AL3XCruise

1 hour ago, Goldconnection said:

n my opinion this is NOT normal. I am not even sure if it is linked to cultural attitude. I think it is strange.

I think it is odd not being able to understand folks interest.  Senior executive leadership sets company strategy, which in turn impacts the customer experience.  A change in leadership can change those priorities, though it is difficult for anyone without inside knowledge to accurately predict how so.  

I think Celebrity under its current CEO shows a great example of this: Lutoff-Perlo has gone after new markets and opportunities, and in doing so made some very controversial decisions.  Some changes have had divisive appeal and negatively impacted the experience of longtime customers.

I'm not saying management shouldn't change to focus on what they view as more lucrative opportunities, that is business 101.  Such changes can happen at any time, but are especially likely with a new top executive coming onboard.  If well thought out and properly executed, these changes should improve the bottom line, but it is almost inevitable that someone, somewhere will see something they like go away or prices increase.

So frequent NCL cruisers have every reason to be interested in what could be coming down the pike.  Just because a change is good for NCL does not mean it will be good for them; it doesn't mean things will be worse wither.  Everyone has their own expectations and the more they know the better they can plan future cruises.

3 hours ago, hallux said:

The dock might fit the length but might not have the capability to lift the weight.

Dock 3 is rated to lift ships of 50,000 tons displacement.  RCI doesn't publish displacements, but that probably means it can support Radiance class and smaller.  The image shows what I think is a Coral class ship, which is similar in size to Radiance class vessels.

11 hours ago, rimmit said:

Yes!  The breakaway is PAINFUL in cold weather.

I like having pool/hot tub access, so I probably would not consider a Breakaway/BA+ class ship in cold weather unless getting a Spa Pass or Haven Suite.  For people that are less concerned with pool access, this may be a non issue.  The newest ships of the class have large observation lounges that look great for cold weather cruising.

13 hours ago, Tapi said:

I don’t know about the way that NCL conceives and designs their ships, but other cruise lines haven’t been as innovative or revolutionary as Royal for sure.

I think NCL is closer to Royal in terms of innovation, than, say, Carnival.  The big NCL ships don't have quite all of the same bells and whistles, but they offer a lot.  In terms of amenities, it really comes down to what the individual cruiser prefers.  If you prefer go karts to ice rinks, etc...  I do think that NCL's layout doesn't deal with crowds quite as well, but a number of small tweaks on the BA+ ships seem to help somewhat.  

8 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

It was the Escape and another ship in the same class.  It's a fairly common complaint (smoke spilling from casino to Atrium).

The confusion might be that BA/BA+ ships really have two atriums.  The forward one is two decks and called the atrium.  It is used for certain events and is adjacent to O'Sheehan's and guest services.  The aft one is a three deck atrium that is not referred to as an atrium by NCL.  It is an open area connecting three levels of bars, entertainment venues, and the casino.  Smoke from the casino wafts up and down the open area and can impact any of the venues that are open to this area.  So there can be smoke issues in "an" atrium, but generally not in "the" atrium.  

As @hallux noted, improvements are being made on the newest ships.

17 hours ago, GemsJetsSilhouettes said:

I find the people flow on NCL really poor. Their flagship, the Breakaway class, has a pretty poor pool deck, and the atrium is super disappointing.

I can't really argue with any of those points, though it varies by ship and there are options (spa passes, vibe), that can improve things.  Still, with the Haven up front and numerous venues (ropes courses, laser tag, go karts, etc. depending on ship) further aft, the "traditional" area of the pool deck is pretty tight.  Newer ships devote even more space to the Haven and Vibe, further reducing available space if you don't have access to those areas. 

I think the waterfront is a wonderful area and makes up for this to some extent by providing comfortable, quiet outdoor space.  If you want to read by the water, it is great, but if you want a sunny spot next to the band stand it won't really help!

I do feel the Atrium is not well suited to the events they have in there.  Not enough seating for popular shows, and the crowds of people watching block a major thoroughfare on the ship.  I wish they moved the most popular events to the theater or another large venue.

3 hours ago, LP Dad said:

Profits reward investors, employees, and suppliers, and are necessary for every company's survival. Increased profits attract investors, and, sorry, but investors are insatiable where profit is concerned.

I'm not going to disagree with the premise that investors should expect maximized profits, but assuming profit maximization will benefit all other stakeholders isn't always accurate.  On one hand improved profitability can increase employment opportunities, raise salaries, and increase spending on suppliers.  But efforts to improve margins can also cut benefits and squeeze suppliers.  It isn't always a win-win.  Of course, sometimes failing to stay competitive means executive turnover or even bankruptcy,

but my point is simply that the picture can be complicated.  

With regard to HAL and the issues on this board, it seems that the company's leadership is taking the approach of "how much can we cut without customers spending less or going elsewhere in numbers that exceed the gains from the cuts".  If you are in a position to do that, it certainly makes sense from a business perspective and I don't begrudge HAL for doing it.  Demand is high, time to increase margins.

The big question is when the market shifts, due to new competition, recession, or other factors, will this current strategy have a negative impact in a future when HAL faces a more difficult time retaining customers.  It is not always simple to change or reverse course.  CCL shareholders need to hope that there is a strategy on how to deal with downturns.  

3 hours ago, Cirdan said:

This can easily cause delay, from project to prototypes, and seeing problems, and so new iteration. Then from new items to delivery and integration.

Agreed.  It is also worth noting neither Ritz Carlton nor the shipyard they contracted with have built a cruise ship before (the yards closest previous experience is ferries).  Celebrity (and by extension RCCL) and its contractors have a lot of experience building cruise ships.

The Celebrity team is building another copy of a ship that is already sailing.  The Ritz team is starting from scratch with less institutional experience.  Something can always go wrong, but X/RCCL and their contractors are in a better position to anticipate and resolve problems.

A happy looking mantis

24 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

I just don't buy the story that HAL was forced to its knees by Carnival predatory pricing in the Caribbean. Sounds to me like Mickey couldn't fill his Caribbean ships. Tried to steal customers from NCL and RCL. 

I don't have the time to seek out detailed financial data, but based on what I've seen here and on a few other sources it sounds like HAL was neither in danger of insolvency nor setting the world on fire.  The cruise market was evolving, so HAL's owners had two big questions facing them: 1) could their management team devise an effective strategy going forward and 2) were they willing/able to invest/secure the funding needed to support such a strategy.  There is nothing I've seen to prove the answer to either question was no, but they certainly both held substantial risk.  Trying to improve performance while meeting new market challenges is always tough, and if peers are performing better financially options for securing capital become more restrictive and expensive.  Presented with an offer that eliminated uncertainty and provided immediate cash, it makes sense the owners decided to sell and pursue other ventures.  Given HAL Investments current valuation, it seems like it was a smart choice.

Given CCL's larger size and and desire to create a broader portfolio, they had more options to secure capital and more incentive to accept the inherent risks.

On 9/17/2019 at 5:20 PM, tomservo said:

I know, I know, the same thought occurred to me right after I posted it. I was trying to include a 3rd option for those who’s answers weren’t quite yes or no but my thought process wasn’t fully baked.

That's the kind of sloppiness you'd expect from Crow...

I've only been to Cagney's a few times, but found the experience underwhelming.  The cuts of meat seemed pretty good, but none of my meals were prepared as well as what I can get at the local Outback, let alone a real steak place.  The service wasn't bad, but I found other restaurants and the MDRs to be better.

I wouldn't pay outright to go to Cagney's again.  I feel like the experience versus the MDR would be worth paying the gratuity on a dining plan I got as a perk, but the full up-charge just can't be justified given the other options.  I hope that this improves, as the opportunity to get a real good ribeye or prime rib is always appreciated!

18 minutes ago, jskinsd said:

Also Elite on Princess, Celebrity, and 4 star Holland America.  I just like cruising.  So once again you are wrong. 

In what way does your status make me wrong?  If your intent is to say you haven't seen cost cutting there, that merely means they haven't cut something important to you!  There are plenty of other cruisers frustrated by cutbacks at virtually every non-premium line.

And how can it be once again when this is my first reply to your thread?

5 hours ago, jskinsd said:

Then how can you explain why most ships in the fleet get the game but now the Jewel.  This was corporate decision and Del Rio had to approve it.   The Jewel is now worthy to carry football because of demographics. So therefore no NFL viewing contract for the Jewel.   He knows what the passengers will put up with.    Remember he is the one that approved no more lobster,  shrimp cocktails, pork spring rolls in the dining room because of bottom line.   He believes that the customer will understand. Now it is football.  Be ready for all ships.

Do we have a reason to believe Del Rio personally approved this?  That's different than people one or two layers below him in the organization made a decision and he didn't intervene.  Of course, his desire for cost containment likely gave those folks an incentive to make such changes.  Still, that is not unique to NCL or cruise lines.

As you said, NCL management knows what the passengers will put up with and are constantly looking at ways to use that information.  If you read the boards of various RCI and CCL brands, you'll see complaints about them doing the same thing.  It is how business is done, and you have three options: live with it, find an alternative (like streaming), or take your business elsewhere.  Letting people online know whats going on for their travel plans is valuable information; relentlessly venting about it doesn't help anyone.

One more astro pic... two colliding galaxies.

My first experiment with a wide angle (compared to my 2000mm telescope) shot.  Only two of the stars are easily visible from where I took the shot due to light pollution.  The star top center is Deneb.  Traces of the North American nebula are just barely visible, will need to try a longer exposure.

On 8/3/2019 at 2:42 PM, BarbinMich said:

I have participated in multiple star-gazing sessions on Princess ships and while a lot more stars were visible than from one's backyard, but never saw something like this.  I find it hard to believe that the fellow who took this shot could have had such clarity at night on a moving ship (how much good does a tripod do on a moving ship??).  Plus, the Leonid Meteor Show doesn't peak until 11/17/2019 this year and it doesn't look this photo (see www.bashewa.com/wxmeteor-showers.php?shower=Leonids).  Finally, IMHO this photo looks more like a nebula than a meteor shower.

If you read the description of the photo, they never claim it is over a meteor shower. 

They stacked multiple four second exposures to generate that image (normally you'd use much longer exposures, but the motion of the ship and the lack of a mount that counters the Earth's rotation prevents that).  Using a relatively short focal length also helps limit the impact of ship motion.  Still, they note more than half of the images needed to be tossed due to blur.  Despite that, you can see several slightly elongated stars.  They also used several astrophotography tools to refine the image.

The camera collected over two minutes of light to produce that image, something your eyes can't do.  That's why you'd never see this view from the ship.  

It is an impressive result given the challenges, but not impossible for someone who knows what they are doing.

11 hours ago, ramdoggiesmom said:

I absolutely would’ve done what you did! They hit a reef and expected you to wait and then get back on it? NO WAY! That’s like saying “I know your ferry captain is incompetent but it’s free so that’s ok”! Well sorry but it’s not OK. And by the way, NOTHING is free. And yes, I would’ve expected NCL to reimburse me for my trouble. NCL is lucky there were only a few people that needed medical attention. What would you all think if THEY asked NCL to pay for their medical bills? I guess the injured people should’ve just sucked it up and said “that’s ok NCL, I’d be happy to pay for the medical attention I needed because the ferry that YOU own and operate hit a reef”. Before you all get your panties in a bunch let me say I’ve cruised on NCL 15+ times, they are by far my favorite cruise line so I’m not here to just bash NCL. But I personally think in this case, they should’ve bent over backwards to take care of the passengers of the ferry in any way they could. Just sayin.

First, I agree that the OP was smart to take a taxi.  That option was obviously the best for the family after a difficult day.  However, I think you are making several assumptions.

The news article regarding the incident states passengers were placed on a public ferry, not the same vessel.  I was not there so I can't be sure.  Either way, NCL's obligation is to provide safe transport back to Dockyard.  They are not responsible to provide an alternative means in accordance with the desires of every passenger.  

Comparing injury to a desire for alternative transport is a false equivalence.  One is an obligation of NCL and the ferry operator, the other, as I explained, is not.

As pointed out previously, it does not appear NCL operates the ferry.  However, I will agree that if you own it, contract a third party, advertise it, and plaster your name on the side you can't really hide behind your contractor.

In short: I think the OP made a good decision; I think some sort of acknowledgment of the inconvenience from NCL would have been nice; I don't think NCL is responsible for providing alternative transport if someone doesn't want to use the ferry.

While there may be someone that prefers Dockyard to Hamilton, I have yet to meet them!  There is stuff to do in Dockyard, but Hamilton is a beautiful city at the heart of Bermuda.  Certainly there are people that prefer larger ships and may be willing to go to Dockyard in order to get the ship they want.

12 minutes ago, Homelines1977 said:

I don't believe Empress Tenders in St. George, I think it docks there, When I went with the Home Lines and Celebrity the smaller boats always docked in St. George.

I believe docking vs tendering depends on the availability of a pier.  I know Empress can dock, but have read that it does not always.

Ironically I once tendered in Hamilton.  Empress was unable to navigate the channel to St. George due to high winds, and could not remain at the downtown pier due to another ship.  We stayed in Hamilton and moved to a nearby freight pier and tendered to the cruise pier.  Only time I've taken a tender from a ship while it was docked!

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

It genuinely is owned by the cruise line. The OP is right about that.

I believe you are correct the own the vessel (or lease it directly), but I think it is still operated by a subcontractor (Cruiseport Ferry Management Ltd).  I doubt many people know precisely what kind of notification they are required to give to NCL in the event of an incident, nor who NCL passes that information on to.

28 minutes ago, DELTABLUE said:

Wonder where she's off to and for how long?😕

Given they thought the issue was resolved last time until after departure, I wonder if it could be a functional test.  AIS shows her returning to Baltimore, but I don't know how accurate that is.  It does show her making 18+ knots as well.

I would think Baltimore could accommodate almost any in the water repair, but perhaps Norfolk or NYC has something they require?  She is under 80,000GT, so there might be some commercial drydock options that wouldn't be normally used by RCI should they need to get her out of the water.

2 hours ago, rmzlvacationers said:

Ok even if repaired in time the weather channel has Dorian possibly mixing with another storm and reforming stronger to hit Nova Scotia over the weekend. Uggghh

Sadly it is possible that Dorian will be hanging around the entrance to the bay around your departure, and then heading up towards Canada.  The good news is it is expected to pick up speed rapidly as it moves North, so hopefully with a little creative routing and some luck you'll still be able to get in most of what you want to see!

11 hours ago, catl331 said:

but we have a swimming pool

Don't give folks on the ship that idea.

13 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

So sorry! I have no idea why it posted soooo

many times!!

Please forgive me! Every time I tried  to submit it denied me!! 

Obviously you just want to get your post count high enough that your opinions start to matter 🙂.

4 hours ago, Overhead Fred said:

Maybe we should "flush" this thread!

Even though its hardly the end of the world, it does stink to have the water turned off and discussing how to deal with it isn't necessarily a bad idea.  I mean, it is a situation where if you fail to plan your crap properly, urine trouble!

1 hour ago, BND said:

My point really is people make up stuff and others start believing it because someone posted it.

Yes, things like the Grandeur doesn't have propellers.  As others have shown, Grandeur, like all RCI ships, has propellers.  Not trying to be snarky, but I do agree people posting without all the facts is VERY frustrating.

As far as the report about dropping a propeller, I have no idea as to its veracity.

I hope everyone impacted by this is able to come up with a good alternative that lets them enjoy the FCC!

19 hours ago, cruises42 said:

Just saw the Aurora Borealis on our cruise! Any help with camera settings for Nikon D500 would be appreciated. I had no clue where to start so I didn’t get any pictures.

Never shot an aurora, but I'm an amateur astrophotographer.  Light is your friend, so you'll want to keep the aperture as wide a possible.  Then you'll need to balance exposure length and ISO.  I've read 2 to 20 seconds for exposure depending on the aurora, but don't have experience to back that up.  If you don't have a tripod on a stable surface (the ship may or may not cut it depending on motion and vibration) exposures could look blurry.  Using the shortest possible lens will help, as well as give you a good field of view.  The motion of the aurora will also be a factor, the longer the exposure the more it is blurred.

On my camera I'd start with 1600 or 3200 for ISO and then go up or down based on what I was getting.  If you don't have a stable tripod long exposures are going to be tough, so a very high ISO might be required.  

Also, remember to focus your lens to infinity.  That may be easier to do during the day with a very distant object.  At night the moon works (though it potentially washes out an aurora).  Focusing on a bright star is a last ditch option, but isn't super accurate unless you have a focusing mask to help.

Again... no expert on auroras, but hopefully that will help.  Worst case, crank up the ISO and try to get something.  It might not be pretty, but it will be a memory!

I scanned this quickly and it looked interesting.  Discuss some additional setting like white balance, etc, and goes into more detail on several points I mentioned above.

https://www.davemorrowphotography.com/2014/10/how-to-photograph-northern-lights.html

Good luck!

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

as I use the 24-105 f/4 II, as a basic lens.

My 5D III was used and did not come with the original 24-105 that it sold with new as a kit; the seller threw in the 28-135 for free, but it is not the same caliber lens.  I've definitely considered purchasing one (possibly used).  But the 50mm is less than a quarter of the price of a used 24-105.  Plus, if I'm going to spend that kind of money, I start looking at some of the L-series wide angles (zooms and primes).  A few of them sell used for under $500.

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Would not get that high unless you count the crew, then it could hit over 6000. Max cap would be 4002. Numbers are very misleading, Symphony of the seas can max out at 6680, it would hit 8500 with crew.

Those Breakaway numbers are incorrect.  Design lower berth 3,963 per NCL and the shipyard.  You can bet if there are 3,963 lower berths the maximum cap isn't just 4,002!

I was on the Breakaway a few years ago when the Captain noted it was one of their busiest cruises, with nearly 6,600 souls on board.  Assuming 1600 to 1700 crew (numbers given by most sources), that leaves 4,900 to 5,000 passengers.  Those numbers make sense based on what has been reported by other CC users, but I'll admit I haven't seen a primary source document to verify it with.  Still I'll take the word of @chengkp75 and the vessel's master over wikipedia.

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

To be most accurate, the ratio should use Net Tonnage (NT) which eliminates working spaces from the GT to provide more of a cargo capacity, which on cruise ships is passenger spaces. Unfortunately, GT is readily available, but NT not so easy to find for many ships.

To add to what has been said, layout also plays a factor.  I noticed that there are several small changes between Breakaway and Escape which seem to make traffic flow better on the Escape despite a slightly higher passenger count and roughly the same amount of public space.  That, combined with what has already been pointed out about NT, means the "space ratio" is a rough estimate.

2 hours ago, havoc315 said:

Yes, yes and yes. Are you shooting aps-c or FF?

Full frame.  5D III.