ontheweb

And I remember when I pointed out to you a thread on a different cruise line board that I had started about whether fellow passengers would eat meals with strangers. And when you saw the attitude of why would I ever want to eat with someone I do not know, you basically eliminated that cruise line from your future cruise consideration.

You hit on what absolutely can be enforced.

It's fine not to join a meet and greet, but if you do commit to going to the meet and greet, you should go. NCL provided the space and sent officers because there was a large commitment.

Well we are not going to agree, but let me say one last thing. The vibe on this ship that particular cruise was just different than any other ship we have ever sailed on whether NCL or any other cruise line. Maybe it was just that voyage; I don't know.

We're talking almost everyone who signed up including the person who set it up. I am sure the officers that NCL sent wondered what they were doing there with only 10 passengers showing up and why NCL even provided the space.

That was one example. How about the vast majority on the roll call who said they would attend the meet and greet including the person who set it up not showing up? I have been on 12 cruises on 5 different lines, and this one was just different. BTW, there has been this discussion before about NCL cruisers and not dining with strangers. And people kept telling me NCL was the best of all worlds because even though most felt like you do, you could still have shared tables because some did want to do that. But on this ship, we could have waited forever and never had dinner that night. We learned our lesson after that and never asked to share a table again.

I did not say we did not enjoy the cruise. I am saying that it could have been a lot better if it was a friendlier ship. We very much enjoyed the entertainment and most of the ports. Did I try to meet others? For our first dinner, we were asked if we wanted a table for 2 or to eat with others. We said the larger table. We were placed at a larger table, and then waited and waited and waited for others to join. We finally gave up and said give a table for 2. You cannot strike up a conversation when there is no one to talk to. 😢

Let me give one example. We had a large roll call, and someone set up a meet & greet with NCL. NCL sent some officers. And only 2 tables worth of us showed up. And one of the non-shows was the person who set up the meet & greet! The low turnout was embarrassing. 😒 One table had maybe 6 who needed to get together as they were doing some private excursions together and needed to meet in order to set up times and places to meet later for their excursions. The other table was us and one other couple. The husband in that other couple remembered that I was the one on the roll call who had an art teacher wife and quizzed her on what to see in Florence. (She is always happy to discuss art.) And that was about the only real conversation meeting anyone I remember from the cruise.

I agree they could have fined her more, but 10 times as much probably would not have been something she could have paid. Then they get nothing and have the expense of locking her up.

Let me try to explain. It just seemed the hardest ship we were ever on when it came to meeting other passengers. DW thought it was because of the itinerary (Western Mediterranean), but it was the second time we had sailed basically the same itinerary, and it was different. We have been on 5 European cruises including 3 in the Mediterranean (2 Western, 1 Eastern), and no other ship was ever like this. I attributed it to the sheer size of the ship. But I will concede that it could have just been this particular sailing. Who knows? As a comparison, the smallest ship we ever sailed was the former Ocean Princess with full capacity less than 700 on a British Isles cruise. And it was the easiest ship we were ever on to meet and befriend not only fellow passengers, but also crew members. But of course we still did enjoy the cruise. There was truly wonderful entertainment. And getting to Florence was a truly worthwhile experience.

Sounds like quality won over quantity. If that is what works for @cruisemom42, then it makes sense.

Carnival ships, however, are much livelier.

We've met the owner the year before they went into business. And prior to St. Petersburg becoming a non-port, they always received excellent reviews. The new world reality with their base in St. Petersburg no longer receiving cruise ships may have changed things, but they were a very respected tour provider.

I now agree that if as you say it is now a posted charge and they are not confirming or answering any queries by you, it is time to dispute and find another vendor.

👍, we sailed the Epic for a Western Mediterranean cruise for our 35th anniversary. Great itinerary, but it was the unfriendliest ship we were ever on. It has turned me off completely to mega-ships.

When you say the charges went immediately to your credit card are you saying you were immediately charged or more likely it was immediately pending? It is now several days past when you charged this, has it gone off pending to a posted charge? Is it possible that if they are out of business, the pending charge would just drop and never become a real charge against your account?

Being able to see many different places without packing and repacking is up there as something that makes cruises special. It is also a type of vacation that allows both DW and myself to both spend a lot of quality time together especially at the ports, but still allows us to do our own things separately. for instance she can swin her laps while I try my luck at trivia.

Perhaps Bermuda would rather take the money then have to spend money on incarceration. I do agree that it could have been much worse for her than a $2500 fine rather than a possible prison sentence.

Are you sure they are headquartered in Russia? If you go to their website, its says they are headquartered in Berlin. The season before they opened we met Viktoria, the owner. She was then a guide working for Alla tours. She confided to our group that she had done all the paperwork to run her own agency the following year. Though she was in St. Petersburg, I remember her saying her husband was in Berlin.

Don't worry, I for one, did not even notice. And anyway I believe it is against cc rules to complain about spelling errors. But I won't report you. 🤣

Looking forward to the rest of your posts in this thread. We are on the Prima London (Southampton) to Reykjavik. Patiently waiting for that itinerary (or its reverse) to start and someone to post a review like you are doing.

It is nice to see someone post their positive experience as there are those who seem to post that the experience is always negative.

As a long time married couple, we were on the Epic for our 35th anniversary. Being able to both use different parts of the bathroom was very convenient. However, I would say for any combination other than 2 people in an intimate relationship, it would be potentially very embarrassing.

Sounds delicious.

At a $1000 per day, at least they would not have to overcharge on drinks and excursions to make their revenue. 😉