don1976

Awaiting reports from the front lines about the beverage and water wars.

How pleasant the relations are with the beverage combatants ?

Lines moving along at even a modest pace speed ?

What is happening with the spoils of war (beverages and water) ?

We boarded the Epic on Sunday, we've just docked in Naples.

Nobody was particularly bothered about the new policy.

No huge piles of discarded drinks at dockside, no arguments, no tantrums. No issue.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Thanks! Much appreciated.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

We board the Epic tomorrow in Barcelona. We've never been to this port before. Where specifically do we go? There seems to be a couple of separate entrances to the port on Google maps.

Is is Ponta de la porta Europa that we should be going to?

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Thanks both. We board the Epic on Sunday

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Are there towels on the pool deck you can use or do you have to use room towels?

I'm thinking about using the water slides on embarkation day with my daughter, potentially before we've got access to the cabin.

Just curious if I'll be needing to pack a towel in the hand carry.

Apologies. Wrong forum. I meant it on the NCL forum.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Are there towels on the pool deck you can use or do you have to use room towels?

I'm thinking about using the water slides on embarkation day potentially before we've got access to the cabin.

Just curious if I'll be needing to pack a towel in the hand carry.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Our TA corrected himself. We are allowed to bring wine onboard. Sorry!!!

Are you sure you don't want to post that another few times, just to make sure?

😊

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

When someone pays thousands for a vacation they do so with the expectation that their wants and needs are going to be met, that's why it's called the hospitality industry. People's wants used to be accommodated by allowing them to bring on their own water and soft drinks if what was offered aboard did not meet their needs. Now people are locked into a take it or leave it mentality by the cruise line. NCL is not longer being run as a hospitality organization- no organization that sees it's customers as a "captive audience" can call itself that.

All hospitality organisations treat their customers as a captive audience to a certain extent. NCL or just being honest about it.

Some of the bottles are old and dirty

Some of the passengers are old and dirty too ;)

In all seriousness, on a vessel where you're in close proximity with thousands of people, the lengths you would have to go to to eliminate the slightest chance of picking up bacteria from fellow passengers or crew would be immense.

If you're that concerned with regards to anything being transferred into your water from the outlets, then you can buy special 'backpacking' type filtration systems which will filter out bacteria and protozoa. It won't filter out viruses though - you'd need a purification chemical such as chlorine dioxide or the like to add a couple of drops.

Alternatively, if you're hell bent on avoiding as much bacteria and the like, the best bet is for you to stay at home.

Being from the UK, I can't comment on the American mindset, but certainly over here in the UK, it's a bit of a non-issue.

Usually when we go on holiday, we're visiting new countries, sampling new things, experiencing new cultures, eating new foods, drinking new drinks.

However, certainly from reading these boards I've discovered how loyal some people are to their brands of soft drinks, if loyal is the right word.

We do have similar British holidaymakers with a similar mindset. The hoards that migrate to the likes of Benidorm and Magaluf to only drink lager and eat fast food, home from home.

Each to their own I suppose, whatever floats your boat.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

As we dig deeper into this realm of a mess and ambiguity, what about Ports and Icewines? These are classified as wines but usually have higher alcohol content than "normal" wines and come in funny shape bottles that will definitely confuse the heck out of the people at security who will probably insist that they are liquors. Any thought?

I personally wouldn't bother trying port as they'd probably just turn it away. It would be an interesting conversation though - I wonder if you'd be able to negotiate the higher €15 corkage worth them if you were desperate to get it on board?

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

That was my assumption, but the messages I got back from NCL indicate that ALL alcohol brought aboard at ports of call is stored away for the day we disembark. Only the embarkation ports allow the bringing onboard of wine/Champagne for personal consumption (when you pay the corkage).

 

I would dearly like you to be correct. But unless someone else gets a different, more palatable answer from NCL personnel, this is the basis upon which I will proceed. I found the NCL policy statements contradictory and lacking in clarity, so that is why I asked the question and quote the responses I got. I don't like 'em!

 

Mind you, I suppose we could buy some wine in Ketchikan, arrive at the gangplank with every intention of paying corkage and then, if told we have to have it stored, have it returned to us when we get to Seward and bring it back onboard under corkage rules because Seward is an embarkation port! :D

This is what I was told on the phone as well. Wine can only be taken on board at embarkation, which in our case is Barcelona (this Sunday)

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Are there many tours over the course of the week that you can go on, or just a couple available?

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

I think it's just as easy on the train to get to Pompeii from Naples, which seem to run a couple of times an hour, and is pretty cheap.

An alternative to Pompeii is Herculaneum, which is even closer to Naples.

One of the pleasures for me when visiting new places is to DIY as much as possible in order to see more of the country and engage more with locals.

We have Roses Lime cordial here in the states, but if I remember correctly it is not quite the same as in the UK. I always remembered the Roses in the UK as having a slight alcohol content and in the States it doesn't. I spent a couple of years in the London area many moons ago

Definitely no alcohol in UK Rose's.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

 

This offers a conflicting impression. It may be that it will depend on how an individual NCL rep has interpreted NCL's own text whether they make the differentiation between embarkation day and the ports of call even though wine/Champagne seems to have a separate policy.

Precisely why I wanted to get something 'official' in writing from them via facebook to show anyone at dockside if I needed to. Unfortunately they just directed me to the customer service line.

'Pudding' isn't necessarily always dessert here in the UK.

In addition to the yorkshire pudding, we often call a steak & kidney pie a steak and kidney pudding, which is completely savoury.

There's also the delicious Black Pudding, which is a blood sausage.

Pease Pudding is another one (also know as Pease Porridge) which is a dish dating back hundreds of years.

I Facebook messaged them and they told me to call them instead.

The policy is indeed a bit ambiguous, hence me contacting them. It's all very well potentially getting different opinions from different customer service guys, but who do you believe?

Surely the only way not to be caught out is to bring all the wine you're going to need at embarkation.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Oh dear, never thought for a minute a simple question could cause so much confusion ;)

 

What I am referring to is a fruit flavour liquid which you add water to to dilute it. DW (I'm learning!) Wants to know as she is a regular gym freak but doesn't like to drink water without some flavour in it

 

I will stick to my native tongue in future and apologies to anyone from across the pond if I offended :rolleyes:

 

By the way, we have lime cordial over here which is non alcoholic and is just like squash.

 

Thanks for your responses guys.

If it's lime cordial, it has to be Rose's. 😀

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

I'm in the UK too and I've heard one person mention cordial was available on the ship but when I tried to clarify then nobody would answer. Hopefully you get better luck with an answer. ☺️

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Never had alcohol checked at embarkation at any EU port.

 

They know what it is and ignore it.

 

BCN has a shop AFTER security selling the stuff.

Is this the best place to buy wine to take on board? We board on Sunday and I'm not sure there will be too much open to buy booze on a Sunday morning.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Only 1 Main, multiple starters and desserts.

After your meal and if still peckish, can you then request another starter, or can you only request multiples at the beginning of the meal when first ordering?

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

I had always thought it was a side with a main course, but according to wikipedia it can either be served with gravy with the main course or it can be served as dessert.

I've lived in Yorkshire for 20 years and never come across anyone that actually had it with a dessert.

But then again, I'm Welsh, so what do I know about it? [emoji2]

Thanks really the SDP. I was just trying to get my head around whether it was worth it as an add on.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Sorry, I'm new here.... what is a SDP?

Speciality Dining Package

Hi. If I buy the SDP, how does it actually work in practice? Can I order anything at all of the menu or is there a limit to what I can order within the scope of the package?

 

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk