Bonobochick

The only vending machine I have seen in the Studio Lounge is for wine.

Same. I recall only a wine vending machine in the studio lounge on Breakaway.

You are implying that the folks that take jobs as room stewards are some how "lesser" or more "desperate" than Americans. I don't believe that it true. My family members know alot of room stewards. Good, proud people who may not have been born into a country with American privilege, but are clearly INTELLIGENT enough to take advantage of an opportunity to earn relatively high wages compared to their native country by working on a cruise ship. They are not dumb and deluded and forced into servitude by "evil NCL". Just because English is not someone's first language and they do physical work doesn't mean they are pitiful and need charity.

 

As I pointed out earlier, some of these folks could be accountants in their own country and make less than half of what they do on the ships. Their decision to work on a ship shows they are smart and ambitious and know how to capitalize on an opportunity.

 

Some people on this forum perhaps don't realize that your assumptions about room stewards and their dependence on your "tip" charity is quite condescending and reflects a bias about non-Americans in service jobs.

 

Again, tip lots and lots for good service. To anyone in service jobs, anywhere. But please stop acting as if cash tipping room stewards is missionary work.

This is a great post that mirrors my own reaction to these gratuity threads and how it can veer into a weird territory where some espouse that the crew are basically serfs that we passengers have to care for like lords & ladies of the land or they won't survive. Thank you for your perfect comment about this discussion. :)

thanks! did you happen to catch names of Hotel Director and concierge?

Sonja something was the Hotel Director. I remember she was from Austria.

Don't know about the concierge. I just know the cruise director, Alvin, had very uninspired ideas for activities.

I just got back from the Aug 27th Gem cruise and I was underwhelmed by the CD, Alvin. He seemed friendly enough on the cabin TV but I never saw him on the not-really-crowded ship and the activities he set up were meh. Usually I don't pay attention to the cruise director situation cause I'm hit or miss in joining in with official events but this cruise where I felt the activities were lacking as a whole.

If this was already posted and I missed it, I apologize.

The line's private island in the Bahamas will be unavailable from Aug. 25 to Oct. 20, spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello said.

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Great-Stirrup-Cay-close-two-months

It might mean more profit, even with lower onboard revenue and lower growth, but we'll see. I suspect that NCL will have to return to deep discounting like RCL has done (their prices on their Pacific Coastal cruises are very low right now as they try to fill their ships).

 

I suspect after August NCL will start lowering prices. They will have the unofficial results of most of the 3rd quarter and will know if investors will be calling for their heads if they don't improve bookings.

I'm looking at taking a November or December cruise so I'm hoping your suspicions are correct that NCL will lower prices.

 

The rooms are super tiny too. The balcony room I had was the tiniest of all the other cruise lines I had ever been on. I actually laughed when I saw the closet, because it was exactly one foot away from the bed. You would think they would position the beds differently, so that this would not be the case.

 

They do have some cabins where the couch is next to the closet instead of a bed. The cabin with the couch by the closet and bed(s) by the balcony was preferable, IMO. I remember when my friend and I had the twin beds in a balcony cabin that she had the one closest to the closet & it was annoying how little space there was between her bed and the closet.

I finally got a working link from NCL for a post cruise survey from a bBreakaway cruise I did last month and it asks about cruise critic in the survey. I found that interesting.

Please keep in mind that I *have not been* on the BA. I am also aware that one has to take bad reviews with a grain of salt. That said, the TREND of bad reviews regarding the BA has put me off planning a trip on that ship. It's noticeable. Grouchy pax, screaming kids in Haven, poor service (maybe in a vicious cycle with grouchy pax) etc.

 

Before anyone jumps on me, no, I have not been on the ship. Simply stating that I've picked up a bad vibe about this particular ship. I love the GA and will probably try the Escape at some point, but BA makes me nervous.

 

Edit: on a whim I checked the CC scores. GA has a 68% "approval" rating, while the BA has 61%.

I've been on the Getaway once and while it's basically the same as the Breakaway, two things made it better for me even just the solo trip on it.

1) it never felt as crowded as Breakaway and I'm wondering if it's due to the saturation of ships sailing from Miami (and nearby Fort Lauderdale) to the Caribbean, and thus not as many people onboard. Every Breakaway cruise I've been on has been a sold out ship. My Getaway cruise was not.

2) the Flamingo Grill on Getaway has really yummy Cuban food that I took advantage of for lunch almost every day, and that was a big positive for me. Breakaway Uptown Grill was more burgers and hot dogs.

I have a two week cruise planned on the Breakaway' date=' now I'm concerned.

Not reading rave reviews, food, service is ok, lay-out of the pool area.

Now I'm wondering if I should cancel and book a different cruise line.[/quote']

 

I've been on the Breakaway 4 times. 2 good experiences, 1 decent, 1 awful. I was on it a few weeks ago. I think the trick is timing things so it doesn't feel overcrowded/overwhelming and it ended up being one of my 2 good experiences. I tended to go to things later and had no issues with waiting or crowding (e.g. Dinner at 8:45-9p).

 

I thought the food was better this time around than last year. It wasn't haute cuisine but it was fine (still not sure why they don't offer the Spring Salad anymore and only have Caesar Salad as the appetizer). I only ate in Manhattan once and stuck to Savor/Taste for dining aside from the occasional meal at O'Sheehans or the buffet (mostly for breakfast while in Bermuda since it was faster). Shanghai's can be problematic. When I tried to eat there last year soon after it was made complimentary, reservations were ridiculous (like 45-90 minutes) but it has calmed down some what though there still seems to be a wait. Also, my June cruise for sea days had international lunch buffets in Moderno, which was something different and not at all crowded (we had an Indian, a Mediterranean, and a Bavarian themed buffet on the three sea days).

 

I don't do the pool area. It's not worth it, IMO, to try to lay out by the tiny pools or even get in them. That's the one thing that doesn't get better just with how the area is poorly designed. Try the sun deck instead. I skipped the main shows of Rock of Ages and Burn The Floor (saw both already the first time I was on the Breakaway) and instead flipped between Howl At The Moon and Fat Cats. They weren't as crowded, esp Fat Cats, and the night could be spent just enjoying the entertainment.

 

It took me a few trips to find the groove that worked for me on Breakaway (I personally love the Gem as my fave NCL ship) so that I could enjoy it & not feel like a sardine in a tin. Hopefully, you can find it sooner on your trip. :)

There has never been a sign on the water dispensers asking you not to fill your water bottles at them on any of my NCL cruises. Can't remember if there is a sign that says to use glasses to fill them. I've been lucky, I've only seen folks use glasses to fill them. I have, however, gotten a few snide remarks from people to just put it under the spout, you are hold me up by using glasses.

I've seen both sign types on buffet dispensers and I've seen them ignored by people filling up their bottles directly. I have been on Star, Getaway, Breakaway, and Gem.

I was on this same cruise and am wondering if you were able to complete the post-cruise survey? I got two links for it and neither worked.

This portion from the article

He said that passengers buying two- and three-day public passes could easily end up delayed by the limited number of buses running from Dockyard at half-hour intervals.

 

“They may also then have to wait long periods for a bus, and then negotiate on foot the steep hill to and from Horseshoe Bay Beach. Taxis and minibuses deliver right down to the beach.”

is deeply stupid. As if the majority of passengers weren't already aware of the option of taxis and minibuses if they didn't want to wait or "be delayed" going anywhere. Obvious money grab is obvious.

Glad to hear the Gem is delivering.

 

Do you recall who the Hotel Director was?

Thanks

 

Rhea

Vuk Malobabic

The pictures in this thread are fabulous. :)

Speaking of NCL and money, I just stumbled across this story: Passengers on the EDM Cruise Where a Woman Died Are Mad About Refunds http://themuse.jezebel.com/passengers-on-the-edm-cruise-where-a-woman-died-are-mad-1743240522

It looks nice though I'm a little bummed at the lost of the purple gems ceiling. :(

I've done several 9 day cruises with the last one in Nov 2014 and it was still $300. When did it go up to $450? Is there a link to that change?

Thanks, vince_g. *sigh* on that news though.

So no pics floating around re: the Gem? :(

KeithJenner posted it on his instagram about the 18% gratuity on the MDR additional charge items.

Though this isn't about the dry dock itself (I'm looking forward to pics of the renovations) and I don't watch that much TV while onboard, I do hope they've updated their stateroom programming recently. :)

They seem to do well with showing newer movies along with older flicks on their free movies channel but that TV Favorites channel is painfully tired. I swear when I was on the Breakaway in June 2015, they were airing the same TV eps that they did from from my Gem 2014 cruise. :(

So an 18% service charge for upcharge food (non-specialty) served in a complimentary venue by staff already covered by the DSC has been confirmed apparently.

Thanks for finding this out. :cool: I know the original thread went off-track for a while with "if it doesn't matter to me, why should it matter to you?" so I appreciate that you were able to keep on-topic and confirm about the a la carte in the MDR.

I spoke with the Excursion desk on Thursday cause I was booked for this excursion for Thanksgiving cruise and it seems like it's only cancelled for 11/23/15 cruise. She didn't have a reason why but said it was available for all the other sailings, but not that one sailing.

Very helpful. Too bad they don't do sports trivia. But it looks like there is a lot of fun stuff. Of course, these could change by the middle of January when we sail. Ship goes in for dry dock next month.

Sports Trivia was on Day 5 of the dailies

Anyone else on the 11/23 NCL Gem get an email about this excursion being canceled?