40 - 65) are going on the "Texaribbean" cruise in April 2005. I've been reading all the reviews and think I have the good, the bad and the ugly all lined out. I do have some specific questions for anyone who has been on this trip on this boat.

1. Are there deck chairs on the promenade deck or around the basketball court area?
2. Anyone stayed in a II Superior Interior room? Are they any bigger than the standard inside room?
3. Do they have sushi at one of the bars one night?
4. What's the average time to go through disembarkment if you don't do the express?

Any replies and or comments & suggestions would be appreciated! We are determined to make this a GREAT time!

Thanks.

[Oggy Boy]

OK, I am going to give this one a try. It has been some time since I have cruised on the Sea, but I have sailed her a number of times so I will go from memory. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

1. I am sure there are deck chairs on the Promenade deck, however, if I recall they do not recline all the way.

2. The cabins on the Sea are SMALL. I suspect that all the inside cabins are the same size and that it is just their location that makes them "superior". I could be wrong on this one, however. Your travel agent should be able to give you the square footage for both categories.

3. Good Question! When I sailed her, there was no sushi, but NCL has adapted Asian cusine on most of their ships, so I will guess that there will be sushi on at least one evening (if not more)

4. Debarking in Houston is a breeze. However, the port is a good distance from the airport. You can contact the purser's desk the evening before debarkation to request earlier debarking color tags if you need to get off the ship early.

Have a great cruise and let us know what you find out when you get back.

Tom

[Mrboxy]

Hi Kathieko,
You're in luck, I've just got off the ship on Jan 15, 2005. So, I can answer all the questions you need.

1) There are no chairs around the basketball area. But, there are two stairways on the two sides of the basketball court that you can sit on. (the court is slippery, becareful )

2) I do believe that all rooms are the same size, though I am not sure. I stayed in Deck 4 with the window, and yeah, the room is small.

3) Sushi? well, I don't think they had any when I was there. There was smoked salmon that served for breakfast, and that's the closest to sushi that I've seen on the boat.

4) Don't worry about express disembarkment, the regular disembarkment was pretty speedy. I believe Deck 4 was the first to get off for all independent cruiser, and we got off around 9:30-9:45am. So, we had time to eat out last breakfast before we left.

BTW, I know this site has a few bad reviews toward NCL SEA, and I was a bit skeptical about this whole trip before I went, too. But, I had a great time and the trip definately worth the money. Be sure to eat at the restaurants, they offer great food and service. Le Bistro is great as well, but, the food wasn't that much better.

Have fun

Kathieko I went on the Sea this past March (04) for Spring Break. I just wanted to fill you in on the sushi since nobody was sure. Oscar's lounge has Sushi atleast once during your trip. Although I did not try it, I am sure it was good!

[Kathieko]

Thanks, Purviance! I was sure I had read that somewhere but couldn't find anyone else to confirm it. We are all so excited and I'm sure we will be as addicted as everyone else once we are back.

89 days and counting....

Kathie

[Kathieko]

Mrboxy, Thanks for your response as well! I think it's just awesome that everyone is so willing to share their information and experiences. It sure helps those of us who have never been and don't know what to expect.

Your right, I have read a few bad reviews, but I have also read a whole lot more good reviews. I understand that she is an older, smaller ship and for the price we paid, we don't expect cavier and balconies. Some people don't get that.

Thanks to you and others on these type of message boards, we are armed and ready for a GREAT time!

Thanks again,

Kathie

[fishinjules]

Kathie
We had just gotten off the Sea on 1/8/05 and to confirm, yes Oscar's did do the sushi bar. You will have a wonderful time. We had beautiful weather. Yes it is a small ship with small rooms but you can manage. You really don't spend much time there anyway. Good luck and have fun!
Julie

My wife and I were on the SEA (Febuary 2004) and ther is 1-2 nights of Sushi and it was very good. The rooms are small but work for a week. Just relax and enjoy yourself.