tarheelmjfan

And leaving the desk in tears, over a drink package.....?

 

I can totally understand how some people would get that upset over this situation. For many people, vacation is a luxury they save years for. When they have the budget set, they expect the things they've already paid for to not cost them more. Faced with this situations the OP could have paid for drinks all day & take a chance he wouldn't be credited for them. That may not have been in their budget. To guarantee this didn't occur they could have drunk only free drinks on the first day. That would mean they couldn't take full advantage of what they paid for. A lot of people would be very upset over that happening on their much anticipated vacation. Some cry, some don't. That doesn't make one superior to the other.

This is not directed specifically at cle-guy.....

Some people take multiple vacations a year & have a high budget for each of them. It appears that many of them can't relate to those who don't. It's easy to ignore mishaps, if you're going to be going on another vacation in a few months then another a few months after that. IMHO, some people need to learn to relate or keep their thoughts to themselves. Maybe, they don't realize how bad some of their posts make them appear. Surely, no one is as rude in real life as some people are here. Unfortunately, every board on here has a handful of these posters who can really ruin the experience for everyone. It gets old, when it's the same people repeatedly.

There was a link farther up the thread to Cruise Law News.

 

The article is worth a read. A quote:

 

Posted April 12th

 

This week Sheehan pulled his cruise ships out of Roatan after one of his crew members was murdered last Sunday, but the move is just temporary. His ships will again start calling on Roatan tomorrow.

Yes, I believe people on the roll call this coming week have confirmed with NCL that they will be stopping in Roatan.

Thanks for the clarification. That's what I thought, but wasn't sure. Now, I'm back to admitting to DH I spoke too quickly. Naturally, this will be a shock to him, because I'm never wrong. :p

The quote you quoted was from Little French Key, a family run "resort" on an island near Roatan which we visited out last trip to Roatan, not NCL if that is what you thought.

Thanks for clearing that up. Obviously, I didn't pay enough attention to what I was reading. I'll go back & reread it. :o Hopefully, NCL won't be too quick to return Roatan, until they get a better handle on the crime.

LFK did post the following on their page:

 

"There will be a simple vigil held for Jacob Gaban at the site of the incident where he lost his life this Sunday at 2:00 pm to honor his soul and the way he departed, please join....our deepest condolences to his family from Roatan Residents."

 

 

They also stated the following:

 

"This incident was very tragic and very unusual, it happened on an unusual day, A Sunday, when Cruise ship was in Roatan, Cruise ships usually don't dock in Roatan on a Sunday. This Sunday was the first Sunday and also the last that a newly installed chief of police had on Roatan <he has since been replaced> his first Sunday with minimum security installed near the cruise ship port terminal because he thought there would not be much activity there. Powers at be have taken this extremely seriously and to heart, they offered an immediate reward, beefed up security and have captured the suspect and are making every effort to eliminate any chances of this happening ever again...as it has been stated this can happen anywhere in the world...we hope, pray and prepare the best way possible that it will not happen again.....our deepest condelences and prayers to Jacob's family, may G-d bless his soul"

 

While maybe this explains what "might" have happened as far as the security in Roatan around the cruise ship port area on that day, I can only post what they said (and it could offer some insight to that tragic day) and thought I would share.

Oh well, so much for bragging to my DH about the CEO of NCL standing behind his passengers & crew. Just last night, I told him you had to respect the CEO & we need to support NCL more. Guess that was wasted breath. Now I'm going to have to back petal & tell DH I may have been too hasty in my praise. This decision wouldn't make or break our decision to choose NCL or not, but it definitely doesn't give them the edge anymore. At the very least, they could have waited until the fall cruises to assure they had stepped up security & reduced crime instead of taking someone's self-serving word for it.

As long as they still have the waffles I know your go to go :D

 

 

CC

Love this post. :D DH & I are researching cruises, so I came back to the X board to see what's going on. I was starting to get depressed about it no longer being the cruise line we once knew. It's been about 5 yrs., since we've sailed one of their ships. I just told DH they still have the fresh made waffles, so we're good. :p As long as the food is still better than other lines we've sailed, we'll be happy. Other cuts won't bother us. We'll find something to do. On a side note, I am sad to see they eliminated high tea. We always thought it was money well spent.

http://www.norwegian.com/long_us/

 

Norwegian air costs from 200 to 300 dollar for one way from many cities in US, JFK, FLL, LAX, MCO, OAK and directly to London, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki, and from there you can get wherever you want in Europe.

 

You will be able to get from US to around 70 cities for less than 500 dollar one way.

Thanks for the link. I see they fly out of Ft. Lauderdale, which is 10 minutes from where we live now. The fares look amazing. This is great info to know.

We like having a balcony & are happy with just that. We're willing to pay a little more for higher balcony categories to get a bigger balcony though. Out of your choices I'd choose the JS, because an inside is out for me. (It's a darkness thing. :o) If the inside was more in my budget, I'd seriously consider the OV & would probably go for it.

I look at it this way.

 

I am on Vacation - every day I am on vacation is worth my time - say $500 a day for round numbers. Getting to a port cost a certain amount too. If I add on the cost of minimal cabin rate, I have a cost of x per day. For a few more dollars a day I can have - B & L at Cagney's (or the equivalent). Some priority when it comes to moving around (No Lines). Custom care - really what a butler brings - no explaining what you need, they know you. A little more room.

 

Hard to put a value on any of that but the meals. I figure about $20 per person, per meal for the value of Cagney's. 7*2*20= $280. The other amenities, maybe worth $300??

 

Plus you usually get a $300 OBC, so that may offset it a little.

 

So the $500 to $1000 more for a week is in the justifiable category, then it is just a mater of taste. I am glad that it takes all kinds, different strokes and all that.:)

 

If I lived in a port city, it would probably be different and I would be trying to maximize my cruise days, but having to wait a year or three between - go for the gusto!

If everyone made $500 a day, booking a suite wouldn't be a problem. :p

I now have a few ideas of what to order or ask for. I'm thinking either the table-side steak or the pork tenderloin.

 

Like I said above, I've always been picky (though I am expanding my tastes). I know that it is my issue and not others. Believe me, I've sat through many meals eating nothing but bread to not affect others.

I applaud you for trying new things. Sorry about the negative replies. Many of the message boards (not just here) are full of picky eaters & parents of picky kids that have no interest in even trying anything new. They want every menu changed to fit their needs or expect people to bend over backwards for them everywhere they go. I'm guessing many of the posts here were more about those people than you. IMO, anyone willing to try new things should be supported. It's the ones that aren't that annoy people & it carries over to the others.

I can't help but see the irony in all the people who aren't affected by this in any way having such strong opinions about how those who are should feel & what they should do. We have no plans to park at POM anytime soon, but I appreciate the info. If I knew for a fact, I would never be parking there, I wouldn't have an opinion on the topic of this thread at all. People only care about things that affect them. This thread just reinforces that. It's easy to defend a practice that doesn't affect you. It sure does make you look silly & uncaring though.

OP, along with the suite comes higher tips. Your dad would also need to add the gratuity for the concierge & butler to that $1000, unless he already has. IMO, unless you are certain your parents have more than enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement, I wouldn't try to convince them to spend money that they didn't feel comfortable with originally. Your dad may be thinking about the future, or he may just simply not see that much value in a suite. You never know, he may decide to change his cabin on his own. Have fun with your family, regardless of your sleeping arrangements. :)

As for the value we see in a suite, DH & I have been looking at cruises & discussing this. Our requirements for a good cruise are a balcony & great food. We enjoy breakfast & lunch on our balcony, then dine in specialty restaurants at night. We wouldn't dine in Cagney's for breakfast or lunch. My back has prevented me from taking a bath in many years. A regular balcony cabin is big enough for us, as long as we have a decent size balcony. We're perfectly fine making our own dinner reservations & would never ask to be escorted to a show or anywhere else. My skin is very fair. If we lay out by the pool at all, it's usually once for 30 to 45 minutes. I just don't like laying in the sun. Haven wouldn't add anything to my cruise. All that said, if we choose an NCL cruise, we'll feel forced to book a suite. The RS menu is so limited, we feel we would need to have access to a better menu to dine on our balcony. We would prefer staying in a balcony cabin & having the option to pay extra for a better RS menu (such as the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast or Dinner on Princess), but that doesn't seem to be an option with NCL. So, if food wasn't a priority, I wouldn't see the value in a suite. If we do choose an NCL cruise, we'll probably book one anyway. :rolleyes: I suppose we could add priority embarkation as a positive to make us feel better about paying for the suite solely to indulge our need for good food our way. :p

I agree with what funredhead said.

 

It depends really on your wife....does she like jewelry? If she doesn't really wear jewelry I wouldn't waste money on that...does she like designer clothing/accessories? If not don't waste the money there....I'd want something more meaningful than a purse or jewelry, but that's just me..you know your wife better than any of us so only you would know what she likes :)

I agree. I can buy that stuff, if I want it. The fact that DH pays at the time doesn't make a difference to me. I prefer gifts that he has obviously put thought into. An exception would be a piece of jewelry, etc. that she had always wanted, but wouldn't spend the money on herself. The fact that she isn't with him makes it truly from him as opposed to him just paying for something she chose in a store.

The cruise idea is a good one. It would be even more meaningful, if he actually booked a cruise rather than giving her the equivalent of an IOU. :p The idea to surprise her with special experiences you've booked & paid for that they can share, while you're away, is a great one. How about surprising her with a fun, weekend getaway to a nearby attraction? You could plan it for the middle of your trip, so it won't feel like you've been gone as long? If you plan surprises for them at home, a couple small souvenirs will be enough. Just don't go home with nothing. :eek:

Anyway, in Europe where the op is cruising, you can't purchase diet coke. Their version of sugar free coke is called coke light and although there are some it is the same thing, it has a vile taste as compared to diet coke (or coke zero). Domestically, I buy a 12 pack of coke zero cherry or coke zero vanilla and pack it in my luggage. Of course as noted, there is always the possibility of one of the cans leaking but when I'm doing a European cruise, it's rarely to the plane and then to the ship as I always leave at least one day if not more for safety reasons and trudging along that extra weight is a pain.

 

I just wish cruise lines would pay attention to surveys that show while most people don't really care pepsi or coke, those that do prefer coke by a wide wide margin. To me those carriers (cruise lines et al) that carry pepsi products are showing contempt to the desires of many of their passengers and I think it was a brutally stupid decision on the part of ncl to go with pepsi instead of coke.

Totally OT, but the studies I've seen show Coke is more popular by a very slim margin. I've never seen any surveys that say Coke is preferred by a wide margin, but I may have missed some. If Coke products were that much more popular, they would eventually put Pepsi out of business. I don't see that happening.

This will be my first time on NCL. My wife won't be happy. I convinced her to try another cruiseline besides RCI. She drinks coke. Won't be happy that the store on board does not sell it. Since we will be cruising in Europe don't know where we could buy to bring onboard.

I have a serious Diet Pepsi addiction. We would pay the luggage fee to take some with me, if it wasn't available at the port. As long as it's packaged well & sealed in plastic to prevent leaking, you should be fine. I don't know about your wife, but a $50 luggage fee is worth having my Diet Pepsi on ships that only offer Coke products.

Oh, so bummed about no Diet Coke. I don't drink it every day, but when I want one, I want one. And Diet Pepsi is just nasty.

 

And the fact that bottled water and specialty coffees are not included in the beverage package. On celebrity, I totally get my money's worth from the beverage package on lattes and San Pellegrino, as well as bottled water to take on shore excursions. Gonna miss that!

 

Considering bringing some Starbucks Via with me and buying some Diet Coke in port.

 

The first cruise line to put a name brand coffee chain on board and make it available in more than one location is going to make a killing.

Too funny. lol As I said above, I'm a Diet Pepsi fan. To me, Diet Coke tastes like flat DP that's been sitting out opened overnight. I guess the cruise lines can't win. This is the one thing I liked most about NCL. It was the only cruise line we've sailed that I didn't have to carry on my own drinks.

Gerry' date=' you deserve high praise for this upstanding response! A little humility goes a long way in this world and unfortunately it is typically a lost art in cyberworld. Kudos to you and have a great vacation![/quote']

 

I agree. OTOH, all the people who keep piling on after that reply are the ones that appear to have the bad attitude. Posting on these boards is a dangerous sport & it's a shame. This would be a much nicer place, if people didn't feel the need to be so harsh. OP, I hope you have a great cruise. You've been admirable in dealing with the nastiness & condescension on this thread.

Not in October 2014 nor January, February 2015. Originally, NCL had the Pearl doing 9 ten day cruises and 8 eleven day cruises. They canceled 6 of the 10 dayers and 4 of the 8 dayers.

 

Like others have mentioned, it is not the fact that NCL canceled for charters, but rather that NCL moved the known charter ship, the Pearl to the longer 10/11 day cruises that is causing the frustration. Currently, the Sun is doing these routes.

 

I personally think NCL intentionally moved the "charter ship" to these routes knowing they would cancel them. The Southern itinerary obviously costs more in fuel to operate than the shorter Western routes - of which they have too many IMO. Good business move? For their check book - yes. However, people like me do not want to take another 'same old Western' cruise and I also have no desire to sail on one of the new ships with all the gizmos. Notice next year that the Getaway is on the only ship doing the 7 day Eastern - excluding those leaving from New York which is not a desirable cruise for me IMO. Therefore, if one wasn't willing or able to switch to the March cruises and still desired to travel on a longer route, NCL left them with only the choice to select a different cruise line to fulfill their vacation.

 

I do appreciate that in this case that NCL did price protect our January cruise, but unless I can get the new dates off from work I will have no choice but to cancel. The January cruise was perfect and the February sailing would have worked too but that late in March, not so much. Right now I am double booked and will decide in the next couple of weeks which one I will take.

We've never sailed on Carnival, but 14 days vs. 11 seems like an easy decision to me. :D

I'd be curious to know how many cruises each cruise line has cancelled for charters in recent years. We aren't diehard loyalists to any cruise line, so I read a few of the boards. It seems to me that NCL cancels more than the rest. This is just my perception, but it makes me think twice about booking another cruise with them. I could be wrong, because I don't document every cancellation. It's not that big of a deal to me. I would love to see some actual data though.

I think you need to decide, if you're okay rewearing clothes. If you are, you can do it. My family doesn't rewear anything, so we would either be spending the money on luggage or laundry.

Ifs, ands or buts. Only a minority of cruisers will even bother to bring their own sodas onboard - those that drink more than three sodas a day are better off and usually will purchase the soda package because it's much more convinient (I for example try to keep my soda drinking at minimum so the soda package isn't a good deal for me but we also spend a lot of time in our cabin reading etc so I prefer having soda cans there for the convinience). Of those that do bring their own sodas, only few will bother to go back to the cabin every time they'd like to get one. Also there are a lot of people that are just fine without sodas all together so most people bringing sodas show to NCL like them - they would be just as much to blame here. ;)

Sadly, I'm one of those people who needs 2 Diet Pepsis to get moving in the morning, so I do carry them on to have in the cabin. Unless things have changed recently, this isn't absolutely necessary on NCL, because they carry Pepsi products. (At least they did, when I sailed with them to Alaska.) On other cruise lines the ability to carry them on is more important. I would be very unhappy, if they no longer allowed me to bring my own. (Diet Coke just doesn't do it for me.) However, having them in the cabin on all cruise lines keeps DH from doing early morning runs looking for Diet Pepsis, if he wants to get me out of the cabin before dinner time. :p We drink other things at our meals, so I've never even considered carry a can to the dining room.

Considering the number of passengers who would bring their carried on beverages in public spaces, you're right to say it may not be an issue now. To keep the numbers down people probably shouldn't recommend doing it on message boards though, especially boards monitored by the cruise lines.;) Princess cruisers refused to accept they may put a stop to carrying in your own wine, until they made a major change to their carry-on wine policy. My point is it's probably best to keep things that could be seen as exploiting loopholes to yourself, so everyone doesn't have to deal with stricter policies.

ETA: Those who don't normally drink soda wouldn't have been buying it either way. Those who carry it on probably would be. They're two different situations & one doesn't have the potential to negatively affect policies like the other does.

You are allowed to carry on soda & people will take it wherever they want. If enough people take the sodas & water they carried on the ship into public areas, no one should be surprised to show up at a port to find they no longer allow you to carry on non-alcoholic beverages. Ask the Princess cruisers that frequently posted about pouring their own wine in the cabin & carrying it into restaurants, shows, etc. how that worked out for them. The cruise lines are in the business of making money & will change policies to facilitate it, if they feel they're losing money due to generous policies. I don't really care what people do, but those who post they bring their carried on drinks into public areas rather than purchase a drink from the cruise line, should consider that doing so may eventually lead to a change in policy that affects everyone. JMO

We'll be in that area this month for our DS's 22nd birthday. This will be on a Fri., Sat., & Sun. I'm looking for things to do, especially in the evening. He doesn't want to go to any bars. Any evening entertainment that doesn't revolve around alcohol? Any other late afternoon activities he would enjoy are welcome also. (We're not morning people, so anything that requires we get out early is out. :o) We know how far apart the cities are & are willing to go anywhere in the area. Thanks in advance.

Note that Universal Studios Islands of Adventure is a separate theme park from Universal Studios Florida. Make sure you choose the correct one if you decide to go.

 

Universal park names can be confusing. The entire complex is Universal Orlando. The parks are Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure.

I haven't been on this excursion, but got to WDW & UO often. TBH, I wouldn't book a tour like this, but I have other options for seeing the parks. If you've never been to WDW, this may be a good chance to do so. Going in the off season would help. In 7 hrs., you could see most of Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. If Magic Kingdom is a must, I wouldn't plan to see everything. You also wouldn't see everything at Epcot in that amount of time. Park hopping would mean you will see little in any of the parks. I would only do that, if you'd be happy riding a couple rides in each of two Disney parks. You also mentioned Universal. I don't really understand which parks you are considering visiting? You can see a lot of Universal Orlando or Islands of Adventure in the allotted time. If you're only interested in the headliners, purchasing an Express Pass for everyone in your party will be your best shot at seeing both parks in one day. Naturally, you'd have to move quickly, eat on the run & skip the minor attractions. Combining a visit to any Disney park with a visit to a Universal park in the same day shouldn't even be considered.

Sorry I didn't look up your itinerary, but it depends on the ports for DH & I. It's common for us to book 1, sometimes 2, excursions on a Caribbean cruise. I enjoy history & culture. If I find a good excursion highlighting those, we book it. We're not that into water related excursions, because we live near the Gulf & have a vacation home on the Atlantic in N Miami. We're also not nature enthusiasts. For ports that are mostly about the water or nature in general, we take our time getting off the ship, then walk around socializing with locals. We've made some great memories doing this. Any port that doesn't have a safe town near the dock really requires an excursion, unless you're okay with only being off the ship for an hour or so & browsing the dock area. We've done that too, but we're very laidback tourist. :p Enjoy your cruise!

ETA: I see RIvacationgirl listed your ports. We haven't done that itinerary yet, but it's on our short list. Her advice sounds good. That's similar to what DH & I would do, if our DS wasn't with us. He likes more excitement.

I'm sure others will post better and more detailed replies, but I'll start off the converstaion. We did the tea on Princess one time and enjoyed it. It is only served on sea days in one of the diningrooms. It is usually at 4 p.m., I believe. You are waited on, not self-service. You do not have to dress up in formal attire, but resort casual would be appropriate. As I recall, we had scones with clotted cream and jam, mini tea sandwiches, and a selection of teas. If you prefer coffee, you can bring that into the dining room with you. Hope this helps. Better replies to follow. :)

I read about the selection of teas, before our trip as well. What do you need to do to choose your tea flavor? We were only offered a very weak tea they seemed to be pouring for everyone. By adding cream & Equal, I made it pretty good. It would have been nice to have been given a choice of teas though. I would have preferred something stronger. I'd love to know how to get something different, if we cruise with Princess again. As it was, the scones were the only thing we would return for. They were great! Everything else appeared to be offered in the buffet at some point in the cruise.