complawyer

certainly, not one one my first concerts, but in the mid 70's i took my wife to a dylan concert. shortly after the show began, i tuned around and she was sound asleep. a few years later when the Mac album Tusk was on top of the charts, she insisted we go to the Fleetwood Mac concert. I couldnt imagine why, as she was certainly not a fan (neither was i for that matter) any way, they start to play Tusk, the entire USC marching band comes down the aisle in full regalia, people are screaming, yelling, the USC band an Fleetwood Mac are playing at major decibels, and i look over, and there she is, once again, sound asleep.. go figure. and cruisey, thank you i would have never remembered the song title, and to show the age difference, my grandson and his girlfriend (24 and 22 respectively) saw the taylor swift concert year in Los Angeles they loved it. My wife and I last july saw the yearly "happy together tour" if i need to explain what or who performed, you probably wouldnt understand (lol) the youngest act's last hit was about 50 years ago. Oh! for the days of Dion and the Belmonts or Neil Sedaka, who just turned 85 yesterday. God am I getting old. DOO WOOP still rules!!!! (LOL)

ok, thanks uk, but i think george was always the better known of the 2 and laudergayle. you'd have to be living under a rock, a deep cave, another planet, or be a complete (or incomplete) hermit to not know about ms swift. the one and only song i know from her enormous volume of music, is when she is sitting in the bleachers pining for he boy who is hot for the cheerleader, but she feels she's a much matter match

ellieinnj. small world, so did we until 1957 when we moved from the bronx to detroit. it's been a long, long time, but i believe we stayed in a place called webbers. i recall it was down the road from a chicken/egg factory. i think across the street was another place called kolimers korner kolony. maybe we knew each other in a former universe. wouldnt that be something, that a deceased donna summer show, and your disappointment in its cancellation brought us here?

havent you ever heard of "poetic license, or suspension of disbelief" ? if you've never been on a cruise before, any ship might be categorized as "luxury" im very content with a haven complex cabin. do you need to spend 30-50000 on a cruise before you can call it a luxury ship? you get a 24 hr on call butler, a concierge to address any ship board problems that might arise/occur, private bar, restaurant, lounge, pool, jacuzzi and sun deck! what more will you require before you can call it a luxury? an again to quote george gershwin, "who could ask for anything more"

on the web, all are welcome to join, except those who have no idea that cleve duncan was the lead singer for the penquins, and pookie wilson for the spaniels. for those who have no idea what i'm talking about, better stay home and listen to your taylor swift c/d's. by the way, ellie, i wouldnt have even responded the way i did, if you would have said "disappointed " over the cancelation of donna, rather than "pissed" no one should spend that kind of money on a cruise, if they are already pissed about something before they even get on board. if youve ever read any of my prior posts, and i have almost 4,000, you'll find i cruise just for the sake of being on a luxury cruise ship, going to exotic (or less than exotic) ports. ncl has taken me to places i had only dreamed of when i was younger, and has filled a great number of things on my bucket list. we're planning on iceland/norway in sept as a priority on my wife's bucket list is the northern lights. if we dont get to see them, my life is forfeit. i dont worry about any of the previous (imho) annoyances people have mentioned. give me a balcony, my kindle, a cold heineken or glass of champagne, and i'm good to go. once again, i bid you a safe, enjoyable and relaxing cruise, and i'm glad and relieved you decided to be my friend again. a wise old man once said to me "son, dont sweat the small stuff, by the way, it's all small stuff" lol! bon voyage1

hey cruisey,oddly enough, when you say youre in a haven suite (whenever we book one) the luggage is placed in a specially designated area just for haven/suite guests, and our concierge makes us wait no more than 15-20 minutes, before he walks us personally off the ship to the baggage area. if ive talked to him a day or 2 before, he has arranged a taxi for us as we usually stay after cruise for a few days. the cab takes us straight to our hotel. i guess everyone's cruise experiences are different, as the only thing (i think) ive ever complained about are the hamburger buns lol

sthrngary, the writing comes from a few years of having to write, clear, concise, legible and well thought out (or sometimes not so well thought out) answers to the law school exams. you'd be surprised what type of answers will fit under those criteria lol

i think that's what the original poste wanted to know (and hear) we usually try and book a suite or the haven, but if the ship has both i'll save the money and book the suite. if not, the club balcony is the go to cabin. but any other class of cabin, suite or have, is not consistent with the question. none of the suites or haven suites can (imho) be categorized as cheapest. but then again, a my wise old granny always said "you get what you pay for"

i dont think there is any where to safely drop off your luggage until just before the ship is ready for boarding, and the porters are at the pier, usually about 11 am but dont hold me to it. there are outlets by the bed in some cabins, but a few years ago we were on the bliss in the club balcony, and i needed and extension cord as the ports were by the tv. also to be safe, bring an adapter from 220 to 110 every cabin has a hair dryer, and you are not allowed to bring your own on board. sorry, i dont really know what stevia is (unless its a sweetener) in that case ive never noticed one way or the other. here's an idea for you. we did the same thing a few years ago. stayed in venice for a few days prior. ( you must get on a gondola if youve never been) and have a cappuccino at st marks square) there is also a very nice ferry ride you can take from the train that will take you to moreno glass factory, boreno where there are hand made linen shops ,and a very nice little town, and one more stop at a little town whose name is tortello. the tour was abut 25 euros. my friend who agreed to join us kicking and screaming, had the best time of the of us.we had previously arranged a shuttle to take us to trieste the day before sailing, we stayed at the double tree hilton, in a very nice location to walk around. next morning we had an ncl bus pick everyone sailing and took us to the pier.,I think it was about 11. we checked in, had lunch, and then my wife and our frequent traveling companion got back off the ship, and went on a small sightseeing, walking tour. our bags were delivered to our cabin a few hrs later. regardless of how you do it, we loved venice , and treiste was beautiful. bon voyage

with all due respects to your question, if you're looking for the nicest and cheapest cabin, i would try a club balcony. while sthrngary (whose opinions and posts i have always admired) discusses the owner's suite, while beautiful, spacious and luxurious) is one of the most expensive cabins on board the ship. if you are looking at an ncl ship that has both a haven and suite category, the cabins themselves are almost identical, the haven complex offers a few more perks, but the suites are abut $3,000 cheaper. you still get the butler/concierge, the steward cleans your cabin twice per day, and you still get breakfast in moderno and lunch in cagney's . in a haven complex, there is a private restaurant, pool area, and lounge. although those goodies are really nice, i can forgo them to save 3 k. what say you sthrngary? still, in answer to your question, i think a club balcony is the way to go

i will certainly apologize. i was in new york when cousin brucie, murry the k ruled the airwaves, and the east coast was a hotbed of great vocal, doo wopp groups., to this day, it's my favorite type of music (im 76) and we live on he west coast the only reason i even brought up the thought of you canceling your cruise, is because you stated your post with this will probably be my last ncl cruise, and ended with im really pissed. i have posted many times before, that (although there are many reasons for booking)the specific show on board should not be one of them. in theory, if you were that angry, why shell out all that money when you can book something that wouldnt piss you off. the prima is not a cheap ship. if you live in the ny/nj area, did you get a chance to see "donna" on broadway, im sure if you did, that production would be 100x's better than you could get on any cruise ship. so, elliein nj, i do sincerely apologize, i hope you have an amazing cruise, a great time (despite the absence of Donna). ok, are we friends again? final thought..... bon voyage!

hey, cruiseny4life while this has nothing to do with this post, it's the only way i seem t o be able to respond to your post, i dont know why or how, but for some reason when you respond to any of my posts (ie the most recent dealing with taylor swift) nothing ever comes on. this is for most of your responses to me. which i consider a massive problem, as i always enjoy reading your points of view

both mykonos and Corfu are amazing. the only real excursion i found in the past was taking a ferry from mykonos to delos.this is totally an archeological site (assuming youre into that stuff) if not, just get of the ship, either walk around the port the port itself, or they offer a brief shuttle to the other side where you can also walk around , shop and/or take pictures. we did both, sat in a nice cafe on the ordered a greek salad and some drinks. just be careful, although i do not remember the name of the restaurant in mykonos, it is noted for ripping of tourist by not giving you the actual prices on their menu. corfu is very picturesque ,a nd i feel the best excursion is to the top of the mountain where there is a 12th century monastery. a must see . based on whatever is available , you should have enough time to see the highlights of both islands and be able to get back to the ship for a comfortable sailing from one to the other. dont waste the extra c-note. by the way, in corfu, we hired a cab to take us to the monastery and around the island itself. cheaper by far than the ncl shore excursion

since the topic is "haven gratuities" tipping shouldnt be an issue. the butler does not get a share of the DSC, neither does the concierge, and the cabin steward cleans and sets up your cabin twice a day rather than just once. surely leaving tips for them (if for no one else) is a no-brainer

hey keith, any upgrade is most certainly better than a stick in the eye, but what would have been the actual cost if you just had booked a balcony cabin initially. you could have had your choice of cabins (depending on availability). and we've stayed in a privasea cabin, it even was a have 2 bedroom suite on the epic. while i hope you enjoy your cruise to the fullest, i would not ever booked a privasea cabin again. it's a little to enclosed onthe balcony for me.

no, ive gone through enough bs in my life (vietnam vet, infantry squad leader year in the jungles) to make any problems on board seem trivial. while i agree losing all propulsion and needing to be towed back to port, would make me take a 2nd look at booking the star once again. on the cruise to SE Asia, it was 14 days from hong kong to singapore. upon landing in hong kong my 1st thought was i cant believe im really in china the disappointment set in on the first day out. we were advised that due to mechanical problems, we could not dock in taipei, hanoi and cambodia. major disappointment was i really wanted (needed) to see hanoi. for obvious reasons. unlike what i have read previously about cancelled ports, ncl offered to make it good. a full refund of the cruise, which to my mind was a waste, since we were booked into a hotel in singapore for a few days post cruise. offer #2, 50% off this cruise, and 50% off on any next cruise we chose, and any cabin. so one the initial sailing, we had a forward facing penthouse suite, and for the next sailing we choose the epic, 2 bedroom haven round trip from hamburg, so we took our grandson and his buddy. option (imho) was a no brainer. we were also on the star last year, or 2022, im not sure which, but just before it was going into dry dock, and absolutely no problems. i am very much looking forward to my 17day trans-atlantic , unless we break down somewhere between brazil and cape verde. in that case, i'll be as,pissed as you were, or even more so. so, if you will, say a prayer, light a candle and keep your fingers crossed for us. by the way, i only booked this cruise since we got a 2bedroom suite 17 days for $6,000

ukstages, im sorry to disagree with you, but anytime we're in the buffet, just call over one of the people and they will gladly bring you a drink, we do it all the time with no problem. have you ever tried it? they helped on at least the past 10 cruises

cruisenyforlife.. taylor who? i wouldnt know a taylor swift song if she were sitting on my lap (sorry mr kelce) and personally serenading me .and elliennj, im not criticizing any ones taste in music, i was merely saying you were pissed that donna show has been taken off. regardless of which side of the bench i'm on, is that really a reason to get pissed, as she has been dead (as well as disco) for more than 40 years, and i dont think any station is still playing her music. sorry if i ruffled your feathers. that was certainly not my intention

it probably all depends on your age. im way to old to consider even going into the arcade, to noisey, to busy, to many kids etc. definitely not for me at any price, and you probably cant even get a drink (although i dont know for sure about this)

we're on the april sailing from rio to lisbon, with 3 other ports in brazil, cape verde (the azores) tenerife (canary islands) funchal, and onto lisbon. 17 day cruise. we're also looking for the star 14 day cruise early sept from reykjavic to greenland, but there is a later sept cruise on the prima that we'll probably take instead. The star has always gotten a great deal of bad press, but we were on her dec 16th 2016 to dec 2017, on her 1st southeast Asian cruise, and recently a couple of years ago thru europe. Other than some missed ports, (deeply disappointed but got over this) i have nothing to complain about on the star, and we are looking forward to this 17 day adventure

we have the regular free at sea drink package. every time we've ever sat down in a restaurant, cagney's, moderno, le bistro, o'sheehans's and even the MDR's ,1st thing we are asked is would we like a drink. simple as that. if we're in the buffet, just call over one of the helpers and let him know you would like a drink (jncludes soft drinks, wine or hard liquor) never a problem either, and when he/she brings it, a buck or 2 wouldnt/couldnt hurt. at any of the outside bars, never more than a few minutes to get bartenders attention. a couple of bucks to him doesnt hurt either. Please dont bother to respond "well we're paying the dsc, or i've already been billed for the gratuities under the drink package) you are seeing these people face to face, and they are performing a personal service, especially the guys at the sugarcane. so a few extra bucks cant possible hurt you. if you're adamant about tipping extra to these people, i feel sorry for you

traveling 2some. in over 25 ncl cruises, i have never been denied onion soup and a lettuce wedge. either im just really lucky, or the maitre'd, and the wait staff for breakfast and lunch all recognize that i tip ,always. it also doesnt hurt to book a suite, where you eat breakfast in moderno, and lunch at cagneys. the wait staff doesnt change dramatically, and the people you have previously tipped may be serving you dinner. also forgot to mention, even if there is a shortage of beef, i would imagine moderno (since a brazillian steak house) would have to have the beef, or cease to function. Im sure ncl would never, ever let that happen, and lose the money from the dinners. that being said, however, if you never get to the meats, the salad bar and its many choices can fill you up for days

as an aside, i would have no problems and shed no tears if there was no entertainment in the atrium. probably make it 100% easier to navigate thru it, and easier to get a starbucks

bkrickles1 . terribly sorry old chap, the picture you post looks like a woman. i concede and confess i am getting OLD!

bkrickels1 you go girl, you RULE!