GeezerCouple

This should be "unmasked" and sent to NCL while there is time for them to get it to security. They can probably ID the cabin from what is right below it. (Make sure it IS identifiable so there's no claim it was some other cruise date or whatever claim might be tried.) This MUST not continue, full stop. GC

Unfortunately, this behavior is also a "teaching moment"... for the apparently slightly older child next to them. At a later time: "Oh, Daddy lets us sit up there, so I'm going to get this chair so I can climb up..." [There is NOT an emoticon for my reaction to this!] GC

NO! Just no! Child endangerment. And *anyone* who questions that (such as the knucklehead in the photo) needs to get more information about that grandfather and granddaughter... including what happened to her (obvious, alas) and also to him after the fact. SHEESH. GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic. Here is a link to the TOC listing of topics on the forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com And here is a link to the section specific to Azamara: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/362-azamara/ If you post your question there, you'll get the eyes of those who are familiar with that cruise line and their policies. Also, note that in addition to any price differences due to exchange rates, there may also be differences in bookings in different countries due to different regulations, including refund policies and also perks. Those may be affecting pricing as well. GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic. Unless something has changed very recently, there is no Haven on the POA. I think all of NCL's newer ships have Havens, although some of the older ships with Havens do not have a Haven restaurant. And a few of the older ships do not have a Haven at all. However, they still have suites and the suites still have Butler service. Also, on a few of the ships, there are Haven suites and non-Haven suites. Both have Butler service; the difference is with access to the Haven area itself. (This isn't relevant to the POA, obviously.) There may be other differences that are specific to the POA, which is subject to different regulations than other NCL ships, but others can chime in about that. Enjoy your cruise! GC

Oddly, we had that happen just one time... one couple just didn't show up for the large catamaran charter. However, that was also the one time that we simply arranged to take a regular "catamaran tour" private, but with their regular itinerary, so the tour company collected the money up front. The problem then was that we kept waiting for them, so that delayed/shortened the time the rest of us had on the actual excursion. 😡 All of the other times, we were on the hook for the payment, but everyone showed up. It's worked out well thus far... GD

In our experience on several ships over the years, yes indeed, they are different, which is why they have different names. 😉 A porthole is a rather small round window, whether or not there is a "cover" for it. An OV/Ocean View is a real "window", albeit not a huge one like in a higher category cabin. I assume the exact sizes of the OV windows vary from ship to ship and line to line. On my first cruise, in the '70s, we had one "fancy room" with 2 portholes and two lower beds and two upper bunks, plus a tiny inside cabin with on set of steel bunkbeds and the smallest bathroom. But at least it was a *private* bathroom, so no complaints! I fell in love with cruising instantly (and I had the inside!). GC

This ^^ However, assuming similar requests and service, we tip approximately the same way we tip the Butler when we have a suite on a ship without a Haven, be it NCL or other cruiselines. What we request isn't much different because of the Haven location. (We don't sail on the larger ships, so there is no Haven restaurant, in case that might have made a difference.) GC

The dispute would not be with NCL, obviously. It's with the travel agent. It would also depend upon how much of the "exchange" is documented, such as in emails. That's why in ANY potentially, uh, "difficult" exchange, I try to keep it in email/writing. And if it's by phone or even in person, I'll follow up with some attempt to memorialize the discussion, comtemporaneously. For example, "I want to reconfirm our phone conversation <date/approx time> that the total price will be $X, and it will include A, B, and C. Could you please confirm that for us?" Or some variation of that. Then one has it in writing *or* may know very promptly that the may be a problem. How to handle it also depends upon precisely how it was paid... did the charge go directly to NCL or to the TA who then paid NCL. Potentially lots of moving parts. Depending upon the amount plus what ends up happening in terms of cruise or not, plus what cabin type/etc., there are also other resources to use. In some cases, it's not worth the effort or aggravation, unless it becomes a serious matter of principle (which in some cases can be very important). But it other cases, it's either more money (refund or such) or to get some official attention to some incompetent agent/agency (and I certainly don't restrict this to the travel or hospitality industry). And yes, OP could have avoided much of this by pulling the reservation from that TA sooner. But not everyone understands what might be happening, until there's more experience. That's why places like CruiseCritic can be SO helpful... in terms of advice about a "situation" and also from browsing and learning over time how things do/should work, or even the idea that one might be careful about "trusting" an agent to get it right, if something seems "off" - and what to do. It's hard to figure the "travel experience" of OP. They've been on CC for 10 years, but only posted 3 times. Let's hope that OP does end up with a nice cruise! GC

Indeed! I hope that you paid with a good credit card (preferably Amex, as they usually - not always - have really good protections for problem charges, and this sure seems like one!), so you can dispute the incorrect charge if NCL can't/won't fix the financial aspect of this. But yes, IF there is suitable cabin, grab it and pay - and DIRECTLY WITH NCL! Gotta love this part, especially: And no matter what the eventual end to this situation, I would certainly *NEVER* use this TA again. And perhaps post an appropriately negative review on their website or wherever appropriate. (Naming a TA is not allowed here on CC, unfortunately!) Good luck! GC

Thanks. I do believe that certain services continued; some simply are not optional! But ... how!? This next question is not facetious: Does someone put on a backpack and crawl down the hall with supplies in containers when the ship is *really* being tossed around? [Okay, yes, laugh! But maybe an answer between chuckles? 😉 ] DH and I were just discussing this, thinking back to that evening off the coast of Norway, and wondering... how could *anyone* get around other than crawling? GC

How in the world do they even deliver room service under those conditions? The worst seas we've been in to date (which thus far confirmed no sea sickness, although terror might someday apply...) was off the Norwegian coast, on Hurtigruten. Fortunately, this was before the unfortunate Viking Sky "mishap", or "terror" may have been apt for our situation. We were in the same area. The captain announced that starting in the evening, we would have "rough weather" or something like that. Well! It started, and "hey, this is interesting..." And suddenly, we were having trouble sitting upright; we had a suite, and were in the LR. We decided "in bed" would be safest, but it was almost too late. We couldn't even stay upright supported by a wall. So, down on all fours we each went, and still with some difficulty, crawled toward the safety of bed... and stayed there til morning. We had an aft suite. I've heard that forward cabins can get "rocky", but didn't think it tended to be worse aft (?). The foreward webcam showed a lot of impressive water action. We eventually did fall asleep, so I don't know how bad it got. And that reminded me of reading reports of older ships in the Antarctic, where there were nets on the sides of the beds, to catch someone being tossed out of bed...!? (Don't know if that is true, but... I guess it could be, especially with older ships?) >> So... how does the crew operate under those conditions, and much worse, I assume!? Some crew could get strapped in to their seats. The Captain comes to mind. It would be reassuring to know that she/he was going to stay at the helm! But what about other necessary activities. Our "storm" passed reasonably quickly, only a few hours, but not all do. Seriously, how does the crew keep up the critical duties during *really* bad conditions? GC

Could you possibly wait until you are all on board (especially if the actual anniversary date is later in the cruise), and then ask Guest Services to help you arrange it while you make sure that you are all at, say, an celebratory dinner? Then you could put it on your account, and it wouldn't show up for their eyes ever. Another thing I thought about in terms of having A pay to decorate B's cabin... what if it turned out that B did not want that? Perhaps A and B weren't quite such good friends after all? That's a reason NCL might not want to arrange something "secret" like that anyway. Just a thought... GC

Our Butler has sometimes been able to get dining reservations that we weren't able to get on our own. And when they couldn't, we might ask to have the same meal served to us in our suite. If it is a $$ restaurant, we still pay of course, but that's no problem and that wasn't the point anyway. The few things we've done pre-cruise are for Special Needs such as food allergies, or an extra Pack N Play for a grandchild, things that really needed advance planning. GC

Right. Otherwise, how do Customs and Immigrations even know that "those people who are walking off with what appears to be all their luggage" are indeed citizens there? That's part of what they check! If it's "your own country" that may make it a bit easier, and perhaps not a "hard no" like in some "other country". But why make it much easier that day by making a bit of contact about this in advance. Our goal in traveling (in life!!) is to avoid stress when possible. I'd hate to end a trip arguing with some poor port semi-official who may be clueless about this and is almost definitely going to be powerless until/unless they figure out whom to call, etc. It's just not worth the stress then, or even giving it much thought before that day. GC

Oh, THANK YOU for mentioning the smoking! As flexible as we are (I think backpacking is just about the only thing that is now a definite "no" 😉 - oh, and "shared bathrooms" down the hall maybe), if it's difficult to avoid smoking areas, that would be *OUT*, for a variety of reasons, one of which is our health, and not just in principle. I guess we have sort of started taking that for granted, and we should be more alert... Thanks again, for the reminder, very seriously! GC

That's very interesting. Does A&K own other ships? I know that Kensington, at least, often has groups on other ships (maybe full charters; not sure), but I'm not sure if they own any. I guess I assumed that A&K was the same. Are there other Crystal ships? Or "formerly Crystal" ships? What sized ships were the Crystal ships? We find the O-sized ships really a really great match for us, but part of that includes the actual deck plans and also "what's on board". DH likes to be able to "wander around" a bit. And that large Therapy Pool on Riviera's spa deck is something we really enjoy a lot. Funny how certain things make a difference. So although the Marina is otherwise pretty much the same, we'd choose the Riviera IF it were a tie. However, the itinerary is the main attraction. We've been delighted on one of Hurtigruten's older ships, too, which was one of our favorite trips ever. One important thing we've found that is very helpful are "expectations", and CC is really an incredible help with that! 🙂 GC

That's an interesting thought! They won't be starting out in 2023/24 way behind. Did a new company take them over or was it a re-organization with pretty much the same people in charge; that could make a difference, too... We were just beginning to think about trying Crystal when... that plus the pandemic. 😱 GC

We strongly agree with Klfrodo, about his description of some aspects of travel insurance plus his recommendation of TIS. We learned about TIS here on CC just 10 years ago, and thank goodness. It was for an expensive (for us, then!) trip. Steve and his associates were *so* patience with all of my "what if A?", "but what if B?", and then another call, "Would C be covered, too?" Anyway, less than 2 weeks before our planned departure, DH had a medical emergency, and the only travel we did for some weeks was to/from medical appointments. We got back every cent we had paid. Yes, we could have "afforded" the loss; after all, it was already paid for. However, IF we had lost that money, then... we probably would never have planned another "special" trip. As it was, during those drives to medical appts, we frequently mumbled, "At least we won't have to pay a SECOND time to take that trip!" And... we have enjoyed our travels so much that we now spend much more, and we've had the most amazing experiences. We've had several more claims, and all have been paid promptly. Once, when I landed in hospital overseas, we really wanted to try to recover the last part of our trip rather than just give up and come home. Steve helped us while we were trying to figure out some complicated changes to the transportation. But CALL them. Do NOT rely upon the little policy summaries. Those are okay for an overview, but they cannot capture all of the fine print, which is especially important for insurance. (Most of the complaints here about travel insurance denials is because the claim was for something that was never included in the coverage to begin with. Try to avoid that risk. Do you have pre-existing conditions? They are defined differently in most travel insurance than regular insurance. Any family members not traveling with you who have medical issues and you might need to return? Etc.) And one extra advantage of getting primary travel insurance is that one doesn't need to wait for the other "primary" coverage to make a determination. With Medicare, it's almost always denied if out of country. But you'd still need to wait for that denial, and many report that is... slow. And with pre-existing conditions not excluded, if you make a claim based upon a medical reason, the claim is usually faster, as the insurer doesn't need to request medical records to "make sure" that the problem wasn't something pre-existing. Enjoy! GC

Don't just ask for "snacks".... ask for the snacks that *you* want! 🙂 One thing about NCL Butler service... those snacks are really what you ask for (or omit what you don't like). We give the Butler a brief typed letter, in part about food allergies, but also a bit about what snacks we especially enjoy or those that... "please don't bother bringing..." When in an OS, we asked that they keep the fridge well stocked with certain beverages (not alcoholic), and in fact, leave a few extras on the counter so we could replace them and give them time to cool off. Don't forget to have meals served in your suite if you'd enjoy that. It's extra nice for us, anyway, to wake up to the smell of coffee and bacon... Yum. Don't restrict yourselves to the little room service breakfast menu. If it's reasonable and they have it, you'll get it. It helps to put the order out the night before so they can schedule things better. Enjoy! GC

What does it even mean being asked for preferences for table companions? "Someone who enjoys bringing onboard really fine red wine and likes to share"? 😄 Seriously, what would someone even say? "People who know how to use their forks, knives, and spoons"!? ?? GC

Can you see icebergs, majestic icebergs? If so, any chance of a photo!? ENJOY... that's a trip we'd love to take! (Alas, we may have missed our window for that particular trip, but we got in almost everything on our big list. 🙂 ) GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! First thing, besides any permissions, keep in mind that if weather is bad, that could interfere with the ship schedule. It's been known to happen... Is that a tender port or is there a dock there? If tendering, that makes getting your luggage off a problem. If the schedule stays the same, doesn't the ship stay there overnight? In that case, the early departure shouldn't be a problem by itself. Now, IF you hear things like it is illegal to transport passengers between two different USA ports, that is NOT relevant here. POA is American registered and is NOT covered by the law concerning that (for cargo or for passengers). However, when we contacted NCL about this, about 10 years ago (for a "different" off the ship situation) they - the NCL execs - INSISTED it was illegal, even when we escalated it. Our TA finally looked into it and tried to explain to NCL, but they kept insisting it was illegal, full stop. It would have been more honest for them to state that *they* were not going to allow it, rather than misinterpret or misrepresent the statutes. We decided to drop it, because of the possibility that the ship might need to skip a port, although in our case, it wouldn't have been as big a problem as missing a flight. GC

"Placemats" is an apt word. If they weren't so "flimsy", it probably wouldn't be such a problem. I still would dislike having them there, but at least they'd be less dangerous. GC

Thanks for the idea about speaking with a supervisor if we want some service done differently, and especially if it might appear that the steward was being inattentive or such. And I hadn't thought about asking to keep the bedding untucked. Problem is... we need that on only one side. But once we settle on "which side", we'll let the steward know. I suppose they are accustomed to learning about the various quirks of the passengers... 😉 One that is an ongoing struggle for me is *not* to put out the little mat next to the side of the bed in the evening. We always travel with slippers, and I immediately slip them on my feet to keep them from touching the floor anyway. But worse, I *always* seem to end up tangling that little mat up... and then tripping over it. 😡 GC