PortFees45

Isn't the rule that you don't get assigned a category lower than the Sailaway category you booked?

I booked a Sailaway Inside (IX) and was just assigned a STUDIO room (T1). 

I'm calling to complain, but can anyone confirm that this has happened to them? Is a studio considered a HIGHER category than an INSIDE? 

I love few things more than a long, quiet hike on a rustic, but easy to follow trail. Any of you Bermuda vets have any suggestions for the best portions of the Railway Trail that fit the bill? I've read some are broken up by roads and a little less easy to follow. 

3 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

Which parts of the ships that should be open to all passengers is entierly up to the cruiseline to decide. (With the exception that some areas for security reasons have to be crew only!)

So why allow passengers outside at all? Lets make Inside cabins TRULY inside cabins. If you want fresh air, there's a $24.99/day surcharge for access to the outside decks...the few that are still accessible without a Vibe pass or being in the Haven. 

Contrast this with Anthem of the Seas, the only other "mega ship" near me and one I'd ignored out of loyalty to NCL, but no longer. Anthem has the beautiful "solarium" at the front of the ship. Open to all passengers. It's not THAT much bigger than the -Away ships, but the premium areas don't seem to eat up so much of the ship's space and resources, like a bloodthirsty tumor. 

2 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I say that if you can't afford to pay for VIBE you shall probably not cruise. 

You sound like FDR's perfect customer. Glad you two found each other. 

1 minute ago, StolidCruiser said:

 

It is the second time you have used “quality of life” in reference to an area of a cruise ship closed-off to the general public.

 

You need to re-evaluate what that phrase means in the context of your usage.   

 

No, I really don't. Quality of life is a perfectly appropriate term for describing the quality of shipboard life on a cruise. That experience is substantially reduced when a huge portion of the upper decks that had been open to all passengers since Getaway was launched is now off limits...while passengers who previously would have enjoyed it are sardined into a remaining space that is overcrowded as it is. A massive diversion of resources to benefit the "1 percent" passengers who make up a tiny minority of the ship, while the rest of the passengers suffer. Perfect metaphor for the 2019 American economy. 

1 minute ago, sverigecruiser said:

I could say screw you to you for not booking Haven and paying for VIBE but I am to nice to do that.

Frank Del Rio is already saying that, but lovely of you to join in. 

3 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

That is NOT what I said. I said that if someone can't afford VIBE cruising is probably  a bad idea.

So then you're confirming that's almost literally exactly what you said. 

There are some people who save carefully, budget for a cruise, can afford what they budget for, and don't have an extra $200/person to spend on access to a part of the ship that should be open to all passengers.

52 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

A) People who can't afford it shall probably not cruise. If it really is "can't afford", cruising is a bad idea.

 

B) Exactly. More people will be able to get them if the area is expanded.

 

C) I understand that but it's the same with other areas too. A large kids club, a large buffet, a large theatre, many bars, many restaurants etc. are also at the expense of the people not needing/wanting those things.

So if you're not willing to pay absurd upcharges for access to parts of the ship that had been/should be open to all passengers,  and which by taking off limits substantially reduces the quality of life for most people on the ship in order to benefit a small group, then cruising is a "bad idea"?

"If sunning on a deck is important to you"

Oh for Pete's sake...it's a CRUISE. Next you'll see people saying "If eating in a restaurant with waitstaff is important to you" to justify upcharges for anything besides the buffet. 

The "disappointment" of the people who don't get Vibe passes is irrelevant to me. Screw them. If there was adequate public deck space on the -Away class ships, then a Vibe wouldn't be necessary in the first place. 

1 minute ago, elwood_98034 said:

We are paying 10x the price of an inside cabin just so that when we walk on deck we don't have 10x people standing there with us. I'm sorry. We four are paying for those forty other people not to be there with us.

 

We have bid on a H2. The DOS. If we get that I doubt that we will even leave the cabin. We probably won't even let the butler in.

Perhaps you should look into sailing Cunard

3 minutes ago, perditax said:

 

One deck up from the buffet, Flamingo Grill was a fantastic, complimentary Cuban restaurant on the Getaway. It was the first meal I ever ate on a cruise ship. It did breakfast and lunch. For breakfast it was a traditional small buffet, but also had fantastic Cuban pastries (cheese and guava, for example). Lunch had amazing, fresh grilled chicken, black beans and rice, fried sweet plantains, fried yucca, and some other stuff I’m probably forgetting. Maybe ropa vieja or a pork dish. I can’t remember what they had for desserts because the plantains were always my dessert, but there was probably some tres leches cake or flan. 

 

I think it lasted 2-3 years after launch before it was converted to a paid venue. That was my first lesson in the Way of NCL. 

Yeah on the Breakaway you could get a kickass free burger at Uptown. Once word got around a day or two into the cruise the place would be PACKED. Now it's a perpetual ghost town with Margaritaville...still a nice spot for breakfast, though 

2 minutes ago, Lupush said:

"Listen here and listen good"? 

 

SMH.

Forgive me for questioning the Dear Leader

7 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Blue Route ferry to Hamilton then #1 bus .

Which stop?

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

Blue Route ferry to Hamilton then #1 bus .

Thank you!

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

It looks like this is the direction NCL is going in for future dry docks and new ships. The recently released deck plans for the Encore have the enter front 1/3 of the ship reserved for Vibe and Haven now.

Absolutely zero interest in the Encore (or the Bliss). 

1 minute ago, perditax said:

 

But your thread is about Getaway. 😛

Only because that's the only ship they've made this modification on, as far as I know.

I actually sailed on the Getaway's last Bahamas run before its transatlantic and drydock in April. I spent a ton of time enjoying the now off-limits area. Glad I got in under the wire. I'd have been absolutely livid if I'd gotten on board planning to head to the front of the ship for sailaway only to be blocked by this new door/wall. 

1 minute ago, perditax said:

I saw it discussed in another thread about a month ago, yes, but lately some (possibly unemployed? tons of free time) posters are making sure only Haven drama threads stay at the top all the time.:)

 

The vibe thing is exactly why I don’t expect the gorgeous observation lounges on Bliss etc to remain free and open to the public forever. Too much super-prime real estate not earning additional revenue aside from one bar. I’m sure in a few years I’ll be digging up a post like this and quoting myself to say “told ya”. 

 

PS, when I read your thread title I thought you meant getting rid of the (free and excellent) Flamingo Grill and replacing it with a (paid and tacky) Margaritaville. I’m guessing most people have forgotten about this one, and new cruisers will never know what they missed. 

It will always be the Uptown Bar & Grill to me

What's the best way to get to Spittal Pond from the Dockyard? 

I know a ferry has to be involved...do you the need to also use a bus?

9 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

You'll survive like so many thousands of others have ..... unless maybe you spend 24/7 on your balcony usually.  Money saved, look at it that way .....

Not 24/7, but I log a ton of hours on the balcony. When I'm on a cruise I want two things 1.) quiet 2.) view of the water

I figure home base this time will have to be the Waterfront. 

I didn't think NCL could sink any lower than the shrimp cocktail upcharge, but closing off the entire port/forward sundecks to the public to expand Vibe is downright disgusting. 

I can't count how many times I've walked past the normal-sized Vibe on previous cruises, and it was deserted. Even in good weather it closes at night. 

Now besides losing the only really quiet public sundeck on the ship, passengers can't stroll to the front of the ship at night, and that large portion of the ship will sit entirely unused for large periods while everyone else is jammed into the remaining spaces. 

Disgusting. Shame on you, NCL. 

I'm a loyal Platinum cruiser, but Frank Del Rio listen here and listen good...I will never set foot on one of your garbage new ships. I sail out of NYC, and I know the Bliss is on the way. I don't care. The Bliss similarly has the port and forward upper sundecks blocked off to the public, but in this case it's for expanded Haven access (I can't decide if that's more or less offensive than the Vibe expansion). 

I'll sail the Escape so long as the Vibe remains unmodified, and I'll always jump at the opportunity to sail on the elegant and perfect Gem. 

But this return to Titanic-era class systems, with whole tiers of the ship off limits to general passengers when the -Away ships are already overcrowded as it is just reeks of rank corporate greed. The shrimp cocktail thing is just tacky and annoying, but it won't ruin anyone's cruise. This, on the other hand, has a major impact on ship quality of life, and it's a disgrace. 

Following along...doing pretty much exactly what you're doing the following week (just with an inside cabin and none of those amazing perks)

I've been on 15+ cruises, always with at least a balcony. 

This morning I saw a $649 solo rate (no supplement) for the 6/30 Escape sailing to Bermuda. I'd normally never book an inside, but for 4th of July week you really can't beat that price. 

So it's a first time to Bermuda AND a first time in a Balcony. I figure the summer weather will make an inside room more tolerable than the colder months when you're buttoned up inside the ship. Any other balcony devotees ever slummed it for a good inside rate?