complawyer

usually we give the cabin steward between 100-150 100-200 to the butler depending on the degree of service and the amount we utilized his services 100 to the concierge also about $50 total to the haven restaurant maitre'd, or if youre in a suite with no designated haven area, $20-30 to the maitre'd in both cagney's and moderno.

when are you going on the iceland cruise? we're on the prima on the sept 26th sailing from reykjavik to southampton

if its just after you go through security, and waiting for your key card, there is usually a designated area with coffee, tea and snacks for people in suites or the haven, while waiting for the concierge to take you onto the ship. while i cant confirm this to be the case in iceland, it's been consistent for the last 6 cruises we've taken in suite cabins.

how far are you from anywhere in quebec? wouldnt somewhere in that provence carry french butter?

also, remember that you may not wish to use the same credit card each time. i have no problem doing the check in process and i jump on it as soon as the 21 day comes up. i do agree however that the picture download process is a major pain. i readily admit being 76 years old, i am truly technologically challenged, and if it wasn't for my 25 year old grandson, i would "NEVER" be able to accomplish that. what i do object to is having to watch the safety drill and then having ncl sending continuous e-mail reminding you to watch the safety video, AND the worst cut of all, is after watching the video, and getting the constant reminders, they force you to go down to the assigned muster station . UHG

daniela. depending on the occasion and number of people in our party, in a land based restaurant, with at least 10 of us, i will give a $20 to the server upfront to try and insure appropriate service. when we get onboard when we 1st meet the cabin steward, i always give them a $20 and advise them that the same or more will be coming throughout the voyage we also start off with $20 to the butler, $20 to the concierge, and an additional $20 to the maitre d . they all remember you, and it works every time. if its lunchtime, $5.00 to the waiter after the meal ive commented on this issue many times before, i affectionately call this my "vegas handshake"

keith, congratulations on realizing that ncl's method of doing math is completely different than the rest of the world. this has been going on for a few years, they change the offer, but the prices remain more or less the same

graphic guy, imo. your analysis is spot on. forget about chicago, try and price out a week at disney world. my sister lives in orlando, and we've discussed this before. a week in the "value" category hotel, park tickets, food, beverages, etc can run over $7000 and i think that's a conservative estimate. i think a cruise in the long is a much better deal. as far as the balcony cabin, booking one for my wife and i is a no-brainer. nothing beats sitting out on the balcony with an ice cold heineken and my kindle, and yes, i go out whenever we have docked in a port to check out the view.

while we've cruise with ncl 28 x"s. and i agree the check in process is a pain in the tushie, but come on, realistically, is it that much trouble, maybe 15 minutes at most. if youre gonna gripe, try and make it a major gripe, check in process (imho) is a minor inconvenience

i think that's great, but realistically, how many lobsters can you eat in one sitting? by the way, we got off the star on april 27th and we had a butler that brought all types of cookies to the cabin every day. , chocolate chip ,oatmeal raisin, macadamia, chocolate. so cookies are still around

to me it doesnt matter when where or how, regardless of the ship or the itinerary, im going to book either a club balcony, or a suite, and usually a suite. not bragging, just trying to answer the question honesty. by the way if the cost to upgrade to a balcony is only $880, to me that;s a no brainer.. DO IT!

i didnt make this up. with the basic free at sea package, i always got the soda in a plastic cup, unless i wanted to pay for the can. the cruise we just took, gave me cans of coke or ginger ale for my wife. without even asking. guess i just got lucky but it was a 17 day cruise ,and i usually consume at least 2-3 cans per day guess the entire wait staff didnt get the memo LOL

if youre in a haven, either contact the concierge on your 1st day on board and tell him when and where you want to dine ,or call the available concierge number and tell then wat you want

drafterdw i concede that i'm anal, but i start almost every meal with a glass of ice water. "NEVER" in 28 ncl cruises have i had any problem with the water i'm being served. looks like water, tastes like water, wet like water, it must be water. im not sure what is shown in the picture and depicted as water, but that has never been my experience. i dont believe any venue on any ncl ship would even pour something as ghastly as shown

sailing 12away. that i got the cans instead of plastic cups, surprised the heck out of me. unless you bought the premium drink package, you usually got the coke in plastic cup. we were in the buffet, and i asked to bartender for a coke and a ginger ale, and he gave me 2 cans, (no questions asked) throughout the rest of our cruise regardless of the venue, we always got cans, no charge. so, i didnt try and look the proverbial "gift horse" in the mouth

usually, if i wanted a soft drink (pepsi prior to the change, coke afterwards) i would get it at any bar in a plastic cup, no charge, and as many as i wanted. our last cruise on the ncl star. which ended in lisbon on 4/27/2024, anytime i wanted a soft drink, i got a can with no problem, no questions asked and no charge. and it was a 17 day cruise. usually, there is a bar set up in the buffet area also

disagree!!! if you use the mickey d's card for nothing else but their french fries, you're automatically miles ahead

we were on a b2b last year southamptom to copenhagen/ copenhagen to stockholm. my wife, and our close friend who frequently shares the 2 bedroom suite, got off in copenhagen, wandered around for a while and came back s few hrs later. they did the same thing a ew years prior. we flew into venice a few days prior to sailing from trieste ,took a shuttle to trieste, spent the night, went to the ship,and again, my wife and my friend got back off, and wandered around trieste for a while. at that time it was only a short walk from the pier to the shopping area. so yes, it can be done. caveat, make sure you get your tushie back on board 2 hrs before sailing

if you are booked into a haven or a suite, you're taken to cagney's for lunch

while they may not depart at precisely the indicated time, why chance it. on an ncl sponsored shore excursion, they will usually wait until all tours are back. ive been on some ncl cruises, where the ship didnt sail until hrs after departure time. Unfortunately, one of the crew had died while in port, and the ship had to wait until a thorough investigation was competed. on some cruises, the captain will wait a little while longer. on the other hand, if you're dumb enough to take the chance, one of the most entertaining things to do on a ship, is sit on your balcony, and watch the pier runners scampering to get on board before the gangplank is raised. actually, it's not entertaining at all. it's sad to see those people lose track of time and rush to get back on. we usually get a cab in most ports, and tell the driver we need to be back at least an hour before the designated departure time.

mikeo. if they did away with the dsc and raised the fare prices, bet your a** people would them complain about the increase in fare quote the departed rick nelson " you cant please everyone, so you got to please yourself"

my granny always said "dont look a gift horse in the mouth" if the VIP gives you something extra while on your cruise, that's great, if it doesnt, you're no worse off for the wear and tear

fyi, ive been monitoring the sept 26th prima from iceland to southampton. it appears thecabin prices have gone down. i can now make my wife happy and book a haven penthouse. that being said however, if she doesnt see the northern lights, my life is forfeit

nycruise4life. as always, thank you for the information. i do note, however, that the list you sent, does not include sapphire or diamond status, and doesnt really tell you what you get for the different point levels also on the form, it would not allow me to put in the state and one other thing. since im very happy and have very minimal complaints about ncl (ie. the falling apart hamburger buns) in the last 14 years and 25 cruises in my opinion, and my opinion only, msc doesnt come close to ncl in it's itineraries, or prices. so until i end up in a box, i guess i'll continue to sail ncl, and hopefully the 2 of you will someday be on the same cruise as my wife and i

cruise ny4life. you know 9x's out ot 10, i respect your opinion ,and your expertise as a travel agent. however, the o p wanted to know if ncl shared points with other cruise lines,(which everyone here agrees they do not) i dont think he really cared as to whether or not other lines did so. by the way, i tried checking into the website you quoted, and it wouldnt let me fill in some or the required info, which is too bad, as ive always wanted to see what the hullabaloo was about the yacht club