Levanah
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Posts posted by Levanah
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To reply to Shout19691969 questions: The shows were actually very enjoyable. Our favorites were the "reality" shows such as the New Newlywed game and Perfect Couple. They had us laughing hard. The comedian (I'm sorry I don't remember his name was very good as well. Over all I'd rate the shows an 8 out of 10. We only stopped at one port and that was Cabo San Lucas for 1.5 days. We really enjoyed getting off the ship and spending time there. We normally book excursions with the ship but decided to wing it this time to see what happens and we were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the excursions available away from the ship. Cabo is beautiful but touristy (of course) especially around Los Arcos etc. The wind kept picking up, so 1/2 of us was able to parasail, which was an amazing view.
The general condition of the ship was one that needed cleaning in some areas (the roofs of the glass elevators was particularly nasty) to quite nice in others (the Stardust & restaurants).
We didn't find out that the ship was fresh out of drydock until we had boarded her and the Captain made his first announcement. Had we known, we would probably have booked elsewhere as I've experienced that before on another line. We were impressed with the cabins that we had and commented on how much more spacious and nicer they were than what we were used to on other lines. We found the decor (overall, cabins, restaurants, etc) to be nicer than we expected. It was the poor customer service and lack of staff I don't know how to excuse. It would have been nice to know that they were operation on a reduced staff so I could have lowered my expectations somewhat, but I didn't find that out until getting on this board. As they say, "Unmet expectations lead to disappointment".
Greetings to you in OK :)
Thanks for your review. It's too bad you had not been able to know about the drydock schedule. Many folks who frequent this board keep close tabs on these kinds of things. I am disappointed to hear about so many unfinished things on the first sail after drydock. It may be common, but it's not the best experience for customers. We board the Star this Sunday and I hear that many of the projects are now completed or in the process of completion including O'Sheehan's.
Thanks again :)
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Confirmed by a recent cruiser in another thread: Star has iConcierge up and running perfectly.
Yeah, I just saw that, too. I am excited to give all the features a try this coming weekend including messaging and their phone calls. :)
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The dent was repaired. iconcierge works perfectly, the app itself is free to download, 7.95 cost is for the unlimited messaging and phone feature. We bought the feature and it worked perfectly. You can also view your onboard account, see daily activities, book dinner reservations with the app. The online speed was very fast and reliable throughout the cruise.
Great news about iconcierge. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it. :)
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Hopefully they dont shatter like they did at home. I'll try it
If you place a teaspoon in the glass before you pour the hot water into the glass, the glass will not break.
LOVE fresh brewed iced tea! I will still bring my PG Tips along in the luggage in about 6 days.
Cheers :)
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I have been following this entire thread and although a true NCL fan (5 cruises to date and one more booked in July 2015) I won't be purchasing a FCC due to all the speedy increases in fees/grats.
I've absolutely loved NCL and really want to be 'loyal' to the line, but the increase in the grats in the specialty restaurants on top of all of the other recent increased fees really makes me question the company. And the layoffs on top of all of that??
I was laid off from my job for two years a few years ago and after I got my job back the very first thing I did was book a cruise on NCL (on the first summer season of the BA in a DOS). I truly do love NCL.
But...on my BA cruise this summer I will NOT be buying FCC's and will seriously be considering other cruise lines.
The whole change in management/managing just plain makes me sad.
Agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. We have always bought a FCC and ordinarily would have done so on our cruise next week. We have a specific European cruise in mind for late 2016 or early 2017. I am already busy looking at other cruise line itineraries and prices. For someone who has been loyal to NCL and has loved the NCL brand, this feels odd.
For many, loyalty is very real. When that trust is broken, it is indeed sad.
NCL, are you listening? It is not too late to begin communicating with some integrity to your loyal customers.
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Just left O'Sheehans. They do have food now. Bartender said 5 O'Clock Somewhere might be open tomorrow.!! Don't know about that. Still looked like lots of construction going on, but suppose they could get it cleaned up and functioning pretty quickly.
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Pamster, thanks for the update! DH will get his chicken pot pie :) Enjoy your cruise -- I see you are already in cruise mode :)
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There is a very large cruisecritic group for your Star cruise starting 3/29. Levanah, melodyesch & robbielv.....................
Why don't you come over and join in the fun?:)
Hi Coasty,
I did notice the meet and greet. Thanks for the warm invite :) We've attended many and have enjoyed them. We missed the last one (first sea day) on a cruise last year and felt badly for not attending especially when we RSVP'ed. Our work schedules are so hectic that once we get on the ship, we are not sure we want to be tied to a schedule - at least initially. If we are in the vicinity, we'll stroll by and say hello! I know everyone is getting pretty excited by now!
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We are on the sailing leaving the 29th and I REALLY hope that O'Sheehans's will be fully open by then. My DH loved it on the Jewel and was very happy when I told him that it would be changed over after dry dock. I wonder if it's usual to have venues not fully operational right after dry dock?
We are wondering about that, too. DH is REALLY looking forward to the chicken pot pie in O'Sheehan's. The entire menu there is pretty tasty. :)
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I believe Iconcierege App was $7.95 per person not per group or room.
Yes, this is our understanding, too :)
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We have just taken the leap and gone to TMobile for the reasons littlelulu01 mentioned. I really like the ability to make and receive calls using a wifi network. But I don't see how that would work on the ship. Wouldn't you need to purchase the ship's wifi to connect? On land, it's not an issue.
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For those of you just off the Star, does anyone know if changes were made to enable use of IConcierge? We board a week for today and are looking forward to the possibility of using it for on board messaging.
Thanks :)
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We board next Sunday, too. I had expected that O'Sheehans and the other renovations would be completed in the dry dock work. We will be very disappointed if it AND the Red Lion pub are not finished and open for the cruise.
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Sad and true. I've been following this thread since it started. We have sailed NCL exclusively. We like the freestyle and it has been a good value for our vacation dollar. I am not naive. I know companies will do what they need to do to maintain and increase their revenues. These changes under new leadership were very swift and seemingly with little regard for NCL's loyal customer base. Excellent communication from NCL has been sorely lacking with reports of reps responding to questions with a snippy tone. Where is the leadership in terms of customer service and excellent public relations with your current and prospective customers? I have the distinct feeling that they are just going to ride out the kind of backlash they are hearing here, follow their plan, and wait for it to blow over. Del Rio may well be a seasoned cruise executive. So far, I am not getting a sense of integrity that I felt from Sheehan.
Will we continue to sail NCL? Probably, but I am finding myself not only thinking about looking at other lines but actually doing some cruise searches on NCL's competitors' sites. I see possibilities. The implementation of these changes does leave a bad taste in my mouth. We will still enjoy our cruise in a week. Nothing could affect that. But in terms of continuing to be a raving fan of NCL, I am losing my enthusiasm.
We give our room steward a cash tip a couple of times during our cruise. I don't expect that will change. I don't plan to tip at the specialty restaurants now. We are such light drinkers, it's almost a non-issue for us. I would tip for a well-made drink.
Sigh. Baby boomer here, too. I am wondering how much of the backlash is generational. To be sure, it will be interesting to see how this continues to play out.
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Anyone else think it's funny that Pope Francis is asking about the "Spirit"?:D
Yes, I did notice. Hilarious :)
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Our first cruise was on the Spirit. We loved it for the reasons mentioned here. Very beautiful and unique decor. Small intimate size. Excellent service. We are really hoping we are able to sail her again before NCL stops sailing her. We are not fond of the behemoth ships.
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Oops, I was so excited, I didn't notice that this is obviously the wrong location (and continent). I was looking for the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre which will be touring. Back to the drawing board :)
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Oh, I am so envious :) To see Giselle in St. Petersburg! SWOON! The performance may be at the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre. Take a look at this link and the dates to see if they match your port days:
http://www.montecasino.co.za/whatson/Theatre/Pages/StPetersburgBalletTheatre.aspx
We are on the Star next week. Hope to do this Baltic cruise some day.
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We love the Sun for all the reasons mentioned here. The Great Outdoors, the Spinnaker, the ambiance in the Italian restaurant, and her crew are highlights. We are looking forward to sailing her again Spring 2016 in South America. Yes, we miss the heated tile loungers, too, but the warmth and intimacy of the ship is unbeatable.
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Hey, thanks :)
Fingers crossed...
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Does anyone know if this will be available on the Star since she is just out of drydock? Would love to be able to try this out in a couple of weeks.
Thanks!
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All the FREE ice cream I can handle -- in every flavor!!!
Vanilla ice cream with butterscotch sauce AND chocolate sprinkles is very difficult to stay away from :p
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I don't believe Trujillo is a bad place. Its actually a nice place. The trash that I was talking about was in some non tourist areas. It had washed up because of the tropical storm. We were just mislead and told we would see certain things on the private tour that we booked. I believe if we would have done something else in Trujillo that we would have been perfectly happy. We were upset because our tour guides promised star fish and other various things. We didn't see any starfish and our kids were upset. We knew another family on the Norwegion tour that did see Starfish and were happy with their snorkeling experience.
I can understand your disappointment -- especially for the kids! Hopefully, there will be another starfish adventure for them in the near future ;) I think it's going to take several more sailings before these kinds of problems with tours and excursions are sorted out.
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The Norwegian Spirit from Seattle to Alaska in August, 2005. We loved the Spirit and hope to sail on her again.
Star Post Drydock Review, 5-day Cabo Spring Break, St. Patrick's Day in an OS
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
Craig, thanks for taking the time to post photos and give us a quick report on the Star. We sail her this weekend and am looking forward to the time away immensely. It was fun seeing your photos. I am just breaking in a new iphone 6 (well, no breaking in really necessary :)) and it will be fun to take pics with my new "camera" :)