pullen0

The tipping model will never go away as some will not want to lose the power it gives them over other people.  

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

It's not a bait and switch.

Of course, if they did that, then there would be complaints about being forced to pay for gratuities.

We manage in virtually every other aspect of our lives.  There’s no tip line at the big box store, grocery store, monthly bills, amazon checkout, etc.  

The most spectacular dining/service I have ever received, the gratuities were included into the price and were paid before I ever entered the restaurant.  

17 hours ago, fastpitchdad said:

Glad you are interested in trying all the whisk(e)ys because premium plus is not worth it for the wine. You should go to the wine bar and taste the bottles available with dinner and find one you like to order with your meals but if you want good wine you will need to bring your own. 

I’ve tried everything from 2 Buck Chuck to Opus One.  We’ve rarely had any wine we coudn’t finish. LOL

3 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

So, please define 'proper wage' for a room steward from the Philipines.

The cruise lines feel it’s their current actual wage plus your 20% daily service charge plus gratuities they add to your packages.  I’d start there.  

The cruise I just booked listed a price of $1049 pp.  Add the taxes, fees and gratuities from the “free” Free at Sea, it came to over $1400 pp.  And another $140 pp for prepaid service charges.  So we’re at nearly $1550 pp.  I’d rather the upfront price just be the $1550 instead of the bait and switch.  

I spent 10 days in Paris over Christmas.  I loved that the price was the price and no silly games.  It would be so much easier to just pay people a proper wage and show the real price of the cruise instead of the bait and switch of a low fare and 50% more after taxes, service charges, and gratuities.  

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

If you only want to sample then why not just pay the difference on a glass or two?  Far cheaper than the upsell to the plus package.

We decided the premium plus package was worth it as we get the drink upgrade, 2 extra specialty dinners, $200 extra excursion credits, unlimited wifi,  Starbucks package and bottled water.  

Just now, dbrown84 said:

you'll have a nice time.  that's the great part about upgrading the drink package.  It's a great time to try new stuff before buying a bottle at home.  Just so you know, they have the macallan terra, quest, and enigma.  Not the year marked bottles

I'll definitely give them a try!

1 minute ago, dbrown84 said:

actually, 3 different macallans.  i'd go with the enigma since you have the upgraded package.  BTW, if you happen to be a cigar smoker, the cigar lounge is right there with the whiskey bar and the servers are usually good and attentive.

I tried 12, 15, and 18 year Macallans at Epcot several years ago and couldn't finish them.  I'm developing a palette for whiskey now.  Before I spend a lot on a bottle, I want to try them first. I appreciate the information.  

3 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

The sunset bar is the whisky bar, deck 8.  They have plenty of good choices with the premium package.  I drink my fair share of Macallan.  Whistle Pig, Glenlivet, woodford, JW also available.  Unfortunately, JW blue is usually only available in the Haven Bar .  Hennessy XO is there to, if you're a cognac fan

I was replying to RocketMan275 before seeing your post.  Thank you for this information.  

14 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Personally, we had the premium plus on Prima a couple of weeks ago.

the standard whiskey was jack daniels black and the premium was woodford reserve.  I'll not pay extra for the premium plus again.

The premium plus on the website lists 2 different McCallans, Glenlivet, Old Forester, Hennessy XO, and several others.  Some are noted as being in whiskey bars, and Johhnie Blue is in Haven.  I'm definitely expecting to find some of these onboard somewhere.  LOL

I recently booked the Getaway for December and upgraded to the Premium Plus package.  This will be our first Norwegian cruise and our first time doing a drinks package.  

In the main dining rooms, will they do a wine pairing of sorts with each course or will you have to order with each course?  

I'm a novice when it comes to whiskey so I'm wanting to try as many as possible.  There are no bars listed on the website as specifically whiskey bars.  What are the best bars on ship to try the premium whiskeys included in the premium plus package?

I'm assuming you use your room key to get drinks on Norwegian?

Thanks in advance!

Yes. Hearing the creaking of the wood is one of the musts.

Thanks everyone for the input so far. From my research so far, some of these cruises are well inline with the cost of a traditional cruise. I figured they'd be extremely expensive.

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I hope you ha ve had the chanc e to tour the USS Constitution(Old Ironsides). Ameica's oldest war vessel. She is curently undergoing refit but tours are still possible.

We saw it Summer 2015 but it was in dry dock. We did engrave our names on the copper they're reskinning the hull with though.

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I have done a cruise on the Lewis R French - https://schoonerfrench.com/

 

Is this what you want -

 

"The French is still operated much how she would have been during the age of sail. She has no inboard engine, relying on 3,000 square feet of sail to propel her. She has four lower sails and two topsails. If the wind dies, a push from our yawlboat "Greyhound" will help her along. All the sails are still raised and trimmed by hand, and the anchor is manually raised each morning using our windlass. There are no engines on deck or below to spoil the serenity. The French is 101 feet overall, 65 feet on deck, with 19 feet of beam. She draws 7.5 feet with a full keel. A proven vessel in all conditions, she is a nifty and quick sailor, having won the Great Schooner Race many times. The French has also participated in recent Tall Ships gatherings in Boston."

 

DON

That sounds great. I'll look into it. Thanks!

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Thanks, I'll give those a look. I did a sunset tall ship tour in Boston but the ship was steel. Didn't get the vibe I was looking for.

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Where could I take a cruise on an old school wooden sailing ship? Preferably one where you can help hoist sails, etc. I'd want to do at least 1 night, maybe a few depending on price. I don't want a 2 hour tourist pirate cruise but something like a pirate ship.

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I agree with everything you said, especially this. We travel exclusively for destinations and cruises form a part of our planning because they do transport you from location to location easily. Have no desire to spend on our time on a ship (I am amazed by people who stay on the ship in some of the most amazing places in the world, even though they have never been there).

 

And for people spending 2x or 3x what you paid? How about more than 10 times what we are paying on an upcoming cruise and we are in a Concierge cabin. And less than 2 weeks from final payment.

We did the dolphin swim at Atlantis when we went to Nassau. We were far more disappointed in Atlantis than we were on our taxi tour excursion and eating at the Fish Fry. If all I want to do is sit in a fancy resort, I can do that in Vegas. I want to see these islands for what they are.

I spoke to a couple who flew to St. Lucia and they paid $1600 each just for flights. Flight costs like that are what draws me to a cruise for that type of vacation. I can eat $50 steaks at home. I don't need luxury on the boat.

My wife, daughter and I (37, 14, 40 respectively) were on the Christmas Summit cruise as well. We had an inside cabin which we were pleased with except for the dirty floor. Size was fine and we had 2 drop down beds. My daughter used one of those so we had a decent amount of room to move around.

This is only my wife and I's second cruise, my daughter's first. Our first cruise was with Royal on a 4 nighter to the Bahamas in 2013. With both cruises, our expectations were pretty low and we were pleased with both. We are of the floating hotel demographic and whenever we do land vacations, we typically look for hotel rooms in the $100 or less range depending on the area and market. Clean and free of bed bugs are our biggest requirements as we don't go on vacations to sit in our hotel rooms. We shower and sleep.

We fit into the floating hotel demographic. On this 7 night cruise, we were up by 5:00am with the exception of the sea day and St. Maarten. We're at the gate to get off the boat when it opens and we don't return until just a few minutes before boarding time. By the time we get back on ship, clean up a little, and eat, there isn't a whole lot of time to do stuff and get to bed at a decent time for the next days port. We thought there might be more entertainment to see but weren't too disappointed as we didn't have a whole lot of time for it.

As far as the dining, we did all breakfasts in the Oceanview. One lunch and 4 dinners in the MDR. Wore shorts in the MDR the first night and for lunch on the sea day. Wore Jeans and short sleeve button up shirts for the other dinners. Overall, the buffet food was pretty poor. Overall, the MDR food was pretty good. For all the complaints about the relaxed dress codes, why not demand 5 star food to go along with your 5 star dress codes? With the exception of the lobster tails (which were excellent by the way for all the complaints I've read about cruise ship lobster), I didn't have a meal that I couldn't get at home for $25 or less while wearing flip flops, shorts and a wife beater. Sorry, I'm not putting on a tux for a cut of prime rib that I can get better at home for under $20. We were select dining and had the same servers for 3 of our meals, which we requested. Service was excellent.

I received a $250 on board credit from my travel agency so our gratuities were mostly covered. We spent $79.98 on shopping on the boat. I spent $19 plus a $5 tip at Sushi on 5 (I thought it was excellent for the price) and $5 on a gelato sandwich. No drink or dining packages for any of us.

We're not resort type of vacationers. We're about the destination and seeing new places. I'd say us floating hotel types are the largest untapped demographic out there. Our base fare was around $3000 for 3 people. The fact that others would spend double or triple that to sail on the same ship and go to the same ports is unfathomable to me.

Overall, we were pleased with our cruise. I expected to be looked down on for our dress in the MDR but never was. Many more were dressed like I was.

It will end when people stop paying and/or stop dinning there. As consumers, we have a lot to do with prices; thank goodness it is a choice to pay extra or totally not dine there at all. I love economics and opportunity cost!!!! Quite simple IMHO and a great concept to teach children early in their lives...sometimes we forget how much control we really have.

 

 

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For my family of 3 on a 7 night cruise, the only food and beverage money they got out of us was $19 for an appetizer and sushi roll in Sushi on 5 and $4 and change for a gelato sandwich from Cafe Bacio. No drink packages either. I refuse to pay their inflated prices. The things I did buy were actually reasonable compared to land based restaurants.

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Never had the pleasure of Katz's. BTW, did you hear that the Carnegie Deli closed for good on December 31st?

I made a trip to NYC over thanksgiving because they were closing. I liked Katz better.

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In my close to 25 years on Celebrity they have always relaxed the rules on the first night because they know people don't always get their luggage. Also, shorts have always been permitted in the MDR for breakfast and lunch. Point is they do not generally allow people into the MDR with shorts and if you wear shorts you will risk the chance of people told you cannot enter. This is reality and has been for years.

With the 5 meals we ate in the MDR, I was pretty well pleased with the food. But with the exception of the lobster tail (which was excellent by the way), I didn't get any food that I can't get back home for under $25 a plate while wearing shorts, wife beater and flip flops. If the cruise industry and it's customers want 5 star dress codes, then they need to provide 5 star food. I'm not putting on a tux for a cut of prime rib worth $15.

Celebrity Chic and the food I received in the MDR was a great balance for me.

There are plenty of us left. I can't recall the last Celebrity cruise we've taken where we haven't been in the middle of the demographic (we're in our 60s).

 

We're going on a 3 day Bahamas cruise in 2 weeks, the type of cruise which would usually attract a much younger crowd, and based on the price drops and huge number of still-available cabins it seems it is not appealing to their new target audience.

If the older business model was working and growing the business, why would they change it? No doubt there are still many older cruisers out there. But if what they were doing was working and growing, there'd be no point in changing it. I'm 40 and had no interest in seeing Demi Lavato. I couldn't name one of her songs and we had already booked before I knew they were having this concert.

On the ship, we watched the Christmas show which was great. We watched the iMagic show which was pretty good. The iHollywood show was terrible. One night in the Emporium, they had some of the show singers sing contemporary hits which drew quite a crowd. Right after them, there were 2 guitarists singing 70's and 80's hits and by about the 4th song, my family of 3 were the only ones left watching. We walked to the Cafe Bacio and there were 2 violinists with a small older crowd but still way more than the guitarists. The violinists were excellent. But still, the less talented singers singing contemporary songs drew a much bigger crowd.

We don't have to change with the times but we must also understand that the times aren't going to wait for us.

I also thought it was a free concert for the 4 ship-goers. Over 8,000 psgrs and they had a poor showing? Wow.

 

Just another misstep in their thinking that the X demographic is much younger than reality. Wake up, Celebrity, we oldies still rule your ships, wait until we're gone before you turn it into Carnival.

The problem is there aren't enough of you "oldies" left to maintain the status quo and still pay the bills and maintain a profit. Going to Celebrity Chic made money or they wouldn't have done it.

So let me get this straight.

 

Celebrity brought in Demi L. (I do like her.) for a concert for its cruisers but the cruisers had to buy the tickets for the concert? Just another shore excursion really. I thought it was something special Celebrity was doing for its customers with a free NYE concert.

 

How much were the tickets? I may have gone if the price was good, like almost free.

IMHO, Demi L. would not be a popular choice for the Celebrity demographic.

Thanks!

 

Safe sailing all. :)

The concert was on the 28th in St. Maarten. IIRC, the original price of the tickets were $300 for VIP and $100 for general admission. The prices for VIP stayed the same and general admission went down to $50. I believe they were still selling them the day of the show so I don't think it went as well as Celebrity had hoped. Even if there were 10,000 passengers on the 4 ships, what percentage of them would even be interested in Demi Lavato and how many would have paid those prices? From what I could see of the concert area, it didn't look like it would hold all that many people.

Just got off the Christmas cruise on the Summit. I loved the Chic dress code. Ate in the MDR on the first night and next day for lunch in shorts and the place didn't burn down. Wore jeans for the other 3 dinners we ate there, 2 of which were Chic nights. Clothing I saw ran the gamut. Very few tuxes. I saw a teenage boy wearing a suit that had matching shorts in the hall in front. To my knowledge, he got in just fine.

I'm guessing the select dining crowd is more laid back. Looking at some of the dining pictures, some of the ladies dresses were far tackier than any shorts a man could wear.