Star Trek The Cruise?

[LJS1138]

I didn't see this posted, and I did a forum search for it with no results, so I started a thread for it.

I was pondering Star Trek the Cruise, as it's coming through the social media feeds, but it's so expensive. Has anyone been on the 2017 one? Does anyone have plans for going on the 2018 one? Is it worth it? Any tips for people who are considering going?

 

[Tesophius]

Never heard of it, what is it

 

[LJS1138]

I guess that would help. I didn't want to seem like I'm advertising for it, but it's startrekthecruise.com. I don't know much about Entertainment Cruises Productions, which is the company actually in charge of putting it together and chartering the cruise boat. But it's like a Star Trek convention on a cruise ship, to the tune of $1500 per person for an inside cabin. Then of course, one needs airfare to Miami and all that.

 

[Tesophius]

Thanks. Looks pretty lame, I'd want to relive an experience of being on a starship to some extent, like have cabins modeled after quarters in one of the shows and things like that.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I'm signed up for the 2018 Star Trek cruise. There are actually two of them this next year because the 2017 cruise was so popular, one from 1/5/18-1/11/18 and another from 1/11/18-11/17/18.

I'm really excited! Cruises are my favorite type of vacation, and Star Trek is one of my favorite franchises, so it seemed like the perfect fit. I've also been wanting to take a cruise in that region for a while, but haven't got around to it yet, so the timing worked.

The reviews of last year's cruise were really positive. There were some complaints about the company that was running it being a bit disorganized at first, but it seems like once things got going it turned out really well. I'm hoping they've worked out those kinks for this year (last year's was the first one). The cruise line that the trip is chartered through, Norwegian, is my favorite line. This trip will be on the Norwegian Jade, which is the sister ship to the Norwegian Pearl, which I was on last year (for an Alaskan cruise). I really liked the layout, size, and dining options, so I'm sure I'll enjoy them on this ship as well.

Many of the reviews mentioned how friendly the other passengers are, and how surprisingly often they ran into the cast just going about their business on the ship. It really is a great lineup, even better than last year. So far we have:

George Takei as the "captain" of the ship
Jonathan Frakes
Brent Spiner
LeVar Burton
Gates McFadden
Michael Dorn
John de Lancie
Connor Trinneer
Karl Urban
Ethan Phillips
Nana Visitor
Robert Picardo
Rene Auberjonois
Armin Shimerman
Denise Crosby
Max Grodenchik
Vaughn Armstrong
Jeffrey Combs
Casey Biggs
Robert O'Reilly
John Paladin

I've also heard good things about the themeing and decorations from last year. Many of the ship crew dress in Starfleet uniforms, the elevators look like turbolifts, one of the lounges at the front of the ship turns into Ten Forward, one of the restaurants is themed as Sandrine's, Norwegian's private island which the ship will stop at for a day is meant to be Risa, etc. And instead of the usual cruise ship evening shows, there will be shows put on by the cast members joining us.

Honestly, it sounds like the perfect vacation to me, I can't wait!

 

[DamarsKanar]

I've never been on a cruise but THIS would be a pretty great holiday. Very jealous!

 

[LJS1138]

We decided to "bucket list" it and book it, even though it's technically over our budget. I decided on Voyage 1. It would be nice if we're going on the same week, Spot's Meow. After it's over, I'll write a review.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I did a cruise back in 1994 between Florida and Nassau. Got deathly ill along with over half the guests and crew from some virus whose symptoms resembled that of Legionnaire's Disease. Literally came out both ends at the same time for nearly four days and I had blood vessels bursting in my forehead from the strain - a complete nightmare. I was 23 then and felt like I barely survived. I'm 46 now - it would probably kill me if it happened again. Every year, it seems, I read or see or hear about similar mass-afflictions happening on cruise ships around the world, which probably stem from a lack of proper cleaning and ventilation. Way too dangerous. Never again...

 

[LJS1138]

I did a cruise back in 1994 between Florida and Nassau. Got deathly ill along with over half the guests and crew from some virus whose symptoms resembled that of Legionnaire's Disease. Literally came out both ends at the same time for nearly four days and I had blood vessels bursting in my forehead from the strain - a complete nightmare. I was 23 then and felt like I barely survived. I'm 46 now - it would probably kill me if it happened again. Every year, it seems, I read or see or hear about similar mass-afflictions happening on cruise ships around the world, which probably stem from a lack of proper cleaning and ventilation. Way too dangerous. Never again...

That would be Norovirus, which is really horrible to get. My husband and I have been on a Norwegian Cruise Lines cruise before (Alaska in 2003), so we know to wash our hands, watch what we touch, and the ship always had tons of Purell and wipes all over the place. I had also brought crystallized ginger along, and it helped him to not be seasick during a rough sea day. Hopefully, a bunch of Trekkies will know to wash their hands, but yeah, it's a risk. I've had similar food poisoning on land, though, so it's a risk everywhere.

After the cruise is over, I'll let people know how it was. I might even take photos, assuming I can figure out either my phone or a digital camera.

 

[Kor]

... Norwegian's private island which the ship will stop at for a day is meant to be Risa, ...

You have our undivided attention.

Kor

 

[Spot's Meow]

Did anyone else signed up for this cruise get a "complimentary" room upgrade? We were in an inside room and have been "upgraded" to an oceanview room. Of course, two days after we got the upgrade, the prices have now dropped for all of the room types. What we paid for an inside, is now the price being offered for an oceanview, so it's not really much of an upgrade. If we were signing up now, we probably would have gone with the now cheaper inside room, but oh well. That's how it goes with cruises - they lock you in for a certain price and then it can fluctuate quite a bit while they're trying to fill the ship. Usually I wait until later to book a cruise, but in this case since the Star Trek cruise for 2017 filled up so quickly, I didn't want to take a chance of not getting a spot.

 

[LJS1138]

Did anyone else signed up for this cruise get a "complimentary" room upgrade? We were in an inside room and have been "upgraded" to an oceanview room. Of course, two days after we got the upgrade, the prices have now dropped for all of the room types. What we paid for an inside, is now the price being offered for an oceanview, so it's not really much of an upgrade. If we were signing up now, we probably would have gone with the now cheaper inside room, but oh well. That's how it goes with cruises - they lock you in for a certain price and then it can fluctuate quite a bit while they're trying to fill the ship. Usually I wait until later to book a cruise, but in this case since the Star Trek cruise for 2017 filled up so quickly, I didn't want to take a chance of not getting a spot.

Same thing happened, although we paid for a BA Balcony. My spouse suffers from claustrophobia, so the balcony helps him feel less trapped. We got an email for the upgrade, but for us it was going from a balcony to the mini-suite. The mini-suite is basically a balcony room, but with 85 sq ft more, a full size desk and a tub/shower. (No other real perks.) I had cabin 9558, mid-ship, but the bad news is mini-suites are all on deck 11. You have to be careful when accepting an upgrade, because of location. I did some research, made sure we got a cabin that wasn't under the pool, dining areas or basketball court.

We're not eligible for the price drop, of course, but at least in our case, what we paid for the full balcony price is still less than the Warpspeed code price for the mini-suite. 2017 filled up because there was one sailing, and this time, there's two, but yeah, sometimes it's better to pay a bit and have your choice of cabin location than to wait and save $, but wind up with a cabin above the all-night disco.

 

[Herbert]

I didn't see this posted, and I did a forum search for it with no results, so I started a thread for it.

I was pondering Star Trek the Cruise, as it's coming through the social media feeds, but it's so expensive. Has anyone been on the 2017 one? Does anyone have plans for going on the 2018 one? Is it worth it? Any tips for people who are considering going?

I'd only do it if the bridge crew dressed and acted like the Next Gen bridge crew

 

[LJS1138]

I'd only do it if the bridge crew dressed and acted like the Next Gen bridge crew

Nope, as far as 2017. I'll check this time, when I go, since our cabin is right near the bridge.

The regular crew dressed as TOS in 2017, though: http://www.startrekthecruise.com/20...gallery/75810b667bd5e0be85e8f0421951c72d/1613

 

[Spot's Meow]

Did anyone else get a little booklet in the mail? My excitement level is rising!

It contains our reservation number, so I was able to go to NCL.com, log into my account and link up the reservation with my existing account. If you're unfamiliar with how it works, this is where you will go to book shore excursions, specialty dining reservations, beverage packages, etc. before the cruise starts. You can also do an online check-in that supposedly saves some time at the pier.

Oh, and if you've never cruised before, you should know that there are "service charges," aka pre-defined gratuities, that most cruise lines tack onto your bill. You can always tip more when you're there of course, but this is a general tip that goes to your room steward, servers, bartenders, etc. It's at a set rate of $13.99 per person, per day. That's $83.94 a person for this trip. You have the option of paying that with the rest of your tab on the last day of your cruise, or you can pre-pay online through your account. The benefit of pre-paying is that sometimes they raise this rate (though that's not likely to happen), and if you've pre-paid then you're locked in at the lower rate. If you think the service charge is BS and you'd rather tip in cash while you're there, you can go to guest services while on your trip and have them remove the charge.

It looks like they haven't posted any excursions yet. I'm looking forward to seeing the options!

 

[LJS1138]

Don't pre-pay the service charge. ECP takes care of that, according to Mark at ECP. I got the little booklet, too. They should have the excursions up in a few weeks or so, I should think. :>

 

[Timewalker]

I'd only do it if the bridge crew dressed and acted like the Next Gen bridge crew

You want a teenager steering the ship and an empath knowing what everyone is feeling?

 

[Spot's Meow]

Don't pre-pay the service charge. ECP takes care of that, according to Mark at ECP.

Good to know! It looks like it's still showing up as on option on my NCL account. I didn't pay it, but I wonder if they will refund those who pay twice? I'm guessing not....

 

[LJS1138]

I think some people who pre-paid this past cruise wound up with it as onboard credit, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I was interested to see that the winter premiere of Discovery, directed by Frakes, will be airing during the first cruise. I wonder if there will be some sort of viewing party? With Frakes himself??? One can dream!