Zippeedee

The post I saw was from an NCL Ambassador who sails constantly. He doesn’t report rumors.

I’m thrilled to finally see an adult-oriented ship. I’ve avoided the Joy because of the lack of a spa so this is great news.

6 hours ago, SeekingKillerWhales! said:

I recall someone on a thread mentioning that their insurance paid them $500 for cancelled ports, but I can't remember the thread, and I'm not sure that's a common insurance coverage. I wouldn't want to pay the premiums on a policy that covered that because I think it would be a very expensive policy. And, partially thanks to discussions like this, I will never book a cruise for somewhere I am dying to go, nor one where a single port being cancelled would destroy my cruise. Also, credit cards might offer some protection, but many others on here will be a lot more knowledgeable than I am.

 

I do think you should get a % of your port taxes and fees back for every cancelled/non-replaced port, however. 

That may have been me. I had cruise insurance purchased through Insure My Trip on both 2018 and 2019 transatlantics. Both had port changes and I filed claims with the NCL letter as proof. I got $500 each time. I think they were  Nationwide policies but 2019 seems like a different lifetime now.

I don’t do mornings at home, never mind on vacation. I was the last person skidding into the Local at 10:55 to get a pastry basket and coffee. I don’t eat lunch and stop by the buffet around 3 for a snack. My way isn’t your way but that doesn’t mean your way is the only way.

12 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

Usually NCL would simply plug along with the announced changes in an itinerary.  My point was that on this occasion they actually did respond to feedback from their customers.  More to the point, some folks at NCL worked through the Easter weekend to reschedule the ports of call.  It was a less than a completely desirable result, to be sure, but I do tip my hat to them for at least trying to make lemonade out of a pile of lemons.  I choose to cut them some slack.

I agree with you but I would have been happier if they kept Ponta Delgado. Switching to the northern route was COLD! I walked outside from the spa to the buffet one morning and my wet hair froze!

I took the guided tour and river cruise a few years ago with the Breakaway. I’d been to Paris a few times so this tour was a nice refresher. You get a good view of the Eiffel Tower from both the bus and the river. The river cruise included a superb lunch with wine flowing. I thought it was worth the cost.

You might want to take a look at the Ports board for more recent reviews.

I have a mason jar cold brew thing. Never thought to pack it before but it will just need my coffee and bottled water. Hmmmm.

4 hours ago, Stitch97 said:

I went on my first cruise last summer with my best friend. She, along with a group of folks, were waiting on a fresh batch of cookies. The minute the cruise employee placed the cookies for everyone, a woman cut ahead of them and started piling the cookies on a plate. She took most of the cookies leaving only a few. Had no shame at all. 

The woman who tried that with the warm tea time scones on my cruise got my elbow and and me stating “there’s a line”. She gave me dirty looks whenever she saw me around the ship but it was worth it.

I posted this on the wrong thread, so repeating here…I haven’t seen anyone else mention this, so maybe they have changed since I was on the Epic. The beds pull out from under the headboard. That makes them much more comfortable to sleep on. Just push them back ( or ask your steward) to make more space during the day.

I haven’t seen anyone else mention this, so maybe they have changed since I was on the Epic. The beds pull out from under the headboard. That makes them much more comfortable to sleep on. Just push them back ( or ask your steward) to make more space during the day.

Too soon to break out the cheap sparkling “champagne “ ?

Here' an update you might like:

Muster Drills Update
In an effort to enhance the onboard guest experience while keeping the safety of our guests and crew our top priority, we will reinstate e-muster drills through our online check-in for sailings beginning April 1, 2023. We are committed to delivering an exceptional and safe experience on board and, as such, will continue to actively evaluate and modify our processes for best practices. Please stay tuned for more information regarding effective dates for specific ships throughout the month of April.

5 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

Please explain. I get the part about using your card on board. When/where do you cash in the points? 

There is a Rewards section on the Bank of America/NCL card website. Once you have enough points to cash in, it is a simple process to convert them to cash on your account.  
If you haven’t seen it, there is a huge FAQ thread here with all of the explanations and answers about the NCL credit card. It is the first post pinned at the top of this section.

They were pouring the Duc on my Getaway cruise in 2019. The bottles in the theater were turned with the label to the back. I started asking to see the bottle every time I ordered Prosecco after that undrinkable experience.

Don’t cash in points for onboard credit. Use your card on the ship, get 3 points per dollar spent, then cash in for credit towards your card balance.

One thing no one mentions is insurance. My last two cruises (before 2020) had ports dropped or changed and my trip insurance paid for all of them. At some point they reduced the covered amounts, likely because it is happening often, but I received $500 each time. Good insurance isn’t cheap but it can be priceless when you need it.

It depends on the route as well as the weather. My first TA stopped in the Azores and we had beautiful weather so I was outside a lot.

My second TA was rerouted to the northern route which took us off the coast of Greenland. I walked outside from the Thermal spa to the buffet and my wet hair froze. Lesson learned!

20 minutes ago, Sea saw 56 said:

I was looking for up-to-date reviews for a restaurant in Bar Harbor, near the Town Pier, we visited in 2014.

I saw that several restaurants near the pier are "temporarily closed".

This tells me that Bar Harbor is probably having an issue finding people to work, like every other city or town.  Perhaps they can't accommodate cruise ships as in the past.

Just a thought.

Many tourism related businesses in coastal Maine towns close in the winter. I drove through York and Ogunquit today and many shops and restaurants are closed. Parking spaces open on Route 1 are a lucky find in the summer.

4 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

I'm calling BS here: NCL is owed by Private Equity, ie. a Private Company.  There is no "stock price" involved here.  This is the same "crap" they tried with me, on the Southampton, Maiden Voyage on the Epic.  "garbage in, garbage out," NCL just can't wait to "Nickel & Dime" you to death, while reducing staffing, salaries, and crew deck privilege's.  How about reducing top executive pay and Private Equities earnings?

As an NCLH stockholder, granted just the basic 100 shares to get OBC variety, all I can say is huh? Explanation please.

2 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

NCL does pay attention to passenger comments, or at least they have at times in the past.  My wife and I booked a 12 day Transatlantic cruise on the Getaway for April 2019.  We had failed to notice that the ship was scheduled for dry dock the day after we were to arrive in Southampton.  Well, someone at NCL decided that they needed a couple of extra days to do the work they had planned, so they cut our trip short by two days, eliminating port stops at Le Havre and Zeebrugge.  Our cruise was scheduled to depart NYC on Saturday, 27 April, 2019.  We still lost two days off the cruise, but NCL did increase their compensation for the missing days after reading so many complaints on Cruise Critic.  I don't know how frequently NCL pays attention to this forum or if they would do the same thing today, but they certainly listened in 2019.

I was on that cruise too. Every time I read a complaint about a missed port or late arrival from someone who thinks they are the first and only “victim” of such things I just laugh. 

1 hour ago, vince_g said:

You mean that "stuff" they used to put in your cabin as a loyalty reward.

 

Awful swill.....

It’s gone? That’s really saving $1.50, things must be bad.

On 1/10/2023 at 9:59 AM, wcook said:

What comes below basic Prosecco? Don’t expect high quality stuff. But did I mention it’s free? 

That stuff they put in your cabin as a loyalty “reward”.

This sounds like something Elliott Advocacy could help with. Elliott.org

7 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

We just completed 7 days on the Prima and went to the Thermal Suite every day. To me, the salt bath, steam room, and saunas were some of the best in the fleet. (The only thing that would make the saunas better would have been exterior windows). And having big, comfortable day beds versus loungers piled on each other was a treat. 

Thanks Bird!   What did you think of the dressing room area?
Would you do a cold weather cruise on the Prima?

8 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

The Prima is a warm weather ship, ever aspect of this ship is based and advertised as an outdoor ship. Sailing out of NYC in the winter, homeport in Iceland during the summer doesn't make any sense. @uneamie if your cruise is out of FLA then you will be fine. The Prima is the first ship to make NCL more upscale comparable to the other brands Oceania and Regent. This is the direction that Frank wants to go

This is my concern. Still trying to decide if it makes sense for me. I’m booked on the last Southampton cruise to Norway and Iceland at the end of September. It seems like my balcony and all outside seating will be too cold.

I’m also stunned by the posts stating breakfast closes at 9:30 in the buffet and 10 everywhere else. Is this true? I’m not a morning person at home or on vacation!

I also haven’t read great reviews of the thermal spa, where I would hang out on sea days if I can’t be outside. What to do… what to do?

There is another thread. They are currently testing it Monday the Breakaway.