Coastalbreezes

Crew members do get tips you've added to your onboard account. You go to guest services, provide the name and position of the crew member, the amount of tip and you'll get a confirmation slip which in turn you give to the crew member (I usually write a thank you note to accompany this). The first time I put a tip on my account for my butler, he told me they get the money on payday which, for him, was at the end of the month.

Aqua will be the first ship to have this restaurant. https://www.nclhltd.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/592/norwegian-cruise-line-unveils-all-new-culinary-experiences

Since the beginning of the CASNext program, I have received seven of them and I'll confirm that you do have to book and sail within 12 months.

Every cruise these days has the Winner Take All tournament qualifier. Usually held on sea days, you pay $30 to enter. Each round has a "winner" and you can replay as often as you like. There's a bank of machines and after a countdown, everyone plays for two minutes to get the highest score. You may win a round but someone could end up with a score higher than yours. On the last sea day are the finals. The top 10 from all rounds play to compete for 1) $500 and 2) a seat at the Winner Take All Tournament which, this year will be on Jade October 27. You only get a seat for this not a cabin which you have to pay for or have a comp. https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/casino-cruise/special-events

Thanks very much!

Question for any Ruby players who have sailed since April 1st: I read on the "other site" that the beverage package is not indicated on your key card and that you have to go to Guest Services where they look up your reservation, supposedly see that you are Ruby and reprint your keycard that shows the beverage package. Is this true? It seems ridiculous and a waste of time.

I was on a B2B in March of this year. Ship was filled to capacity with lots and lots of spring breakers and young kids. The biggest issue for me wasn't the kids but the many drunk and obnoxious PARENTS.

Are you really willing to risk not being able to sail if your flight is late or delayed or there is traffic getting to the port? If it were me, I'd change the flight.

The free bottles of wine with FAS Plus often vary ship to ship and cruise to cruise depending on supply. I was recently on a B2B and week one X Wine was available, then on the second week, X wine was no longer available and a new wine was on the list.

On Escape, Encore etc the smoking area is all the way forward and separated by a glass partition. On Prima, non-smoking loungers were literally adjacent to the four chairs in smoking with no partition. That was the case when I sailed Prima.

On Prima, the "smoking area" was four chairs around a central ashtray. It may be different now ( I sailed in late 2022). This tiny area was adjacent to a non-smoking area which made zero sense.

When I went to PC for a back to back in November, there was no option to pay for the two weeks, only one. I had to wait for one of the attendants to come over and manually input the second week.

According to the website, ETIAS has been delayed until mid-2025. https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/faqs-etias_en

Gem as of 1/2/24 Captain: Roger Berglund Chief Engineer Marin Soic General Manager: Joao Gigante F & B Director: Vikramraj Parthasarthy Guest Services Manager: Gina Yunzal Exec Housekeeper: Cesar Hapa Exec Chef: Kalyan Sharma Cruise Director: Isha Nirban Concierge: Nashira Forbes

Roland Dalena on the Pearl 12/29

Unfortunately that doesn't ever happen at Port Canaveral.

Port Canaveral makes you get off the ship. I have done several B2Bs in the last year from this port and the first few times were nightmares: We met in the theater, hung around until there was zero count (nearly an hour), then were brought as a group off the ship, through the terminal and downstairs to facial recognition where they made us wait again until the guest services team member was told he could bring us back up to board (about 40 minutes of just standing there). Because there was a huge lack of communication between the port personnel and NCL, by the time we got back upstairs general boarding had already begun and we were in a very, very long line to board. We were not happy and very frustrated! After boarding, I met up with the GM and he asked how the B2B process went and I was honest about how ridiculously long it took. A few weeks ago, I did another B2B from PC and the process was nearly perfect. We were taken off the ship fairly quickly by a guest services rep, were met and escorted by the assistant GM and although we still had to go through the terminal and downstairs again, he made sure we were scanned and back on the ship before regular boarding began. If not for his presence we might have had a long wait again.

The weather forecast for Miami Saturday calls for low 70s temperatures and rain. Of course being Florida, that can change. The Observation Lounge on deck 15 might be a nice place to settle for sail away although it could get busy. If it's raining, the sail away party will likely happen in the Atrium and many people will go there for the festivities.

If you are already Gold, I think you know the answer. The only way to earn Latitude points is to take a cruise.

Midori was available (after a several month absence) on Escape last week.

Any chance you know who the concierge is on Pearl?

The Supper Club is a nice and free alternative to the other restaurants on board. The venue itself is beautiful. When I was last on there were ABBA, Motown and Divas shows and I enjoyed them all. The ABBA show is no longer performed but there are at least three different acts per week. Dinner was a salad, chicken parm w/ pasta and carrot cake, all pretty good. You can also book and just watch the show without dinner.

Jack Gow is on vacation and will return for Escape's first Port Canaveral cruise on November 18th.

Jack is on vacation and will return for Escape's first sailing from Port Canaveral November 18th. Jeff was his assistant CD and is also very good with lots of energy.

None on Escape a few weeks ago.