PortFees45

5 minutes ago, Love my butler said:

Yes, you only get the bare bones.  Nothing extra or promos.  As a final kick in the azz for being such a loyal customer to achieve Ambassador status, you get ZERO points on your free cruise.  Thanks NCL.

 

For your convenience of course.....

What good are more points once you hit Ambassador? 

On 1/16/2020 at 9:22 AM, dshefter said:

Why would you want a Vibe pass if you are in The Haven. You already have a private pool area, private restaurant and bar. That would seem like a waste of $$$$. Another way to handle would be to give a discount on Vibe to Haven/Platinum/Platinum Plus/Ambassador guests and the regular rack rate for others. Offer everything 120 days out. And the ship could hold a certain number of passes for embarkation day. They sell 300 on the Encore, and not everyone uses it at the same time. Probably could sell 400-500.

It's the nature of greed...to want more for the sake of wanting more. 

The Encore is a physical manifestation of NCL corporate's greed. It's a garbage ship. 

15 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

“NCL Free Air” —- that says a lot.  

 

How valuable do you expect something to be if it is “Free”?

It's not free, just like the "free drink package perk" isn't free. 

That's not even printed on the menu, like the upcharges for the other items. 

So it's not consistent with the dining package Terms & Conditions, and it's not written on the menu. 

Nothing says classy like a $2 upcharge for some asparagus. So tacky and gross. 

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I’m on the Gem now. When we ate in Le Bistro the other night and had the Dover sole, absurdly and artificially priced now by NCL at $39, we were in fact charged the additional $4.00 plus a 20% service charge. Can we afford $9.60?  Yes, but this is one of the prime examples of NCL’s utter lack of understanding of business goodwill (or just not caring about it), and money grabbing.

 

The icing on the cake was that the fish was not very good, nor was the service. 

 

 

NCL hates Platinum cruisers. It's so obvious. Frank Del Rio wants his ships filled with selfie-taking millennial first-time cruisers who don't know any better. 

Enjoy your EMPTY SHIPS when the recession hits, Frank. 

retractable spikes on the furniture...you swipe your card and get 30 minutes for a set rate (for your convenience). You get a 60 second warning beep before your time runs out, then the spikes pop up. 

9 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Has anyone spoke to and/or left a written message with the GM onboard about the lounge campers?  

 

I'm sure many of you are familiar with these urban design - easy solutions, no ? Also used at airports, transit stations, etc. 

...or pigeon spikes

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

I believe that the rooms are same sex. So clothing is optional. Lots of dangly bits at times. 

No, it's not optional. 

Wear a bathing suit. 

On 1/7/2020 at 1:13 AM, mking8288 said:

 

This is, IMHO, pathetic and a disgrace, shame on NCL, period to block WiFi calling unless one is on the Premium Unlimited Plan with the streaming/VPN option - it takes minimal bandwidth to work the audio (non-video) unlike Netflix, Youtube or SlingTV.  Yet, the Social Media package allow FB Messenger, WhatsApp and similar apps to work.  AFAIW - Royal & Princess/Carnival do not block it and their satellite WiFi is superior, faster & less expensive compared to NCL.  

 

I tested in last month on the Gem but wasn't 100% about it, nor did I wanted to waste time to track her down again to discuss ... It was likely BLOCKED back in May, when we're on the Dawn but I didn't really spent much time playing with satellite WiFi on a timed plan.  

 

Two of our VoIP apps continued to work (thus far) and one of them displayed our "known" number when calling - while Google Duo and Google Voice get blocked.  

 

P.S. I guess, we will hear more about LeBistro later on ... Give Moderno a try if it is an option ... we had a great dinner there.  

Is Google Voice the same feature as making domestic phone calls from your Gmail account? I've done that before on NCL WiFi without a problem, but it's been awhile. 

It's hilarious you consider not being able to eat cheese at 11pm a "situation"

45 minutes ago, MotownVoice said:

There are ample numbers of posts here and at Travel Advisory by crew members who know more than you do about how they purify their drinking water that say while it isn't "bad for you" it's not the best water and they wouldn't drink it.

But never mind that.  I'll just take your word for it since you seem to know everything.

link to one

52 minutes ago, ray98 said:

I wish I could keep up....one week we are saving trees....the next it is the plastic that replaced it.  Next week it will be some stupid drama about the 'carbon footprint' of the manufacturing process.

why is carbon footprint in quotes?

Also we don't save plastic the way we save trees. Plastic is an entirely artificial man-made creation that doesn't exist in nature, and plastic plays no role in regulating the biosphere. Trees are a naturally occurring and critical part of our ecological health - so your comparison is confusing. 

7 hours ago, Petoonya said:

 

Google "Great Pacific Garbage Patch".

Unfortunately I think a large percentage of pax on a cruise ship think global warming is a hoax. 

1 hour ago, kitty-sail said:

The water on the ship is desalinated water,  as is bathroom sink water.   I  drank  water from the bathroom sink but it's not "drinking water".  Hope this "Just water" has a better taste than tap water.

Of course the water from the bathroom sink is drinking water. 

And if you do send something back, make sure you don't get "the standby steak!" 

I wonder if there's a correlation between people who buy the water package and people who think the world is 6000 years old

47 minutes ago, js said:

 

I am happy to spend my money on bottled water, home and cruise.....you do you.

 

Thanks for the answers all, although not OP, I will just go online and order whatever the package is they sell, unless I upgrade my drink package, which still may happen.

 

 

You're welcome anyway, dear. 

"BTW, it was asked & confirmed - yesterday - at the Gem's Panama crossing's M&G that ship's tap water in the cabin/stateroom/suite aren't filtered except those at the buffet & restaurants, water "stations" - otherwise w/o the extra filtration."

So what are you drinking in cabin tap water that isn't present in water from the buffet? 

NCL has to do something about the sleeping in the Observation Lounge. It looks like a Red Cross shelter after a natural disaster. 

Last few filets I got at Cagney's I really don't think were filets. 

12 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

Fresh water right out of the tap. 

Thanks for proving my point that NCL tap water is probably cleaner than what you drink at home. 

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

But it could be the water from home (that you don’t drink). NCL’s latest report shows that 15% of the water on ships is bunkered (I.e., loaded from local ports). There are ships like the Sky that bunkers all of her water and does not run her water purification plants.

I don't drink tap water at home? How did you miraculously divine that non-fact?

Pizza on the Escape is fantastic

12 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You don’t have a choice of which dining room.  Times really won’t matter.  It is standard practice for MTD to not seat guests from different parties together unless they request it. 

I don't have a choice? Isn't there more than 1?